A family is many things.... beautiful together

Last weekend, Ken and I went with all of the kids and grand kids to a nearby water park.  We have made this a yearly event and it is always eagerly anticipated.  We took a bit of a risk this year because we planned the event for the last day this park was open for the season.  So we were ready to go - no matter what the weather forecast was!  It was a happy day with bright sun and warm temperatures.  All of us had a great time, in the pool, in the lazy river, under the sprinklers and/or on the tube slides.  We ended the day having dinner at one our all time favorite pizza places.  There is nothing better than making reservations for 11 people!  Other than some really tired kids and a bit of sunburn, we were a happy bunch. 

I was reflecting on the previous day together during my time with Lia, Ellie, Zeke and Anna on Monday.  While Gwen was tutoring (no rest for her over the summer. She takes on extra teaching!)
the kids and I walked to the nearby park.  It was actually so hot that all of the playground equipment was burning their hands, so we set about having a little scavenger hunt. 

This mash up of stuff was the result of their hunt for treasures around the park.  We have pine cones, bark from the trees, rocks, sticks, leaves, flowers, berries from a tree, and even clover.   Anna made a little bouquet with the flowers and berries and leaves wrapped in some of the bark.  It was not how we intended to spend the hour, but it was very enjoyable. 

As I was thinking about this picture of the collage of our park finds, the thought of the 11 of us around the table the day before came to my mind.  I know that this might seem like a real stretch, but let me explain.  All of these items were actually at home in the small park.  They were, indeed a type of family!  They had all been living together.  Each item, so different, yet connected to the others. 
Isn't that exactly what a family is?  Some of us share similar interests, others are very different.  Each person in our family is amazing and beautiful, some look similar to each other, but each is unique.  I love that I can see that unique characteristic in each of the kids.  Lia is a friend to all and a careful rule follower who is interested in photography.  Ellie is a powerhouse of creative energy who is always coloring or drawing.  Zeke is a dare devil who looks for a mountain (or a tree or something) to climb.  Anna is a confident and independent girl who can play by herself for hours.  Grace is happiest outside, loves all animals and has smiles for everyone.  Gwen is a passionate follower of Jesus, a leader who loves to teach, mentor and sing.  Tim is happiest with a project to complete and would help everyone if he could.  Susie has a passion for the environment and loves hiking and camping, Doug loves to fish and camp but also loves making music.  Ken has a passion for and a desire to share photography.  And my passion is sharing about my family and my faith through this blog and through scrapbooking.   This is just a small snapshot of the uniqueness of each person in my family.  And we do have so many overlapping interests and passions.  Both Susie and Gwen love photography (shared with Ken) and both of the girls also scrapbook with me.  All of the kids and grand kids love camping and often go camping together. Ken and I much prefer the "hotel" camping.  I am sure that each one of you could make this kind of a list for your family.  I just love how the plans of God are revealed all around us in nature.  Each of those items in our nature collage are interesting, but together they paint a beautiful picture.  That is the way families are.  Each member different and unique, yet together they paint a beautiful picture. 

Make this a day for your own family collage.  Think about each member and the things that make them unique.  Celebrate those things,  And then find the ways you all overlap and share interests.  Rejoice in the connections that are special in your family.  Take a few minutes and look around your neighborhood.  Find items to make your own collection of beauty.   Be thankful! 

I love to see the relationship between the members of my family as they grow and change over the years. I especially love those times when we are all together.  The smiles, the laughing, the joy and the celebration of just being a family are food for the soul.  So much to be thankful for in this blog.  For those smiling faces, for the beauty of nature. For all that makes us a family.

Jesus, thank you for revealing who you are through your creation.  Holy Spirit, give us eyes to see the unique beauty around us - in nature and in people.  Keep us open to those shared connections that help bind us together in your love.  Give us all space to create collages when we feel so far apart from those we should be closest to.  Thank you for loving each of us - just how you made us.  Amen

Even AFTER a vacation, a get-away is nice!

Last weekend, Ken and I spent a short get-away at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.  Doug and Susie gifted us this time away in thanks for watching Grace while they took time away.  While totally unnecessary, it was so much appreciated.  Here we are, just a couple of weeks home from a big vacation.  Yet, this time away, close to home was really nice.  We had such a relaxing enjoyable time!

We spent the first day on the beach.  Anyone who knows me, knows that I love the water!  And this beach was wonderful.  The water temperature was just perfect.  The weather was warm and not too hot.  While there were lots of people, it was not over crowded.  We even found a parking place somewhat close to the beach entrance! (No small thing if you knew just how popular this place is.)  After our long beach time, we found a small local diner for a late lunch.  We always try to find local places to eat and this one did not disappoint!  We actually liked it so much that we had breakfast the next day at the same diner.  Ken really wanted to get some sunset pictures, so we checked in to our hotel, rested for bit and then took a driving tour around the lake.  We had to drive by the hotel where we honeymooned.  It was a long, long time ago (44 years!)  

This picture was taken as we were leaving our wedding, headed to our honeymoon!  Things have really changed around that resort and it was fun thinking back and remembering.   We had scoped out a couple of potential spots to get some sunset pictures, so we headed to those spots.  Thankfully, there was a restaurant, across from the lake with outside seating.  So we opted to have dinner there with the plan to walk across the street to take sunset pictures.  We were surprised to actually get seated outside with a marvelous view of the lake.  That picture of Ken above was taken there.  If you look carefully at the picture, you can see the reflection of the sun in the window as it was dropping to the horizon.  We had perfect timing, finished our meal and then strolled across the street to get some amazing pictures.  

After spending about an hour at the sunset, we started back to the hotel.  But not before we stopped for some delicious Wisconsin Ice Cream.  I don't eat a lot of ice cream, but I had a strawberry milk shake that contained more fresh berries than you can imagine.  Ken said he was watching it being made and about half the cup was berries.  It was amazing.  

After breakfast at the diner, we headed to  Yerkes Observatory   Yerkes Observatory says they are the birthplace of "Astro Physics".  If you take a moment to look at the web page, you will be amazed.  I certainly was.  Ken has been there a number of times and we have driven by, but I never realized the significant discoveries made at this place. 

The tour was amazing.  This is the largest telescope of its type IN THE WORLD!!  And the building has the largest elevator in the world (the elevator actually lifts the entire floor around the telescope from the basement to the height needed to view from the telescope.  Sadly, the University of Chicago, who owns and runs this facility has decided to close it in September, due to funding issues.   Right now there is a move to privately fund and keep it open.  Given the long history (it was built in 1893) and the telescope and other items in the museum, I am praying that they find a way to keep it open.  

Yes, Ken and I love to find these museums and unusual places to visit.  But I am just so thankful that we do.  It is really sad to think about the many people who live in the Chicago area, who do not visit the many important sites that are close by.  

We managed to pack quite a bit into a short time away.  I had so much time away from the usual distractions.  I spent a lot of the beach time just people watching.  I had several good conversations with kids who were swimming near me.  Somehow, I am always identified as a safe "grandma" and the kids always talk to me.  We had peaceful car rides, mostly free of traffic and noise.  Our hotel was quiet and calm.  The time we spent watching the sunset was just what I needed.  Watching the boats skim across the water and seeing the small waves tickle the beach.  The time with this telescope, trained at the heavens was just the perfect ending to our trip.  This whole "retirement" season is new to us.  We are making adjustments in so many ways.  Sometimes it seems like we are entering into that "awaiting the sunset" period of our life.  But as I was sitting on the beach, soaking up that view of the sparkling colors on the water, I was reminded that the sunset is actually the BEGINNING of the new day!  There is a new day for Ken and I now.  Free of the responsibilities of 40 hour a week work.  And now there is time to train our eyes on the heavenlies.  Looking up and seeing the plans, and designs that Jesus has for us in the years ahead.  While the purpose of that telescope is to view the stars, all I could think about was He who created the stars!  

Psalm 147:4-5 -  He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.  Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit.

Sometimes, all it takes is a few hours on a beach, a couple hours waiting for the sun to set and a couple hours touring a really old building, to hear the Lord's gentle reminder that there is more ahead and it is a new day dawning!

Jesus, thank you so much for these wonderful opportunities that you provide.  Thank you for Ken and his willingness to explore new places.  Holy Spirit, help us all to remember that the sunset is the beginning of a new day.  Keep our eyes trained on you Lord and keep our thoughts on your greatness and power.  Amen

 

Sharing from one generation to the next and to the next....

Beginning again.  I started a blog post on Sunday but never finished it.  So yesterday I purposed to finish it and get it published.  After working on it for two hours, I tried to publish and it would not work.  I tried to save the post and exit to try again.  When I exited, the post was totally gone.  Sigh.  About four hours of work, just gone. This is very frustrating since the program generally saves your work every few minutes.  For some reason, the save was not working either (which I clearly didn't know).  But, I have learned my lesson and I will SAVE manually many times while typing each post.
So, to begin again.  

It's hard to get back into the swing of things when you return from vacation.  And the last couple of weeks have seemed very busy.  On Monday, Gwen and I took the kids to a new Jump place that was closer to my house than theirs.  The kids love these places and get tired of the same old thing, so a new place is always fun.  We watched the kids climb, jump and slide for a couple hours and then took them to lunch.  We went to one of Gwen's favorite places from her childhood - Colonial Ice Cream. Unfortunately the building is new, but the business is the same.  Gwen and I were reminiscing about the many, many times we went to Colonial after youth group and/or church activities.  There is something special about seeing the grandchildren enjoying the same things that your kids did.  It was just a little bit of sharing one generation to the next and then to the next! 

Over the last several years, I have spent a great deal of time thinking about and documenting (scrapbooking) my ancestors.  Having grandchildren really changes how you think about your place on the family tree.  In so many different ways, there have been lessons learned and new insights as I have discovered the deep spiritual heritage sown by long ago relatives.  On arriving home from our recent vacation, I was surprised by this package in the mail....

These two books were sent to me by a distant cousin of my mother.  Both books are written in German and were published in the 1850's.  One contains an inscription by my grandfather, Arnold Toensing and the other by his sister, Lydia Toensing.  The cousin, Delwin Mahn, who sent me these books, has no children or grandchildren.  So I am sure that he is trying to keep these very precious items in the family.  I am delighted to have the book belonging to my grandfather, and will be sure that it is passed along to the next generation.   Holding the book in my hand that belonged to my mother's aunt Lydia, caused me to really stop and think.  

Aunt Lyd was particularly important to my mom.  Next to her Aunt Anna (who helped raise her after her mom died) she was closer to Aunt Lyd than any of her other aunts.   Aunt Lyd's daughter Jeanette (my mom's cousin) was the same age as mom and they would spend many summers and vacations together.  

I couldn't help but think of this picture.  This is the only picture my mom ever had of her with her mother.  Pictured are Aunt Lyd and Jeanette on the far left, then my mom with her Dad and Mom, and the four kids are Delwin (Jeanette's brother) and my mom's sisters Beatrice, Phyllis and Eunice.  The owners of those two books - in one picture!  My grandfather and his sister.  Sadly, my grandmother Nora died around a year after this picture was taken.  My grandfather's family stepped in to help a young widower with 4 little girls (ages 8, 6, 5 and 2).  Considering this was 1917, not an easy thing.  

The most interesting thing about this story to me, is that I actually have memories of Aunt Lydia!

For my mom, one of the best parts of moving to St. Paul was that we would be close to Jeanette.  And we certainly did get to spend lots of time at her house. It was such fun to meet and get to know Jeanette (who was so much like my mom).   My grandfather and Aunt Anna had both died before I was 3 years old.  So I only have a few memories of them.  Every little grade schooler wants grandparents and I was always sad that I didn't even really have stories of my grandparents, let alone memories.  So being with Aunt Lyd was really special for me.  I even remember visiting her at her "apartment" in a senior living facility.  It was very sad when she died when I was around 8 years old.  

But here I am, holding a book that actually belonged to a very young Lydia.  And while the book is special for me, I would love to find one of Jeanette's children to pass this book along.  Sadly, our family has lost touch with all of them, so I am hoping that internet connections will be made to get this book to those that might treasure it the most. 

I am sure that in the early 1900's no one was thinking about saving things for future generations.  Times were so different and life was so much harder.  Even photographs were few and far between.  Only done for very special occasions.  I am so thankful for the pictures that we do have.  It makes sharing these stories with my grandchildren, so much easier.  Every time I think about ending this blog, I am reminded that WORDS are important.  Pictures are great, but if you don't know anything about the scene, it is pretty meaningless.  That is why it is so important to journal along with scrapbooking.   I am in possession of a very old scrapbook of un-labled pictures from Ken's side of the family.  No one knows who these people are.  Clearly they are relatives, but exactly who, is a mystery.  By the time Ken's dad gave me the album, he had no idea who the pictures were of.  And in the age of Instagram and digital pictures it is my fear that so many of these pictures will remain with no identification and no story.  So I will continue to blog and tell stories about pictures, to preserve in some small way, a bit of our family heritage.  

So after amazing views off of mountain summits, I have come back down to earth.  Down where blogs sometimes don't save and vanish at a push of a button.  Back to normal life.  But that panoramic view of the clouds and sky and valleys left an impression on me.  No matter what small thing goes wrong, there is always a blessing around the corner.  I love spending time with my grandchildren.  I love finding connections to my ancestors.  And I love that I can share stories and memories with all of you and with my family to make sure that at least some pictures have words with them..  

Storytelling is an important art and it has been lost for the most part.  The entire Bible is stories that share the great spiritual heritage we have been given.  Each one of us has stories to tell and we need to discover ways to share with those around us.  I am sure that there are many reading this who just might be bloggers or writers but you have never started out!  Make today a day so sharing.  There is so much love and so many powerful lessons when we start telling our stories.  

Jesus, thank you for the plan you have had for families since Adam and Eve.  Thank you for photos and computers and all the amazing developments that we take for granted.  Holy Spirit, nudge us all to share stories of your presence in our life and give us courage and boldness to speak!  Keep us all aware of the importance of being connected - to each other and to our ancestors.  Thank you for surprise packages that come with memories.  Amen