Sunday, November 22, 2009

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU SAY

OR SHOULD I SAY, WHO YOU SAY IT IN FRONT OF??


You would think after 18 years of being a grandmother I would have learned a thing or two. Well, "I might have been born in a barn, but NOT at night" (Michael, age six). So, a word from a slow learner, be careful who you use your most expressive words in front of. Yes, there is a memory in the making here.

Thursday afternoon after Hunter and I picked Zackary up from school, I had to pick up a perscription from the drug store. The whole trip from his school to the house is about twenty-five minutes, if we get behind the school bus on Monroe. So needless to say I was just a little preturbed an hour and a half later when we weren't home yet. This is how it happened...

...Wrong turn in subdivision to avoid school bus (fifteen minutes wasted), prescription not ready at Walgreens (just give me about ten minutes, Mrs. Fenter) okay, so we waited 10 minutes, another pass through the drive-through and "we're having difficulty getting it to go through, can you give us about fifteen more minutes?" (now we have twenty-five more minutes wasted), second pass through... bag flys out of the little box and goes under the car which is pulled very close to the curb, visual NOT pretty and Zackary can't understand why I'm on my knees mumbling (another five minutes wasted). Okay, prescription retrieved and we are on our way. Ten minutes and we should be home! Turn left onto the 'short cut street' to make up time...OH NO bridge under construction turn left into a side street to detour, NO OUTLET, turn around in driveway back to the 'short cut' street and back to Walgreens parking lot (total of twenty minutes wasted!) Cut through to main four lane street to go the L-O-N-G way home and the car behind me cuts around and in front of me causing the car passing on the street to slam on their brakes and me to honk my horn (five minutes wasted)...here are the words of wisdom...

Don't say CRAP with your seven year old grandson in the back seat, because if you do, you will likely get a lecture on why that wasn't a good idea to say that.

The conversation went something like this:

...Nana, "Oh Crap, Dude, that was stupid."

...Zackary, "That probably wasn't a good thing to say."

...Nana, "WHAT?"

...Zack, "Just saying, you know with HIM in the car, (that was a head motion in Hunter's direction) I don't think mom is going to like it much when he says that word, you know the one you just said."

...Nana, "Huh??? Yeah, you are probably right."

If you think God gave you children to help you aquire patience, I wonder just what it is we are supposed to learn from our grandchildren...wisdom?

I love all of my grandchildren and you would think I would be pretty wise by now, thirteen of them later, but I'm still learning.

Love You All

Monday, November 16, 2009

What Is Today??

Most of you will not know the significance of this day in history, my history, at least. November 16th is my dad's birthday. I don't remember celebrating that day with him until his 60th one came. I remember him calling me and asking if I would fly over and spend the weekend if he sent me the airfare.
I was living in Houston in 1985 thinking all would continue along the same path it always had. I was excited about a trip to see daddy, to spend time with him. (Several times in the four months prior to that visit he had come to Houston to deliver products to some of the chemical plants on the channel and would come to my house and have dinner, he would stay at the hotel I worked at and we would have breakfast before I went to work and he left to go back to BR.) After the weekend was over he brought me back home.
That weekend he shared with me his life, his dreams for the future and plans he had made. I saw something in my dad I had not seen in a long time. Direction. In case any of you might think I wore Rose tinted glasses when it came to my dad, I did not. I knew him as few did. If you never had Pete Wallace invest in your life, you missed a great deal.

What I want to share next is for those who still have a parent living. Reach out and hold them, pick up the phone and call them, share yourself with them and let them share with you. You see, just about two months after our birthday weekend, around mid-January, a messenger brought the word that daddy had died. He had been working on clearing the field for his Christmas Tree Farm and had a heart attack.

I know we each have our memory of that day. The edges might be frayed just a little, but the subject is bound in our hearts. A love so deep it still directs our steps and those of our children. There are times I sob so hard just from the empty space in my heart that Les has to just hold me until the grief passes. Yes, 23 years later. Those times are fewer and further between and most often now it is with laughter and fond memories I remember him.

If you asked each of my kids what their most vivid memory of "Papaw Pete" is, each one would have a different answer. All would be of a gentle and non-confrontational nature though, I'm sure...what would each of you say???

I know I did a blog about him on father's day and posted pictures. I won't post them today. I will leave you with the thought that while he presented an exterior of toughness, he loved deeply and expected all he knew and loved to be treated with love and respect.

It is to him in large part that I have an understanding of love.
I pass that love on to each of you.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

A MOTHER'S BLESSINGS

******************Being a Mom******************

For the past couple of months I have been preparing for and participating in a class on identifying and dealing with wounds and hurts (real or perceived), the lenses we see life through, and how these things affect our interactions with others. After saying that, I want to say the class only relates to this blog through my experiences in it.

If you are a mom (or maybe a parent) you might find yourself nodding in agreement with me as you read. I hope the journey will be as touching for you as mine was today.

I sat with three other people in our group, we have reached the "practice" stage of the class and I was the first to present my problem, for lack of a better word. What started out to be an assumed problem turned out to be a real one for me instead. The problem, "I just don't know how to fix what hurts those I love deeply, I'm afraid I might loose them. Some of those God gave to me to protect and teach and con ...oops, did I almost say the "C" word? (you know, the one moms never consider they do) control, but in a good way, like in "...teaching, correcting, training..." What I got when I asked that question was not what I expected, a "how to for dummies". It was an impression, or picture, or a vision, depending on how you feel God interacts with you. For me it was a picture. Not of me helping those people, but rather of Him helping them. Holding or carrying them like in the print of "Footprints" reminding me that when they (or myself in this case) only saw one set of footprints in the sand, they were His. We talked about it for a little bit and as I left class I saw completely different pictures.

You see, sometimes we forget what our "job" is. I DO believe that job includes some of the above things when our children are young. It is part of the role of a mother to instruct, nurture and train our little ones. Not for the purpose of making them into "mini mes" or what ever we precieve is best, but rather for Kingdom service. Giving them tools to use to live life the best they can and to love and trust the Lord as their friend and saviour. In so doing it frees us to love them and appreciate their uniqueness and strength and it frees them to make mistakes and learn the Grace God so wants to give. It frees Him to reach in and heal hurts and wounds, both for our loved ones and for us.


That's what this day was about, not figuring out how I can fix the hurts, but learning how to let God do that. I think it just might remove a wall that separates parents and children, friend and friend, self and God.

His blessings to me come in the forms of daughters, sons, their spouses, grand children, brothers and their families, friends -some closer than sisters, some of long standing and some new. Times of laughter, weddings, births, parties and living life together. Times of remembering the investments made into our lives by those who have loved us and gone to rest in Perfect Peace. I pray we will all give credit to these times in our lives as gifts, with out strings, from our Loving Father, Creator, Protector, Provider; our Abba (Daddy God) get to know Him and let Him do His job. No one can do it but Him.

I know in some cases this seems an over simplistic approach and in the midst of attack we don't always default to trusting. My prayer is that we will more often make that our focus. Enjoy those in your life and let everyone know how much you love them.
I Love You

Monday, November 2, 2009

More Family Fun Pictures

I just got several new pictures from the party on Saturday night and want to share them. If you don't believe in pirates, think again. I also finally got Lilly and Cade's pictures to download. Enjoy these!!!

I hope you guys don't feel like you are invited over to watch "home videos". We would just love to have every one here with us.

Picture from the front of their house.



Ghost of pirates past, giving out candy and Noni in the fish pond. The last on is Cade on left and Lilly on right. Cade was a little Monkey and I guess Lilly was a pumpkin.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

A Family Party

**OUR FAMILY ACROSS THE MILES**************

Last night was a fun time of dress up, laughs, treats and games. I wish I could say I captured everyone on film and in character, but unfortunately, more often than not, those with cameras were some where else when you needed them.

The subdivision is built around a lake and most of the people set up tables there for giving out candy. A few stayed in their homes which made the walk a long one. Hunter and Kaden led the pack. I could not hear if they said "trick-or-treat" or not but I could hear Hunter saying "Tant tou bye, tant tou, bye" the whole time. They ran their little legs off. Of course they stole the show, (well maybe they had to share the prize with Wayne). It was hard to hold Zack, Chey, Abby and Abram back, they really got into it. After they finished trick-or-treating, we went in the backyard and bobbed for apples and "went fishing" we all enjoyed that.

We had a baby Buz Lightyear and Elmo, we had a Jr. and Sr. aerospace flight crew, a night in shining armor (Prince Caspian actually) a ballerina, and a fairy. Those were the little ones whom the party was suppose to be for. Then we had a big orange pumpkin (yours truly), a partly cloudy sky with a chance of rain (Toni Lin) a pirate and his woman (Wayne and Candi) and I mean Pirates of the Caribbean at that, accent and all. You would have thought they were back in their trick-or-treat days. Hopefully before I actually post this, my picture from New Mexico will download and we will also have Cade and Lilly (Elizabeth's and David's little babies) in costume also. I don't think David's two older girls were in the picture though.

The older grand kids were also there. Some dressed up some didn't. For those who did, I must say I'm not sure what they were suppose to be. Michael turned himself over to Jayella (his girlfriend) and Kaela and they did make up and fingernails and a wig. It was interesting.

Oh yeah, the food. What is a family party without food. One of Wayne's co-workers came and brought Crawfish Quiche, two dips and chips and home made pumpkin bread with cream cheese icing. We also had stuffed Jalapenos, Queso with chips, Rubens, brownies, bar-b-Que meatballs, wings (from Hooters, NOT my favorite)

Besides pictures from the party, I am including a couple of Zackary and Hunter from the pumpkin patch when they went pumpkin shopping. That was cute. Hunter thought the small ones were balls and kept trying to throw them. You might also notice he isn't worried about taking pictures, he is there to play with "pundins". I never tire of seeing Zackary smile. Life to those two is fun and games.

I'm sure I have forgotten things and other things, I choose not to forget. I hope you have enjoyed our party as much as we all did. Thanks Wayne and Candi for being gracious hosts. I wonder where you got all the "booty" to throw such a memorable night. From the high seas me thinks.

I love you all and you're always invited to our parties.
Each family is beginning to see how God has interwoven lives and hearts together for this life and the one to come. It is to Him we give the Glory of life.