No Regrets

My dad is in the sunset of his life.  My dad lives 7.5 hours away from where I live.  It takes a lot to get from the twin cities to the small town in Nebraska where he lives.  But the words of my friend who lost her dad this summer keep echoing in my ears – “Corrie, do what ever it takes and spend as much time as you can with your dad in his last days.  You will never regret it.”

My friend spent six weeks or so driving back and forth to see her parents as her dad was dying.  It was hard but it was good and what she learned and what her kids learned are priceless.

I didn’t realize how important those words would become to me over these months as decisions need to be made about family trips and involvement in good things.  The priority for our family to spend time with my dad with the hopes that he will see the beauty of the Christian life lived out before him through acts of service and words of encouragement.

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and as I have talked with my parents, they are really looking forward to my family coming down and all the craziness that comes with a family of 7 trying to all get to the same place in roughly the same time!  With kids now in college and High School, it is not as easy to get away for a week!  But we are making it work and we should all be together for Thanksgiving day.

Pray that it will be a wonderful time for all of us!

Let the Feasting begin!

Studying the Middle Ages is one of my favorite time periods.  It is so much fun to end the unit with a Medieval feast.  We always have so much fun.  Here is a pictorial overview;

The King and Queen enjoying the festivities

Part of the band of "Married" men?

A couple of the young maidens!

Garrett demonstrating his new and improved Trebuchet. I think it was a hit.

All the Ladies in their beautiful dresses

I hear this is our family picture for the Christmas letter!

All in all it was a fun evening.

Thank You

For all of you who sent birthday greetings to my dad – this came in the mail for you today;

From my dad to all of you. . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The inside of the card reads:

It’s easy to say thank you,

But it’s harder to convey

The deep

And heartfelt gratitude

I really feel today –

But maybe,

Having said this much,

By now I’ve let you know

Your thoughtfulness

Means more to me

Than words will ever show

And the hand written note;

“Thank you all for the cards, gifts you sent along with Corrie for Birthday and Anniversary.  Enjoyed every card and gift.   It made my day and I was surprized but enjoyed it.  Thanks everyone for them.

God Bless all of you.”

Thanks again

Henry and Genevieve Kumpost

Thank you for the kindness you showed to my parents through your words and gifts.  Both of my parents were touched by them.

May God continue to work in their hearts as a result.

Life Happens

Some days just don’t go the way you planned them!  Today was one of those days!

I had just dropped Caleb off for his science class and was on my way to the grocery store – I had not been to the grocery store for a couple of weeks and needed a few things!  However when exiting off of the freeway and turning on to Cliff Road, the car engine stalled out on me and the man driving the pick up truck behind me saw me start to roll out and he was looking the other way – also rolling and before I knew it, he hit the car’s rear end.  It was a rather hard jolt and I knew as soon as I got out of the car, I was going to be very sore from this little incident!

Needless to say – it is now about 5 hours later and I have a very sore neck and in between the shoulders!  I have been to the doctor – mainly to make sure there wasn’t anything else going on and to see how likely it is that I will be able to race on Saturday!  It all depends on how sore I get.  The good thing is that I am fit and active, which according to the doctor will work in my favor.  However if I am sore – 10 miles is looking doubtful!

 

The Trebuchet

What is a Trebuchet?  It is a siege weapon used in the Middle Ages used to smash walls or to throw projectiles over those walls!  There were actually two versions of the Trebuchet – a counter weight Trebuchet and a traction Trebuchet.  The counter weight Trebuchet was the “improved’ version and showed up in both Muslim and Christian empires around the twelfth century.  For a picture of one from the middle ages, click here.

We are studying the Middle Ages in History this year.  I have one son who loves to design and build things.  He heard about trebuchets from a friend, did some research and now we have a smaller version sitting in our back yard.

Garrett was not sure it would work so when he went to try it out the first time, he didn’t want anyone watching.  But as soon as he knew it worked, we heard, “My trebuchet works – the rock went 8 yards!”

That seemed decent for a first attempt, but he was not satisfied and said, “No that is not very good, it should go at least 100 yards.  I think I need to change the angle of ascent.”

When we were allowed to watch a demonstration, the rock was being thrown  about 10 yards.  Once he figured out that it needed to be anchored and added bricks to hold it in place so that when energy was distributed, all the energy could go towards throwing the rock instead of stabilizing and throwing, the distance was doubled.

Garrett is still working to improve the distance that the Trebuchet can throw the rock – but so far the results are impressive.  He will continue to work on it until our Medieval Feast and then he will demonstrate it to all who are gathered to celebrate the end of our first quarter!

The Brillant colors of Fall

I went for a walk after a long day and a long week.  It was drizzling but the fall colors came through brilliantly!  It was a lovely walk and this time I remembered to take my camera with me!

The Red stands out against the Green!

This has been one of my favorite spots to run past this fall.  It has been fun to watch the color come out as fall has moved along.

This tree reminds me of the burning bush and Moses talking with God!

The one thing that I have noticed as fall has moved along, most of the trees still have their leaves!  It is already mid October and we have not done much raking!

Our Burning Bush - just beginning to "burn"!

 

We have a “burning” bush and sometimes in the fall the colors are very vibrant.  This year it is later in turning colors and the colors are not as vibrant – but it is still fun to watch it “burn”.

All in all it is a beautiful fall – the colors are gorgeous even if it has been a bit on the cold and rainy side for the past several weeks.  There have been some gorgeous days for running!  I will enjoy the colors for as long as I can!

 

The Challenge Issued

Growing up in Nebraska with an older brother, there was a bit of a competitive spirit at times.  That tradition continues into my current family – primarily with challenges coming from the kids (read boys) to their mother!  The most recent ones – “Mom, do you think you will be able to run the 5K in under 30 minutes?”  Yes I did – 28 to be exact!

“Mom, can you bench press 45 pounds and if you can how many reps can you do?”  I did bench press 45 pounds and did 5 reps – the boys were impressed and thankful that they could do more than their mother!

So when I was at my parents this past week, I issued a challenge to my dad.  He is currently walking 5 laps in the addition.  I told him if he could do 10 when I return in 4 weeks (thanksgiving), that I would take him out to any restaurant he wanted to go to.  He is hoping to do 15 – Pray that he will stick to his walking routine and take up the challenge.

To be poured out. . . .

Before leaving for Nebraska, I began to mediate on some verses from the book of Philippians -

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.  Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me. (verses 12 – 18).

Verse 17 stood out to me – the illustration of being poured out as if from a pitcher was an interesting one for me to ponder as I was preparing to go to Nebraska and serve.  The context of the verse is on serving as Christ did. Since I was not all that familiar with a drink offering, I decided to spend some time looking at what it was and how it was used.

If one looks back and looks at the Levitical priesthood,  you see that the primary offerings were animals, birds and grains.  God ordained that with each sacrificial offering, there would also be a drink offering which consisted of wine poured out together with the offering.  This is what Paul is referring to as he speaks of pouring out his life for the Philippians.

What does it look like to pour out ones life as a drink offering?  Paul was referring to the old testament practice as he is writing as his life blood is about to be poured out to seal the offering he was bringing to God – the fruits of his ministry.  By way of inference, a life that is poured out in God’s service is an acceptable offering in the sight of God.

I am sure that there is much more to a drink offering and I am still studying it, but for me as I was in Nebraska pouring myself out meant being willing to walk with my dad around the addition with constant reminders of what he needed to do and then do it a few hours later knowing that he would not remember what we had just done.  It also meant bending over, putting more stress on my back to be able to look my dad in the eyes when I was talking to him, putting my hand on his back to put pressure on him to keep him in the right position with the walker and putting pressure on the walker to keep Dad from pushing it too far out in front.  Since my dad’s brain and body do not communicate well, it sometimes meant physically moving his right side to help him to keep moving.  Sometimes it meant taking the walker and showing Dad what he is currently doing and then illustrating what he needs to work towards.  It also meant being willing to get up with dad at least twice each night to help him get to the bathroom and if necessary change his clothes.

I realized a couple of things during this visit.  One thing is that mom rarely eats a meal with my dad and she does so grudgingly when we are there.  Dad is a very social person and the additional people around him this weekend helped to stimulate him.  He didn’t care if we talked to him, just having us around was important to him.

The second thing is that physical touch is so important.  My dad loves to dance and is used to giving signals to his dance partner with his hands.  The same is true for my dad at this point.  I am learning how to “direct” my dad’s body through the use of directed pressure on my dad’s back.  He responds rather quickly to this type of direction as it “shows” him where he needs to go with his body.  I tried to get mom to do this – but she refused.  She said she could watch him from the table.  The problem with that is that she is not there if he falls or needs to have some help in getting his body to move.  Using physical touch to help Dad get what he needs indicates a willingness to give of your self in order to help another.  She is not one to do more than the minimum necessary to take care of my dad and she does it grudgingly.

Giovanna gets what it means to pour oneself out as demonstrated by this picture;

Giovanna helping her Grandpa!

She has been through a difficult recovery from surgery and knows how important physical touch is!  She was a great help as I worked with Dad.  He seemed to enjoy her interactions as well.

I know that Dad responds well to both Gary and I as we work with him, especially during the night time.  He senses that we love and care for him and willingly (at least most of the time) does what we ask him to do.   We provide the rationale behind what we are asking so that he understands why we are asking certain things.

Dad has a long road ahead of him and I have no idea what God has in store for him, but I am asking God to use the illustration of pouring out my life for his faith to point him to God and the work of Jesus on the cross.  I am willing to pour out my life sacrificially in order for my dad’s faith to be built.  Please pray that God will accomplish that in my dad.

Happy Birthday Dad! Happy Anniversary!

Friday was a big day – the rest of the family drove down from Minnesota.  Dad was really looking forward to seeing everyone – especially Courtney.  He had not see her since Thanksgiving!  Once Gary arrived, I put him to work calling my Aunt and brother to see if we could get everyone together for an impromptu birthday party for Dad.  Since my brother had just gotten back from Elk Hunting, I wasn’t sure that he and his family would come, but they all said yes.  It was about 4:30 and I had to have dinner ready by 6 – it wasn’t going to be fancy – just hot and good!

Dad was fairly animated – the first time I have seen him more like his old self.  It was good to see his personality come out!  He was telling jokes and smiling for the first time in a very long time.  It was good to have the whole family together to celebrate this milestone.    It was a late night of laughing and celebrating together as a family.

Here are some pictures of the evening;

Dad on his 83rd Birthday!

Dad’s favorite cake is a fudge marble cake with chocolate icing and nuts on top.  He was thrilled to have a sweet treat to celebrate this milestone.

Mom and Dad with all of their Grandkids!

The grandchildren’s age range is from 5 to 18 and some have traveled half way around the world to get into this family.  Dad loves his little “China Doll, as well as all of his other grand kids!

These two are ready to eat cake!

Giovanna and Cheyton were more than willing to be the first to taste the cake!  They helped Grandpa blow out the candles just to get to eating the cake faster!

Nebraska – Day 1

Giovanna and I arrived late, but safe in Nebraska last night. We made a longer than normal stop near Des Moines. I realized I had forgotten a few things as I reviewed my packing list in my head! Giovanna was also hungry – I think hungry should be her middle name! Then it started to rain, it was dark and I remembered how much I dislike driving in the rain! All in all it was a great trip as I prayed over these next few days!

Dad was fairly animated where we arrived and after a quick bowl of soup, it was off to bed. Giovanna was not all that tired since she has slept in the car, but managed to get to sleep rather quickly.

Today I gave my dad a bag full of cards and notes from people in the Twin Cities and a few other places. He was surprised to see how many cards there were. He has been quietly reading through them. He has not said much – at least not yet. He’’s been through them once and is going through them a second time. I am not sure what he is thinking. He has asked only one question – “How did everyone know it was my birthday?”

Pray that God will use the notes that people have written to push him closer to God.

More later – I am needed back home to cook supper and begin working on getting mom’s freezer stocked with food again. Both of them have requests this time!