A Yard Sale Fail

It was a sunny day. A yardsale-able day. Or so I thought. I had hung out my signs, but not until last minute. I waited all day. Not one person. Not one car. I had arranged the tables so nicely. I even hung the baby clothes on the line to attract attention. Not one bite or nibble. It was a good thing I didn't feel like it was necessary for me to stay out there all day. I was able to bake lots of pies while casting longing glances out the front door. We didn't have one person walk into the yard until it was time to pack everything away. It was about that time when the neighborhood kids started gathering across the street in their usual hangout spot. One curious girl came over to take a peek. We had already packed away the clothes and were in the process of packing up the dishes. Suddenly there were more kids. Looking in the box of books and the stack of VHS movies. I was sure a bunch of 8-11 year olds were not going to want toddler books and movies, but I told them if they saw anything they wanted, they could have it. That got them excited... And I got rid of a couple books and some Veggie Tale movies. I offered them my mugs. You should've seen the kids move then! I had just enough mugs for one for each. They were happy. And then I gave away my brother's old skate boards. Two of them.So I guess I did a little cleaning out after all. Haha, well mugs and movies and skate boards anyway...

(Photo forthcoming. Camera is charging.)

Life Goes On.

It's been an exhausting week. My mind and body are tired. We spent two days this week in Buffalo with Adam's family. Grandma's wake was on Wednesday and the funeral was Thursday. The funeral was done in a Catholic church and was very different from any funeral I had ever been to. It left my mind reeling and I was very grateful that I know my relationship with Jesus Christ is a personal relationship. I don't live in fear of not being accepted into heaven because Christ has already paid for my sins and has extended his free gift of salvation to me. My sins have been washed away and I look forward to seeing my Savior face to face someday. I am forever grateful.
This week I met family members that I had never known before and became reacquainted with some that we hadn't seen for a while. Together we mourned the loss of a wife, mother, grandmother, friend, and neighbor. We laughed with each other and at each other. Shared food and hugs. Together we said goodbye to the woman for whom we had all gathered together. When the time came to go home, Adam and I were both exhausted. We left Grandpa behind while lifting him up in our prayers. It will be difficult in the days ahead as this new way of life becomes the norm. If you think of it, you can pray for him too. Hmm, I think it is bed time.

Antoher Goodbye

When we arrived at the hospital in Buffalo yesterday morning, it was very apparent that we didn't have much longer with Grandma. We took turns holding her hand, telling her that we loved her. We witnessed a man kiss his wife and his best friend goodbye. Tenderly holding her hand, stroking her hair and whispering "I love you" into her ear. He recounted the story of how they got together. How she had reached over and held his hand on the way to a dance and how she had asked him out first. His eyes misted over. This woman was his best friend. His wife of 55 years. His heart already ached with thoughts of her being gone. The cancer had taken it's toll on her body. She lay in the bed, her arms and legs worn thin, and an oxygen mask covered her face, to ease her toiled breaths. This was the girl he went dancing with, the mother of his children, the woman who shared his house and home. And now the time had come to say good-bye. His children had come. As had nearly all of the grandchildren. At 10:30 last night, Grandma slipped into eternity and in doing so, left a hole in the hearts of those she left behind. Good-bye dear Grandma.

A Positive Note

Tonight I felt like a night owl. My little family members were both tired and cranky this evening, so they were tucked into bed early. This left me with the house empty- just the way I like it when I'm in the cleaning mood. Maybe my hubby will notice the clean smell when he wakes up in the morning. Clean bathroom, freshly mopped floors, the window int he kitchen was even washed! I'm feeling accomplished. I even baked a squash pie this evening. Before I cleaned the bathroom...

Speaking of pies, you will all be happy to know about those "flourless" pies that were mentioned in the previous post. Well, I baked several of them and tried a piece or two and they were perfectly fine!! That is a praise the Lord moment! Last Saturday my oven was going all day, baking pies to sell at church the following day. My oven ran from 7:30 til 10:00 at night and there were 15 pies baked in all. Not only was I baking pies on Saturday, but I was having a yard sale simultaneously... Good thing I have good friends who came and helped me keep my head on straight. I think the yard sale went pretty well, especially for being so late in the year. We made around $90 and seeing as everything was priced pretty cheap, that number surprised me... We are having a yard sale again this weekend and hopefully we'll clean out some more stuff! (Praying for another beautiful day!) Oh and of all the pies we made? We sold 11 pies at church, two to some friends of ours, a few slices at my yard sale and we even got eat one or two slices ourselves. I feel like the Lord really blessed me on Sunday by selling all the pies that I brought and some people even gave me extra to go toward my trip. I had 9 additional orders for pies made on Sunday to go along with the previous orders. Tomorrow Mom and I are going to have another pie-making marathon and hopefully I can get most of these orders filled by the weekend!

And now it is off to bed for me. A busy day tomorrow.

A verse for today: Luke 17:10 "...When you have done all those things which you are commanded, sat 'We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.' "

Something to think about.

An Apple Ooops

Pies, pies, and more pies. I am currently having a fundraiser for a trip I am going on in February. The trip involves a plane, a far distant country, Compassion International and meeting someone special. Needless to say, I am so excited that God has opened this door. (!!!!!) So I am selling homemade pies to help raise the necessary funds. Apple pies, pumpkin pies and a very limited amount of select other pies. I have received permission to sell my pies at church on Sunday and they will be sold for $10 a piece. My Mom, Hannah and I make a very good pie-making team. We can make 10 pies in three hours, if we all work together. Last Saturday, we made nine apple pies. Wednesday we made ten apple pies. (I have yet to do any pumpkin.) So now my freezer is full of pies. Delicious, delectable, marvelous apple pies. Well, most of them anyways... So, you see... Wednesday, when we were making pies, we were on such a roll that, well, I forgot to put flour in with the apple filling. So, yeah. Some of my pies will be runny. The filling will not set up as nicely as it should. And they will be less than most wonderful. I will not be able to sell them for $10 with a good conscience... Maybe for $5, but not for $10. And I realized all of this because of Josh. See, he was trying to be helpful and as I was bringing my things into the house after a big pie-making party at my Mom's, he took a pie out of the trunk of my car. I came out of the house just in time to see him juggling the pie as he tried to balance it in his arms. First it was sideways, then it was upside down, then it was on the ground. I guess this was his way of getting an apple pie for himself... Anyways, this pie ended up being baked and eaten as dessert that evening. Adam commented on it's runniness, which I attributed to it being cut while still warm. But then I got to thinking... I can't believe I left the flour out! What a stupid, moronic, amateur thing to do! I mean, I have been making pies since... Well, for a really long time... Good grief. At the very least, those nine pies could be saved for any special occasion that may happen in the next several months. And I thought we were doing so well!

Remembering

I can't believe that it's been one year already. Today I thought of the last thing my Grandpa taught me. I was out in the garden with a pitchfork in my hand loosening the soil around the carrots so the kids could pull them up. My Grandpa taught me how to do that. That was only a few days before he passed. He had been sitting on the couch and he was tired. Even the bowl of peaches he was trying to eat was wearying him. But he was thinking of the hard work he had put into his garden that year. He told me exactly where to find the pitchfork, in his well kept wood shed. Grandpa explained how to poke the fork in around the carrots and loosen the soil just a bit... And he sent me off on a mission to see if those carrots were ready to be harvested... My Grandpa and I had always shared a love for gardening. We compared the progress of our gardens during the summer. His was weed free and the weeds growing in mine were nearly sky-high. My garden was large. His was small. His tomatoes were dying and so were mine. Our gardens gave us something in common. He was more than willing to hear about how things were growing at my house, though I was always a little nervous that he might stop by unexpected and see how I had let the weeds grow too. I thought of my Grandpa probably every time I was out there in the dirt this year. I think I tried extra hard to keep the weeds out this time. This year was the best that my garden has ever looked and I blame Grandpa for that. Even though he wasn't here to see it (and even if he could see it, I'm sure he'd be preoccupied with praising our Lord), I think my garden would've made him proud this year. Especially my "prize-winning" Brussels sprouts, which have been producing edible sprouts since July.... I can't wait to see him again.

G. I. Joe

Blogger now has this wonderful tab labeled "stats". Every so often I click it and see what is popular about my blog as of late. Today it just so happened to be this post.

http://bethanyanns.blogspot.com/2008/10/house-guest.html

I found it rather ironic, because here we are, two years later and Joe is moving out. I have enjoyed his company when he's been around, and I want him to know he is welcome anytime. I like Joe... I'll probably even miss having him around. Especially when my dishes need washing. (ha ha) But the time has come and we all know it. There's nothing quite like being on your own and paying your very own bills to help you feel established. Joe, we'll be keeping you in our prayers as your movin' on out and movin' on up! Love you too buddy.