Thankfulness Journal - October 29

A busy weekend--and a lot of thankfulness to catch up on! I am thankful that I was available on Thursday night when I got a call from Tiffany that she was on her way to the ER with Quinn who had fallen down the steps and broken his arm. Brent was on his way home from Hagerstown so she needed someone to meet her and pick up the other kids so they weren't hanging out at the hospital. I am thankful that Ryan was also home because Bill was out with the Suburban and I couldn't fit all three kids in my back seat. Ryan followed me and brought Caitlin home while I brought Grant and Jacob. I am also thankful that I had been past Harford Memorial the week before and knew where it was; otherwise, it might have been difficult for us to find it in the dark.

I am thankful that I have a job that allows me the flexibility to be able to stay home on Friday so Caitlin, Grant and Jacob could spend the night rather than Brent and Tiffany having to pick them up after midnight. Another evidence of God's perfect timing was that Dad's caregiver, Deneen, came on Friday morning to find that I was still home. Her baby had had her up half the night with a cold and she was very happy to be able to go home and back to bed!

Of course, we are all thankful for God's protection over little Quinn and the easing of his pain.

I am thankful for the three days of rain that replenished the earth. And how beautiful was the sunshine when it stopped! The weather was so beautiful on Sunday that we were able to take Dad out for a drive and, although the trees hadn't really done much changing in our area, it was still a nice drive and he enjoyed getting out and enjoying the sunshine.

It was an unusually calm Monday at school which was wonderful. We had the opportunity to meet our new senior, an exchange student from China. His host family is a home schooling family who was familiar with the school because their 14 year old son takes Bill's biology class. He is a very bright young man, with an engaging smile. He will be taking the SAT's for the first time on Saturday and is nervous about the vocabulary, but plans to apply to MIT for next year. Of course, Kim Lindner was very interested to meet and talk with him. And all the seniors are excited about having him join the class. What a wonderful opportunity all around!

God is so good!

Thankfulness Journal - Day 7 & 8

Wednesday - Day 7

Believe it or not I was up at 5:30 on my day off. I can't believe I was able to do that but so thankful. I knew if I didn't get up and get to the gym it wouldn't happen that day and I knew I would be sorry if I didn't. So I was at the gym by 6:00 a.m. and worked out until 7:15, came home and ate breakfast and had devotions on the back porch (puppy yard time again!). I was treated to the most beautiful sky. Because storm clouds were rolling in, the sky was a beautiful gray-blue. I can't describe the color, it was not anything I had seen before. But I would have loved to take a piece of it to Home Depot and gotten a paint in that color, but I think it was a color only God could make.

Left the house at about 7:45 to drop Oliver off for grooming--his first hair cut! I got home before Popdaddy was up and read my Bible before making breakfast for him--and I ate again. I guess all the early working out made me hungry! But it was a good fellowship time. I got caught up on laundry (although I am sad to say it is still sitting unfolded in a laundry basket!).

And then the best joy of my day--I got to help home school Caitlin and Grant. I had offered to give her a day so that she could spend one on one time with each one of her kids. And Jacob got to be first. We had lunch together. Popdaddy turned on cartoons for the kids (he always wants to turn the TV to something the kids would like when they are over) and they enjoyed watching Diego while we ate grilled cheese sandwiches. Then I got to hear Grant read and practice the guitar while Caitlin rewrote an essay in cursive. The real fun was sitting around the dining room table while they made apple pomanders and I read to them from the Light and the Glory and then from their science book about Manatees (and I got to tell them about seeing some when we were in Florida a few years ago). We had just finished that when Tiff came to pick them up. What a joy!

Another blessing of the day was that Ryan and Shawn both were home for supper at the same time and we all five sat in the dining room and had smorgasbord (my name for eating the leftovers in the fridge!) Bill and I then left for Bible Study and Popdaddy had a visit with Pat, the Hospice volunteer who comes to visit with him every other Wednesday. It was a good study although by this time I was running out of steam and had trouble stifling yawns.

What a full day of blessings!

Thursday - Day 8

Today I am grateful for:

• Being able to move after the workout I had yesterday (although I could feel just about every muscle)
• Rain--we need it so badly
• Sweet people to work with and get me through a trying day of hard-to-get along with high schoolers (a story that doesn't need to be told here!) and a grumpy husband who was having his own struggles with hard-to-get along with people (another story not to be shared here)
• A surprise from my secret pal at school--a beautiful tea cup and my favorite flavors of teas and a box of low fat cookies that were really yummy.
• Energy to get through the day when I would really rather be curled up at home with a good book listening to the rain and napping a bit
  

Thankfulness Journal - Day 6

This morning I started my day by eating breakfast on the back porch while I let Oliver have a little yard time before I went to work. I was treated by a beautiful sunrise that I would have probably missed in my busyness to get ready for work--had it not been for a puppy who isn't quite housebroken yet! So I guess I am thankful for a weak bladder today! But I am thankful for a calm day enabling me to not only accomplish a lot of tasks at church but have time for some chit chat, both phone and in the office. The third grade teacher, Jolene Muckerman and I both share a love for cups of tea and she almost always comes in at least once a day to fix us each a cup. Today she had a little time to sit and chat while we sipped and, of course, since it is a school and she is a teacher our conversation went to students. That led me to reminisce about my own elementary school days, a mediocre time in my life to say the least. I remembered that I didn't test well, I guess just getting nervous and freezing up. But I apparently did well on standardized tests they gave every year. I still remember being relieved when the teacher would stand in front of the class, explaining the test and that it wouldn't count and just do your best. Apparently with the pressure of it "counting" off, I could relax and just show what I actually knew. But when my mother would have a conference with the teacher, she would explain to my mom that I wasn't "working up to my potential". I guess because my performance didn't match my test scores. My mother would then come home and admonish me to try harder and work up to my potential. I had no idea what that meant and thought I was working as hard as I could--it was a vicious cycle! I didn't hit my stride until college when I finally starting excelling in my studies--I guess because it was something I wanted to learn and I had a goal in sight. The other memory I had today was another time my mother had a conference with my 2nd grade teacher. The teacher informed my mom that I was a good reader, but had trouble "reading between the lines". So my mother dutifully came home and repeated this to me. I got out my reading book and closely examined the pages but never could find anything but blank space between the lines of print!

Today I am thankful for:

• God creating beautiful sunrises just to give us joy
• friends to laugh with
• friends to work with
• a dad that is a joy to be with
• a caring person to take care of Dad when I can't (he is getting so forgetful that he doesn't remember taking his meds only minutes after taking them--we have to really closely monitor that and have removed his meds from his room so that he doesn't accidently take the wrong medication (which he did several days ago). Deneen seems just as concerned and diligent about this as we are and I am especially thankful for that
• that Dad was finally able to see the farmer across the street harvest his soybeans last night. We missed it last year and Dad has been looking every day to see when he would come with his machine to do it. We had a joyful time just sitting on the front porch watching the farmer work his way back and forth through the field--it was amazing actually! Simple joys are so often the best.
  

Thankfulness Journal - Day 4 & 5

I am thankful for:

Sunday:

• the privilege to worship God without fear
• a Bible believing church teaching the truth
  
• time to rest and meditate and reflect
• friends that listen, admonish with love--what a special blessing

Monday:

• the pleasure of early morning and renewed energy
• time at the gym
• time with the Lord, seeking His strength and wisdom through prayer and reading His Word
• meaningful work
• calm day
• time with Dad on the porch, simple joy of watching the farmer harvest his soybeans

Thankfulness Journal - Day 3

Today I am thankful for:

• a beautiful fall day
  
• sleeping a little late
  
• having time to finally do a little housework--the kitchen floor is clean for the first time in a month and I found a shoe I have been looking for--buried in a pile of clothes that needed to be hung back in the closet
• time with my hubby--we went to the Home & Garden Show--and Bill didn't have to do a display there, finally we get to do Saturday things like "normal" people do!
• celebrating Cait and Jake's birthdays with a party at Brent & Tiffany's home
• being happy, a wonderful feeling
  

Popdaddy Memory

We had a relaxing breakfast with Popdaddy and Shawn--which was a treat as he has such a busy schedule that meals with him are a rarity. Popdaddy had a remembrance of when my grandfather lived with them for a bit. My grandfather was a dear man and I loved him but he was a bit of a curmugeon. I think I loved him because he didn't fuss over me but we could just "be", not chattering or interacting a lot just be in the same room quiet and about our own business. My grandmother was a sweety-but she fussed, kissing all over my face and then fussing that I didn't eat enough to keep a bird alive. My grandfather didn't say much but I can remember him doing little things for me. Like the day he walked to the corner store, Hazelback's and brought me back a pack of Dentyne. He just walked up to me while I was playing on the floor and said, "Girl, you like gum?" I said yes and he just handed it to me. I actually hated Dentyne but I knew it was something special he had done for me so I thanked him and didn't chew it.

I gave that background so you would understand my Dad's story. My Dad had his favorite chair where he sat and read the paper every evening. However, when my grandfather moved in, he took over and that became his chair. Dad said he (Granddad) also claimed first right to the paper, which had always been my Dad's routine. Dad said he would have to sneak out the back door and walk around to the front to get the paper and then find a hiding place to read it if he wanted it first. But the funny story Dad told this morning was about one time our neighbor, Mrs. Brouse was visiting. My granddad was in the bathroom when she arrived and she inadvertently sat in "his" chair. When he came out of the bathroom, he hobbled with his cane over to the chair where she was sitting and just stood there. She looked up and said, "Oh Mr. Whitten, am I sitting in your chair?" He gruffly replied, "You are." And she had to get up and move so that he could sit down.

What special times we miss when we think elderly people are a bother and of no further use. They add so much to our lives, even if it is just to slow our busy lives down to listen. It is a blessing.

Thankfulness Journal - Day 2

What a difference a day makes! Today I am thankful for some time of relaxation. I was able to get up early enough (despite having a hard time getting to sleep the night before--very wired, I guess) to get to the gym for a short workout and a shower, quick stop at the coffee shop across the street for a muffin and tea to go and found Par Excellence in Havre de Grace with no trouble, even getting there 10 minutes before my 9:00 a.m. appointment. What a treat! It is a restored Victorian home, very cozy and I had a wonderful massage. I then treated myself to a browse through a couple of Antique stores in Havre de Grace (and even found a Christmas gift), then some shopping in Kohl's where the Lord led me to a fabulous sale on a much needed outfit to wear to work. I am thankful also for some wonderful hours with Caitlin. We had a very grown-up lunch at Panera Bread and then stopped off at Cold Stone Creamery for an ice cream treat before heading to my house with her. We both were in the mood to bake cookies and so we made a batch of Snickerdoodles and discussed the merits of using an electric mixer versus hand mixing the batter. (She favors the electric mixer because it is easier to mix the batter and I prefer to wash one large spoon rather than having to get out another appliance, wash the beaters and put it all away again--we are both lazy in our own personal way.) Then we got about half-way through a DVD of Swan Lake before her family came to retrieve her.

I am thankful that the Lord never gives us more than we can handle and that His mercy is new every morning! (And that my husband doesn't mind going out for pizza even when I have had a day off work!)

I am still waiting to hear someone else's gratefulness stories--I know you have them!

Thankfulness Journal

I was convicted by something I read in my daily devotions last week to begin a daily journal on my blog of something I was grateful about from each day. I committed to do this every day until Thanksgiving. I forgot about that promise until this morning during my quiet time and renewed the commitment to start doing that at the end of today. To be perfectly honest, this day was perfectly chaotic and it seemed nothing that I did went right. It got to be almost funny--but not quite. By the end of the day I actually was sitting at my desk in tears. Most of the mishaps were technology related--to getting to work and finding that a setting on my computer had been changed and I could not send anything to the computer. I had the bulletin and the directory to get out so I decided to print one copy at my desk printer and then take it to the copier to print in quanity. That was when I found out that my printer was out of ink and I had no replacement cartridge. A little help from my friend, Shari, and that problem was righted. But it just snowballed from there, ending with Belair Road being closed from Mountain Road to Sunshine because of a very bad accident causing utility work to be done. This meant that parents both to Bill's afternoon chemistry class and later OBCA parents either could not get to the school or were late because of detours. This was from 12:00 until 4:00. It continued into the evening. I am doing a project for Bill, making photo mugs for each of the teachers to be given as gifts at our Retreat in two weeks. I only needs to enter a few more pictures which I had taken today and one picture that Heather had taken and was on her memory stick. All went well until I inserted Heather's memory stick into my computer. It just wasn't cooperating, a box kept coming up telling me that the door wasn't closed properly (?!--whatever that means). I removed and reinserted the memory stick several times and was getting very frustrated when Ryan came into the room. He said, "Let's take it out and try again." Fine, Ryan you try it. The memory stick was stuck in the computer! Ahhhhhhh! Ryan finally got it out by grabbing with pliers and pulling. However, now the memory stick has a dent in the corner that was in the computer and seems ruined. Shawn thinks I should take it to a camera store to see if they can retrieve the photos (a lot of them--there were over 100 pictures on there).

Well, all that said, I really don't feel very thankful! My first reaction is to write that I am thankful this day is almost over! However, as an act of my will I am going to be thankful--or try! Here goes:

I am thankful that God gives the grace to endure anything He brings into my day. And that I can trust Him that He is in control at all times and He doesn't allow anything into my life that is not part of His plan--for my good and His glory. I am also grateful that I had already decided to take tomorrow off as a mental health day. Popdaddy will still have his caregiver like I was going to work but instead I plan to head to the gym early and then have a 9:00 appointment for an hour massage. (Ryan gave me a gift certificate for this at Christmas and I have had trouble fitting that into my schedule!) Then I am taking Caitlin out to lunch for her birthday and some girl time. God's timing is so perfect. He knew just the day I would need that. He truly is a good and gracious God and He doesn't waste any experience.

Okay I really do feel better! I challenge all my other bloggers to join me in daily blogging a thankful page.

Tribute to My Crock Pot

For those of you who are readers of Tara's blog--this is my rebuttal to that scandalous attack on Crock-Pot beauty. Above is my beautiful well-loved Crock-Pot. Tell me-who would want to erase all those years of memories from its face? The Sauerbraten sauce dripped down the side as it was lovingly served to a sweet family at Christmas. Sweet potato casserole splashes from Thanksgiving. Even hot dog juice served to hungry grandchildren. And many other favorites--and you want to just wipe that away. I tear up as I read this. For shame! Bartender's Friend indeed!

Trip to North Carolina, Part 2

The kids all love playing out on their street, riding their bikes. It is a fairly quiet street and right across from their house is a small court. They all love riding their bikes up and around that court and then zooming down to the street. We could sit right inside their attached garage in the shade and still have a good view of the kids. They were really good about responding quickly when one of us would call out "Car!" and pull over to the side to wait for it to pass. The weather was very hot and sticky and I think the adults would have preferred to be inside in the AC but it didn't seem to bother the kids--they loved being outside. This is Alex zooming up on his bike.

One of the Trautman family favorite games is Risk and Carl has taught his boys to play. On Friday night after the boys were ready for bed they pulled out the game and played one round (which probably took 45 minutes). More NiNi's speed was Go Fish and Matching which she played with both Nathan and Esther. I found out that 4 year old minds work much better than 57 year old ones--she could see a card in Matching and remember where it was every time!

I can't believe how much these kids like to color. Kimberly and Carl gave Nathan several big coloring books for his birthday and the kids all spent much of their indoor time coloring pictures of dinosaurs. Of course, Esther's dinosaurs usually were purple with pink nails. When my boys were little coloring was not their favorite past-time. In fact, when Shawn was in first grade (at home) it seemed every workbook page had a picture to color and I remember him looking at me and saying, "Mom, do I have to color another picture?" They all liked drawing pictures but coloring was not fun for them. Here Alex and William are at the table coloring and visiting with Dad Dad. But they also would spread out on the floor to color.

Okay, just had to include a picture of Nathan with his cool Spiderman balloon and his lemon bundt cake. Sadly, the outer balloon had popped before we left, leaving only Spiderman. Actually, I think they were anxious to get Spiderman out to play with him.

Here we are in Chili's on Saturday night. Dad Dad and Ni Ni love to have a chance to snuggle with little Samuel.

Trip to North Carolina

Here is the star of the story! Isn't he gorgeous?
We left early Friday morning (4:30 a.m.) so that we could arrive with Carl's family by lunchtime. They left that morning to go pick the kids up from her parents who had been taking care of them. We met at a Chick-Fil-A near their home and had lunch together before heading back to their house (after a trip to BJ's to purchase a gift for Nathan). Then we spent the day playing with the kids, holding the baby and hearing Nathan say about a thousand times, "It's my birthday tomorrow!" It was so funny to watch the kids with their new little brother. They couldn't keep their hands off of him. Daniel especially was funny--just wanting to get in Samuel's face, pat his head and grin.

We started Saturday by taking Nathan out for breakfast--just he, NiNi and Dad-Dad. He chose IHOP and was so excited that he actually got up and got dressed before we were up. This is very unusual for Nathan who typically can't be dragged from bed. He chose the restaurant and announced to everyone he passed that it was his birthday and he was six today. He would put his hand out to show how many fingers represented his age and then would hesitate realizing he had to add a finger from the other hand now! We found that IHOP gives very generous portions and that we had overordered and asked for a box. Nathan had pretty much consumed his meal but insisted on adding his two bites of egg and three bites of pancake to the box with Dad-Dad and NiNi's!

Then it was back to the house to bake Nathan's birthday cake (a tradition with NiNi). Nathan had chosen lemon cake with lemon icing (not sure why he chose that but it was very tasty). Of course most of the fun in baking is getting to lick the bowl which he did with relish. Of course while we were in the grocery store there were balloons on display and when Nathan saw the Spiderman one he begged for it. Happily for him NiNi is a soft touch so we went home with a really cool Spiderman balloon--actually a double balloon, a spiderman inside a clear round balloon spider web. It really was cool--even at that price.
That afternoon we went to the Garner firefighter parade a little fair. Here is a picture of Esther in the bouncy tent. This is just before the bouncy slide right next to us fell over, trapping me between the two attractions. I turned to see Nathan crawling over the plastic towards me. It turns out that he and Alex and several other children were on the top when it went over (because apparently it wasn't being monitored very well). No one was hurt and all Nathan was concerned about was getting back on and finishing his bounce. They later said that it was really cool (tumbling over). Esther was a little traumatized and exited the ride quickly and coming around to me looking pale and a little scared. A few minutes later though she was begging to get on the bouncy slide! We decided this was a good time to have a few hot dogs and collect our wits. Then it was time for the parade--the favorite part of this for the kids was that just about every float had people tossing candy into the crowd. Nathan even got a stuffed cow with a coupon for a free Chick-fil-A sandwich tossed from the Chick-fil-A float.

We enjoyed watching the kids ride their bikes--Nathan just learned to ride without training wheels and was a whiz. We ended the day with dinner at Chili's which was quite an experience with six kids and four adults. We planned to attend church with Carl and the kids in the morning; however, Nathan and Esther both decided to empty their stomachs during the night and we made the decision that it would be better for us all to stay home that morning.

Happily, there were no repeat episodes so we were all able to attend the evening service.

Following the service there was a baptism and William was able to give public testimony of his faith in Christ that night and we were able to witness this. Kimberly's parents also were present for the baptism so it was a special night for William.

Afterwards we all met at Wendy's to celebrate. The end of the weekend was Monday morning. Carl and Bill took Alex and William to McDonald's for breakfast, bringing the rest of us home some. So I had my last visit with Esther and Daniel. Nathan could not be budged from his bed so I had to kiss him good-bye and leave his breakfast on the table. A last snuggle with Samuel and we were off by 10:00 a.m.

We made it home before 5:00 p.m. and were able to have dinner with Dad. We had taken Oliver with us because the kids were anxious to meet him. He made the trip well although on the way down he was very nervous when we made pit stops. The traffic whizzing by was a new phenomenon for him. But when he met the kids he was a happy little fellow. Daniel wanted to play with him and learned that he liked to play with a little stuffed dog we had brought. This is how they played all weekend--Daniel running around with the stuffed dog and Oliver holding on for dear life.

Ballpark Restaurant with Popdaddy

I forgot to add this to earlier post. The waitress took this picture after we finished our meal.

Popdaddy Outing!

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We were not going to be home on Popdaddy's actual birthday so we chose the Tuesday night before his birthday to celebrate with him. That worked because all four of us would actually have our schedule free that evening! Bill wanted to take him out to dinner in a restaurant but Popdaddy seemed a little nervous about it. However, he mentioned to me that he would really like to see Eric and Tara's home. So we loaded him into his wheelchair, switched him to an oxygen tank and wheeled him, his oxygen (plus an extra tank just in case) out to our Suburban. It was a little tricky getting him up in the front seat but he's surprisingly still pretty strong and with a little help from Bill and Shawn made it up. We drove to Eric and Tara's and pulled up their drive to find the whole family in the front yard waiting to welcome Popdaddy. Bill got out and let Eric drive the Suburban across their front yard to get close to the chicken coop. The boys all gathered a chicken and brought them so that Popdaddy could see them up close and personal. He enjoyed see all the chickens and the boys were very entertaining, showing us all how they calm the chickens by holding them upside-down by the legs (Mason's trick) or just walking around with them. Then Eric drove him over to see the bee hives and they sat and chatted about bees and honey for a while. By the time we left Popdaddy seemed excited about going to a restaurant. We think once he got out it didn't seem so scary. Eric suggested a restaurant near their house. It was a small restaurant called Ballpark Restaurant. Apparently, there once was a ballpark behind where the restaurant sits and Cal Ripkin, Sr. played there. It was very busy so we opted to have him walk in rather than travel via wheelchair. We sat at a big round table with old baseball cards laminated into the surface. Covering the walls were old pictures of ballplayers. The people in the restaurant and the waitresses were friendly and he enjoyed joking with ours. He enjoyed the food and the fellowship and it really seemed to perk him up. We were surprised at how little it tired him out. We did transport him outside to the car in his wheelchair but he walked into the house with his walker, with just a small amount of difficulty getting up the back steps. He didn't even seem that out of breath when he got back to his chair. He just made it on one tank of oxygen but was completely out by the time we got back. The next day he thanked us for taking him out and said it was a wonderful evening. It was a memorable evening for all of us.