Saturday, October 11, 2008

The Great Pumpkin Hunt







The trees are just starting to turn here in the Corn Country and every other day there is a hint of fall but today the weather was in the high 70's and windy. Nonetheless a pumpkin hunt we were on. A quick stop at Blimpies for lunch and here we come a huntin'. I saw an advertisement for a church fall festival in a near by town and thought that might be just enough to get a fall fix and a pumpkin. I found the church as we slowed down and realized a fall festival in a converted gas station church was not going to do the trick to get me in a treat mood. "So let's just keep driving on this country road until we find something." About 5 miles down the road was the perfect pumpkin hunting ground. A farm house with pumpkins encircling every high pruned maple tree in the yard, lots of friendly wooden spooks, gourds, Indian corn, a corn maze, a pony, some goats, and cows. Jackpot! We unload and checked out some pumpkins and then decide to walk around. We entered the corn maze long enough for Gavin to get hot and tired and exited out the way we came in. We have yet to complete a corn maze from the start to the correct finish. The big boys checked out the huge round bales of hay jumping from one to the other and Brenden and I checked out the animals. We got stuck by the cows. Brenden bee-lined for them waving off the thousands of flies in his way so he could watch them eat. We stayed there for a while and they got comfortable enough that they tried to see if we had anything to give them. Their noses are pretty wet and their tongues are like sandpaper when they lick you. I tried to get B close enough for him to feel but their size got him a little timid. Waving good bye to the Moo-Cows and waving off the flies again we ventured back to find the rest of the boys. They made quick time of picking out their perfect pumpkins and back home we drove. I am ready for some Trick or Treating!

Happy Birthday, Brenden!






Two years seem like a blink of an eye when I think about Brenden. He is magical, funny, happy, smart and a textbook definition of the baby in the family! That child can work a room faster than anyone I have ever met. He always has a smile to flash at people and a twinkle in his eye. He loves to help mommy and clean up his messes. He loves to be tickled and will ask it frequently "tickal, mommy". He loves to jump and spin and tumble. He loves his brothers and going bye-bye. He has to sleep with his blue blanket and his green one from Grandma Mardell and his monkey and his Captain Monkey too. The music monkeys have to be on and if you forget he'll turn them on by himself. He wants to do things by himself but if you ask nicely he will always extend his little hand for you to hold. He'll talk your ear off about his cars and "big trucks". He claps when the song is over and if mommy is in the kitchen with music playing you will hear "up, Mommy" so he can dance with me. I can't believe that 3 years ago I said I think two boys are enough for me but I know now that I would have missed out a a ton of fun. I am excited to see what kind of person Brenden turns into as he grows each year. I am thankful that God had a plan for me that I didn't control myself! Happy Birthday, Brenden! May you continue to put a smile on our faces and a giggle in our voices.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Lemon Meringue Philosophy



As it rains today and a hint of Autumn chill is in the air, I have been trying to figure out why this type of weather seems to make me more aware of the frailty of life. Is it simply because flowers die off and the leaves change, or is it that the feeling of cold in the air makes you want to retreat and stay inside, or maybe it's that I am getting older and with each year and each life that I see pass by I realize that Earth is just a holding place for us to get "it" and be ready for eternity? So I ponder these questions, secretly knowing that the answers will be revealed to me, but not today and hopefully not tomorrow, but some day when I have gotten "it" right and ready and the Lord has said "well done".
I was reminded of this frailty last night at work. My patient delivered a baby who was shocked by how fast she entered this world and so shocked that breathing wasn't even a reflex for her. After a quick whisk off to a warmer-bed and some help with oxygen and a really great, fast NICU team she cried a little whimper that said "OK, I am here and ready to participate in this life." It still amazes me how resilient these creations of God are and teaches me too that HE IS IN CONTROL.
After a shift like that its hard to unwind when I get home so I went to check on some blogs that I like to read. I found a new one that was started by a family who just as the summer was starting had lost their daughter in an accident. As I read each entry of how they are creating their "new normal" I was in awe of the faith and strength that they have to move forward. How it reminded me again that this life is not the end, that the life to look forward to is in eternity and to live each day here with passion and patience for the coming. How wonderfully thought out He really is.
So today as I look for something to do besides clean my house and fold the laundry I decide to make a lemon meringue pie for Jackson because he really likes them. As I am stirring the saucepan waiting for the lemon sauce to boil my mom says on the phone to me "Grandma used to make lemon meringue pies". I never knew this about her. My mom said Grandma could really get some thick meringue. Well, mine is not as thick as hers but maybe some day it will be. Once again it shows me that families and generations come and go but deep under all of the hullabaloo of this life we are connected to that one string, the cord that God created to allow us to feed off of our moms, who fed off of theirs, who were wonderfully created to touch each other in simple ways like a pie or with the magnificent impact of life and death on Earth. All of this philosophy from a single day with rain and a hint of fall.