'peggy-isms'

dear emily,

i have already written a post on my precious mother in law, peggy, but
today she said so many darling 'peggy-isms' i had to pass them along.
hans and i were driving peggy and walt, my father in law, to see the
progress of the new "anthropologie" installation.  as we were passing
through one of the pretty neighborhoods on the way, peggy says,

"oh, look at those sweet naked ladies!"

hans almost had a wreck and was very disappointed to see that the
naked ladies were actually lovely pink flowers with no leaves.

en route, she also told us about a friend whose mother was a devoted
bridge player.  if she ever needed a fourth, the mother would call the
school to say that her daughter had a dentist's appointment.   then she
would send her chauffeur to pick up  the daughter and deliver her to
the bridge game, and no one thought a thing about it.  they probably
even let her have some sherry.

that story then somehow reminded peggy of her favorite little red sports
car on which she had a bumper sticker that said, "you toucha' my car, i
smasha' your face!"  apparently, in addition to the bumper sticker, one
night at the dinner table with her husband and FIVE sons, she read to
them the mafia application:

1.  what'sa your name-a'?
2.  what'sa your favorite-a' pasta?
3.  who'sa your momma'?

i know this is terribly politically incorrect, but she can DO these accents
hysterically well, having been trained to do so.

anyway, back to the "anthopologie" tour:

this amazing store  has a team of designers who fly from city to city to
oversee the installation of each store.  it was fascinating to see how clever
and creative the designers are.

these are just two examples of background displays inserted even before
the walls are painted or the reclaimed wood floors finished.  while we
were there, hans made his mom pose for a pic.  can you believe that
figure at 81?

here's another time she posed in a similar 'fashion'.  sorry it's so tiny and
blurry.  you can see lots of her movie photos here.

that'sa all i have to say about-a' that-a',
lea

ps.  "when she heard in moab that the Lord had come to the aid
of His people, naomi and her daughters-in-law prepared to return
home."  ruth 1:4

have a heavenly weekend!

You established Your faithfulness in heaven itself.

the heavens praise Your wonders, o Lord.

for Who in the skies above can compare with the Lord?

Who is like the Lord among the heavenly beings?

have a heavenly weekend!

love,
lea

ps.  psalm 89: 2, 5, &6

anniversary month

hans and i celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary this month with
an elegant dinner and a lovely bottle of wine.  when we began dating
35 years ago, many people said, "you two will never make it!  you're
way too different."

that is exactly the reason we have been so happy.  he's the gregarious
extrovert who entertains my quiet, simple introverted self.

our daughter shelby recently saved each of our text message responses
to a question.  me:  "that sounds perfect.  love you."  hans sent five
paragraphs of scripture and encouraging words!

it is also shelby and dan's month to celebrate their second year.  they are
the source of goodness and strength to all who know them, especially us!

i'm linking with joyce for her "friday pretties" not because i think we're
pretty, but because i think anniversaries are PRETTY special!

love,
lea

"love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth.  it always protects,
always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."  1 corinthians 13:8,9

want to live a happy, fulfilled life?

dear emily,

did you know that many studies have shown that people are much
happier, healthier, and live longer if they do just one little, fun thing?

sing in a choir!

singing requires steady aerobic breathing which oxygenates the
bloodstream and releases those 'feel good' endorphins we all know
and love.  the same ones released from eating chocolate but without
any of the calories.

in fact, consistent prolonged singing is great exercise, working the
heart, lungs, back, and abdomen.  i typically lose two - four pounds
during the Christmas season from the additional rehearsals and per-
formances of the season.

for those of you, natasha!, who like to celebrate Christmas longer,
singers begin enjoying the lovely Christmas music in august!

choir members experience sweet camaraderie from the challenge of a
new and difficult song.  we laugh at our hilarious mistakes, and our
spirits soar when we have learned to sing the music as beautifully as
we had hoped.

even the shyest of creatures cannot be lonely in a choir, because the
esprit de corps automatically enfolds everyone.

this lovely lady is 84 years old and sings like an angel.  she's also
sitting by an angel.

love,
lea

"i will sing of the Lord's great love forever."  psalm 89:1

lonely moms?

dear emily,

i just ran into a young mom who wished she had a friend with whom
she could share her heart and struggles.  she said that as much as she
loved her two little boys, they couldn't discuss the issues in her heart
or even fashion, for that matter.  her husband could only answer,
"does this make me look fat?" so many times.

i've also read a few blogs written by some other lonely moms, saying
that they just didn't have time to be with their friends.  no time for
friends?

it is heartbreaking to hear about such loneliness . . . and a little
befuddling.  when my children were little, we met my friends and
their children at the park, the pool, or the church all the time.   once
they began attending 'real' school, it was harder to see my closest
friends, but i made new ones in the basketball stands, and i caught
up with the old ones whenever possible.

is it really harder now for young moms to make new friends or to spend
time with their dear friends?  is it that we are becoming more remote
from each other because of the internet, etc.?

i have the most wonderful, caring, selfless friends in the world, and
cannot imagine my life without them.  i can remember my mom's
best friend laughing in our kitchen over coffee and my grandmother's
helping her to can sandplums.  women are wired for companionship,
and it worries me to imagine our culture without that.

i would love to hear your suggestions to help these lonely moms find
some kinship.

love,
lea

"a friend loves at all times, and is born, as is a brother, for adversity."
proverbs 17:17

all done

whew!  eight hours later, with the help of a sweet little

encourager, i'm done.  

five trash bags, five give away bags,  and countless little trips

hauling stuff  to more appropriates resting places pretty much 

"done me in",  as eliza doolittle would say.

did anyone notice the sign on the right?  one of my favorite sayings:  

"if momma ain't happy ain't nobody happy!"

"come unto Me, all you who are weary and heavy laden."

matthew 11:28

love,

lea

office or homeless shelter?

dear emily,

having just been in your immaculate, beautifully designed home that
serves as the backdrop for four vibrant, imaginative, young children,
i was ashamed to come home to my disarrayed dwelling.   i have no
little ones running around leaving shoes, socks, crayons, or tea party
accessories, and therefore have NO excuse for my mess.

i'm afraid that I am the mess.

here is the proof.  do not be fooled by the facade.  those sweet cows
are covering a multitude of sins.  don't you just love their precious
faces . . .

now that i have fortified my resolve with a hearty helping of straw-
berry shortcake, i am going to dive into that homeless shelter and
throw away, give away, or file away my mess.

i LOVE when my blogger friends reveal their before and after pics,
so here are mine.  please don't judge me . . . pray for me!  in a day
or two, i will reveal THE NEW ORDER!

love,
lea

"she watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat
the bread of idleness."  proverbs 31:27

all 'grilled' up

the afternoon before i left my colorado refuge, i decided to surprise
hans by cleaning his grill.  i have never thought of touching that
thing anymore than he would consider picking up a tube of my
mascara.

"this won't be too bad." i started out with a paper towel and some
windex.  ha ha!  not even a smudge was lifted from the monster.

the grease and grime taunted me.  so did the laughter of  the men
sitting in the pool beneath my porch.  "what in the world are they
doing in there?  why aren't they out fishing or hiking?"

the only solution for that grill was hot, soapy water in my sink.  so
i scrubbed and scrubbed and managed to slop grease all over my
clothes and kitchen.  i got a little fussy.

more laughter from the pool.

"i bet those lazy guys think i'm the cleaning lady.  they better not
ask me to clean their grills . . . if they do, i will just tell them how
expensive i am."

in order for me to clean a man's grill, he has to have been married
to me for 30 years!

love,
lea

"she sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her
tasks."  proverbs 31:17

bruce willis

ok, confession time.  i have a weakness for bruce willis.  i know, it's
embarrassing.  but after he made the film with the autistic boy and the
boy who saw dead people, i just had a soft spot for him.

his silly "die hard" movies seemed to come alive for me after that.   i
mean if a tough guy can be that kind to disturbed little boys and then
beat the 'you know what' out of bad guys, he's my kind of hero.

one Christmas, my son isaac gave me all three "die hards." i ought to
be humiliated by that, but instead i memorized many of the lines.

in "die hard 2" he is having a knock down fight with a bad guy on the
wing of a moving plane (seriously?)   after he receives an especially
mighty punch from bruce, the bad guy says, "i kinda' like you."

willis looks at him for a second and then says, "i got enough friends,"
and then pushes him into the engine turbine.  the moral of the story:
don't let your friends choose you, particularly if they are trying to kill
you.

soooooo inspiring.  :)

love,
lea

"there are friends who pretend to be friends . . ." proverbs 18:24

is it hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk?

it may seem that some of us in the south have been complaining
too much about the heat.  all errands have to be finished by 10:00
a.m., because after that the temperatures are dangerous.  it was 98
degrees at 9:00 p.m. and 105 a couple of hours before that.  cabin
fever is setting in.

yesterday afternoon i was looking out the kitchen window at my
brick porch and thought it was truly hot enough to fry an egg.

"you may have a heart of gold, but so does an egg."

"a true friend thinks you're a good egg even though you're
slightly cracked."  bernard meltzer

"you cannot go on indefinitely being just a decent, ordinary
egg.  we must be hatched or go bad."  c.s. lewis

love,
lea

"how often I have longed to gather your children, as a hen
gathers her chicks under her wings . . . " luke 13:34

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhokcT7HhEo

photo hike

last week, i took a photo hike, to record my lovely colorado
summer and to give myself an excuse to take frequent rests.
i walked out my back door to the base of the trail.

a few steps uphill, and i was in the foothills.

hearing the seductive babble of a brook, jackson and i forged through

the trees to stop and play a while.

not a great photo, but i think his little pink tongue is too cute.

onward and upward we ventured, until we came to a "fork"in the road.  

at first, i wanted to take the smallest trail, but then i spied the intriguing 

curve of the road to the left.  i was also weary of the mountains bikers. 

 

and, of course, along came some bikers.  :)

mount crested butte,

glorious clouds.

with great reluctance, i returned to my back door.

"for the beauty of the earth,

for the glory of the skies,"

love,

lea

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhokcT7HhEo

"you bring me sunshine"

here is sunday lane's video from her current ep release,
"you bring me sunshine."  the ep is being sold on i-tunes,
but i have no i-dea how to use that site.  hopefully some
of you do! luckily, i don't need to, because i already have
mine.

hope you enjoy this!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhokcT7HhEo

the cute little brunette in the opening scene is our youngest
daughter.  am i proud?  am i shameless??  :)

love,
lea

ps.  some have asked if i can send an EP to them, and i
will happily do that.  just give me your address!

first love

dear emily,

hans and i fell in love when i "was sixteen, going on seventeen,"
but he was not my first love.

no, my first crush made me swerve off the road onto the sidewalk.

those powerful shoulders . . .

that confident stare . . .

the clear invitation to jump in and drive really fast and far!

but, this hunk was clearly out of my league - one of those "look,

but don't touch" guys!

sometimes, even now, when i drive by, i imagine i see a little 

steam under the hood.

love,

lea

"some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we remember the

name of the Lord, our God."  psalm 20:7

blackberry cobbler saved by the gun!

now that it's blackberry season, i want to share my favorite blackberry

picking story.

every july, my family hauled hay at our ranch -- ugh.   the heat.   the 

heavy haybales!  the sickening fear while pulling hay out of the blades!!  

the idea of inadvertently grabbing a snake instead!!!

the only redeeming part was my mom's delicious blackberry cobblers.

picking the berries, however, was also dangerous, as there were so many
snakes lurking in the bushes.

in fact, snakes were so prevalent that my dad let my 12 year old brother
carry a handgun to protect us.  that is probably his happiest childhood

memory . . . and my most horrifying.

"seriously, dad?  you're going to let that crazy little kid carry a gun? he
will kill us all!"

one sweltering morning, we were picking blackberries, when "boom!"
wyatt earp had fired his six shooter and nailed a rattlesnake, who was
considering a strike at my mom's ankle.

as i stared in horror at the dead snake, i thought, "we almost didn't

get that cobbler."

love,

lea

"bring forth fruit worthy of repentance."  luke 3:7,8

tiny beauty

as hailey and i were descending the beautiful forest trail, she suddenly
stooped to the ground and pulled out her camera.  my head was in the
clouds and the mountain peaks, but hers had found a treasure smaller
than her toe.

"you'll come to learn a great deal if you study the insignificant in depth."
odysseus elytis

"God chose the things the world considers foolish in order to shame those

who think they are wise."  1 corinthians 1:27

love,

lea