Lent

Our lenten rose,  Helleborus or Hellebore, the first to bloom in late winter, in time for Lent!

Lent is observed in many different ways. To me it means a time of preparing my heart and mind for the grand celebration of Jesus' Resurrection. And I am excited about how ideas and plans are coming together.

Seminary was a time of preparation for my parents' life-long calling. It is also the title of my second chapter, published March 15 as scheduled.

Authors say that publishing a book is like giving birth--labor-intensive, painful, and exhilirating! My translator friend and I had some difficulty achieving a satisfactory parallel version in Spanish--Afinando el llamado.

Tuesday's Basic Jr. Bible lesson was about the birth of Jesus as promised hundreds of years before, to illustrate God's faithfulness. He keeps His promises. He is faithful.

As Miss Kelly tells the story, Rebecca and I illustrate it with Play Doh. Hers is all one piece: the manger and baby, an angel, Joseph and Mary.

On that same day we were reminded of Kalani's birth a year ago, and Mother's transition from this earth. 

My huge accomplishment for the week was to restore the 2000 photo album, a chore set aside since the housefire, Those yearly books of memories are another of the irreplaceable treasures that God protected during the blaze. I chose the silliest photo I could find among the lot, but it also represents looking back at that year. Meanwhile those cute younguns peeking out from their behind their dads, now as men look forward to new things--Skye (lower right) enjoys being Daddy to Kalani, and Malachi will soon be married to Lexi, the love of his life!

Friday's Courier featured this third article in a series about space. If you look carefully you will find mention of two members of our household.

Our two younger members had fun shopping. . . 

. . . and then trying on each others' clothes. So glad Moriah can finally experience having a roommate.

 

Here she is practicing the professional look. Next she needs a job! Graduation is fast approaching.

Stephan spent a few days in Ohio working with a group of ice carvers to make art out of 50,000 lbs. of ice for a magical drive-thru event--Ice World at the Warren County Fair Grounds--which ended on the first day of spring!  

One of his creations, a pair of dancing cranes:

Goodbye ice and snow! We think. 

However, last year we had a heavy snowfall on the first day of spring.

Festivals and Moves

Labor Day weekend is the big Upland festival--yard sales all over town, music and food at the Lion's Park culminating with fireworks Sunday night, and a parade on Monday.

My best yard sale purchase was this Mancala game that sits on our big counter and leads to competitive rounds among the three housemates. Moriah, the young college student has the most wins.

The parade is a big deal in this small town. As the memories of years past surfaced on Facebook, I was reminded of the variety of ways we have taken part and enjoyed this Upland tradition. When we had horses Michael and different family members entered them. Some rode bicycles another year and Michael joined on his Segway once. There was a time when the skateboarders from Sam's shop were a favorite feature.

Rebecca's first Labor Day parade

Our youngest family member, Rebecca didn't always enjoy the experience. Last year she hid in the house and watched through the window. However, this year she and I were in the Basics Jr. [a high-energy Bible club geared especially for younger kids 4 year-2nd grade] section. She rode in the truck and I walked/jogged behind handing out leaflets and candy. Moriah and I are both volunteer helpers in Basics Jr. this year.
 

The family tends to congregate in front of Leah's house to watch the event. When Rebecca and I came after the parade we found that Sam and the boys had joined the fun. Matt and Kayla had their honey sale going.

A couple weeks ago I mentioned the possibility of big changes coming for the robotics team. I can now announce officially that they are moving out of Madjax and into an old building that has had many lives in its 100+ years of existence. More recently it was a used auto shop. We walked through last week assessing the needs and potential. A huge amount of work will go into getting set up to begin building a robot in the new year.
My two favorite features--door and chandelier--so very out of place in the old dusty crusty warehouse. 

Back and front of Blue Dutch Auto

Hopefully, the move will draw in students from a broader area. To advertise the newly named East Central Indiana Robotics, the guys took advantage of the Matthews Covered Bridge festival, September 6-8, and set up a display with a few robots on Main St. in front of the building. They talked for hours with passersby and handed out brochures.

We had planned to go to Winona Lake Friday afternoon, visit with Mother and attend a Josh Garrels concert at Grace. Instead, I drove up to see Mother alone and met with a representative from a company that offers hospice services. My brother Alan and I listened to a lot of information and signed many papers. Later that evening a nurse came, checked her vitals, read all the charts and consulted with the agency's doctor who determined that Mother does not qualify for their services at this time .

"So, Mother, you are too well. You'll likely live to be 100!" She just smiled.

At the concert I met up with Sam and Kristie, the boys, and Lexi (Malachi's fiancé). Josh's music is a family favorite. We have known the Garrels for many years and watched their family grow. When the crowd was begging for an encore, I went outside the tent to talk to Michelle. Just then he ended with a song he wrote for his wife, and I took her picture as he was singing about how beautiful she is.

We are so blessed to know wonderful people from all over the world. This week we were privileged to visit with Andi and Sheba Eicher from India. They brought their daughter Asha here, a fifth generation Eicher to attend Taylor University. Of course, there was the obligatory Ivanhoe's stop.

Another exciting week that took longer to process than I had hoped. I am reminded that my body is still healing from the accident in June and that slows me down. 

I suspect none of you accomplished everything you wish you had in one week. True?