A Special Gift

Today is my birthday! My sweetheart gave me a very special gift - a trip to the Oregon Coast for a few days.  He knew this birthday would be hard. It's the first one without my mom so he chose to take me to a place I love - a place that always makes me relax. And make my heart sing.

I'd like to tell you a bit about what my dear, little mother endured to bring me into this world.  She was in her eighth month of pregnancy. I was supposed to arrive in September but apparently God had other plans.  My dear mother had been dealing with bouts of appendicitis on and off for a few months. The doctors told her and my father that they could do surgery but it would mean that my life would end. Since things were not at a critical point my parents chose to wait and give me a chance to live.  I'm sure glad they did!  On the morning of August second my mother had an appendicitis attack that took her to the hospital. There was no waiting!  My parents were assured that, at that point, surgery could proceed and that I would be fine. The doctors said I would stay right where I was for the next month.  Surgery went well - and then labor began.  Then, thirty-two hours after her surgery, I was born!  Healthy and strong. When I tell my story I like to say that the doctors were wrong because they didn't know me. My story is (and I'm sticking to it!) that during the appendectomy I heard voices and wondered what was going on out there so I decided to come find out for myself!

My mom had a great sense of humor.  Over the years it seemed I couldn't get sympathy from her.  After I had a baby she chuckled and said she couldn't sympathize because I hadn't just had an appendectomy.  Then, after I had an appendectomy she told me, 'no sympathy' because I wasn't eight months pregnant!  Honesty, she was very sympathetic and compassionate but she loved to tease.

Over the years I have given my mother roses on my birthday. She always laughed and said I wasn't supposed to do that - I was the one who should get roses.  And I always said, 'these are for you because you worked so hard to bring me into the world and you worked hard to make sure I grew up to a good, strong lady'.  She never refused the roses. In fact, she showed them off with pride to anyone who came by.

I really miss my mom, especially today, but I wouldn't ask her to come back from the joys of Heaven to celebrate with me today.  Instead, I will cherish the memories through the years and continue to be thankful for her every day.

A Different Sort of Birthday

Today is my dear, little mother's ninety-fourth birthday!  We are celebrating it in a different sort of way this year.  We are celebrating without her.  On the other hand, we're sure she is having a celebration in Heaven that we can't even begin to imagine!  The day has been filled with hard spots throughout the day, phones call to check in with me, hugs and text messages to and from family and many, many memories we cherish.  Just a year ago today we had a wonderful lunch with her and some of our family.

My mother lived a long, full life and she left a legacy that money can't buy. Here's what I wrote for her memorial service.  It was hard to put ninety-three years into a small space but this is her story.

Carol was born February 12, 1923 in Lompoc, California. Her parents were Clifford and Mildred (Hooker) Cooper.  She committed her life to the Lord when she was 15 years old. Following graduation from high school she worked as assistant librarian at the Lompoc library for two years. She attended Simpson Bible Institute in Seattle from 1943-45, where she studied Christian Education. While at Simpson she met the love of her life, James (Jim) Thompson. They were married on June 24, 1945.

Jim and Carol moved to Salem, Oregon where he began his ministry as assistant pastor at the Christian & Missionary alliance Church. Through the years, she served as a very active minister's wife in the churches where her husband was the pastor in Granite Falls and Everett (Pinehurst), Washington, as well as in Bend, Springfield and Milwaukie, Oregon.

In 1963 they moved to Canby. Jim and Carol traveled extensively through the U.S. and Canada for 15 years to conduct evangelistic meetings, Bible camps and Kids' Crusades in churches of various denominations. They organized a new Alliance Church in Ketchikan, Alaska and served on staff at Canby Grove Conference Center. They were honored by the Christian & Missionary Alliance for 50 years of service.

For several years, Carol served as secretary to the director of Love Your Neighbor Ministries, a Gresham (Oregon) based chaplain ministry to nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

Carol was a woman of deep faith and prayer. When she prayed, God answered. She touched the lives of people wherever she went. She led countless children, teens and adults to the Lord during her lifetime. She led a ladies' Bible Study in her home until recently and she was a spiritual mentor to many people of all ages.

A Day To Remember

Forty-two years ago today was a day that changed my life forever.  Our sweet son, Mr. J., entered the world and our lives - and we've never been the same since.  He brought such joy and things we never dreamed possible to our family.  We are so proud of the way he has grown up - the way he has led his home and family, the caring father he has become - but most of all, the way He loves and serves God with his life.

Happy birthday, dear son.  You forever changed my life!

Then, as if that wasn't enough, God did something else very special on this day eighteen years ago.  We became grandparents to the sweetest girl in the world!  Our lives changed again in ways we  could never have imagined.  Our dear Miss A. was born on this date - sharing a birthday with her uncle.  It was like God added frosting to the cake of life!  Today she is a great young lady with hopes and dreams and plans for life.  We are very proud of her and can't imagine what life would be like without her.  Happy birthday to our sweet oldest grandchild - our first granddaughter!

Then Came The Morning

They all walked away, nothing to say,
They'd just lost their dearest friend.
All that He said, now He was dead,
So this was the way it would end.
The dreams they had dreamed were not what they'd seemed,
Now that He was dead and gone.
The garden, the jail, the hammer, the nail,
How could a night be so long.

The angel, the star, the kings from afar,
The wedding, the water, the wine.
Now it was done, they'd taken her son,
Wasted before his time.
She knew it was true, she'd watched him die too,
She'd heard them call Him just a man,
But deep in her heart, she knew from the start,
Somehow her Son would live again.

Then came the morning, night turned into day;
The stone was rolled away, hope rose with the dawn.
Then came the morning, shadows vanished before the sun,
Death had lost and life had won, for morning had come.

 

He is not here; He has risen, as He said [He would do].
Come, see the place where He lay. 

Matthew 28:6

Song: ‘Then Came The Morning’
Words and music by Bill and Gloria Gaither
Scripture from The Amplified Bible

We Are Celebrating. . .

A birthday at our house today.  Someone is a year older!  Not my sweetheart.  Not me.  Wonder who it is? It’s. . .

Joey!
He’s six years old today.
(He's a Long-Haired Miniature Dachshund)

Joey was a birthday gift to me from our daughter and her four children.  I’ll never forget the day I met him.  He was so tiny – and loving and snuggly-cuddly.  The moment we met I knew it was love at first sight.  For both of us.  My oldest granddaughter held him and watched to see the look on my face.  She added a bit of drama and gave me a sad, puppy-dog look.  I think she must have thought she had to convince me to take him.

He was so little the day he came home.  My daughter bought him the smallest doggie jacket she could find and it was too big!  It didn’t always stay where a jacket should be – you never knew how he would be wearing it.  He snooped around and didn’t venture far from the living room and then found a spot that seemed like the perfect place for a nap.
I’m sure the world seemed like an enormous place to him.  His bed was too big.
The world outside was so big he was not sure what to think when he was out there.When it was time to come back inside even the little step up was too big!  He was so small he couldn’t hop up through the patio door so my sweetheart put a little step there and carefully taught him how to come in by himself.He loved it when the door was open and he could stay inside and just look out.
But the best thing was when the door was open so he could lie down and hang his head out a bit.
Time passed quickly and he grew.  Life with a growing puppy was fun but challenging at times.  He went through puppy training – and so did we!  He loved to chew and he loved to steal things and hide them.  And sometimes chew them all to pieces.  Most of all he loved being spoiled a bit.If you know anything about Dachshunds, you know that they rule the roost.  They can be very stubborn but loving.  Joey has grown to know his boundaries.  Most of the time.  He’s a good companion and likes to stay close to us.  He loves it when our grandchildren come to visit but he always searches all around the house for them when they go home.

He is an adult now and he has settled into life here pretty well.  He understands a lot of what we say and we find we have to spell some things so he won’t hear them and get excited.  He’s a good dog and I can’t imagine life without him. 
Happy birthday, Joey – you’re the best doggie pal a girl could have.  Today is your day and there are special treats planned for you today. 

I Serve A Risen Savior

 

He is risen – as He said!
Matthew 28:6

 

Happy Easter.

Happy Thanksgiving

Wishes for a wonderful Thanksgiving Day.

From our house. . .to yours.

 

Happy Fourth of July

 Oliver Wendell Holmes

The Birthday Boy

Today is my sweetheart’s birthday.  He’s a special man in so many ways!  If you know him, you are among those who are blessed.  He is caring and giving - he has a sense of humor and he loves to do things for others.  He is God’s gift to me, for sure!

(sixth birthday)

I shipped him off early this morning – sent him packing down the road with his boat traveling along behind his truck.  Fishing rods and bait were packed securely alongside the tackle box.  He and my cousin’s hubby went to a favorite lake on Mount Hood.  There has been no word from them but we know they will be back – there’s a party at our house this evening.

Happy Birthday To A Very Special Guy!

 

I Had A Mean Mother

I had the meanest mother in the whole world. While other kids ate candy for breakfast, I had to have cereal, eggs or toast. When others had cokes and candy for lunch, I had to eat a sandwich. As you can guess, my supper was different than the other kids' also.

My mother insisted upon knowing where I was at all times. You'd think I was on a chain gang. She had to know who my friends were and where we were going. She insisted if we said we'd be gone an hour, that we be gone one hour or less--not one hour and one minute.

I had to wear clean clothes and take a bath. The other kids always wore their clothes for days.  Why, oh why, did I have to have a mother who made me feel different from my friends?

The worst is yet to come. I had to be in bed by eight each night and up at eight the next morning. I couldn't sleep till noon like my friends. So while they slept - my mother actually had the nerve to break the child-labor law. She made me work. I had to wash dishes, make beds, learn to cook and all sorts of cruel things. I believe she laid awake at night thinking up mean things to do to me.

She always insisted that I tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, even if it killed me - and it nearly did.

By the time I was a teen-ager, she was much wiser, and my life became even more unbearable. None of this tooting the horn of a car for me to come running. She embarrassed me to no end by making my dates and friends come to the door to get me. If I spent the night with a girlfriend, can you imagine she checked on me to see if I were really there. I never had the chance to elope to Mexico. That is if I'd had a boyfriend to elope with. I forgot to mention, while my friends were dating at the mature age of 12 and 13, my old fashioned mother refused to let me date until the age of 15 and 16. Fifteen, that is, if you dated only to go to a school function. And that was maybe twice a year.

Through the years, things didn't improve a bit. I could not lie in bed, "sick" like my friends did, and miss school. If my friends had a toe ache, a hang nail or serious ailment, they could stay home from school. My marks in school had to be up to par. My friends' report cards had beautiful colors on them, black for passing, red for failing. My mother being as different as she was, would settle for nothing less than ugly black marks.

As the years rolled by, I was put to shame. I graduated from high school. With my mother behind me, talking and demanding respect, I was not allowed the pleasure of being a drop-out. 

My mother was a complete failure as a mother. I attained some higher education. I have ever been arrested, divorced or beaten my mate.  And who do I have to blame for the terrible way I turned out? You're right, my mean mother. Look at the things I missed. I never got to march in a protest parade, nor to take part in a riot, burn draft cards, and a million and one other things that my friends did. 

She forced me to grow up into a God-fearing, educated, honest adult. Using this as a background, I am tried to raise my two children. I stand a little taller and I am filled with pride when my children call me mean. 

Because, you see, I thank God, He gave me the meanest mother in the whole world. 

Happy Mother's Day! 

 

 

(Adapted from ‘I Had A Mean Mother’ written by Bobbie Pingaro)

 

 

 

Birthday Wishes

Wishing a very happy birthday to my dear daughter-in-law, Mrs. K.  What a special gift from God to our son – and to our family.  Thank you, dear one, for the joy you bring and the beauty you’ve added to our lives.  We love you much!

This photo was ‘borrowed’ from my son.  Oh, by the way, the cute lady in pink is our youngest granddaughter, Miss B.

Tribute

Happy Memorial Day!

With gratitude to those who gave so we can live in freedom.

A Special Day

source

Today is a very special day in our family.  This is the day we celebrate the birth of our first-born.  Our son came into the world and into our arms thirty-eight years ago – a day that never gets lost in my heart!  We were so proud of him we thought we would burst.  Our pride in him grew as he grew and today he is an incredible man who makes us stand a little taller with pride as we see how his life makes a difference.  He touches a lot of people with his great big heart!  Mr. J. – we love you.  Happy birthday.

As if that wasn’t enough for us to wrap our hearts around on this day each year, God blessed us with our beautiful first grandchild fourteen years ago today.  On the same day we celebrated Mr. J’s birth!  Our hearts grew a bit bigger and our heads swelled a bit more with pride.  She's the delight of our hearts.  She’s grown up so fast.  Where did the years go?  Wasn’t it just yesterday that she was learning to sit up and smile in a way that stole our hearts?  We love you bunches, Miss A.

We are blessed!
So blessed!

Gifts From The Heart

Last week I had a birthday.  It was a wonderful day and I treasure the time I had with my family.  My sweetheart and my dear, little mother and my cousin planned a special dinner for me – at my house.  My sweetheart cooked steak to perfection on the grill and my dear mother and cousin prepared a wonderful meal.  It seemed strange to sit in my living room – with my feet up – while they worked on the details of a wonderful meal.  Shortly before my mother and cousin and her hubby arrived I had surprise visitors.  My daughter and her daughters arrived for just a few minutes to deliver the most beautiful birthday flowers.    A very special gift was hand-delivered by one of my granddaughters.  It’s a grandma and her grandchild! So sweet. A special treasure.

High atop the flowers was a birthday greeting that is still ‘flying high’.     The flowers and the balloon still make me smile every time I see them and the little grandma bear is a constant reminder how blessed I am to be a grandma!

Yellow Roses For An ‘Old’ Lady

Several months ago my oldest granddaughter asked how old I would be on my next birthday.  When I told her, she gasped and said, ‘I didn’t know you were going to be that old!’  To be honest, I hadn’t felt that old until that moment.  When seen through the eyes of a young teen, the age I am now must seem hard to comprehend.  What I didn’t tell her was that it seems like just yesterday I was where she is in life and I, too, thought I would never get to be that age.  And I also didn’t say that time goes so fast – something I heard when I was young and didn’t comprehend – and, suddenly, here I am.

Well, today I am that age!  And in many ways I don’t feel a whole lot older than I did all those years ago.  I just feel wiser!  And happy - and content - and satisfied to be exactly where I am.  I see things so much differently.  I think I feel things much deeper and I hope I love a whole lot more!  I’m glad – oh, so glad – that I have made it to this place in my life.  You see, my friends, today is my birthday and I am so happy to tell you my age.  I have finally reached that age!

(The beautiful miniature yellow roses shown above were a gift from my sweetheart. He knows they are my favorite!)

Mother’s Day Memories

Today I keep thinking about the wonderful Mother’s Day that we enjoyed at our home.  The day started out with breakfast prepared by my sweetheart.  Then we picked up my dear, little mother and travelled to a nearby community where we attended church with my cousin and her hubby, Mrs. C. and Mr. V.  After church we all came back to our home for dinner.  And, oh, what a dinner it was!  My sweetheart cooked a most delicious meal for the three of us girls.  We loved having a chance to sit in the living room and visit while the work was being done in the kitchen.  He set the table and when I peeked my head into the dining room I couldn’t keep from laughing.  I saw the craziest plastic 'glasses' at each of the girls' places at the table!

My sweetheart had planned it all – a beautiful table setting, complete with a bit of humor.  Ice water never tasted so good! It was served in these silly glasses that had crazy straws!  My dear, little mother had the one with peppermint stripes and a straw that wound around down inside and all around the outside of her glass.  It ended with a gentle curve toward her mouth.  Mrs. C. had the yellow glass with a straw that curled around to look like branches on a palm tree.  My glass was the tall one with wild turquoise and lime green stripes and a straw that had the funniest curls and bends and twists from the very bottom deep down inside all the way to the top.  When dinner was over my sweetheart told us that we could keep our glasses.  I’m not sure when my dear, little mother will drink from hers again but I sure had fun drinking juice from mine again today!

My sweetheart put the finishing touches on a colorful stir-fry dish. . .
While Mr. V. sliced and plated the meat.
The meal was absolutely over the top!  My sweetheart is a good cook and we knew he had something special planned.  We could smell it the moment we walked into the house after church.  We had slow-cooked London Broil, an assortment of stir-fried vegetables, make-your-own salads on a bed of mixed greens and hot rolls with butter.   Mr. V. provided the dessert.  He went way beyond the call of duty - his choice was a big hit!  Two family members can’t have sugar – he took that into account so he shopped at a sugar-free bakery near his home.  He brought the biggest cream puffs we had ever seen!  And they were sugar free!  He bought chocolate for the girls and peach for the guys.  We had a hard time deciding how to eat them.  Forks? Or, fingers?  When forks didn’t work, we decided the only way to eat them was with our fingers.  There was much laughter around the table, especially when we got a bit of the cream filling on our noses and chins.  You would have thought we were just kids again!

And would you believe – the best gift of all?  The men cleared the table and did the dishes!

Late that afternoon, as we hugged each other and said goodbye we all commented that it had been a good day.  We won’t forget this one.  Not ever.

My kids and grandkids weren’t able to be with us but I had sweet greetings from each of them.  My son came and took me to lunch on Friday and we spent some time together before he headed home.  I am blessed.  So blessed.  And one happy mother!

My Mother

This Mother’s Day weekend I spoke at a Mother’s Day Brunch in a neighboring community.  My dear, little mother was able to go with me.  I introduced her and told the ladies in the audience that I wanted to tell them about my mother.  She didn’t know what I was going to say.  At first she wondered but once I started sharing the following words she was a proud mother, sitting straight and tall and smiling with pride.  Pride in me.  Pride in a job well done.  Here is what I shared.  The words are not mine alone – I adapted them from a reading I found some time ago.

I had the meanest mother in the whole world. While other kids ate candy for breakfast, I had to have cereal, eggs or toast. When others had cokes and candy for lunch, I had to eat a sandwich. As you can guess, my supper was different than the other kids' also. I had to sit at a nicely set table with the rest of my family and practice good manners and participate in pleasant conversation around the table.

My mother insisted on knowing where I was at all times. You'd think I was on a chain gang. She had to know who my friends were and where we were going. She insisted if I said I’d be gone for an hour that I’d be gone one hour or less--not one hour and one minute.

The worst is yet to come. I had to be in bed at a certain hour each night and up early the next morning. I couldn't sleep till noon like some of my friends. While they slept, my mother actually had the nerve to break the child-labor law. She made me work. I had to clean my room, do dishes, make my bed, learn to cook and all sorts of cruel things. I really think she laid awake at night trying to think up things just to make me miserable.

She always insisted that I tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, even if it killed me - and it nearly did.

By the time I was a teen-ager she was much wiser - and my life became even more unbearable. If I spent the night with a girlfriend, can you imagine she checked on me to see if I were really there? I never had the chance to elope to Mexico. That is, if I'd had a boyfriend to elope with. I forgot to mention, while some kids were dating at the mature age of 12 and 13, my old-fashioned mother refused to let me date until the age of 15 or 16. Fifteen, if I dated only with a group of friends from church and we went to a church youth group function. My mother was a complete failure as a mother. I actually graduated from high school and attained some higher education. I never committed a crime or was arrested. And who do I have to blame for the terrible way I turned out? You're right, my mean mother. Look at the things I missed. I never got to march in a protest parade, take part in a riot and a million and one other things that other people did.

She made me grow up to become a God-fearing, educated, honest adult. With this background, I tried to raise my two children. So, I stand a little taller today and I am filled with pride when I say that my children used to call me mean, too. Because, you see, I thank God, He gave me the meanest mother in the whole world.

And that’s why I am who I am today.

Thanks, Mom – I love you!



adapted from Bobbie Pingaro (1967)

Happy Easter

I live, I live because He is risen;
I live with power over sin.
I live, I live because He is risen;
I live to worship Him.

Thank You, Jesus! Thank You, Jesus!
Because You’re alive, because You’re alive,
Because You’re alive, I live!



Song: ‘I Live, I Live Because He Is Risen’
Words and music by Rich Cook

Thank Heaven For Little Girls

Today is a special day in our family.  Our dear, little Miss H. is one!  A year ago we welcomed her into our family – and into our arms and our hearts!  She is a little sweetie pie and lives life with a happy smile.  She is a special gift from our Heavenly Father, we know.  A year ago she seemed so tiny.
The year has gone by much too fast and she has grown and learned so much.  She walks now and when she sits down she claps her hands and celebrates.   

We can’t imagine what life would be like without our precious little girl.  She has added a special, new ‘something’ to our lives.

Thank heaven for little girls
for little girls get bigger every day!

Thank heaven for little girls
they grow up in the most delightful way!

Those little eyes so helpless and appealing
one day will flash and send you crashin' thru the ceilin'

Thank heaven for little girls
thank heaven for them all,
no matter where, no matter who
for without them, what would little boys do?

Thank heaven... thank heaven...
Thank heaven for little girls!

We love you, Miss H.  Papa and I can’t wait for your party on Saturday.  We have lots of hugs saved up.  Just for you!

Tea With Friends

Last Sunday afternoon I joined a dear friend and a group of her friends to celebrate her birthday tea at a cute, little teahouse near my home. My friend is a special lady. She has touched the hearts of many people throughout our area. She is a lady who makes a difference in the life of everyone she meets. I love the way she treats her friends – she treats us as if each of us are the only people in the world. She never fails to express her thanks for even the tiniest things we do. She sends hundreds of cards each year to express her love, her prayer support, her gratitude, her belief in us and so much more. Every year my friend, Mrs. J., gives herself a birthday party. She wants to celebrate her birthday with her friends so she gives a party and invites us! And every year her invitation says, ‘No presents, please. Your presence is all I need.’ And every year we ignore that request!

The tables were set with beautiful teacups and place cards were on each table so we could find our place.

Hats adorned the chairs – one for each of us! Mine was a lovely, big, bright green hat but soon a friend said my hat was her favorite color and when I admired her small, navy blue cloche we decided to trade.

The chairs were painted in bright colors, with such fun patterns and designs.

The little teahouse was ‘decked out’ for a party. And what a party it was!

After time to get acquainted around our tables Mrs. J. led us in two games. Fun games! Good talk! Then our food and the tea began to arrive. Pretty plates of fruit and cheese were just the beginning. Each of us chose a tea for ourselves and soon little pots of tea were enjoyed and shared. And then – the piece-de-resistance! Red velvet cake! And ice cream. Complete with candles blown out by Mrs. J. What a fun birthday celebration. A grown-up party to remember.

The tea house was enchanting. Beautiful things were everywhere. This tea set captured my heart.

And dolls. Everywhere! Big dolls, small dolls – all such pretty dolls.

Everywhere we turned there were pretty things to enjoy.

Birthday parties for little girls are a special part of The Dollhouse Tea Room. Near the front door you will find a dress-up room. (This is only part of the room.) What fun!

There is a playroom for the children with things to do, things to play with, books to read and a wonderful makeup center.

The owner and staff of the tea room were wonderful. Absolutely delightful! They treated each of us as if we were their only customer. I hope to plan a gathering of friends to join me here sometime in the future. If you would like to see more – or if you would like information to schedule tea – you can see their website here. You won’t regret it – you will be glad you did.