Random Thanksgiving Day shotsM talks Matt into a "nice" pose.

First, Matt insists on a "silly" pose

Wes at Wii Golf

Bismarck & Bob

Neal & Laura

Roger & Bob

The hikers take off to explore the land

Ready for a hike! Brad takes the kids hiking.

This was at Brad and Rachel's house. There was a sprinkling of snow still on the ground. We live 20 minutes East and had none on the ground. Sometime after dinner, I got lazy with the camera and neglected to take anyone else's picture. Also had the wrong camera with me. The SureShot doesn't do well with so much contra light from all of the windows. I should have brought the Rebel, but was waaay too lazy for that! The SureShot lives in my purse, so it was handy.

THANKSGIVING DINNER

Plenty of food here

Dessert or appetizer, anyone?

Two smoked turkey breasts, one spicy Southwest style
And the traditional stuffed bird (the turkey ducked when he saw my camera)

Rambunctious greeters answer the door

Wii golf after dinner
(Bob and I tried our hand at the tennis game, not too successfully despite his tennis background! Seems the skill didn't transfer to the video game!)

And the ladies perused the sales, planning for tomorrow.

Food, fun, family, friends. A day for which to give thanks.

Who owns it?

If your Thanksgiving feast doesn't match the picture, and relationships in your family get a bit rough about now, give the following story some thought.

A Question of Ownership
TGIF Today God Is First, by Os Hillman

Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. - Matthew 10:39

Otto Koning was a missionary in New Guinea. He worked among a native tribe that had known only their village ways. One of those village ways was stealing from others. When Otto and his wife arrived and moved into a hut, the natives often came by to visit. The Konings would notice that after the natives left the missionaries' home, various household items had disappeared. They saw these items again when they went to preach in the natives' village.

The only fruit Otto could grow on the island was pineapples. Otto loved pineapples, and he took pride in the pineapples he was able to grow. However, whenever the pineapples began to ripen, the natives would steal them. Otto could never keep a ripe pineapple for himself. This was a frustration, and he became angry with the natives. All during the seven-year period in which this took place, Otto preached the gospel to these natives, but never had a conversion.

The more the natives stole, the angrier Otto became. Finally, one day Otto had a German Shepherd dog flown in from another missionary to protect his pineapple garden after other frustrated efforts failed. This only further alienated the natives from him.

Otto took a furlough to the United States and attended a conference on personal rights. At this conference, he discovered that he was frustrated over this situation because he had taken personal ownership of his pineapple garden. After much soul searching, he gave his garden to God. Soon the natives started having problems among their tribe. They discovered that Otto was the reason for their problems because he gave his garden to his God. The natives saw a correlation between what Otto had done and their own lives being affected by calamities in their village. When Otto gave his garden to God, he no longer got angry and was free from worry. The natives started bringing him fruit from the garden because they didn't want any more calamities to come into their village.

The light came on one day when a native said to Otto, "You must have become a Christian, Otto. You don't get angry anymore. We always wondered if we would ever meet a Christian." They had never associated Otto with the kind of person he was preaching about because his message did not line up with his life. Otto was broken in spirit when he realized he had been such a failure.

At the end of seven years, he witnessed his first conversion, and many began coming to Christ once he fully gave his garden to God. The fruit grew so abundant that Otto began exporting it and growing other types of fruit, such as bananas. His village became the most evangelized in the whole region, yet for seven years he had not one convert.

Otto realized something each of us must realize: To gain your life you must lose it, along with your possessions. It was only when he gave all his possessions to God that he became free from them. God measured back to him manifold once He had complete ownership.

Do you have some possessions that you need to give up to God today? Let God have all that you have. Become a steward, not an owner. You will be surprised at how well God can take care of His possessions.

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Grandparent Day

Kindergarten through third grade sang: "Side by Side"

Then second and third grade sang "Grandparents, I love you" (Or something like that!)
Too cute.

We made crafts and read books in the classroom.
A nice end of school for the Thanksgiving Holiday.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

"I'm honored to be here"

I've heard the phrase used as a guest singer or speaker rises to the pulpit, "I'm honored to be here." Sometimes the speaker is sincere. Sometimes it's a platitude, social noise, the polite thing to say. Sometimes it means, "I'm trying to be humble about this, but you really made a good choice inviting me." Or, "I'm honored you had the good sense to have me here."

That phrase took on new meaning for me last Sunday morning when I was taught a valuable lesson by a 7-year old. It was one of those mornings. We were to collect shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child. The children's choir was practicing; we had trouble finding the track-CD and the director's book. The sound system monitors were fading in and out. Because adult praise singer practice had taken too long, we were running out of time. The children couldn't remember to sing and do sign language at the same time. The logistics were eventually resolved; the singing, signing snag was solved.

But after all of this in practice, I had trouble concentrating. It was just one of those mornings! I was singing, trying valiantly to stay focused on Christ and worship, but thoughts kept crowding in. I was mentally fussing about things. I was having attitudinal difficulties! Oh, the service went on: we sang; I raised my hands in worship. It was church as usual.

After we collected shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child, the project coordinator came to the pulpit to pray for the boxes, and her 7-year old granddaughter accompanied her. I watched the child's face as her grandmother prayed. She was looking up at her with an awestruck expression on her face that I began to weep. She was so honored to be there that her little face shone. I grabbed my camera (photo buff that I am) to capture the moment, but she saw my camera and closed her eyes to join her Grandmother in prayer. The picture, therefore, missed the childlike innocence and wonder that had been there the moment before.

But sitting there watching her worshipful attitude, God spoke to me. "That's the attitude you need to have." I knew what He meant: she was honored to be there, genuinely honored. I needed to be honored to be in His Presence, honored to be worshiping, honored to be in the House of God on Sunday morning, honored that He graces us with His Presence instead of mentally fussing about a hectic morning.

Today just like that beautiful little girl, I let God take me by the hand and lead me into His Presence. Not because I deserved it; not because I'm good; not even because I love Him. But because He Loves Me. Because He died for me.

The child knew she wasn't there because she had done anything to deserve it; she was there just because she was the grandchild of a praying grandmother. And God has a special spot just like that for me, just because I'm HIS child, His redeemed one. I don't have to earn it; it isn't because I deserve it; it's just because I'm his child.

So this morning, I approached God with a different attitude. He responded so beautifully. There was a tangible sense of His Presence. For a long time as people prayed, we sang this song:

The Power and the Glory of His Name

by Geof Bullock

This Grace is mine, this glory earthbound, heaven sent
This plan divine, this life, this light that breaks my night
The Spirit of God, heaven falls like a dove to my heart.

This love is mine, so undeserved, this glorious name
This son, this God, this life, this death, this victory won
Forgiveness has flowed as this grace that is mine fills my heart.

The Power and the Glory of Your Name
The Power and the Glory of Your Name
The Power and the Glory of Your Name
The Name of the Lord, the Son of God.

This life is mine, so perfect and so pure, this God in me
This glorious hope, from earth to heaven, death to life
This future assured and secured by this love in my heart.

The Shechinah Glory of God filled the House. Praise went up and His Glory rained on us as we let Him Reign.

My prayer is that this may be a reminder for you, too. He honors us by showing up in our lives, in our worship. May we always approach Him with a sense of awe, a sense of honor.

God, I'm honored to be in Your Presence honored that you are in my life, that you come into my life and make a difference. Let me remember that, always!

Beautiful Day in the Park

Feeding the ducks, the deer and climbing trees. Later we fell off the merry-go-round too, but my battery was dead in the camera by then. (I hate when that happens!)

Sunday afternoon the light was perfect, the air crisp and cool, and our moods lighthearted

M strikes a pose. She was fussing at a white duck that really liked the girls and followed them around for the bread we were tossing for them.

M didn't care for the deer much. She was afraid to come close. M loved "Bambi" and was so excited he ate the leaves she gathered.



























M can never resist climbing a tree. M was only a few minutes behind her.

Climbing Trees on an Idyllic Sunday

This post was to cheer me up. There have been too many serious things happening. I needed some lighthearted proof that there are those wonderful places in which we can just enjoy the moment...live in the now.

Hope it cheered you too! Remember to smell the flowers.

ANATOMY OF A HAIR DO, Part II

It annoys me so much when my pictures disappear into cyberspace. I'm nothing if not persistent!

Here is my attempt at keeping things NORMAL by cutting my hair very short after it started to all out. (You can see it was a vain attempt) This DO lasted less than a week. I had already lost so much that the receding hairline is glaringly obvious.





Here are M (she's 6 here) and I looking freaked out about the upcoming shaved head!! (M at age 4 is the photographer)




Somehow I felt compelled to blog about the hair loss. This getting a new and almost normal hair do is a big deal for someone who spent several months totally bald and several more with miniscule hair growth.

Breast cancer strikes at the heart of all that is feminine. (although my plastic surgeon is AWESOME -- the new one looks better than the other, though he has been obsessed with giving me a matching pair. LOL!) No pictures of that here!! First there's the loss of a breast (or two as the case may be) and then the treatment. The side effects of the treatment are almost worse. One can hide the initial effects of a mastectomy and the beginning of reconstruction. One cannot hide a bald head so well. The wig does a reasonable job...but it doesn't feel REAL!

All the while, I recognized that the illness, the nausea, the neuropathy, the hair loss were necessary evils, although I cracked my share of jokes that some day we'll look at chemotherapy treatment for cancer the way we view leeches for fever now! At this time, improving the odds of a long life was more important. Still, the hair really bothered me.

That sort of startled look that of have in the photo with M is how I felt the entire time.

Finally, I feel real. The new hairdo has done that for me. (Although the bangs in front are still too short -- another few weeks!) But I'm REAL!

THE ANATOMY OF A HAIR DO

THis is from a picture of me with Victor, Marta and Sammy before the liver transplant -- December 2005. This is what my hair had been like for several years.

Last October, chemo effects began. Exactly three weeks after the first infusion, my hair began to fall out.

After a few days of clumps of hair on the pillow in the morning, I went and got a very short haircut. It was an attempt to stave off the inevitiable just a little bit longer. (That picture disappeared into cyberspace) And then one evening, even more fell out all at once and I was left with this.

So Brad and the girls came over for him to shave my head.

M and I are both apprehensive about this head shaving to come!! (the 4 year old is the photographer here!)

Brad finished the job by shaving my head. Both girls helped -- taking pictures and movies (the 6 year old took this one) You can see M's sad face. I had him leave the bangs and a fringe in back that still hung on. For about a week I could wear a hat and it wasn't terribly obvious that I was bald. Howevever that hair, too, soon fell out. And then I donned this wig. Occasionally I'd wear a hat or scarf or both, but most of the time I wore this wig. I'd though about getting a funky one for fun, but somehow when it's necessity, the fun is gone and I just wanted to look NORMAL.

By summer, I was tired of the wig and just started wearing it short -- I really didn't like the short in front stuff. But...it was better than sweating in the wig.





It's been growing since March and by the end of October, it was very shaggy!!

It had gotten so shaggy and long. I liked the feel of the longer hair, but it was getting unmanageable because it was short on the sides, long in back, longer on the right side -- kind of a lop-sided mullet. It's still very curly...this was taken blow dried. I've been wearing it curly, but now it's too long.

My current hairdo. I had it cut the other day.

Just feeling pensive today. Hope you enjoyed the song yesterday.

THIRD DAY -- "WHEN THE RAIN COMES"

It's Decided

Finally, I have the courage -- or the desperation -- to take the leap. I'm going for a haircut this afternoon. I've been so happy that my hair is finally back in....but the curly is getting too long to be manageable. I tried straight yesterday and today...and that's so long in the back, it lookes like a mullet...an "after-chemo" mullet. (For all of those mullet emails circulating, you need to add a new category!) It will have to be short--shorter than I'm really comfortable with, but that's the way it goes.

Pictures later!

Good News

I went to my absolutely wonderful massage therapist this afternoon. I feel so much better. I was concerned that the pain in my right leg might be sciatica, but the pain was being caused by the piriformis (a butt muscle) that was causing some restriction of the sciatic nerve, but it was not the disc compressing the nerve. So...with some stretching exercises, I should be good as new!! My muscles are reacting to the almost two years of inactivity. My hamstrings are tight and shortened, even my quads don't stretch the way they did just two years ago...but then, I was still playing soccer and exercising strenuously at times and more or less at other times. So it's stretching exercises for me on a daily basis.

The second piece of good news is that the meeting (professional development) that I went to yesterday was very inspiring. Assuming this current project continues well with the less structured environment, I want to rearrange things for a reading area. I want to have one day a week in which we read -- just read for 40 minutes. (If you saw my classes now, you'd know what a stretch that is). I'll be working on motivation for reading. I want some bean bag chairs (Where are the garage sales when I need them!), a big area rug (that I have) and some big pillows (I have a few; I'll have to make or find others). The idea is to create an environment conducive to reading. I'll have to work on the motivation...

I have two areas to stretch -- my muscles and my classroom!

One year ago -- October 31, 2006
Me with Chemo eyes, sicker than a dog!
Bald and pale

Me with the grandaughters
October 31, 2007
With my newly grown curly hair.
Feelin' oh so much better!!

God is good! I'm truly thankful.