Project 365, Week 41

We are in the prime time of fall and its simply glorious. Every year I wonder, how can it be this amazing?

October 7

Lots of fog on my morning walk.

A small group of our family got together to celebrate Micah's 40th birthday.

His family has done an exceptional job bringing Nana into their home and caring for her. They've had to adjust and re-arrange and they've done so with much grace and generosity.

October 8

This is the one time of year I don't mind that the builders left a forest in our front yard.

I woke up having to bat away despair. My preference would have been to not leave the house, but I knew I needed to actively fight back. As it happened, already scheduled into my day was being with elderly people and children. Perfect! One of the very best things for us to do is give of ourselves, preferably to people who cannot give back anything. This is possibly even more important when we're going through a difficult time. And so, I stepped into my day knowing the feelings would follow.

I visited the nursing home to get signatures from a client and could not believe these flowers from her neighbor's garden were real! 

Avery was with me, along with the couple kids she babysits each week. She had a doctors appointment in the same area and asked me to watch the kids while she did the appointment.

I got to hang out with them at the river where the kids and I spent much of their early years. So many happy memories were made there playing in the sand and throwing rocks in the water. It was good for my heart to remember those days.

October 9

An ordinary Wednesday, but there is nothing ordinary about ordinary. It is a gift, a luxury.

My niece did a brave thing and jumped into volleyball for the first time in her second year of high school. Its a fun sport to watch!

October 10

So is soccer. ;)

October 11

When I saw on the calendar that over Columbus Day there was no school and no sports games, we made plans to visit Amanda at school in Pennsylvania. She gets two weekends per semester away but as long as she was back by curfew each night, she could be with us during the day without it counting as one of those weekends.

Shaun, Jason, Aiden and I headed out at 6 AM so we could get there around noon when she was done with classes. We arrived to find a very happy Amanda and actually we were ALL happy with the reunion!

We made a quick stop for lunch at our favorite local restaurant, Sheetz gas station...

... then drove the hour+ to Gettysburg and took several hours to do the car tour. Shaun is a wealth of knowledge and Aiden is also fascinated by history and we were all happy to spend the time together. It was a crystal clear day to be able to see the battle fields for miles.

A check-in from Avery and Jack, who left after work on Friday to join us for the weekend.

October 12

Shaun captured the sunrise when he went to pick up Amanda from school. She was up and ready and they stopped for coffee before she joined us at the hotel. 

After breakfast out, we stopped at a local park to tire Ginger out before we left her alone in the hotel for the afternoon. The kids took over the empty playscape and had the best time.

Hershey Park is just 10 minutes from Amanda's school and Aiden was excited to try some of their roller coasters. Currently they are only open on weekends, this one being a holiday weekend, the weather was perfect and there was a special fright fest thing happening after dark. All those elements meant the park was very busy. For one ride they waited 2.5 hours! 

Spine surgery or no, I don't do roller coasters, instead I made a friend on the park bench next to me. Before knowing I had cancer, she shared she'd lost her sister to cancer, her sister who had not handled things well. I shared with her the hope and peace that Jesus has given me. It was a special conversation, complete with Halloween music being pumped through the speakers and shrieks from the roller coaster riders.

We finished up with a visit to the chocolate store. As Shaun was gazing at the variety and abundance of chocolate making his selection, I feared he was going to mortgage our home but he exercised restraint.

October 13

We made the decision to not do church so we could get more time together. Instead (on the second try) we found a breakfast place for Sunday brunch.

Then we were back at the hotel to watch football and play card games. In the late afternoon we headed to the same park from the day before and played football and soccer.

Everyone humored me for 2.5 minutes of pictures.

Before we said goodbye and dropped her off at school, I took Amanda to the grocery store to stock up.

Our time together was wonderfully sweet. We all left with full hearts and, even though we were sad to leave each other, we know Amanda is exactly where she's supposed to be right now. She's learning so much about God, his love and grace and care. She's learning how to do relationships, both with people she likes and doesn't. She's learning how full and peaceful life can be without a cell phone. She's maturing and appreciating what she has. She's being transformed as she surrenders her heart and life to Jesus. Its truly beautiful to witness. Jesus is better.