Mom's favorite photos and new beginnings!

Yesterday I had a great day helping a friend along the path to completing a scrapbook for her son.  She had started this book but had gotten a bit bogged down in the process.  She had lots and lots of pictures but had a good bit of organizing already done.  I helped her make sense out of the process and together we were able to get ideas for the remainder of the pages of her album, and then match pictures to those pages.  We actually only completed one page while I was there, but we also arranged two more pages that were mostly ready to go.  Additionally, we had another two pages pretty well designed.  She also got a good start on scanning her photos before she uses them in an album.  So, all in all, it was a successful day.  It is so life-giving to help someone else when it is a passion for you!  She was concerned that I was getting bored helping her!  This was not a problem, I can assure you.  Scrapbooking is my happy place!  As she was looking through pictures, she pulled out a couple that were favorites of hers.  I know how this is!  You have some shots that your kids don't really like, but you just love!  I encouraged her to make a page of "mom's favorites" in her album!

After having that conversation with her I knew just the photos that I would include if I were doing an album right now.  The first picture that came to mind was this one.....

This picture of Gwen and I was taken just before Doug was born!  While it is not a very flattering picture of me, I just love having this shot of Gwen and me - when it was just the two of us!  And with my Facebook feed filled with first day of school photos, I was also remembering a couple of those pictures.  This one is especially important to me since it was the first time I ever sent a child off to school.  It was preschool, but it was still a really big deal to me.

It was a much harder adjustment for ME than for Gwen, who happily marched into the classroom, never looking back.  Yes, this was the first of many beginning school photos!  And it is a favorite of mine!

Today I am especially grateful to add another photo to my list of very favorite photos....

Susie shared this last night on Facebook.  What a sweet way to announce that Doug and Susie are expecting a baby!  And what a joyous and wonderful announcement for this Grandma!  Our entire family is so ready for this new life.  I love that Susie honored Lucas in this announcement.  At the time that my kids were born, having "Big Sister" or "Big Brother" shirts was unheard of.  Lucas will always be the big brother to this baby.  Lucas is remembered and loved in our family and we will share his story with his new sibling. 

Yes, this is a season of "new beginnings".  In addition to a new school year, as a country we are moving into a time of a new administration.  As I have said on this blog, I am staying out of all the political stuff as much as possible.  Even still, you can just feel that there is a new thing out there on the horizon.  And now, as our family is looking ahead to this new baby, my heart soars at all that might be in store.  We are extremely thankful for this new life!  

As I was typing this blog, I found myself humming a very old song...  This song was popular when I was in high school (oh, so long ago!).   They lyrics are actually straight out of the Bible - found in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8.  The song is Turn, Turn, Turn by the Byrds.  Here is the text from the Bible...

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, a time to reap that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

I just love that in these verses, there is a transition from weeping to laughing and from mourning to dancing.  I am so thankful that tonight we can laugh and dance and celebrate this new life!  Yes, I just love being a grandma!  

Jesus, thank you so much for time with friends that included so much sharing and prayer and scrapbooking!  Thank you for this new baby in our family.  Holy Spirit guard and protect everyone as we walk into this new season and these new beginnings.  Keep us mindful of the seasons of our life and help us to remember that there is a purpose for each season.  Amen

Family time and new things!

Today was, indeed, a day of celebration!   We spent the day together as a family.  All of the kids and grandkids (but only 2 of the 3 "granddogs").  Yes, it was a sunny, warm and wonderful day.   And I am in the "celebration" mode!  We ate, talked, laughed and played with the kids.  Anna mostly slept.  We watched a little bit of a baseball game (since Zeke is always saying he wants "baseball" when you ask what he wants for his birthday).  However after a bit of watching the Cubs, (losing, of course), he decided that he doesn't like baseball very much.  

Yesterday my niece Susan, posted on Facebook that it was her 16th Wedding Anniversary.   I had forgotten that she got married in April.  But I remember the weekend of that wedding for lots of reasons.   First is this picture............

My sister Karen had suggested that we have this picture taken when we were all in Kansas City for Susan's wedding.  So, early on Saturday morning, we went to a studio and had this picture taken.   I am so grateful for this picture!   Not a typical "professional" picture since we were all sitting on the floor.  But I just love the casual nature of this picture.   And we spent a lot of time laughing as the photographer tried to get us all "arranged" for this shot.   It was memorable, to say the least.  But this is one of the few really good pictures I have of all of my siblings and my mom.   Hard to believe that it was 16 years ago.  And that my mom and my sister are both gone now. This picture is up in my bedroom and I look at it every day. 

The second really powerful memory I have of this weekend, 16 years ago, was the actual trip............the driving to Kansas City.  And the reason that my memory is so strong is that Doug was in High School and Gwen was in College.   Imagine that back seat.   Neither one of them really wanted to be in a car, making a very long drive.   And then there was the hotel.  Yes, we had a bigger "suite" hotel room, but they still ended up not very happy.   This was, in fact, the LAST time we ever went anywhere, in one car, on any kind of a trip.   So the memory marked the end of an era for our family.  

I just love that these two memories are framed, today, with the wonderful family time that we had.  I just love seeing Gwen and Doug as adults that seem to really like being around each other.   And I couldn't be more sure that it was God ordained that Tim and Susie are part of our family.  Seeing those  sweet little grandchildren certainly helps to change my perspective on being so disconnected from my own siblings.   So even when one "era" of my family seemed to end - car trips and vacations, there was this time today, another wonderful era for us.  And even though my mom and sister are no longer with us, that picture reminds me daily, of all that Jesus has done in my family. 

Don't you just love that even when it seems like things are ending, it really just means that there is some new thing just around the corner?   It can sure change the way you view things.  I was thinking about it today.  And I will add this wisdom into my memory bank so that the next time an "era" seems to be ending, my perspective will be in the right place.  

Thank you Jesus, for helping me to continue to celebrate the month of April.   Thank you for the reminder from Susan that brought me to these wonderful memories.  Mostly today, thank you for my family and all that you are doing in each person.   Holy Spirit, help us all to look beyond the endings to the new beginnings that you have planned and purposed for us.  And thank you for the very spring-like weather and the sunshine today!   Amen