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 34: Still rearranging

Adjusting to new circumstances is probably a constant in life, felt more strongly at times.
This was a week of new beginnings for many of us. I started teaching Monday morning, 8:00 a.m., and it was the best "first day" ever!

Sunrise when I left early morning

Early afternoon, I tried to catch a glimpse of the eclipse without looking directly at the sun, by taking a selfie. The sunlight overpowered, though mostly blocked. However, I know the partial eclipse was happening because I saw it through Michael's welding helmet.

Trying to catch a glimpse of the eclipse

The last couple weeks I've been learning about a once-in-a-lifetime type event that happened when I was only two and a half. I always knew that we'd lived through a locust invasion and recalled some old photos. Then I came across my parent's description in their letters.Wow!

La Carlota, Córdoba, Argentina

January 6, 1947

"Now the grashopper plague. It has come to Carlota. I took a picture of it yesterday and hope to take more so that you folds will believe what we say. [wish I could find that one old photo]They cover the trees, ground, houses and all so that there is standing room only. There is a river just at the edge of our pueblo, but that did not bother them at all. They came right across the river. They march just like an army and keep coming without end. They eat and eat and never stop--people must stand at their doors all day to keep them from entering and eating their clothes and food. The poor people in Santa Eufemia are pretty well tired out fighting them. The fight against them is certainly a good example of what a war must be like. If you want to win a war all you must do is have plenty of men so that no matter how many are killed they still keep marching on. They fight these with fire throwers and kill thousands but there is no diminishing of their numbers. They cover your doors so that it is very hard to enter the houses without letting them in and getting some on you also. There are so many on the railroad tracks that the oil they have in them greases the track to such an extent that they must use sand and they can only carry enough sand to last for a few miles. Trains come in 6 and 12 hours late."

I probably will not experience that again in my lifetime.

We continue to move things around, rearrange, clean.
I like the new location in the living room of one of Mike's masterpieces.

The Harpist

I washed rugs, and had help with floors, and windows. We even opened up the oven doors to get at the inside of the double panels. 

Thursday was my least favorite. I spent the entire day trying to figure out Ivy Learn a new program where we are required to post syllabi, activities, deadlines, grades. Because I signed on so late, I did not go through the training.

By Friday it was time to get out a bit. Our town is celebrating their 150th anniversary with two full weedends of events. I met Kayla and Rebecca at the Farmer's Market where the festivities began.

And today, Saturday, Nanna Leah was at the festival with our favorite little girl.

Both days Rebecca was sporting new sundresses from her birthday gifts. How do you like her favorite pose?

Say Cheese

She was especially interested in the parade of dogs and got to pet one. This is my favorite photo of the day. Thanks, Leah!

Meanwhile Welcome Weekend is going at our neighboring university, all kinds of activities. Tonight, as I write, I can hear the festive music. And our young friend is over there enjoying herself. Tonight will be her first night to sleep here and call this her home-away-from-home. She hasn't had much time to unpack. Hopefully she will be able to find the bed and get some rest.

Michael is back to his regular routine--robotics Tuesday and Thursday, and pottery at the Red Barn on Wednesday--as well as feeding his many birds, looking after his bees, and house maintainance and yard upkeep. And always extras on our calendar. Today he is at a family fair promoting the robotics team with a few of the team members and two of the robots. Even with a full schedule, he does not miss a long bike ride almost daily.