50 years

This is the week of the actual wedding anniversary--January 31, 1970. The celebration has continued all month, it seems. But, hey, a Golden Anniversary is worth it!

A few of the cards that have come in

First let me tell you, because many have asked, that my eye condition is improved, thanks to antibiotic drops and warm-egg wet-cloth compresses.

Memory Monday

I have inherited a large box of Dad's sermon notes, decades-worth. For this week's theme I set aside one, a folded half-sheet titled Bodas de Oro (Golden Wedding). He was asked to speak at don Humberto and wife's celebration. I don't remember or recognize who they were. My brother Lynn would probably know and have stories to add, if only he could whisper them to me from heaven.

Dad considered it a privilege to honor them as they celebrated God's hand upon their lives. His main  points were:

1. God's hand in bringing them together.
2. God's protection
3. God's salvation
4. God's mercy

The same outline and Bible quotes could apply to our story.

Another Monday note: Stephan made sopapillas for our dinner which reminded us of a popular restaurant years ago in Muncie--One Accord. How many locals remember it, and the flags at each table that went up to signal "We need more sopapillas!" 

Tuesday was an interestingly loooong day. I took Leah to her long-awaited dreaded doctor appointment. From there she was sent to Med Express where they confirmed malignant hypertension and sent her to the ER. She may be smiling in the photo, but the four tell-tale lines on the monitor spoke of the turmoil going on inside. After a complete cardiac workup and repeated attempts to bring down her blood pressure, she was admitted for a 23-hour observation period.

The next day, my younger brother Ivan was passing through after business in the area, so we met at the hospital. We had a nice visit in Leah's room, Michael and Kayla there also.

What, did you think I was his little sister?

The two positives of ending up in the hospital:

• the efficiency of having many tests in one place, at one time.
• Dr. S's energetic,entertaining, educational (he had a student present) and thorough analysis of Leah's situation.

One of the hardest aspects of a hospital stay is the waiting. Everything takes f o r e v e r. 

One rough moment was the attempt to draw blood that ended up blowing a vein. 

We finally made it home by evening. Leah has a full schedule just monitoring her blood pressure, taking meds, keeping calm, and scheduling the many next steps in the process of  determining the underlying cause.

"I can't wait to get home!"

That night very late (or was it the next day?) Moriah's team arrived back from their J-term experience abroad. Because it was so late and after so many hours of travel, she crashed here before going home the next day.
She brought back a couple souvenirs: a coaster for Mike, and a sweet little turtle for my collection.

Friday, our 50th wedding anniversary was finally here! However, I was feeling puny all day. We had no special plans, just a quiet day together. Michael, however, went out of his way to make flan desserts. That was very special.

Our family celebration a month ago lingers sweetly in our memory. I think fondly of each member's contribution to the special event, and also the letters and many congratulatory messages from friends all over the world. 

One blessing-in-disguise of these weeks of being a "robot widow" (as some call it), is more available time on my own. Saturday, with nothing else scheduled, and no plans or emergencies with Leah, I realized I was free to attend friend Dorothy's 85th birthday party. There I met several other people I knew and enjoyed an hour of delightful music.

With Dorothy Schultz and Alma Thiessen

Janet Friesen and Ace Holsinger

Sunday, some family members asked to watch the Superbowl with us. Michael prepared a whole lot of food and we had a fun time. What was your Superbowl experience?

Meanwhile, our hearts are heavy for Sam and Kristie as they grieve the loss of a dear friend and help the family through the ordeal.
[https://everloved.com/life-of/nicholas-roseberry/donate/?flow=250&fbclid=IwAR13NBcGiRiWyO-T71NAIZBh87icqXVWdzJUqlS7pAjApu_QtbD2OwTTzas]

More summer fun . . .

 Michael continues to ride his bicycle often and I walk more, enjoy seasonal blooms, go to therapy twice a week and do the homework exercises.

I've been researching and dealing with house plants. Some should have been repotted long ago. Some very hard-working girls help me  on a weekly basis to tackle weeding and landscaping goals.

Top: Schefflera Arboricola (Umbrella Plant); Narrow Leaf Croton
Bottom: Maranta Leconeura (Red Prayer Plant); Podophyllum (Arrowhead Plant)

Almost daily, Michael relocates these masked visitors who like to dump over flower pots and leave unwanted gifts on the deck.

I wish I could say that my writing is progressing steadily as well. However, the process has slowed down considerably, but hopefully not to a halt. Memories to be included in the retelling of my early childhood, keep popping up, like this photo, circa 1950.

Memorable family moments are a constant. Rebecca started Kindergarten Tuesday and is happy to have her best buddy in the same class.

The next day was her birthday. This little one has become a lovely dancer and is already off to school!

Wednesday, we got up and decided to go to the State Fair, probably encouraged by Free till Three Farmer's Day! And it proved to be a delightful day away.

A few of the things we like to do: 

--check out the cheese sculpture, try a Wisconsin cheese special, and stop at the Dairy Barn for a milkshake before the day is over.

Sorry for the beheaded superhero :-(

--gawk at the winning animals on exhibit, like the largest sow and her dozen pink piglets, as well as the hugest male, 1060 lbs.

--look for friend Marty Price's entries in the ceramics section;

--we often end up in the Pioneer Village, and sit down for a rest to enjoy American folk music.

Several new experiences this year:

--a presentation about the life and contributions of George Rogers Clark by the DNR;

--a Taste of Indiana, a variety of foods (practically a meal's-worth) and interesting facts;

--a great circus as the grand finale.

The talented performers

Another grandson was off to school--Malachi. Sam helped move him back to Grace College on Thursday.

Friday, Hoyt sibling #4 was in the area all the way from Las Vegas. We had the obligatory visit to Ivanhoe's for strawberry shortcakes and a cowabanga. 

A game of Hand and Foot closed the evening--fun for us, but tortuously unlucky for Ivan.

Sharing and catching up conversation continued the next morning at breakfast. And we look forward to more when he returns next week!
These last couple of weeks have brought wonderful brotherly fellowship.

Saturday we ended the week by attending the fun and hilarious performance of Fellowship, especially proud of Kayla's contribution as the "beloved choreographer."

Summer is winding down. How much more fun awaits us?

A new focus

A new year, a new beginning, a new presentation and a new focus--my word for 2019.

The new header, title and description reflect the change.
For years now, I felt increasingly compelled to gather and write down my life stories. Documents and resources have come to me and the memories bombard me faster than I can record them.
There are so many phases and layers to the long years and the many wanderings. Perhaps that explains my difficult progress. The task is overwhelming.
To aid in the process, I decided to take note of those reminders from the past as they come to me. In the first week alone, each day brought back a glimpse into a different time in life.
This transition from photo journal to memoirish posts will likely be gradual and experimental (it's hard to break old habits) and I may continue to include the memory-making highlights of the week.

January 1
The melody and lyrics of a Spanish hymn repeated throughout the day as a reminder of my life-long goal.

Jesús, yo he prometido servirte con amor.

Concédeme tu gracia, mi amigo y salvador. 

No temeré la lucha si tú a mi lado estás. 

Ni perderé el camino si tú guiando vas.

Jesus, I have promised to serve you with love. 

Grant me your grace, my saviour and friend. 

I will not fear the struggle if you are by my side. 

Nor will I lose my way if you are guiding me. 

That was the day we heard that Malachi became engaged to Lexi Meacham!

I thought about him and reflected on what he shared with the family during our family talent night. He is preparing for youth ministry, working toward an MDiv degree.
I could see him with his Bible and notebook, and wondered whether he keeps a record of each talk, date and place, like my Dad, his great grandfather.
One of the treasures I inherited is a large box of Daddy's sermons.

January 2
Michael discovered what had caused the "sonic boom" we heard and felt on New Year's Eve. The strong winds that night brought down a large tree that had the zip line attached to it. The cable in turn brought down, and broke in two places, the corner post holding up the deck. That was memorable.
He has been working every day since then to repair the damage.

January 3
My brother Lynn was born 71 years ago in Río Cuarto, Argentina. This is his second celebration in heaven, if such happens there! We are left here for awhile with only the memories.

January 4

We were reminded of the day 31 years ago when the first O.M. ship ran aground. Here is a good collection of photos and the story of that memorable event.
Before the M/V Logos set out on its first voyage, we were onboard for a couple weeks. Michael was helping repair navigational equipment.

January 5
Ivan, brother number three, was born sixty one years ago on this day. We were in the US for a year living with my grandparents in Pennsylvania. I was in eighth grade.

This is also a big day for the robotics team, the Kick-Off to reveal the 2019 game--Destination: Deep Space. Michael gave a fascinating presentation titled, "What's Up In Space?" Unfortunately, the brilliant sunshine pouring in through enormous windows made it impossible to see the power point on the big screen. Fortunately, it was readable on a tv screen on the side.

January 6--Día de Reyes (Day of the Magi, King's Day or Epiphany)
A memory, appropriate to the holiday, both sweet and sad, is this favorite photo of the foster grandchildren we were blessed to enjoy for sixteen months before they were relocated. They were dressed up as the Three Kings for our Nativity scene that Christmas.

We may never understand why they were taken away, nor ever know what became of them. We trust God to look after them, now teenagers.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Throughout the week communications arrived from different sources around the world, each representing a different era of my life.

Mari, from Yucatán, Mexico, sent a very meaningful greeting for the New Year. We met when I was teaching at Indiana Wesleyan University and took student groups to her small town, Xocenpich. She was a very bright and promising teenager. We saw her through college. She is now a manager at a large department store.

Her mother, Herlinda, was the cook for our team. She and I jogged together, talked and shared about faith and life. The little town has since entered the cyberworld and even the humblest have access to the internet. Herlinda signed onto Facebook as Linda, sent me a friend request, and later attempted a call. I am just as inexperienced using that feature, so our atempt at conversation was very awkward, but we did see one another after ten years!

Jazmine was a most helpful student assistant the year I was the only full-time language instructor at IWU. I wished her a happy birthday and she responded that she now talks about her experience as lab assistant in a Pilot Program that prepares students to survive college life. Many of them are headed to American universities. She lives in China with her husband and daughter.

Another chat was with Celia, who lives in southern Argentina. We were in the same graduating class and were paired for our student teaching experience. She sent me a photo of the note I wrote in her memory book back in 1962!

My life growing up in Argentina will be the focus from now on. My grandmother's five-year diary (pictured in the header) was one of the resources I started with.

Which of the stories mentioned will be included in Part 1 about my early childhood?

Which one of the eras or memories would you be most interested in reading about?

2017 Week 40: Love and Grace

Love has many meanings and degrees.  

For example, on a scale of 1 to 5:

1-like something
2-really like something
3-care about a person/s
4-be committed to someone
5-adore, reverence God. 

What number would I assign our Sunday evening Open House at Pastor Dan's getting to know the college students?  

Can you guess what we're roasting over the open fire

How would I rate the pie Mike baked this week? 

Our first watercolor class was so much fun. Jason and Kari Diller led us in several activities to practice a few techniques with washes and masking. The game at the end, a good learning exercise, resulted in some very strange creatures.

Our town experienced a police emergency that night, Tuesday, and into the next morning, until the two armed robbers were apprehended a half a mile from us. Taylor U was locked down and cancelled classes till noon the next day and Eastbrook Schools closed all day.

After tap class Wednesday we celebrated Kayla's 26th birthday with lunch at The Bridge.

Cousin Rosie sent me a couple old photos, just in time for Throwback Thursday. I "love #2" this one of my youngest brothers. They were best buds growing up and now, years later, work together at HP Home Rescue. 

Grandpa Mike was able to spend some time with Zion and Jude at Royerton School Grandparents Day. These two are also best buddies. Zion is in second grade and Jude in pre-school.

I missed the abuela-fun and traded it for alumna-fun at Grace homecming. I sat with Malachi in  Chapel, ate lunch with Mother at Grace Village, and then enjoyed the Grace and Winona Lake History bus tour (my fourth time!) with author and guide Terry White. He wrote the book: Winona at 100 Third Wave Rising. My neighbor friends joined us for the tour and the special treat after--a guided walk-through of the Billy Sunday Home.

In the Museum I was drawn to an old tandem bicycle, wouldn't ya' know. And, simply amazed by the global impact of this hub.

Sunday we celebrated Jude, an exuberant five-year-old who has brought so much joy since the day he was born.

How would you guess-rate all my "loves"?

I think a lot about # 4 as my youngest sibling faces the reality of the promise "till death do us part." I pray for strength, peace, a precious farewell, and a smooth transition.

2017 Week 39: Life is fleeting

 

Beautiful warm autumn weather lingers and Michael has been out almost every day chopping and splitting wood. The supply grows steadily. I remembered that last year Skye did most of that work.

I visited Mother on Tuesday. We read letters most of the afternoon and finished the treasured folder (9/10/1945 - 3/20/1947). We also went back to the earlier ones to piece together the months before our little family left for Argentina. I am currently trying to write that chapter. 

Ivan surprised us when he joined us in the dining room.

Ivan reading the chapter so far and waiting for his dinner. Mother looking so cute.

We lingered at the table so long that by the time we left, the monthly jam session had begun. We thoroughly enjoyed an hour of good music by the Singing Fossils. I suppose it was especially interesting to me because Dr. John Davis, the lead "fossil" (smile) was one of my professors in Seminary, oh so many years ago. He later became the fourth president of Grace Schools. I found a very interesting article that attempts to describe this renaissance man Guardian of Grace.

He introduced himself as an archeologist (one of his many interests), and went on to explain "as you know, my life is in ruins." He went on to categorize different old age groups: "70s are old; 80s are antiques; 90s are fossils; and beyond that they are really old fossils." 

He and his wife have recently moved in to Grace Village with this assortment of oldies, and as he stated in his humorous song they are having the time of their life.

We also really enjoy sharing a meal with the older crowd at the senior center on Wednesdays. 

I love asking questions and hearing stories from their lives.

Birthdays of the month

Some five years ago, at a writers' conference, I had opened a Twitter account. I never did much with it after that. A random notification popped up this week. I opened it, scrolled down and found a photo posted during an open mic session of me reading a poem I wrote after my mother-in-law died--"The lingering years. . ."

A couple days later, looking through a folder of correspondence from a Argentine pastor-writer- friend, I came across his translation of my poem,  which he titled "Aquellos largos años". Eduardo passed away last month. His wife died almost twenty years ago after long years of early-onset Alzheimers. 

We get old and our young grow older. 

Elijah (12) after soccer victory Friday. Memory of the same kid (5) playing with my Spanish club student's piñata

Friday we enjoyed Elijah's last soccer game of the season; he had an assist and a goal, maybe more. Kristie and I were busy chatting, getting caught up. The little guys played in the park. Oh, Jude informed us, "I want to be a paleontologist." And, don't you just love his tie?

Saturday,  a dear friend died. I rejoice at the thought of her body set free from the ravages of polio.

Today, Sunday, heaven welcomed another suffering saint.

I was reminded of an unchanging truth: God's love never changes, never ends, never quits.