Hydrangea Hair

We just got home from a pleasant couple days at Joseph's parents' house in Pennsylvania. The following conversation was hilarious to us as we enjoyed lunch after church. Gigi is Joseph's grandma, Daniel's Great-grandma. You'll also need to know that there was a vase on the counter filled with a bouquet of hydrangea blossoms.

Daniel, sincerely: Gigi, when I came in the door I thought those flowers were you because they look like your hair.

Gigi, matter-of-factly: Well, thank you, I think those flowers are lovely.

Daniel reiterated: The flowers make me think of you because they look like your hair. They are the same shape, but they aren't the same color.

Gigi, with good humor: I could probably do something about that! :-)

"Dig"

I generally pick out our boys clothes, but today I went in David's room (he'll be three-years-old in April) and found that he had sorted through his shirt drawer to find just the right one - messing up all the piles in the process.

I called him into his room and said firmly, "David, you cannot dig through this drawer."

His quick response, "But Mom, I'm an excavator!" :-)

Are you okay?

Daniel is learning to sound out some simple words. Tonight in the car, he confidently declared, "I know how to spell 'Are you okay?'"

"Oh, really?" we said, curiously.

He answered, "R-U-O-K!" :-)

He's ready to text message! :-)

Power Outages and Grandma Anderson

Well, from recent ice storms, a power line to our house was down and we were without power for a week. Our swing set was crushed and our fence was damaged on all three sides! These pictures were taken from our back door. But we were thankful our neighbor's house, our house, our car and our shed didn't get hit!

Joseph and I and the boys stayed a night at Joseph brother Doug's house by the fire place ;-), and then a night with good friends from church. On Friday the boys and I drove to my parents' in MO and Joseph stayed at the Bitners' (his sister who lives 6 miles from us).


The Lord's timing was very kind. My-86-year old grandma lives in the same town as my parents in the alzheimer's wing of a nursing home. On Saturday (while I was in MO because of the power outages) the nurses called and said she had been struggling to eat. We visited her that evening, and she was indeed have great difficulty swallowing - one of the last stages of alzheimer's. On Sunday, she was nearly unresponsive. On Monday the nurses called and said the end was near. So, because I was in town, I was able to sit with her for a couple hours. She died later that night very peacefully while Dad sat with her. The Lord was very merciful to her (and to my dad!) because she wasn't in pain.

The unusual thing about her passing was that my mom couldn't be there. Her dad had knee replacement surgery two hours away the same day Grandma died, and Mom needed to be there to care for her dad. So, the Lord's timing was kind that I could be there with my dad and help make arrangements, etc. This helped puts mom's mind as ease since she couldn't be there to help Dad. What a crazy situation!

Our power returned Tuesday, so the boys and I came home on Wed. Joseph, Daniel and I left on Fri morning to go to IL for Grandma's visitation and funeral. We were so thankful that Grandma and the Lord were honored in the funeral. My brother got to share during the service from Grandma's favorite passages of Scripture - those she could still quote even when she couldn't remember anything else, and those passages that were very well marked in her Bible and catechism book. Very special. The pastor also did a lovely job of honoring God for the evidence of His work in Grandma. Very meaningful. We will certainly miss her, and we are thankful for life on earth and her eternal life!

It has been a whirlwind couple weeks, but we are warm, fed, together and have much to be thankful for.