Our Grand Children's Nicknames

" Sweet Pea," "Spiderman,""Pixie,"

"Princess,""Boo," and "Wonder Woman."

Can you guess which is which? Spiderman is not such a mystery.

The best things in life are nearest: Breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of right just before you. Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life's plain, common work as it comes, certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest things in life. ~Robert Louis Stevenson~

I spent Tuesday in Newark at my parent's home. It was a pretty rough day for my Mom and Dad. They are both worn to a frazzle by the ups and downs of illness, multiple and confusing medication changes, and waiting for their house to "close" and preparing for moving. No one is sleeping much. There is plenty of sadness and frustration and exhaustion for both of them. Prayers would be much appreciated.

Gentle and compassionate Father, save us from our lack of knowing. Give us peace and joy and gentle words, even as our time here away from you grows shorter. Hold us up a little longer, gentle Father. Keep us safe in your loving arms, and give us peace. Amen.

Today is one of those days.

Thirty-fours years ago my dear Grandma passed away, and exactly one year later our sweet baby girl was born.

Grandma, I still miss you.

Chelle, you have filled my life with love and joy. Happy birthday!

The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the Lord!

I forgot to add that Charlie and Steve won the "Corn Hole" tournament at the family reunion. They were loud and proud and only mildly teasing cousin Tim's daughters about their corn hole skills. No one would believe that Steve had never played the game before. Did they think he had been taking corn hole training somewhere? Too funny.

We had such a wonderful day on Saturday sharing memories and joy with our big "Krumm" family at our first ever family reunion. My husband's brother and sisters, and most of all their families were there to meet and greet one another after several years absence in some cases.

As the giant Krumm family (all sixty or so of us) sat and stood in the hot noonday sun posing for a big family photo, dear husband and I were a little prideful of the fact that our whole clan was present and accounted for, all twelve of us smiling and only mildly grumbling about how long the process was taking. Spiderman was yawning on my lap...after all, stillness for a three year old can only mean sleep, otherwise perfectly good wiggling, jumping, and running time is being wasted. The grand girls were gracious and kept posing and smiling, and the clouds just never came to make the picture "perfect."

Our grown kid's aunts and uncles and cousins got to meet our grand children and lots of hugging and smiling was taking place. I liked introducing my grand children to everyone. I think our eighty-six year old Great-Grandma Krumm was enjoying seeing all of her family together. We have all wanted to do this for a long time. Gathering at holiday times is too difficult, so this seems a wonderful alternative. We look forward to next year's gathering.

On Sunday we were able to gather and celebrate Spiderman's third birthday with lots of laughter, lots of presents, and lots of goodies. He quickly figured out how to open presents and not worry too much about tearing off the paper. It is wonderful to see how much we all love him. And how in the name of heaven can he be three already!?!

Now comes Monday, and the greatest blessing for me is that I do not have the stress and pressure of running off from my home to go to work and be filled with anxiety over deadlines and expectations. I dread my husband going back to work, but I always get a little leap of joy in my heart when I remember that I get to stay here at home and keep the house for all of us.

Blessings to all. Have a great Monday.

The Cordle Kid's Mealtime Prayer

(as taught to us by Dad's Aunt Ann)

Thank Thee Father for this Food,

And all the Blessings, Amen.

Several of the blogs I read participate in a joint expression of gratitude. If I were to list my blessings I would hardly know where to start. My life is blessed beyond imagination.

• I was born into a home where my parents loved one another and loved God. They blessed me with sisters and a brother.
• I was blessed with a wonderful Grandmother who fed us when we were hungry and provided a farm for us to explore. All my aunts and uncles were that "salt of the earth" type you read about in great books.
• I went to a small school in a small community and took piano lessons from a Welsh teacher who taught me to love music.
• We almost always had enough, never too much, but always enough.
• My parents made sure I learned to cook, clean, and take care of babies.
• I fell in love with and married a wonderful man who (after thirty-seven years) still thinks I am funny, smart, and pretty. Go figure.
• I had two terrific kids who were so great it made me look like a good mom. They married two terrific people who are very tolerant of me.
• I got to work in a church with families of young children for twenty-five years and I had people fooled that I was smart and stuff.
• I live in a great house with a green yard and I even have a deck!
• I have six unbelievably wonderful grandchildren who I adore.
• I love God and He loves me.
• Boy, oh boy! I got it all!
• Undeserving? You bet! Blessed and saved by Grace? Absolutely!

PSALM 139

"O Lord, you have searched me and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely,
O Lord."

"Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there."

Romans 8: 38 and 39

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels or demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Please pray for my sweet and gentle mother. She is struggling with stress about life changes and illness. She is simply overwhelmed, and sometimes feeling like an unbearable weight is on her small shoulders. She is in a dark place, and needs to feel safe and loved. Thank you.

"O God our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come,

Our shelter from the stormy blast, And our eternal home!"

Eternal God, give me wisdom, kind words, patience, and joy in each day. Keep me safe and centered in your will for my life. Teach me your ways, and guide my steps. Amen.

Even though the sun has been up for quite some time, I am struggling to rise to the Monday morning routines of laundry, menu planning, and weekend recovery for my home. It is not that I had a bad weekend, it is that we had such a wonderful weekend.

Because we live nearly fifty miles (or more) from most of my husband's family, we do not see them as often as we would like. Their busy lives paired with our busy lives makes getting together a rare occasion. This weekend we had two high school graduations to celebrate and got to see many of our dear ones at both. What joy!

It is sad that people no longer can send a lilting "hello" over the back fence and summon a sister, cousin, or mother-in-law. My husband and I were filled with a small sense of loss over the years missed in the lives of these bright and talented young people. Our nephew Andrew treated all of us to a percussion recital that was incredible, despite thunder and torrential rain hammering at the roof of the school auditorium. Our niece's daughter Marisa shared her plans for attending training for law enforcement, and we were pleased with the opportunity to hear of her plans.

It all makes me wonder about heaven. I think of those who have gone before us and the joys they have missed here. I know that my dear father-in-law would smile from ear to ear if he could see his grandson's and granddaughter's children. I have so much to do here, and I am in no hurry to go there yet, but I hope our Lord and Father gives us all lots of time to "catch up." I have so much to tell them.

We are surrounded by voices that urge us to buy, spend, and continually acquire more stuff. It seems the basis of our so called "economic health" in the United States is based upon all of us being good and faithful consumers of more and more things.

One of the television shows I sometimes watch is called Mission Organization on HG TV. It is amazing how much folks can accumulate, and I do not exclude myself from this reality. There is definitely an underlying note of "giving away" in this show, but an even stronger note of just learning to purchase the "correct storage receptacle" in order to not look like an over buyer. I'm not sure where the shows are that tell us to stop and think before we purchase. Is this an idea whose time has come?

Where does all our stuff come from? And where does it all go? Why do we just keep getting more and more?

I am convinced that folks are trying to fill some empty space with things. I do not wish to paint everyone with a broad brush, but it seems this is one issue that our modern society does not dare tackle. Where would our economy be if we just stopped "buying?" Since we dare not mention God or the lack of His presence in our lives, the hole stays empty and the "stuff" just keeps pouring in.

I made up my mind some time ago that I would always answer the requests from charities for donations. I will try to be a wiser consumer, and I will try to honor God in my purchases. My prayer is that God will keep His hand in my life, as I try to consume less, buy less, and live more.

Psalm 37:25 "I was young, and now I am old; yet never have I seen the righteous forsaken, or their children begging for bread."

Lately I have been a frequent observer of the trials of aging. I have seen the physical and intellectual frailty, and felt the anxiety that unwelcome change brings. I have witnessed joy, laughter, tears, anger, and sadness. I have felt powerless to change circumstances, and have tried hard to listen, love, and help.

What comfort the words of I Peter 5:7, "Cast all your anxiety (cares) on Him because He cares for you."

I do not have to know about the exact details of the future, because God is already there. That is peace.

There is some unchangeable law of the universe that if one plans a move, has a baby, is getting married, or God forbid must attend the funeral of a loved one, the weather will be in some way too hot, too cold, or just plain nasty.


I can report that this particular bit of reality was in full force this past weekend. My husband, my older sister and brother -in-law and I (all folks in our late fifties), traveled to Indiana to help our youngest sister and her family move. The temperature was well into the nineties, and on the way there big sister and her husband had to sit out a severe thunder storm huddled in their car and watching light poles being blown down. (These are the same folks who on their last trip to our youngest sister's home had a huge deer run into them and crash out their windshield.)

Despite the weather the move was on. When you take into account the litany of "old folks" complaints among the four of us such as; always impending gout, a recovered stroke patient, an injured back and one very bad knee, I am surprised we were any help at all! I think we were surprised that we helped as well as we did. I plan on never moving for the rest of my life. Ever.

Now...if I could just pay someone to go into my parents home and take everything away on some dark night. Sigh.

Today we travel hundreds of miles in the first of the summer's heat to help family change their address. They go from a large house to a small apartment. It is one of those big changes in life that we either eagerly anticipate or fearfully dread, sometimes feeling both emotions simultaneously.

In our society of buyers and wanters we often long for whatever it is that we do not have. In magazines and on television we see the glories of palatial gardens, the coziness of homey surroundings filled with careworn antiques, and we think about owning, having, enjoying.

Today I feel with certainty that the place I am now is the home I was meant to have. I pray for the privilege of taking care of it, not for the praise or recognition of a larger audience, but only for the comfort and enjoyment for ourselves, our family, and our friends. So many in this world would see our lives as blessed beyond measure, see our suburban tract home as a palace, our well stocked refrigerator and pantry as largess beyond their wildest dreams. We have so much. We have so much. Make us worthy of these gifts, dear Father.

"Because you have made the Lord your refuge, the Most High your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, no scourge come near your tent."
Psalm 91:9-10

It is easy to get lost in the "what ifs," the fears, the scary places of the mind. It takes courage and wisdom to accept the hand of God in our lives. I must know beyond knowing that God is my refuge and strength and that His plans for me are good. Give me the wisdom to accept His grace, His love, and His mercy. Amen.

I almost never watch the Today show. It is not my cup of tea, but today for reasons obvious I was channel cruising and landed on a health segment. Dr. Oz, a major hunk by the way, says that having chronic reflux can cause one to be the "cold getter/sickie" when everyone else is just fine thank you.

Whoa! No wonder my doc is trying so hard to get me to take those anti-reflux meds. Now I get it. I am most definitely the "sickie" of all the adults in our family. You better believe I will be hitting the Prilosec every day from now on.

And, oh yeah, I still hate being sick.

My parents are soon to be eighty and seventy-nine years of age. Their home which they dearly love is becoming more than they can safely manage, and they have decided to sell it and move to more accommodating housing. Because of a life spent in active ministry, this is the first home they have owned in over fifty years. They have lived in this home longer than any other place they have lived together. They are resigned, and yet often sad.

My role in all of this, and the role of my siblings, is to get the layers of time, dust, and memory organized enough that strangers can walk through the house. It is very difficult, because neither of my folks really wants this to be happening, and neither is really ready to allow us to "pack away" things, or do any kind of truly efficient decluttering or staging.

All this hubbub takes a toll on all of us, my dearest mother most of all.

God grant her peace, give me "wonder woman" like energy, and help me use only words which heal and never words that hurt. Amen.

Too many of us spend today planting flowers and mowing lawns. We should be thinking of the sacrifices made by those who lie beneath waving grasses and granite stones, just so we could cook out and plant flowers today.

I spent most of my day yesterday with my mother and father trying to help them decide some things about selling their home. I looked at piles of books, sermons, fabric, family photos, all representing untold years of memories.

I tried to be gentle and helpful and cautious as I listened and tried to think of simple quiet things I could do to help my Mom. My Dad is less enthusiastic about moving, and far less able to be of any help in the organizing and planning of the many years of accumulation still to be sorted and pared.

As I drove home I was again reminded of all the reasons that I wish to make my family my priority and how little joy I feel at the prospect of returning to the world of work. Charlie and I keep praying that somehow we will find ways of making our finances work so that I can still be available to our family. Send prayers if you got them.

One of my new favorite things to do is reading "frugal" blogs. I pore over them with a fevered intensity hoping somehow to find new ways of keeping me at home and away from the big, bad world of work.

I do not have the creativity that many of these bloggers have, but I certainly am willing to try new things...which is really trying "old" things. When my husband and I were growing up, everyone had a garden. People spent many summer days and evenings outdoors, not for exercise or recreation, but for the very pragmatic reasons on needing more economical food to feed large families. My mom made most of our clothes, and getting something handed down, remade, or used was really no big deal. The truth is that much of the furniture in our house once belonged to someone else, but I rarely ever think about that, except to remember whose it was with fondness. We have an entire bedroom set that once belonged to on of my husband's maiden aunts. It's green...so who cares?

In our 1950's gardens we grew corn, tomatoes, green beans, and cucumbers. More ambitious gardeners grew melons and more exotic vegetables. We "canned' in glass jars with lots of boiling water and the eminent threat of explosion. My grandmother had a huge freezer and nothing could compare with the frozen peaches and strawberries we ate when there was snow piled outside the windows.

Regardless of the old versus new argument, we need to use our property for more than a place to grow an overpriced, over-treated lawn which is rarely played upon. We need to grow food for ourselves and for others who do not have the luxury of space that we have here on our little suburban homestead.

I'll keep reading blogs, and trying to find ways to make the most of what we have. Reduce, reuse, recycle will be my mantra. I really want to be a homemaker. I just need to find lots of creative ways of cutting costs so that we can live on what we make. God, please bless our efforts.