Pictures

Hana jumping off the mill pond bridge. I gave her such a hard time about this. She was scared at first and I told her she was a wimp. That Vinny and I did it ALL the time. I wasn't lying. She jumped off the bridge but didn't dare to jump from the railing. I finally had to jump off myself (fully clothed) to show her how much fun it really was.

We Booked Our Tickets

We will be in Baltimore for a couple of days over Labor Day weekend. We just booked our tickets today. It will be Henry's first time flying. I have to pick up his birth certificate today or tomorrow.

Impact ~ No Regrets

Tonight I worked on my business. I haven't watched any TV in days more than a couple minutes of news here and there. Just after 10:30 I decided I might relax, take my mind off things and watch some HGTV. As I headed toward the bathroom something (God!) compelled me to read the local paper instead. I am researching prospects for my business as I am building it and this was my reasoning for reading the paper - must not waste my time on the television. I read part of the first page, went to read the second page (obituaries), and decided to turn back to read all of the first page. Once read, I turned to the second page and saw the name. It's amazing how much a business customer can get woven so deeply into your heart. This was definitely God's doing, because I remember the first day I met this man. We had just bought the laundromat. He came in with a cup of coffee that was dripping and managed to get coffee on every surface there, didn't notice and didn't clean it up. He instantly bugged me. I grew to like him and, for some reason, I was always led to talk to him about God. We had some fierce debates. I say fierce but both of us knew how to leave a heated discussion as friends. Those conversations ended after we owned the place for a few years. I remember him, not too long ago, asking me why I wasn't trying to convert him anymore. I told him I was never trying to convert him. That was God's job. He isn't old but started to have a health issue this past winter. I'm not saying this to pat us on the back, but Dave and I really felt the love of God for this man. I remember one storm Dave drove by his house to see if he needed his driveway shoveled. Dave hates to shovel and, as far as we knew, his illness wasn't life threatening. We sent him a card telling him how much God loves him. When he came into the laundromat this spring, I asked him for the last time (I didn't know) if he would ask God to reveal Himself. He said he would think about it. I don't know what happened. The impact of seeing his name and picture in the paper was very hard. To know he faces eternity. My heart is heavy. Knowing God is all you take with you. Sharing God with him - I have no regrets.

Memory of the Day

Today my niece Hana was swimming at our house waiting for her mom to arrive. She kept asking me different things she could do in the water - holding her breath, somersaults, floating etc. It brought back all the things Vinny and I used to do in my grandparents' inground swimming pool. This was one of our favorites (though never done in the sight of adults - especially my grandmother): we would stand in the shallow end, jumping up and down hitting our arms against the water as much and as hard as possible. This would make waves in the pool. We would do this until the waves were so high in the pool that my grandmother's lovely planted flower barrels on the lower deck would get hit with waves. Then we would see who could swim the length of the pool above water. For some reason I always remember doing this on rainy days. Go figure. Maybe it was easier to cover up the massive amounts of water that ended up outside of the pool. It seemed so daring at the time and we loved it.

Memory

The Year: 1985 or 1986

Location: Appleton Village School Playground

Exact Location: Swing Set

I was innocently swinging on the swing set during mid morning recess. Vinny came sauntering up to me. We didn't exactly chat during recess at that age if you know what I mean. He told me he got hit by a car while riding his bike to school. I said something like, "yeah, right". He punched me off the swing and said, "yes, I did". The conversation ended.

The funny thing and not so funny thing is, he DID get hit by a car. The reason why it's funny is he lived AND it has Vinny written all over. Vinny BEGGED my mother to let him ride his bike to school. It was a few miles but we did live in the middle of NOWHERE. So what did Vinny do? He made DARN sure he SEALED any chances of the younger children getting to do the same thing at a later date. He rode on the yellow line down curvy wooded roads. He ended up on the hood of a young woman's car. It probably did WAY more damage to her than it did to Vinny or the car. I do think his bike got destroyed. So, my mother got a call from a neighboring house. She WASN'T happy to say the least. Did I ever get to ride to school in Appleton? No. (I probably didn't want to either).

Immediate

God answers prayer in His time. Sometimes it's years, sometimes days and sometimes seconds. I love when you cry out to God and He answers immediately. When we are faithless He remains faithful. I believe that is in 2 Tim. Before God chose David, the Bible says He was searching the earth for a man. That is so refreshing. God choosing men. He knows our imperfections and, yet, He chooses us any way. God, please show me Your love. I need YOUR love.

My immediate answer: I am spending time each day building my business by making phone calls, sending mailings, writing emails, etc. I have to admit that my patience runs out at times. It's not easy and I need to receive grace for the moment. Well, just a little while ago I cried out to God, "God, just give me something!" Seconds later I received a reply to an email I sent to a business (cold email) and they want to make an appointment. Thank You God for answering prayers immediately.

Second Tooth

Henry's second tooth broke through!