J ~ Jokes

    Several years ago Steven went through a phase where he loved making up knock - knock jokes. Only problem was that they were truly awful.
    After weeks of enduring the torture of listening to them, I grabbed a pen and started jotting them down. I decided to create a small book with them someday and gift it to him. It only seemed right that he gets to fully appreciate them someday.
    Last week as I was looking for something  in one of my idea books I found them again. Steven was with me so I started reading them to him.

    Me: Knock knock
    Steven: Who's there?
    Me: Grasshopper
    Steven: Grasshopper who?
    Me: Grasshopper book.

    Steven: Well that's not funny! It doesn't even make sense!
    Me: These are all jokes you made up when you were five or so. 

    We read them together and had to laugh at how terrible they were. This time around they weren't as painful though. Somehow time made the memory of those days sweet. I'm still planning on getting a little book made with them, complete with illustrations. Only now I think I may want to keep it instead of giving it to him.
    

I ~ Ink Holes

     Sitting in my desk for the first time in a new school room filled with children I didn't know, I tried to busy myself to avoid meeting the curious stares.
    The new books were interesting, but what really caught my attention was the little hole in the top right hand corner of my desk.
    I decided it must have been designed as a clever way to dispose of my paper scraps and pencil shavings. I carefully designed a little basket out of construction paper and situated it beneath the hole to hold any trash I dropped through the hole.
    It wasn't until the following year when I lamented the fact that my new desk didn't come with the same trash hole feature that my desk in my previous grade had, that I found out they weren't designed for trash, but to hold little ink wells.
    I couldn't quite wrap my mind around having to use an ink well to write, and was glad I got to use it as a hole to pass my trash through instead of a hole to hold my ink.

H ~ Hiking

     I have traipsed over way more rugged terrain, hiked more trails, and seen more breathtaking views than I ever imagined I would. Thanks to LV and his love of the outdoors, and his love of having me enjoy it with him.
    Just between you and me ... I'm more of a houseplant and can happily spend my days at home. However I always end up really enjoying our hikes and time spent together outdoors.

    I don't think I'll ever get tired of views like these.

And then there are times when I'm glad I have a good zoom feature on my camera.

The waterfall at Moore's Cove was worth the hike back to it.

    Through all the seasons, when ever LV says, "Grab your camera, and let's go exploring." I get my camera and happily go with him, wondering what new adventures we'll experience this time, and what photo opportunities await me. 

G ~ Great is Thy Faithfulness

     Though I had always loved singing, my world of hymns really expanded once we left the Amish church. 
    One of the first hymns I learned after leaving was "Great is Thy Faithfulness" 
    Hearing it, or singing it always transports me back to a little Mennonite church in Missouri, and the feeling of overwhelming gratefulness at the goodness of God and how He had saved us.
    I was singing it today and on a whim decided to see if Youtube has a nice version to listen to.
    I tried several, but this one is my favorite.

F ~ Forty Years

     We had traveled several hundred miles to the little Amish community where my paternal grandparents lived. Usually it was a joyous occasion when we went to see them, but this time was different. Everyone was gathered to say our final good-byes to Grandpa.
    The morning of the funeral arrived. There was a more somber air at the farm. All the fun the big group of us cousins had the day before was pushed aside as we focused on what this day held. Mom had woke us up early, and while she was getting my brothers ready for the day I slipped outside to use the "facilities" (This particular community did not allow indoor bathrooms)
    As I was ready to return to the house Grandma met me on the little path. "You're up early," she said.
    I agreed. The dew was still heavy on the grass and the first signs of a sunrise were just peaking over the eastern horizon.
    We stood side by side and watched the sunrise quietly. I wished with all my little ten year old self I would know what to say to her now that she no longer had Grandpa. But I didn't, so I simply stood there next to her in silence watching a new day dawn.
    Once the sun was up Grandma said, "Forty years."
    I looked at her, confused.
    She must have read the confusion on my face. "We were married for forty years," she clarified.
    "Oh," was my brilliant response.
    We parted then, and I went back into the house to get ready for the funeral.

    It may not be a lot, but it is now a memory I treasure.