He won't crow at one & two o'clock any more! LOL

The finished Product!

Crushing the whole berries, adding sugar and sure-jell. YUMMMM

Here is an overview of our Memorial Weekend. Friday Phillip, Naomi & I excitedly loaded up the car and we began the 4 hour trip to my Mother's home in Ohio. We were an hour away and the car suddenly lost power. We quickly got off the expressway and called my brother, Tony. He called a tow truck and came to pick us up. We were so thankful that his insurance paid the towing bill. Saturday Phillip began the process of nailing down the source of the problem with the car. He soon determined the fuel pump and filter needed replaced. My brother who works in mechanics was able to get the parts we needed through his company and we paid less than half price for them. While Phillip was busy with this I helped Mom and my sister-in-law, Lisa make homemade strawberry jam from berries that had been picked prior to our coming. Later in the afternoon we went to the garden and sure enough the berries were ready to be picked again, which we did. I fed the sheep, chickens, and dogs. I helped Mom plant some flowers.

Friday night I had been awakened after only 2 hours of sleep thinking I heard Naomi awake but when I investigated I realized the source of the noise that had awakened me was one of Mother's three roosters. From 2 until 5 a.m. I was very wide awake and the rooster continued to crow. So as evening was drawing near on Saturday the rooster once again began to head for the bush near our bedroom window. Mom admitted that Mr Cock-a-doodle-do was annoyingly loud and she wouldn't mind having him in a pan with dumplings. So I convinced my husband to shoot him with the BB gun. This didn't work so I got a rake and chased him around the yard and down into the pasture, refusing to let him come to roost in the bushes in the yard. What a laughable sight this was! I was secretly hoping a sly old fox would find him. It didn't happen. Sunday morning he was back in the yard and was granted a reprieve one more day. Sunday we worshipped the Lord with our family and honored the Lord's Day.

After breakfast on Monday my nephew offered to assist in ending the roosters life. So as the pioneer ladies of old Mom and I plucked the feathers from the rooster and he found his way into the cooking pot for dumplings at dinner time. Then my sister, Victoria and I put up new curtains on Mom's large, glassed sun porch. The windows were so large we had to make extensions for the curtain rods and find enough hooks to hang the rods . During this time Phillip was trying to put a new door on the sun porch. We kept interrupting him to ask his assistance with our "project." He gallantly obliged us. After both our jobs were finished we grilled-out and feasted with the family. Now it was time to make more jam with the last batch of strawberries from Mom's garden before they went to waste. Everybody pitched in and Mom reminded us that "many hands make light work" which it did. My brother, Tony once again went to the berry patch and picked more berries. Since the Lord had sent a much needed rain on Sunday they were ready to pick AGAIN. By this time it was late in the day and we still had 4 hours to travel back home. We made a trip to the cemetery to pay our respects to my father and brother who were both veterans and returned home about 10:00 p.m.

What a blessing it was to be with our family and be able to share their load! We joyfully counted about 80 containers of strawberry jam which we anxiously look forward to spreading on Mom's homemade bread. (with more berries ready to be preserved) Some of those cups of jam made their way to Michigan with us and are in our freezer. We thank the Lord for traveling mercy and that our car is working well once again. We returned home tired but joyful. God is SO good! Now we are gearing up to entertain and enjoy our 5 grandsons and their parents who are coming in from Kansas for our family reunion in June. What anticipation!! We'll be sharing with you again soon.

(Back) Tony, Phillip II, Merrie Beth

(Second Row) Hannah, Sarah, Naomi

(Front) Phillip holding Jason, Abigail, Cathy holding Steven

A grandmother was pushing her little grandchild around Wal-Mart in a buggy. Each time she put something in the basket she would say, "And here's something for you, Diploma." or "This will make a cute little outfit for you, Diploma." and so on.

Eventually a bewildered shopper who'd heard all this finally asked, "Why do you keep calling your grandchild Diploma?" The grandmother replied, "I sent my daughter to University of Michigan and this is what she came home with!"

Grandma & Aaron,

Timmy, Zachary, Abby holding Luke, Jason & Steven

Someone Had Prayed The day was long, the burden I had borne
Seemed heavier than I could longer bear,
And then it lifted - but I did not know
Someone had knelt in prayer,
Had taken me to God that very hour,
And asked the easing of the load, and He
In infinite compassion had stooped down
And taken it from me.

We cannot tell how often as we pray
For some bewildered one, hurt and distressed,
The answer comes, but many times those hearts
Find sudden peace and rest.
Someone had prayed - and Faith, a reaching hand,
Took hold of God and brought Him down that day!
So many, many hearts have need of prayer -
Oh let us pray!

Naomi and her "prince charming"

&

her favorite playmate

THE IMAGES OF MOTHER

4 YEARS OF AGE ~ My Mommy can do anything!
8 YEARS OF AGE ~ My Mom knows a lot! A whole lot!
12 YEARS OF AGE ~ My Mother doesn't really know quite everything.
14 YEARS OF AGE ~ Naturally, Mother doesn't know that, either.
16 YEARS OF AGE ~ Mother? She's hopelessly old-fashioned.
18 YEARS OF AGE ~ That old woman? She's way out of date!
25 YEARS OF AGE ~ Well, she might know a little bit about it.
35 YEARS OF AGE ~ Before we decide, let's get Mom's opinion.
45 YEARS OF AGE ~ Wonder what Mom would have thought about it?
65 YEARS OF AGE ~ Wish I could talk it over with Mom.

Christmas 2004

When The Lord Made Mothers

When the good Lord was creating mothers, he was into his sixth day of overtime when the angel appeared and said, "You are doing a lot of fiddling around on this one."
And the Lord said, "Have you read the specs on this order? She has to be completely washable, not plastic, have moveable parts, all replaceable, run on black coffee and leftovers, have a lap that disappears when she stands up, a kiss that can cure anything from a broken leg to a disappointed love affair, and six pairs of hands." The angel shook her head slowly and said, "Six pairs of hands, no way!" "It's not the hands that cause the problems, said the Lord. It is the three pairs of eyes that mothers have to have." "That's the standard model," the angel asked? The Lord nodded. "One pair that sees through closed doors, when she asks, "What are you kids doing in there, " when she already knows. Another in the back of her head that sees what she shouldn't but what she has to know, and of course the ones here in the front so that she can look at a child when he goofs and says, "I understand and I love you," without so much as uttering a word. "Lord," said the angel, tugging his sleeve gently, "Come to bed ..." "I can't," said the Lord. "I am so close to creating something so close to myself. Already, I have one who heals herself when she is sick, can feed a family of six on one pound of hamburger and can get a nine year old to stand under a shower." The angel circled the model of a mother. "It's too soft," she sighed. "But tough," said the Lord excitedly. "You cannot imagine what this mother can do or endure!" "Can it think?" "Not only can she think, but it can reason and compromise," said the Creator. Finally the angel bent over and ran her fingers across the cheek. "There's a leak," she pronounced. "I told you that you were trying to put too much into this model." "It's not a leak," said the Lord. "It is a tear." "What's it for?" "It's for joy, sadness, disappointment, pain, loneliness, and pride." "You are a genius," said the angel. The Lord looked somber. "I didn't put it there," he said.
by Erma Bombeck

For those who are lucky to still be blessed with your Mom, this is beautiful. For those who aren't, this is even more beautiful. The young mother set her foot on the path of life. "Is this the long way?" she asked. And the guide said "Yes, and the way is hard, and you will be old before you reach the end of it. But the end will be better than the beginning." But the young mother was happy, and she would not believe that anything could be better than these years. So she played with her children, she fed them and bathed them, taught them how to tie their shoes and ride a bike, and reminded them to feed the dog and do their homework and brush their teeth. The sun shone on them and the young Mother cried, "Nothing will ever be lovelier than this." Then the nights came, and the storms and the path was sometimes dark, and the children shook with fear and cold, and the mother drew them close and covered them with her arms and the children said, "Mother, we are not afraid, for you are near, and no harm can come." And the morning came, and there was a hill ahead, and the children climbed and grew weary, and the mother was weary. But at all times she said to the children, a little patience and we are there." So the children climbed and as they climbed they learned to weather the storms. And with this, she gave them strength to face the world. Year after year she showed them compassion, understanding, hope, but most of all......unconditional love. And when they reached the top they said, "Mother, we would not have done it without you." The days went on, and the weeks and the months and the years, and the mother grew old and she became little and bent. But her children were tall and strong, and walked with courage. And the mother, when she lay down at night, looked up at the stars and said, "This is a better day than the last, for my children have learned so much and are now passing the se traits on to their children." And when the way became rough for her, they lifted her, and gave her their strength, just as she had given them hers. One day they came to a hill, and beyond the hill they could see a shining road and golden gates flung wide. And Mother said: "I have reached the end of my journey. And now I know the end is better than the beginning, for my children can walk with dignity and pride, with their heads held high, and so can their children after them." And the children said, "You will always walk with us, Mother, even when you have gone through the gates." And they stood and watched her as she went on alone, and the gates closed after her. And they said: "We cannot see her, but she is with us still. A Mother is more than a memory. She is a living presence. Your Mother is always with you. She's the whisper of the leaves as you walk down the street, she's the smell of certain foods you remember, flowers you pick and perfume that she wore, she's the cool hand on your brow when you're not feeling well, she's your breath in the air on a cold winters day. She is the sound of the rain that lulls you to sleep, the colors of a rainbow, she is your birthday morning. Your Mother lives inside your laughter. And she's crystallized in every tear drop. A mother shows every emotion........ happiness, sadness, fear, jealousy, love, hate, anger, helplessness, excitement, joy, sorrow..... and all the while hoping and praying you will only know the good feelings in life. She's the place you came from, your first home, and she's the map you follow with every step you take. She's your first love, your first friend, even your first enemy, but nothing on earth can separate you. Not time, not space.......not even death!