Our niece Kelly Durland became Mrs. Nadel last Sunday. East Hampton, New York was the place. Everything was quite BEAUTIFUL(understatement!).

Brothers

photo by Annie

Kyrie Anna Ruth

"All about Jesus."

Chalice is in Mississippi at Belhaven College learning dance with Ballet Magnificat, a ballet company committed to praising the Lord in dance. There are no mirrors in some of the dancing studios so as to get your heart, soul, mind and eyes on Him and not so much on self. The teachers are super encouraging and inspiring. Chalice wants you to know that the picture of this woman is one of the founders of the company, is a completely inspiring teacher and is 52!!

Jonlyn becomes Mrs. Howard on January 17!

Houses and riches are the inheritance from fathers, but a wise and understanding wife is from the Lord. -Proverbs 19:14. Picture coming.

A Diamond Ring!

Lowen proposed to Jonlyn Linville on the eve of May 9th here in his hometown of Cambridge. What a surprise! Lowen, send me the pictures we took that eve. so I can post one.

Nectarines and a Mother's Day Greeting.

This is the one and only zany Brae holding a nectarine with an engraved message on it that says Happy Mother's Day in Chinese. Brae and China deserve each other - that's for sure! Thank you Brae for the greeting and this is to all you moms out there.

It is the long-awaited May 1 and I can now say, "BRAE WILL BE HOME NEXT MONTH!"

I have been waiting to be able to say that. Damien, find a picture for this. just the right one-a little kid doing a cartwheel or something...like I have to give you an idea!

ALSO, it is the official countdown to my sister's son's wedding..."10!"... All my Chattanooga kids have 9 days to get it together and land here! I believe in you guys. You can do it.

Also, my best friend in the seventh grade-Jane Gallagher-I always remember that it is her birthday today! I wish I knew her number. She is in Annapolis somewhere. Gotta go sub.

Mutual attraction on a Greyhound bus.

While Chalice was traveling by bus for 14 hours from Jackson, Miss. to Chattanooga, Tn., I was slightly concerned that an unknown male might notice her beauty and perhaps watch her from a distance. Just as I suspected, this indeed was the case, but my daughter was responding with her beautiful eyes and eyelashes and smile to this stranger's attention - even pulling out her camera to capture his gaze. Here is the picture she sent me (using only her cell phone) while on the bus!

Serious gardening.

Damien told me on the phone that there was a big tractor in the backyard. Yep, I found the tiller man and hired him to come "till". Since then I have tapped the posts in with the sledge hammer. You should see me wrangling with the chicken-wire fencing. How to unwind the roll without it wrapping me up in it...now that is the challenge, but I prevailed. The garden is where the playground used to be so I am finding old toys in the dirt which is quite dear. I have made those mounded rows and have put in so far: broccoli, collards, brussel sprouts, cabbage, onions, spinach and lettuce. Other vegetables have to wait till it's a bit warmer. I'm a real Eastern Shore woman now...sore chapped hands and all.

A prayer with Brae in mind as she flies to China this morning

Actually, this prayer fills my mind with thoughts of Kyrie as a little girl. Gathering her art supplies, she would copy this prayer and illustrate it with her trusty colored pencils until I would exclaim, "Wow, we need to find a frame for this!" But, that said, this is still for Brae-Brae.

God be in my head, and in my understanding.
God be in my eyes, and in my looking.
God be in my mouth, and in my speaking.
God be in my heart, and in my thinking.
God be at my end, and at my departing.

Counteract.

More on aging! Damien has become a cross-word "puzzler". It is actually very good for the aging brain as we all know. On American Idol one of the "rockers" said he does cross-word puzzles in his free time which Simon laughed at and retorted "That is boring and will do nothing for your american-idol image." Paula quipped back, "I beg your pardon, women like smart men!" I thought that was a great reply and so true.
Anyway, on a program last night on the brain it was explained that when an older person starts looking down as he walks, he is actually replacing the brain's job for balance with the eye-which is a poor substitute and will not work. Older people, keep looking up when you are walking just as you always did! Kids never look down even when they gallop down steps.

At 50, everyone has the face they deserve.

-At 30. your bones are the strongest they will be and you have the most stamina and endurance you will ever have.
-At 50, peope start to act like their parents even if they had been very rebellious.
-Good news ladies! At 55, we start to lose weight. The bad news is that it is bone, lean tissue, muscle and water.
-Wrinkles do not come from aging. They come from sunlight.
-The years between 50-57 are the hardest because we are still being asked to do things but we are not decrepit enough to say no.
-At 60, saliva decreases, lessening digestion which is why heavy meals don't seem like such a good idea anymore.
-I end with good news. At 90, you have a very slim chance of getting cancer. Hungry, mutant cells are not going "there".

This came from an article I read that I thought was most amusing for some reason,

City girls!

High energy Brae and her super-spirited artist friend Eleanor came for the day and left me totally wiped. Out to lunch we went, window shopping, visited Pax and Chalice at school, made cupcakes, dinner, coffee, and looked for things Brae left at Christmas. We realised Lowen gave some of these items to Jonlyn. How did that happen? It didn't seem to phase Brae in the least. That attitude comes from being young and big-hearted. They raced off at 6pm because Brae had to get the rental car back by 9. City girls are fun! Thank you Brae for starting off our week with hearty laughter and buckets of fun.

How my sister and her husband must feel tonight...

Then the earth shook and trembled;
The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken,...
He bowed the heavens also, and came down...
He flew upon the wings of the wind
The Lord also thundered in the heavens,
And the Most High uttered His voice...
He send out His arrows and scattered the foe...

He delivered me from my strong enemy,
For they were too strong for me.

Let the God of my salvation be exalted! Psalm 18.

(Dedicated to the Powell family who have just learned that their son James will be officially released from the grip of the public school system and into the qualified care of a private school - summer school included!)

A poem from Kyrie to me

Child
I ran most
everywhere in the
quilt of green
sun-spattered backyards bordered
by weathered fences

opened gates
and trampled rows of
persistent
daylilies that spoke of spring
and white blond tangles


(Send more poems Kyrie. my birthday is 3/21-just send poems!)

Trust

linda omelianchuk

Cause me to hear your lovingkindness in the morning. For in you do I trust; cause me to know the way in which I should walk. For I lift up my soul to you.

Psalm 143:8

Is there hope in prayer?

Our hope in prayer is rooted in His faithfulness. We have none.
Our hope in prayer is rooted in His grace. He is unwilling to rest until the work of our transformation is complete.
Our hope in prayer is rooted in His love-He looks out for us and hears our cry.
Our hope in prayer is rooted in His commitment to His own glory. I don't think I will ever understand this statement until heaven: His commitment to His own glory causes Him to listen and respond and answer until we no longer look to the shadow glories of creation for satisfaction but rather to Him alone and all that He is. Nope, no matter how often I read that, I can't process it. These comments are taken from Paul Tripp's blog.

This is dedicated to my sister and her husband who have fought long and hard to get their adopted son from Romania the help he needs. Their son is 16 and needs so much more than the public high school special ed program can give. They are hoping that the lawyers, doctors, therapists and school officials, etc. will find a place for him elswhere. The right school is out there but getting placed there has been impossible so far. They have been working toward this goal for about 10 years. Wed., Jan. 30, they will know once and for all the verdict. We would really appreciate your prayers. Thanks

Nostalgia

I get to go to Covenant College today. The place that strengthened my young faith beyond measure and, how shall I put this, set the tone for the rest of my life. It is there that I fell head over heels for Damien. Funny how it seems like yesterday that he had that long hair with that long lean body maneuvering a skateboard there in front of Carter Hall. Or that time (during dinner) when he aimed jello at me from his spoon and it disappeared right down the center of my "blouse"! Ah yes, it is all coming back to me. I am looking forward to chapel which was every day for us when all 500 students gathered together to hear a message and sing. We loved Dr. Krabbendam and Wilma Vanderkooi. We lived on the mountain as newlyweds and the homes up and down that mountain are pretty magnificent. Our buds were Ron Johnson, Bob and Sue, Sanders, Warren, Rocky, the Robinson boys, John Pummell, Mark Gornik, Bob Butterfield, etc. We tease Lowen that he is like a salmon going back to the place where he "began".
Gotta rouse Damien so he can find just the right picture for this post-maybe a salmon swimming upstream!

"Take Heart"

van gogh

My friend has lymphoma again and it is interfering with everything including her breathing. I came across Paul Tripp's post last month (on Psalm 27:14) and it has helped me know how to encourage. Take heart and wait for the Lord. Why? 1.) Love. We are held in the hands of the one who is the essence of love. 2.) Wisdom. We are in a relationship with the One who is all wisdom and who gives of this wisdom. 3.) Power. Nothing can describe His power and how He is able to deliver all that He has promised. 4.) Unchallenged Rule. Nothing is out of control. He ordains whatsoever comes to past. 5.) Grace. We are not left to our own limited resources when we are in Christ. We have His strength, His wisdom, a new identity and new potential. Our resources in Christ are limitless and sufficient.