Anticipation

It's growing.  The eager anticipation of the arrival of our little granddaughter.

Less than 2 weeks away, the due-date is swiftly approaching, and momma is starting to notice...

realizing her body is changing, preparing; she's feeling the twinges.

This gramma is just busting with excitement...and joy.

I saw Kristiina yesterday - happily for the third day in a row - and I just love that belly of hers.

(I didn't take this... it's KO's pic. This was 35 weeks. The belly is bigger and lower than this now!)

I rub it and caress it...  I'd sing to it if no one were looking (listening) - I'll just have to do the singing when she gets here.

Those of you who are grandmothers know what I'm feeling.  I'm so eager to have her in my arms.

The first time I embraced her big brother...

Oh, I remember that day.  My heart heaves and my eyes tear at the memory.

I still feel this way when I snuggle with him - and he still snuggles this way when he wakes from his nap, which I was able to thoroughly enjoy just this past Friday and Saturday when he took his naps at "gama-gapa's" house.  I love that little boy so much.

His affection doesn't just come at snuggly, nappy-time, though.  He is spontaneous.  Yesterday, when I helped mommy by taking him to the potty, he was re-dressing (his hands on my shoulders while his chubby little legs slipped back into his jeans), he caressed my hair and neck and simply, softly (almost a whisper) said, "Oh, gama." {swoon} "I love you, too, Kingston."  Melt me.

To think my heart has to make room for his sister.  I know it's capable... but it is a phenomenon.

I wonder if they'll look alike.  If this newborn picture of Kingston and the in-utero picture of his sister (yet unnamed) is any indication, I think they will. Of course, it could go either way.  It's funny how some siblings are clearly cut from the same cloth, while others show their similarities in last name only.

{Sigh} My heart is so full... and so ready to receive this little one.



Giving thanks today in community with...

http://www.aholyexperience.com/

...for enduring, endless love
...for the tender affection of a toddler grandson
...for a healthy womb and an equally healthy baby girl
...for a precious daughter/friend
...for God's faithfulness and perfect timing
...and for the less obvious electricity following the arrival of an early Nor'easter
...for happy sunshine and the wonder of glistening snow

Busy...Fun Day!

The snow we thought we'd have yesterday morning arrived later in the day.

It snowed throughout the evening and into the night...

...and this is what we woke up to this morning.


 This was about 8 AM.

I can't tell you how happy it makes me to have this thermometer.  It's such a little thing - but it hung outside my parents' window in Florida for a couple of decades.  I'll bet the needle has never been this far left... and I'll bet it'll never go as far right as it's been when mounted outside my childhood home.  To make the having-this-thermometer-warm-fuzzy warmer, I learned recently it was a gift to mom and dad from Erkki-seta when he came to visit from Finland.  {{sigh}}


This is the scene out the upstairs window toward Mt. Ascutney.  Very early before the sky turned it's brilliant blue.

And the trees on the hill behind the house.

Then!  Just minutes later, the sky did this...  so beautifully blue this morning!

I'm not sure what these are... some sort of berry or mini crab apple. They're on the tree out front.

Since it's only late October, the porch is still decorated for fall.  I think it may be time to pack up the poor scarecrow... and I think the mums may be done for the season!

Heading out to Nic and Kristiina's to pick up Kingston, this is the view of the neighborhood looking back up our road.  Such a breathtaking sight!

This is our neighbors' place... where Murphy lives (gorgeous yellow lab).

A little further down that road...  There's just something about snow-laden branches... and they're even better when you put them on a creek bank!

Home again!  Spent the whole day with this precious pun'kin.  He's busy typing on Gramma's computer, looking for music.

Then he talked on the phone with Mommy for a while.

A long while.  He loves talking on the phone with his Mommy.

He paces while he talks... and here he's climbing on the hassock - without missing a beat in his conversation.What a doll!

Then it was nap time.  We went upstairs to read a book or two (several time through), laid in the bed with a super soft blankie, and before Gramma could finish singing the first verse of Amazing Grace, our Little Man was fast asleep. Mommy says that Amazing Grace is his favorite.

Today was awesome.

Someone's Cranky

"Someone" is me.

I got plenty of rest last night, but when Sara slipped past me and wouldn't come when I called her... it all went down hill.

She does this adorable waggly bottom, shimmy-y top, happy dance that makes her look like a bouncy accordion.  She looks really cute doing it, which is fortunate for her, but I was still unhappy with her.  I finally had to just pick her up, all 60-something pounds of her, and put her where I wanted her - back in the bedroom. Stinker.

So, I get the ones whose turn it really is to go out all situated, and discover that the snow we were supposed to get, the first of the season, is really just freezing cold rain.  And, by the way, it's 6:30 am and it's dark out.

The umbrella that is in the same place every day, rain or shine, is not there. It's not on the inside of the door, it's not on the outside of the door, it's not in the closet.  So, out we go in the rain.

Having hit the snooze button 3 times instead of 2, there is not enough time in the schedule this morning to straight-iron these soggy, soon-to-be frizzy, locks of mine.

And that's how it happened... it's how I went from happy to grumpy; sweet to sour; pleasant to disagreeable in 10 minutes flat.

(Not my photo - It was taken by  Matt Kloskowski. It is Vermont, though.)

Lord, please forgive my impatience and gracelessness.  

Help me not to express on the outside what I'm feeling on the inside.  

May I overcome and be the fragrance of Christ this morning.

For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ

among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.

2 Corinthians 2:15 

Stuck in the Mundane

40 hours x 52 weeks x 30 years -


seated in a rolling office chair

under the glare and hum of florescent lights

manilla folders piled high, I


read emails

send emails

prepare paperwork

send paperwork

receive paperwork

organize paperwork

take phonecalls

make phonecalls


repeat... and repeat... and repeat


Ungrateful?  Not at all.

Uninspired?  Totally.


Wistfully dreaming today, of life beyond the 40-hour grind.

Revive my heart, O God.

Anything is a blessing which makes us pray.
~C. H. Spurgeon

The Grace Awakening

I went upstairs last night in search of a book to read.

I have so many books that I have not read yet - and only about a quarter of them unpacked.  We just keep lugging boxes and boxes of books with us ... from FL to NC to VT.  Joe loves it.  Not really.

Anyway, of the few boxes that I have unpacked and placed in the bookcase, I was happy to find that The Grace Awakening by Chuck Swindoll was there.  First printed in 1990, I have the 2010 anniversary edition.

I've heard good things about it and have had my eye on it for a few months.  It might even be in my Amazon "save for later" cart.  So, I was surprised that I have it... I don't remember getting it!  Maybe it was a gift... but those usually have Merry Christmas or Happy Birthday wishes inscribed inside by the giver, and this has none. Hmmm...

By the time I settled into bed ready to dig into my new-to-me book, my eyes were already pretty heavy.  I only managed to get through the publisher's preface, scan the acknowledgments, and read a page and a half of the introduction.  Never even got to chapter 1 before I had to roll over and go to sleep.

Eh... I'll try to hit the sack a little earlier tonight.

Once I get into the meat of it, I'll let you know if it lives up to it's reputation.  Has anyone read it?



(And here's a few more from the Sunday Stroll...)

'Tis grace hath brought us safe thus far, and grace shall lead us home.

~Amazing Grace, John Newton

A Sunday Stroll

Joe and I took a long walk yesterday.  Spent 2 1/2 hours meandering our neighborhood (woods included).

I was intrigued by this group of our neighbor's cows.  Not just by the lone light one, but by the tight huddle, as well.  It was a little chilly... but it wasn't that cold.  There's 5 or 6 of them there.

This little lady decided she was curious about us...

and decided she'd head our way to see what we're doing near her fence.

Why, hello Miss Daisy! What lovely eyes you have.

She's a pretty little girl, and just as sweet as can be.

Just a few steps up the road we spotted these two.  Hello, Beauties...

We stayed and scratched noses for a while, then were on our way.

The horse seemed to be asking if we really had to go, as she peeked between the fence rails.  They followed us on their side of the fence for a little while.

We were happy to discover how much foliage was still here on this road just around the corner from us.

 We stopped and chatted with a couple of neighbors along the way.

Then headed into the woods for some trail hiking.

It was an absolutely beautiful day.

In what seems ordinary and everyday,

there is always more than at first meets the eye.

~Charles Cummings

Happiness consists more in small

conveniences or pleasures that occur every day

than in great pieces of good fortune

that happen but seldom to a man in the course of his life.

~Benjamin Franklin

There's always something for which to be thankful.

~Charles Dickens

Teach me how to live to please you, because you are my God.
~Psalm 143:8, The Message



I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, and on Your wondrous works.
~Psalm 145:5, NKJV

Giving thanks today...

...for my hubby who is happy to go for a long walk with me

...for crisp air and warm clothes

...for the opportunity to still enjoy brilliant fall foliage

...for pleasant, neighborly neighbors

...for darling animals and our tender hearts toward them

Just Breathe

Typically even and steady, I do sometimes have days where anxiousness weighs heavy; pressing.

I’ve had a couple of them this week. 

I stood in my office recently (to agitated to sit) thankful for the large windows that allow me to gaze out to the blustery autumn  -  to ponder the expanse of it; the mountains, the trees, the sky (though ominous), at a time when solid walls would only perpetuate the “closing in” feeling.

This is not the view from my office, but if you put a parking lot on this side of the fence, it's close.

Seemingly unable to even formulate a prayer, I told myself, “just breathe,” and whispered His name.

I’m sure it’s no coincidence that, at a time when I am aware of my very breath, I stumble upon the following:

Michele Perry, writer-blogger-speaker-missionary in the Sudan, said on her site yesterday -

“There truly is One Who walks even hollow hallways and empty expanses closer to us than the air we breathe.”

And dear Ann Voskamp, on her beautiful blog, A Holy Experience, shared the following in a journal entry she made in 2008 (which I just happened to see this week!) -

“The letters of the name of God in Hebrew are yod, hay, vav, and hay.  They are infrequently pronounced Yahweh. But in truth they are inutterable…

“This word is the sound of breathing. The holiest name in the world, the Name of Creator, is the sound of your own breathing. That these letters are unpronounceable is no accident. Just as it is no accident that they are also the root letters of the Hebrew verb ‘to be’… God’s name is name of Being itself.”

~Rabbi Lawrence Kushner

With her additional commentary…

"We breathe…. And call His name. 

In the soul-quiet of a tranquil farm night, I listen to the sound of breathing and feel how close He comes. 

He’s as close as the sound of your every breath.

 

Lord, every breath is Your name. Come."

... when {whatever it is} seems overwhelming... breathe deeply and press into Him. He is near.

How, Then, Shall We Live

Be the living expression of God's kindness:

Kindness in your face,

Kindness in your eyes,

Kindness in your smile,

Kindness in your warm greeting.

~Mother Theresa

Carve your name on hearts

and not on marble.

~Charles H. Spurgeon

Be gentle with one another, sensitive.

Forgive one another as quickly and

thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you.

~Ephesians 4:32 msg

Act with God in the greatest simplicity.
Speak to Him frankly and plainly.
Implore His assistance in your affairs
just as they are happening:
He will never fail to grant it.

~Brother Lawrence

A kind heart is a fountain of gladness,
making everything in it's vicinity
freshen into smiles.

~Washington Irving

Pumpkin Patch Adventure

Here is a {big} picture story of our morning at the Pumpkin Patch!

Here we go!  Would you look at that adorable, diaperless little bottom?!

So... what are we doing here, again?

Daddy, can you believe it?

Look at all these pumpkins - they're everywhere!

This looks like a good one.

Oh, but this is a better size for me to pick up.

Let's go check out the corn maze!

Kingston leads the way!

It's a tad blurry... but there's that little tush again!

Just caught a glimpse of daddy coming through the corn.

Smile, Kingston!  His new "fake" smile!

Kingston took this picture of mommy!

This is adorable...

...but Nic needed to pick up a bigger pumpkin!

Someone spotted the tractor!

...and then... Smile, Kingston!

Okay, I'm done with this one.

Whoa... so many pumpkins!

Finding the perfect one, or readjusting for a photo op?

Holding the geese gourds!

Weigh your pumpkins here, then come on in (and pay an exorbitant fee!).

That was fun, now off to find foliage!