Thanksgiving

A glimpse of our day...



Aunt Elsie is 96. She enjoyed being the first one through the food line.


And below...is a rare event. I was actually able to take a picture of both sons together. My eldest is the blond on the left. The youngest is on the right.



My husband and son are hiding from the camera while cousin Larry loads his plate. My mother scampers by with a pot.



Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm going to try to stay in the spirit if Thanksgiving. I fall into the bad habit of dwelling on the dark side. But God has brought us many blessings. Remember that old hymn? Count your many blessings--and it will surprise you what the Lord has done!

Living Adjustments-Matilda and Me

I can't believe what just happened! Thirty seconds ago it started to RAIN! We haven't had rain in so long. It has been warm and dry in Southern California.

Today I told my younger son that our family has been in Southern California for almost 100 years. He actually was interested and asked me a few more questions. (He's 17.) My great-grandparents lived in Scotland. When Great-grandfather, Alex, heard about the beauty of California, he thought he might come over and invest in some orange groves. He ended up moving the whole family...his wife and four young daughters--my grandmother being one of them. Many years later she met and married my grandfather. They met in the mountains!

So back to Southern California. I'm in a daze...about "moving". We are not making our house payment due to a slow down in my husband's job. It's been a 3 year slow down. And it's not good to continue to dip into our savings account to make house payments. So we are thinking of selling and using what (shrinking) equity we have to buy a home in a less expensive area.


Below is my favorite place to walk--the Arboretum. My grandmother (from Scotland) and my grandfather (from New Jersey) met in these mountains and were married soon after.


We may move to Northern California or Oregon--or we might go to Arizona. My husband loves the Arizona landscape. What do I want? Somewhere that is not too cold and not too hot. I don't want a lot of snow. A tiny bit...okay. I don't want to live in Phoenix where it is 115. And we need a community college for the boys, and elementary schools for me so I can continue working in Special Ed.

What will Mozart do? Continue composing--and selling his music--but he will need another side business. And it's scary moving away from Los Angeles where the entertainment industry is--where our income comes from.

Part of me is very excited about this. It's quite crowded in Southern California, and I'd love to move to a place where I can enjoy nature more. (But we have to make a living) - so one must be careful and keep these matters in prayer.

Back to family history--I also told my son we had fought in the Revolutionary War and my g-g-g-g-g-g-grandfather had fed Washington's troops because he owned a large mill in New Jersey...and the soldiers were passing through. He rallied everyone in the area to help out. More about this...

My grandfather (on my father's side) was born in New Jersey. Our family had been in New Jersey since the 1600's...and helped found the colony of Elizabethtown. Grandpa left New Jersey in the early 1900's when he was 16 years old and came out to California. He traveled with his mother and his little brother.

Why did grandpa leave New Jersey? It seems my great-grandfather had taken up with another woman. So my independent New Jersey great-grandmother Matilda rounded up her sons--my grandfather and his little brother--and headed for California. She supported herself working as a seamstress. Many of her clients were affluent and great-grandma Matilda would stay in their homes for a week or two while she made upholstery and drapes.

Grandpa's little brother, Merrill, would accompany his mother to these large homes. He often found himself wandering outside in the beautiful gardens. When Merrill grew up he became a landscape architect. Grandpa (at 16) took up smoking cigarettes and got a job at Sears. (He told us he once saw Charlie Chaplin come in.) He later became an oil man working for General Petroleum in Taft.

I will be seeing Merrill's wife on Thanksgiving. She is in her 90's and is still very involved in her church, as well as keeping her home. We will spending the afternoon and evening at my parents home on the coast. I'm bringing mashed potatoes. (Yes, I got off easy.) But I'll probably be doing the dishes!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day! Count your blessings! You'll be surprised how many there are!

For the Lord is good; His mercies are everlasting and his truth endures for all generations.
Psalm 100

Asking For Strength

One day, I asked God to give me strength.
I was laying face down on the bed—-spent.
I couldn't take another step forward in this journey.
I was emotionally drained...and I was a prisoner to my circumstances.

I reached for my Bible.
God showed me this verse.

"This is what the Soveregn Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says:

'In repentance and rest is your salvation,
in quietness and trust is your strength.'"

I felt immediate relief. I didn't have to strive, or to accomplish anything. I needed to be quiet, and to trust. I also needed to pray and keep my heart right (repent) and rest in the God of my salvation.

I peeled myself off the bed, and began to undertake my tasks, once again. I said the words, "quiet" and "trust" over and over again. What comfort I received!

Sometimes I mistakenly think that my efforts and striving are essential to fix my situation. I forget that God is running the show...not me. He doesn't always need my help...he needs my trust...a quiet trusting heart.

What Have I Been Doing?

Watching the grass grow


And washing about 25 living room curtain sheers. I could only dry them 3 at a time or the line would sink to the ground.

It only took them 10 minutes to dry because it was 90 degrees and breezy last week.


The weather is finally cooling down now. We even had a light rain yesterday. Perfect for growing grass. This is the area where I planted the grass. The tufts you see, (pictured below) are mature marathon long fescue grass. I pulled out the weeds...and retained the older grass. The new grass will fill in.


I have also been busy, because my husband decided to sell the house, and called a realtor. Yikes.

And this weekend we drove to some rural areas to look at homes. I'll tell you more about that later. I have to say, however, this is something we have talked about for a long time. I just didn't think it would happen so soon. We may end up NOT selling. Especially since our house is sinking in price.

A lot to think about.

Election tomorrow.

My son is still drifting.

But there is hope.
Prayers are heard. God is faithful. And my younger son is doing well, and Mozart just finished 3 days of working on a Portugese film...and the grass is filling in.



P.S. My Special Ed. job has been busy and rewarding. And I enjoy my afternoon job of being a caregiver/companion.

God Will Supply All Our Needs

If you are a parent with a child who has special needs, our church is the place to go. We have a great Special Needs ministry. Parents are supported by trained caregivers who supervise your child while you attend church and Sunday School. We also have a playground that is "Special Needs Friendly." Last Saturday I participated in a fundraising walk for our Special Needs ministry.





Then...on Sunday, we planted grass by the back door. I'm very excited about this. I'm tired of looking at the dirt. I'll post another picture when the grass starts filling in.



Don't you just love Mozart's decorative red air compressor on the porch. His friend was cleaning out his garage and Mozart came home with it. "This is great. We can pump up our motorcycle tires, blow air off the porch and use it with air tools."As soon as the grass is up, I'm transferring the wonderful machine to the shed.

And my son is still elsewhere. He has been out for two weeks. It's very hard on my mother's heart. Especially when he shows up looking tired and worn and hungry. You see, it was our decision to turn him out...due to a wrong choice he made. I'm anxious to have him back...to relieve my stress...but it's not time yet. (We do let him eat when he shows up hungry.)

When he does come back...it brings a different stress. It seems there is no comfortable solution. And he needs to find a job before he comes home...because when he's home...it seems he relaxes too much and is not motivated to find a job.

The job with the family friend that I met on back-to-school night hasn't happened. The work that our family friend was expecting, hasn't come in yet. I'm not sure if it will.

A friend in my Moms In Touch group has housed him for a few nights. I'm so thankful for that.

So one must trust God. And take things one day at a time.

My life has been full. My job at the school has been busy, and I also have an afternoon job as a caregiver.

Then of course there's the work at home...and trying to re-organize our money due to our country (and the world's) economic situation.

We truly are living in interesting times. I keep up with all the business news. I think I have found a new interest: Economics

I'm glad that underneath all of this...God is in control!

God's Gift at a Yard Sale

Saturday, on the way to the grocery store, I passed a home with lot's of boxes, books and bikes sitting in the front yard. Clothes were stacked on tables. A yard sale! I decided to pull over and take a look. Maybe I would find some old towels. With three men in my home, my housekeeping rags and towels are always disappearing. Sometimes they reappear, with oil and grease on them!

And I love looking at books. As I flipped through the books, one caught my eye. "31 Days of Praise". I almost left it there, but I kept coming back to it. It occurred to me that although I pray often, I don't PRAISE often.

I bought the book...and I found some towels too! ($1.00 for everything.)

This book has been such a blessing to me.

Here are some portions of today's praise-Day 11.

Thank you that in your gracious plan to bless and use me, you've allowed me to go through hard times, through trials that many people go through in this fallen world. How glad I am that you're so good at reaching down and making something beautiful out of even the worst situations.

How encouraged I am when I think how you did this for Joseph...how his brothers hated and abused and betrayed him, and how you worked these things out for blessing, both for Joseph and his family and for countless other people.

I'm so grateful that all my past circumstances were permitted by you to make me see my need for you and prepare my heart for your Word...to draw me to yourself, and to work out your good purposes for my life.

I rejoice that you are the blessed Controller of all things.

"In everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
I Thessalonians 5:18

31 Days of Praise by Ruth Myers with Warren Myers
For more about the book click above.

Update: My son is supposed to start a new job next week with the man I met on Back-to-School night.

Weekend Alone

While Mozart was in Big Bear for the weekend, riding his motorcycle through the mountains, I decided to go see the movie "Fireproof". But little did I know that I was going to end up in the mountains...face to face with a bear!

Do to a mix up, I arrived at the theater 3 hours early. I didn't want to drive all the way back home due to gas, so I went for a short ride into the foothills. I was standing in a meadow, not far from a few people who were picnicing. Suddenly the picnic people scattered--grabbing their stuff-- and a bear walked up and inspected the table. Then he looked over at us hopefully. Of course we were now standing at a safe distance. A female ranger radioed for help. I debated about heading for my car...but decided to watch for a few more minutes. The bear headed for a locked trash can and inspected it. Then he checked out another table. When the bear started walking toward us, I took a few steps backwards, then very slowly walked to my car, got in, locked the door and headed down the mountain. I passed a jeep barreling up the road with three rangers in it.

What a way to kick off my weekend. By the way...the movie, "Fireproof", was good...about a young couple struggling in their marriage and how they worked through it—with help from a father—and with help from God. The movie was full of humor and emotion. The husband was a firefighter, and his life at the fire station added humor and drama to the movie. I think this is a great movie for young men to see who are contemplating marriage.

On Sunday, my youngest son and I drove to see my parents, and the four of us rode bicycles along the beach. It felt so good to get out.

My oldest son decided to meet with the man that I mentioned in my previous post. This was an answer to prayer! But he doesn't start for 2 weeks. Things are a bit dicey at home again. Some challenges here. Sometimes I'm so afraid for my son...and where his life is heading.

II Timothy 1:7 God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and a sound mind.

This verse always gives me confidence. And it reminds me that God believes in me. I hope it encourages you, too!