My Snow Angel

Tuesday morning, November 29, 1977. It started snowing, so husband stayed home from his usual sales job....many miles of travel, pretty far from home. Oh, and there weren't any cell phones back then. He started putting insulation in the basement.

Uh-oh. That HURT! YIKES! That hurt more. Oh, yeah, I'm supposed to time these contractions. Pretty easy, actually. THEY DON'T STOP! Hmmm....I had been praying, but still worrying, about aforementioned husband being 100 miles away, on the road, no way of contacting him. Did I mention there were no cell phones back then? Thank you, Lord. Why did I struggle with trusting You? Thank You for the snow that day!

About 14 hours later, there he was. The most perfect, beautiful little boy ever! And all that hair! It sure was worth all the pain....the hospital stay with a severe kidney infection....ankles the size of small tree trunks....or maybe large tree trunks. And then they took him to the nursery. EVIL PEOPLE. Taking a baby from his mommy. But that's the way it was done back then. Almost a week in the hospital. Gracious! What WERE they thinking???

Finally home with him. A sweet sister-in-law to help. Daddy as proud as punch! He helped a lot, too! Diapers to change. Clothes to change. He spit up constantly in large volumes. Sleep deprivation for 8 full weeks. Then, miracle of miracles, he slept through the night. And every night thereafter, except the one night he had an ear infection. And the nights when he was older that I really don't want to know about!

I can't believe it's 29 years later. And he's still the most perfect, beautiful little boy ever. Well, handsome young man is more accurate, I guess. Perfect? Pretty darn close. I wouldn't change a thing. If you know him, you know what I mean. Not just a biased mama speaking here!

Happy Birthday, dear son of mine, my precious snow angel.

Thanksgiving 2006

Prayer of 3 (almost 4) -year-old grandson: "Dear God, Thank you for this food. And thank you for our pumpkin candles [one on each person's plate].... and thank you that we can take ours home with us if we want to." No one had mentioned taking them home, but I guess if it's mentioned in a prayer, it must be true!

Handmade card from 6-year-old granddaughter. Rose petals she gathered from the yard. Paper in beautiful colors cut to make a pretty scene with sky, sun, and a flower. Long time spent creating at the scrapbook table. "I made this for you to show you how much I love you!" Eyes are still tearing up over that one.

Blessed by the whole family and a special family friend around the table. So many people have lost loved ones this year. Some loved ones have left by choice, some passed from this world, some are sick and in the hospital. But for this year, I had all of my family sitting near me. I thank the Lord for this overwhelming blessing, and pray that I will continue to thank Him, even if next year this would change.

Abundant food on the table. A massive turkey, stuffing, potatoes of various colors, vegetables, bread, cranberry sauce, wine of various colors, coffee, cheesecake brulee for the family who doesn't like pumpkin of any color. (Strange folks are we!) So many people in the world are wondering if they will be able to feed their families today. We had more than we could eat, and leftovers for weeks to come.

Funny thought of the day: While preparing the turkey, I asked dear husband, "Whose idea was this anyway? Let's stick some bread up a turkey's rear end, roast it, and see how it tastes!"

Thanks to God for a dear man who follows me around the kitchen, cleaning up after me, and sometimes (even after all these years) flirting with me. YUM!

A beautiful view out the kitchen door. Maybe Texas doesn't get the fall colors of the Northeast, but in my little world yesterday, it was gorgeous. Picture above doesn't begin to do justice to my little Chinese Pistachio tree.

It's been my favorite holiday for many years. Still is!

I will praise God's name in song and glorify Him with thanksgiving.
Psalm 69:30

The Equalizer

I'm a sucker for detective shows. Mystery shows. Spy shows. Cop shows. It probably started when I was about 9 years old. I read every Nancy Drew mystery in print. Then all the Hardy Boys. Graduated to Agatha Christie. Read every one. I still like to read the books, but now there are the TV shows. Good ones, bad ones, corny ones. Doesn't matter. If there's a mystery to be solved, I'm there, buddy.

So I'm watching a new HD version of an old Equalizer episode. That guy's good. He knows about stuff ordinary people don't know exist. And he's so calm. And classy. And that car! Ohmygoodness!

That's when the STUPID THOUGHT hit me. "If I'm ever in trouble- someone's threatening my family or me- THAT'S the guy I want helping me." It took my little pea brain a few minutes, but reality finally got through. I already have the TRUE EQUALIZER helping me. WOW! He knows EVERYTHING. He will NEVER make a mistake. He will NEVER underestimate the enemy.

So maybe nobody is trying to blackmail me, or threatening to kidnap my grandkids, or coming after me for protection money. But the dangers are out there. They threaten me and my family every day. And HE is watching. HE is protecting. Every second of every day.

I like MY Equalizer way better than that cool guy on TV!


Psalm 33:20

We wait in hope for the LORD;
HE is our help and our shield.