Lately

Lately I've had a lot of post ideas......no make that - unrelated thoughts and snippets of post ideas running through my head. So today you get them all.

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I chatted with my Dad for a little while yesterday after he got home from the hospital. He feels OK. The Dr. feels that whatever illness he has he probably has had it for awhile and didn't know it. Thank you to those who prayed for him. He was in the hospital for a total of 12 days. Hopefully they will get the tests results back next week then start on a treatment plan.

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I've been thinking a lot lately about my husband's half-sister, Debbie, who lives in Maryland. She recently gave birth to their second child...... in the car on the way to the hospital! It's an amazing story and you can read about it here.

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Charlie and I will be flying back to the states next month to attend the wedding of some dear friends, Chris Walker and Amanda Taylor. Their courtship started just about this time last year when Amanda emailed Chris (who was a total stranger to her at the time) to ask him for an email address of someone from Mozambique. She knew he was coming to Mozambique and figured he could track down the email address for her. (Amanda was a friend of Chris' Mom....that's how she got his email address). While Chris was here in Moz. he and Amanda started emailing back and forth. At first just once every few days, then it became once a day, then twice a day, then Skype calls started happening. When Chris left in June to return to the states, Amanda picked him up at the airport. I guess the rest is history! They were engaged in October and will be married on January 16, 2010. They are a testimony to how trusting in God and waiting on His best for your life is the best way to live.

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I recently discovered that I love Candy Corn! All my life I thought I hated it. I guess I tried it when I was little and didn't like them, then for the next 30 something years I always refused them thinking they tasted bad. When friends from the states sent us a bag in October I just felt compelled to try one. Maybe it was the Holy Spirit prompting me to eat one because I discovered that those little yellow and orange bits of sugar are DELICIOUS! And you can't just eat one. I had a moment of grief and sadness over the lost years of candy-corn enjoyment.

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We've been keeping the children of some friends who have been on a short anniversary get-away. Their kids are 15, 5 and 4. I had forgotten what it was like to have preschoolers around all day. They are so much fun. (OK, I know the 15 year old is not a preschooler!) The 5 year old is like a sponge and asks questions all the time. The 4 year old sings and sings.....to the dog, to the cat, to God. She decided yesterday to paint her fingernails and toenails with a pink marker. I'm really glad she doesn't know where my fingernail polish is.

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We finally put our Christmas tree up last night! We were a little late this year. It's been hard to feel very Christmasy in the heat and humidity. When we finished decorating last night we were sweaty and all I wanted to do was take and shower and go to bed. Instead we turned off the lights and sang some Christmas carols. It was a sweet moment. This a.m. our little 4 year old visitor said, "Look! The Christmas tree is still boo-ti-ful!"

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My love of gardening continues.......flowers that is, not veggies (yet). I am now nursing some little Gerber daisy seedlings. They were growing quite nicely until we had a hard rain last week and the dirt surrounding them was obliterated. I was able to replace most of the dirt and save most of the seedlings. It's OK, you can call me an old lady if you want to....I know I sound like one. :-)

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My kid's school Christmas program is this Friday night. I have been praying for cooler temps. My husband happily informed me this a.m. that rain and temps. in the 70's are forecasted for Friday. Hallelujah!

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I've been reading the Little House on the Prairie series to my two youngest at night before bed. I love those books so much. One night my 10 year old son observed, "Pa didn't have a real job like working in an office, did he? But he worked hard. All the time! And he was so smart!" Sometimes I wish life was still like it was back then. So simple in so many ways. Yet, I am very thankful for modern conveniences that they did not then like indoor toilets, washing machines, cars, malaria medicine, antibiotics, refrigerators and telephones.

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Recently my friend/colleague Karla was visiting and we were preparing supper. When she opened the microwave to check on potatoes that were baking in a large bowl she lifted the edge of the cellphone that was covering them. Extremely hot steam rushed out over the top of her left hand and she received 1st and 2nd degree burns on the tops of her fingers. The pain was immense. Now almost 6 weeks later she is waiting for one finger to finish healing. So a word to those who cook in their microwaves: Be Careful!

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