REEEEEEEEELAXED!

Weekends are for  worship, re-charging our batteries,

 relaxing and spending time with our family.

Can't wait for our upcoming weekend 

we get to spend with our Colorado Kids.

Our weeks are crazy full for all of us and the time together breathes new life into me.
 Spur of the moment meals 
Being outdoors
or burgers on the deck at Bethany and Mat's
Time on the phone with Marshall and Katie
planning my Sunday school lesson
or talking with extended family and longtime friends.
All of these enrich me and feed my spirit!

 

  
I especially love one with an open schedule and lots of time to play with the girls --
With the weather 
warmer Friday evening there was plenty of time for playing in the "Sand Castle" -- 

 

 -Saturday mornings start early with Playdough and hot cocoa before 7:00 

Don't know who is more worn out from sleepovers -

--

Hearing

During these times of real relaxing that I seem to hear
God more clearly

 I was reading this verse at some point this weekend and while we were driving home from services this morning this came to my mind
For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.  Col. 3:3-4

When God brought this verse to mind – I was thinking of being hidden under a tarp or cover for safety with Jesus and that as HE would come up from undercover to reveal HIMSELF – I would “pop up” also – it made me smile thinking of being so carefully protected by Jesus.

Or as one of my YA students told the story of the time he saw a Daddy, on a cold day in Detroit, zip his small coatless two year old into his big fleece jacket totally surrounding her-- to the point she was hidden --lost in her daddy's warmth and protection. He said that verse reminded him of the time he witnessed this Father's love and care.

It got me to thinking of dying to self -- being so hidden in Christ.  . . .that my desires and habits and time wasters are of no importance any longer. 

Another passage that came back to my mind as I was shopping in Wal-Mart yesterday and thinking about my Sunday school class -- I was looking for something to use as a "hook" for today's lesson on Lent and Focusing on Jesus during the next 6 weeks.  
I found these Easter Eggs that were covered with tiny mirrors and I thought about that my elementary age girls in Sunday school would LOVE those. . .  

 These eggs made me think of the phrase reflecting God's glory -- and I wanted them to apply that concept--

For God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts,to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ  -- (Jesus reflecting God's glory-- there you have it an "AH HAH moment as to who Jesus is)  2 Corinthians 4:6

¹⁵ Then you will be innocent and without any wrong. You will be God’s children without fault. But you are living with crooked and mean people all around you, among whom you shine like stars in the dark world. (Us reflecting God's love)  Phil 2:15

Happy Momma

Having our kids and grand girls together makes me one happy momma!  I had a long 4-day weekend scheduled with a teacher professional day thrown in and a personal day to boot which left time to relax and ENJOY our family and get everybody together under one roof.

Marshall and Terry have been doing the same historical reading and often times spend long phone conversations connecting with each other on the selections they've just completed 

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Monday, Mat went to Cushing to the hospital and  the Bell guys took off for Cache, OK to scout out the Quannah Parker Memorial and Home Place -- (We girls aren't the history buffs- so we opted out to lunch out at Hideaways -- while they  finally found Quannah Parker's house (It was in a run down condition --Marshall fell through the porch floor). 


Afterwards, Bethany put the girls to rest -- while I begged off and to stay and play with them after they woke up.    She and Katie got some much needed girl time and ran errands.

 Sydney wasn't too crazy about the feel of the sand on her feet but she certainly did "dig" the slide and all the climbing!!!

Tuesday I had to head back to school for an in-service and Marshall and Katie took Campbell to the Zoo --

where she had her first taste of Cotton Candy

Wednesday we worked in a bagel breakfast and Katie and Marshall and I went to Peppers for lunch before our pamper time at a new nail salon in South Tulsa.

Our times together go all too quickly -- but we do squeeze in as much family time as we can for the short time we're all in the same town!

Jesus and Valentine's Day

Yesterday at Youth Alive (YA) I posed the question, "Do you think Jesus likes Valentines Day?" 

-- By this time girls had been getting deliveries of flowers in class-- students (mostly girls) had gotten something from their secret cupid and we had been playing this stupid heart game since first hour -- where the girl had to wear this heart around her neck and not talk to the boy for all day -- if he got her to talk she had to give up her heart -- OF course there were plenty of guys who wanted to win that one!!!  My students (girls) decided it was a sexist game and they were too smart to play--

My guys thought that Valentines day was a lot of pressure on the men -- some even thought that it was pretty much a trap to have a holiday where you had to buy something mushy for that special girl. I warned them that the color or type of flowers they were giving could be saying something more committed than they intended. LOL

My YA kids thought that it was always Valentines Day in Heaven -- 
                       That Jesus did love it and was always about sending us those reminders of how much HE loves us

                             That HE was always talking to God about us                  
                                       We talked through the verse -- "Greater LOVE has no one than he lay down his life for his friends"    --
and I told them of someone who had actually given up her life to save her little nephew from being run over by a car. . .  they thought about WHO might do that for them.

And those cheesy conversation hearts with the lovey dovey slogans --  they spiritualized those:

"No Doubt" -- don't ever doubt my love for you

   "No Way" -- will I let you live without me

       "Party Time" -- that, yes, it is always party time in Heaven and yes,  Jesus DOES love a party. -- we decided that a party He would "work" the room and make sure he connected with EVERYBODY there in a meaningful and deep connecting way. . . HE did show up at weddings --

And for what HE feels about Valentine's Day -- we decided HE wants every day to be Valentine's Day for us -- giving his love notes and messages to our peeps and those he puts in our path.

And More Loss

Terry came in at noon to find Dirvey  had joined Macie in Doggie Heaven . . . Hyder was standing watch.

We had Dirvey for two years -- Bethany and Mat got her 8 years ago right after they married and moved to KC.  They decided their dog, Harley, needed a companion and rescued Dirvey.  We watched Dirvey come into her own with their TLC.

Bethany posted this on Facebook this afternoon . . .

Dirvey, our one-eyed, spinning, crazy little rescue pug who brought lots of smiles and LAUGHTER to lots of people went to her forever home in doggie heaven this morning. She was our fur baby before we had human babies and used to love to snuggle my belly when they lived in there. Real babies were too much for her & she spent the last few years getting way more love from my parents than we could've given her. We miss her & are thankful for the many laughs she brought our family

Dirvey was Terry's Father's Day present  when we realized that she wasn't going to be able to adapt to Bethany and Mat's growing family.  



She had her own special spot in the back yard where she liked to sun -- she talked and growled when she ate her food -- and sometimes would forget she was eating -- she walked from one-place to another by spinning in circles.  Dirvey didn't like change, or strangers and when company came would stay under the bed for hours and seldom venture out.  

We kept her Christmas of 2008 when Bethany and Mat went to Denver, and she stayed under our bed for SEVEN days -- we would have to drag her out and try to coax food to her under the bed.
She discovered that every night at 9:00 Terry would be giving out doggie treats and one night we looked up and Dirvey had joined the line-up of three other canines.  
 

Hyder is so lonesome now

She sort of did her own thing -  never really bonded with the other dogs -- But Harley took on the responsibility of looking out for her.  we had all sorts of pet names for her - "squirvey Dirvey" being one of them.  You couldn't walk her on a leash with all the whirling and twirling.

 

We really bonded with her on the Spring Break Trip to Denver to see Marshall in 2012 when we were "doggie sitting" for the kids.  We couldn't leave her behind with our other dogs who were being cared for by a friend because we weren't sure she was smart enough to make it inside if it rained.  She wasn't always sure what to do with the doggie door.  She sat in the back seat content to be the Alpha for a short time.


This little fur ball who left her mark so many places on our carpets -- not remembering to go outside and shed tons of hair everywhere -- certainly left her mark on our hearts.

 Dirvey connected with her two favorite people -- 

Bethany and Terry-- who were truly that!

Additional Loss

New Years Eve we started noticing that our dog of 14 1/2 years was slipping into a trance and then got to the point she wasn't able to move.  Terry kept watch over her for the next few hours and we decided she'd probably had another of her strokes.  She'd been having these episodes for about 18 months and with his care and attention she would come out of these in 3-4 days. She'd over come breast cancer surgery five years earlier and  she never seemed to be in pain.  Terry read about caring for an aging dog  and by keeping her

comfortable and hand-feeding for awhile,  she always seemed to bounce back. We kind of thought of her as the "EverReady Bunny"

This time was different and we knew we were going to have to make a decision -- it was just so hard. 

We got Macie when Marshall was a senior at Wright Christian.  He had found her as a puppy on the soccer field and brought her home and asked if he could keep her -- all dogs at the Bell house at some point -- become Terry's dogs --so he finally said we could.

She'd been such a peaceable -- gentle dog - who could jump straight up as high as your head when she wanted you to open the sliding glass door and let her in.

Macie became the Alpha dog when Maggie died and slipped into that position with great pride.  
 During the time Mom was with us Macie would see a cat walk across our drive and bark and bark and then run back to Mom's bedroom to make certain she was safe from the cat.  Those nights when Terry got up every two hours to check on Mom -- Macie would follow him into her room to check also.

She was in first place and never seemed to mind that "needy" Hyder would try to crowd her out.  As she got older, Hyder would watch over Macie while we slept and would waken Terry when she felt Macie was in trouble.

She and Hyder developed this love / hate relationship over their food but generally were two companions and good for each other.  always taking their afternoon naps in the living room together --one on each couch -- dozing in the sun. 

They loved to ride in Terry's pick-up with him -- each sticking their heads out opposite sides of the truck.

For several days we have told Macie stories and that seemed to help - but I understand that a brown dog and a gentle Master are still greatly feeling the loss.

From the Mouths of Babes

Sydney Kate is growing and grunting for EVERYTHING she wants -- she's learned that all she has to do is raise up her arms to be picked up --point and grunt for what she wants -- and she's got it.
She is so aware of what C is doing and wants exactly what C has--
we're seeing so much modeling going on. When I think of S - I always think of the word peace -- she's such an easy baby and I've called her the "peacemaker" in the family.  Holding her -- you suddenly come to peace.

Campbell always keeps us laughing and our heads spinning wondering where she came up with that phrase --  like the other day when she told her mom she was making a "HYPOTHESIS" -- and explained later she'd learned that word at pre-school.

Sunday afternoon, her momma found her lying on the rug in the bathroom -- when asked what she was doing she said -- "Oh just talking to God -- He's my friend!."  At that point she got up and looked in the toilet --
"Is HE in here?" 

This shows how a morning can go with Campbell Hope 

 Or when she learned that their family was having another little Good --

Wish I Could Say, "Been There -- Done That"!

Marshall has been away from Denver for five weeks on the Western slope of Colorado. Katie went over and visited him last weekend and they went skiing in Telluride --  We got this wonderful video Marshall made on HIS PHONE while skiing down the mountain.  OHHHH the new technology ---At the end of the 3 minutes -- I FELT LIKE I'D BEEN ON THE SLOPES!

 "Got to enjoy the slide down the slope with

              no broken bones  --

                    no cold weather 

                        or stumbling off the chair lift --

                              and for a short bit -- I so enjoyed the view!!!

Ornaments

I had a New Year's Day call from my friend, Charlene.  She was taking down her Christmas tree and was putting away ornaments that my mother and I had each given her--- she was thinking of me and decided to give me a quick call.---

That gave me the push I needed to take down the tree on Wednesday and as I did I thought about how much of our family history goes on the tree every year--

There's the ones we bought in India during our summer trips in the 70's -- ones from Mexico -- pine cones from a Chris Krinkle Market in Austria -- the candles that we clip on the tree like the ones on the missionary's tree in Vienna -- there are ones my mother made -- ones students have given me -- the bubbling lights like my Grandmother's tree in the 1950's --ones from my friend, Geeta, Charlene and so many dog ornaments from Dot and Earl -- I bought different ornaments for what the kids were involved in -- there are the ones the kids have made in elementary school --all reminders of special times with special loved ones.

Come to think of it so many of our decorations have history -- every time I think of tossing some -- a special memory of the person or place they are associated with comes to mind.  Reminders one more time of blessings --

ornaments from my tree growing up

a set of 8 stockings my mom made hoping for all their grandkids to be home for the holidays

a Father Christmas like the 

one we saw in Austria

A fabric wreath Bethany and I made when she was in elementary school

This Santa Marshall gave me when he was in second grade

Rudolph - my brother Bill made for us in the 70's!

a heart garland I sewed many years ago

Geese made by the husband of a friend 25 -30 years ago

a hand painted sweat-shirt from Dot --turned wall hanging

a wreath given by this same friend Charlene, when we were teenagers

a Christmas banner I designed and was finished by a friend Michelle

Our advent wreath given by my sister-in-law Sandy and completed with our ornaments from a trip to Eurekea Springs

A quilt I made in the early 90's from Christmas scraps