So much to be thankful for......

We have a very lovely Thanksgiving this year.  Gwen and Tim and the kids spent Thanksgiving day with us.  As usual, they spent the night so Gwen and I can shop till we drop!  We all watched the Macy's parade and then the National Dog Show (which has become a yearly tradition for us!)  Both Gwen and I made several on-line purchases this year, and with the closing of ToysRUs, we only had five stores to visit on Thanksgiving evening!  We were home and in bed before 9:00pm!  This year we only had one stop on Black Friday morning, and we didn't have to leave the house until 5:45am.  We were done shopping and back home before the kids were even awake. Tim spent the entire time working on our home improvement projects.  Among other things, he finished our kitchen back splash, did some work on our baseboards and trim and painted the foyer!  Needless to say, Ken and I are very thankful for Tim's help with all updates!

We continued our Thanksgiving celebration at Doug and Susie's house for a traditional Thanksgiving meal.  Doug smoked a turkey again this year, which are always delicious.

And for a little family humor, when Doug says that he is "in the backyard smoking" it does not mean that he has taken up cigarettes!  Most likely he has some good meat in the smoker!

The cousins had a great time together.  Grace is getting old enough that all of sudden she can enter into all the fun activities of the big kids.  Susie had bought a craft kit for the kids to make foam turkeys.  Grace was right there doing her own turkey (with a little help from mom).  By the time I took this picture............

Grace was much more interested in taking the turkey apart than holding it up for a picture!  You just gotta love those almost two year olds!

Even the four legged members of our family had a good time.  Zeke made sure that both Sammy and Kylie got lots of attention.

Grandpa made sure that Chandler got his share of attention, and Grandpa got a good rest himself!
The kids had so much fun making cookies with Susie.  Even Grace was able to join in and have a hand in the cookie making

 With a little help from her cousins, Grace helped stir, roll, cut and decorate her own cookies!

Of course all of us were able to eat the cookies!  And we were thankful for them!

My favorite part of Thanksgiving was going around the table and each of us sharing one thing we were thankful for.  Lia was thankful for her family.  I was thankful for a warm house to gather together.  Anna was thankful for the world!  Doug was thankful for a job and all the provision it brings.  Susie was thankful for good food.  We all decided that Grace was thankful for mommy and daddy.  Ellie was thankful for family and friends.  Tim was thankful for his children.  Ken was thankful for Tim and his help and for all of us and for me especially.  Gwen was thankful for a fun family that gets along.  Zeke was thankful for his life.  Susie ended our thankful time, saying that we all are thankful for Jesus!  

Every year it seems like the holidays just fly by faster than the year before.  I am especially thankful this year that there are more days in November after the holiday so that I have more days to reflect and be thankful!

Yes, I am blessed.  The biggest blessing of these family gatherings is all of the love that is shared.  The wonderful and amazing thing about love is that the more you give away, the more love you have! That is the best thought to carry us into the Christmas season.  Yep, that is going to be my Advent goal.  Seeing how much love I can give away!!  Will you join me?

Jesus, thank you for your great love for us.  It is your love that allows us to love others.  Holy Spirit keep us mindful of those that might especially need more love during the weeks ahead.  Give us courage and obedient hearts to share love with those who might need it the most.  Thank you Jesus for family, friends and fun.  Mostly, again, thank you for your love.  Amen

When you get a chance to see the world...

One of the highlights of the last couple of weeks was an amazing trip I got to take with Gwen.  It was really a trip of a lifetime to visit Paris. One of Gwen's friends is currently living (temporarily) in Spain and wanted to see Paris.  So Gwen made this trip happen - she did all the research, found really great plane fare, got a hotel and figured out the logistics of the entire trip.  Ken encouraged me to go, after Gwen suggested it would be a great opportunity for me.  I figured if you are going to go to France it is best to go with a French speaker (Gwen speaks French), so I jumped on board.  I am so thankful that I listened to Ken!  It was an experience that I will not soon forget.

Gwen had arranged a sort of "itinerary" of places that we just needed to go.  And she was great at finding our way through their "Metro" system.  I rode more subways during this trip than I have in my entire life!  No kidding!

Our first stop was, of course, the Eifel Tower.  This was one of the most crowed places we visited.  And because of the crowds, we didn't even attempt to go up to the viewing area.  There was a very long line just for security to actually get near the tower and then another very long line to purchase tickets.  And then another very long line to actually go up the tower.  We opted for an outdoor cafe with a stunning view of the tower, instead of waiting in all of those long lines.  A funny side note about this picture that Steph took is that it was raining!  Looking at the blue sky you would never know that we were getting rained on.  In some of the pictures you can see other people with umbrellas, but it was seriously just a very light mist that actually felt good!  And that was the only short (the rain lasted less than 15 minutes) bad weather we had the entire trip.

On our last day in Paris, Gwen asked me my favorite thing about the trip.  It didn't take me long to answer.  It was Sainte-Chapelle, which is in the courtyard of the royal palace (which now houses administrative offices).  

The original building was built in 1250 and is mostly now "restored".  But the 1100 stained glass panels that depict Bible stories are simply fantastic.  I could have stood there for hours just looking at each individual pane of glass.  It was a holy place and you could almost feel the generations of people who had stood in that room and prayed and worshiped.   We also visited Notre-Dame Cathedral and the Basilica of Sacre-Coeur.  Somehow we managed to visit  both of these while Mass was being held.  Again, these were holy places that have been places of worship for many years.  Notre-Dame was actually built in 1163!  We visited so many other buildings and museums and it was awe inspiring to put your hand on a pillar that was from 40ad.  To see evidence of the Roman presence at Musee de Cluny as you are surrounded by Roman baths which were built around 200ad.    For me, one of the biggest take-aways from this trip is that there is nothing OLD in the United States!  

And then there was all of the art.  And statues everywhere (even in the subway!).  So wonderful, so amazing.  Again, we saw so much in a few days that it is hard to actually comprehend it all.  And the gardens are amazing.  We took a boat tour on the Seine, viewing most of the famous sites from the vantage point of the river.  The bridges are fantastic also.  Each one seems to be just a bit different.  We found the bridge famous for the "Love Locks" which was totally cleared of locks in 2015 and is now almost full again.  

We ate every meal at outdoor cafes or in the gardens and usually had a spectacular view along with amazing food.  We ate lots of breads (which were fantastic) and crepes made right in front of us, that were just heavenly.  

Our last day in Paris was just Gwen and I since Steph had to fly back to Spain.  We didn't have much to see on that day (with the exception of one art museum) and we spent the entire day in Gwen's favorite spot - Tuileries Garden.  In a way, it reminds me of Central Park in New York City.  It is right in the heart of Paris, surrounded by all that you want to see when you visit.  The garden is filled with small fountains and there are rows of chairs lining every walkway.  People sitting and chatting or eating (which we did often) and the most obedient dogs I have ever seen!  Most dogs were not on a leash and there were no dogs running away or chasing other dogs or causing any problems at all!  It was wonderful to see families greeting each other - even the little children - with kisses on both cheeks. Wonderful to just sit and look over the Seine at the Eifel Tower.  

Yes there were stark differences between Paris and Chicago.  But there were also so many times that I felt totally at home.  Walking through a church and seeing a women with her hands raised in worship.  And seeing another young lady with a journal, filling the pages with her thoughts and prayers. The presence of God was clear and strong.  

It was fitting to visit Paris in November.  I came home feeling so thankful for the the opportunity to share this experience with Gwen and Steph.  I am thankful for the newest aircraft that made a long trip really not so bad.  I am so thankful for the preservation of these old structures and the many, many artifacts that they contain.  And I am also grateful for home, for family and friends.   It was a great way to count my many blessings in the month of Thanksgiving.  

Jesus, thank you for your abiding presence with us, wherever we go.  Holy Spirit, help us all to see our similarities more than our differences.  Keep our eyes open to ways that we can relate to others, even when we are far out of our comfort zones.  Thank you Jesus for opportunities to see another culture first hand.  Keep us all aware of your presence.  Amen

A time to celebrate Lucas....

Our family always chooses to gather together on Lucas' birthday to celebrate his life.  Each year that passes has been filled with everything you might expect.  There has been sadness and grief.  There have been questions with no answers.  And also times of great joy.  I have been asked many times over, why our family can't just "put this behind us" or "move on and let it be in the past".  My answer to those questions is simply that there is no right or wrong way to handle to death of a child in your family.  This is truly a club that no one wants to join and unless you have been there, you can not understand or know how you might react.  This year I was especially watching Grace during our time at the cemetery...

It was a truly beautiful day.  The trees were just rustling with the leaves that had not yet fallen.  At times, there was a shower of fall foliage.  It was quiet and comforting.  Grace was so happy to have all of her favorite people around her.  She seemed to just know that this was a special time.  I loved her gaze into the heavens that I happened to catch in this photo.  It was a sacred moment for sure. 

Back at Doug and Susie's house, we took pictures of all of the kids.  These pictures of all of our grandchildren together are always so special to me. 

This year we also took pictures of just Grace with Lucas bear and with Lucas' picture.  There were so many good shots of Grace, who is always willing to say "cheese" for pictures!  But this picture just took my breath away.....

Yes, Grace will know all about Lucas.  And I almost felt as if she was having her own conversation with him!  At one point Grace put her hand on the picture, as if she was connecting with him.  And she leaned over and gave Lucas bear a kiss and hug.  These are healing moments for this grandma.  There is peace in knowing that ALL of us, including Grace, will remember Lucas.  

So I want to say thank you to all of our friends and family, who give us room to celebrate and remember Lucas in whatever way we find comforting.  I encourage you to reach out to those you  might know who have lost a child.  Don't be afraid of causing pain or heartache by mentioning that lost child.  I can assure you, the family does not forgot!  

Four years seems like forever when standing at the cemetery.  Yet, in the timeline of eternity, it is just a small passing blib.  Looking back at Grace's face, turned up to heaven, with a look of pure bliss, reminds me to keep on looking at Jesus.  It is fitting that the seasons are changing and winter is upon us.  But one thing is certain, spring is just around the corner.  What a blessing it is to have the assurance that one day, we will all see Lucas again.  

Jesus, thank you for the joy and wonder of children.  Wrap your loving arms around all the families who have children that are gone too soon.  Holy Spirit, remind us all to be sensitive to those who are grieving in ways that seem unusual to us.  Give us all the comfort and peace of your promises and your presence.  Amen