A Father's Day weekend....according to us

Ken and I spent the entire weekend working on the house.  Or at least one part of the house....Ken's Camera Room.  He has been in the process of preparing the room by painting the walls and ceiling.  We had cleaned out the closet and decided exactly what he was going to have in the room, we just needed to actually do it.  So this weekend we actually completed this project.  We started with the flooring.  Ken and I decided on carpet tiles.

The project was actually quicker and easier than I expected.  We love the finished project.  From there we moved on to furniture.  Now IKEA stuff is usually not so bad to assemble.   But as we were almost in the home stretch of desk assembly, we noticed that the top of the desk had a dimple right in the middle.  So, a second trip to IKEA was required.  So, needless to say, it was a long day and a late night last night.  Today we had to hang the wall cabinet that we had previously purchased. We made a couple of trips to the store to actually get all of the screws, anchors, etc that were necessary to complete this process.  This morning we purchased a desk chair, which was the last thing assembled, just a few minutes ago.  Here is the finished project.....

Ken is very pleased with the room and that is the most important thing. I am so thankful that Ken is willing to take on all of these projects and complete them.    The next project is my scrapbook room.  I have already selected the paint, but we have lots of cleaning to do before we can even think about painting.  Seems like there will be many weekends ahead filled with projects!

All day today, I could think about was how very similar Ken is to my dad.  I can't list the number of times that my dad spent weekend, after weekend doing some project or other around the house.  It seemed that no project was outside of what my dad could accomplish.  There was never a time without a project at Lake Maud.   And when I was thinking about my dad, I was remembering when he put central air conditioning into our house in 1969.  And he did it all by himself.  Yes, he never met a project that he didn't love.  My dad has been dead since 1985.  But on a day like today, I wish that he could see our finished project.  My dad really loved Ken.  I know that he felt that Ken was a kindred spirit.  I remember that at my wedding, dad told me that he was sure that I had picked a good one.  He was right.  So, on this Father's day, I am celebrating who my dad was, and who Ken is and also the great fathers my grandchildren have.   

Yes, this was perfect way to celebrate this "hallmark" holiday.  Amid the really hard work, I remembered all that my dad sowed into my birth family.  And then I also saw that same spirit at work in Ken.  Even when not everything was "perfect" in my family growing up, Jesus is reminding me to see from His perspective. When I do that, I remember my hardworking dad.  And I feel very thankful for my hardworking husband.   And just like my last blog, there are so many things that we just seem to overlook. Today I also took a bit of time to do some yard work.  I pulled a bunch of weeds and then planted some flowers.  So now our house has a "pop" of color!  It's funny that looking at those flowers, I don't remember all of the weeds.  And that is just about what happens when we see from Jesus' perspective.  The weeds are gone and we are able to see the flowers in our life.  I highly recommend it!  

Jesus, thank you for my father and his hard work.  Thank you for the reminder to see the bright and good things.  Holy Spirit, help us to keep our eyes focused on your working in our lives.  Jesus, you have an amazing plan for each of us that begins with our birth families.  Help us to appreciate the heritage that you designed for us.   Pour out your blessings on all fathers.  Amen

Doing what needs to be done...

So our day began with an email from Ken's sister telling us that his dad is not doing so well.  Being that he is going to be 94 this is not a big surprise.  However it is never easy to hear that your parent is failing.  I think it was especially hard because of Father's Day.  One of the things that Ken's sister told us was that dad has been asking for some of his old photo albums.  Ken and I have been storing one tub of things since dad moved to Florida in 2009.  One of the things in that storage tub, are the photo albums that dad so wants to hold and look at.  So today I sat and looked through the entire tub and made a list of everything that we had.  Wow, what a job.  And then between Sue and Ken and I a decision was made of exactly what we would ship to Florida.  Given that these two stacks weigh around 30 pounds, it will be quite a box!  Both Ken and I are happy to do this so that dad can have these precious photos to look at and remember.  The scrapbooker in me really appreciates this desire to hold on to these memories. 

And in honor of Father's Day, I just needed to include this picture of my Dad.  I recently came across this photo and it just made me stop in my tracks.  You might wonder why I chose this picture since it is not the most flattering shot.  But, to me, THIS IS MY DAD!  First of all it is at "the lake".  This was my dad exactly as he looked almost every day that we spent at the lake.  He even has the almost ever-present  beer in his hand.  He just loved this cabin that he had built.  Every board, every nail was done to his plan.  I loved this yellow color.  You could see the cabin from the road.  It was so sunny and cheerful.  So, even though this might not be a professional picture of my dad, it is my favorite.  And this how I most remember my dad.  In his work clothes, puttering around, at his own piece of heaven on earth - Lake Maud.  Even though he has been gone for 29 years, I still miss him. There are times when I am with Doug that I will get a flash of my dad.  I think Doug looks more like my dad than either of my brothers! I love that, thanks to genetics, we can continue to see our parents in our children! 

Ken is still not feeling well, so it is a really good thing that we are home.  And it is good that we were at home to take care of the photos for Ken's dad.  Yes, I spent the day doing what needed to be done.  Sorting through old papers, and taking care of Ken (as much he would allow me to do this!).  Not exactly how I expected our vacation to end, but tonight, I am sure that it is exactly how it needed to end! 

Jesus, thank you for our dads and all that they did to provide for us.  Thank you for photos and the memories that are attached to them.  Holy Spirit, bring comfort and peace to Ken's dad as he is in the final time of his earthly life. Jesus, thank you for the love and care that you are providing through Ken's sister and her husband.   Jesus, you are the healer. Pour out your healing power on Ken.  Bless all those who are celebrating their fathers this weekend.  Amen