5 Knitted Cable Stitches! 5 Golden rings...

Here is a 2 cable stitch hat.On the 5th day of Christmas my dear Lord gave to me a night of giggles with my hatted baby daughter. Her hat was adorned with 3 beautiful crocheted flowers and 5 straight cable stitches and uncounted number of braided cable stitches. Only the Lord knows how I have tried to accomplish making a hat of such intricacy, unable to complete it. I admire them from a distance, not being skilled enough to complete one for my loved babies.

She is a dear to allow mother the reminiscence of prehistoric thoughts. We laughed as we contemplated years that our generation spent killing trees to do mundane tasks like work a puzzle and read. We couldn't click on a story or type a thought without having to had been ecologically masochistical, in their eyes. We laughed to see how delighted I was to see paper that was just fun paper. I search the internet for such nice games as these and have yet to have my desires filled with such, except for Roald Dahl and Ezra Jack Keats, etc. But not as I had hoped to see them, by now. Well, Thank you dear hatted girl for sharing your cable stitches with me for a night of simple gabbing fun.

I love you for it and may our cable stitches always match up with each other. May our humor always be understood by each other.

Baby girl, home again! Hallelu!

10 hour trek found us in each other's arms again. Thank God for the troopers that sacrificed to bring her to me! God is mighty and wonderful to get that baby back to her mother. I am not just a little grateful!

Thanksgiving is about Basting in Memories and Tasting the new ones.---Yesterday is yesterday and today is today!

I hated gravy, when I was little. I must've been 7 years old, in my mommy's kitchen with the women all around me. Grandma Del. gave me a spoon and said "stir the gravy". I looked out of the window in that tiny kitchen, before the renovation had given us a door there. We were surrounding the tiny table in the nook. I scrunched up my nose and stirred the horrid looking concoction that would become gravy, after awhile. I guess no one would like gravy, if they had to stir it together at 7 like I did. Those are the joys of being the eldest child of the 27 year old young mommy. Littler children were occupying themselves and grown up 7 year olds had to be occupied with womanly duties. I know now that Ruth's job in my life was to remind me how old I really was and not how old I was being treated. Grandma Del was certainly my delegator and Grandma Mon was just love and loving in my life. Grandma Hanst reminded me that I wasn't Glen, just a great-grand.

I look at my turkey this 2015 and am grateful for the delightful grandmothers who poured gravy into my soul and made me totally basted with lots of love and flavor. I use my basting spoons to try to share some of what they gave me to you girls and boys, men and women. I try to help you enjoy the taste of the gravy, maybe a little more than I did.

Thankful that we were on your schedule this year for Thanksgiving and so sorry that we couldn't make it to you for the birthday. You are a barrel of laughs. You yelled back at Emily, like none of us do, yesterday.

I laughed so hard at your way of shutting her up.

She's Home!

Thank you, thank you, Thank you God! Baby girl is home again!

What have I to ask beside?

Where's my Baby? Is it Christmas Break, Yet? Come Home Now! I can wait only till Monday... Or else...

You better be packing to come home.

I miss you too much!

Momma

It's Nettie's Birthday today, sweetie pie!!!

She looks happy enough, although I think 29 is too young to be cumbered with a husband and two precious souls to raise. I love the happy family they have become and what they represent. Don't you be so stupid to cumber yourself with such huge responsibilities at so young an age. I know now that that is what my dad was saying every time he saw a young family. He would start counting on his fingers and calculating how many he had at that young age. It is too heavy, he was saying. This is a hard road alone and with a wife and the more the weight the harder the trudge and the slower the journey. Enjoy the trip, either way. But don't say I did't tell you so! :)

Missing my Baby Girl!

I was talking about you, darling. Sunday was a delightful time in the Lord. The Ebenezer Church came to visit us for the church anniversary. We praised the Lord and heard a word from Pastor Dee. I missed having you there with me. You know we will see you soon. Stay as sweet as you are love. Mommy!!!

Did you see new baby Chin? Sayeed I think that's his name?

Isn't he a cutie-pie?

Hi Sweetiepie!!!

!!! I missed calling you last night, working lady. I bet this job is a whole lot easier than McDonald's. Maybe you can study while you work. Did you bring your math stuff to study? You probably didn't. What a yucky weather pattern we have in our neighborhood? Is it the same for you? Did you see the pictures of the baby cousins on Facebook?That is my Scarlet"Violet", Brooklyn, Charlotte and Addy, behind the big book. They are adorable. My babies are filling my heart lately. They are violent with each other, these days and I am telling them to stop beating on each other now, instead of the "Babywipe" mantras. Every toy is a wrestling match. I am supposed to replace the toy that they are fighting over and redirect them.

The other day, Kaius saw me getting upset about them taking down something with the blocks that I was showing them and he got me another toy to divert me. I giggled a lot to think about that. Maybe they are learning.

20th Birthday and sick

I hear that you had a great time of rest and fellowship with the cousins.

I spent my 20th birthday at "Granny's"Aunt Jessie's house was a respite from the craze of my spiritual battle at my own home. My parents had asked and demanded that I leave and her house was the only place open. I worked at EF Hutton in Manhattan and I had a little money and was very sick with throat and sinus pain as well as a tremendous heart ache for the missing of my younger brothers and sisters.

Hot tea, vitamin c, soup and rest are the three best remedies that I have found for my many maladies of sickness through my early twenties and late teens. Learning to wash my hands and clean things would come much later on in life for me. Once the sickness is on you, it is a sad situation. Stay in bed as much as possible. Go to class and get back in bed. I am sending you kisses and hugs over the internet, as if you could receive them from there.

My favorite memory of my bed at Granny's house is the library of Christian literature that kept me company, while I was sick. I didn't even set up a bookshelf. I kept the whole library in my bed, because I had never slept in such a large bed ever before. I had to fill up the extra space in the bed. "Thank You God, For My Home" by Billy Graham's Daughter. My Greek Interlinear Bible and Berkhoff and my Thompson Chain Bible were my daily companions. I guess that I thought I wouldn't get sick with these good friends in bed with me. It didn't work. Germs are germs and they will get you no matter how much you pray and fast and read.

It would be much later that I would learn the discipline of "Pray-doing", "Pray-cleaning", "Pray-sweeping", "Pray-cooking", etc. When you are sick, you may need to "Pray-sleep".:) Know that I love you and I hope you feel better. Love, Mom.

Such a blessed coincidence!

My mommy sent around a beautiful picture that Amy took of a rainbow on Queens Blvd. I was almost to tears missing my old stomping ground when a flash storm came and sent me my own rainbow and we sent a picture of it to the whole family. My mommy said I am running outside to get my rainbow. We all laughed in cyber email LOL's. I hope you enjoy the picture, too.

the road to Chowan is always an eventful traverse...

5 hours and 3 flights of stairs and there we are to drop off my baby girl at her destination...The comforts of the angels on our detachment. We love each other and there are lessons in our return trip.

Bye Bye, Boobala

A few less tears and a few more sighs on this start to the sophomore year of Chowan. It is a great thing to know that His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me!

the Last summer day you're home...

Home to snuggle.

My little snuggle bunny, nags me daily for a snuggle. She seems to say, are those babies taking you from me, mommy? Never, baby, you will always be my baby girl. Many babies are in my life, but you are my baby girl. I find it amazing that you don't have more of a problem with Ezra, than you do.

Growing Pains? .....Happy Easter, Baby Girl!

Knees and ankles baby, one, two, three...

Oh what a pain in the ... knees it is. I find myself more aware of my pain, when I am away from my family. Now, I have pains from the arthritis in my knees, from my torn meniscus, my tennis shoulder is often in a spasm, etc. These pains remind me that I am still in the body of this usefulness. We haven't yet inherited the new heaven and the new earth and the glorified bodies that God has for us.

Our Savior has purchased the keys of Death, Hell and the Grave, as we celebrate on this Easter Weekend. We only see partially, the glory of such a wonder of His great passion and full accomplishment. My pains remind me that His pain was for me.

One day, we will know the full reality of a painless existence. Until then, we care for these bodies the best we can. Start jogging or walking and use all of the faculties of your ownership to the full, until they are worn to a frazzle, like my shoulder, which reminds me daily that it is in "overtime". We read this chapter of Life w/Father and had a delightful discussion yesterday. It was funny and informative. I hope you click the link and find it funny and directive, also.

April Fools----We missed you on April Fools this year, darling girl.

Distance is a hard place to be on special occasions. I led the boys who wanted to play a trick on somebody to do one to Emily, instead of you. She didn't really acknowledge it, but they had fun carrying it out. ....I had a wonderful healing April Fools day with the babies. I was playing like I was their coach and talking to them and throwing socks around, like I was running a clinic for them. It was such fun. And they were enjoying it. ...I heard Grandma Ruth's voice, who was the consummate athlete and coach for her whole life. I couldn't understand it. But when I was in grief, her contribution to my grief was a strong statement,"Jayne, where's your faith?" I felt truly stung for years and I just held it against her, as was the tenor of our relationship of "hate/hate" love/love I thought. Yesterday, I saw, for the first time that she was coaching me and I was like those babies oblivious to her meaning, in my grief. I was blinded by the grief and I was grateful for her being there, but she especially, I wanted to just be quiet. I love how Heaven clarifies misunderstandings, even years after their being forgiven and forgotten, in our minds. Our spirits have to process those realities.

What a sweet little note I got next to my bed, from my "Baby Girl"!

I noticed that your signature has changed. You are honing your personality. I am Evelyn, mommy, was the gist of what I received from your precious hand. I loved your signature, but I loved that you translated the person who signed and the person who you are to me {your baby girl}. You are right. You are not everybody's baby girl. Just mine. Everybody else gets to see the victorious warrior that you are in the Spirit. I am the only one who gets to see the baby, inside. I loved that.

God has secret blessings in the dearness of relationships and what you got to see, this weekend was just a taste of what God does for His dear ones. My heart just yearned for about a minute to see my baby, when I heard she was coming near to the house. I wouldn't dare say to your father, lets go to Carrowinds to see her. You know that. God heard me! God heard the desires of my heart to meet your friends and know that you are in good company. I wished for everything that happened this past weekend, in just a sigh of maternal desire, to God. He heard me. The old ladies used to say "from your mouth to God's ears".{that means God hears everything} Some things you don't even dare say to God and watch Him answer your deepest desire.

I am glad that we both got to see God work in His Mysterious Ways this weekend. Keep seeking HIM! He's got even more blessings for you. Send me the pictures, of them at the house, if you took some. Say hi to the team for me.

They are on the prayer list now!

Hey, Ev, this is what happened while we were at the beach without you.

THis is about the service.

Preview of " Professor Owl's Teatime"

Everytime I go to Chowan, I sing this song!

By the second or third cottonfield I get distracted by the lack of skyscrapers and billboards, from my New York upbringing. I love cotton, but do we really need that many fields of cotton, I sometimes wonder. It is beautiful, though.

Where is Eva? I woke up at three and felt across the bed for my baby, guess who was there?

OH boy! She is back at college. Maybe that was a dream that she was with me for a month. Maybe she didn't really come home at all. I miss her soooo much. I hope she is alright!

Where is Eva? She's back at Chowan, for now.

I hope that you are back and fully ready to start the new semester. We enjoyed having you home and loved every minute of it, complaints and arguments and all. Love is a many splendored thing, a song says and that means that the complaints and the crankiness is part of the great love that is in our hearts. My heart especially. I am sorry I didn't have any reason to spank you this visit. I will have to think of a reason before the next visit, or it won't be as fun. I love you and enjoy yourself.

Remember to go to the pond, every once in a while.