How many of you read that title and immediately thought of the Little House book with the same title? As a child I loved Laura Ingalls Wilder's books and I still do. I read them out loud to my children when they were small and even today, I sometimes pick up one of them and reread it.
This Winter was not like the Winter that Laura and her family lived through in her book. We basically had no snow and the temperatures were almost always above normal. However, it still felt long and I had a hard time motivating myself to do anything, including writing on this blog. I usually enjoy the stretch between January and March when life slows down and long evenings at home can be enjoyed without the thought of outside work that is calling me. This year was different. I know it was partly because of external things that happened beyond our control and the uncertainty that surrounded us, but from past experience, I also know that it is normal to go through patches of Winter in this journey of life. The good news is that Spring always follows Winter, and we are getting closer each day!
It didn't feel like I had much to write about, so I guess that is why this blog was silent for so long. We certainly also had times of fun and relaxation during this long Winter. Wednesday evening suppers are always a highlight when the children (and grandson) that live close by join us for supper. It is often well into the evening before the talk and laughter around the table subsides and they depart again for their own homes. In February we had a delightful weekend with Alexis and Lydia when they stayed with us while Jay and Kristen enjoyed a weekend away at a cabin (Mark and Hannah stayed with Kristen's parents).
Here are some pictures that I snapped over the past couple of weeks.
Praying before their meal.
Something about Kit is funny
Setting up the store
Footwear for sale
Open for business
Lydia and Kit and Samantha enjoying a snack on the swing
Notice the pan in Lydia's hand so she can carry her treasures
Samantha all ready for the Valentine's Banquet
Mom spent a Saturday with us. She really enjoyed the puzzle.
Julissa and Megan and Grandma puzzling together
Last piece!
One warm Wednesday Awstin and I hung up the hammock. He missed swinging in it over the Winter.
That last picture of Awstin in the hammock reminds me that the long Winter is almost over....Hallelujah....Springs a coming!
One thing we can certainly never change is the passing of time. Each new year always brings along with it a birthday in the month that you were born and just like that you are a year older. We always start out with a bang in the month of January. Shawn celebrates his birthday on the 13th, Steve a week later on the 20th, and Josh one week and one day later on the 28th.
Of course there is not as much celebrating in our household as their once was in January. I no longer feel it necessary to throw a party and have a cake for Shawn and Josh as they now have their own families. And with Steve's we usually keep it pretty low key. I just decided to make a good birthday meal for him and a special dessert. However, I didn't take into account the grandchildren.
The three boys decided to take Steve out for a birthday breakfast (Megan couldn't join them because she and Jeremy were still on their cruise). The evening before, when Jay was putting his children to bed, he told them that he wouldn't be there in the morning when they woke up because he was going out for breakfast with his brothers and Grandpa to celebrate Grandpa's birthday. Apparently, Alexis, Lydia, and Mark were extremely upset about not being able to go along. They wanted to be at Grandpa's birthday party! Finally, to appease them, Jay and Kristen told them that they would take them to Grandpa and Grandma's house over the weekend so they could help Grandpa celebrate his birthday. So, last evening, they brought a meal and a cake (Kristen insisted that she would bring everything) and we had a birthday party for Steve.
The grandchildren came running in with energy and smiles and cards for Grandpa. The house comes alive when they arrive. I believe if the walls could talk you would hear them say, "Oh good. We will be highly entertained for the next several hours!" We had a wonderful evening together celebrating Steve's birthday, eating, playing games and watching "Babe." After all the coats were put on, the pockets stuffed with gummies, and the last shouts of "good-bye" faded, Steve and I looked at each other and said "that was fun." (I think the walls agreed.)
Well, we did our best to take the annual family Christmas photo but it didn't turn out so well. Megan had trouble getting the timer set on the camera and the grandkids were out of patience. We quickly asked Steve's mom to take it and she did the best she could, but the kids were jumping around and the ones she took got pretty blurry. We salvaged this one but unfortunately you can hardly see Hannah. She is just peeking out behind Jeremy. Oh well, there is always next year.
Shawn, Melissa and Awstin came decked out in their footie pajamas and were very pleased with themselves for their choice of attire. Awstin's jammies of course had Thomas the Tank Engine on the front.
We had our traditional meal of lasagna, salad, bread sticks and Christmas birthday cake for Jesus. We ate our meal in Megan and Jeremy's basement and then returned to our house for gifts and the rest of the evening. After the meal, besides the family picture, we took a few others.
Five of my favorite little people. Don't you love Lydia and Mark's faces? They were so happy to have their picture taken!
Steve's Mom with all of our children and grandchildren
We were so glad Mom could join us!
Opening gifts is always a lot of fun. This year there were several big boxes with lots of extra paper in them and the grandkids had fun with the paper and the boxes.
Here are a few pictures of the rest of our evening.
Steve made gingerbread houses with the grandkids.
Hannah enjoyed making her house.
Alexis' finished house
Who do you think created this masterpiece?
Yup! It was Melissa. That's an amazing combine!
Shawn reading to Awstin and Lydia
Playing Ticket to Ride.
That's it for Christmas 2016 at the Lehmans. I'll leave you with this duet of "The Twelve Days of Christmas that Julissa and Megan played for our Sunday morning service. Enjoy!
Today Hannah is 2 years old! I decided not to have a one on one day and overnight with her as I did with the other grandchildren although I am sure I would have enjoyed it tremendously. You can't be around her for very long without breaking into a smile. Her sunny disposition and downright cuteness can turn any bad day into a good day. However, I think I will wait until she is a little older so she can understand and look forward to a special time of her own at Grandpa and Grandma's house.
We celebrated with a party earlier this month. Her birthday will always be on the first day of Winter so I love the choice of a snowflake cake for her.
Her older siblings were more excited than she was about her party and at first she was a little bashful as it to say, "what's all the fuss about,"
but when Kristen showed her the cake she beamed a happy smile. It was hard to get a good picture of her because she covered her mouth with her hands but you can see by her eyes she is smiling.
And she loved blowing out the candles!
I sure am happy to have this little girl in our lives. Happy birthday sweet Hannah!
As I have been working with the Pantry the past several months, my eyes have been opened to how desperate some situations are and how a little act of kindness can be the difference between someone having food or going hungry.
Teresa* had filled out an application to receive help from the Pantry. On Tuesday, Sherri* and I met with her to interview her. Teresa explained that she and her boyfriend and her 30-year old son live together and their situation is dire. She has had numerous back operations and is unable to work. She receives a small disability check that barely covers the rent and $100.00 a month in food stamps. Her boyfriend and son work part-time for a company catching chickens but the little money that they bring in doesn't go far either. They often go hungry. Her son had received a free turkey but she had no way to make it because her oven needed a new element and her landlord told her it was her problem to fix it. Teresa wondered if maybe the Pantry could give her a bag of charcoal so she could try grilling it. She so desperately wanted to make a Thanksgiving meal but she just didn't know how she was going to do it. We asked her if she had other food in the house and she said she had potatoes and vegetables but no milk or butter but she would manage without that and would just use water instead of milk for mashed potatoes. If she could just figure out how to get the turkey cooked, she was sure she could put a decent meal on the table.
Sherri and I looked at each other and we were both trying to think what we could do to help her. Suddenly I remembered that I had a roaster oven that I had never used. It had been my mother-in-law's and I had gotten it this spring when their household goods were disbursed. I had put it upstairs and kind of forgotten about it. Now that I thought about it, it would have been nice to use for my own turkey but I quickly told myself that I hadn't used one in my life before and another year without one wouldn't make a difference to me. I offered to let her borrow the oven. Her eyes filled with tears and she gave me a big hug. "You are such an answer to prayer," she said. I left her and Sherri to go to my house to get it and bring it back for her. I decided that I would also buy her some milk and butter but when I got back Sherri had already taken that into her own hands and purchased it for her.
I put the roaster oven into the front seat of her rickety car and told her she could bring it back after Thanksgiving. "I can't thank you enough," she said. "I can taste the turkey already and it will make the house smell so good. I was so afraid we wouldn't be able to have a real Thanksgiving meal but you have made it possible."
I was sitting at home a little later and my phone rang. It was Teresa. "I just wanted to thank you again for loaning me your roaster oven," she said. "You have no idea how much this means to me. I promise you, I will handle it with the utmost care and return it on Friday." I thanked her for calling and wished her a Happy Thanksgiving.
Later as I pondered this, I kept thinking how something that seemed so simple and was so easy for me to do meant volumes to her. If my oven wasn't working I would probably view it as a minor inconvenience until I got it fixed. For her it was an insurmountable problem. I have problems in my life that at times seem insurmountable. Maybe to God, they aren't problems at all, just things that in His time and in His way He can easily fix.
Finally, the day arrived for Mark to have his special day at Grandpa and Grandma's. Mark's birthday was actually the end of October and we had planned to have him over then but he got sick so we had to postpone it. He had been patiently (well maybe not so patiently) waiting for this all year so it was a happy and excited boy that I picked up on Friday morning.
We couldn't have asked for a nicer day. The weather was perfect and in the afternoon we spent quite a bit of time in the park. We took Thomas along and Mark had a great time trying to get Thomas to plow through the leaves that he put on his track. Here's one of his first attempts.
Here is a more successful attempt
Before bed, I was searching for a snack for him. Unfortunately, I didn't have what he really wanted which was iced animal crackers. For each thing that I offered him he said no. I opened up the refrigerator and as a joke said, "well, I guess you can have cottage cheese." To my amazement he said "yes, I want that!" I couldn't believe it. He sat down and happily ate a bowlful of it. I guarantee you, his father would have never done that! Kristen later told me that all of her children like it.
Yum! Yum!
The next morning we headed for the Choo-Choo Barn. Steve was able to go along with us so that was really nice. Mark loved it. There was so much to see and his eyes were taking it all in. He would constantly point to something and say "look at that!"
The view was so much better on Grandpa's shoulders!
Posing for me.
Of course he had to take a ride on Thomas
After the Choo-Choo Barn we went to CiCi's where we enjoyed a wonderful pizza lunch.
His special request was ham and pineapple
I told them to smile for the camera. Silly boys!
After lunch we met Kristen in the parking lot and so ended our time with Mark. We sure had fun with him and I'm pretty sure he had fun too. He is a delightful little guy and it was nice to be able to spend one-on-one time with him.
Here are a few pictures from his birthday party which we celebrated earlier in October.
A Thomas cake! Another wonderful creation by Kristen.
Eating the smokestack (marshmallow)
Happy birthday song and blowing out the candles
I know I say it all the time, but I sure am thankful for grandchildren!
We've added a new member to our family! His name is Sparten and he belongs to Josh & Julissa so I guess that makes him our granddog. He is a yellow lab and reminds all of us so much of Chip that he was easy to fall in love with. If you don't know who Chip was, you can read about him here and here.
Josh & Julissa (especially Julissa) have been wanting a dog but thought it was best to wait until they moved to their new house. Now that they are all settled in, they figured the time was right. They brought Sparten home about two weeks ago and we have all been getting to know him. He is in that adorable puppy stage and is cuteness through and through.
When I say that we all fell in love with him, that is not quite true. Josh and Julissa were anxious for their nieces and nephews to meet him and while the nieces adore him (well maybe not Hannah but she was pretty brave about him) the nephews are not so sure about Sparten. I took Awstin to meet him the first Wednesday that they had him and he didn't even want to get out of the car. When I finally did persuade him to exit the car, he refused to go into the garage where Sparten was and when Julissa picked him up to bring him closer, Awstin ran away. Mark was not much better when he was introduced to him and cried whenever Sparten got too close to him.
Jay & Kristen's children met Sparten for the first time on Saturday. I was keeping them while Jay & Kristen went to a wedding and I invited Awstin to join us too. Jay wanted his children to meet Sparten, so Josh (Julissa was working) brought him along with him while he worked in the shop for a couple hours. Sparten was thrilled to have little children to play with and couldn't contain his excitement over his new playmates. He ran circles around them and his little tail wagged happily. Alexis & Lydia had a wonderful time with him. The boys eyed him warily and preferred to stay on their tricycles where they felt a little safer. Sparten thought the trikes looked like great fun and would run after them which upset the boys. Hannah did pretty good with him, but when Sparten knocked her over in his exuberance she wasn't too pleased. However, she wasn't really scared of him just a little uncertain. Eventually, Sparten left the tricycles alone and the boys got a little bolder around him. Julissa wanted some pictures and video of the children and Sparten playing together so I did my best. Here is my documentation of the children and dog playdate.
The girls loved him...
...although Hannah wasn't too pleased when Sparten tried to lick her face.
Peek-a-boo
Sitting on Josh's lap taking a breather.
Excited puppy.
"Hey! He licked me!"
Sparten steals the chocolate chip cookie container.
Just playing around
Fetch!
It feels good to have a dog in the family again. Obviously, he is not my dog and doesn't live here so it won't be like when Chip lived with us, but I'm sure that I will see him often and he is always welcome. I have the feeling that Mark and Awstin will learn to like him too.
