Palm Springs

We are enjoying a quick vacation at our favorite spot . . . a spot that seems to be getting closer to home all the time. This has become real to us this time especially, as now we have a direct flight from a little airport close to home, landing us in the desert only five hours after backing out of our driveway. It used to be that in this time we would only be driving into Portland for our first meal on the road. The second thing that has brought everything closer is our love for technology and the ability to still be in touch with what happens at home. Sometimes this is not so good... but that is all I will say about that.

We overlapped our vacation with Ben and Kari for a few days. The guys spent a couple of afternoons on the golf course, while we got our eighteen-dollar pedicures and enjoyed some shopping.

Lacey did great on this, her first, vacation . . . taking in all the changes like a trooper . . . sleeping on a big bed, bathing in the sink, long hours at the mall and getting used to Papa and Grammy being in her face.

When the camera wasn't pointed in her direction, she even smiled at us across the table.

We met up with a brother and sister-in-law for one dinner and on another night we met a mutual friend at a California Bistro. This restaurant is situated right by the water in a shopping plaza called The River.

The setting was beautiful, the food delicious and the visit with Marie, as always, enjoyable!

After dinner we watched the hockey game and celebrated the win with something special from the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Kari's favorite.

In the meantime, our shared time with our youngest little family has quickly come to an end and they have gone home to hold down the fort there. But we are looking forward to the week ahead . . . he with his blackberry and me with my netbook close at hand, if necessary.

Where to Begin

In my devotional reading, Let Your Life Count, by Donna Parton, I’ve been learning that I don’t necessarily have to see the whole picture in regard to finding out what God’s will for my life is. In fact, she points out that often times we may only get to see the “you are here” arrow. I’ve been thinking about what that could mean in my life. It seems to tie together with the way God has uniquely created us and given us each a set of skills, interests and life experiences to use for His glory. God is not asking me to be anyone else but who I am.

So, starting with “you are here” will reflect who I am and the sphere of my influence. It could begin with asking God what I should do, asking Him for divine appointments and then, to be on the lookout.

I’m trying to learn how to do this, because it really works and does not have to be difficult. I tried this recently when I prayed that God would direct my words and actions and for some reason I quickly added that He would show me if someone needed a meal. It would make sense that God would give me an opportunity in something He has enabled me to do. The next day there was an email in my inbox, written just after I had prayed, asking if I could bring a meal to a family that had been in an accident. Obviously there is nothing to think about in this instance. I know what God wants me to do. If I had not prayed . . . maybe I would not think about it in the same way.

Somehow this example shows what it means to pray according to God’s will. The author of this book writes that effective prayer consists not in telling God what to do, but in listening as He tells us what He wants us to do. When I listen, I may discover what is on His prayer list. I come away from these thoughts being encouraged that being faithful in small things will work itself into the big picture after all.

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God has prepared in advance for us to do.”

Ephesians 2:8-10

Another Visit to the Home

My relationship with my mom-by-love has been an interesting journey. Because of the age difference, I have often thought of her more like a grandma . From the get-go she has spoken low German to me - which luckily I understood because my parents spoke it to each other when they did not want us kids to understand. I know that when I was first married, she had some concerns about her son's shirts being ironed and what he would eat . . . she wore her feelings on her sleeve and it related to a guarded but wanting-to-please relationship.

Mom's health has not been so good these past few years, but I think I have learned more about her during these years than I did in the first few decades. I'm still trying to process the change . . . a change that happened, possibly, when I began to ask her questions about her life and recorded her stories for the family. Slowly I began to see what she missed because of her lack of education and how the things she went through made her who she is. In the process she began to appreciate me for having other interests besides cooking and cleaning.

This brings me to an interesting visit we had with her recently. On Sunday after church, we went through Wendy's drive-thru and, with burgers and fries in hand, went to see her. I could not believe her excitement at seeing our fries! Everyone has been bringing her perishky and Zwieback . . . and here she was overjoyed at the prospect of enjoying some -"chips" as she called them. "Oba dit schmaekt gout." (oh, does this taste good!) is what she said as she dipped her fries. We just laughed! It was so unexpected.

Suddenly she looked right at me and
said, "Nu shtoh mole opp!" (Now will
you stand up!) this kind of gets lost in
translation ... but it insinuates that
she wanted to check me out. When I
stood up, she confirmed my thoughts,
saying she wanted to see how
"modern" I looked. I found out again,
that nothing goes past this feisty
little woman, even at ninety two years
of age!

It was an enjoyable visit! For some reason I realized that she is not as stuck in her ways as I thought she was. Maybe the end of life really does make one consider life from a different angle.

Milestones On Robson Street

This is the view from the table we sat down at after a gorgeous walk on the seawall at Stanley Park.

With our spinach and artichoke dip appetizer we also shared a spring salad that was still large even though it was split.

Then we shared a chicken penne asiago . . .

and as the lights came on the trees lining the street, we savored small teaspoons of an apple caramel crisp and sipped coffee.

I couldn't help but think of how unexpectedly pleasant this stage in our lives is. I still remember thinking it would never be "just the two of us" again. And now, it is here . . . with so many shared memories. Memories that make up a life that is ours - with all it's joy and pain, in the process bringing meaning to becoming one - yet stronger.

We still do what couples do when they get a babysitter, (they go out and end up talking about the kids) it's just that now there are even more to talk about. . . more smiles . . . more prayers . . . more dreams . . . more love to pass around.

I actually quite like this stage. Maybe someone needed to hear that today.

Where the Red Maple Grows

Did you know that maple trees bloom before leaves come out? There are many different varieties of maples, but our tree starts out each spring with the most delicate looking clusters of light green flowers. Going down each flower stem, you will find a cluster of winged seeds, bright red in color. On a sunny day, the color combination looks absolutely beautiful.

I’ve been observing this tree more this year than usual and noticed that bright red leaves are beginning to open up right under each flower. The flowers will fall off and the leaves will grow and change color through-out the season.
In the summer the leaves turn to a dark, silvery green. I think its late summer, when they tend to turn burgundy and in the Fall we will find an assortment of colors, ending with a lot of yellow and brown.
Sometimes, when I look at this massive 25 year old tree now, I remember how I asked the tree planter to move it further from my wash line - a spindly little nine foot sapling. I remember the funny look he gave me, but he moved it.

It’s funny how a tree can become so much a part of home. A shaded place for our summer barbeques, a father/son or husband/wife leaf raking exercise in the Fall and a place where we hang the grandkids swings from, no matter what the season.

Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation:

seed-bearing plants and trees

on the land that bear fruit with seed in it,

according to their various kinds."

And it was so . . .

And God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1: 11,12

More on the Brown Hassock

I came across this random shot in our Fall 1983 cube of slides. Just another practical use for the brown vinyl hassock. One could begin to wonder how we would have managed without it.