Thanksgiving Joys

Little did we know that God had allowed six of my siblings to make Thanksgiving plans that would overlap with our needing to make a trip over to Missouri to once again see and be with my mom and dad as he took a sudden turn for the worse. So our joyful time was turned a bit more somber, yet it was rich and joyful, thankful and beautiful all at the same time. 

 

It was a time to give thanks, to be together once again, and to rejoice in the Lord

Who makes no mistakes.

On our way to Missouri, we stopped in Mansfield to visit our dear friends Rev. and Mrs. Goodwin, who had filled in at our church about 11 years ago. Dennis Goodwin has been suffering so much since his stroke, and we just wanted to bring them some joy. It was wonderful to meet Bro. Goodwin's son, Dwight that night. 

 

 The children played piano, mandolin, and ukulele pieces for them.

On Thanksgiving morning, everyone was busy. When Jonathan and I arrived to Joella's home from the cabin/showroom/guest room a couple miles down the road where we stayed nights, I just had to capture this sweet scene.

Three little girls who were actually playing with dolls and a puppy instead of Ipads. 

And three little boys playing with a tricycle.

Some parents are doing a really good job with their children.

I spent some time at Mom and Dad's making scrambled eggs for their breakfast and mine, and then drove on to Fain and Regina's place a few miles away to get our turkey we'd asked the girls to roast in our roaster we'd brought. Timmy raised the turkey and we roasted it for Thanksgiving!

At Regina's, we tried to determine what to make for our dad, as he is without teeth and must have soft food, and very limited kinds of food, too.

Regina pulled out some frozen mushrooms and onion that I blended and sauteed and added to chopped green beans to turn it into a sort of "green bean casserole a la mode"--just for Dad who was not up to coming to the big gathering.

We had rented a very large community building at a fairgrounds, so we had lots of indoor and outdoor space both! Girl cousins had a blast decorating tables and making a memory table for the reunion. We also had a sort of informal silent auction in the corner as a fund raiser for medical bills for my niece Amaris who continues to suffer with chronic lymes disease and other complications.

Amaris and her mom had made these darling baby quilts. A couple of us purchased two of them for the fund raiser. This is Elizabeth, Gabriel's beautiful wife. And here are more of those quilts, some with embroidered centers. Amaris had a special sewing machine that does embroidery.

 

 

She was able to attend for a couple hours, until the noise and light got to her. She has so much constant pain and fatigue, and she cannot begin to enjoy life like the rest of us. One feels so helpless against the ravages of this new disease. Her family has spent tens of thousands of dollars on treatments and doctor bills, and the last doctor recently told her basically that all they had done for her was in vain.

Nevertheless, we all tried to bring her what cheer we could, and she bravely tried to attend at least for a while. 

 

Amaris has the sweetest little niece you ever saw, Jed and Rosalie's daughter Kari.

I just had to get a snapshot of the sweet kiss little Kari gave Amaris just before she left. 

 

Kari's little brother took to Crystal like a baby bird to its nest! He loved her! (And I think the feeling was mutual!) And he fell asleep on her!

Mom was given the honor of going first in line to dinner. Not only had my dad taken a turn for the worse, but my mom had apparently pulled her back and had been in pain for a few days till that morning. Her heating pad had quit working in the middle of that time, and you know how it is--they had at least two other heating pads but did not know where they were!

When I arrived, I looked at that heating pad and plugged it in just to make sure it was not working, and wouldn't you know it? That thing started working again! Jonathan says it had gotten damp from the leak in Mom's ice pack and must have tripped. Mom likes to believe it was my magic touch, and it would be so much fun if you would believe her!!!! 

(I also managed to find the other heating pads, too. I'm the daughter, so I get to go rummaging around in their cupboards and find their lost items!)

Green bean casseroles.

I always enjoy the beautiful job the girl cousins do with decorating. 

This is the memory table, with photos from earlier reunions, Scripture plaque, early photos from my mom and dad's life, and the recent albums the clan made for my parents of everyone's favorite hymn or song, and everyone's favorite Scripture.

 I am so thankful that this is the legacy my parents have passed down--the honor of God's Word and the love of excellent music.

This photo held a place of prominence. It's a photo someone unearthed recently of my mother (on the far right) with her two younger sisters about 74 years ago.

The boys' table.

After dinner, I was so proud of my unselfish nieces who spent most of their afternoon helping the younger cousins have a wonderful time of games.

Gabriel's little Aaron getting ready to throw the ball in dodge ball game.

Another game was held inside the fairground corral area.

The guys had built a fire in the fire pit. 

There were so many things to do there, and to think we only had to pay $150 for the whole day and we had access to the whole grounds! Missouri is amazing!

The girls cleaning the sawdust from their shoes after the games in the arena!

Candace doing a quiz and "Build the Pilgrim lady and man" game with some gel clings I had brought. (I had to wash the window afterward!)

Meanwhile, I was doing the final touches on a Thanksgiving Random Game that I had created with ideas from the Reformation Random Game we'd played on Reformation Day. It really kept the interest of nearly everybody except the very littlest children who had plenty of room elsewhere to play their own little toddlers' games.

There were various quizzes about which books of the Bible the words "thanksgiving" and "thankfulness" were in, questions about names of Pilgrim children on the Mayflower and how many pairs of shoes one of the pilgrims brought over. There was a matching stint, and a "What Rhymes With Thank?" rhyming game. But one of the best parts was the Corncob Classic. Elon's and Anita's daughter-in-law Rosalie helped me by counting to make sure each little cob of Indian corn that Rose grew had equal number of kernels on. We had a guys' team and a ladies' team the whole time. Lydia, Kezia's girl, got picked to be the one to shell the girls' cob. 

And the guys' team had a little boy to shell the corn--Benjamin, Gabriel's boy. Nobody else was allowed to touch the corn, but everyone could tell them how to do it or holler encouragement. You should have heard the yelling, drumming on the table, and clapping as the little children got nearly done!

Of course, the boys' team won!

Then we had some solos, Duets, and trios! A soloist from each team had to sing through a verse of a Thanksgiving hymn without making a mistake. The duet was someone from each team singing together on another Thanksgiving hymn, and the first one to make a mistake had to drop out. I loved when Ezra sang through to the end without mistake, as one by one the rest of us joined him in the chorus of "Let all the people praise thee!"

In between that game and another one that Candace and Natasha had prepared, everyone helped pack up and put tables and chairs away. I so appreciated the way parents made sure the littles had a good time. I do not recall seeing a single squabble or hearing a single temper tantrum. But I might have been a little blind or deaf.

 

In this game, brothers and sisters teamed up to try to operate, one without hands and the other without eyes! The boys' team had to open cartons of yogurt and eat them. Rose's arms are through the arms of the jacket while Timmy's hands are underneath the table. Rose is behind him, not allowed to see. When it was the girls' turn, they had to somehow open little jars of peanut butter and jam, spread it on bread which must also be opened and passed down the table to each one! They are allowed water and napkins. Talk about hilarious! Oh, and they also have salt and pepper.

They made a huge mess, although it was amazing how well they actually did together! And we onlookers laughed until we could hardly laugh anymore!

More Thanksgiving Caroling

Rose contacted a nursing home about 30 minutes away to ask about thanksgiving caroling outside windows of the residents. She was told that rocks around would be a "tripping hazard," but was told that if the group would bring 20 minutes of music instead, the residents would be allowed to social distance in the dining room and could listen to us outside the dining room window.  So the young people did that!

Another family whose children play very well on guitar, banjo, mandolin, and harmonica joined us this time since it was near their home.

I stood outside the window about eight feet away and hollered the names of our family and the songs as loud as I dared, and inside, the masked residents would listen and give us thumbs up to show they understood (or at least hoped they did!!) We also had posters with the names of the songs we did. This particular song is an oldie, "Wildwood Flower.")

We were just really glad we were allowed to bring a little cheer to the residents. They seemed to really be thankful we came.

Again, at the end of our little music time, we held these five posters close together and shouted, "Happy Thanksgiving!" from outside!

And this is the Sunday roast I put on that evening for our Sunday dinner.

 

Thanksgiving Caroling!

Today it actually worked out to go Thanksgiving caroling at an assisted living center that permitted us to sing outside. People could listen through their windows or come outside to listen.

The Lord allowed sunny, although chilly, weather.

We had gotten together with several friends a few days ago to practice and make posters,

in case the people couldn't hear us very well.

So at least they could know what we were playing and singing!

Two friends ended up having to work, but the others were able to come with us.

We played "Turkey in the Straw," and sang "Count Your Blessings," "We Gather Together," and "To God Be the Glory."

Today we first got together to practice at our friend's house which was on the way to town.

Because we would be singing outdoors, we decided we better practice outdoors, too!
 

                                   Dress rehearsal for singing outdoors in the wind and cold! Danny was the one to hold the posters with the names of the songs while we moms sang with the instruments.

Here we are singing at the first window where Bonnie Lacy lives. We practiced on her!

Then  several people came outside to hear us, too. So we moved down toward them near the door.

After we finished our songs, we held up these posters spelling out "Happy Thanksgiving!!"

The folk seemed to enjoy it so much that they followed us around everywhere we went around the corner and around the other side of the building. We stood and sang two or three different spots, while a couple more folk came out the back door to join the rest to listen and sing along. We exchanged virtual hugs and merry wishes for a happy Thanksgiving! We pray it was a blessing. It was definitely a fun and rewarding experience!

Grandma Home From Hospital

 Jonathan's mother ended up in the hospital a couple weeks ago with terrible pain which turned out to be a hole in her stomach. Only one person was allowed in to see her, and that was Jonathan's dad. So one day Rose and I met him at the hospital parking lot with cards and a bouquet of flowers for her.

I'm not much of one to like statues, but I do like the stories of St. Francis of Assisi, and I loved this statue at St. Francis Hospital with the saint and a bird, maybe a dove.

When Grandma was finally released after a very miserable six days in the hospital, we took her a basket of soft foods and Sunday dinner. 

 Meanwhile at home, the daily routine rolls on. Straining the milk....

giving Hannah a piano lesson...

Making pumpkin pies to take to Grandpa one evening while Grandma was still in the hospital...

making a new batch of homemade laundry soap with ingredients my sister-in-law Ruth shared with me.

Teaching school to Danny and Hannah. Their Bible course this year is teaching them to use the concordance. I let them use mine which my mother gave me about 36 years ago upon my high school graduation.

And we enjoy an evening meal with big spaghetti squash boats! I discovered how much I liked spaghetti squash roasted in the oven with just a little olive oil splashed inside it and then forked into strings onto one's plate.

Here is a picture of it after it is on the plate, beside the fried sweet potatoes.

The children are practicing music to go Thanksgiving caroling to nursing homes and assisted living centers.

"Turkey in the Straw," "Count Your Blessings," and "To God Be the Glory" are some of the songs they are practicing.

 

Country Goings On While the Election Pokes Along

While the election process pokes along, country people stay busy. 

 First of all, we pray.

Then we vote.

 Then we pray some more. 

The night of the election (at least the night of the day by which everyone was supposed to have cast their votes--big difference) 

we had been invited to friends to have supper together while election results came in.

Within walking distance of their place was a Veteran's Memorial with the American flag, the Colorado state flag, and a POW flag. 

Some of us walked over to gather around the flagpole to pray for our nation and for our election. 

I was really thankful for all the ones who were willing to do something like that--

even though it meant being in plain sight of the busy road by it.

We watched the moon behind the clouds, and browsed around the memorial in the darkness.

The week before, we'd been invited to an outdoor Harvest Party where there was Pumpkin Bowling.

 Pumpkins had been bought for about $1.50 each, and what was left after the games were sent home with our family for our animals, who usually love pumpkins!

 The day after that, October 1st, we attended a Reformation Day gathering, which was a great positive focus quite different from Halloween!

One of the men had a Reformation Random Game which was one of the funnest, most educational games I've ever played. 

He chose Jonathan to be the score keeper for the guys' team, and me for the girls' team.

In the middle of the game, he had one girl (who happened to be Hannah) and one boy compete to see who could nail Martin Luther's 95 Theses to the door in the shortest amount of time!

There were several layers of thick paper, nails, and a big hammer that was not exactly a hammer. It was just a big banger thing more like a miniature sledge hammer. I mean, how is a lady supposed to describe it anyway? 

Well, the papers kept slipping, the nail wouldn't go through well, and girl and boy both had a time!

But Hannah beat by getting the papers nailed to the door in about 46 seconds, and the boy was still trying at one minute.

Hannah won 95 points for the girls' team for that!

The teams competed with word games, questions about the ten main reasons we aren't Catholics, questions about famous art shown on the screen, questions about the church's beliefs, and we had to name three reformers whose names began with John. 

We had to figure out the names of hymns spoken as if you wrote them backwards, 

name all the books of the Bible that begin with a vowel.

A young boy and young girl had to compete to make an acrostic out of a jumble of plastic letters and numbers with the names Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

There were clues for words rhyming with "Knox." (for John Knox)

Bible verses were quoted with big, ostentatious words, and we had to translate them.

We had to pick out what was wrong with examples of famous art that had something unScriptural in it.

I was not much good at anything with art!

 But we had a fabulous time.

We had a Higher-Lower quiz, one of which questions was how many electric sockets were in the entire church building.

The guys guessed 25 and it needed to be higher. So the ladies guessed 60 or something, and it needed to be lower. After several tries on each team, it was down to either 46 or 47, and it was our ladies' team's turn. 

Had I been a guy I would have known that every electrical socket is a pair of outlets, but I didn't think of that. So I very cautiously squeaked out--47!

And our team won!

One electric socket outlet in the furnace room was just one instead of a pair.  

So my ignorance as a woman helped our team win!

The last thing the guys and gals competed on was completing a matching puzzle sort of like Sudoku, only it had pictures of churches, music, types of communion, etc. 

The guys had their poster made out with squares, as did ours, and we had to make the pictures go together both up and down and across. 

Whew!

We had to match, for example, a set of pictures showing typical church building, music and communion,  priest or preacher, etc. for a church during Reformation times, while it had to line up with churches since that time.

The guys won that one and got 100 points for it, but we ladies still won the game. 

I recommend a Reformation Day party to a Halloween party anytime!

The above picture is of caramel popcorn Hannah made for the Fall Party.

Wednesday after the election, it was a comfort to listen online to the prayer service at Beavertown church in PA while I sewed, mended, and darned. 

Jeffrey Anderson from the Penn View quartet was leading singing, choosing "What a Friend We Have in Jesus."

Someone else requested "The Solid Rock."

And worship choruses were sung.

And the prayer leader prayed literally all around the world while I laid down my mending and darning to pray along. I also cut Danny's hair that night. He was starting to look too much like a grizzly bear.

That is a whole lot better than just crawling into a hole and covering your head with a towel and hoping the world will right itself again sometime soon.