A 16th Birthday & Happy Thanksgiving! . . .

 Thanks be to God for how bountifully He provides for us in all ways, always! I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving friends. I was grateful today that Livia said she wanted to come to my families’ Thanksgiving and then go to SP’s later (it’s officially “his year” for Thanksgiving with the kids), that’s a new thing as of last year in this broken family situation, and I like it! L1 and W are out living CA so it just filled my heart to have Liv join in today.

And then we got to celebrate her 16th with her! All the 11/20 b-days were last week but they were on a long teaching day and then I got sick so no celebrating till a week later on Turkey Day. This gal has a 3.94gpa, great friend groups, travelled to New Orleans in the dead of summer for a giant Youth Group trip, joined an after school business club (sounds like to round out college apps but who knows, might get a thing or two out of it (-:) and of course…plays lots of volleyball. She just finished her HS season having gone all the way to D1 State Quarter Finals, has two weeks off then starts club practices. I continue to check in with this year round volleyball player and she still says she loves it (club a little more than HS though). A lovely young lady all around!

My bangs and I getting a B-day pic!

79…55…16

♥️♥️♥️

Cherish the days God blesses you with my friends. Even as they bend and blow in directions you don’t expect, He remains a sure and steady foundation of promise and hope.

Thanks be to God!

It’s really on Election Day you know . . .

So, here we are once again. I guess this is where I go, the ol’ blog in November and in May. Today, Election Day, regardless of the date, is the day Ben fell and died in 2016. It was the culmination of everything that started the Tuesday morning after Memorial Weekend in 2015, there is no other way to interpret those 17 months. I joined a hiking group from church this Fall…look back to January and celebrate that with me!! One solo hike, (cause the “group” doesn’t always “group” haha), I thought, “I have a Moth story to tell,” so I spoke into my phone recorder whilst on my journey, it starts something like…”It was the Tuesday morning after Memorial weekend 2015…” I might someday submit a story, and I might not. My friends, I am shocked at how fresh that pain can still be sometimes…at year nine. It can still be shocking to consider that Ben died and can still just stop me in my tracks with grief. But then, I get pulled together and carry on. And outside of this late October/early November anniversary time where I end up rather weepy, I am almost daily overwhelmed by God’s goodness and mercy to me, His provisions and care astound me. So…that’s incredible under the circumstances!

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I still enjoy putting scripture verses on pics I take. This is from my hike this past Sunday, All Saints Day. As I was about to receive the blood of Christ during Holy Communion that morning the choir literally began to sing “Oh How Lovely is Thy Dwelling Place,” from Brahm’s Requiem. The choral piece I chose to be sung at Ben’s funeral and that Ben heard at 4 mos old in Hill Auditorium days after the 9/11 attacks. It was a very meaningful Communion of saints!

I’m still gardening and had a bumper crop of butternut squash, tomatillos and cherry tomatoes. As well as many other delights. The gardens are always slowly reshaping, growing and a great source of joy for me (yet sometimes overwhelming! Haha).

Two hikes ago.

I mean, come on, you can’t not smile right??!!

In the “fend for yourself garden,” I tossed some pole beans and morning glory seeds and, oops…had somewhat of an explosion late in the summer. Beans and morning glories everywhere, could be worse. (-:

This girl is almost 16! Has a great group of friends that she went to homecoming with (one of the moms made these bouquets for all the girls) and I got BANGS to kick off the new school year. They’ve been a fun new look and have given everyone something to talk about, ha!

New this year for the piano families that are waiting for their sibling or child to finish their lesson is the puzzle table. We all FINALLY finished the 1,000 piece bird puzzle, started over the summer. A few times this fall I could actually be found listening to the Michigan game on the radio while trying to find a bird wing or beak into the night. Yep…my life! 

Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow!

Today, Ben would have been 24 . . .

 

My front garden 💕

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I miss Ben.

God is still good and gracious at all times.

I’m grateful to be with wonderful friends today!

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Happy New Year, 2025! . . .

 

Hello, Friends (or maybe that should be singular at this point, or maybe I’m just talking to myself, haha)! Tonight I found that I emailed this pic to myself sometime in December and for the life of me I couldn’t remember why. December was a little wonky this year, I’ll blather on about it a little later, ha! Anyway, when I found this in the ol’ email box tonight I pondered what to do with it, and couldn’t come up with an answer. But then it hit me, thee ol’blog! A beautiful blue pic of one of my two paddle boarding lakes with a beautiful verse from Zephaniah. Perfect way to kick off the New Year in this often now quiet, neglected space of memories.

I also found that I emailed myself this one…

Ben ♥️

Again, I can’t remember why on December 13th I emailed this to myself other than I know I always really like this pic when it pops up as pictures do on Google photo memory things. This was our last trip to the UP together, July/August 2016. This was our annual galavant out the breakwater at McLain State Park (which I will always think should be spelled, McClain’s, but that’s just me). For the most part I can just post this and move on, I thought, but turns out…nope…I’ll need a sec…🥲

Ok, I’m back. And with, a cello!

So, to blather a moment, I’ve had a rough year with mobility that started full force last March when I apparently had Athletic Pubalgia (Despite its name, a sports hernia is not actually a hernia. The condition’s true name is athletic pubalgia. Although the symptoms are similar, the pain and pressure from sports hernias are caused by torn tendons that attach to the pelvis instead of an abdominal muscle separation and protrusion of intestine or other soft tissue). We’ll let me tell you, these upset tendons took quite a while for people to figure out, getting into doctors took quite a while, a first round of PT during the summer was unsuccessful and my second round started in November was interrupted by a surgery to remove an overactive parathyroid gland that has been pumping too much calcium into my system for quite some time. All this blathering means that I have not been active one bit since last March (cause it’s actually painful to walk down to the mailbox, oh brother!), and back to square one it feels like today now with no PT since mid-December. So, blather, blather, what in the world does this have to do with the cello?? (-:

Ahhhh, isn’t she a beaut?!!

🙂🎶

Well, I’ve always loved how the cello sounds, always wanted one of my kids to learn the cello, heard a cool clip of cello being played online in the fall and it just hit me…I SHOULD LEARN THE CELLO! And then, on the Nextdoor App, where I like to online garage sale in their For Sale section, I found a cello stool! For real. Ha! Talked her down from $25 to $15 since she said, “name your price” and the rest is history. I had the stool, time to learn the cello! I picked up the cello on New Year’s Eve (renting from a shop the cello stool lady told me about, her daughter learned the cello from 4th-12th gr using “my” stool and the lady taught piano lessons on it), with my body still in shock post surgery weathering calcium withdrawal (that’s been loads of fun…only 2 trips to the ER for some calcium and magnesium iv’s, oy!). Where was I? I can only see about seven words at a time as I, once again, try to post on my tiny phone, haha. I think I was talking about how I’m going to learn the cello, hahaha, yes…I am. The cello shop lady then connected me with who she thinks will be the perfect teacher for me. Turns out, I’ve seen her in orchestras around town, and have sung with her and I think even met her briefly at a lake picnic once years ago. She doesn’t know all this yet, but I recognized her face from her email pic. My first lesson with Sarah is next Tuesday! I am SO excited. Oh, and also I thought, perfect timing to do the cello since moving around still isn’t working great. No reason to sit around being disappointed and grumpy about it (though I do miss swimming, kicking hurts, and all my outdoor fun especially), might as well sit around with a cello I say! 🎶

Well, since we’re here and I’m not teaching this week, let’s see some Christmas too! (-:

It was a compromised Christmas for me health wise with my surgery on the 20th and then my body being very unhappy until literally today, but it was still such a beautiful time with my dears. L was the most amazing ER partner for me both times my surgeon sent me in to check out all the tingling and numbness. She was patient, caring, entertaining, crocheted an entire hat the second time, had me do my first Wordel ever (and the word was Sauna, no way!! Thee ol’ blog likely doesn’t know it but I really, really, really want to build a small, outdoor sauna in my yard…but I discovered I’m afraid of power tools, haha, that’s not the entire reason, I had to be practical with the funds lately with sidewalks and doors and driveways and such since I teach here, some day on the sauna, but I’m going to do it…I have the post-sauna cold plunge, claw foot bathtub from the Nextdoor app in the yard waiting!). Ok, where were we again? Hahahaha

Whew, I gotta wrap this up.

Anyway, it was so, so, so nice to have time with L especially during her one week visit with us. ♥️

I’m sorry but, wow, this boy is stunning!! Isn’t this a great picture??!! I was disappointed this past August not to do a birthday post for him. The thing was, he was actually back for a visit from CA at that time and even dropped in on our annual six families camping trip and I threw him a little birthday/graduation celebration after our annual Saturday night group dinner. Decorated the clothes line and everything. (-: He’s back in MI now since mid- October and signed himself up for four classes at the local community college to begin Jan 13. He does really miss CA though.

Awww, here we all are at my folks for the annual Christmas Eve dinner. We arrived a couple hours after they ate and after L and I had about 2-3 hrs of sleep after 9 hrs in the ER. As if my hearty cheeks are not usually big enough, this pic has them filled with hours of iv liquids, haha! Whew! I was very disappointed not to have been able to make any Christmas church services but after dropping in here it was right back to bed and just trying to get this body used to healthier levels of calcium.

And finally, Alli!

She hardly plays with toys, doesn’t chew on things, just isn’t a mischievous dog. But boy oh boy, who woulda known that was until she found fake poinsettias! Haha!

And that’s gonna be a wrap! 

Wishing anyone that stops in this little ol’ place God’s richest blessings for 2025 and beyond. With the greatest of these being that our Heavenly Father gave His only begotten Son to be born for us, to be crucified for us and to rise again for us to wipe away our sinfulness, to wash us whiter than snow and to give us the gift of eternal salvation. Thanks be to God!