All things family-related. My husband and me, the children we made, the grandbebes that thrill us now. Our whole great big, loud, messy family. Love! *sigh…
Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.
But I will defend my house [realm of responsibility, family, home, God-given appointment]
against marauding [evil, destroying] forces.
Never again will an oppressor overrun my people,
for now I am [keenly aware, eyes wide open, warily prepared] keeping watch.
Zechariah 9.8
watchful synonyms: alert, all ears, attentive, careful, cautious, circumspect, guarded, observant, on guard, open-eyed, prepared, ready, vigilant, wakeful, wary, wide-awake
I wrote about Dave going bald for his role in Annie as Daddy Warbucks here.
Got these cute pictures of Poppa, aka Daddy Warbucks, with our very own little Annie (more commonly known as Gemma) and Sandy-the-Family-Dog. And of Poppa-now-bald with grandbebes Hunter, Gemma May and Guinivere (who may or may not be tormenting the dog).
Meanwhile, Bryan-the-Blogger couldn’t resist messing with a photo of Dave because of what I wrote here. This is Chia Dave.
He chose baldness for his role in the upcoming Prairie Playhouse production of Annie as Lt. General Oliver “Daddy” Warbucks. I have long dreaded the day.
He got a shorter haircut a couple of weeks ago and shaved all the facial hair to try to “warm me up” to the idea.
Then we gathered the family for the dastardly deed so the grandbebes wouldn’t be freaked out by him, but they kind of are.
Dave is bald.
A buzz and a Bic and voila. A huge pile of his thick, healthy, black with ever-so-few white hairs was vacuumed up and disposed of as if there is no concern for its future return. And perhaps there is not. For when I had the courage to touch it the following day, it was so thickly populated with little hair buds that it was like Velcro – not at all smooth the way a truly bald man’s head might be.
“It will grow back,” Dave promises me each time he sees me eyeing him warily.
So he is bald to be Daddy Warbucks.
But I keep wondering if I could get some seed and turn him into a gardening experiment like this?
Dave and his Bic are going to have to be very close friends for the next TWO MONTHS! Yikes!….Jeanie
NOTE TO SELF:Tomorrow, tomorrow Dave’s hair will grow back…
Seventy-one years ago today Ressie Belle, widowed just weeks earlier by a tragic automobile accident, cradled you in her arms: a son who would carry on his father’s name, A. Ross Moslander.
That’s a tough start during hard times. But you have done that name proud. You’ve lived vigorously, for both yourself and the father you never knew.
No one in the world could ever doubt you were born for God’s purposes, papasan. Since you found Jesus and He found you under that starry sky on Missouri farmland when you were 15, you’ve been on an adventureous journey of faith with all the Type-A, driven energy of an Olympic runner, eyes set on the prize.
And you have spurred the rest of us along ~ thousands of friends and relatives and acquaintances and church members along the way, but especially your family, us kids. And your zeal burns hot into the next generation, your impact is just getting revved up. I am spending my life trying to keep up with my amazing dad.
You are the Psalms 127 and 128 man, dad. You are the man in Psalms 112: you are blessed and your children are mighty in the land. Your heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. Your family is fruitful and growing and you have received so much heritage from the Lord (talk about a full quiver!). Your sons and grandsons are like arrows in your hands – the enemy does not want to contend with you when he sees this army you have unleashed in the land! Look at your children and their children and now their children’s children: we all love you, honor you, respect you and celebrate you!
Happy birthday, holy man. Happy Birthday, my dad and my hero. I love you….Jeanie
NOTE TO SELF: Call dad. Wish him a happy birthday.
Youtube: Got together the other night for dinner and sang to you. Stephanie and Gavin weren’t there, but the rest of us Rhoades-Kelleys-Powers were.
Stephanie took pictures recently because the little red-headed Kelley kids (the three, sweet grandbebes bestowed upon me by Stephanie and Tristan…and thank-you for them, btw), all got new Converse All-Stars for Christmas and were sporting them simultaneously one afternoon.
Gemma~
Last Sunday morning 2-year-old Gemma accompanied me to the Cafe at church for coffee. The second we got out of The Garage (the edgy, loud worship venue), she darted across the cafe navigating her way in between hundreds of people, sharing her friendly, “hello”s with strangers and friends alike. She nearly ran right in to Pastor Rob, who avoided the near collision and greeted her like the treasured church member she is. He started to walk on past and then realized perhaps some one who is only 2 ft 9in would not be there alone.
So he looked around and saw me racing to catch up to her. “Are you in charge of this?” he asked, pointing the the little curly-headed girl-of-my-heart.
“I’m trying,” I told him.
“Well, then,” Rob had the guts to tell me, “I don’t mean to hurt your feelings, but you’re not very good at it.”
Oh, you just wait, Rob Kelly. You just wait!
But the piece de resistance? Once Gemma had strayed so far as to lose sight of me, she turned, scanning the crowd, looking for her Nonna. When we made eye contact, she did that thing she does. She did that adorable thing that melts my heart and makes me beam and makes me look good to the crowds.
She yells at the top of her lungs: N O N N A !!!! And she comes running to me and jumps into my arms and we spin around and hug and kiss.
Yep. She makes me look good…like I didn’t just lose her at church on a Sunday morning.
Gavin & Guinivere
Gavin started piano lessons this week. And Guini is in front of me this second with a microphone singing along to Pomplamooses’ version of “Single Ladies.” If you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it; If you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it…
The Kelley kids, whom I love with all my heart, were watching Ratatouille. The food critic in the movie said something like, “Not everyone can cook.” To which Gavin responded openly, “That isn’t true. Anyone can cook if they learn.’
Guini mustered up her strength and outdoor voice to add a very decided addendum (sort of Lucy-from-the-Peanuts-comics style?) which caused all of us to jump: BUT DON’T TOUCH THE PAN!
Dave, Tara, Hunter and Stormie spent 2 1/2 weeks in Taiwan and Japan, leading worship, eating amazing food and falling in love with the people there. If you Facebook, you may have seen Stormie’s pictures. If not, I picked a few to share.
Although I am very fond of my vintage orange kitchen accessories from Steph and fam (plus an all-new blog design!). And my new work-out pants have revved up my power-walking. I adore the o-so-flattering jeans Stormie bought me: they fit!…did my legs just get longer? Did I just get a needed lift? And DP and Tara and the I-POD Touch…omygoodness. Just waiting for my life’s best song list to get to 7000 or so (well on my way).
Rocky and Jovanie know I need my medium-rare steak and plenty of it. Off to The Outback I shall go, several times (plus the “Jeanie green” coffee cup? Lovin’ it!)! Tre Tre is going to do a photo shoot for me – of anything or anyone I want! It will be a shoot of my kids and grandkids, of course ~ what else??
Little brother, Joe sent me a book on how to talk southern (they do have their own way) that was a family fav in the 70’s and a 2-set LP by The Rambos, THE Moslander-family music-of-my-life. My husband loaded me up with clothes and all the things he knows I love and like to have on hand…
I got showered with lots of great, thoughtful, sweet, beautiful gifts for Christmas. There was way more than I deserved, but I sure love it all.
But really? It is when I have been blessed with something of the giver, a portion of their heart ~ in thoughtfulness, sweet words, a shared secret, a common memory, treasured moments and especially their time – that I know I have been gifted beyond my ability to ever repay or comprehend. To receive something that reveals a part of another person’s heart to me is the greatest gift I could ever hope for.
Thank-you to all of you who share yourselves with me (your dreams, your fears, your hopes and love…and just ~ you). My heart is enlarged in the receiving. And I am…gifted. Grateful.
Robin is one of my favorite people in the entire world. And my sister-in-love.
Concerning New year’s Resolutions, Robin has decided to forgo the usual list of to-do lists to be tackled or goals to be mastered in exchange for pursuing the following:
Joy. I want to feel joy.
Moments. I want to ponder them.
Love. I want to love loving and not forget to do it.
Hope. I want to always hope because without it, the heart gets sick as the great book of Proverb says.
Stillness. I want to be still. Still enough to see the hurts of others, the milestones of my children, the twinkle in someone’s eye. Still enough to hear the voice of God.
Peace. Oh yes..the proverbial peace. But not world peace. It will never happen for the Bible tells me so (until that great day when the trump will sound). I want peace in this life that only Christ can give me as I really, really know and trust that He is the Keeper of my life. Those are the things I really want for my new year.
And one forever, encouraging thing about any new beginning is that we get them. I love new beginnings and I love even more that as long as I have breath, God’s mercies are new every morning. He gets it. He knew we would need a fresh start and so He tells us that it’s all ok with Him. Start fresh. Be renewed and free in the start of something new.
Stormie sent that greeting and a report that they are in Taiwan and loving it like crazy!
They are 11 hours ahead of us so when they sit in their 3rd floor common area/sitting room breathing in the moist, heavy air and send little messages at night after they’ve led worship for a gathering, I am happy to find their greetings in the inbox come morning!
TAIWAN, google image until Stormie starts sending!
Stormie writes:
“…We have the window open and are listening to a street musician play something I think might be called a two-hu but I’m not sure…it’s some two stringed instrument and there is a wonderful breeze coming in. It is really overcast here but I love it!”
