I am so sorry to be so long in posting! Just a little something to post Mitchell's Senior Piano Recital video. Also... I have been remiss in posting about making my final weight loss goal but I did meet my goal of 80 lbs. and have actually exceeded it by a few pounds as I reset the goal to 85... more to come on that later!
We are SO thankful for the opportunity to have a fun Senior Recital for Mitchell. He has worked so hard over the years on piano and the evening was a highlight for him. We thank the Lord for the talent He has given Mitchell and the blessing it has been to our family. May he always excel still more!
Just a little of my own thoughts on motherhood taken from a baby shower devotional I did a couple years ago. Thanks for letting me share a little window into my heart. Hope all of you mothers had a wonderful day.... I sure did! One of our most precise goals of mothering is to point our children to Christ. He has not given us our children solely to fulfill our desires for a family, but r...ather He has given us our children for His glory in our lives and in theirs. Within the role of mothering lies the weighty and tremendous responsibility of sharing the gospel with our children not just in word, but in deed. Our first mission field as mothers lies within our own home and often our hardest mission field as mothers lies within our own home. Our children know well our sinfulness, weaknesses and difficulties. They can also know intimately our sorrow over our sin; our repentance and they can be privy to our humble heart in asking for their forgiveness. Within the heart of how we mother them we can encourage and instruct them to learn to live humbly, gracefully, in deference and unity, and with a sincere desire to serve others. This is not motherly wisdom imparted by words alone but most aptly spoken from the core of our day to day actions. In the midst of diapering, cooking, nurturing, cleaning, matching socks, kissing booboo’s, discipleship, tears, laughter, taking the time to dig into the hearts of our children, grief over sin, another round of dishes, reading, providing discipline, late and long conversations, long hours spent in the car, and the countless other tasks required of a mother, we might not completely see the “measure of our work” right before our eyes, but it is there. It is there not only for us to see in this world, but it is there for eternity. These moments, multiply themselves one upon the next to produce the molding and shaping in the lives of our children both for here and eternity. Whether it is through a joyful heart in our daily tasks, a tender word in nurturing our children, forgiveness sought when we have wronged them, each of these days are occasions to reach our children’s hearts and they carry multiple opportunities to point them back to Christ. I am reminded of the verse in Matthew regarding being faithful in the small things…. Matthew 25:23 says…. His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ I can too quickly forget that thousands of routine moments in our days hold great significance in the lives of our children. Life is not always made in the grand moments. It is in my kind and gentle response in the little moments that are critically important to our children. If my way is tender and my heart desiring to serve in the insignificant times, then prayerfully I have a better opportunity to influence them in the bigger and more essential issues of life. We desire first that our children would know Christ. We devote ourselves to them. We disciple, discipline and direct them. We share the gospel in word and deed with them. We pray fervently for them. We strive to be the mother God intends for us to be. We have high hopes and imagine all the marvelous things that our children will be and do. We look for God’s blessing on the lives of our children. We plan our work and work our plan. All of this is good. But, do we recognize that who they are and what they will become is already safely wrapped in God’s sovereign plan? In possibly our most important act of service, do we turn them over to the Savior for safekeeping? As they grow into men and women they will make their own choices. Despite our years of investment some will choose to live their life in faith and some will not. We must be reminded that we are just a character in the book of the story that God has written for their lives. Our role is significant and purposeful. Our season with them is a chapter, a beautiful addition to the theme of who they will become. But we did not write the story. There is only one Author of Life who crafted the beautiful narrative of their lives from beginning to end. While we get the privilege of being a part of God’s master manuscript for their lives, we must not hold the book too tightly. We must always be willing to relinquish not only who the character becomes but how the story ends into the hands of the loving and sovereign Author of Life.
By God's grace, the first and most important decision of my life and most precious eternal gift happened in July 1993 when I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. By God's grace, the second most important decision and the most precious earthly gift I have received happened 20 years ago yesterday. On January 15, 1994, before God, I married my dearest and best friend. He was 20 and I was 19 and God has grown us up together in Him. Some years were pressing, some extra sweet, but all of them have been precious to me. I love you Chad, more than my heart could ever express and I will thank God for you always, until my very last breath.
It's a little late but I was having trouble with Blogger ... better late than never! :-)
We had the sweetest week ever off together in a condo on Solana Beach. Lots of beach time, running, relaxing, dinner with Andrew & Abbie and a visit with Grandma Alden & Aunt Leah!
We are thanking the Lord for His kindness to us in our time away.
Christmas Day entertainment from Mitchell! :-) To his credit he isn't thrilled that I would post this as he insists it is not performance ready but Momma trumped on this one. :-) Aunt Susie and Grandma Hixon... this is for you!
Absent …. from
the body, my sweet Gigi is present with her Lord and Savior. Three years ago
today, at 5:30 in the morning, surrounded by family, and hand in hand with the
man she had faithfully loved for 64 years, my dear Gigi stepped into eternity.
Her faith became sight, she sorrowed no more.
I will say again what I said when I
marked 2 years and will probably think for years to come.In some ways these 3 years have gone so quickly and at other
times the moments have seemed to drag.I
cannot imagine what these last years have been like for my Gigi. In Heaven with
all its splendor, glory, and beauty and being face to face with her Savior; I
can hardly wrap my mind around it.Three years in Heaven is not even a dot on the page in the book of
eternity.To see the physical realities
of the faith you treasured, what an amazing hope we have in Christ.
I miss having Gigi in the kitchen with me.Over the years she taught me to cook.She was the consummate hostess and passed on to
me her desire to show love through food. I miss having her living example,
but will always have the legacy, of how she selflessly loved her husband. I miss how Gigi cried every time she spoke of
her daddy.He died when she was 14. I
miss the sounds and smells of them living in our home.I miss sharing Christmas with them.The hard part is living with the familiarity
of what once was.We are still here, in
this home we shared with them, and while many things are much the same they are
so very, very different.I miss seeing
both Gigi and Papa with our children; they each took so much joy and delight in
the lives of those around them. I loved
watching Chad and the kids help them both to the table for dinner. I
miss having every one of our dining chairs full.
Once again, we will have Top Ramen and Garlic English Muffins
tonight for dinner.A funny memorial
dinner isn’t it? Definitely not because that was all she could cook … no
way!She was an amazing cook!We really could be having Stuffed Mushrooms,
homemade pasta, Italian Chicken or steak and spaghetti with oil and vinegar
salad, Manicotti or one of my favorite birthday dinners she used to make me as
an adult …. Calzones!She was a
masterful cook.No, we are having Top
Ramen and Garlic English Muffins because that is what the children remember
most that she made for Papa and for them.The years they lived with us she didn’t cook much at all but Papa loved
Top Ramen and Garlic English Muffins, and she loved Papa, so she made him those
as often as she could in the early years of living with us.Mitchell and Isabelle especially have
memories of slipping next door to the trailer and joining Papa and Gigi for a
lunch of Top Ramen and Garlic English Muffins.Silly dinner I know, but it fits the memories and gives us a little part
of Gigi for the day.
Last
year I was still having a hard time looking at their photos.Recently, for the first time since her
memorial service, I was able to watch the slideshow we played at her service.I thought I would share it again.I love the photos and memories associated
with them and I love, love, love the music it plays to.Tennessee Ernie Ford singing the old Hymns
was a favorite of Papa and Gigi’s.We
played those CD’s for them for days on end, literally for months.William and JD still love the CD’s and they
are part of what they listen to every night as they are drifting off to
sleep.Every song brings a flood of memories
for me.As Tennessee sings those
beautiful words, I can see them and what our lives were together.Bittersweet memories I will treasure
forever.
Summer has come and gone and so have a couple of our family birthdays!Don’t ask why I am so late in posting these,
because I really don’t know how they got away from me!
Mitchell turned 17 and we celebrated with a family dinner of
his choice…. Pulled Pork Sandwiches, some sides I honestly can’t remember now,
and homemade Moo-wiches! Mitchell is fast becoming a man and my momma’s heart
is beginning to feel the reality of the fact that this maturity will inevitably
come quicker than we can imagine. Oh the
tension of wanting to see him grow and holding onto that little boy I used to
snuggle so often. He is a senior in HS this year and enjoying his second year
in the Running Start program at our local Tech College.He still greatly enjoys being a Police Explorer and we are so proud of him as he won the TOP Selections Cadet at his last Explorer Academy this summer. He continues to LOVE his piano and is working hard in
anticipation of his Senior Recital in the spring and he has a great job at a
local diesel shop.Our prayer for
Mitchell is that his heart will always remain tender to the ways and workings
of the Lord in his life. We are so proud of him and look forward to seeing what
God will do in his life and where he will lead him!
We acquired a second teenager in the house this summer!The teenage girl aspect is certainly new to us but we have greatly enjoyed it! She is still a sweet little girl in so many ways but it has been a joy to begin to see a true young lady blossom inside of her.Thirteen is a big deal and of course it called for a party.She had a blast with a few of her dear friends and made some precious memories. She is in 8th grade this year and while we anticipated that the middle school years could sometimes be hard, we have been blessed and are so thankful for the young ladies in her life.We look forward to the years to come and to see how God can strengthen them into lifelong friends. The girls played a game where they were paired off and had to apply makeup to their partner while blindfolded.They laughed, actually we all laughed so hard… it was the best teenage girl game! Our prayer for Isabelle remains the same as Mitchell’s, that her heart will always remain tender to the ways and workings of the Lord.We are so proud of her and are looking forward to the remaining teen years with her.
Umm.... I am pretty sure Isabelle and Hannah did not place first for proper make up application!
Actually Danica and Colby didn't do too bad compared to Isabelle and Hannah!
My guess is that Caroline and Payton won! They did a great job for being blindfolded!
It has been 2 years since you entered Heaven. You were first
in my thoughts this morning when I woke.I cannot truly fathom what it must be like for you, how complete your
joy must be.I love you more than words
can say.I still stand in “Papa &
Gigi’s” part of the house and see you both there. Sometimes I go where your bed
was and just stare, recalling what it was like to bend down and kiss your
forehead and remember the smell of your skin. I miss hearing your voice say, “I love you
precious girl” yet I cannot bring myself to play the video I took of you
speaking those words to me.Tonight, in
honor of you, we will have steak & eggs.We will take time around the table to share what we loved about
you.Thank you for being who you were
and giving us truly the most precious and excellent example of what a godly husband
and father should be.Thank you for
investing in my life, Chad’s life and each one of our children.I will miss you every day of my life until I
see you again.
Not in pounds but in years...Yesterday we got to celebrate Chad's 40th! We
actually celebrated twice for this special birthday, once with a SPAM party
last week and then just with our little family last night. Thankfully he did
not request SPAM again for last night's dinner. :-)
Chad
LOVES SPAM…yikes! In fact did you know there is a SPAM Museum in
Minnesota?Unfortunately Chad has added
it to our list of stops for our cross country trip next Fall! J Did you know
there are lots of recipe’s and ways to use SPAM??Last week I made SPAM “cupcakes” and SPAM
buns.The “cupcakes” were simply mini
SPAM/hamburger meatloaves with mashed potato “frosting” and SPAM buns is a
friend’s recipe and honestly I have to say I could eat the SPAM buns.The SPAM buns are grated SPAM, Sweet Baby
Rays BBQ sauce (the original recipe calls for ketchup but Chad doesn’t eat
ketchup) and garlic salt all mixed together then you top a potato roll with the
SPAM mixture and grated cheese then broil them for a couple minutes and WALA …
you actually have edible SPAM... it tastes like pulled pork! For
dessert we had Lazy Daisy Cake that Isabelle made and I made a Beer and Bacon
Ice Cream Sundae Toffee Sauce that is poured over vanilla ice cream and topped
with bacon crumbles, toasted pecans and sea salt!No worries… all the beer cooks out J It actually
turned out quite good, better than I expected!
Last
night his dinner of choice was chicken fried steak with country gravy, homemade
biscuits and eggs. He finished off the evening with a Bourbon Cherry Rhubarb
Pie.Gee… I think I am starting to see a pattern
here with alcohol J… JK... honestly it cooks out and
it is just the flavor left! I guess he has no worries about clogging any
arteries at this point!
Hard
to believe my precious husband is 40.We
sat around the dining room table last night as the children and myself
spoke of all the things we love about
Daddy.His kindness and patience, how he
takes the time to teach them, his wrestling and tickle fights, how he is a good
example of being a Godly husband and father and much more. It was precious to
hear the children speak and a gift all in itself.I love this man God has given me more than I can rightly express.I am blessed that he unconditionally loves
me, he is patient with my impatience, he is tender, longsuffering, sacrificial
and unassuming. He is a special man who gives his all for another and loves his
Savior with his whole heart. These years have gone quickly as we have grown up
together. I pray the Lord will bless me with the gift of many more years
with Chad as I have much to learn from this man.
Mitchell's end of the year recital was held on Wednesday night and how enjoyable it was! What we love is that there are so many young men in our church who love to play the piano and they all encourage and challenge one another to excell still more!
Future Piano Guys??? :-)
The first song Mitchell played was a duet with his friend Tommy. Tommy is an incredible violin player. He and his sister do a Vivaldi piano/violin duet that is outstanding ...I love to hear him play! He kindly agreed to accompany Mitchell on this first one, River Flows in You by Yiruma. River Flows in You is hands down one of my favorite songs Mitchell plays, it is beautiful! It is the song he played solo (no violin) for the Sunday @ 3 concert series at the Jansen Arts Center last Sunday.
The second song is a different story! He changed his song from another piece to this one on Sunday... yes.... 3 days before the recital! He was originally slated to play his Rachmaninoff piece he has worked on for months...literally months! He has worked so hard on that song with much success but even after hundreds of hours working on it there was still this one part in the middle section of the song he has never been able to master. He realized that as much as he wanted to play that song it would not be without a difficult middle section so he decided to change. His teacher, Mrs. VandenBos is such a gem and wants the students to have fun and was all for him changing his song, even last minute! In fact she said if he changed his mind yet again and wanted to improv when he got up there then go for it! Straight away he began memorizing the second song, Racing Against the Sunset by Phillip Wesley. He altered the song a bit and only played 7 of the 10 pages but did pretty well in quick memorization. It is his pet peeve to bring music up to the piano during a recital as he holds himself to pretty high standards on memorization. This time around though since he had so little time for prep. he was open to the suggestion of bringing up one little part of his sheet music up there. He had just a little bit of the music prior to the key change that he had yet to fully memorize so he decided to take a small folded portion of music up with him. Well, poor guy, it would have been good had he not put the sheet music upside down AND backwards!! He still says he should have stopped, held out his finger as if to say "just a minute".... turned over and right side up his paper and started again with a smile! Needless to say you can catch the errors a bit in the playing but otherwise the second song was great and a memorable evening all together! Hope you enjoy!
