Please, somebody stop this merry-go-round . . .

. . . I'm getting dizzy!

Thanks to all of you who have prayed and cared for us over the last few days. DC's surgery went very well - I thought he'd be released by now, but not quite yet. He'll go to my parents' house for a few days for peaceful rest - not available here too much. My mom loves to be the halfway house from surgical procedures to home.

Add in a funeral - they never come at opportune times, do they?? I always count it a privilege to play the organ for the homegoing of a saint. I am so thankful for a sister and a sister-in-law, one who has no grandkids yet and one whose grands are far away. They have relieved me by caring for the twins 3 times already this week. My sis has also picked up the big girls from school every day this week. Talk about servanthood in action.

This week one day I posted this on Facebook - it touched a spot in my spirit and seemed to do the same with others. I want to share it, because it's where I'm living right now.

No man ever sank under the burden of the day. It is when tomorrow's burden is added to the burden of today that the weight is more than a man can bear. Never load yourself so. If you find yourself so loaded, at least remember this: it is your own doing, not God's. He begs you to leave the future to Him, and mind the present. -- George McDonald

I always like to share with you all what I'm reading. One of the books I'm almost finished with is Carol Kent's third in the story of her life-imprisoned son. This one is about the joy that can come in the midst of unimaginably horrible circumstances, and how God can use ANYTHING for His glory. If you haven't read these books, please, for your own sake, buy them, borrow them, get them from the library - you'll never regret it. The first one is When I Lay My Isaac Down, and the second is A New Kind of Normal.

I really love this verse Carol used as the basis of this book, from Romans 9:33 in The Message:

Careful! I've put a huge stone on the road to Mount Zion,
a stone you can't get around. But the stone is me!
If you're looking for me, you'll find me ON the way, not IN the way.

Another book that I'm reading at the same time, with my devotional time in the mornings, is by Sheila Walsh. It is also hitting home with me.


I've started this one by Condoleeza Rice, but haven't gotten too far into it yet. I think it'll be great - I saw an interview with her when the book came out. She's a classy lady, to say the least.


Halloween has come and gone (yay - not my favorite "holiday"), but I had to dress the littles in their costumes for at least 3 days to get the maximum enjoyment of watching people's reactions. It's so much fun to make folks' day better. These were taken when we went to our library day - this is an enormous tree that is growing in the space between the gutter and the sidewalk on this very old street downtown - it's far to big for where it is, but I'm glad nobody's cut it down.





After library time, we went out to visit Great Grandma - they love the aquarium in the lobby. Side note - if you want to have a good feeling kind of day, take some little darlings to a place where really old grandmas and grandpas live - it lights up their lives.



I didn't get pictures of the big girls in their costumes this year, but we did have our own little personal jack-o-lantern pattern.




On an entirely different topic. I have never been a thrift store shopper - the only reason being that I don't have the patience to search for treasures in such a large amount of stuff. I have had great success finding cute clothes for the girls, but never for myself. However - the other day, I was passing by a rack of tops when this wonderful jacket caught my eye - my size, which is very unusual to find. Everyone I know who has good luck at thrift stores is a tiny person.







I had the shirt at home which matches the ribbons precisely. It is such fun to wear and I've had so many compliments. I have a friend who is raising yaks and she was really interested when she saw the brand name in the collar - Yak Magik. I looked it up on Google and found this information:

Yak Magik has its origins in the search for extraordinary places, people, and things. Months spent exploring the high peaks and valleys of the Nepalese Himalaya led to a deep appreciation of the people and culture of Nepal. That appreciation led to great friendships and business partnerships manufacturing novelty jackets in the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal. Almost 30 years later we continue to develop our uniquely beautiful jackets with these amazing artisans.

Yak Magik is fine tailoring, one jacket at a time, not assembly line production, and features complex fabric manipulating, top-stitching, and piped seams.

I wrote an e-mail to the company in the state of Washington to ask how old my jacket might be. They wrote back (pretty neat) and said it was probably made 15 years ago. I love it. It's a treasure.


I love this picture I took of the last full moon, outside my front door.





Finally - our first little snow storm yesterday. The girls were so excited to put on their new boots and head into the white yard. After school they made a snowman - it amazes me how much the littles like to be outside in this stuff.








Well, this turned out to be quite the rambling post - I hope you find a part that makes it worth wading through! BTW, I am continuing to sing in the community choir, plus the church cantata (both on the same week-end, as it turns out), and enjoying. It'll be a challenge to get there this week with DC not at full capacity. I'll have to ruminate on that problem.

Have a wonderful week-end.