Kind of a snowy, busy day... and thinking about my dad!

Today started off with the sound of the snowplows going by the house.  Never a good sound.  We got around 3 to 4 inches of snow overnight, on top of the 2 or so that we had from last week.  It was still snowing when Ken and I left the house to start our shopping.  I have to admit, it does put you into that Christmas mood when it's pleasant (not below zero) and lightly snowing and things do look very pretty with a snow cover.  Of course the best thing was that it is Saturday!  At any rate, we got lots of small errands run, found a couple of last minute gifts, shopped at SAMS, and came home.  Ken was able to clear our driveway in a very short time, thanks to our handy little "Electric Snow thrower"  (this is a very small snow blower that works great for our small drive.  Thankfully we also own a bigger snow blower that we got from Ken's dad when he moved to Florida.  This was just a small snow and didn't require the "big guns").  We then ventured out again and picked up a couple more odds and ends that we needed.  When we got home, I had a job to do for my work.  I needed to make ANOTHER batch of those crazy "applesauce/cinnamon ornaments".  You see, this is the 4th batch that I have made.  The first one, at school worked quite well and we had about 12 usable ornaments.  However, somehow all the candy canes kept breaking!  So we decided to make another batch.  Well, I forgot to stir the already opened jar of applesauce and the ornaments were wet and never turned out right.  SO, I made another batch at home.  My candy canes broke in the same way as the previous batches.  So today I made a 4th batch with REGULAR applesauce and NEW cinnamon and these seem to be much better.

As I was making these, Ken yelled at me for using my "old" rolling pin instead of the wonderful new marble rolling pin that he bought for me.  And then I got to thinking about my dad.  You see this small little wooden rolling pin was made by my dad.  I don't know exactly WHEN but I have always used this rolling pin since I can remember.  I suppose that it was made for one of my siblings (this is one perk of being the youngest!) but I got custody of this when I got married.  I really took a close look at it today.  It is worn, and there are some stains and water marks on.  But you can see the detail that went into this wonderful little rolling pin.  It is really sized for a child and not meant to be a regular rolling pin.  But it just feels "right" when I am rolling out dough.  So today I used this rolling pin to make this 4th (and I hope final) batch of ornaments for the Blue Room kids at my work.  Join me in praying that they dry well and that we don't lose anymore candy canes! 

 

I just love that I have been blessed with these many physical reminders of my mom and dad.  I loved holding that rolling pin and thinking about my dad and how he loved to work with wood.  Even in the last years of his life, he was wanting to go to the lumbar yard to get some "supplies" for projects.  Since he was already in a wheelchair at the time, there was no way that he could build anything.  Yet his heart was to work with wood and build something.  When I picture my dad I don't usually see him dressed up in a suit (although for most of my life he wore suits and ties to work everyday).  The picture I have of him is in his favorite clothes - "uniform pants" (think cotton work pants) and a tee shirt.  This was his usual attire on weekends and at the lake.  He even had some "work shirts" that were uniforms with his name on the front.  He was really just a repairman at heart.  What a blessing that was for our family.  Dad could fix just about anything around the house.  He was great at plumbing, and every appliance could be fixed by him.  He could repair our tv's and stereos.  The only thing he never worked on was the cars.  We took those to the dealer!  I really think he was happiest with his head inside of a washing machine, doing a repair or sawing wood on his table saw.  I am thankful that he got to spend all of his working career doing something that he loved.  That is a tremendous blessing. 

 

So, one more blog about my dad.  I honored him in August, around the time of what would have been his 100th birthday, with several blog posts.  But this just sparked my memory today and gave me another reason to be so thankful for my Dad.  Even though he has been dead since 1985, I am grateful for the memories that come to my mind so frequently.

 

Jesus, thank you for my family.  For my mom and dad.  Holy Spirit, thank you for the gentle reminders of the great gifts I have received from my parents.  Thank you for the direction and guidance that you give to us.  Thank you for Christmas and ornaments and little children.  Thank you for snowy days and time to shop and time together.  Amen