The trying part is more an emotional straining than anything, and I'm not even sure if I can call it that. I have found myself mourning the loss of a man I only met a handful of times and never spoke much more than a few dozen words to. The length of time between our meetings were long and that made any attempt at conversation especially awkward. When I was young, a grandfather was a man to be loved and cherished, even if he lived on the other side of the country. A man to be adored no matter how little you knew of him, a man who's attention you desired to seek and to obtain. I think as a person grows older, those childlike desires begin to wax and wane with time, especially if they go long untended. Having only met my paternal Grandfather maybe 5 times over the course of my life, I feel distanced from his passing, yet strangely disconcerted by it. My heart is sad and I wish I had known more of my Grandpa. I wish I had the opportunity to love him and to know him, as I had with my other Grandpa. And yet, maybe it is a blessing, in an odd, selfish way, because I'm not sure my heart could handle losing two such men so close together. I hurt for Grandpa Jim's family, for his adopted daughter, for his wife and his children. They are in my heart and in my prayers. And somehow, no matter how distant we actually were, I still loved that man. Good-bye my Grandpa Jim..... May 26, 1938-February 4, 2010
Friday, February 05, 2010
Heart Thoughts
It's been a week... On one hand, a good week. On the other, a trying week. This week I have spent an ample amount of time painting the staircase to our basement. It's the last part to be done for our basement project, with the exception of tiling behind out wood stove, which may never happen. I have crouched high and bent low to paint all the surrounding molding, risers, nooks and crannies, caulked till my fingers were raw, and still have more to do. But seeing progress for the first time in a month and a half is encouraging. This is the good portion of my week.
The trying part is more an emotional straining than anything, and I'm not even sure if I can call it that. I have found myself mourning the loss of a man I only met a handful of times and never spoke much more than a few dozen words to. The length of time between our meetings were long and that made any attempt at conversation especially awkward. When I was young, a grandfather was a man to be loved and cherished, even if he lived on the other side of the country. A man to be adored no matter how little you knew of him, a man who's attention you desired to seek and to obtain. I think as a person grows older, those childlike desires begin to wax and wane with time, especially if they go long untended. Having only met my paternal Grandfather maybe 5 times over the course of my life, I feel distanced from his passing, yet strangely disconcerted by it. My heart is sad and I wish I had known more of my Grandpa. I wish I had the opportunity to love him and to know him, as I had with my other Grandpa. And yet, maybe it is a blessing, in an odd, selfish way, because I'm not sure my heart could handle losing two such men so close together. I hurt for Grandpa Jim's family, for his adopted daughter, for his wife and his children. They are in my heart and in my prayers. And somehow, no matter how distant we actually were, I still loved that man. Good-bye my Grandpa Jim..... May 26, 1938-February 4, 2010
The trying part is more an emotional straining than anything, and I'm not even sure if I can call it that. I have found myself mourning the loss of a man I only met a handful of times and never spoke much more than a few dozen words to. The length of time between our meetings were long and that made any attempt at conversation especially awkward. When I was young, a grandfather was a man to be loved and cherished, even if he lived on the other side of the country. A man to be adored no matter how little you knew of him, a man who's attention you desired to seek and to obtain. I think as a person grows older, those childlike desires begin to wax and wane with time, especially if they go long untended. Having only met my paternal Grandfather maybe 5 times over the course of my life, I feel distanced from his passing, yet strangely disconcerted by it. My heart is sad and I wish I had known more of my Grandpa. I wish I had the opportunity to love him and to know him, as I had with my other Grandpa. And yet, maybe it is a blessing, in an odd, selfish way, because I'm not sure my heart could handle losing two such men so close together. I hurt for Grandpa Jim's family, for his adopted daughter, for his wife and his children. They are in my heart and in my prayers. And somehow, no matter how distant we actually were, I still loved that man. Good-bye my Grandpa Jim..... May 26, 1938-February 4, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
Confessions of an Obsessive Compulsive
I'm pretty sure that I have a few OCD tendencies. Why else would I do the things that I do? For instance, up until last week, I had saved every. single. receipt. since Adam and I have been married. I had them tucked into envelopes, organized by month, hiding in my file cabinet. Literally 49 envelopes of receipts. I mean, that's sick! Who does that? Last week, I finally had enough of myself and started shredding 2006 and 2007's receipts. After all, who needs to keep receipts from three years ago? I'll keep two years worth, but anything over that, forget it! But I've got to tell you, shredding is such a pain, because the paper bin isn't big enough and constantly needs emptying. You have to stop shredding every three or four envelopes to dump the shreds. Ugh. What is wrong with me?!?
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Our New Puppy
We had a new dog at our house today. He was very cute and didn't bark too much. He lapped at Molly's food dishes, went for a walk (which made Molly wildly jealous because I used her leash), and even did tricks! After he rolled over for me, I patted his head and gave him a goodie. Which he promptly took a bite out of. "Good dog!" I said and then I started to feel badly about letting my small boy eat food meant for dogs. So I gave him a granola bar instead, and Molly got the rest of the goodie.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
It's All About The Eyes
I always thought eyes were a pretty important thing to take care of. Apparently, my Pediatricians office didn't feel the same way. Sunday, after church, I noticed Joshua's eyes were oozing with green discharge and very pussy. Every time I would wipe the puss out of his eyes, there would be more within minutes. After his nap, his eyes were so gross. I knew it was pinkeye, but I hadn't ever seen pinkeye that gross before. I determined that I would call the Dr. right away on Monday. Monday, when Josh woke up, his eye lids were beat red and swollen to a size near to that of golf balls. There wasn't near the amount of puss, but any Mother in her right mind would want to take her kid to the Doctor. That's what I thought anyway. When I called the Pediatricians office and told them I thought my son had pinkeye, I was told that they didn't typically see kids with pinkeye and was given a nurse to talk to.The nurse explained that pinkeye was a virus and that I just needed to use hot compresses on his eyes and wait it out. She didn't ask me why I thought it was pinkeye or what his eyes looked, she simply insisted that it was just a virus and I had to wait it out. I told her I worked at a daycare and my employer wouldn't want my son there and would send us home until he had been medicated for 24 hours. The nurse then made it sound like my employer was very unknowledgeable, because it's again "just a virus". Well, I got off the phone and I was quite ticked. I felt feisty and frustrated. I wanted someone to see my son and his doctor's office refused. They had blown off the concerned Mother without asking any questions about his condition. After talking with my own Mother, who echoed my concern about not only Josh's eyes, but also how the nurse neglected to ask any questions detailing his symptoms, I called our neighboring town's medical office. It turns out that they were accepting patients and Josh was able to be seen that afternoon. He was given a prescription for antibiotics and we were sent home feeling much reassured after having seen a professional and having some medicine.Perhaps I acted too rashly, but I sincerely belive that if a Mother is very concerned about her child and wants him to be seen by his Doctor, that the Doctor should be at least willing to see the child. My sibling's current pediatrician has been quoted saying that a doctor is partly there to reassure the concerned parent. Well, I hadn't been very reassured Monday morning and felt unassured enough to transfer my child to a new doctor. It wasn't that I hadn't thought about it before, since I had. Joshua's original Pediatrician retired last year and was replaced with a young woman who was fresh out of medical school. I had originally wanted someone who was experienced and perhaps a parent themselves (being more likely to sympathize with another parent). Not that a younger doctor is unable to do a good job, but this incident pushed me enough to find someone more experienced and it just so happens that I had wanted Joshua's new doctor to be his Pediatrician when he was born, but she wasn't accepting patients then. So I guess, it all worked out... I still feel a bit badly.
Thursday, January 07, 2010
Snow, snow, snow, Snow!
It snowed all day. It snowed all night. The snow came up to our windows and covered the cars. It was a snowy wonderland. We wondered at that snow. We wondered how long it would take to shovel. We wondered when it would stop. That snow was just wonderful.
Josh bundled up nice and warm for his first Polar Expedition.
Josh bundled up nice and warm for his first Polar Expedition.
This was as far as we could open the front door (without a struggle) on Sunday morning.
Heaps and heaps and mounds and mounds.
Josh helped his Daddy shovel the driveway. He was a good little Eskimo.
Lots of snow fell on Uncle Joe's car. Poor Uncle Joe.Saturday, January 02, 2010
Dreaming...
I am finishing off last nights' left over cheesecake. I'm pretty sure I have eaten enough desserts in the past two weeks to last all year. And now I feel pretty gross. Actually, I feel disgusting. I eat more sugar than anything else this time of year. What I really need to do is bust into the spinach greens I bought today at Wegmans, sprinkle grape tomatoes over them, along with red onion and feta cheese and drizzle the whole thing with balsamic vinaigrette. Except I left my vinaigrette at Mom and Dad's house on Christmas... 
Can I have that back please? Ah... Healthy food. It is so much easier to eat healthy in the summer, when the garden is bursting with cucumbers, snow peas, beans and tomatoes. Josh and I would regularly wander out into the garden this summer, pick a ripe cucumber and eat it together, sitting on our back steps, the sun warming our arms and legs. At this moment, the picture painted in my mind is a far distant memory. On the other side of my bedroom window, the wind is whipping snow wildly about, gathering it into drifts and filling every nook and cranny. The garden is a forgotten dream, lying buried in the snow. I trekked though the drifts this evening to find our compost pile. The snow must be at least two feet in spots. The forecast only calls for more snow. I find the whole prospect of more snow to be rather exciting... Maybe because I don't have to shovel it or maybe because I have a nice warm house. You can guarantee that I won't be leaving the house wearing my flats tomorrow. I will have my furry boots pulled up to my knees and a hat over my ears. The drive to church will be a slow one. But, what else can we expect on a January day in New York?
Can I have that back please? Ah... Healthy food. It is so much easier to eat healthy in the summer, when the garden is bursting with cucumbers, snow peas, beans and tomatoes. Josh and I would regularly wander out into the garden this summer, pick a ripe cucumber and eat it together, sitting on our back steps, the sun warming our arms and legs. At this moment, the picture painted in my mind is a far distant memory. On the other side of my bedroom window, the wind is whipping snow wildly about, gathering it into drifts and filling every nook and cranny. The garden is a forgotten dream, lying buried in the snow. I trekked though the drifts this evening to find our compost pile. The snow must be at least two feet in spots. The forecast only calls for more snow. I find the whole prospect of more snow to be rather exciting... Maybe because I don't have to shovel it or maybe because I have a nice warm house. You can guarantee that I won't be leaving the house wearing my flats tomorrow. I will have my furry boots pulled up to my knees and a hat over my ears. The drive to church will be a slow one. But, what else can we expect on a January day in New York?
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Our 2009 Christmas Letter
The following is this years Christmas letter, just in case you won't be getting a Christmas card from us this year. I finally got my cards sent out on Monday. Nothing like waiting til the last minute!
December 2009
Greetings of Christmas and New Years!
I often laugh at myself when I sit down to write our Christmas letter. I am always running behind during the holiday season. Here it is the 19th of December and we just yesterday began our Christmas shopping and I am just now writing this letter to all of you, our most loved friends and family. Which, of course, is why I included a New Years greeting above. It's all due to either over working or tardiness. Narrowing it all down to which the blame is deserved, is entirely too much guess work...
What a wonderful year here at our house! Many ups and some downs. A rollercoaster year for sure. Our son Joshua turned two years old in October. He is not one to bore his audiences. He is always talking and getting into "man" things. Josh can typically be found with one of several things in his hand: a flashlight, a screwdriver, a truck or a pen. This summer he so lovingly drew a mural across my lower kitchen cabinets, which caused a flurry of Internet research to find a way to remove permanent marker from wood. Thankful I am for toothpaste... It just so happens to be a "cure all". A little scrubbing and a bit of elbow grease removed most, if not all, remnants of his artistry. Joshua's speech continues to astound not only Adam and I, but other members of our family as well. He has an almost complete range of vocabulary and can carry on a nice conversation with us. So, if and when you come and visit, please season your speech with salt and keep in mind that our small child can and will repeat every word he hears you speak. Another thing people find fascinating about Josh is his size and weight. Yes, he weighs a ton. And yes, he is in the 95th percentile on the growth chart. He also will tell me at times, "I have big hands." Which he does. Our most current struggle with Josh is food. After eating anything and everything for the past two years, Josh has decided that he doesn't like supper. We are currently using several different means of manipulation to get him to eat without complaining or saying, "Me no like it." Don't you worry. I have already stated that Josh is plenty healthy and will not starve due to our manipulation tactics. We are also working on potty-training. If I could get complete family support, I think he could be diaper-free (daytime) by New Years.
Adam continues to work for LMC out of Avon, NY. Heating and Air Conditioning is his cup-o-tea. To me it is just pipes, vents and a lot of hot air. That's why I leave it all to him. He drives a company van here and there and tries to get home in time for dinner. This year, during his spare time, Adam refinished a room in our basement. He drywalled, painted, put down laminate flooring, and redid the stairs, with a bit of help from my Dad and a pinch of help from me. I was more than happy to do the tiling around the wood stove but I have yet to finish painting the stairs. Maybe by Christmas.... (ha-ha)
This past April, Adam and I were hit by a drunk driver while driving to Nashville. We ended up rolling our SUV and totaling our vehicle, leaving us stranded just outside of Louisville, KY. I believe God uses times like that to draw you, not only closer to Him, but closer together as a couple. God was so good to us and protected us through the whole incident. We walked away with four staples in Adam's head and 33 stitches in my forearm and, after renting another vehicle, we continued on our way to Nashville. Many thanks to our family and close friends for your prayers over the course of that weekend.
Another highlight of the year was the ten day missions trip I was privileged to take part in this summer. A group of nine from our church flew to El Salvador to minister to a group of boys and various area churches. It was amazing. We passed out gospel tracts to nearly every person we saw on the street and taught Bible stories to the kids who attended the after-school program at the orphanage where we stayed. I was so blessed and God is still using the experience to work in my heart.
This year also brought to pass the most difficult thing I have ever had to endure, which is saying good-bye to someone I love dearly, though it be only temporary. On September 28, my dear Grandpa went to be with Jesus, after being diagnosed with lung cancer only four weeks prior. Those last four weeks were, and will be forever, so precious to us. We soaked up every moment we could with Grandpa and he continued to shower us with stories and wisdom and his favorite scriptures. The night before he died, I whispered in his ear that if I didn't see him again here, I would see him there (meaning heaven) and he answered in a resounding, "Yes!" The first thing he had been able to say for several hours. What a comfort that is to me. I'm looking forward to our reunion someday.
So there you have a brief synopsis of our year. May the next year have more ups and more glorious meetings with my Saviour. I love my Jesus dearly and I pray that this year you will grow to know Him like you never had before. He is the true reason why we celebrate this Christmas. Because of Jesus, I can confidently assure you that I will see my Grandpa again, though not on this earth. Because of Jesus, I am free. My debt is paid, because of a little Child born so long ago. May God bless you all in the up coming year! Good wishes from us to you!
With all our love,
Adam, Bethany and Josh
December 2009
Greetings of Christmas and New Years!
I often laugh at myself when I sit down to write our Christmas letter. I am always running behind during the holiday season. Here it is the 19th of December and we just yesterday began our Christmas shopping and I am just now writing this letter to all of you, our most loved friends and family. Which, of course, is why I included a New Years greeting above. It's all due to either over working or tardiness. Narrowing it all down to which the blame is deserved, is entirely too much guess work...
What a wonderful year here at our house! Many ups and some downs. A rollercoaster year for sure. Our son Joshua turned two years old in October. He is not one to bore his audiences. He is always talking and getting into "man" things. Josh can typically be found with one of several things in his hand: a flashlight, a screwdriver, a truck or a pen. This summer he so lovingly drew a mural across my lower kitchen cabinets, which caused a flurry of Internet research to find a way to remove permanent marker from wood. Thankful I am for toothpaste... It just so happens to be a "cure all". A little scrubbing and a bit of elbow grease removed most, if not all, remnants of his artistry. Joshua's speech continues to astound not only Adam and I, but other members of our family as well. He has an almost complete range of vocabulary and can carry on a nice conversation with us. So, if and when you come and visit, please season your speech with salt and keep in mind that our small child can and will repeat every word he hears you speak. Another thing people find fascinating about Josh is his size and weight. Yes, he weighs a ton. And yes, he is in the 95th percentile on the growth chart. He also will tell me at times, "I have big hands." Which he does. Our most current struggle with Josh is food. After eating anything and everything for the past two years, Josh has decided that he doesn't like supper. We are currently using several different means of manipulation to get him to eat without complaining or saying, "Me no like it." Don't you worry. I have already stated that Josh is plenty healthy and will not starve due to our manipulation tactics. We are also working on potty-training. If I could get complete family support, I think he could be diaper-free (daytime) by New Years.
Adam continues to work for LMC out of Avon, NY. Heating and Air Conditioning is his cup-o-tea. To me it is just pipes, vents and a lot of hot air. That's why I leave it all to him. He drives a company van here and there and tries to get home in time for dinner. This year, during his spare time, Adam refinished a room in our basement. He drywalled, painted, put down laminate flooring, and redid the stairs, with a bit of help from my Dad and a pinch of help from me. I was more than happy to do the tiling around the wood stove but I have yet to finish painting the stairs. Maybe by Christmas.... (ha-ha)
This past April, Adam and I were hit by a drunk driver while driving to Nashville. We ended up rolling our SUV and totaling our vehicle, leaving us stranded just outside of Louisville, KY. I believe God uses times like that to draw you, not only closer to Him, but closer together as a couple. God was so good to us and protected us through the whole incident. We walked away with four staples in Adam's head and 33 stitches in my forearm and, after renting another vehicle, we continued on our way to Nashville. Many thanks to our family and close friends for your prayers over the course of that weekend.
Another highlight of the year was the ten day missions trip I was privileged to take part in this summer. A group of nine from our church flew to El Salvador to minister to a group of boys and various area churches. It was amazing. We passed out gospel tracts to nearly every person we saw on the street and taught Bible stories to the kids who attended the after-school program at the orphanage where we stayed. I was so blessed and God is still using the experience to work in my heart.
This year also brought to pass the most difficult thing I have ever had to endure, which is saying good-bye to someone I love dearly, though it be only temporary. On September 28, my dear Grandpa went to be with Jesus, after being diagnosed with lung cancer only four weeks prior. Those last four weeks were, and will be forever, so precious to us. We soaked up every moment we could with Grandpa and he continued to shower us with stories and wisdom and his favorite scriptures. The night before he died, I whispered in his ear that if I didn't see him again here, I would see him there (meaning heaven) and he answered in a resounding, "Yes!" The first thing he had been able to say for several hours. What a comfort that is to me. I'm looking forward to our reunion someday.
So there you have a brief synopsis of our year. May the next year have more ups and more glorious meetings with my Saviour. I love my Jesus dearly and I pray that this year you will grow to know Him like you never had before. He is the true reason why we celebrate this Christmas. Because of Jesus, I can confidently assure you that I will see my Grandpa again, though not on this earth. Because of Jesus, I am free. My debt is paid, because of a little Child born so long ago. May God bless you all in the up coming year! Good wishes from us to you!
With all our love,
Adam, Bethany and Josh
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