A Visit from the Greens

We did enjoy our visit from the Greens.  The kids hadn't seen their cousins for a very long time.  It was nice to see them getting to know one another all over again, now that they are all a bit older.

Especially the part where we went to Michigan's Adventure.

Blueberries (Or, Please Fence Me In!)

Cheryl likes her berries, she does.  And fruit.  But our poor soil doesn't support real fruit trees.  And the animals (deer, squirrels, chipmunks, possums, raccoons, bunny rabbits, birds) take care of any berries that might try growing.

We'd really like some blueberries.  Really.

So Cheryl came up with the idea of putting a fence around the little blueberry bushes that have been attempting to grow these last two years, and had the boys take care of it. They seemed to enjoy the job.  Probably because it didn't involve digging post-holes and mixing cement.  We simply took a few lengths of PVC pipe and cut angles on one end of each, pounded them into the ground around the bushes in a kind of squarish pattern, then wrapped some chicken wire around it.

Now maybe the animals will leave the poor bushes alone long enough for them to grow a few berries.

And - someday - we might have blueberries on our pancakes.

Moment by Moment

The pace of life has been increasing of late.  Not enough time or brain-power left over for such things as logging the daily trivialities.  Necessity has driven me to carry around a camera at all times, if only for the purpose of recording the passage of days which are whirling past my head like debris in a hurricane.

So many things have happened in the past couple of months.  The children finished another year of school.  There were numerous concerts and awards presentations and celebrations of one kind of another.  There were birthdays, graduation parties, trips to distant lands, and lots of morning walks with the family.  Home projects galore.

And my brother's bout with cancer.

Of all the trivialities which we concern ourselves here in our little world up north, their significance drops below the radar in comparison to his struggle.  To wake up one morning, hale and hearty (with one nagging little issue that is setting off alarms inside one's head), then to discover in a matter of minutes/hours/days that the nagging little issue it is not a minor anomaly that can be dealt with by application of appropriate amounts of antibiotic and a Band-Aid, but is instead a serious complication requiring swift medical intervention followed by weeks/months of painful therapy.

All my petty issues have disappeared into the wind.

I have read numerous accounts from those who have fought against this disease, and the knowledge gained from that casual research is universal and poignant: in the end, nothing matters but the love you share with family and friends. Hearing that yet another member of my family must endure the suffering brought on by this malady reminds me to treasure the moments we have together, to seek out opportunities to share time and space with those I love.  Here on this earth, we survive on the narrowest of margins, and the blessings of birth and circumstance are no guarantee of longevity or happiness. We know that 'man is born to suffer as the sparks fly upward'; and for this reason, we hold to a hope that is beyond reason, beyond understanding, beyond comprehension through 'natural' means. We make the most of the time we have, never assured of tomorrow's rising sun, but reassured by our faith that there will be a rising in the end.

At this moment in time, the future unknown, we place our faith on the altar, our prayers on our lips, our trust in our God, and our thoughts, hopes and dreams with our brother Kel.  God bless you with healing, a long and happy life, fulfillment, peace and joy.