New Home for the Chickens

I didn't know I would enjoy these chickens so much. But then my mother tells me it's in the family history. My grandmother loved chickens and usually kept several around. So I guess it's in the genes. I have enjoyed taking care of them and just watching them. Because we got them when only one week old they are very tame. One will jump onto my lap whenever I'm sitting in the chicken run. And speaking of the chicken coop and run -- it's nearly complete. We moved the chickens in last week. It was an event. After getting it all set up, we each got a chicken, paraded across the yard, had our picture taken, and then proceeded to introduce the chickens to their new home. They seem to love it. Room to run, room to peck and do all the things chickens do. I'm so thankful I have a husband who can build such a thing. It turned out perfect. My chickens are happy in their new home and I'm happy being a chicken owner!

Nighttime Thoughts

A nasty pitfall of getting old is having trouble sleeping. In the last few years it's been more of a problem than every before. I have no trouble falling asleep, and usually do within minutes. The problem is waking up after 3 or 4 hours and feeling totally awake. I wouldn't mind getting up between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. every morning if that didn't mean I'd feel exhausted by dinnertime. Sometimes I can lay awake for an hour or so and then fall back asleep. Last night it was impossible so I finally gave up. I woke up at 3 a.m. and lay there until a little after 4. I tried not to think of the 'to do' list for the day. I tried not to worry about small things. I tried not to worry about big things. But it was all in vain. Everything seems to be magnified at night. The smallest issue can be dwelt on and blown way out of proportion. So finally a little after 4 I got up. The house is quiet, it's cool after all these hot days we've had. A cup of tea and my Bible in hand leads to the joy one feels with starting the day right, albeit maybe a little too early. There are benefits of these early starts. Hearing the birds wake and seeing the sky go from a small streak of light to a gorgeous pink are worth missing a few hours of sleep. Feeling like I can spend hours rather than minutes in God's Word and prayer is worth the sacrifice of lost sleep. So now as 6:00 a.m. rolls around and it's time to get this day going I hope there is the possibility of a nap this afternoon. (no, I did not take this picture)

Chickens

I meant to post on this blog about my new baby chicks, instead I posted to my quilting blog! Oh well, chickens and quilting go together don't they? You can link my quilt blog from here. But here's a couple pictures. They are soooo cute!

The Comfort of Scripture

I couldn't sleep last night. In fact I've slept pretty poorly since my husband has been gone. Tomorrow he returns from Honduras. I suppose if he did this often I would get used to it, but nine days has seemed like a long time and it's affected my sleep. Sometimes it's just being alone when you have gotten used to someone else in the bed, other times it's the worry or concerns of life, and sometimes it's just the knowing that what needs to be done when I get up is almost more than a day can handle. It was probably a little of all three of these last night. And nights are extra long when you just lay there thinking.

Finally at a little after 4:00 a.m. I got up and went down and opened my Bible. I love Scripture. I love the way it speaks to me just where I need it at the moment. This morning was one of those times. I've been reading through the Bible this year and today I was in Psalm 119. Here are the verses that brought delight and comfort:

Psalm 119:147 - I rise before dawn and cry for help; I wait for Your words. My eyes anticipate the night watches, that I may meditate on Your word.

Psalm 119:169-175 - Let my cry come before You, O Lord; Give me understanding according to Your word. Let my supplication come before You; Deliver me according to Your word. Let my lips utter praise, for You teach me Your statutes. Let my tongue sing of Your word, for all Your commandments are righteousness. Let Your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen Your precepts. I long for Your salvation, O Lord, and Your law is my delight. Let my soul live that it may praise You, and let Your ordinances help me.

Difficulties of Family Life

No doubt, the most difficult undertaking in my life (and my husband's too) has been the adoption of our two children from Russia. They came when they were 10 and 13 years old. Those are difficult ages for any child but coupled with a move from a bad environment, a new country and culture and from orphanage to family it's been beyond difficult. We do have good times and days when everything runs smoothly. We also have days that are filled with tension, anger and the hurt from a childhood that was filled with trauma. I guess I would have thought that after 3 years much of that would be behind us. It's not. Today has ranked right up there as one of the worst. I get weary of the battle, yet I also realize that God has put all this in place. He has a plan and purpose to bring salvation to our children, to bring growth and maturity to all our lives and most of all to glorify Himself through it all. So we trudge on!

Saying Goodbye

How does one say goodbye? It can be a wave of the hand or a warm embrace. A goodbye is often filled with tears or the uncertainty of wondering when you might see someone again. There is a lot of emotion in a goodbye in a loved one's death. Today I am filled with that emotion. We had a memorial service for little Leah Grace. She lived for 99 days. Her life was brief but her impact powerful. Her story and life was watched and followed by hundreds of people. She was a fighter. Not expected to live beyond hours, she defied all predictions and lived 99 days. Her service today was a wonderful celebration of her life. Many people came to say goodbye. Some of the sharing from friends and family brought on tears. Callie (my daughter), wrote a song, a lullaby that she performed. Charissa, (another daughter), did the video/slide presentation of Leah. Both were beautiful and filled with emotion. Rick spoke from both a pastor and grandpa's heart. Kristine shared some journal entries that were written in such a beautiful way from a mother's heart. Luke shared with emotion the journey he has been on, and as his mother, it was so very touching. My way to say goodbye, was to create a beautiful quilt with photos of Leah. For all of us it was a tender goodbye to Leah Grace.

Life and Death - A Tribute to Leah Grace Jarmer

I have read that between 150,000 and 250,000 people die each day. Most days I don't think about death and most days I would not know even one of that large number. But today is a day that death touched my world. Today my granddaughter, Leah Grace, died. Even to write those words seems hard. She lived for 99 days. That alone is a miracle since medically speaking she was not even supposed to make it to term much less live that many days. I am so thankful for 99 days. It wasn't enough time for her to accomplish very much physically and yet she may have accomplished more in those 99 days than most people would in 99 years. Her life and struggle became known to many many people. The lessons she taught me were significant, life-changing lessons.

Leah taught me about the value of life. God valued her life even though it was not perfect. Sometime in the last few weeks I read in Luke 18 about the time that the disciples rebuked people for bringing their babies to Jesus and Jesus replies, "don't forbid them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these". Now the kingdom of heaven does truly belong to Leah.

Leah taught me about the value of prayer. I truly believe Leah's gift of 99 days to her family was God's answer to many prayers. God orchestrated in a beautiful way both Leah's birth and her death. Lately we had prayed that Leah's death would be in the arms of a parent and it was. We prayed that both Luke & Kristine would be home with her when she passed and they were. We prayed that Kyla would not have to see the death of her little sister, she was at her other grandma's when Leah passed. We prayed that Luke and Kristine would reach a point of letting go and giving her 'permission' to go be with Jesus. Just the day before Kristine was able to tell Leah, "it's okay to go be with Jesus". Prayer is powerful.

Leah taught me of boldness. I have never been a very bold person in regards to sharing my faith. I'm still not, but Leah's life provided many opportunities to tell of God's faithfulness and love. It is because of our faith that we can endure and walk through this time. Leah was and is a door opener into people's spiritual lives.

Leah taught me of love and selflessness. Her whole live was a huge lesson on unconditional love. She needed total care and our love when she could give nothing in return. The sacrifices that Luke and Kristine made daily spoke volumes to me of the kind of love our heavenly Father has for us. Leah's life brought God glory in that He created her just as she was, it was in God's perfect plan that allowed us to have and love Leah Grace for 99 days.

Leah's life brought hope. The ultimate hope for believers in Jesus is an eternity in heaven. When Leah was first born and we did not think her life would be more than a few days, I was reading one day about King David in the Old Testament and the baby that was born to him and several days later died. He fasted and prayed while the baby lived and pleaded with God to spare his life. When he died, he got up, ate and went and sat in the temple and worshipped God. Those around him were surprised at his reaction but his response was, "the child will no longer come to me, but I will go to him". We will see Leah again in heaven. The reality and truth of that thought gives me comfort and hope.

Leah's life was a lesson in God's sovereignty. Before Leah was born, Luke and I had a dialogue about choices. There are choices we make in life that are high cost and choices that are low cost. Some things we choose have a great impact in life and some a very small impact. Who I choose to marry greatly affects the rest of my life. What I choose to eat for lunch probably only affects how much weight I gain! There are many things, though, where we have no choice in the matter -- God chooses for us. What happens especially in life and death is not our choice but God's choice for us. We did not choose to have Leah born this way. I love what Jim Elliott said years ago before he was martyred for his faith, "God always give his best to those who leave the choice with Him". We often like to think we are in control and that we can orchestrate our lives the way we want. Having a baby like Leah born is a reminder that God is sovereign. God's plan and purpose in Leah's life and death may not ever be fully realized until heaven but we know that He used her to change our hearts and impact many, many people's lives.

I know as time goes on and we move further away from this day certain memories will fade. Pain and grief over our loss will get easier. Forever, though, we will carry little Leah Grace in our hearts. She was greatly loved and will be greatly missed.

3 Months Old

Leah is 3 months old today! It is such a miracle that she is here. She is special, beautiful, sweet, wonderful, precious -- every adjective that can describe a delightful baby applies to her. Her preciousness lies in the fact that every day of her life is a special gift from a loving heavenly Father who has not answered our whys or miraculously healed her but gives strength each day to her parents who care for her. I admire Luke and Kristine through this whole time so very much. To say this is probably the most difficult circumstance they will ever face is probably an understatement. I know it is their faith and trust in God that carries them through. It will change them forever. It will have a great impact in their lives personally and their marriage together. I pray for them daily as they continue to love and care for little Leah. I wish I was more free to help and always have the feeling that the little I can do is never enough. But everytime I hold her and she is between seizures and intently looks at my face, I feel the delightful bond of being so glad I am her grandma and have this time with her. So now we have the joy of celebrating 3 months with my precious granddaughter!

Staycation

I love staycations. They are vacations where you stay home. Now one must not do the normal things that you do at home on a staycation. Keeping the same schedule and busyness is no vacation. No, a staycation must be carefully planned. As much as possible the week must be wiped clean of typical activities. No cleaning, cooking, or running the typical errands. I have had on my calendar for sometime now that this week is a staycation. One of my daughters is gone all week and I've just felt the need for a break. My life has been very busy of late and the list of things I'd like to do is beginning to grow long. Notice it's the list of what I'd 'like' to do. It's not what I must do week in and week out. The problem now is that the list has grown too long and I cannot accomplish it all in one week. Prioritizing and planning will be the key to feeling like my staycation is a success. Stay posted and I'll document my staycation on this blog.

Bird Watching

I love to watch birds. This started when I was pretty young. I remember watching for hours a robin build a nest outside my bedroom window and loving the process of two robins raising their young all within 15 feet of my window. I used to keep a journal of new or unusual bird sightings. My bookshelf still contains a number of bird enthusiast books. I don't take as much time now to watch the birds but hopefully someday there will be a slower paced life and I will once again return to the joy of birdwatching. I think there are lessons to learn from the bird world. Right now I have a robin who has built her nest in a tree outside my studio window and the view of all the workings of raising a family is in plain sight. With robins, at least in the beginning it seems that the mother bird does most of the work. She builds the nest, she sits those long days on those precious eggs. When she does leave the nest for a quick bite to eat, I've noticed the father bird lands on the edge of the nest, but he does not take over keeping the eggs warm. He seems to cock his head from side to side, viewing the eggs, almost as if he's wondering what they are! He may not seem like a very active participant or maybe he is having difficulty attaching to something that is just this round blue object at this point, but he is the protector. If a scrub jay ventures too near he is the first to sound the alarm and rush at his blue predator with a great clamor. Scrub jays are notorious for wiping out robins nests so it's no wonder father bird sounds such alarm. When those chicks finally arive then father bird will get busy. It will seem like there is no end to the feeding, keeping the nest unfouled, and teaching those little ones where the best worms are. A robin's young always seem to leave the nest much too early. They cannot fly and so they hop around chirping to keep mom and dad informed as to where they are and doubtless every other predator like all our cats, some of which seem to have a fond taste for 'baby bird'. One would think that very few baby robins make it to adulthood and I'm sure the mortality rate is high. That's why robins have several batches of young every year. They know the odds of some making it will be greater if they have 2 or 3 nests with 3 or 4 young in each. Sometimes as a parent I forget that a mom and dad's role are different. Usually the mom is more nuturing, more hands on, she usually is the one that puts in all the hours of care. The father's role is often more the provider and protector. I think just as God made it that way in robins He designed our families to function best fulfilling the role we've been given. So next time I'm stewing about all the time I put in taking care of things around the house and my children, I'll remember the robins outside my window and the joy of seeing their family grow and take wings of their own.

In Honor of Mother's Day

It's mother's day. One of the best days for me. Most years my family pampers me. My husband makes dinner, the kids buy gifts (gone are the days when they used to make a paper gift, or color something) and we have a great day together. I can't remember a bad mother's day. I suppose some years it hasn't lived up to my expectations, or I ended up doing the dishes, or one of the kids wasn't around. This year my oldest daughter is missing. I would like it if all my kids just lived down the street all their lives and dropped in for tea, a movie, or just to hang out. Even though that's what I'd like, especially on mother's day, what really is most important to me is that all our children are first and foremost followers of Christ. So if that means that they must live away and minister or serve God in another part of the world then ultimately that's what I also want for their lives. My oldest daughter is in Hawaii and will be off on a mission trip soon. She may end up being gone for 8 months and be in parts of the world that I have no idea what it even looks like. She won't be down the street. She won't be dropping by. Yet she is following Christ with all her heart and that's what really matters. So even though I may have a meal made for me, or a gift or two to open, the best mother's day is knowing my children know the Lord and that their desire is to serve him wherever they may be.

Weeds of Life

There are weeds in everyone's life. In the spring of life they start to work there way up through the soil of our years. At first it's almost inperceptible, but given time, a lot of time, they can become a jungle.

When spring arrives and the ground is still wet from all the winter rains, it's so easy to pull the weeds. They usually come up root and all. When the ground becomes dry and hard, it becomes a much more difficult task.

There seems to be a dirrect corolation to life and weeds. When the weeds in our life appear; the bad habits, those seemingly insignificant sins; it's easy to pull them up, the roots are shallow, the ground is soft. If we ignore the weeds they have time to develop root systems that can go so very deep. Some send out runners which lead to more weeds developing. Others reach the point where their seeds can be scattered with the slightest breeze or disturbance. Sin that becomes entrenched in our life is hard to battle and overcome just like the weeds. If we only realized this when we were young, our weeds wouldn't be so difficult to deal with now that age and time has allowed them to become prolific.

Sometimes what's seen on the surface conceals the deep root system that is below the ground.

There are weeds in my life that I wish I would have pulled years ago. Now the roots are deep and when they do come out it takes effort, it hurts, and it leaves a hole in my life.

Some weeds need a tool to get them out of the ground. Sometimes the weeds in our lives need some outside help for us to clear them away. This may be simply confessing and acknowledging that they exist. It may be that we need some accountability with someone to help us rid ourselves of the weed infestation. Some just need a handspade, others will need a shovel or maybe even a backhoe! It's a constant battle during the whole growing season to stay ahead of the weeds.

It's sometimes easy to mistake a weed for a wanted plant. Just recently I pulled what I thought was a weed only to discover it was a herb in my herb garden. Recognition takes experience and practice. The eyes of a master gardener pointing out the weeds can be of great help. As I've gotten older, I think I recognize more weeds in my life. I'm not as arrogant about life as I was when younger. I see things from a different perspective. I know the damage a weed does and I know the pleasure of a healthy garden. Every year I strive to be a better gardener and immulate the greatest master gardener -- my loving heavenly Father.

Challenges of Change

I've never been a big fan of change. Change usually means upsetting the balance of things. Sometimes it's okay. But sometimes it involves too much stretching physically, emotionally and becomes overwhelming. My life seems to be in the overwhelming stage right now. There's my new little granddaughter, Leah Grace, born alive and with great physical difficulties and most likely a very shortened life span. My oldest daughter leaves tomorrow for 6 months. Another daughter just moved back to the area (a good change). I'm still struggling with eye sight issues. I'm not complaining, well maybe a little, but I feel out of balance. There's a numbness that has set in like I'm watching my life instead of involved in it. I know balance will return. Sleepless nights will again become restful as I readjust to change. Often change is what spurs us on to greater growth. We learn to trust our heavenly Father more. We realize who is in charge -- and it's not us! Hopefully we become wiser and more mature. It still can be difficult -- this change. In a few weeks, no doubt, I'll have settled back to a new norm, a new routine and it will all be okay.

Precious Life

On Friday, March 20 at 2:37, Leah Grace entered the world. She is a precious gift from God. We now know that her brain development was not complete and her diagnosis is a severe form of holoprosencephaly. So far, all her time since birth has been spent in the neonatal intensive care unit at St. Vincent's hospital. The whole family has both rejoiced and grieved. We have rejoiced in the answer to our prayer that Leah Grace would be born alive and able to breathe on her own. We have rejoiced in being able to spend time with her, touching her, loving her, holding her. Her parents have shown such tenderness and love to her. Luke said to me the other day something to the effect of, "whatever her life may be, we will be happy to love and care for her". God has given us a gift of life in her that is not perfect, that may not be very long, and may be difficult when it comes to caring for Leah, but it is a wonderful gift. I am realizing with every passing moment spent with Leah, that life is so precious. Each breath is a gift; each cry, each yawn, every moment. I have a new perspective on the beauty of life by my time spent with Leah that I may not have been able to understand in any other way than through Leah's life. I do grieve some things. That her life span may be very short. She may not be able to come home In everything, though, I see God’s hand at work. He loves Leah the same as He loves me. As I look forward to a day in eternity when I will stand before Him complete and perfected, so Leah will also be made whole and complete. I have been greatly comforted by Psalm 139 verses 13 - 17. I have taken the I’s and me’s and put in Leah’s name.
"You made all the delicate, inner parts of Leah’s body and knit her together in her mother’s womb. ...You watched her as she was being formed in utter seclusion, as she was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw Leah before she was born. Every day of her life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are your thoughts about Leah, O God. They cannot be numbered."
Leah is a special precious gift!

The 5:00 Hour

It's the 5:00 hour. I'm sitting in the living room trying to finish a chapter in a book. Charissa and Callie are working on a puzzle right next to me and insistently rambling in quite loud voices any thoughts that enter their heads. Rick is in the kitchen starting some dinner while helping Sveta with some homework, both of them are talking and sometimes at the same time! Katie is stitting about 5 feet away practicing her violin. Warren is at the kitchen table on a laptop computer, flanked on either side by Sash and his friend German. They are all talking. Putting down my book, I suddenly think, "this is the the sound of my life". There's not a lot of silence much of the time. My home is still filled to the brim with family and they make a lot of noise (especially when Callie arrives)! Sometimes I long for escape to peace and quiet, but I know these days will come to an end. So be thankful now -- enjoy the chaos!

This is my newest kitty (who I am affectionately calling 'new kitty') just before 5:00. Ahh, the life of a cat!