A note from my dad

Dear Family,
From the book of Job, Chapter 1, verse 22 (b):
The Lord has given and the Lord has taken away;
may the name of the Lord be praised."

Lu's mom, my mother-in-law, Kristi and Sheryl's grandmother, died this afternoon at about 3:00. Many of us were there at the time. The pastor of their church came for a brief service at noon. We celebrated communion and commendation of the dying as well as singing several songs in English and Swahili. She was able to give minimal response at that time. We have all been there much of the week. Lu, Kristi, and Sheryl helped with the necessary physical cares. Kristi cooked several meals. Lu's sister, Rachel, was able to stay much of the week and, with all of the sisters involved, the family was able to provide the "end-of-life" cares in their home. It was (allowing her to stay at home) a decision that we all concurred on but it was hard. Lu has said several times that it has been the hardest week of her life. We are, through the sadness of personal loss, rejoicing in her complete healing. We will have a family gathering at the funeral home tomorrow evening and a memorial service on Saturday.

"Grandma is dying, and it is not easy."

I tried to sit and read the words of this hymn to her. I couldn't, I could only just read through them and pray them.


Precious Lord, take my hand,
Lead me on, let me stand,
I am tired, I am weak, I am worn;
Through the storm, through the night,
Lead me on to the light:

Take my hand, precious Lord,
Lead me home.

When my way grows drear,
Precious Lord, linger near,
When my life is almost gone,
Hear my cry, hear my call,
Hold my hand lest I fall:

When the darkness appears
And the night draws near,
And the day is past and gone,
At the river I stand,
Guide my feet, hold my hand

micro balance

I just read an article that spoke of America's obsession with clean and what this may be doing to people's bodies. So in an effort to control my allergies and boost my immune system I will continue to adhere to the expectations of cleanliness that I do. At work in a food plant the company has (and we adhere to) high standards of hygiene and cleanliness. I have made every effort to balance this environment with my home environment. Therefore, Pene will continue to sleep on the bed, dust bunnies will continue to lodge themselves in the corners, and I will wash the floor when I am interested in seeing the original color again.

peppered 'paintings'

back to Wisconsin

Dad's John Deere went to NM with us and is now back again. It was a bit difficult to unload - the frost on the trailer didn't help anything..)





Even Pene was a bit paranoid. (Okay, Pen is often a bit paranoid)

Aragorn and Aerosmith

I've been rewatching the LOTR trilogy this weekend. I'm nearly finished with 'The Two Towers', but I'm going to go to bed and will miss the not-so-grand ending until tomorrow. To recap - Two Towers has the scenes of Aragorn and Arwen separating so that he can go off and save the world and she can go off and not be subjected to the nastiness of war, evil, and
despair. When I left the movie and came back in my room Pandora was playing 'Don't Want to Miss a Thing' - the love theme through the movie Armageddon - which also features Liv Tyler as the leading love-crossed gal. It was humorous and disturbing as my mind conjured up an all new music video for 'Don't Want to Miss a Thing' - featuring Aragorn and Arwen, Aerosmith, and all the grandeur of Middle Earth. Steve Tyler looks like he could belong in Middle Earth - probably not as Liv Tyler's father though - that would be coincidental to be realistic.

Until it's personal

Standing in friends' garage I nearly hyperventilated as a meadow mouse scurried towards the center of the room and was consequently nearly stomped to death by one of the boys. I claimed that my massive intake of air had been in concern for the mouse and not in alarm at it's sudden appearance. It was of course explained to me that they are a nuisance as they tear out the insulation and they need to not live in the garage. I still didn't point out where the mouse had gone when he headed across the back of the garage a second time.

After lunch we worked with Sheryl and Mark to clean out the U-Haul.
We found that Hunca Munca and Tom Thumb had been there first and apparently, a bit longer. Our Fisher toys from the 1980s looked liked they had housed families of mice for years. I'm afraid that they interiors will have to be completely redone to rectify the damage. The little people themselves are going to be fine. I ran them through the dishwasher, and then ran all the dishes again just for good measure. Perhaps my soft heart for mice has to do with my pack rat tendencies, or just the fact that they are so cute. But I really don't think there is much in this world that smells worse than years of mouse urine. After today I think I may settle to post 'No Trespassing' signs and then let the mice fend for themselves- I'll be helping along the evolution of mice.

The upcoming Wisconsin holiday (deer-hunting season) is bringing another childhood 'friend' to the forefront of my mind. Which is a beautiful image - until I hit one with my car.

haycorns and hot cocoa

Haycorn wars and repeatedly well-made hot cocoa. Family devotions and playing with hair. Good bye hugs and staying up too late. It is the little things of life that make life so worthwhile.