Family Fun?

Today was a gorgeous, Seabreeze kind of day. The local union that Adam works in was having their family picnic at Seabreeze. We went with Grandpa Bob and Grandma Jo (Grandpa also works in the union) and tackled the water slides right off the bat and right off the bat Adam threw his back out coming down one of the slides with Josh. He didn't complain about it too much and we enjoyed several hours of water rides and bumper cars, but by mid afternoon he was very noticeably walking crooked. His back was seriously out of whack by two or three inches. Needless to say, we didn't stay as long as we could have. We went home to ice his back and get some pain killers in him. Adam spent the rest of the evening laying on the bed trying to relax his back muscles. Hopefully, his back will have released most of the tension by morning so he can go to church pain free.

I'm kinda glad Josh and I have another Seabreeze date in a couple weeks, because I didn't get to ride the Jack Rabbit this time...

Chruch Directions

Can I blog this late at night? Because every time I get ready to blog, I realize what time it is and exactly how tired I really feel...

This blog was going to be about church. It's been a very strange "church summer". That of course makes no sense to you, but what I really mean is that our regular attendance of our regular church has been erratic and irregular. Between Josh being sick two Sundays, Adam helping a friend with sound at a church in the city, and being out of town, there has been a slight "disconnect" with our home church. And not only the afore mentioned reasons, but also this past Sunday we visited a friends' church and we really liked it. Adam wants to go again. And if Adam wants to go again, so do I. I have been attending a small group Bible study with some young people who attend there, and I am excited to see how Adam could get plugged in too. Keep us in your prayers as we are stepping in a new direction.

FYI

By the way, we're friends again. That is a "Praise the Lord" moment.

To My True Love

Will you...

hold my hand?
gaze into my eyes?
stroke my hair?
wink at me?
dance with me?
pray for me?
pray with me?
pursue me?
talk to me?
kiss me?
guide me?
lead me?
hold me?
share with me?
dream with me?
never leave me?
always be mine?

Six years ago he asked me if I would always be his, and I said yes.

And I will.

He Dreams Dreams

He's so weird. Who else would question their wife's use of the bathroom in the middle of the night and still not get it when she says her bladder is full? Oh yeah... He would. The one who dreams dreams and catches things falling from the ceiling in the middle of the night, shouts at snakes that are not there and insists that someone is "there". I have stopped playing along at night and now just tell him how it really is and that he should lay back down and go to sleep. And for Pete's sake, if I have to go pee, do I really have to explain it to him? Yeah, I do. Cause I love him.

A St. Patrick's Birthday

May the luck'o the Irish be with you! Or rather, happy birthday honey! See, my favorite guy has his birthday on St. Patrick's Day. That means he shares his day with green, four-leaf clovers, Irish soda bread, corned beef and cabbage, and little leaping leprechauns. Every year (at least since we've been married) he has had corned beef and cabbage for his birthday supper, just because it's that time of year. This year I wanted to be sure I made him what he really wanted. And he requested prime rib. (Okay, watch out for luxury taste buds!) So I tried my best to make a delicious, "luxury", untypical (atypical?), St. Patrick's Day supper. Prime rib, asparagus and mashed potatoes. Okay, mashed potatoes fits the St. Patrick's Day mold... I also made him a cake and Josh helped me put the sprinkles on. He lavished the cake with little handfuls of sprinkles, heaped in little piles. I encouraged him to spread them even, while the colored bits of wax filtered through his fingers and onto the counter. He was proud of his efforts and he smiled broadly while he tipped up the container and let the last of the sprinkle crumbs land on the cake and onto the edge of the cake plate. He even found the candles for our cake. We had a number "2"candle and a number "3" candle. So for Adam's birthday this year, he had a choice of turning 32 or 23. He choose to live some more in his 20's. It was a good choice and he ought to live this last year in his 20's gratefully...

Without My Man

I have a hard time settling in for the night when Adam is not here. Even if I clean the kitchen, mix up pumpkin for pies, sort papers, shower and prepare myself for bed, I still feel very reluctant about climbing between the cold sheets alone. Yes, I've done it before and I'm a big girl who can make my own decisions, but deciding to go to bed all by myself certainly isn't my strong point. I keep thinking to myself, maybe if I stay up for a few more minutes... Maybe he will come home before I have to go to bed without him. There is just something nice about snuggling into his shoulder before I drift off to sleep. Or being able to kiss him goodnight. It's hard to imagine being without him now. I've kind of gotten used to him being around. I think I love him. My man...

Oh wait... There he is now. Now I can go to bed. :)

A Good, Clean Birthday Present

To start off, I want you all to know that my very least favorite household chore is washing dishes. Not because it is hard or inconvenient, but because you are never really done washing dishes. Dirty dishes never go away. My sink is ALWAYS full of dishes waiting to be washed.

It was a very nice early birthday gift. Though I'm not sure it was intended to be a birthday gift. It all started when my hubby found out that my Aunt and Uncle were getting a new dishwasher and were getting rid of their old one. Their old one had a leaky seal. I have never hoped that I could fit a dishwasher in my teeny-tiny kitchen. To me, it was just impossible. But when Adam heard about the "leaky" dishwasher, his wheels started spinning. He is very handy and could fix that dishwasher. But in order to fit in a dishwasher, a cabinet needed to be taken out. That meant that a cabinet had to be emptied... That meant we needed somewhere else to put the emptied out stuff, whatever that stuff may be. So this is what happened Thursday when I was at work. We have a fine closet in our kitchen where we keep our garbage can and recyclables. Garbage can was moved to other side of kitchen. Adam hung very nice wire shelves in the closet to turn this space into a WONDERFUL pantry. (I'm not sure which pleases me more, the dishwasher or the pantry. Yes, I am... The dishwasher.) He emptied one and a half lower cabinets of their food contents and placed it all on the pantry shelves. The pots and pans moved out of their cabinet and into the now empty food cabinets. Pots and Pans cabinet was taken out. Dishwasher was put in. Wife now smiles broadly as she washes her dishes. Husband is happy. Counters look cleaner and sink has been empty almost ALL day! Woo-hoot! I am feeling much better about the state of affairs at our house. And I am ready to keep Adam around for quite a bit longer. :)

Antoher Goodbye

When we arrived at the hospital in Buffalo yesterday morning, it was very apparent that we didn't have much longer with Grandma. We took turns holding her hand, telling her that we loved her. We witnessed a man kiss his wife and his best friend goodbye. Tenderly holding her hand, stroking her hair and whispering "I love you" into her ear. He recounted the story of how they got together. How she had reached over and held his hand on the way to a dance and how she had asked him out first. His eyes misted over. This woman was his best friend. His wife of 55 years. His heart already ached with thoughts of her being gone. The cancer had taken it's toll on her body. She lay in the bed, her arms and legs worn thin, and an oxygen mask covered her face, to ease her toiled breaths. This was the girl he went dancing with, the mother of his children, the woman who shared his house and home. And now the time had come to say good-bye. His children had come. As had nearly all of the grandchildren. At 10:30 last night, Grandma slipped into eternity and in doing so, left a hole in the hearts of those she left behind. Good-bye dear Grandma.

Learning to Follow

*Taken on Sunday at Niagara Falls, on a family outing.*

I am learning that God still has so much to teach me. And He typically chooses to use the people closest to us to teach us those things. Thanks you all for your comments, advice, encouragement on my last post. For those of you who were concerned, our marriage isn't "on the rocks" or on the brink of it's demise, but every marriage has it's own struggles and right now, this is something that we need to work through. Like I said God has a lot to teach me... Having an additional person in the family adds another dimension through which God can work to show me my weaknesses and I need to learn to let go. I like to control things... Basically everything. I was reading today in Luke 6, in the passage about looking at the speck in your brothers' eye, and it was just a reminder of how I do that. Reading on in the chapter I came to verse 49. "But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently: and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great." I thought to myself how similar I can be to that man who did nothing. I know I need to let Adam be the leader of this home (no matter how much it kills me) and yet I consistently want to hold the reins. So God is using my little boy to teach me to let my leader do the leading and to start letting him be the Father of that little boy. This is a two person job. Make that three, with the Lord as our true leader.

PS Thanks for all your prayers. Adam has really been a good boy these past couple days. ;) ;)

Our 2009 Christmas Letter

The following is this years Christmas letter, just in case you won't be getting a Christmas card from us this year. I finally got my cards sent out on Monday. Nothing like waiting til the last minute!


December 2009

Greetings of Christmas and New Years!

I often laugh at myself when I sit down to write our Christmas letter. I am always running behind during the holiday season. Here it is the 19th of December and we just yesterday began our Christmas shopping and I am just now writing this letter to all of you, our most loved friends and family. Which, of course, is why I included a New Years greeting above. It's all due to either over working or tardiness. Narrowing it all down to which the blame is deserved, is entirely too much guess work...

What a wonderful year here at our house! Many ups and some downs. A rollercoaster year for sure. Our son Joshua turned two years old in October. He is not one to bore his audiences. He is always talking and getting into "man" things. Josh can typically be found with one of several things in his hand: a flashlight, a screwdriver, a truck or a pen. This summer he so lovingly drew a mural across my lower kitchen cabinets, which caused a flurry of Internet research to find a way to remove permanent marker from wood. Thankful I am for toothpaste... It just so happens to be a "cure all". A little scrubbing and a bit of elbow grease removed most, if not all, remnants of his artistry. Joshua's speech continues to astound not only Adam and I, but other members of our family as well. He has an almost complete range of vocabulary and can carry on a nice conversation with us. So, if and when you come and visit, please season your speech with salt and keep in mind that our small child can and will repeat every word he hears you speak. Another thing people find fascinating about Josh is his size and weight. Yes, he weighs a ton. And yes, he is in the 95th percentile on the growth chart. He also will tell me at times, "I have big hands." Which he does. Our most current struggle with Josh is food. After eating anything and everything for the past two years, Josh has decided that he doesn't like supper. We are currently using several different means of manipulation to get him to eat without complaining or saying, "Me no like it." Don't you worry. I have already stated that Josh is plenty healthy and will not starve due to our manipulation tactics. We are also working on potty-training. If I could get complete family support, I think he could be diaper-free (daytime) by New Years.

Adam continues to work for LMC out of Avon, NY. Heating and Air Conditioning is his cup-o-tea. To me it is just pipes, vents and a lot of hot air. That's why I leave it all to him. He drives a company van here and there and tries to get home in time for dinner. This year, during his spare time, Adam refinished a room in our basement. He drywalled, painted, put down laminate flooring, and redid the stairs, with a bit of help from my Dad and a pinch of help from me. I was more than happy to do the tiling around the wood stove but I have yet to finish painting the stairs. Maybe by Christmas.... (ha-ha)

This past April, Adam and I were hit by a drunk driver while driving to Nashville. We ended up rolling our SUV and totaling our vehicle, leaving us stranded just outside of Louisville, KY. I believe God uses times like that to draw you, not only closer to Him, but closer together as a couple. God was so good to us and protected us through the whole incident. We walked away with four staples in Adam's head and 33 stitches in my forearm and, after renting another vehicle, we continued on our way to Nashville. Many thanks to our family and close friends for your prayers over the course of that weekend.

Another highlight of the year was the ten day missions trip I was privileged to take part in this summer. A group of nine from our church flew to El Salvador to minister to a group of boys and various area churches. It was amazing. We passed out gospel tracts to nearly every person we saw on the street and taught Bible stories to the kids who attended the after-school program at the orphanage where we stayed. I was so blessed and God is still using the experience to work in my heart.

This year also brought to pass the most difficult thing I have ever had to endure, which is saying good-bye to someone I love dearly, though it be only temporary. On September 28, my dear Grandpa went to be with Jesus, after being diagnosed with lung cancer only four weeks prior. Those last four weeks were, and will be forever, so precious to us. We soaked up every moment we could with Grandpa and he continued to shower us with stories and wisdom and his favorite scriptures. The night before he died, I whispered in his ear that if I didn't see him again here, I would see him there (meaning heaven) and he answered in a resounding, "Yes!" The first thing he had been able to say for several hours. What a comfort that is to me. I'm looking forward to our reunion someday.

So there you have a brief synopsis of our year. May the next year have more ups and more glorious meetings with my Saviour. I love my Jesus dearly and I pray that this year you will grow to know Him like you never had before. He is the true reason why we celebrate this Christmas. Because of Jesus, I can confidently assure you that I will see my Grandpa again, though not on this earth. Because of Jesus, I am free. My debt is paid, because of a little Child born so long ago. May God bless you all in the up coming year! Good wishes from us to you!

With all our love,

Adam, Bethany and Josh

God Knows...

I love God's timing. He sees the whole picture and knows what His children need and when they are going to need it. This week I needed a kick in the pants, but instead God gave me something different.

For the past week, there had been some pretty serious contention in my house. Between my love and myself. It was yucky. I hated it. I hated him. I didn't like him, not one bit. And he didn't like me either. (Face it people. We've been married nearly four years and if you've been married for any length of time, you've got to admit it. There are times when you just. don't. like. your. spouse.) He informed me on Wednesday evening that on Thursday, his Dad needed us to go to Buffalo with him. There wasn't any options. No getting out of it. We were going, even if there were previously scheduled things to attend to. Like worship practice. It's always every-other Thursday. Well, now I couldn't go. *grumble-grumble-grumble* I didn't want to go to Buffalo. Thankfully I held my tongue. Thursday. We drop Josh off at Mom and Dad's house. He's beeping the horn at me while I get Josh settled inside. It's just after 5 and I think Adam is just being a jerk. (Yes, that's the inner workings of my mind when there is contention. Don't you like knowing what a horrible wife I really can be? Aren't you glad YOU aren't married to me?) .The two hour drive to Buffalo was pretty quiet. I think I even dozed off for a while. After all, it was dark and quiet. Perfect for snoozing. Sports Talk Radio was on and that is extraordinarily boring, even if there is a big hype around the Buffalo Bill's head coach being fired. I think I actually felt a little less grumpy after snoozing. (2 points for me...) Adam had said his cousin Kevin, from Orchard Park, had some band thing we were going to. After stopping for some Mighty Taco, we got back on the Thruway. Hmm.... "Is this the way we usually take to Orchard Park?" Adam smirks. "We are not going to Orchard Park." "Where are we going?" "To the HSBC Arena." More smirks. I'm confused."Kevin's band thing is at HSBC Arena?" I'm wondering to myself, are we really going to a Sabre's game? Cause I'm not dressed for that! I'll be cold! (Hockey games are cold.) Adam reply's, "The Rockette's are at the HSBC Arena." "Kevin's playing for the Rockette's?" Sometimes I'm really good at being stupid. "No, Kevin is not playing for the Rockette's." He rolls his eyes. Unknown to me, my friend Wilson had convinced Adam to buy tickets for the Radio City Christmas Show weeks earlier. She had no idea that Adam and I were going to be in serious need of a date night. And not just any date night, a special date night. Boy, was I surprised. And tickled. My husband had bought tickets to an extraordinary show, like nothing I had ever seen, just for me. What a guy! The thick-walled exterior of my heart melted away as I took Adam's hand. Together we ran through the rain hand in hand toward the arena. We weren't too terribly late and as we took our seats the Rockette's came out onto stage. Boy, they were good. True to form, the dancing was in perfect time and choreographed beautifully. For an hour and a half, we sat mesmerized and at the end, the real Christmas story was told. Tears welled up in my eyes. I was so glad they didn't leave out the best part of Christmas. And I was so glad that God knew that I would need some hubby time this week. I am so thankful. And I guess Adam isn't such a bad guy after all...

Like Father, Like Son

Josh and I came into the bedroom one night to find Daddy watching a hockey game on TV. Josh immediately squeals, "Hockey!" And climbs up on the bed next to his Dad. The look on his face clearly demonstrates his excitement. I'm not sure what has caused this fancy of Josh's, but it is pretty funny. Daddy's favorite sport is hockey too. I guess Josh is just taking after his Dad! Although Josh is pretty sure that all sports on TV are hockey... Like tonight's football game. Funny little guy...

Dad's Right Hand Man

Josh loves helping his Daddy. What ever Daddy is doing, Josh has to be right up front and center, his Dad's right hand man. I'm pretty sure that Joshua's world revolves around Adam. That's not to say that I am not important to him, because I am. He still comes to me when he needs "Mom" time. But I'm pretty sure that there are not tears rolling down Josh's face when I leave him at home. This morning, as Josh watched his Daddy pull out of the driveway and up the hill, his cries got more desperate the farther his Daddy went. And yes, there were tears. All this said, to lead into how Josh wants to help with anything and everything, even if it is washing the car. Especially if it is washing the car. Who can ask for anything better than water, soap, the hose and Daddy? That is the ultimate in summer fun for a small boy. I'm not sure if it's the ultimate for Daddy, but it sure made a small boy's day.

*Notice that men of all ages work very well with a freezie-pop in hand.

Helping Daddy

My Aunt and Uncle recently gave us a bicycle seat for Josh and this past weekend Josh and Adam set about attaching the seat to the bike. It was hard work, work which Josh took very seriously. Josh made sure his Daddy had all the nuts and bolts in properly and even helped him lose two important screws. Not to fear, Daddy found them. Josh was so pleased to be helping his Dad with the big tools. (Notice how he dressed very appropriately that morning, wearing his "Daddy's Big Helper" shirt.) Once the seat was securely in place, the boys took off with a shot. Daddy rode so fast that Mommy was unable to capture a photo of the finished product. But let's just say, that being Daddy's big helper paid off real well for Josh.

What We Are Going to Be Up To

I had no idea before I looked up this photo that Nashville was such a beautiful place. Adam and I will be spending the whole week in this city starting on Saturday. We've never been there and it's not on my top 10 places to visit, but he has a two day class that he has to take for work in Nashville, so we decided to make a vacation out of it. We are leaving Josh home with my parents, so we'll be kid free. I've been taking suggestions for things to do and so far, I have a little list of possibilities. And since Josh is not coming they don't necessarily have to be kid friendly. Here's a few options:

• Andrew Jackson's plantation
• Opera Land Hotel - I hear that there is an indoor boat ride, which sound fun
• Grand Ole Opry
• Michael W. Smith and Steven Curtis Chapman are singing together on April 28. I think I may be too late to get cheap tickets, but that would be really cool...

Anyway, we are leaving this Saturday, so I have 5 days to figure out what we really, really want to do. And on top of that, I will be all by myself while Adam is taking his class. Thankfully, there is a girl that I grew up going to church with who lives in the area. Our plan is to get together for one of those days. I just need to be a big girl and find something to keep myself busy on the other day... But I think this will either be really fun, or really horrible. Really horrible only if Adam is too cranky ;). (That is just a joke, for those of you out there who take me too seriously!)

All By Himself

Daddy, today I made you a birthday cake. All by myself. It was chocolate. I mixed. I poured. I baked. All by myself. Then I got to taste. I like chocolate. I licked the beaters all by myself. I let Momma help lick, but only a little.

My Honey's B-Day

Happy birthday Mr. Cutie Pants! Don't go and get too old without me. (He's 27 today. Is that too old?)

Quiet Hour

It's 6:00 Friday evening. Both my boys are sleeping. What's a girl to do?

Another Year Older

I have been feeling a bit of animosity, or perhaps resentment, at the fact that today is my birthday. I don't want to be 23. I want to stay 22. I will only get older from here on out. Twenty-two was a wonderful year. So many great things happened in it. For instance, the love of my life was born. And he holds my hand and runs into my arms. It is "practically perfect in every way." I guess the excitement of birthdays has just worn off... Just another day that is supposed to be exciting. Ugh, what is wrong with me? I am much too sentimental, I think. And for some reason that makes me regret that I am no longer a young wisp of a willow. Tell me, how beauty becomes you more as you age. Like good cheese or wine...

On a cheerier note: Adam called me on his way home Monday evening. He said that he had bought me something for my birthday and wondered if he could give it to me when he got home. It was a whole three days before my birthday, but he couldn't wait. It did make me curious!! Upon his arrival, he brought in this large box, inside of which was... A brand spankin' new vacuum!!!!!!! I was pretty excited. I had been fighting with our vacuum cleaner all summer. The hose had busted, it tried to eat me, etc, etc. It was a very inexpensive vacuum, which makes it hardly worth replacing parts on, but it did the job. But Adam is such a good man, he wants me to have a easy life. The new vaccum has a pet hair brush and great filters and it comes with 0 bags, just a neat emptying thingy that you just empty into the trash when its full. Pretty cool. Now I can clean the car, which, oddly enough, I am actually looking forward to... What a great guy. Maybe my birthday isn't that bad after all. *smile*