Snow! Really?

A little earlier today I saw a photo that one of my friends in Monticello shared on the internet. It was big, beautiful flakes and I think the kind that drift lazily to the ground and wait for their companions to join them in making the landscape a fluffy, white wonderland.

Oh, when we were children, the glimpse of that first snowfall was so welcome, so exciting! We loved to play in the snow, making snowballs, snow forts, snowmen, snow tunnels. To us, the more snow, the better. We even loved to take our little shovels outside and help clear a path to the doors and clean up the driveway. Here you see Jim plowing out his and Mom's yard back in the early 60's.

Oh, yes! Snow is something that can entertain children for many delightful hours in the winter time. We loved the great outdoors, anyway. Every season had its joyous adventures. In the spring and summer it was the wind and flying kites. And it was watching birds build their nests and following the cattle around the pasture. It was smelling the apple blossoms and watching for the strawberries to ripen. It was "Hide and Seek." It was "Cops and Robbers". It was playing "Tag". Our fun was only limited by our imaginations and the weather. We couldn't play outside in a thunder storm. But there is absolutely nothing like putting on your swim suit and running outside to play in the mud puddles. (After all, the driveways weren't paved back then! In the fall it was potato harvest, autumn leaves, carving pumpkins!

But back to the topic: Snow. The photo you see here was from the late 40's. Left to right are cousins Andrea, Lory, and me. We are on our grandfather's snow scoop and we found it delightful when he or another adult pushed us around the yard once the work was done! The two dogs, I think, felt a lot of responsibility for us. "Puppy" on the left was Andrea's and Lory's dog. And "Brownie" belonged to our grandparents.

I am not sure when it happened, but over time I lost my adoration for snow and winter time. Oh, I still love the changing seasons but for me a month or less of snowy weather would be fine! We used to go outside in the snow with our children and grandchildren but to be honest, I would rather watch out the windows and take photos to save the memories!

Here, through a window, is a photo of Isaac, taken about 65 years later on our back deck! He wanted to help his great grampie shovel the snow. He loved every minute of it! Things are so different in some ways, but so unchanged in others. The snow, the child, the shovel, the dog! There is a sweetness to it.

In thinking on these things, I am reminded of the Scripture in Genesis 8:22. ""While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, And cold and heat, And summer and winter, And day and night Shall not cease."
These changing seasons are evidence that the Lord is faithful! They are blessings from HIM. Thank you, Lord! 

We Love Gardening!

Written For Our Grandchildren --

Gardening has always been important to us. When your parents were young, we had two big gardens. One was east of our house and the other was on the west. And we had some great adventures from turning the soil in the spring to harvesting in the fall.

In the early days, Gramp used to come home from work almost every day for lunch. Day after day, he would go to the garden before he ate to see how the garden was going. And he would always announce to me what he saw. "The beans have sprouted".  "The squash is blossomed". "We will need to pick the peas." He simply loved it.

One year our corn was growing beautifully! It was tall and green and just about ready to harvest. I looked out the window just to admire it one day only to see that the neighbor's cows were having a gourmet meal in our corn patch -- twelve rows of it! I went out the door with a broom in my hand and headed to the garden, yelling at those four or five Holsteins. They knew I meant business and they ran in every direction knocking our corn down in the process. The promise of corn on the cob dwindled dramatically in only a few moments of time. Our neighbor was so sorrowful over what happened that he brought us two sacks of peas from HIS garden.



Every fall we were able to can and freeze large quantities of vegetables for our family to enjoy until the next harvest time. Our children -- your Moms and Dads -- were always very helpful in planting and gathering! And they also enjoyed helping themselves. It was common to see our children pulling carrots to eat fresh, shelling peas for a snack, picking and apple or berries, or eating a ripe tomato.
It was just part of the joy of gardening!

Growing fruits and vegetables has, indeed, been a tradition for us. That and apple picking at nearby orchards after we moved to Glenburn. I remember the times that we took some of our grandchildren and their parents to the orchards nearby. It was something that we really loved to do. This year we went by ourselves. But we did pick enough to share!

This spring I thought Gramp shouldn't plant anything. He has the aches and pains of age and I am not able to do much to help him. But he said he wanted to plant a few things. So he planted a row of green beans, a row of beets, about a dozen summer squash (zucchini and yellow crookneck), and around a dozen tomato plants. He planted some cucumbers, too, but they didn't survive.

What a tomato harvest we had! And because the frost was delayed for about a month, the plants continued to produce until nearly the middle of October. We blanched and peeled quarts and quarts of whole tomatoes for the freezer. We cooked tomatoes with summer squash, onions and peppers to freeze and we had more than 30 packages of those.

We made ketchup, tomato soup, and spaghetti sauce. We also froze some beets and made pickled beets -- a favorite. We have also been working on apple sauce. Are we ever stocked for the winter!
Not only are we well stocked, but we had some to share with others. By the way, half of the fun of gardening is to share!

And what about next year? Well, I am thinking already that it would be fun to have a few things to eat fresh. We will see.

The growing season is evidence of our Lord's faithfulness to us and His provision for us.
The Bible says, "While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, And cold and heat, And summer and winter, And day and night Shall not cease." - Genesis 8:22

A Lesson From The Great Depression

I am a child of parents who lived through the Great Depression, a time of serious financial struggles for many after a Stock Market Crash that devastated the economy.

My mother has told me stories of how she and her brother Lawrence shared a pencil at school. They stopped at a little store on their walk to school and spent a penny on a pencil. The idea was for the pencil to last for a week. My Uncle Lawrence would cut the pencil in half to share with his sister. One of them kept the end with the eraser and the other used the end with no eraser.  The prior week's stub with the left-over eraser was used by the one who had no eraser on a given week.

Lunches for school were carried in lard cans that had a bail on them. Most frequently lunch was a serving of baked beans packed with a homemade biscuit on top. Fruit was rare. In fact Mom said that a highlight at Christmas time was an orange in the toe of her stocking. It was usually the only orange that she had for the year.

One standard was that NOTHING was wasted! Let me tell you about a treasure that I have from those days:

A few years ago, my cousin Andrea told me that she had a little stack of quilt squares that our grandmother had given her for making a quilt. She had forgotten about them, but had found them in a drawer with other fabrics. She wanted to know if I would like it if she made up the quilt and gave it to us to have at our camp (under construction). And I told her I would love it.

Grammie had made the squares from cotton sugar sacks and from scraps of material that she had saved. Often she saved good parts from worn clothing -- like the backs of shirts. And she reused them in making quilts or other useful items.

Andrea is a great seamstress and she went to work, using those wonderful pieces from 70 years ago -- or more.  When she was finished, she gave it to me and I was astounded! What a beautiful quilt! How precious to look at it and touch the squares that my grandmother had held in her hand.

Each square has a "Sunbonnet Sue" appliqued on it by hand-stitching -- Grammie's hand. Some of the squares still have the printed "Revere Sugar" on them! But to look at it again and think of how Grammie's thread, needle, scissors, and thimble were used to turn something common into something beautiful really touched me! Parts of each one had some hand embroidery, as well. And Grammie, by the way, taught ME to embroider when I was small. What good memories!

The quilt has been stored at our house during the construction of our camp / cottage. But this week we took it there. And we spread it on Mom's bed so we could get a picture to show her.

When I showed it to Mom today, she said, "What's that?" Then she caught her breath and said, "Oooooh!" She was so thrilled to see it.

So, thank you, Andrea! Your labor of love cannot even be described. . . it is beyond
wonderful!

They Were Going To Be Famous!

Grampie Wayne spent some of his growing up years in the coal and corn land of rural Illinois, near the Kankakee River. His Dad was pastor at Custer Park Baptist Church, where his grandmother had been a member several years prior.

Now, according to him, Custer Park was a "one horse town and the horse was dead." You can't imagine the road back in the 1950s. The road had a paved lane in the center and a wide shoulder of gravel on each side of the pavement. Drivers would stay on the paved lane until they met another vehicle and then they would pull over with one tire on the pavement and one on the gravel. He says that was really scary for kids.

The Wabash Rail Road ran through town and the mail sack was grabbed on the way through, by a train crewman, who snatched it from the pole where it was left hanging. We cannot imagine that today, but -- from Pony Express days until now, the mail had to get through! And it did.

There were two grocery stores in town. The main store was Aldrich's and the other was Case's. Case's didn't operate very long, as he remembers. Between the two stores was a low building that housed the post office. He remembers getting baby chicks through the mail and at the post office, that annual delivery day found the building full of chirping!

Next to the post office was a hotel, he thinks. And for some cause, unknown to him it burned to the ground. That really changed the mini-skyline and as far as he knows the hotel was never rebuilt.

The Church was nearby and the cemetary. You can visit that cemetary these days and see a headstone at the grave is his great grandparents, Frank and Martha. The Church has a new building outside of the little town center.

Near the graveyard his friend, Jimmy lived and it was a short hoof for the boys when they visited. Gramp tells of many adventures. And they were typical boys from the time when there was no TV, no internet, no digital games and all that is available today. Most of the play time was outside.

One day a few boys, including his friends Gary and Jimmy were playing in a nearby corn field. As they went between the rows, kicking at the wonderful, black soil they found a BONE. It was big and it needed to be dug up. A DINOSAUER BONE! They had to dig it up and report their find to the Chicago Museum of Science. They were going to be famous. And they were going to be wealthy.
So they dug and dug with their hearts beating faster and faster (I presume). AMAZING! They had an area, probably 9 x 11 feet dug up in the field and probably as much as 6 feet deep. Whatever the size, he remembers it as pretty massive.

Everything was fine with the young scientists until someone driving past the research site stopped the car and screamed at them. They took off running -- all in different directions! Gramp said he ran into the electric fence but he was so scared he didn't know if he got a shock or not. Maybe it was off at the time.

It was so humiliating to Gramp! Not only did they find that their archeological dig was unappreciated, but their dreams were shattered when they found out the skeleton was that of a horse! (Maybe it was that one horse from the one-horse town.)

But one of the boys kept the dream alive by keeping a "dinosaur tooth" in his collection at home. Gramp doesn't know where he got that specimen, but likely from another adventure at a different time or place. From time to time he would take the tooth to school and show it. Your Gramp thinks it was a rock!


Note: The photo of Grampie was taken about a half century later very close to the original scene.

Words -- Peace or Pain?

A friend wrote a message today about verbal and emotional abuse. She wants people to realize these kinds of mistreatment are as harmful as physical abuse or battering. And she is right. In fact, cruel and hate-filled words may be even MORE painful than a slap, a kick, or a punch.

Unfortunately, verbal and emotional abuse are not rare. Many of us remember the child on the playground who was always chosen last to be on a team. Perhaps we ourselves have been victims of mockery and name-calling.

All around us there are people who carry insecurities, anger, and sorrowful memories because they have been targets of someone else's mockery or wrath. Perhaps we are casualties of verbal emotional, or some other form of abuse. Some may heal to an extent, but many will bear the scars of emotional trauma all the rest of their lives.

In our culture, in our families, at school, on the job, and even in our Churches hurtful things are said to one degree or another. This is counter to what God has commanded us when He said to love our neighbor as ourselves. By our words, we can bring peace and joy to others (and to ourselves). And we can bless someone else. Conversely, our words can bring pain and sorrow. It is hard to think of it, but we can be perpetrators of abuse.

The Bible is clear that our words -- and even our thoughts -- are of great importance.  James wrote, "With [the tongue] we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.  From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so." It is Jesus who said that people will know that we are His followers if we have love for one another! 

There is a little song that we used to sing in Sunday School when I was a child and we taught it to our children. It goes like this:

"Oh, be careful, little tongue what you say!
Be careful little tongue what you say.
For the Father up above
Is looking down in LOVE,
So be careful, little tongue what you say."

Let's join with the Psalmist, who prayed:

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer."  Psalm 19:14

Being The Eldest Sibling

Here is another memory, family! This photo is from 1967 when Valerie was about 2 1/2 and Stephen was almost a year old. When I think back on those days I think of how she took it upon herself to care for her little siblings. It was so sweet.

That is what the eldest child so often does! They are the helpers and the care-givers of the family. As the older sister in my family, I waited 5 1/2 years for a sibling. And, oh what a happy day to have my one, dear sister come into ou...r family. She was so much fun and so sweet.

By the time I was almost nine, there were four of us -- two brothers were welcomed into our family. And I was the baby sitter since Mom was sick with phlebitis in her legs quite frequently in those days.

I felt responsible for her and for my siblings. It wasn't easy. I thought at times that Mom expected more than I was able to give. The kids gave me a tough time sometimes. But God enabled me to do what He called me to do. And I still thank Him!

The care-giver older sister role became more intensified when Mom was widowed at the age of 34. Those were very tough times, but there were so many lessons to be learned and I am grateful that now I can hold a hand here and there and honestly say, "I understand. I care".


The Bible tells us this in 2 Corinthians chapter 1:

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

"For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer.

"Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation."

So, dear ones, trust the Lord in the good times and in the tough times. Through all the joys, all the sorrows, all the rewards, and all the injustices the Lord will walk with you. And He will form you into a more loving and compassionate person. May He be glorified through it all.

More Family Memories - Part 1

Did you ever think: "I should write that down so I don't forget it."
We all have, but if you are like I am, you get busy and forget.
So I've decided to dive into the past and pull out some cute and special things mainly for family, but you friends are welcome to join us if you wish. :
...

So let's start right here with a note that Bethany wrote to Valerie in the fall of her freshman year in college! Now, how sweet is that?

Love in the family is more precious than gold! If you, dear reader, have a story from the family that you would like to share, please send it to me. I will pass it along in this blog so that we can have it available for those who love the good, old stories. Then some day when a cherished, little face looks into yours and asks for a story about the "olden days", you will have a resource right here!