I know, she's a little old for all of this! And she knows really why we celebrate Christmas. She knows that her gifts pale in comparison to the Gift we were given.
Still, there's a magic about the holidays that I don't want to take from her. The only Santa she's ever seen was a volunteer coming to the house to hand out presents. Nothing like this. It's her first Santa picture.
I can't tell you how much fun it is to be celebrating this time in this place with her!
I honestly don't know where to start. Robert and I decided to take up mall walking. I need to get my heart rate up and my body weight down. No matter how little food I eat, if I don't move, neither will my body weight. I'm not unhappy, mind you. I'll grow where planted if this is the way God wants me to be, but my cholesterol is up, blood pressure up and platelets down. Gotta do something.
We took Andrea and began a brisk walk of the mall. The Chinese massage people beckoned to me. They know me. The have these great chairs you kneel on to have your back, neck, head, sides. legs and arms pummeled. It's wonderful. The last time I had a massage was the day I broke my wrist. I'll tell you - they aren't getting hold of my wrist until it's totally better. That's it. But my body was achy and I wished I could have that massage anyway.
Instead, we kept walking. On to the end, up the escalator (they don't have stairs!) and on for a turn at the top. We passed a place that advertised Aqua Massage. My body tingled! Really! I'm not kidding. There was a man lying face down in this chamber where water pulsated over his body. Between him and the water was a sheet of plastic that molded to his shape. Now, I'm not sure I want others to see me molded in that way. Oooh! Perish the thought. Makes me laugh to think about it. We walked on with a promise to come back on the return circuit. We did.
You cannot believe how wonderful it was. First I picked my music, then he adjusted the temperature and intensity. I was given a controller to halt the jets at any spot I wanted and to change the intensity some. Then the water started. I'm not ticklish on my feet, but when the water hit them, I giggled. From then on it was heaven. Twenty minutes of moist heat massage just how I liked it. They even sat Rob in a massage chair and let his feet sit on a foot massager for no charge. Of course, you needed a spatula to scrape me out of there after 20 minutes. I slept better last night than I have in ages. I'm definitely going back.
The deal is this: for $50 a month, I can go every day if I like! Cool, huh? An hour of brisk walking followed by a wonderful massage! That's what I wantfor Christmas. I'm tellin' my honey!
So today, we went to the doctor's office for my wrist. And who was sitting there but two ladies my size and age in purple sweatshirts and red hats. One was holding a stuffed bear with a red hat and purple boa. It was fun to see. I struck up a conversation with them right away. I'd heard of these ladies. Red Hat Society. Brazen older ladies who care more about fun and living life to the fullest than about whether their clothes match. Suffice it to say I am intrigued.
I got called inside, but Robert was stuck with the red-hatters for about 30 minutes. By the time I came out, therapy order in hand, he had me just about signed up. He thinks I'd look cute in a red hat. Can you imagine that? Cute I'm not. Fortunately, cute is in the eye of the beholder. The lady in charge handed me her card and asked me to give her a call. Maybe I will.
What do you think? Will a retired missionary fit into a society of women who wear purple clothes and red hats?
I just heard that missionary friends of ours are moving about 60 miles away from their current site. They care for severely handicapped kids, regular handicapped kids and babies with aids. Occasionally, they take in a normal child that is sick. It's an awesome ministry and I take my hat off to them.
By December 15th, they expect to have 40+ kids moved. That in itself is quite an undertaking! I also heard they just took two baby girls found in a trash can. That kind of makes me want to run down there and smuggle those babies home. I've always had a soft spot for babies. I wouldn't care if they were sick. Just how can you toss your kid in the trash? It's not just Mexico where that happens, it's here, too.
I've moved with a passel of kids more than once. It's not easy. At least mine were not in wheelchairs and walkers. The job will be monumental. I cannot imagine doing it. I assume that's why they've stayed put all these years in a place that was a bit less than what they needed. I hear the new facility is just what the doctor ordered. Praise God for His provision.
I guess I decided to write to ask those of you who pray to pray for those missionaries around the world who are helping out in their own special way. Especially now that our stomachs are full of a Thanksgiving meal and all the fixings. There's not enough money in the world to do the job and they are tireless in their devotion. Many, many kids have opportunities never dreamed of because some of them stepped out. My friend there is fond of telling that her life was good until God sentenced her to a children's home in Mexico. Now, she says, there are no words to express how great her life is.
Fifteen years I was in Mexico. They were fifteen years of joy, happiness, fun, trials, trubulations and many other things I can think of. The years were not bliss at bathtime.
When we first moved to Mexico, we lived in a 15-foot travel trailer on the beach. There was no toilet, only a bag-a-potty. We also had no water save that which we carried in from about 20 miles away. We were conservationists to be sure. If the weather was nice, we took Joy soap and bathed in the ocean in our suits and came back to rinse under fresh water that had been left in the sun to warm. If we wanted a "real" shower, we could trek the 20 miles and pay about a dollar for lukewarm water for about 4 minutes. We had to be quick.
After a few months, we moved into a larger travel trailer - 30 feet long. It was like a palace for us! We had also dug a large water tank on the property and placed a sump pump in it to bring water into the trailer. It wasn't drinking water, but with the little pump in the tank and the one in the trailer, we could finally take a shower. We still had to conserve, however, because it cost $20 a tank for the water. Also, we only had a 4 gallon hot water heater. I thought the shower in the trailer was heaven. I thought the potty in the trailer was heaven as well until we had to dump the holding tank into the ground.
We moved the trailer across the street so we could build a house. The trailer seemed to have shrunk, so we built a room next to it and another bathroom. That bathroom had a "real" shower in it. Same rules applied even though we got a larger water heater. Then we started to take in kids. We used a lot of water even if we had constraints on it. My best time to bathe was when we came up to the states for a visit. Then I felt guilty even taking a 5 minute shower.
When we moved into the big house, there was a huge bathtub, but I couldn't afford to fill it. Too many kids, too many clothes to wash and not enough time. From the beginning, a daily bath or shower was a luxury we couldn't have. We would bathe 3 times a week or so.
Then, 4 years ago, we lost our home on the beach and the kids and I moved to our pastor's ranch. HE had a well! Oh, glory be! I took at least one long shower in my weekly allotment. We had too many kids there for too many long showers, but I allowed myself one. We lived there for 15 months or so, during which time I married Rob. Lord love him, he liked a daily shower! Was he in for a surprise.
We had to leave the pastor's ranch and found a home to rent. It was way up on a hill and had "city water" available. I thought it would do us well. Ugh! The water only came up the hill 2 or 3 times a week. The water heater wouldn't stay lit because there was hardly ever any water in it. We filled a large above ground tank and a huge barrel with cold water when the water came - usually at 2 or 3 in the morning. If we wanted hot showers, we would heat water on the stove and carry a 5 gallon bucket of water to the bathroom. We would "dip" a bath and pour water over ourselves. It was effective, but I hated it. There was so little water that we bathed babies first, dirtiest kids next and so on. Adults often had to wait several stinky days for water.
At the ranch, we had plenty of water available, but the same restrictions applied because of so many people. The showers were good and good people helped us get the best water pressure we'd had since arriving in Mexico. Shower water drained out to water plants, so we felt good about the system. I ached for a bathtub.
We've been here 3 months or so now, and at first, all Hank had here was a tub (heaven!), but he managed to intall a shower head for himself and Rob and whoever else wants it. There's all the water I want, plenty of hot water and bubble bath just for me. I go to soak my achy bones and muscles in a little bit of heaven.
If you've never been without water, you probably won't understand this babbling. Suffice it to say, I will never take a bath for granted again.
This from Patrick's Place:
1. How long do your Thanksgiving leftovers usually last, and at what's the first non-Thanksgiving item you begin to crave when you tire of turkey? I cook a big turkey. Leftovers can last several day - maybe until the first of the week. Then I want Mexican food.
2. Of the following, which would you most prefer to be located:
a) Interstate highway traffic jam
b) Slow-moving checkout line
c) Dentist's chair
Since I'm talkative, the checkout line would serve me well, unless of course all the others were too ticked to talk!
3. What is at the top of your personal Christmas gift wish list this year? Laptop computer - no explanation- expensive toy, but I want it
4. What improvement would you most like to see added to AOL's Journal software? An easier way to put my pictures in. I don't like the way they look from you've got pictures and I'm still working on hometown.
5. What seasonal movies do you most look forward to this time of year? A Christmas Carol (the old one) and It's a Wonderful Life.
6. READER'S CHOICE QUESTION #33 from
I'm cleaning house this morning. Nothing to be grateful for, except that we are guests here and it feels good to be able to contribute. It may take a while before we are able to get a place of our own. Our housemate, Hank is so generous. We pay him for electricity and gas and it seems what we pay him comes back to us 10 fold in friendship and other things as well. Ever since we have known him, he has collected $1 bills for us to use as we see fit. He still does that. We end up spending a lot of that on the ministry,
I wash Hank's clothes along with ours and try to keep the kitchen spotless. It's not much, but it's something. We are scrubbing now to get ready to put up Christmas decorations. Hank brought down an unbelievable amount from the attic. Probably can't use it all, but it's fun looking through it.
What I can't manage, Robert and Andrea do. They are so precious to me. Andrea is better about chores than cleaning her room, but she's learning. Robert does all the heavy stuff for me. When he first got here, this house was an unbvelievable mess. He started to clean right away and worked the entire two months to get it ready for us. The room we sleep in was packed to the ceiling with donations of clothes and "stuff" for Mexico. Rob was tireless. Hank's friends came over and thought they were in the wrong house. Now Hank is getting used to it. I wonder what will happen when we leave.
Gratitude comes in many forms. There's the big stuff: life, family, kids, etc. But there's also the little stuff that touches the deepest part of the soul. A smile when I don't feel up to par will break the cloud from my countenance. A quick note from a friend will do the same. I may well take the beg stuff for granted. I am eternally grateful for a loving Father and all the little stuff that comes my way to remind me just how grateful I am.
I got to sleep in until nearly 9 am. It was delicious. I could think of many Thansgiving days where crack of dawn was the norm. This year it's just the three of us and we can do as we like, eat when it's done - no pressure.
After Hank spread his famous salsa all over the kitchen, Andrea and I cleaned up the mess and got to work. With delicious pumpkin roll already made and ready to slice, the turkey and fixin's were the order of the day. With each step, Andrea would ask, "Wat is dat, Mama?" At the ranch, I cooked turkey on a rotisserie - we didn't have the use of an oven. I would explain to her and smile at the wonder on her face. Did I have that look when I was young? At her age, I was cooking turkey!
It is so cool to look into her sparkly black eyes and see the newness of nearly everything she does. Mostly, it's smaller kids who still have that wonder, but having just left Mexico, everything is new for her. That makes it new for us as well. It's like having a baby when you are old. You never knew how wonderful they could be.
It really is different, you know. During the last 11 years, I had tiny babies many times, often more than one. Andrea was one of those babies. I adored my children when they were born, was in awe of God and the process of birth, but I worried how they would turn out. I worried that I couldn't do the job well. I worried what others would say. When you are older, you just don't care about those things. Their importance is low on the list.
My first Thanksgiving with Andrea, she weighed just 10 pounds. She was 8 1/2 months old. She had doubled her weight in a month. There was no awe in her face. She was struggling for survival. Not so now. She is full of awe at every turn and we are full of her. What a grand pleasure!
So the meal came out of the oven late, about six pm. It didn't matter what time we ate, because it was just the 3 of us. Andrea could not believe the big, browned turkey! She wondered why I called it a bird and I reminded her of the turkeys we kept at the ranch. Her eyes opened wide! I could almost see her thoughts and the resolution not to eat that thing. Dressing was my way this year and I put some of that, some turkey, yams and peas on her plate. Robert got a leg. We took pictures. We ate. They stuffed themselves. I nibbled. After cooking all day, I wasn't really hungry. Everything was delicious. I wish you could have seen Andrea's first bite of candied yams! It was phenomenal! Her eyes actually watered and she said, "Mom! I didn't know dis would taste like dat!"
We'll have more Thanksgivings together and maybe they will be more commonplace. This one, however, was one in a million. I can't wait for Christmas.
We are truly blessed.
