Delaware Grammy

Youngest Daughter has been accepted in the REACH program.  It looks very much like she will be going to Thailand.  At least that is what she has been accepted for.  Those of us who are REACH parents know that this could change.  Things might, or it might not, go how she plans.

My heart is more than a little bit on “hold” these days.  She will be working with children and women who have been rescued from the human trafficking trade that is so prevalent (but so abominable!).  I guess my main concern is that I don’t want her heart to be hardened by the sin that is in this old world, and I wonder how to deal with her being gone, essentially a full year.  I am sure that she has been guided by her Heavenly Father in the choices she has made concerning this, and God has gone out of His way to confirm and bring people into her life when she has been at the very lowest emotionally– second guessing her decision, trying to make sense of everything, and trying to determine how she is going to cope with an all girls team in a foreign conuntry.  It has just been incredible to this old Mama.  God remains the biggest source of reassurance and comfort that holds me (and her) steady.  Most of the time, she is working hard, saving her money, trying her best to be as mature about this as possible.  Most of the time, I am choosing to not think about it.

One of the ways that she is raising money for this project is that she is having a yard sale here at Shady Acres this Saturday.  It is a very unwell kept secret that Certain Man and Certain Man’s Wife are not big fans of Yard/garage Sales.  However, this is the week that I am going through many, many things and getting things organized to put out on the garage sale.  Profits from our part of the sale will go to Rachel’s REACH fund.  (I am considering selling homemade lemonade and MAYBE Cinnamon Rolls.  I have to see how things go this week.)

Anyone else that wants to set up a table for their own purposes — Come on down!  We’ll be glad to give you yard space.  Certain Man only requests that you are responsible to bring your own tables and set up your own section.  This morning he said that if it rains, we will set things up in the pavilion — as long as it isn’t windy. And just so we are clear, here.  YOUR sale is YOUR SALE.  Not for Rachel’s REACH fund.

Hope to see some of you!

A year ago today, (Well, actually yesterday now because of the time!) I put the following message from my cousin, Jon Yoder, on my blog.  It was the culmination of two very intense days, beginning with the news that his beautiful wife, Dawn, had been struck by lightning, and the outlook was very grim.

Dawn, our amazing mother, wife, daughter has been declared brain dead by 2 doctors, with her EEG showing no activity.  We believe that she entered heaven instantaneously 2 days ago, but we are now as a family turning her body over to the organ donation center of Alabama, so that she may share her life with others.  That is typical of the life she lived, and it is so much like her.  We will miss her, but we know she is in God’s protective care, and we want to praise Him for his faithfulness.  I write with this tears in my eyes, but with joy in my heart as Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his saints.  And she definitely received “Well done, thou faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of the Lord.  She is free at last!  
-Jon, Robert, Kristin, Amber, and Stephen and all the family

Today, Jon and his family are preparing for the weekend wedding of Jon and Dawn’s oldest son, Robert.  Robert is marrying a wonderful girlie, Michelle Schrock, whose inner beauty shines out of lovely eyes in an equally beautiful face.  Robert’s Mama would be so happy for him, so welcoming of Michelle.  Dawn would be the one to keep everything running smoothly in the Groom’s department, and she would handle the company, the details, the food with her usual quiet confidence and energy and flair for elegance, partnering as usual with the man who was not only her husband, but also her soul mate and best friend.

But she isn’t there.  At least they can’t see her.  I’ve been listening to my cousin, Jon, as he handles these days, and I read his blog (www.xanga.com/gratefuldoc) and have struggled with the tears that keep surprising me.  Tonight I was thinking about how Dawn is influencing these days even though she isn’t physically here.  It was impressed on my heart that it is another case where a woman did her life’s work “right” all the years that she was granted and now it is paying off.  Jon and the children are doing things that are the way the family has consistently done things, and how they would do things if she were here.  She would be seeing the things that need to be done and either quietly doing them herself, or finding someone who would.  She would be proud of them, she would be contentedly watchful, she would be the glue that held everything steady.

You know what?  In a very real sense, she still is.  The influence of Dawn Yoder didn’t die when her heart ceased its beating.  And at times like this, when her family misses her so intently, it seems like she is alive in the choices they make and the things they do and the stories they tell and the way they are.  Their very lives honor her.  They are choosing, once again, to Not Waste Her Life!

I am so proud of them.  So challenged by them.  So incredibly blessed and encouraged by them.  I still wish that she wouldn’t have had to leave them so prematurely.  But this family’s trust in the Heavenly Father through it all, their confidence that God wasn’t absent on that Alabama morning, that He still has a plan for them, and their courage in the face of their raw, unrelenting grief and unfathomable loss, has given me hope and comfort.

And while that doesn’t make it “worth it” (I’m convinced that there is precious little this side of Heaven that will make it “worth it”) still it sits in my heart with a calm that can only be Our Father’s doings.  I don’t feel like I have to know “why”.  I no longer feel a need to rush in with a platitude or a spiritual law or even a diversion.  The grief is real.  It’s unavoidable.  It’s incredibly hard.  But Jesus is there.  He was there.  He will be there.  He promised.  He also promised that He will be enough. 

And that is where I’ve decided to anchor my little boat.

Blessings to you, Jon, and to your family in these exciting days.  “May the Grace and Peace of our Lord Jesus Christ rest and abide with each of you until you meet again.”

I surely do love you!

The last two mornings have been so beautiful!  Temps in the low 60’s early in the mornings, breezes and sunshine, low humidity and NO Air Conditioning needed!

Youngest Daughter had her babysitting charges here today, and Christina brought Charis down to play for a little while.  What is more fun than three kids and a wagon?  (Especially when a big strong cousin pedals the trike that totes the wagon on behind!)

He is so strong, he can even drive over the bumpy grass!

And swing me in the swing! 

The boys like to climb trees, too.

And Charis likes to snuggle with Auntie Rach.

This day hasn’t turned out like I had planned — Easter Seals called me to come get Cecilia because “she was crying.”  I decided that if it was serious enough to go and get her, it was serious enough to take her to the doctor.  He had an opening at 10:45, so the timing was exactly right.  She really isn’t sick, but I’m sure she must not be quite feeling good — So I have her sitting in her chair, and I am feeling rough enough my self to go and rest a little.  I hate this business of getting old.  I especially hate it when all around me is the energy of youth, accomplishing great things while I seem to barely be able to function.  It makes me feel lazy, but I am learning that I can never really compete with the energy of Youngest Daughter.  I guess there was a time when I could, but, I kid you not — my “get up and go” has certainly “got up and WENT!” and I’m not sure where to find it!

A week ago, we had an unusual gathering at Shady Acres.  Eldest Daughter and some of her friends had been talking about getting a reunion together for all the people who had gone on a work crew with Law Mennonite Youth group.  Certain Man had organized these trips for a number of years, and the memories that he has of them are priceless.  So they agreed upon a date, and tried to notify everyone who had ever participated.  I didn’t have alot to do except make the ice cream fixin’s and Certain Man grilled the hamburgers and hot dogs.  Oh, yes.  I took lots of pictures.  Have a look at the evening.

Vern Miller and Kent Garthwaite crash in the sun room while they await the arrival of other guests.

Other guests did arrive, bringing food.  Here Blaise and Kathleen (Shank) Maurice arrive. 
Just a few days later, Kathleen would give birth to their new son, Amani Blaise. 
Brave girl for coming out in the heat.

Kathleen’s husband, Blaise and Jesse solve world problems.

 

Kathy Sharp, April Garthwaite, little Victoria Garthwaite, Abi Bontrager and Kent Garthwaite.

Joel Bontrager, Dwight Miller, Joanna and Mary Beth Sharp. 
In the background is Vern Miller and Caleb Bontrager.

Joanna Sharp.  Just a few days away from getting her wisdom teeth taken out.

 

Mary Beth Sharp, Rachel Yutzy and Jesse Bontrager

Gary bought a digital Camera with his birthday money (see one of my previous posts).
  Joel, our resident expert on cameras, is helping him learn how to use it.

I didn’t get to see the pictures he took, but he seemed pleased with his progress.

 

Here everyone is still waiting for supper to start.  The girlie on the right (who hasn’t been identified before) is Bethany.  She comes to church with Calvin and Kathy Sharp and was welcome to come along with them that night.

 

Rachel and Abby discussing — well, I’m sure they were discussing something.
(I just don’t know what!)

 

The Jones Express is always a big hit.

It wasn’t often that it was sitting emptly like this.

 

Certain Man did his usual wonderful job with the grilling.

He must have just taken everything over to the table.

 

The girlie on the left probably came the farthest to attend the picnic
Rebecca Miller Hochstetler came all the way from Curtiss, Wisconsin, with her three young children.
Here she talks with Dave and Ruby Donophan.
(She stopped in Indiana and picked up her plucky Mama to help her along the way.)

Here Rebecca’s Mom, Karen Sue (Yoder) Miller, helps Rebecca’s middle child, Patrick, with a drink.
All three of Karen’s children are delightful little people.  They, as well as the other children that came, were a joy to have.

 

It was hot.  We went through a lot of drink.

 (Like 15 gallons of tea and lemonade and lots of ice water!)

 

Visiting, but texting someone else.  Maybe?  Maybe not!
Kanina Miller and Kathleen are old friends.

 

Kathleen, Abi, our Deborah and Kanina

Christina, Sara and April look at the old photo albums that April put together.

Kent looks like he is asking “How long do you think it will be till supper?”
  In reality, he is probably trying to figure out what one of his children is up to now.

 

This beautiful creature showed up in the course of the evening.
He was already dead, but someone picked him up
and put him on a picninc table to see what could be found out about it.

Charis and Her Mommy enjoyed the festivities.

 

Of course there were times when it took two of us to keep her from leaping off the table.

 

 

And her Daddy watched over her, too.

 

Beebs talks with her long gone friend, Kanina.

 

Gabe Miller got to come with Grandpa and Grandma Miller.
He and his sisters, Abby and Grace, were being babysat by Robert and Loretta.
Kurtis and Leslie were on a date, celebrating their anniversary.

 

Matt Rowan talkes to Sara Halttunnen. 

In the line to get food. 
Little girlie, Hannah Garthwaite is followed by Emily Sharp. 
Rachel and Mary Beth are on the other side of the table.

Blaise and Kathleen talk to the Rowan sisters, Jennifer and Sarah, who are looking over the old scrapbooks.

 

At almost every picnic at Shady Acres, We churn ice cream.
Strong arms and willing arms work hard to make the mix into the cool stuff.
Thanks, everyone for your great help. 
Certain Man’s old Rotator cuff injury has been troubling him some but he refuses to ask for help.
I know that I sometimes sound insistent when I ask for people to help. 
But pain keeps him awake at night way too often these days,
and I hate to see him work at cranking ice cream when there are people around who can help. 
So THANKS again.  I appreciate it for his sake.

(He is still the authority on when it is DONE!  Here he checks how hard it is to turn the crank.)

Our Precious Hannah Garthwaite with the evidence of her grand time all over her pretty face.

 

While the ice cream is being cranked, there is time for another ride on the Jones Express.
In the first car is the oldest of Rebecca’s children, Derrick.  In the next car is Hannah, and in the last car is the oldest of Kurtis and Leslie’s, Abby.

Kurtis and Leslie’s Gabe in the first car,  and the same in the next ones, then standing in the background is Rebecca holding her little red-haired girlie, Meghan.  Gary Burlingame is back there aiming his camera at something.

 

Daniel Garthwaite, Grace Miller, Emily Sharp, etc.

 

Choo-choo, chug-alug–

Good-bye, good-bye!
Please come back again!!!

 

 

Fourth of July pictures, Old and new . . .

 

 

 

This morning when I was working on ordering stuff for the prize/participation buckets

for our annual July 4th picnic, I realized that I hadn’t said anything about it on this forum.

We are planning to have the picnic this year on Monday, July 5th,
(which is the legal holiday). 

The festivities usually begin around 2:00.

As usual, anyone is welcome to come.

 

  It is especially geared to family fun,

 

 

Lots of visiting (and some lounging around:

 

 

 

relays,

 

 

 

 

the Jones Express

 

 

 

horseshoes,

 

 

corn hole,

 

sometimes soccer,

 

and always FOOD. 

 

The Shady Acres Crew provides hot dogs and hamburgers

and the fixin’s for homemade Ice Cream

 

 

And the rest of you bring potluck picnic foods, lawn chairs, sun block, whatever you want to bring to have a great time. 

 

We welcome riding toys for the small fry-

 

 

 

. . . and an extra set of clothes for anyone who might want to get wet. 

 

 

The only thing that would be nice is to know that you are coming and how many you want to bring.  You don’t have to RSVP, but it does help with planning.

Watch it, Mr. Campbell!!!

Hope to see you here!!!

I don’t know who farms the field across the road from us, but I’ve been watching the corn turn into little spikey looking things and asking God to please send rain on that field.

Tonight a glorious storm rolled through, and I am so grateful.

Thank you, Heavenly Father. Thank you for another direct answer to a specific prayer!

 

Is there anything as wonderful as children?

These three light up my life in ways that make the burdens lighter.

Youngest Daughter is babysitting for Carson and Nevin two days a week.

  Their tender care for Charis is something incredibly special.

This is a gift that I do not take lightly.

Thank God for little boys and little girls.

 

 

Old Gertrude would have been 86 today.  She loved her birthday, loved getting the attention, loved all the things that young children love, but so much more.  I sometimes remember her and think about what she was like and how she colored our lives in so many brilliant ways.   This is a story that was written some years before she died.  Some of you will enjoy it — some may not.  But it is the way it was . . .

 

 

        Several years ago, Poor Walter’s group home brought him to visit the Day Program where Old Gertrude and Little Johnny both attend. Some alert soul took Polaroid pictures, and Old Gertrude brought a copy home. A copy was made to put into a frame to sit on the toy box beside Gertrude’s Lazy‑boy. In the picture, three people are sitting in a semi‑circle. Old Gertrude sits somewhat off to the side in a shaft of sunlight. She looks sunny and peaceful. Almost pretty. Poor Walter and Little Johnny sit together on a piano bench. They are in the shadow, a bit, somewhat scrunched together. Poor Walter is in his element. He is with the two people he loves best. His eyes are obscure behind the dark, coke‑bottle glasses. But if you could be close to him, those eyes would be shining. You would know that what he is living and tasting is love in the purest form. You could, I believe, smell it on his breath.

 

Most of you know that when it comes to Facebook, I tend to be a reluctant user at best and sometimes it doesn’t even hit there —

Tonight I have the soul sick feeling of resentment, and after a certain facebook post, I want to write, “DISLIKE! DISLIKE!! DISLIKE!!!”  (Nobody get paranoid!!!  It could actually be any of a number of them over my tenure with this medium–)

Oh, Lord Jesus!  How can I come to you with my imperfections, my inferior performances, my paltry offerings and my sniveling attitudes and expect you not to write at the end of the posting of my life, “DISLIKE! DISLIKE!! DISLIKE!!!”?

Give me grace and courage, Dear Father.  Empty this wicked heart of its bitterness and critical attitude.  Calm this storm with the power of your presence and the reminder of how much Grace you’ve extended to me in my ignorance and self will and even good intentions gone wrong.

And most of all, when all is said and done, may it be Your Own Hand, hitting the “Like” button and welcoming me home.