Remember this post about my grandma and all the wonderful names she had? On September 3rd, she was given another name, Good and Faithful Servant.
Grandma took her last breath, with her daughters by her side. She meant so much to so many.
Even without a high school diploma (a fact that bothered her most of her life), she was a very wise and smart woman. Many times she talked with someone wrestling with an issue and helped them see it from the other side of the coin. Just talking with her eased the wrestling.
Grandma could have given any chef or cook a run for their money in the kitchen. Her bread and cinnamon rolls are legendary. Every time I make bread I wonder if it will be as good as hers. It never is. When asked for her recipe, she answered, "A pinch of this," or "a handful of that" with instructions to knead it and add flour until it feels right. I dream to cook and bake like she did.
I learned more from her than baking and cooking. I learned about family, loyalty, friendship, and generosity.
At her funeral, I learned things about Grandma I had never known before. Each lesson and advice given with glowing love and humility.
Grandma, you will be missed by a whole community, your church, and mostly your family. I know you are now at peace and I hope our loving Savior showed you where the stash of chocolate is.
Martha Virginia Liston
February 10, 1922 - September 3, 2013
To read more about this wonderful lady, click here to go to www.thewrightstuffforus.blogspot.com And here to go to www.neveradullmoment.blogspot.com. They say it much better than I ever could.
Friday, September 13, 2013
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Missed picture
I can't believe I don't have a picture of it. Such a big moment in my boy's life and I didn't capture it "on film", so to speak.
I didn't have my camera because the day was a usual day. Nothing out of the ordinary to warn me this event would be happening. The usual activities.
Even if I had the camera with me, I would have missed it anyway. It happened so fast. The normal became extraordinary in the blink of an eye.
Even if I had the camera in my hand, I would have missed it anyway. I was so caught up in the moment, I wouldn't have remembered to take the picture.
Even if I had the camera in my hand and snapped the picture I was cheering, moving, and trying not to cry. The picture would have been blurry anyway.
It was a mid-season 9-10 year-old baseball game. My guy had already been up to bat twice, and struck out twice. It was the middle of the game. Our team was winning, so there was no pressure.
My young man told me he was feeling great about the day, the game -in spite of the strike outs. Now it was the bottom half of the fifth inning. My player is the lead off hitter for his team. As the first pitch leaves the pitcher's hand, I can see it is going to be near the strike zone. Which is not always the case when a 9 or 10 year-old is throwing the ball.
I see the bat move and hear the sweet ping as the ball meets the metal bat. My guy takes off down the base line as the ball flies into the outfield.
"Go two!" The coach yells as my ball player streaks toward the bag.
"Go THREE!" The coach yells as the runner rounds the base.
Focused on second base, he continues to run full speed. Touching the bag, he glances at the 3rd base coach, who is waving him on. Head down, he never breaks stride. Almost at 3rd base, he looks for direction from the coach, who is still waving him on toward... HOME!
The ball had carried over the left fielder's head and rolled to the fence. As the opposing team ran to get in position to get the ball back to the infield, my boy, my slugger, ran the bases. His first ever home run!
And I have no picture to remember the day. I was yelling and cheering and jumping up and down! So even if I had had the camera and been ready I would have missed the moment anyway.
But the coach did give my boy the game ball.
I didn't have my camera because the day was a usual day. Nothing out of the ordinary to warn me this event would be happening. The usual activities.
Even if I had the camera with me, I would have missed it anyway. It happened so fast. The normal became extraordinary in the blink of an eye.
Even if I had the camera in my hand, I would have missed it anyway. I was so caught up in the moment, I wouldn't have remembered to take the picture.
Even if I had the camera in my hand and snapped the picture I was cheering, moving, and trying not to cry. The picture would have been blurry anyway.
It was a mid-season 9-10 year-old baseball game. My guy had already been up to bat twice, and struck out twice. It was the middle of the game. Our team was winning, so there was no pressure.
My young man told me he was feeling great about the day, the game -in spite of the strike outs. Now it was the bottom half of the fifth inning. My player is the lead off hitter for his team. As the first pitch leaves the pitcher's hand, I can see it is going to be near the strike zone. Which is not always the case when a 9 or 10 year-old is throwing the ball.
I see the bat move and hear the sweet ping as the ball meets the metal bat. My guy takes off down the base line as the ball flies into the outfield.
"Go two!" The coach yells as my ball player streaks toward the bag.
"Go THREE!" The coach yells as the runner rounds the base.
Focused on second base, he continues to run full speed. Touching the bag, he glances at the 3rd base coach, who is waving him on. Head down, he never breaks stride. Almost at 3rd base, he looks for direction from the coach, who is still waving him on toward... HOME!
The ball had carried over the left fielder's head and rolled to the fence. As the opposing team ran to get in position to get the ball back to the infield, my boy, my slugger, ran the bases. His first ever home run!
And I have no picture to remember the day. I was yelling and cheering and jumping up and down! So even if I had had the camera and been ready I would have missed the moment anyway.
But the coach did give my boy the game ball.
Friday, April 19, 2013
Whirlwind
So much has happened since the last post.
We have put our house on the market. We have purchased a new house. We waited 78 days. We closed on the new house. We have had 7 open house Sundays to try to sell the old house. We have had two karate tests. Baseball season has started for both boys. Awana is almost over. I almost forgot to mention, Valentine's Day and Easter were celebrated too!
To say we have been busy is a slight understatement. with all the above going on, we have all our normal activities too! Karate classes, homeschooling, housework, piano lessons, moms' group, church, doctor appointments, and all that life gives us.
I have a confession to make: I'm tired. I would love to get away for a few days, just the four of us and ignore the rest of the world. Disappear and just be us without interruption for a long weekend. Take a few moments to touch base with each other and talk, play games, laugh. Just be a family.
But that would require laundry, packing, reservation hunting, planning, and cleaning the whole house so that if anyone would happen to come by to look at it, it's ready. And that takes more energy than I have right now. So I will just make another cup of hot tea and go swing on the front porch for ten minutes. I have the energy for that.
We have put our house on the market. We have purchased a new house. We waited 78 days. We closed on the new house. We have had 7 open house Sundays to try to sell the old house. We have had two karate tests. Baseball season has started for both boys. Awana is almost over. I almost forgot to mention, Valentine's Day and Easter were celebrated too!
To say we have been busy is a slight understatement. with all the above going on, we have all our normal activities too! Karate classes, homeschooling, housework, piano lessons, moms' group, church, doctor appointments, and all that life gives us.
I have a confession to make: I'm tired. I would love to get away for a few days, just the four of us and ignore the rest of the world. Disappear and just be us without interruption for a long weekend. Take a few moments to touch base with each other and talk, play games, laugh. Just be a family.
But that would require laundry, packing, reservation hunting, planning, and cleaning the whole house so that if anyone would happen to come by to look at it, it's ready. And that takes more energy than I have right now. So I will just make another cup of hot tea and go swing on the front porch for ten minutes. I have the energy for that.
Saturday, February 16, 2013
The Many Names of Granny
This snazzy lady with my two boys goes by many names.
Her 15 great-grandchildren call her "Granny".
Yes, I know there are only 14 right now, but my cousin has another on the way.
The "greats" enjoy PJs and magazines from Granny each Christmas and she enjoys hearing the tales of their sports, lessons, and other activities throughout the year.
She is "Grandma" to her 6 grandchildren. She spoiled us rotten as Grandmothers are entitled to do. Each summer we would spend a week or so at her house "helping" with the garden, riding four-wheelers (or the riding lawnmower if we weren't allowed on the quads), snipping green beans or shelling peas, and eating the home-made apple pie, brown sugar bread, and cinnamon rolls that were so large they almost didn't fit on a saucer!
One summer, Dad and Grandma had a conversation about her famous brown sugar bread. He didn't want me to eat it so much. So they came to a compromise- she would only fix it for me on holidays. My first morning of my week-long stay, I found brown sugar bread awaiting me for breakfast.
"To celebrate you being here." was the answer to my question. OK I could see that.
"Popeye's Birthday." was the answer the next morning. Popeye was my favorite cartoon character, after all.
"National Rain Day"
"National Breakfast Day"
Funny, there was a holiday each and every day I was at Grandma's house if I wanted brown sugar bread!
She is "Mom" to her two daughters and "Martha" to her sons-in-law. I can think of many visits to Grandma's house when all the adults were gathered around the kitchen table sharing stories and gathering wisdom from the wise lady who rarely sat at the kitchen table because she was busy taking care of the coffee, the pie or other dessert, and making sure everyone had what they wanted and more.
On Sunday, February 10, 2013 Grandma turned 91 years old.
Happy Birthday to the wonderful lady who is loved immensely by all of us and many more. No matter what we call her.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Christmas morning
Christmas morning. All the excitement. The anticipation. The wonder.
Each year my boys wait eagerly at the top of the stairs, just like I had to do, waiting until the adults are ready for us to descend upon the tree to unwrap the surprises that await.
I'm sure my parents were just like I am now, more excited about what the kids reactions will be than what the gifts are for themselves. This year the number of packages under the tree were fewer. We had gotten the boys electronic gadgets they had been asking for over the last year. I didn't want the fun to end to soon, so we created a scavenger hunt with five stops before bringing them back to the tree to reveal the big gift.
G.I. Joe even got in on the fun!
When all the gifts were opened and the traditional breakfast eaten, we each settled in to play set-up the devices. As I looked around, I realized the saying is true,
"The bigger the mess, the more fun was had!"
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, everyone!
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