Thank God, Thank God, Thank God! another year is in the rearview window---Goodness and Mercy Following us Forever---

I will lift my voice to worship God. We have had good grades and bad grades, happy days and a few sad days. We have grown tremendously, this year. I think Ethan grew in height the most, about 10 inches or so. He is still clarinetting, which is my delight. They all are drawing as swiftly as they breathe. Only one tries to make music with a pencil in his hands, I do appreciate that. College is honing the twins and they are recuperating over the break. The older women are aiding in the home, as best we allow. Ben and I have enjoyed good health.

God has been good and we adore Him!

We must top off the holiday celebration with a bang, for New Years. What will we eat?

I want some salmon!!!!

Christmas is a time to love...

Taking Stock of my blessings... One Mommy, One Husband, Two turtledoves and a partridge in a peartree?

All of my babies, at work are just the age that I was, when I received my first baby sister. I was 18 months learning to share my mommy, with this little stranger. My mommy must've prayed for me to learn this, because my sister is still alive. Babies can be so primal and selfish. I have learned to love her and the many, many baby sisters and brothers that came after her.

Now, I find it my own job to teach a sharing lifestyle to my little babies. What do I do, when this friend or sibling is no longer sitting like a pretty doll in a basket or crib, somewhere? What do I do, when they become competitors for mommy's attention? What do I do, when they outdo me in this or that thing and outshine me and my mommy praises them? Dumping on them, smacking and being naughty can't be a lifelong habit of elder sibling, me.

I have been blessed to see my siblings outdo me in a great many areas of life. I have been blessed to see more blessings in my children and babies, as I see my babies and children learning the lessons that I am learning too.

Words from the midst of the Christmas hustle and bustle...

Inevitably, we overcommit in this season. Sunday was Mom's cantata. Monday was practice for the boys' Christmas play. Tuesday was Ethan's band concert. Wednesday was Enoch's friend's party and practice for the boys, etc.

A Christmas wonderful surprise is the twelve days of Christmas gifts that have delighted us in our season. We have, positively no idea who is doing these delightful gifting to us on these twelve days of Christmas. 4 calling birds was a bird feeder gift, which was a silent breathed in wish on my heart and made the harrowing days preceding the celebration of our greatest Gift received, a lot less distracted from the reality of the treasure of faith that we possess. Alleluia, for God's family celebrating this feast of the greatest and highest reality. Pray for God to make it a real reflection of the Unity of the Spirit and the Love of the Truth, in Jesus' Name. Amen

The Chowan woman comes home today! Makin' Friends

Its My Birthday and I am finally past 9 x 5!

Look Mommy, I look like you!

Ev and her friend Keesha!

What a sweet email I got from my College Woman, Ev. I sent it to my mommy. I told her that my selfies are the children. She knows that already, I know. I am so glad that my baby sent the pix to me. Had to share it.

I hear he had "A Pretty Good Crowd" for a Saturday!

Billy Joel came to NC. Unfortunately, we couldn't put 2 pennies together to get tickets; but it was like a little piece of NY came to visit us, here in the "Cackalackies". I didn't cry to have missed it. I am still rejoicing that I can hear him on the Youtube, if not on the radio here in the "schticks", as we call it. I would wither had there not been a Youtube to comfort me from my NY withdrawal. 20000 people or so is like standing on the subway platform with him, very intimate conversation. We are so provincial, us New York transplants.

Well, I consider it a visit from home for him to have been in our dear city{the city has become dear, though not finished yet:)}. I am grateful that my screams every Sat. at the end of his part of my housecleaning regimen were heard and he had to come to NC for the many fans that he obviously has down here. My love for his music is certainly primal, but I am not a street girl to be able to snag a ticket from a scalper. One day, I will see him live, I hope. Until then, I will cherish the years at Fontbonne, which gave me a taste for such musical"champaign", and to become part of the "not having started the fire" prayer group.

God Bless America and God Bless Billy Joel!

The Pride of Harris Road Middle School Chorus!

It was cloudy afternoon and my bones were aching from the frolic with my tiny cherub, when I knew I had to gird up my strength and go to a concert of my baby boy. He's not Michael Jackson, but he looked like Michael Jackson with the huge afro that his father helped him acquire through the tangles of locks that my boys are sporting these days.
My clarinetist, Ethan often has concerts that are earlier in the evening. This one was just at the right time for me to take a half hour nap before. I took full advantage of that. I fell fast asleep for about 15 minutes, before I overheard that it wasn't at the Middle School around the corner, it was at the High School a little bit farther away. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear, I'd better jump out of my ZZZZZZ's and run to carry the fellow, so he won't be late. {My mommy and my daddy's trips to my concerts and games were running through my brain. Oh what devoted and diligent parents I had! Every move was inspected by my parents. I can't even get there for my baby boy. I did get there, though. "I forgot the tomatoes", I hear my daddy say. Thank God Ben's not like that, I say to myself. My mind flips to the icy break down of the car on the BQE and our pilgrimage home up the icy embankment steps in my Volleyball uniform. I miss Brooklyn! This is Ezra's show. }
My baby was stupendous! He did very well. He was beautiful and the children were perfect. I was delighted and We celebrated after at McDonalds to hear every Middle School thought of the occasion. I was elated and grateful for the dear and devoted teachers who can and do pour into our children. Thank you to them all! Merry Christmas and Praise the Lord!

Today is the Day!

Thanksgiving is over! This is my advent candle, "Purple!" Week One

My Turkey is in the oven, but....

Grandma's pot is in the fridge with gunk in it!

ACHHHHHHHHHH!

When will they learn to never let Thanksgiving come, with Ruth's pot in the fridge? My fit this morning will help them learn, maybe. I am not superstitious, but they will be from the whelps they get when I pull out the whip to help them all remember, next time...

I have fits and starts at Thanksgiving. I am never myself cooking and making up lists for the shoppers to shop. We are grateful for all of God's mercies. We are very blessed with good health and wondrous prospects for all that we do. Nearly all of us are grown, except me, maybe. Ezra won the spelling bee at school, 7th grade. Ethan is struggling in his IB program and nearly never has time to practice for the concert which is nearly always today or tomorrow, we may never know, with him. He wants to try his hand at other instruments. Will these Walkers ever put their pens and art supplies down and look me in my face? It doesn't look like it. They are all chips off the old block and I love them to pieces. But if they don't get Grandma's pot out of that fridge, I am going to beat every one of them, today! Love MOM

Baby Brothers are a Gift!

I remember the faces of the baffled people when our prayers were answered. We had a boy. The school jumped off the ground. Karla was elated. Sr. Lucy was amazed. We were all so grateful for the tide of change that came to our family at the blessing of a boy. All children are a gift from God, but when one has persevered so in childbirth as my mom did, to try to find a boy baby in the seeming sea of girls, it is remarkable. I am still grateful and in awe at the both of them having blessed our lives. Thanks mom, for my brothers! Happy Birthday Ton!

A Cloudless sky directed us 5 hours to my baby.

Speak O Lord and renew our minds Help us grasp the heights of Your plans for us. Truths unchanged from the dawn of time that will echo down through eternity and by grace we’ll stand on Your promises and by faith we’ll walk as you walk with us Speak O Lord till Your church is built as you fill the earth with Your glory.

She's home, I rejoice. This new hymn that I found at a delightful church we visit is my meditation this week. I thought about jumping to reach a cloud, when I thought about grasping the heights of His plans for us. What a delightful thought. He is higher than the clouds, the sky told me. All the way to Evie. She's home now. Imagine that. 10 hours seemed a moment for the joys of seeing my baby home.

I resist the temptation of barking out orders on the week before Thanksgiving.

Evie is coming home and I am ready to take the house apart and put it back together to welcome her. The cows reminded me that mother comfort is never outlived. I thank them for their daily support for my infirmity. Nobody understands except the cows and the goats that are in our neighborhood. I never know if it is the birds that share it with them or, if they simply have that kind of personal sense of people. I am a mother and they are mothers and we look at each other with kindred eyes.

A midnight powwow with the new working woman in the house rendered much fuel for prayer. All is never as bleak to youthful eyes. Stratagem for redirecting the lostness of masses surrounding us. I feel like we are "Feely and Keely" fighting the battle of spirits of people. We can take this mountain, with God's help. we are silly in our faith, but God can be trusted just that much. He will redeem and redirect, as He sees fit. Mistakes in the work that we do, will happen;but God bless the people around us and the youth that we are being an example to, in this labor.

The warm weather doesn't feel festive and we must look at the beauty around us for the Thanksgiving Spirit. We are always grateful, but the cool weather we lean on to take our eyes to Christmas. Tests and grumpiness just make us miss the dear Evvie who is coming home on Monday. {did I say that already?} There are no clouds to decipher, so I can't gawk at that, I must get to the megacleaning!!! Se-la Vie...

This our hymn of Grateful Praise!!!

For the Beauty of the Sky!!!

{a link to my devotional blog} Yesterday there was a wondrous sight in our NC Sky. We have a lot of sky, here. There was a huge and ominous looking storm cloud that took over the entire sky and you could see its layers and 50 shades of gray, at least, were preying over us as we travelled.

I was glad the clouds were not a flying dinosaur as they appeared to be. I call it a Tolkien sky. There was a flying creature in The Hobbit that was the closest kin to that dark cloud we had in our sky. And there was no rain coming from it. It just hovered over us, with the sun behind it.

When we passed the reservoir, I wanted to take a picture of the pinkness that we could see, amongst the lines and swirls of grays, but we had no device with us.{How untechy of us?} Coming back, the creature disintegrated into straight lines of elvish letters, which were undistinguishable to us, even with a seasoned etruscologist on board. There were 10 or 12 clearly scripted and defined letters on a straight line, but I didn't have my dictionary to decipher. I just drank it in. I said that Tolkien and Lewis were on cloud duty!

Praise the Lord, All Ye Peoples!

I find it amazing that the Old Testament Saints could see that God was going to weave Gentiles into His Salvation Plan, somehow! Thank God for Jesus!

Isaiah 11:11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.

I wish you and your twin cousin a trip to the Netherlands sometime! Do Fly!

Dan Fogelberg takes me there on days like today! Momma said there'd be days like this! :)

It's a Lovely Eleven Morning!

It is one month till my birthday. Fifty four is staring me down to take over. I am fighting aging, as much as time allows. I sleep, nearly all the moments that I am not cleaning or working. Aerobics is my exercise of choice and my check up was okay. I will try to slim down a bit, I think. I will see the nutritionist to get some tips about that. Fifty Three was a good year, totally recuperated from the elbow fracture, I am lifting and moving better than last year. But I am trying to jump higher. I used to be able to reach the ceiling here, when we moved here. I've gotten some lead in my boots, lately. My holy dance is a little slower. Still dancing for Jesus, though! He is worthy of all the praise and thank God, I have a large kitchen to dance in. My "Pray-do's" are growing and my children are going. Loving Ben is on my "to do" list. I will get my list accomplished, one day. I promise!:)

Thus, the Count down!

29 Years ago today my eldest child introduced herself to me...

God is great that we are still rejoicing in the wonder of that beautiful relationship. She is a tremendous nanny and helper with us at home and in other people's homes. She led prayer meeting at church, last Friday and what wonderful sense of completion to see the Lord's blessing on our home, with her. Happy Birthday, Sweet Woman! Love Mommy

Artwork by Ezra

Welcome to my sister's beautiful newest grandson! All the very best wishes from the Walker family!

Much love sent to the happy couple...

This is an oldie, but goodie!!!

Thankful Tuesday!

Grateful Tuesday