Xanga

Live purposefully and worthily and accurately, not as the unwise and witless, but as wise (sensible, intelligent people).

Ephesians 5:15 (Amplified Bible)

Day After the First Snow

It was a beautiful day – starting with the sunrise.

The temperature turned cold overnight (25 degrees), so there was still a lot of snow this morning.

 Trees glittered in the sunlight with the icy snow that clung to their branches.

 I thought you may enjoy seeing the scenery on the way to church this morning.  At the end of our driveway – looking north toward Eli’s farm and the mountain.

 Driving south

 Old tombstones at a church we pass on our two-mile drive.

Facing east at the four-way stop sign in the village between our house and church. 

 Just after turning right at the stop sign.

  Notice our church on top of the hill.

Entering the parking lot.

Looking in the direction of our house – from the back parking lot at church.

After lunch, the sunshine began to melt some of the snow.

 There was still some ice on the branches when the sun set this evening.

You own the day, you own the night;  you put stars and sun in place. You laid out the four corners of earth, shaped the seasons of summer and winter.

Psalm 74:16-17 (The Message)

First Snow!

I could hardly wait to get some snow pictures today, but it took a few hours before it stayed on the ground, or amounted to anything.

It had just started when I went to town in the late morning.

By noon I still had a difficult time finding even little bits of snow on leaves or bushes, because it melted as it hit any surface.

By late afternoon it was beginning to accumulate on the ground.

By evening it was looking pretty.

~~~

I don’t expect it to be around very long, but it was fun to see snow again.

I came to give life—life in all its fullness.

John 10:10 (New Century Version)

More Hunting Pictures

This morning I received two photos from our son Jere.

Left to right: Gene, Denny, Marlin, Jeff, Cerwin, Jere, and Jordan – the guys who were hunting in West Virginia – November 23-25.  (Three generations in this picture: Cerwin, Jeff, and Jordan.)

A few days later (November 30 and December 1) Cerwin was part of another three generation hunt:  Cerwin, Josh, and Jere.  There was no deer harvest in any of these hunts, and though they like to get meat for our freezers, the hunt and camaraderie seem to be okay for them once in a while.

~~~

This morning I received a call from a successful hunter – our son Jeff. 

This time he was hunting in the field behind their house.

I wanted to visualize his story, so asked him to show me where he shot the doe.  He and Chris are thankful that they will have hamburger for their freezer this winter.

~~~

Cerwin, Marlin, and Denny (see first photo) are back in West Virginia.  They are having a good time, but still no meat to bring home. 

Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.

Matthew 6:34 (The Message)

Jesse’s Arm & a Trophy Buck

On Tuesday the specialist determined that Jesse needed to have his arm in a cast for a few weeks. However, this one was more of a problem than an aid. His fingers were swollen, and he complained about pain most of the time.

So today (Thursday) he got a new cast – and a camouflage one at that!

~~~

On Tuesday evening we received a phone call from our brother-in-law Marlin.  He was one happy hunter.

Cerwin and our son Jeff decided they wanted to see his eight-point, so stayed in touch by cell phone to make sure we were there when he got home.

Marlin got this nice eight-point in Potter County, Pennsylvania.

I understand he is giving the meat to a friend.  After taking these pictures, I left the men to discuss hunting, and walked home – by the path in our woodlot. It was a beautiful walk, as the full moon gave me plenty of light. There are advantages to living in the same woodlot as my sister.

Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder. 

Romans 12:12 (The Message)

Pancake Supper and Soccer Practice

…and Jesse visits the ER

Monday, November 30

About 4:30 Monday afternoon, our granddaughter Jana called to ask if I could come to their house for a pancake supper. I accepted.

Then Ian got on the phone and asked if it would suit me to go to his soccer practice. I said, “Yes, I can go tonight.” I loved his reply.  He said (with excitement in his voice), “YOU WILL!”

He was anxious to show me his shin guards and special soccer socks.

After supper, Jana gave us a one-song piano concert – Frosty the Snowman.

~~~

Now who would have thought an invitation to a pancake supper and soccer practice would turn out to be a “God-thing.” 

Just before I got there, Jared and Jesse were tussling, and something happened that injured Jesse’s right arm.  So, it was decided that I would take Jana, Ian, and Jared to soccer practice, while Kristen took Jesse to the ER.  (Remember from yesterday’s post that the men are on a hunting excursion a few hours away from here.)

Soccer training warmup began with every student kicking a ball around the gym. 

This was the high school gym when I went to school – many years ago.  Now it is used as a rec center gym.

During this exercise each player chose a partner.  One bounced the ball between their feet, while the other did jumping jacks.  After a set amount of time, the coach asked them to switch.

Notice in this photo that they now have team shirts – which they received during warmup.

c

Lining up according to the alphabet – I’m not sure if they used their first or last name.

Learning to walk sideways by doing the grapevine.

Playing soccer.  Ian was the first one to make a goal for the yellow team. 

By this time of the evening there were three groups:  one played soccer, and the other two did a variety of training skills. After a scheduled amount of time the groups switched.

In this exercise they learned to kick a moving ball, which was rolled toward them by a coach.

Wrap-up instructions from the coach.  I was impressed by his gentle training.

The crew I took to the gym. 

How can a grandma turn down those sweet faces, when they ask, “Grandma, can we go to the Twin Kiss for ice cream?”

Jared and Ian chose chocolate ice cream – one in a dish with sprinkles, the other in a cone without sprinkles.  My choice was a small hot fudge sundae – with LOTS of whipped cream.

Jana chose a chocolate/vanilla twist in a cone with sprinkles.

Guess who ended up with a chocolate mouth and face.

This is what Jesse looked like when we got home.  The xray did not reveal a definite break, but his arm was splinted and wrapped until Kristen could take him to a specialist in the morning.