pie on a tray. . . and quiet

Monday-more wedding work and play-packing, sorting, cleaning, 4 trips to the airport with the people we love, and the good-byes.
Then it was evening and John and I stopped.
We sat in bed with our dinner-he had eggs, and on a tray I brought leftover apple pie -and a little good coffee.
-after 4 days sleeping on the couch and floor, we were back in our own room and the house was so quiet.
So, we talked about our favorite wedding memories, ate apple pie- and watched Pilgrim's Progress, Journey to Heaven on the laptop, just the 2 of us. We got almost to the end. . .the rest will be good for another day.

honor and a lavender rose. . .

Rejoicing with Mr. and Mrs. Brett Tippey

October 23, 2010

"Today Darcie carries a single lavender rose in honor of Brett's mother, LaVerne, who sadly could not celebrate with us today due to her ongoing struggle with Alzheimer's. Brett and Rachel are thankful that after 38 years the marriages of John and Darcie (february 12, 1972) and David and LaVerne (June 17, 1972) continue to be living examples of Christ's undying love for and commitment to his Church."

Soli Deo Gloria. . .

random reminders

Certainly- the week of a girl's wedding, her mother's thoughts and actions should be deliberate, purposeful-not random.
I'm reminding myself today, purposeful not random. . .Darcie, don't get distracted!
Good-since yesterday I punctuated a thought with a random gesture which sent my hot tea flying off the table, splattering the wall and floor at Starbucks, Sigh. . .
Still there are random thoughts and some are nice. . .
Clean bathrooms-hmmm, the sweet girl who came home and did the scrubbing because she noticed and wanted to. . .
White pumpkins-grouped beside the sewing table- a white dress on the table, white pumpkins beside it (both for the wedding)- lovely. . .and Julia (in her silver shoes) lugging white pumpkins-part of the team.
Red soccer shoes- Julia marched in, "Why are Uncle Nathaniel's shoes here?" Ah, yes, Nathaniel's red soccer shoes, left behind in July, on purpose, the shoes and the ball didn't fit in the suitcase. Julia remembered and she's waiting for her uncle. . .
And tonight, late, we'll pick up Abi and Nathaniel at the airport-the last of our children to arrive for the occasion.
Ahh. . .random reminders of a memorable week.

a big occasion and a small black machine

For the past 38 years my little black Singer has labored faithfully.
I used it to sew my wedding dress, then little dresses with pinafores, formal dinner dresses, recital dresses, quilts, skirts. . .then Naomi's wedding dress.
I've hemmed and mended. . .snug in its little case, my machine went to Mexico and came back to Texas with me; John has cleaned, oiled, and repaired it-
My little Singer isn't fancy, no zig-zag or button holes, but always trusty, the stitches are always even; it runs forward and backward.
And that's good enough for me.
Now Rachel is sewing her wedding dress on my Singer. (ah those french seams!)
It's almost finished. . .

uncommon emotion

So, my mother sat in her armchair, propped up just right.
I asked, "How about if I read the Bible?"
she requested Psalm 23 and Psalm 139-her favorites.
I repeated the question each morning and she answered with the same request-so I read. . . until she said, "Stop now!"
One morning I read from Psalm 139, "Your eyes have seen my unformed substance and in your book they were all written, the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them. . ."
Then I opened and read her cards -one from Nathaniel and Abigail, "We're amazed to think how God is weaving together the inward parts of our unborn child."
Psalm 139! . . .and a great grandchild for my mother.
she smiled.
Another day I suggested a passage about Jesus; she nodded and I read John 10. . . the next day I chose Revelations 5. (my favorite)
"behold the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah has overcome so as to open the book. . .and I saw a Lamb standing, as if slain, worthy to open the book."
I asked my mother, "Who is the Lamb?"
Jesus!-her confident answer
"And I heard the voice of many angels around the throne saying, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches, wisdom and might, honor and glory and blessing. . ."

Aye-and there I sat reading, choking with uncommon emotion.
Imagine the wonder. . .

paper memories

I love paper- but I'm not very sentimental (mmmm. maybe a little bit). . .

my mother is very sentimental and she saves every scap of paper with a memory, especially from the 60+ years she was married to my father.

Sometimes the piles of saved paper irritate me. . .then I stumble upon a teasure.

So- my niece, Meredith, is sorting the stacks at Mom's house-last week she handed me a letter, still in the envelope with a classy Mexican stamp, a letter I wrote to my parents from a Mexican village, dated August 1982.

Rachel was 8 years old and I wrote, "Yesterday Rachel reread Charlotte's Web and she cried again. . .together we're reading The Borrower's Aloft; a friend lent us the Chronicles of Narnia-Rachel has read the first book already. . .the other day the girls were cutting out pictures from old Good Housekeeping magazines- Rachel commented, 'When I look at these magazines, it makes me think that there are lots of pretty things in the States!' and then she asked me, 'What's Master Charge?'"

A sweet memory amid a pile of obscure papers-(and she's getting married in just 10 days.)

maybe I should save more paper. . .

where everything grows. . .

So, I traveled to California like a minimalist (I think I am one of those). . .just a backpack to stuff under the seat-but I wish I'd brought my camera.
My mother's home is alive, surrounded with color and growing things-roses, roses, roses, all blooming-huge hydrangeas hedging the pathway to the front door, pink and white cosmos, borders of nastursiums, yellow, orange, white.
Can you imagine the beauty. . .kind of??
And hidden behind the giant blooming cosmos in the front yard, I discovered 2 tomato plants-my brother picked 15 pounds of ripe tomatoes the day before I arrived.
The Hospice nurse made her first visit to Mom at home, exclaiming to my sister, "There is so much life going on here!"
hmmm, I'm glad she noticed. . .

to do the next thing. . .

Sometimes life overwhelms-

then it helps to remember-just do the next thing.

So, Saturday I taught on forgiveness at a woman's meeting (Aye, a subject as deep as the Pacific)-next wedding planning, then dinner.

next I checked the bodice of Rachel's wedding dress (not necessary but a mother-daughter thing, you know.)

and next I went to bed, so I could get up-very early Sunday morning-to fly to California.

And this is the next thing-me in California, with my family, helping with my mother's care. . .

to focus on the next thing hedges in my life-

when my mind is crazy, "What should I do? Where should I be? Who needs me? Will I have strength. . .?"

hmmm, God's grace enables me to just do the next thing-

and I'm so thankful.

(and sometimes the next thing is Earl Grey with milk in a favorite chipped cup-)

glossy purple

Ah, a lovely purple eggplant. . .
actually there are 3- the blossoms are lavender!
Fall in Texas is curious. . . sometimes it looks like spring.
today I'm yearning for a glimpse of God's beauty. . .
and I'm dreaming about what I might cook with my shiny, purple eggplants.
hmmm-maybe my Auntie Lois' ratatouille-the recipe's in the box, in her handwriting.
or maybe I'll simply enjoy the beauty of creation-