Mothers and Daughters

My thoughts have been turning to the ongoing relationships between a mother and her daughter . . . especially now, that my daughters are moms.

Is there anything like raising a child, that shows the lapse of time more clearly? A mother begins her relationship with her daughter feeling like she's her baby forever . . . cherishing the first  "mum-mum" and smiles to arms outstretched for her as a toddler.

From the day she brings her child home from the hospital, her life is a life selfless giving . . . maybe, for the first time, loving another more than her own life, by the sacrifices she makes.



She hopes and believes for the best in her . . . cherishing, if only, a contented nod.



Playing games and reading stories . . . the same ones over and over. The routines feel solidified . . . until one day her little girl dances off to school because she's convinced her that she'll love it.



In the meantime . . . her heart skips a few beats and she's counting the hours for school to end.

The years, they pass quickly . . . celebrations come and go with pride in the things that she's accomplished. Birthday cakes, French braids, first recital, back to school shopping, after school snacks. It's all good . . . yet, like reaching into a cookie jar, she's always reaching for more.
And one day. . . her heart skips a few more beats, when she realizes her little girl is not little any more.

Late night talks, braces, growing pains, driving lessons, misunderstandings, teachable moments . . . these years are busy and she learns that busy days fly! Soon there's talk about college. It's wonderful . . .  yet her heart threatens to stop . . . as she helps her settle in, hoping she's taught her well.

I was there last weekend, watching as my sister waved goodbye to her daughter . . . I felt the unspoken emotions as she proceeded to hold it all together. Life is precious . . . we give them life and one day we let them go . . . at least that's what they say. That's how it seems.

But in reality . . . you never really let go. You support, you pray. You let her go about her life . . . you let her be who she is meant to be, sometimes with grace, sometimes not.
And one day . . . your heart beats an extra beat or two . . . when you realize she'll always be your daughter . . . your best friend in many ways.

Today I look back on the relationship with my own mom and realize that a mother continues to be your lifelong cheerleader. She accepts you as you are and loves you unconditionally. It is this kind of love that, in the end finds out that by letting go, she gains . . . a relationship that keeps on growing.

 

I say these things today to you Jules, Kristal and Kari . . . to encourage you to enjoy each step and never fear the future. I'm so proud of the moms you are! Your loss of sleep and time invested is surely not in vain. I am observing and learning so much from you and I'm thankful for the privilege of being your mom . . . and know that I always will be.

Recipe Site Pot Luck

These are some of the girls I got to meet while in Indonesia . . . Sarah, (Julene), Rebekah and Kathy. Unfortunately not all could make it on  this particular day. All of them have a heart for the people there and are serving  in some way while living there . .  whether is be artwork, orphanage ministry or teaching, as well as supporting their husbands in practical and relief work.

One thing that they try to do on  a regular basis is to have a recipe party. The hostess prepares the table and chooses a recipe site or book, which the guests bring the goodies from. Julene hosted a party while I was there . . . and you can guess which site she chose!

She did a beautiful job of setting the table.

I felt honored and so privileged to be a part of this . . . but I did feel a bit for these young ladies . . . as they had to try a completely new recipe, all the while knowing I would be in attendance.
I need not have worried.
I was completely blown away by the beautiful presentations of recipes from mennonitegirlscancook.
I know it is difficult to get all of the ingredients in this country, let alone good quality, but these girls know how to adapt. I thought this Bavarian Apple Torte looked and tasted better than the one I posted on the blog. Sarah, sliced the almonds for the topping by hand.

Rebecca brought Lovella's watermelon and tomato skewers . . . she improvised with dried basil. They were delicious.

Kathy brought a pineapple dessert posted by Kathy on the blog . . . for which, if I remember correctly, she used fresh pineapple. A must try!

 

My contribution to this pot luck were Judy's savory cheddar scones, minus the herbs. I had a wonderful time getting to know these brave gals and would love to do something like this with my friends sometime.

The Wedding

This past week, the wedding that was anticipated and talked about in our family was not the same wedding the rest of the world was tuned in to. Instead, it was the celebration of the love and commitment between my oldest niece (on my side of the family) and a young man from Victoria. It was a wedding that included the participation of many friends and family . . . from making the invitations, sewing dresses, collecting jars and candle holders to making desserts and setting tables. An old fashioned, involvement by many . . . and a coming together of a beautiful wedding.  The little guest signing table in the foyer was adorned with photos of the couple's parents on their respective wedding days and an assortment of little jars filled with  sprays of wild flowers.

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Dad walked the bride down the isle to violin and piano music by the grooms sisters . . . but I'm not sure she noticed them. Her eyes were obviously on him.

The ceremony began with a couple of songs that included the guests, and focused everyone's attention on Jesus. Well . . . the photo shows otherwise ... so I should say . . . almost everyone.

The pastor's words spoke of a relationship based on love, trust, hope and endurance . . . and the marriage vows were exchanged . . .  as were the rings . . .

. . . then sealed with a kiss . . .

After the ceremony friends and family visited in the foyer for a bit and then dispersed in various directions, coming back a few hours later for the dinner . . . during which time the chapel had been turned into a dining hall.

It was so good to have more of our family here to share their musical talent and celebrate this day with us . . .

I think Natalie and Landon had a good "sneak preview" of what a wedding looks like.

Tim had one brother and four friends stand up for him, while Larissa had one sister and four friends beside her. They looked like they all enjoyed their time at the head table. The odd jars with candles and girls' bouquets lined up on the table added a vintage charm to the settings.

The wedding cake was the combined effort of Larissa and her Oma. Larissa spent a good part of a day at her grandmother's place last week, learning how to roll out and bake the thin layers for the Napoleon Torte . . . I think about 15 layers for this one. Oma filled them with chocolate pudding the next day and together they assembled it for the wedding day. The kissing couple cake topper was the one used for Larissa's parents' wedding, thirty years ago.

The cake was cut and served to the guests . . . this is a slice from the top part of the cake. It disappeared quickly and I think guests would have gone for seconds, had there been more.

Larissa and Tim . . . We are so happy for you both . . . to have found the one you can dream with, laugh with cry with and pray with.  May your love continue to grow deeper as you set up a home together and may the Lord bless and keep you.

Walk With Me

Just up the hill from Julene's house there is a nice loop that we walked a number of times. I must say that the beautiful plants are quite photogenic and the atmosphere of the place could get lost in the picture.

Imagine the early morning feel before it gets almost unbearably hot and humid to take a walk . . .



. . . roosters crowing . . .  a playground with rusted out play equipment . . .  laundry hanging from every porch and post . . .  skinny stray cats or dogs appearing out of nowhere . . . and, at certain given times, the not so distant sound of the mosque calling people to prayer.



Organic eggs is what you will surely get here . . .



. . . and now you know why the chicken crossed the road!  And the one with the bad hair day? It was no better on other days.



But in spite of the things we would never see at home . . . I kept a look-out for the natural beauty.

Flowers that we pay a hefty price for at home . . . grow in abundance in the wild.

This red plant, which there are many of,  always caught my eye.

One morning we took a little side path through another subdivision . . .



where we passed another vendor selling his fresh vegetables and catch of the day.

I'll finish with my favorite picture . . . a house we passed on the way told us something about the person living there . . . someone who obviously has a love for plants and creating a beautiful space with what they have.  There is something to be said about finding beauty in simple things. It brought joy to both of us.

Take Out and Delivery in Indonesia

One of the Sundays were were there, we attended a home church, where we got to meet some other ex-pat workers. After the service we ordered take out food to enjoy with the other families. 

Each meal came individually wrapped in paper . . . which, when you open it, serves as a plate.

Inside the package . . . the meal is spread on a banana leaf. The name of this meal is ayam penyet . . . ayam refers to chicken. The triangular shaped patty is a soy cake called tempe.

On top of the rice was a slice of cooked eggplant and the meal was garnished with fresh basil and cucumber. It was delicious!

On one of our the days there, we encouraged Chris and Julene to take the opportunity to go on a date while we ordered in something special with the kids.



It all looked familiar, yet different.



and it came delivered!  In this country they deliver pretty well anything . . . and usually via some kind of bike.

We took the food out to the enclosed patio . . .

and had a party on the floor!