Wednesday, October 08, 2014

Weekends

Weekends are for:

 walking,
 














 
biking,
 















 dipping toes.
 



Holding hands,
















digging in sand
















Football.
















Cuddling,
























playing,
















getting dirty.
















Kicking,
























chasing ducks,
















watching football.
















Cool Breeze
Autumn Leaves

















 Sunshine
 















Flying
 
















Fearless
















Fun

















Truthfully,
Joanne


"You have filled me with joy, and happiness has risen in my heart, great delight and unrivaled joy, even more than when bread abounds and wine flows freely" (Ps. 4:7)

Friday, September 26, 2014

Flashback Friday



Ivydee, Natalie, Zachary, & Josiah propped up for a picture.

Come on Ivydee, smile for the camera.
Oops!
Zac: Why is Ivydee not happy?

Hey cousin, smile like this!
Uh oh, Natalie is getting bored. Josiah keeps tipping.
Ivydee: What's going on over there? Natalie: I'm out of here! Zac: Look, Josiah's sitting. 
Josiah: Look at me!
Call in the moms.
Success!


Truthfully,
Joanne



"By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Monday, September 22, 2014

In Search Of Fall

 Being the last day of Summer, I needed to be outdoors.

I spent the day searching for signs of Fall.

Let's be honest, Autumn is my least favorite season of all.

 This isn't a secret. I've expressed my thoughts many times.

 I've spent countless hours analyzing what the real reason is that I hate Fall and have come up with an astounding number of theories-none of which I will attempt to explain in this post.

Why is Fall/Autumn the only season that is known by two names? Fall feels frightfully fickle.

One day it is splendidly sunny, the next day bitter winds blow the beautiful leaves to the ground.

One day flowers blossoms are blooming beautifully, the next they are frozen from frost.  Tomatoes ripening on the vine, shrivel and shrink.

Okay, these tomatoes were pulled from the vine and "sun-dried" before Fickle Fall could sneak up and steal them from me. They turned out lovely and had the same colors as the Autumn leaves.

Maybe just maybe, I enjoy just a hint of this season.  Someone asked what I looked forward to most about Fall. Was it the colors, pumpkin flavored everything, the crisp, cool weather, or maybe enjoying a nice warm fire. I believe my answer to what I look forward to most in Autumn is Winter!

Truthfully,
Joanne 

"Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender, and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near" (Mark:13:28)

Monday, September 15, 2014

We Danced

"Oh, her eyes, her eyes make the stars look like they're not shinin'
Her hair, her hair falls perfectly without her tryin'
She's so beautiful
And I tell her everyday
"

Music was playing in the kitchen. We'd been sitting outside, reflecting on our weekend.

"Yeah, I know, I know when I compliment her, she won't believe me
And it's so, it's so sad to think that she don't see what I see
But every time she asks me do I look okay?
I say
"

Standing there in the kitchen, he hugged me tight and whispered in my ear, "we have to dance."

"When I see your face
There's not a thing that I would change
'Cause you're amazing
Just the way you are"


 Tears rolled down my cheeks, as we swayed to the music.

"And when you smile
The whole world stops and stares for awhile
'Cause girl, you're amazing
Just the way you are"

Happy tears, sad tears.

"Her lips, her lips, I could kiss them all day if she'd let me
Her laugh her laugh, she hates but I think it's so sexy
She's so beautiful
And I tell her everyday
"

I caught a glimpse of the two of us in the large mirrored wall. Who were these two people, dancing, laughing, crying?

"Oh, you know, you know, you know I'd never ask you to change
If perfect's what you're searching for, then just stay the same
So don't even bother asking if you look okay
You know I'll say"

Out the kitchen window, I wonder if the neighbors can see us dancing. This man, this wonderful husband of mine, he doesn't dance.  But he keeps the beat of the music and we dance.

"When I see your face
There's not a thing that I would change
'Cause you're amazing
Just the way you are"

My heart aches for Ethan, who spent Saturday night in the Emergency Room. I had picked him up from school on Thursday and cared for him until Saturday. Fever, labored breathing, this boy struggled against illness. We watched a movie together Friday night.  He chose "Heaven Is For Real" the true story of a boy who experienced heaven during emergency surgery and nearly died. This worried me a bit.

"And when you smile
The whole world stops and stares for awhile
'Cause girl, you're amazing
Just the way you are"

Saturday morning, after the Blue Shoe Run (for prostate cancer, in which my son-in-law took first place) and after the ALS walk in honor of Brian's father, we had a crowd of over 30 people here. It was revealed that Brian and Elisabeth are having a baby boy.

"The way you are
The way you are
Girl, you're amazing
Just the way you are"
We had a short video chat with Christopher, Lauren, and Ivydee. I miss them so much.

"When I see your face
There's not a thing that I would change
'Cause you're amazing
Just the way you are"

Except for the music, the house was quiet. Christina, having had very little sleep, had packed up both boys and driven an hour home.  Hilary drove back to Fort Collins. Nobody else was here. Michael and I were home alone.

"And when you smile
The whole world stops and stares for awhile
'Cause girl, you're amazing
Just the way you are, yeah
"
 
And we danced.


Truthfully,
Joanne
(music lyrics: Bruno Mars Just The Way You Are)

 "You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing.
    You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy" (Ps. 30:11)

Friday, September 12, 2014

Best Friends

Above my desk, sits this photo:

It makes me smile, and sometimes laugh. The kids made this photo collage for my husband, Michael, a few years back. He had a habit of sitting in his recliner and in a sing-song voice would ask, "who wants to be my best friend?" When the kids were very young, and before they were wise to what was up, they would offer, "me, me, me!" His answer was always the same "will you run downstairs and get me a Diet Pepsi?" One of them would jump up to be his best friend.

Michael continued to ask "who wants to be my best friend?" for many years after, more in fun, yet always hoping he didn't have to get out of his chair and walk down the stairs to get a diet Pepsi.

I can't remember when exactly this collage was created, but we've added several people to our family since then: Ivydee, Josiah, Travis, Brian, and we also count Ryan-although he is not official yet.

And for those who haven't heard, we have a new grandbaby coming next year.


Truthfully,
Joanne

"But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15)

Tuesday, September 09, 2014

Seven Things You Might Not Know

About Me

1. I lived in Winslow Arizona for one year.  It was the same year the Eagles' song "Take It Easy came out" (you know the one, "standing on a corner in Winslow Arizona...")

2.  I was 10 when I lived in Winslow.  That was also the year I knocked out my two front teeth. My theme song for the year was, "All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth."

3.  I was one of those kids who got good grades and who followed the rules.

4.  Because I was that kid, other students would often try to copy my test answers.  I grew tired of trying to hide my answers. Instead, whenever I noticed another student copying my paper, I'd write down the wrong answers.  After they would turn in their test, I would erase the wrong ones and put in the right ones.

5.  When I was in 3rd grade I got in trouble for using too much scratch paper.  When we finished our work, we were allowed to draw on scratch paper.  I longed to be praised for being a great artist instead of getting good grades. I thought when my teacher saw my 2 inch stack of papers, she would declare how beautiful my artwork was.  Instead I was chastised for wasting so much paper and told I could only use 3 sheets per day. Okay, most of them were tracings of my hands and then I would spend time adding beautifully colored nails and adorning my fingers with brightly colored rings and bracelets.  Imagine if this was today, I'd probably have added tatoos to the back of my hands. It turned out to be a good thing though, as I began using my free time to read.

6. In Kindergarten, on the first day of school, I begged my mom to let me walk home by myself. We lived a mile away, but she let me do it. I only knew the route the car drove. Later, my siblings shared a short cut with me. I was very thankful for that shortcut.

7. On that first walk home from school, about halfway, I was hot, lonely and tired of walking. I believed in magic, so I took off my sweater and laid it on the ground.  I sat down on the sweater, making sure not even a toe was touching the ground. I closed my eyes and wished for the sweater to become a magic carpet and fly me home. I imagined soaring off into the distance and how surprised my mom would be when I arrived. I spoke every magical word I could think of, but both my sweater and I remained firmly planted on the asphalt. I have no idea how long I sat in the in the road wishing, but eventually I picked myself up and trudged the rest of the way home.


Truthfully,
Joanne


"When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things." (1 Cor. 13:11)