Sunday's Graces

A continual numbering of things I am thankful for

to remind me of God's graces in my life

________________

sixty-two. men in shining armor riding white horses - or wearing rugged uniforms riding tow trucks. this guy and two other magically-appearing men with tools and big trucks saved our family day to the city.

sixty-three. this young man who still enjoys being with the family.

he's like his dad in many ways.

smart. wise. funny.

entrepeneur minded. at 18, he's already getting a business started.

i think he's pretty cool.

sixty-four. sweet survivalist simmers who wishes more than anything he could be stranded in the wilderness just long enough to try some of the cool stuff he constantly reads about.

i am thankful he is presently tucked safely in bed only dreaming of being lost.

sixty-five. i am thankful for men and women who have given us art through the ages. talent runs deep in some. they put living people with such soul and depth on canvases. they see beauty we miss with the naked eye for we are too  busy to stop and notice. they see it. they feel it. they put it on canvas and we see what was missed. it is just an old tired woman sitting in a chair. but it is not just anything. we begin to see the beauty. you can check out the survivalist son's homeschool blog for a report on said picture. they don't let you take pictures at museums. darn. here are a few pictures in front of the De Young.

sixty-six thru sixty-nine.

 art.

feet for taking pictures of.

 hot days necessitating the cutting off of pant legs to make shorts.

a welcoming son-in-law who cherishes our dear one.

seventy. our lovely daughter.

she is beautiful

creative

thoughtful

and i don't just mean the kind type of thoughtful, although that she is,

but i mean she thinks about the deeper things

and

she is my favorite thrifting partner.

seventy-one. this boy who makes me laugh.

look at the spark in his eyes.

he was probably thinking of something funny to say.

seventy-two. rooftop haircuts on windy days.

seventy-three. photographer friends who look at my blog and still love me. someday i promise i will take a break from sewing, cooking, homeschooling, biking, beaching, opening my home, and a multitude of other fun things to figure out my camera.

______________________________________

Oh. And stay tuned. Especially my blog followers in San Francisco or those who want to spend a day in the city. My daughter has an invitation she wants to extend to you at her shop DePietro Todd.  She will give us the details, soon!

Sunday's Graces

As parents we lead the way for our children.
We lead in all we do.

We lead by mentoring.

Infact, we can not really not mentor.

We are always showing them things.

And it's either a good picture,

or a not so good picture.

We are leading.

They are following.

We show the way in all we do.

We show them the beauty of getting up early 

to experience the crisp morning fog together.

Father teaching son

 the tradition of fishing.

They see patience.

The patience of a dad with an impatient child

who was last to make a catch.

Someday it will be his turn to understand a frustrated young fisherman

and express kindness,

for he has been there.

He has seen what dads do.

Dads are not shaken or angry at tears.

They are kind.

They understand.

Mentoring is first showing:

Then doing it with them:

Then watching over their shoulder,

just guiding,

and encouraging:

For someday, they will do it on their own.

Today it is only fishing,

but it is really everything we do.

They put their own style and personality into it,

but they are imprinted in one way or another,

for they are our sons and daughters.

We are their parents.

May we lead well.

________________________________________________________________________ 

Sunday's Graces -

A continual numbering of things I am thankful for

to remind me of God's graces in my life 

fifty-six. grey skies.

fifty-seven. sandy shoes.

fifty-eight. brothers who will someday tell magnificent stories of ordinary days together.

fifty-nine. a husband who does his darndest to keep all the smelly fish-gut stuff away from his wimpy wife.

sixty. that i will soon get to see Our Girl and her Love.

sixty-one. friends olde and new who make me laugh.

Sunday's Graces

Some of our family still at home met up with our family far away. Well, it's not too far, I suppose. But far enough away that we can't go for a walk at a whim, or drop off cookies, pie, or left-over soup, or get a cup of coffee at Verve, or venture to the Bargain Barn on a Saturday morning....

We met Our Girl's Love at the Zoo. How does one take cool pictures at the zoo? I was rather unsuccessful! It is not exactly beautiful, although it was fun to go anyways. My two youngest hadn't been, so this was it. The big trip to the SF Zoo. These are the most interesting of pictures I could get, and as usual, I find my family and their relationships with each other the more beautiful thing to be captured.

Here Brothers are looking at the graceful giraffes (my favorite) and crazy-striped zebras, but I find their taking in the sight together most beautiful.

This is the only one that would do this for me:

Then we met up with Our Girl at a park for a picnic lunch

good wine

and good conversation.

Then we got an ice cream at Bi-Rite Creamery

(I was too busy eating to snap a picture)

 then walked

and walked

and walked some more...

I always walk behind

snapping picures

and savoring the sites

of my Dear Ones

enjoying each other,

talking and laughing.

The site

of my daughter looking at her daddy

while holding her Love's hand

is priceless.

Then we return to their own grown-up, artistically decorated  homey home

before we head to our house far away,

 filled with memories of growing up,

memories of all my Dear Ones once young.

Sunday's Graces -

A continual numbering of things I am thankful for

to remind me of God's graces in my life

fifty. i am thankful that we live in big beautiful world with sooo many animals that I will never see. it reminds me how small and finite i am and how great and beautiful our created earth is.


fifty-one. brothers. some have known each other from birth. some are new. i am thankful that they have all of  life ahead to grow in their relationships. for we are complex creatures. it takes a long time to really know one another, then we change and continue to grow and therefore must necessarily grow in our understanding of who we all are, and how we can best encourage one another.


fifty-two. a father and daughter who share a love for each other.


fifty-three. a father who can be a great dad not having had much good dad-ness in his own childhood. some say that can ruin parent/child relationships. it has not. if anything it has made him appreciate his own relationships with his children in maybe an even stronger way. he is a good dad.


fifty-four. that i can be a pretty good mom without having much good mom-ness in my life. when my girl was born, i remember being overcome with emotion that God would give me a daughter. that He had confidence that i could have a good relationship with my daughter, without having had that experience myself. grace indeed. i have been imperfect. i continue to be imperfect, just in new ways. but God has made something impossible possible. a healthy treasured relationship with my girl. for that i am thankful.


fifty-five. the biggest dissappointment in my own life has been the many miscarriages we have had, and that we don't have a few more sets of  feet pitter-pattering around our home. i wrestle with it greatly. it doesn't go away. yet i am thankful for God's hand in the building of our family and trust in his purposes. i am sooo grateful for each and every day i do have with my four (plus one, so far) children. if you are reading this, i love you dearly. you are my delight. i am thankful you are here.

Sunday's Graces

28 years.

So. Recently My Dear One read my blog as he does from time to time. Upon reading my initial posting on Sunday's Graces, he began to hassle me because he not only didn't make it onto the top of the list, but he didn't even make it in the first ten. He was not till number 11. My oldest son joined in on the fun. It has been a few weeks, and the poking fun still goes on. Does it matter that numbers 1 thru 10 built up to the all important number 11? No.

So,in honor of our 28th anniversary,

this week's Sunday's Graces

 (a continual numbering of things I am thankful for to remind me of God's graces in my life)

will be 10 just for my number 1!

thirty-five. my number 1 puts up with me. considering I'm a tad difficult, that's a big one.

thirty-six. he values my being at home, and works hard to make it so.

thirty-seven. he has shared a love for music with all in our home.

thirty-eight. he is a man with great integrity. ask any who know him. he is a good man.

thirty-nine. he knows how to calm me when I'm overwhelmed. a good thing.

fourty. he is logical man. which is a really, really good thing, cause I'm not always so logical.

fourty-one. he is theologically and worldviewishly sound and kind.

fourty-two. he puts up with my made up words and incorrect punctuation.

fourty-three. he knows everything. no. really. he does. he knows all the random and not so random facts and can explain anything. I don't really understand how he does it. but he does. and since I don't remember random and not so random facts, this is another good thing. before "google it" there was "ask dad".

fourty-four. family is his priority. when we got married, our main goal was to raise a healthy family and grow old together. 28 years later, that is still our goal. and our delight. whatever comes our way, we make our decisions based on whether or not it will contribute to the growth of our family. the getting old part pretty much happens on it's own, but we continue to choose to do it together. we also try to do it with grace which means I ought not really complain about my saggy neck or white hair (it's way past grey). 

Ok. So he doesn't really buy me flowers or huge diamonds.

Instead he gives me and our children his all.

That is love...28 years strong.

So, Number One, how's that? Am I forgiven? Will all teasing come to an end? Somehow, I think not.

Here are a few pictures from our anniversary weekend:

And here's what happens when my boys help take the pictures:

fourty-five. wild poppies clinging to the cliff's edge on a breezy summer afternoon.

fourty-six. three more left at home.

fourty-seven. knowing that my children afar are in His hands.

fourty-eight. the ocean at the end of our street. the wide open space reminds me of  the peace i found in our family's vineyard growing up.

fourty-nine. the daily grace God supplies to overcome our weaknesses.

Sunday's Graces

twenty-eight.

A holy God

whose Holiness leads us toward holiness.

twenty-nine. 

a longsuffering God

whose patience with us

leads us to patience

with others.

thirty.

a God who is both

holy and longsuffering.

patience

without holiness

is not enough.

Sometimes it helps me to take a good look at my many and awkward imperfections and note how patient God is with me. It is then that I can turn around and offer a smackerel of patience to one whom I would rather not. I say smackerel because I sometimes think Winnie the Pooh, and my patience will always pale compared to God's perfect forbearance.

thirty-one.

a husband

who is quite patient, too.

he reminds me with his patience,

that God hasn't given up on me, either.

there is hope.

thirty-two.

that God didn't put us here alone.

He gives us people

to encourage and love us

and at times

to even drive us to our knees.

Sunday's Graces

twenty-six. america and family, the beautiful.