Busy

I've been so busy lately with just life that I haven't had time to write in my blog at all. It's what happens to my journals, too. Lots of entries one month and then the next one is made a year later.
Hopefully, I won't get that far behind.
Thanksgiving weekend was pleasant. No company to cook for, which, I confess, is a blessing for me because I stress over the preparations. My oldest son brought his girlfriend. She's from Houston and couldn't go home for the holiday. (I discovered that her family goes to the same church as Beth Moore.) Wednesday night, we played Beyond Balderdash, a family favorite. My second son wouldn't join us as his girlfriend refuses to come to our home. After the game, the older and his girl visited with the younger and his girl at the younger's place. To make his mama happy, they came home when I asked them to.
Thursday morning I was the first one up and had my coffee and quiet time before sticking the turkey in the oven. My hubby came down about 10 and we didn't see anyone else until 12:30 pm. I cooked at a leisurely pace for dinner at 3. It was nice. My prodigal showed up right at 3 and stayed until his girlfriend called and told him to come home. The rest of us played pictionary and went to the movies. My hubby, the girls and I went to see Enchanted. We enjoyed it.
God has given my family so much to be thankful for and all those things were at the fore on Thanksgiving. The most important blessing is His presence in our lives and the confidence we can have that He is working it all for good.

I've been away visiting my mama. Looks like I got tagged while I was gone.

Link to the person that tagged you, and post the rules on your blog. Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs. Let each person know that they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Seven Random Facts:

1. I wanted to be a ballerina and tried to teach myself ballet from a book because my parents couldn't afford dance lessons.
2. Dogs do not like me.
3. I stink at housework and am always trying to figure out a way to be proficient at it.
4. I'm very good at buying art supplies that I never get around to actually using.
5. I always choose the chocolate dessert.
6. I was a breach birth.
7. I have a mini-American girl doll, Kit, because she makes me think of my chatty Cathy doll I had when I was a kid. Plus, I was blonde and freckle faced so she looks like me when I was a kid. Ok, I just like her.
I've got to figure out how to do the tagging part!

Driver Number Three

My 16 year old daughter just arrived home from her driving test and now has her paper driver's license which is good for 6 months or until she goes to court and gets the real deal. She's going to drive us to the Cold Stone Creamery to celebrate. (We go get ice cream to celebrate pretty much anything but-hey, you only go round once.) Anyway, she wanted us to let her drive ALONE to get ice cream and I am soooo not ready for that. She wanted to know why we won't let her and I said I'm not ready for you to be in any accidents and she said "Mom, you're not in charge of that." I had to laugh because, knowing she was taking her test tonight, I've been trying to give her to the Lord all day, telling Him that I know He's in charge. I think He knew I needed to hear it out loud.

I'm getting the "love it" size with some kind of serious chocolate brownie chunks.

My girl at her 16th birthday breakfast

Suddenly better

I went shopping Friday (is this ALL I do?) with my neighbor whose also my good friend. We had a great time talking and shopping- until the ride home. I suppose she meant well. She began asking me questions about my second son.
He has not suddenly gotten better. Wednesday I talked with another friend who asked me how he was and when I told her she said "I guess I thought because you don't mention him that he'd gotten better." And I think my neighbor thought the same thing. So on the ride home she picked and picked at the wound until I felt overwhelmed about it.
It's been a particularly hard week when it comes to my boy. I discovered he'd spent the night in jail for public drunkenness back in September. He stopped showing up for work at Chick-fil-A and subsequently, was fired. He's working for a caterer who doesn't actually have him on the payroll so as soon as the busy season is over, he'll be jobless. It's hard, dealing with this grief for the living. Sometimes it's even too painful to allow myself to hope. I think I am, at those times, like my friends; if I don't look too closely or think of him too often, I'll discover that he's suddenly gotten better.
But there is nothing about his recovery that will be sudden. Each moment that he comes to my mind, and that is constant, I give him to the Lord. I remind myself that Jesus is already at work in him and I am thankful knowing that however low my son falls, Jesus is there with him. When I feel that I am powerless to help my son, I remember that I have power in my faith in the Author of Life, the redeemer who died for us all.

After dinner, many came up to speak and to thank her (Ruth Bell Graham) for her honest, open sharing. I (Gigi Graham Tchividiian) noticed one distinguished, well-dressed woman who hung back, waiting for a chance to speak. Tension was evident and she struggled to hold back the tears. When the crowd cleared, she approached mother timidly, hesitantly.
"My son died of an overdose of drugs," she said with difficulty, "Do you think I will see him again in heaven?"
Mother, although not knowing any of the details, saw before her a mother with a heavy heart. She answered, "If you heard a timid knock on your door one day, and you answered the knock only to find your child standing there, bruised, wounded, bleeding, dirty, and tattered, what would you do? Slam the door in his face? Or would you throw open the door and welcome him into your arms?"
Suddenly, this mother's face registered relief. I saw the load lift from her shoulders as the tears flowed down her cheeks, because she knew she was hearing from a mother who knew what it was to have a prodigal. They hugged each other, and the woman turned and disappeared into the crowd. From the foreword by Gigi Graham Tchividiian to Ruth Bell Graham's book Prodigals (and Those Who Love Them)

Fun day

What a fun day! My oldest daughter was out of school because of elections. We went shopping at the outlet mall and had chili dogs for lunch.
I had to laugh because she bought a jacket from, what she calls, my "old lady" store. I do not have to identify the store as anyone who shops there and has a teenager knows what stores those are. I told her she has to wear it whether anyone laughs at her or not. And then we went to another "old lady" store and she actually bought a pair of corduroy pants in the color I wanted but they did not have in my size. Never fear, I found a skirt and a scarf and some boots (I have a boot thing that is probably unhealthy) all in old lady stores so that I can rest assured that I am appropriately dressed and not looking like I'm dressing like a teenager.
My hubby is going to stop at the store and bring home the stuff to make chili AND he's going to make it. I don't have to cook and I don't have to go out. I am a blessed woman today.

My dear friend's oldest daughter is getting married in August to a young man in the Navy. She fell in love with him when he was a Senior and she was a Junior in high school. We have prayed mightily over the two of them because they have wanted to marry ever since they met.
She is 19 now and her fiancee is 20. He's out on his first tour of duty and when he returns, they plan to wed.
We've been friends for 15 + years. I have so many memories of her precious girl. For a brief period in elementary school she and my second son were best buddies. They were two little odd ducks with big hearts and quirky senses of humor. Their family moved away to Georgia for 18 months and when they returned, the two were strangers.

My friend told me the other day that she felt she was born ready for motherhood (absolutely true!) and had not yet encountered a situation that had her stuck-until this engagement. She said that while talking with the hostess at a prospective reception sight, she was overcome with the feeling that she didn't know what questions to ask. She was 19 when she married, yet unprepared for her daughter to do the same.
Sometimes it seems as if I've been living underwater; life going by in sweet slow motion and only now have I surfaced to find the future in the present snapping into sharp focus.