Tangled

We traveled today to meet friends at Red Robin's for lunch than go to the movies. On the way, we planned to pick up a pair of snow pants for Josh.

I thought I packed the kids snow pants in a box that would be accessible once we moved. I was wrong. They are among the other lost things in storage. But as Myrtle pointed out, since they were from last season, maybe they wouldn't fit the kids anyway.

So I looked on line to purchase new ones, which bothered me to have to do. I couldn't find any for Josh, but found some for Ellie for $30.00, but waited to buy them. Good thing. I remembered to check freecycle, and three people responded.

The lady had given us her neighbor's address, but didn't tell us or her neighbor she did that. So of course I couldn't find the house. The neighbor, though clueless to what I was there for, did direct me to a house up the street. Though since I wasn't sure, I didn't go knocking on the door. I wanted to call her, but I forgot the paper with the phone number on it. I tried calling my dad to look on my yahoo email, but he wasn't home, so I called Myrtle. She was able to get it for me. But the lady didn't answer, so we left and continued on our drive.

We had a nice time at lunch and the movie, "Tangled." When Josh and Ellie heard we were going to a movie, there was much excitement, and it escalated when we said it was a movie about Rapunzel. They both are enamored with Rapunzel. Gary and I felt the movie was well done. The storyline and the animation. Animation has come a long way since "Snow White."

While we were at lunch, the lady called me back and told me the correct house and that the address she gave me was her neighbor's, since her house doesn't have the address marked. I didn't mention to her that the part about the address being her neighbor's was important. On the way back we stopped at the correct house and were able to pick up the pants.

A Baptized Life

On this day my daughter was baptized. Is baptized. Jesus wrote his name on my daughter, and through her baptism He works forgiveness of her sins, rescues her from death and the devil, and gives her eternal salvation.

And I was there with her in the baptistry. It was a moment I will treasure always.

Jesus said, "He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned." Mark 16:16

Peter says, "Corresponding to that (Noah and the flood,) baptism now saves you - not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience - through the resurrection of Jesus Christ" 1 Peter 3:21

Paul writes, "For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority; and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by
the circumcision of Christ; having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.
When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all
our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross." Colossians 2:9-14



Now her baptism also had a bit of humor. As Pastor Mark prepared to dip her backwards, she turned to me and requested a cloth for her face. She took it, dipped it in the water, squeezed it, and placed it on her face. Now she was ready.









Here is the newly baptized girl.


Jesus first came to us as a baby. He became our sacrifice to save us, to forgive us, to do all for us.

A new thing for Christmas

Since moving to the cabin, we now will most likely be traveling at Christmas time.

Gary came home early on Wednesday, we picked Ellie up from school, and left to drive to my parents' home, where the four of us joined the other 8 people and dog there. The home I spent most of my childhood in, which had been in an empty nest state for several years, was once again filled with people. My parents of course, my sister and her boyfriend, my brother, his wife and two children, and us. It was a hopping place.

Matt and Claire brought some tasty meat from their farm. We had the most delicious pork roast, bacon, and sausage. Matt also roasted their 33 lb. turkey, which I actually haven't tasted yet, but will tonight. But I know it will be a most agreeable experience.

We got to meet my sister's boyfriend. She is quite smitten. And she acts herself around him, which means he's a keeper.

Ellie and Josh got to play with their cousins. The girls like to be creative and the boys like to play cars and trains.

We took a trip to Philly to visit Rittenhouse Town (part of our family history,) Independence Hall, and the Liberty Bell. We also watched a movie - one on the Revolutionary War at Independence Visitor Center.

Christmas Day was spent with my family, Gary's extended family, than my extended family.

Sunday was the day to drive home. It was also the day of the snow storm. The 2 hour drive home was lengthen to 4 hours, because of snow and a quick dinner stop. The road conditions were not great but with careful driving, it was passable.

We had to shovel the driveway to put the car in the basement. We decided to not use the snow blower yet. There really wasn't enough snow to warrant that monster yet.

Family day

We started with a healthy breakfast at McDonald's courtesy of Verizon. [Our refund check from July finally came.] Then off to Wal-Mart, where we split up to shop. Josh and I shopped for Gary and Ellie, and since Josh doesn't really pay all that much attention, I threw in some things for him. And Gary and Ellie shopped for Josh and me. Then we switched kids and did it again.

We had packed a lunch and ate in the parking lot. We then drove into town (Honesdale) for Gary's haircut (he finally found his new barber.) We got there 22 minutes after they closed. No haircut today. We headed home by way of the two houses that have caught our interest, even though we have no intention of actually buying right now. Neither are real winners in the beauty department. We are going more for features besides the house. The one property has a shell of a house, which really deserves to be demolished. But it has nice land. The other is a foreclosure on a busy road. But we still take a look around.

It was a nice day for a drive.

When we got back to Indian Rocks, we stopped to look at the pond. Ellie had been asking to touch ice on the various frozen ponds we passed. So we stopped to check out "our" pond. We ventured out on the frozen water a bit, which the kids enjoyed. We took a walk around it, stopping to check out the ice here and there. There was one spot near the pond where there was standing water that had frozen. I had fun running and sliding on it. The kids wanted to do it too, though they aren't quite masters of their balance yet. Nor do they know how to slide on ice. So I held their hands and we'd run and slide together.

We threw pieces of ice across the pond to see how far we could get them to slide. We chased each other, we pretended to be trees.

We headed home. Lit a fire that eventually smoked us out. Had leftovers, took showers, sang advent hymns, prayed, put the kids to bed. Paid bills, blogged, did dishes, and will put ourselves to bed. Very soon.

It was a great family day. Good night.

No more cozy fire

The fireplace hasn't been cleaned in ages, if ever, so I called a chimney cleaning place. Also, lately when we have a fire, the house gets quite smokey. We end up closing the doors part way and letting the fire die out.

After a look-see the chimney man said the Heatilator insides are all rusted out (which is why there is smoke in the house when we have a fire) and expensive to fix. We either stop using it, or get an insert.

It cost $49.95 for chimney man to tell me this.

Did I mention that we just bought a cord of wood last week?

By the way, when chimney man came to the door, the first thing that popped into my mind was the image of Dick Van Dyke in "Mary Poppins" when he is the chimney sweep. This fellow could have been part of the cast. Except for he wasn't sooty yet and a little older.

Are we done yet?

Yesterday we had settlement on the sale of our house. Everything went smoothly and we no longer own a home. I am sad, but relieved. No longer do we have a too-high mortgage hanging over us. We will be smarter in buying another house.

We do have a storage unit to root through, though. I forgot to flag stuff going in, so now some things we want are lost. And you can see in the "storage" post, it is quite packed. It is a 10x30 space. Only about 8 feet is available to walk into. I try not to think about it.

And we took the camper to Gary's dad's house. We have some boxes at my parents', which we will take with us back to the cabin. Everything else is in storage.

While at Gary's dad's we had a break from child watching. Judy took over for us. She and Ellie made cookies. Josh played trains. I watched a movie. Gary read.

My mom and Ellie made cookies together as well. I pitched in after Ellie moved on to something else. My dad, Gary and Josh took my dad's Lionel steam engine to the train shop to have it fixed. Josh enjoyed himself. He also followed my dad around after they got home and called himself a worker.

This visit to Lansdale was much less stressful than the previous one.

In storage

On the way to meet the movers (I was going to the right place,) I received a call from them. They were at the wrong storage area. Even though I previously called the movers and told them of the address change for storage areas, the truck was still at the wrong place. So we rerouted ourselves and met the moving van at the wrong storage area. They followed us to the right one. It wasn't the moving company's first mistake.

They got their truck into position, and Josh and I settled in for 4 hours of watching the movers move our stuff into the unit.

It was a cold day. I would run the heat now and then to get the chill off, but even then my lower legs never warmed up. Josh spent the time eating his lunch, roaming around the car as best he could, and doing puzzles on the iPod. He was well behaved for being very confined for four hours. All the while, we listened to music.

The unit is packed floor to ceiling. They did a very good job of getting it in there. Almost too good. There is no way to access anything. I was hoping for an aisle. All I got was a skeptical look from those guys.

Doctor's visit

Josh had his four year doctor's visit several weeks ago and I am just getting around to write about.

I liked the receptionist's personality. She was nice and helpful. The nurse seemed nice when we walked back with her to get Josh's weight and height. He is not fond of being weighed and measured. Then while walking on to the exam room, another nurse waylaid us and started asking me questions about Josh. Right there in the hallway. It was not very private. I was not to fond of that. We reached the exam room and the nurse took his blood pressure and said she was going to check his iron. If you've given blood, you know they prick a finger to check iron. He wasn't too fond of that either. The nurse's kid-side manner degraded, as Josh became less

Then I undressed Josh, and he got to wear a cute paper robe. He wasn't impressed; his finger hurt. He also wanted to know what the doctor was going to do to him. The doctor came in and did his thing. He checked out Josh and asked me more questions. One of which was if josh was potty trained yet. I answered no. He asked why with (in my opinion) a disapproving tone. I said he has no interest in using the potty. [This is a sore issue with me. Josh just won't tell us when he has to go. He sometimes goes if we make him go, and he refuses to do his other business on the potty. We've scolded, bribed, taken things away, spanked, and reassured. We've tried putting him in underpants (messy) and pull-ups (expensive.) He still behaves as if he is wearing a diaper. So that's what he is going to wear.] Generally, the only time he uses the potty is first thing in the morning. And he'll do it all himself. But that's it. Then it's back to diaper duty for me.

Anyway, I wasn't impressed by the doctor and will try another in the practice for Ellie's well visit. After the doctor left, the nurses came back in for Josh's vaccines. Three of them. They pretty much ambushed my child, with me as an accomplice. They each took an arm, while Josh sat on my lap and held his arms down. He struggled mightily. The one nurse took hold of his chin and scolded him that he needed to let her stick a needle in his arm. She wasn't very gentle with a very upset boy. Needless to say Josh is not too fond of shots.

After we left, I asked myself why I let the nurses treat my son like that. Why didn't I step in and say stop. Or at least do something different. And it bothers me most because I have seen the way my friend has been treated by people who are suppose to be helping but don't and I had less than caring treatment when Josh was born. But knowing that, I still feel like I didn't stand up for my son. I know he wouldn't have listened to reason, but still I wish I had handled it differently.

Moving Day

This day could have gone much better. I requested a specific mover man, who wasn't there. I also requested they wrap the furniture with paper pads to protect it in storage, which they didn't bring. One of the workers said our stuff wasn't all going to fit in the truck, but another worker said he wasn't worried. They tried shoving our refrigerator through a doorway too small for it before measuring, though no damage was done. They were unaware that everything was going to a storage area and didn't pack the truck accordingly.




Gary's brother, Mike, and Mike's friend, Chris, came and were a huge, enormous help. We were so glad Chris was there. His father works for the moving company and was the one we requested, so he knew a thing or two to help us.

We were not that happy with our movers.

Sister of my Heart

While reading something my dear friend Myrtle wrote about me, I kept thinking "well of course, who wouldn't." If your friend needs help, who wouldn't give her help. If she's hot, cool her down. If she can't find something, help her look. If she's hurting, comfort her. If she finds solace in hymns, record yourself singing them and send them to her. If God's Word brings her peace, read it to her.

I makes sense to me to do these things. I don't find the things I do for my friend extraordinary. In fact, I remember the sinner I am, and think I can't possibly be a good friend.

But I grew up in a Christian home, Myrtle did not. I come from a family of people who do things for others. Myrtle does not.

So when our worlds collided through our friendship, her whole view of love and friendship was challenged. And continues to be. She struggles mightily with understanding my love for her. All the things that come naturally for me are foreign to her, even after 15 years. But Christ continues to work in her, reminding her of her baptism and what He's done for her. Letting her see, through me and other specific people He's placed in her life, that love is not the lies she's been taught.

Through her and her struggles, Christ is teaching me. I have a new understand of what Christ has done for me in my baptism, and what He is still doing for me. Baptism as a whole has changed for me. Baptism saves; how I didn't see this before astonishes me. Baptism is not just some thing we do to show we are followers of Christ. It is something He does for us. He writes His name on us, claiming us as His.

The Lord's Supper has also changed for me. I am taking in Christ's body and blood. For forgiveness. Cleansing me from my sin. Every time I take it in. It isn't an act I am doing to show I am His follower. He is doing the work, He is offering Himself. To take my sin, to give me forgiveness.

The proper distinction between law and gospel is another new thing for me. The law points out my sin, my need for a savior. The gospel is the grace and mercy I receive from Christ, in spite of my sin.

Loving another person is hard work. But it is also very easy. Myrtle is in my life because Christ brought us together. How can I not love her with the love Christ has for me?