"First Comes Love..."

I knew there was something going on when Daniel called me for no particular
reason...seemingly, just to chit chat that midday. It wasn't like him. Then, after a few pleasantries ..."That's not really why I called, Mom, there's something else I want to tell you..." "Yeah?, what?" ( my heart began pounding) "We're having a baby!" (now my heart leaped in my chest!).

Daniel and Teagan

 I don't remember my verbal response but I'll never forget my physical and emotional ones!  My heart raced, my face flushed, my voice quavered, my body shook...all for pure JOY! I was in a restaurant and it was all I could do to keep from making a public announcement! I called Jeff, we rejoiced! I called my sister, my sister in law, my friends!  Everywhere I went that day there seemed to be some appropriate time to mention to absolute strangers that... I have my first grand-baby on the way!!!

Baby's first photo 

Our little one is due July 16th  and we are already head over heels in love!  I realized something the other night, lying awake thinking and praying for my children:  that not only are Daniel and Teagan going to have a baby, for this is their baby, but that I am going to have a grandchild and I will be that little person's Grandma! This will be an all new relationship for me and I cannot wait to experience it!

Proverbs 17: 6   
Grandchildren are the crowning glory of the aged; parents are the pride of their children.

Psalm 27:3  Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.

The Way We Learn

Last week we traveled to Half Moon Bay to visit Grandma Joan for a few days. Yippee thought I, we'll be near San Francisco and at the beach....so many learning opportunities...Alcatraz, museums, the Exporatorium; no end to my list of things we could do. But things didn't go exactly as I had hoped. Jeff wasn't as "into" the my great ideas as I was. It rained some and it was New Years and we really just wanted to be with the Grandparents as that's the most important thing and it had been too long since we had visited.

I needed to something that has taken me a L O N G time to learn to do...relax and let my ideas go. So I did

Grace, Ruthie, Sarah and Mary enjoying the surf.



We all went to the beach and of course it was beautiful and a great learning experience all on it's own (without lessons, books or even tide pools). We played tennis, mini-golf, pool and walked the nature trail. We cooked and cleaned and ate and talked with the Grands. We watched "The Yearling" for the umpteenth time (after all it's still sort of new to Pete and Joe) it's a family tradition.

A lovely dinner with Grandma Joan.


Walking with Dad.




Games in the courtyard.

On the last day of our visit Grandma and Grandpa treated us to outdoor dining at a seafood restaurant for lunch. We had clam chowder, crab cocktail...the works! It was delicious! After that we walked along a pier where all sorts of small ocean going vessels were docked. A man pointed the way to a boat named "Promise" which had just returned from crabbing. So we ventured down to the boat and bought five live crabs! Sarah declared that she wants to be a crab fisher woman someday.


Pete and Joe with dinner guests


You can guess what we studied next day when we got home...crabs. First we looked up cooking crabs on the internet. Then of course, we cooked them. After that we read all about crabs, sketched them in our Nature Journals and noted the classification. Later that evening we cracked, picked and finally enjoyed eating our crabs just dipped in melted butter.







These are Mary, Peter and Joe's nature journals. You can click on them to view larger.


God wanted to bless us and He did. We enjoyed being with Jeff's folks so much. The children were sweet and behaved quite well. The learning thing happened naturally by taking time, explaining things and answering questions. Even the lesson "plan" that I couldn't quite pull off came together beautifully when I let God lead. I'm so glad I gave up because His ways are always above our ways and His thoughts are higher than ours.


Science class around the dining room table


Extra thoughts of note:
1) The day after our crab boat visit the morning news reported that a local crab boat capsized in Half Moon Bay...that really got the children's attention. Thankfully the crew was rescued.
2) I thought of asking Jeff if we might buy some fresh seafood to take home but thought better of it so he got the full blessing of his generosity.
3) I really wanted to suggest getting some clam chowder at the pier but didn't. I'm always telling the children that a treat isn't a treat...if you ask for it.
4) I came home rested since we didn't have to "be anywhere" or "do anything" ☻

God is good and GREATLY to be praised! I think we'll look up some ocean passages and use them for copy work tomorrow. Oh, and certainly we'll write thank you letters to our generous grandparents with our very best penmanship and grammar.

Night and Day Care

She just loved little Peter

Sometime in my early twenties, I formed the conviction that day care for children and for the old-- was bunk--that people should take care of their own! I determined to be a stay- at- home- Mom and that as opportunity would arise I would welcome my parents and grands to live with us as well.

My Grandma and I had never been close. I spent two months with her and Grandpa the summer I was 13 but other than that her visits were short and somewhat seldom. She spent her time traveling and with her senior friends.

But, Grandma came to live with us when she was 89 and I was 42, for the last 6 months of her life.

My Mom and my Aunt Carol had been taking care of her for a few years but it was getting hard to leave her at home when she went to work. Grandma wasn't safe, left the water running and things like that. So we offered to have her live with us not thinking she would because we were outspoken Christians and Grandma had given up her faith some 25 years earlier. I didn't think she'd want to risk having us preach to her or trying to "lead her back to the Lord". So, I was shocked when she took us up on the idea. When my Mom called and said she'd be coming to us, Grandma got on the phone and asked in her old lady voice "Are you prepared to take care of me 'til the day I die?" Well, that was the idea. We didn't feel prepared, just willing. We had alot to learn.

  Ruthie pushing her Great Grandma outside

We got her moved and situated in her own room, across the hall from ours. She joined us for meals and took outings on the deck but mostly we visited with her in her room.

A special meal with friends

After some weeks she began to ask questions and make comments about how the family was functioning. How Jeff lead and we followed. How I directed and the children helped and obeyed. How everything seemed to work together and run (pretty) smoothly. She started to enjoy being part of it all.

Three months into our time with her she called to me in the night one night, crying and tossing to and fro from a bad dream. In her dream she was being put into a body bag and thrown out into a corn field. In vain I tried to console her. She asked me to pray for her to have the peace she once knew and I did, but it didn't help, so I urged her to pray for herself. She refused, claiming that there was a black spot in her heart and she could not pray. Finally, I convinced her to pray and ask God to take away the spot and help her... AND HE DID!!! She began exclaiming immediately "I've got it! I've got it again! I've got back the PEACE that I once had!" Following this she began feebly singing the old hymn "Love Lifted Me". When she had sung all she knew she had me sing it too! Once I had sung all I knew she made me bring the hymnal in and sing every verse! Finally, she told me to go to bed, that she'd be alright now, that I needed sleep. But before I left she made me promise to tell Jeff and the children to come into her room first thing in the morning so that she could tell them what had happened. Agreeing to, I left her there singing herself to sleep.

Grandma's prayer

The following day she had me call my Mom and ask her to FedEx her old New Testament to her immediately. And I did. Next day she was clutching it to her breast and crying over it for a quarter of an hour. Then with magnifier in hand she began reading it again and again.

       

Jesus was alive and well and working in her heart. Forgiveness was sought for some of the biddy things she had said and done, and of course it was joyfully given! Thereafter we spent many precious times singing with her and reading to her from God's Word. Romans 8 being her favorite chapter.

We'll never be able to count the blessings we received in that short 6 months with Grandma. We learned lots about elder-care, lots of family history, lots of patience and lots about God. He is faithful to begin the good work He begins in us!

I was sinking deep in sin,
Far from the peaceful shore,
Very deeply stained within,
Sinking to rise no more;
But the master of the sea
Heard my despairing cry,
From the waters lifted me,
Now safe am I.

Love lifted me!
Love lifted me!
When nothing else could help,
Love lifted me....