For the next month or so I will be working in our church office two days each week. Since I spent twenty-five years on the church staff, it seems pretty natural to be there, much like a familiar habit. I enjoy the people, but I have so much to do at home.

There are so many of my Dad's books that still need to to find a home, many little treasures my mom isn't ready to let go of which must be stored in my basement and/or attic space, and all the regular every day chores and tasks that I have grown to love. My dear sister gave me a full cardboard carton of books that need to be read and enjoyed, we have soccer games and birthdays coming, and what on earth are Pepaw and I going to wear as costumes for Maya's birthday/Halloween party?

I surely must not have time for "work" again. I have settled into my life at home, and am at last content with my life. Only a deep abiding love and compassion could have moved me from my nest back out into the world away from my home.

We finally had the mammoth garage sale to try to "finalize" my parents' downsizing move. We spent more than we made, but I think my parents were pleased with the results. My dear husband said he felt like their move was finally over, and now maybe we can at last get his Ford truck back into the garage. Life moves on. Blessed be the Lord.

Yesterday a funeral watch, seated along side loved ones, whose grief was complicated by broken relationship, lost dreams of what should have been.
Today the march of ordinary everyday life- of dirty floors, boxes of memories to be sorted and sold at a weekend sale, wishes for healing of a dear friend.
O Great Giver of Life see me through the contrasts, the highs and lows, the gifts received and the hopes lost. Stand beside me as I live this day for You. Amen.

Added to Things I Never Thought I Would Do

Watch the Home Shopping Network with my mom who is watching the Home Shopping Network while she talks to me by cell phone about stuff they are selling. It was actually kind of fun:)

There Is A Fountain

It turns out that the lovely flowing waters on our front sidewalk are on our side of the pipes. I felt that "Oh no" feeling right down to my shoes. I called DH at work to share the bad news and he insisted that I call the folks we have purchased homeowner repair type insurance from and see if we were covered.

Yeah! We are covered. I had just chosen to increase our coverage last month, reluctantly due to our financial pinch. Although expected, the jump in our natural gas bill last month gave me a huge jolt, but now I am so glad I went for the full coverage.

Now I just have to keep praying that out beautiful maple tree (the most likely culprit in causing the pipe problem) will not have to be taken down during the repair.

Question: What do you do when you see water bubbling up underneath the main water connection located in the sidewalk in front of your house?

Answer: You start praying the leak is on the "city's" side.

Today is just a normal Monday. I am enjoying doing laundry, cleaning, and making lists of chores for the week. It seems it has been a while since our lives felt at all "normal."

Dear husband and I are making a list of chores that need to be done at our house. I am making fewer trips to my folks house, and I am trying to feather our nest for a change. We would like to get our yard and flower gardens into better shape, hopefully to enjoy a little more of their beauty before the cold weather hits. We are trying to decide how to store my dad's books and preparing for a garage sale at the end of the month. There is great joy in purging, as I am finding out.

Hurrah for normal!

"O Love that wilt not let me go, I rest my weary soul in Thee;

I give thee back the life I owe, that in thine ocean's depths its flow may richer, fuller be."

Matheson/Peace, The Methodist Hymnal

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"This is the air I breathe, this is the air I breathe,

Your Holy Presence living in me.

And I, I'm desperate for You.

And I, I'm lost without You.

This is my daily bread, this is my daily bread,

Your very Word, spoken to me.

And I, I'm desperate for You.

And I, I'm lost without You."

Michael W. Smith

"Rock of Ages,cleft for me, let me hide myself in Thee."

Tomorrow the long awaited weekend of moving begins. Final boxes must be packed. Sixty years of life and memories sorted and stuffed into cardboard boxes. I have learned that stuff is not stuff when memory begins to fade. It morphs into an anchor, a sign post, and trail marker that can take you back to a sweeter place in time and somehow fill a disquieted spirit with calm.

So we will try to work the miracle. We'll smile and encourage and ooh and ah over new places, new things, less space to clean, less clutter to manage.

We'll rest assured in a God who never leaves us or forsakes us, but goes ahead of us into new places. Thanks be to God.

We are a family that loves to quote movie lines to one another. My kids have many of their favorite movies memorized, and the first one I can remember hearing them quote a lot was "The Princess Bride."

"Inconceivable!" "He's been mostly dead all day." "As you wish."

If you've never seen the movie this sounds like meaningless drivel aired by certifiable nut burgers. Usually we don't care if other folks don't get it. We love crazy lines from "The Breakfast Club," "The Godfather," and on and on.

In the movie "Mixed Nuts" Madeline Kahn's character tells Rita Wilson's character that she could see the "bright side of the plague." There are just some of us who just keep looking for the "bright side," most especially those of us who are "nuts."

Life can make you crazy. You can laugh or you can cry. I highly recommend both, simultaneously if possible. Remember those unforgettable words of Dolly Parton in "Steel Magnolias."

"Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion."
Words to live by.

Saturday is moving day for my parents. It has been a rough and winding road to get this far. Everyone is worn out. It isn't as if the busy lives of my siblings and their families have been suspended...jobs must still be worked, papers written, children moved to colleges, life to be lived across two states has gone on, as it well should.

If only we knew that this was the right choice. All of us are still not sure that we are making the correct move. There are so many unknowns, and so many what ifs.

I know so clearly now why Solomon chose wisdom over riches. I feel the weight of not knowing so heavy on my shoulders. I pray for wisdom, for patience, for courage, and for strength. God has never failed us, and I know He will not fail us now.

Some of the challenges in my life make me feel like a limp, wrung out dishrag. I am too dry and parched to do any good any where, and I need to be immersed in the Word, to bathe in the Spirit, to be refreshed and renewed so that I have usefulness again.

Fill me up, Father God. Wash me clean, and saturate all my fibers with your love and peace and strength. It is good to know that I can come to you and be filled, over and over. Amen.

Dear husband reminded me that I would knee drop anyone who threatened our grand babies. Guess I am not such a peace lover after all:)

Families are interesting and complicated. Everyone has their role to play, and sometimes those assigned roles (or assumed, not sure which) can carry on for decades. God help me, I am the "peacemaker."

I stink at confrontation. Pretty much I am the family wimp. I sort of stand back and let other people be the dragon slayers. I just mop up the blood, stitch up the wounds, and bake everyone cookies after the battle has been fought. I am no warrior. I listen to everyone, and can truly feel their pain, even if I am not sure they are always "right." Pain and loss make people a little crazy, and everyone needs someone to tell them that it is going to be okay. That is one of my best things. I say that a lot. I actually believe it too.

Sometimes I do wonder if I am playing the role that God chose for me, or the one I feel safest playing. Is God nudging me closer to the front lines? Or am I still needed in the tents caring for the wounded?

Fifty-seven is entirely too old to indulge in such self-examination. I think I'll go bake some cookies.

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.