Wordless Wednesday - Only God Can Do This

Sunrise and Moonset at the Same Time!

Doubly Blessed

Yesterday afternoon we had Kristen's shower given by the church. Kate and Emma didn't get to attend the festivities - just too many flu germs still flying around here and it's too risky for their tiny little bodies.


The two young women who planned the shower did a beautiful job. The cupcake design was so creative.

The big girls were so excited to help. They were so eager that they opened the gifts too fast - like they do at Christmas. They would immediately claim one outfit or another for their own baby. Halfway through, they opened gifts from one of the guests, a very thoughtful grandma who gave them coloring books and crayons, etc. They immediately dropped to the floor and begin creating.

One of the younger guests - her mommy was one of the hostesses.

Oh, my goodness - the people of our church were so incredibly generous. These little girls will be the best dressed twins in the state, maybe the region. When you think that everyone bought double - and some bought several double outfits - it was overwhelming. It was if they looked at all of the cute things and couldn't resist any of them!

Some close-ups - they're going to look like little models in these outfits.

These little "Baby Kakes" are made by a gal who works in a deli at Albertson's. She takes the angel food cake containers and makes these wonderful gifts. Unfortunately, Care Bear and Feisty got so excited about them that I didn't get a picture before they were dismantled. I put one together as best I could. The core is filled with diapers, with a receiving blanket lining the cover. In the middle of the diapers is a colorful bottle. Also included are two little tiny hats, a brush and comb set, and some little bows for their future hair. Just adorable!

Do these burp cloths look familiar to you? Thanks, Barb, for doing such a wonderful job for us! She loves them and they have been put to good use already today.

Between the diapers I bought every week since I learned of the twins coming, and the ones she got yesterday, plus the huge box of wipes, we should be in good shape for quite awhile. What a blessing!

Another blessing I need to acknowledge - last week I posted a message from our DIL, Sema, about the conditions her family is living with in Kenya. She has been so blessed by the checks and prayer pledges she has received from you. She also got money from her church small group and her co-workers. She finally reached her dad by phone, and he was totally overwhelmed with joy, amazement, and surprise. Please go over and read her new post at Twenty-Eight Celsius. It will bless you.

This and That Chit Chat

Would that be the same as rambling? Probably!


Have you ever made one of those phone calls where a disembodied voice asks you questions and you can either answer out loud or you can press something on your phone's keypad? This morning I was trying to pay a couple of bills this way. I really don't like talking to disembodied voices, so I normally choose to key in the numbers. This particular day, I had a lot of throat clearing going on, and the disembodied voice kept thinking I was trying to answer its questions - "I'm sorry, I did not understand that response." Kinda made me laugh. Kinda made me frustrated.

Did you ever make a split second decision that changed the course of your day? Not that this was anything earth-shattering or life-changing. Just an example of how something you choose to do or not to do can have an impact.


We enjoyed a bit of the lunar eclipse last night as we came out of church. It was 8:30 MST - I should have looked out again later, but I didn't (I have seen some amazing pictures out there in blogland today). This morning, as I was leaving for work, I chose to leave my camera at home. I should know better than to ever leave my camera at home. I always regret it. Sure enough, about a mile up the road to work, I peered over at the mountains and saw an amazing sight - a slight sliver of the moon was going behind a cloud, just above the mountains. I was stunned with the beautiful and unusual view. I was so sad I didn't have my camera - so I did a quick turn back south, hoping I could get back in time for the last glimpse. Of course, in the 5 minutes it took to get back to that spot, it was completely gone. You'll just have to try to imagine it. But I did get a winter view of Long's and Meeker peaks.

Then I looked to the east and was rewarded with this beautiful sunrise. Thank you, Lord!


I hope these next three things tickle your funny bone as they did mine and give you a good chuckle to start or end your day (depending on when you read this).

When Kristen was going to the hospital twice a day to feed Kate and Emma, Feisty was often with her. One thing the nurses stressed was the importance of "skin to skin" contact with the babies and their mommy. Since they've been home, Feisty and Care Bear have been a big help. But when Care Bear is in school, Feisty cherishes her time with Mommy and the babies. She loves to hold them, especially Emma whom she named. She'll pull off her shirt and say, "I want her to feel my skin!" Oh, my, how they are watching and listening and absorbing everything around them. Behooves us to be careful what they see and hear!

This morning when I got to work, I looked at the white board, which faculty use to check out and in, so we have some semblance of an idea when they might be available to students. I got a real kick out of this entry:

QUICK LUNCH? 4:00-ISH?? (Hope she left 3:30-ish!)

And, last but not least - you can tell you have been married a long time when - you hear the hall closet door open, you hear your husband say, "Hmmmm," and you know exactly what the problem is (because it has taken all week to get last week's laundry done, since I was a "tad" busy and a lot tired) - the clean towels haven't been brought up from the laundry room yet!

(Our last picture in Hawaii)

Have a great Friday!

Random Ramblings #19

It's been awhile since I've done a rambling post - except some of you probably think I ramble all the time!

First of all, thanks so much for all of your kind thoughts and words and checks for Sema's family. It is really a sad situation over there. I am working with the district leader of our missions program to see if we can do something on a large scale.

To answer questions from the last post - the great grandma picture is DC's mom. I need to take one of my mom holding them, too. They're so blessed to have two great grandmas and a great grandpa within 4 miles of their house.


Thank you also for your concern for Feisty. She is "all better" - then her daddy got sick, so I ended up having the girlies for 3 nights. The weariness hit me yesterday afternoon. But I think I did pretty well for being the grandma! I was rewarded last night with a smile from Emma. We really got to know each other well in those many hours of cuddling and feeding.

I'm happy that you enjoyed my stories about the two towns I've lived in that have distinctive titles. Someone asked if many couples come to Loveland to get married as well. I read that Loveland, Ohio gets a lot of couples marrying on Valentine's Day. Here in Colorado, many couples go to Loveland Pass,which is a ski area, to get married on skis.

I tried to take some pictures of the twins in their Valentine outfits - it didn't go so well - they'll never win an award!







Care Bear loves to hold, feed, kiss their heads. She also loves to read stories. She claims Kate as "her baby", but she'll take care of either. Poor Feisty couldn't love on them for 3 whole days!

No, that isn't a bruise on her forehead. Nor is it left over from Ash Wednesday. It's a little flower tattoo that absolutely refuses to let itself be washed off! ANy ideas on something non-toxic that we can use??

I just love the way they interact with each other. I have a feeling that Kate will dominate the conversations!






On a different subject -- about time, eh?? Spring is coming! Care Bear and I were talking about how nice it was today - 60 degrees. She was hoping to go to the "duck pond park" without a coat. I told her that tomorrow it is supposed to snow again. She said, "Warm, snow, warm, snow - it's a pattern!" She's learning about patterns in kindergarten math.

The days are getting longer - since I'm not going to work so early now, I can actually see the sunrise. And it stays light until after 5:00. YAY!!

On a more serious note - today I was listening to the radio, as I always do on my way to work. They were having a discussion of the scripture from Matthew and Mark about "wars and rumors of wars" and the other signs of the end times. Sometimes I get so distressed when I listen to the news. I often don't. But on the Christian station I listen to, sometimes I hear things that are so troubling about what is happening in the world from a Christian's point of view.


Sometimes we are certain the Lord is returning because of the wars and rumors of wars, the earthquakes, the floods and fires, famines . . . This scripture reminds us that "these are the beginning of birth pangs" - we do not know and cannot know and will not know when the end of time will be.

The scripture has a phrase that I hadn't noticed before --

Mark 13:6-8 (New International Version)

6 Many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am he,' and will deceive many.


7 When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.


8 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.


It feels like the world is so out of control. We want things to be better for our children and grandchildren. It is scary. But then we have to remember that He is in control. He knows the end of the story. He sees the back of the tapestry - to us it looks like a tangled mess of threads. But it is making a beautiful picture on the front. It is hard for me not to be alarmed. I want to see my grandchildren grow up, but I fear for the world they will grow up in. Even so, Lord Jesus, COME!

Kristen finally had a chance to do a post - some of you haven't had an opportunity to read it yet - check it out!

Diane honored me with her first created award today. Thanks, dear friend! I can see it when I right click!

Tale of Two Towns

But first - a message from the teeny tiny twins. They are growing like little weeds - Kate is up to 5 lbs. 4 ounces, and Emma is at 4 pounds 8 ounces. They will be 6 weeks old on Monday.

Proud Great Grandma

Feisty is really sick today, so I kept the babies while Kristen took her to the doctor. It turned into a "sleepover" to protect the little ones from catching anything. That would be disastrous. We decided to take them with us on our Friday night "date." Were we ever the center of attention at the restaurant!

Grandpa finally gets to hold one (Emma) - and feed her.

It took them quite a while to settle down - both of them! They're sleeping now, but I don't see myself getting a very good night's rest. But hopefully Kristen will.

Now to the story of the day.

When I was in the middle of 5th through the 8th grade, we lived in International Falls, Minnesota. This town is situated in the northernmost point of Minnesota - just across the bridge from Fort Francis, Ontario. It is a very COLD place. In fact, International Falls long promoted itself as the "Icebox of the Nation".

I can't imagine being so desperate for fame that you would want this distinction, but the trademark for the slogan has been challenged on several occasions by the small town of Fraser, Colorado. Officials from Fraser claimed usage since 1956, International Fall since 1948. The two towns came to an agreement in 1986, when International Falls paid Fraser $2,000 to relinquish its "official" claim. However, in 1996, International Falls inadvertently failed to renew its federal trademark, although it had kept its state trademark up to date. Fraser then filed to gain the federal trademark.

I read in the paper just this week that after several years of legal battles, the United States Patent and Trademark Office officially registered the slogan with International Falls on January 29, 2008, Registration Number 3375139. Only a few days after announcing its success in the trademark battle, International Falls had a record low temperature of −40°F, beating a previous record of −37°F in 1967.

My dad drove a school bus to supplement his very minimal salary as pastor of a small church. We had to walk 6 blocks to school in this frigid winter weather. Dad's route took him right by us, but he could not pick us up because we did not live far enough from school to merit a bus ride. He felt so bad. We literally did walk to school in -40 weather. Thank goodness this was before the days of figuring "wind chill index." I don't think we could have stood the psychological impact of knowing that number.

For the last two Valentine's Days I have wanted to tell this story about the town where I have lived for 36 years (hard to believe, since prior to that, the longest I lived anywhere was 5 years). I was reluctant to reveal exactly where I live. But I have decided it's such an interesting tale that I will leave my anonymity to this extent.

Two years before International Falls took on the claim of "Icebox of the Nation," way back in 1946 (well before the Internet, but slightly after the Pony Express) an idea came to Postmaster Elmer Ivers, Chamber of Commerce President Ted W. Thompson and his wife Mabel. They had a vision - a vision to share the romantic name of our town of Loveland with the whole world.

So it came to pass, in the February of 1947 the Loveland Valentine Remailing Program was born. Since 1947, literally millions of valentines have touched the heart strings of loved ones with Cupid's message hand stamped and remailed from Loveland, Colorado.

Since 1962 a high school senior girl has been chosen to represent the program and the city as "Miss Loveland Valentine". Personal appearances representing the City of Loveland take this ambassador around the state of Colorado. An appearance at the Colorado State Legislature and a personal visit with the Governor are just two of the highlights in her busy schedule.

In 1964, a specially designed Valentine card was produced to offset some of the expenses of this costly program, and the Official Loveland Valentine's Cards continue to touch the hearts of people around throughout the world. Loveland Valentines can be purchased through the Chamber of Commerce , from their Official Loveland Valentine web site, or through any of the participating Chamber merchants. Every year there is a contest for the card's design. Here is this year's winner:

Loveland's "Valentine Sweethearts", Ted and Mabel Thompson have now passed away. The Loveland community feels their absence. To commemorate their vision and love of Loveland, their memory lives on through the annual Valentine Re-Mailing program. A bronze relief of the Thompsons is featured in Thompson Park on 4th Street in Loveland. (copied from the Loveland Daily Report Herald).

An average of 200,000 letters are stamped each year. I read that Oprah even sent her cards here one year for the Valentine cachet. People from 110 countries send their cards here for remailing. This is what the 65 volunteers stamped on the 200,000 letters this year.

There has been quite a bit of commotion over the fact that this year Cupid is wearing jeans and a cowboy hat. Before this year, he has been unclothed. Someday I'll share some other stories with you that might have led to this controversy with Cupid. We have an interesting town!

The valentine program is so popular that there is a volunteer waiting list of 45 people. I'm thinking maybe I should get my name on that list so I can join in the fun next year when I'm retired! What do you think??

NOTE: I think I slept a total of 1.5-2 hours last night. The girls took turns waking up, eating, sleeping, waking up. At least never both at the same time. I am not getting any sleep, but don't feel too bad. Feisty is still sick. Please pray for her.

NOTE #2: I still had them all day Saturday and all night. But this time I think I managed about 6 hours of sleep. They slept much longer between each feeding. Feisty is improving, but we have had to do a lot of "musical chairs" type organizing to get DC and me to church and choir, get Care Bear to Sunday School, and Kristen and Mike to second service to play and sing in the worship team. DC is now with Feisty at their house and I'm with the babies at ours. Dinner is in the oven. The snow that was coming down hard when we got up has ended and the sun is out. Someone at church told me I look great considering I have had such a week-end. But we have really bonded with the little girlies!

Kristen has finally found a minute while here this morning to do a catch-up post. Go on over and visit her if you have a minute to spare.

Serious Situation

I imagine most will be doing Valentine's Day posts today. Even though I live in a place where Valentine's Day is a huge part of the town's identity, I have chosen to let you know about something serious today. If you need a lift and haven't read yesterday's post yet, go there first, but please come back for this message.

If you've read me long, you know that my son, Kevin, went to Kenya, Africa to school for one semester. What a life-changing semester that was. He met Sema (her blog name) and she became the love of his life, besides his Swahili tutor!

I have not been to Kenya yet, but I need to go and meet Sema's family. They are wonderful people, and were not able to be here for the wedding. In fact, the American Embassy in Kenya denied their request to come for a visit three years ago at Christmas. (We now know that God was probably in that situation, but it was very hurtful at the time). We hope they can come sometime soon.

But today I want to share with you from Sema's heart. I asked her to write this for me, and I am sending it to everyone I know. There is a request for money at the end, but that is not the main reason I am sending this out. I know many of you are prayer warriors, and the people of Kenya need your prayers. We always hear about Ethiopia, Uganda, Sudan, Somalia, Rwanda - all of these places that have been in the news for years for the atrocities happening there. Kenya, on the other hand, has been more prosperous and stable. If you've kept up with international news lately, you may know that they had an election recently and the current president was re-elected. There are many people who are unhappy about that re-election and are showing it with acts of violence. We are blessed here in America - even if we dislike the president intensely, can't stand the candidates who are running, we do it peacefully.

Mostly you hear about Nairobi in the news stories. Sema's family is from Mombasa, which is on the Indian Ocean. Only recently has she learned how very bad it has become there. I am now going to quote her words:

• Some of you may know the difficult state of the affairs of Kenya has begun to affect my family in Kenya. Riots and violence is the order of the day in Kenya. At first the violence was only in the capital city and parts of central Nairobi, but now my mother and father who reside in Mombasa (until now a relatively peaceful place) have been caught right in the midst of this political mayhem. Food has become scarce and prices on food has skyrocketed due to the unrest and my parents desperately need money so they can afford to buy food. Things that used to cost $7 now cost $20-$30.
  
  In Mombasa, healthcare is deteriorating, and doctors are becoming discriminatory on whom they treat, for fear of their life. Most doctors have received threats and have had to be evacuated to their homeland, for fear of being killed for being one tribe and not the other. Though my parents’ tribe is not among the tribes fighting, it is becoming harder and harder to distinguish which person belongs to which tribe, and killings are increasing and becoming more random. Mobs of unruly citizens are seeking ’kikuyu” shops and burning them, which in turn leaves very few shops open to provide for the entire city of Mombasa.
  
  I am sending this email so that people can have a better and clear understanding of what my country is really going through. Kenyans are really suffering and innocent people have lost their lives because of the Political unrest. This current political crisis has directly affected my family in Kenya. I am in the process of collecting donations from people, so that I can send the money to my parents and hope they can be able to buy food so they do not starve. For all that will feel compelled to contribute towards this course, I thank you in advance and may God Bless you.
  
  Thank you.

She got a message later in the day with some horribly graphic pictures of piles of bodies who had been shot and cut with machetes. The president has ordered the police to shoot to kill if violence erupts. Her brother takes public transportation to school in Nairobi every day, and it is worrisome to Sema, who is so very far away from them.

I know this is not easy or fun to read, and I will go back to posting pictures of the teeny tiny twins, and try to finish the travelogue. But this is what is on my heart today. To put a face on this story, I leave you with this picture of Kevin and his beautiful wife, Sema.

This picture was taken at a Teen Challenge banquet - if you don't know Kev's story, it is on my sidebar under "A Story of Deliverance."

Thank you for your prayers for Sema's family.