I Love to Tell The Story

Ten years ago today my mom died, peacefully in rest, after a 13 month battle with Leukemia. She was around every single day for twenty years--teaching us, playing with us, reading to us, cooking for us, carting us around, passing on age-old traditions to us, disciplining us (yes, even I required the occasional whooping), and generally taking care of our every need with all the grace (and the occasional meltdowns) expected of a mother of 4. Through it all, her faith in the Lord was evident, unwavering, and contagious.

Ten years have passed, ten full years that have included a college degree, a graduate degree, a wedding, several big vacations, a career decision, 7 moves, a purchased home, a son, a daughter, and much more. My mom's legacy is still on so many areas of the lives of those who knew her. I got her name (Sue is my middle name), her blond hair, her wide cheekbones, her organizational skills, her plethora of moles, and her love of casseroles.

Since there's no way to adequately sum up a life like hers, I will limit this by sharing just a memory. She loved music, especially singing. She knew she didn't have a solo voice, but she nonetheless loved to sing harmony in the church choir, and truly appreciated the old "hymns of the faith." At her funeral, somewhere in the neighborhood of 800 people triumphantly sang Crown Him With Many Crowns. My dad, who was also battling Leukemia at the same time, had gotten a day-pass from the hospital to attend the funeral; he was bald and had to wear a face mask. He ripped his mask off and stood up (it was a scene I don't think many have forgotten), and he led the congregation in the 2nd verse:

Crown him the Lord of life, triumphant o'er the grave!
Who rose victorious from the strife for those he came to save.
His glories now we sing, who died and reigns on high.
He died, eternal life to bring, and lives that death may die.

It was an awesome song, absolutely, and she would have joined in loudly. Her favorite hymn was a little more unassuming, a little less well-known, and a bit more personal, however.

I love to tell the story of unseen things above,
of Jesus and his glory, of Jesus and his love...
And when, in scenes of glory, I sing the new, new song,
'twill be the old, old story that I have loved so long.

My mom would have enjoyed being part of these last ten years, and she'd most definitely be proud. But if you ask me if I think she's been watching me all this time? Heck no. She's singing in the heavenly choir, and her eyes are on Jesus.

My New Nephew!

My sister, Rachel, had her baby boy this afternoon! Judah Allen was born at 12:43pm, was 7lbs and 5oz, and was 20 1/4 inches long. He has dark brown hair with the teensiest bit of curl, and he's just gorgeous. I will post pictures soon!

Cold-Day Recipe

Start with:

Semi-Homemade Hearty Chicken Noodle Soup (in the Crockpot, of course!)
1. 4 cans of Campbells Healthy Request Chunky Chicken and Noodle Soup
2. 1/2 pkg extra wide egg noodles, cooked and drained
3. 1/2 cup each of chopped carrots, onion, and celery
4. Garlic salt and cracked pepper

Sautee carrots, onion, and celery in butter or olive oil until softened. Add all ingredients to crockpot and cook on low for a couple of hours.

BEST if served:
-With Hot Rolls and honey
-As a late lunch/early dinner
-On your day off
-With a husband home from work for MLK, Jr. Day
-With a blazing fire going in the fireplace
-On a dreary, 36-degree day in Texas

Enjoy!!

Birthday Gifts for the 30+ Crowd - updated

I've updated this post for those of you who have already visited it; see the new pictures below.

Happy Birthday to my older sister, Jenn, and her cute short hair that I fully copied. I purchased a toaster for her birthday--yes I did. And she will be super excited because she requested it and I picked out a really pretty stainless steal one. At what point in our lives do we get excited about receiving countertop appliances for our birthdays? Who am I kidding, I think I would cry tears of joy if Greg ever got me the toaster oven I've been hinting at for the last 3 years.

Have a wonderful day, dear sister, and a wonderful morning tomorrow as I know you will be eating scrumptious Eggo waffles toasted to perfection. I'm glad I could have something to do with that.

Yes, she loved the toaster. My little white 8-year-old piece of crap toaster with one broken leg that makes the whole thing wobble awkwardly when sitting on a counter seems all the crappier now.

Jenn, me, and Rachel. Two of us are natural blondes, not that you'd be able to tell what with the line of dark roots all the way across...

My adorable nephew, Brice, after testing and approving the birthday cupcakes...

Thought for the day

Since it is my first day back from maternity leave, our office manager welcomed me with this 'Thought for the Day' that was on my desk when I arrived:

Handle every stressful situation like a dog. If you can't eat it or hump it, piss on it and walk away.

Fabulous.

Sweeties

Noah loves his little sister so much. She's just not too sure about the sheer volume and enthusiasm with which he loves her...


At her 2 month checkup, we found out our perfectly sweet baby girl is in the 50th percentile for height, 90th for weight, and her head is only in the 25th percentile. Clearly they don't measure around the cheeks...

Resolutions!

I asked a friend last night what her New Years Resolutions are. She replied, "To try to be a more organized person in everything" and "To be healthier over all." Holy cow. I'm seriously impressed, and she is definitely one who can succeed at whatever she puts her mind to, but I need tangible goals for my resolutions otherwise I'll just end up making the same ones each year, trying desperately to decide if I truly reached the "better person" or "healthy overall" status I'd set for myself.

I made a do-able list last year, and managed to actually achieve success for most of it. I think the reason is that I stopped making those life-altering resolutions I'd made in years past (ie: "Try to be a more thoughtful person in general" or "Work out 5x per week and eat healthier") and started making precise, achieveable goals that might possibly lead up to one of the life-altering desires.

Resolutions for 2008:
The theme this year is New-ness; I'm going through a period of wanting change. Not that I'm unhappy with my current state of affairs, but I'm just ready to experience some different things and move into another phase. I've always had a rather "antsy" personality.

1) New house. We've moved 6 times in 7 years of marriage and have officially been in this house longer than we've lived anywhere else. I love it, but am ready for something different. To sound more noble, we are desperately wanting to live closer to Greg's work too so he doesn't have to spend 3 HOURS in the car everyday.

2) New job. I don't mean that I want to quit my current job altogether, but I'd like to adjust the hours, focus on some different areas of rehab, and add some more teaching.

3) Throw a party. Seriously. I usually throw some kind of big party every year and since my son's 2-year old birthday party doesn't count, I kind of dropped the ball in '07.

4) Get move involved in our church. This seems broad, but I actually have tangible goals here. I'd like to volunteer on one or two new committees in our Sunday School and/or the Children's ministry this year.

Well, there you have it. Good thing I have a whole year before I have to be accountable!