COnfetti! {Cheering!!} ShOuts of jOy! Haaaaa-the crOwd gOes wild!
Dave’s book is still in the running. Thanks for getting it in to the top 8!
Category Archives: 2 Mi Familia
A Saturday in November
(1) Gather and eat a light and delicious breakfast, a little too early on a Saturday morning.
(2) Swap meet. Clean out your closet of clothes and jackets and jewelry and all manner of now-unwanted items. Throw them into a giant pile in the living room so that after breakfast, everyone can dig through and get what they want. Leftovers to Goodwill.
(3) Go hit a series of thrift stores looking for amazing deals and designer clothes for less and to replenish everything you just got rid of at the swap.
Meanwhile, Guinivere stayed behind to lend her hand to decorating the outside door garland. She works very meticulously, we have found, from left to right in straight lines.
Black Friday ~ ALTAR SATURDAY!
Black Friday ~ ALTAR SATURDAY! Next-round voting for Dave’s book starts tomorrow!
Dave’s book, Altar, as you’ll recall, made it through to the 2nd round of voting. There are 18 semi-finalists and voting will be this weekend ~
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 28, SUNDAY NOVEMBER 29, & MONDAY NOVEMBER 30!
Three things~
- Pre-register to vote if you didn’t vote last time.
- Download the entries and prepare to vote (but OF COURSE vote for Dave!)
- Vote this weekend!
You can follow all of these steps and directions at www.daverhoades.com (on the home page)
I will post on Saturday, too, as a reminder if it is as weird this time as last time. Please VOTE!
The Big ALTAR Argument
If you enjoy a good debate (or even a stupid one), there is quite the little Altar tizz going on at the Anamoly message boards. If you are of a mind to, get on and create some buzz FOR Altar! And? Invite your friends and family to vote, too! (FIRST-sign in your account, THEN- follow this link: http://wherethemapends.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=mlpselect )
The winner of this contest will be published in the spring by Marcher Lord Press.
Full of Thanks
Last year’s list of things to be thankful about: http://www.jeanierhoades.com/stuff-i-actually-think/so-thankful
Today.
I walk in the door just before dark while a twilight indigo still colors the sky. Home from a wonderful Heaven Fest meeting where we thanked God for what He has allowed us to be a part of and dreamed big dreams for 2010, Tredessa pulls up to the curb from the same meeting to visit. Into the house she goes, arms full of her current Christmas projects, so excited to pour her love into the gifts she is planning for her siblings. Dave has been working on the “big” tree, stringing 5 or 6000 lights on the 12-footer. The whole lower level is ablaze in light, Stormie in the kitchen baking her famous pumpkin pies with Martha Stewart’s dough recipe. Spicy cinnamon scents the pre-Thanksgiving air, even as Christmas music is playing. We are moving furniture to accomodate the people who will join us around the table tomorrow to give thanks.
The house is warm and happy. But I can’t resist the deepening blue sky and nippy air so I head out for a vigorous walk through the neighborhood. And I think about simple things that make me happy and things I am thankful for and how sometimes I have selfishly pouted over not getting what I wanted when really, I have been blessed so far beyond what I even deserve. I am blessed. I need to say it more, I need to recognize it more. I need to remember and speak it out and be grateful for all that has been and all that is. I have been blessed. And it is the simple stuff that just makes life so rich, isn’t it? The little things, the silly surprises and the unexpected moments of grace – the stuff we almost forget to acknowledge. So as I passed houses lit up in the emerging night, already smelling good food as my neighbors are surely preparing for tomorrow like we are, I listed off simple things for which I am grateful, deeply thankful and I thanked God, from Whom all blessings flow. He has been so good to me.
5 little reasons to be thankful: Gavin, Hunter, Guini, Gemma and Averi
Simple things for which I give thanks:
a gentle rain…the smell of rain (not enough of that here)…being able to remember the lyrics to any 1970s song because I lost so much memory 3 years ago-it makes me happy to be able to sing along with Karen Carpenter (“Long ago and oh so far away…”)…currently having 2 really great-fitting pairs of jeans – seriously! That is a miracle!…that pumpkin pie with whipped cream is going to be so. flipping. awesome!…true friends, true even when you are a crud…new friends – so much ahead, but you just know when you have met a “keeper”…old friends, because they knew you “when”, in a certain time and space and even though you come from nowhere, they remember you somewhere in time and they become your roots and your home, the keeper of the proof of you…and good friends, the ones who count forever even if you don’t get to see them as often as you’d like…I’m thankful for the tire swing where I first started singing love songs from my heart to Jesus…autumn colors and what my friends are now calling “Jeanie green”…
…the brilliantly-colored sunset I witnessed from the Northern Hills Church cafe during our meeting and all sunsets I have enjoyed this year…sunny days are here again!…crystal-clear views of snow-capped mountains these November days that remind me of God’s faithfulness…I am happy about things that make me smile a real, genuine, heartfelt, eye-wrinkle-inducing smile (“polite” smiles aren’t, really, and forced smiles are tragic)…wry humor…my old mangy, but o-so-loving dog…quiet mornings and strong, black coffee…the girls downstairs singing “My Heart Will Go On” together- right this second-very loudly, so cute!…don’t you just love music?….
…a full moon…3 jackets from the beautiful Stef at the swap, I love jackets because coats make me too hot…the fireplace in the early dark morning so when I get out of the shower I can remain toasty and being hot is a good thing…google, that’s right, google.com, I love it. It has changed everything for this information junkie…I am thankful that dark chocolate is actually good for your health…
…So grateful for the seed catalogs that will be arriving in the next couple of weeks reminding me that these short days and long nights will have an end and spring will come just when I think I cannot go on…good conversation…funny conversation…Tredessa and Stormie are on a singing spree having moved past “My Heart Will Go On” to “Hotel California” and then Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire.” It is making me smile an eye-wrinkle-inducing smile…I am thankful for a movie or book or point of view on some one’s blog that teaches me something or surprises me or just plain entertains me…for anything that can actually entertain me, because that is not an easy feat…Can you believe the girls are singing “Dancing Queen!?”…that’s entertainment!
…for God trusting me to be a mom…for God just giving me 5 grandbebes and all the ones to come…for great siblings and parents and a husband who has endured me…for the great GRACE of God (the Holy Spirit empowering me to be who He called me to be and to do what He called me to do)…for these things and more, I am thankful. And I am humbled.
Star Student of the Week: Gavin-the-Grandson!
Ode to Gavin’s teacher.
In one little 15-20 minute exercise weekly, this quiet woman is turning out 1st graders who are well-equipped to speak to their peers, run meetings, answer questions and communicate their thoughts.
Gav displayed photographs and items that showed him doing things he enjoys and places he has traveled and things that represent his life-to-now in his classroom last week. He was the “Star Student of the Week.”
Mrs. M. gathered the class, each tiny little human sitting cross-legged in a cozy space, and Gavin explained each item and picture, revealing a little of himself.
He is doing public speaking!
He looked so relaxed and at ease with his hands in his pockets, sort of nonchalently walking back and forth in front of the crowd, calling on various students as they’d raise their hands and ask questions. The question-askers were rewarded by the teacher putting their names on post-its in order of the questions posed. At the “end of the speech,” Gavin got to pass around a jar of erasers to the students for guessing how many were in it. They went in order and as they made their guess, Mrs. M would place the sticky note on the corresponding number on the wall, somewhere between 0 and 100. After all the guesses were made, the class counted the erasers by 2’s until all had been counted.
I was so impressed at how many skills and learning moments she squeezed into this small time frame, not to mention how special the “Star Student” got to feel.
And I felt special when I’d catch Gavin looking at me, but not so anyone else would know. I could tell he was thinking: My Nonna loves me. I’m glad she’s here. Yes. I could tell that. He is growing up, but he is till my grandbebe!
Dear Gavin,
I am so pleased with you. You did a great job. I was so proud to know you, so glad to say you’re my boy! You made me a Nonna, you know! I love you!
pictured: Gavin with Mrs. M; Gav speaking and running the classroom; I hung out with Gemma and Guini in the back of the room – and had to wear a bright green sticker identifying my legitimacy as his Nonna.
The Joey
My brother Joe painted a barn in a golden field for my 49th birthday. He painted a house flanked by colorful autumn trees for my 50th birthday. He just gave both of them to me when we met at my parents’ house in Springfield in October. I have only been asking him to do something like this for me since, hmmm, the early 80s. He is pretty laid back (my total opposite, ahem*).
But I love my brother and I love my paintings. So now I am thinking they were worth the wait.
He is gentle Joe, my first best friend and partner-in-crime. He once saved me from drowning and later from something far worse. We were two peas in a pod! He grew up to be a man I admire, pastoring, then serving his community as a Police Officer, then back to pastoring. He married so well and has 4 amazing kids. I am so glad to have such a great little brother (Except maybe when we were in Springfield at church on Sunday morning, he kept introducing me to people as his ‘little sister’. I’d laugh and then say, “Actually I am his older sister.” Then he’d say, “I believe that actually went without saying I think they could tell.” And? I wanted to smack him).
He still watches over me and listens to my heart and I still pretend to beat him up (I always win because boys can’t hit girls). And I still, everytime I see him, sing Joe the song I sang to him when I was 3 and he was almost 2 and I actually thought the song was written for and about him:
I’ve got the Joey Joey Joey Joey down in my heart
Down in my heart, Down in my heart!
I’ve got the Joey Joey Joey Joey down in my heart
Down in my heart to stay!
And it’s true. I do.
ALTAR by Dave is on to the next level!
Dave’s Book Made it Through to the Next Round!
Thank-you for voting for Dave’s book. There were 40 entries which have now been narrowed to the top 18.
The next voting round is in early December (2 weeks away). I will have details like the date and the HOW-TO here on the blog. Marcher Lord Press will be posting the first 30 pages of each novel. That vote will narrow it to 3 entries for the final vote in January.
THANK-YOU TO ALL OF YOU WHO VOTED. Remember-each registered voter only gets one chance each round, but multiple people in households are ok, so you know, nudge your spouse! Thanks again, everybody!
BTW~His book was 4th highest voter-getter out of 40. We have to get him in to the TOP THREE!
Help get ALTAR Published!
UPDATE, 11-13-09: The voting process has turned out to be slightly complicated, so Dave created a PDF with step-by-step instructions and pictures! Hope this helps!
http://www.daverhoades.com/pdffiles/step_by_step_altar_voting.pdf
Dave is one of 40 authors whose fiction book submission was accepted for a publishing promotional blitz by Marcher Lord Press (“The Premier Publisher of Christian Speculative Fiction”). By vote of fans and the general public, one of the 40 manuscripts will be selected and published in the spring.
Your vote could be the one! It is a 3-month process that involves just a few, simple steps (and a very small amount of your time reading each month). Each “registered voter” can only vote once each round, but there will voting in November, December, and finally January. Don’t quote me on these details, but I think the November voting will decide the top 10 entries, the December voting will decide the top 5 and then the January voting will determine the actual winning manuscript.
My humble request:
Become a registered voter and help Dave win! The publishing company will not be spamming you or selling your information. We won’t personally know if and when you registered and voted. It is private. But we’d be ever-so-grateful if you’d do this!
HELP! Here is how:
PRE-REGISTER to become a certified book-choosing voter!
- Click here: http://wherethemapends.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=mlpselect The page topper is titled: The Anomaly
- Click on: Create a New Account
- Make up a Username and Password
- Put in email address and minimal personal info (you won’t be spammed)
- Agree to the terms of the contest.
They will email you to make sure you are legitimate and not just our family voting for Dave a gazillion times. ALTAR is entry # 27. This month you’ll get to read a blurb and a synopsis of the story, which is really good, by the way.
First-round VOTING IS NOVEMBER 13, 14, 15!
Once you’re registered, you can go back in and vote on any one of these three days in November. And I believe Marcher Lord Press will notify you in December and January of voting dates. At any rate, I am certain I will mention it again. Because I KNOW you are going to help me help Dave win! Tell your friends and family and everybody you know to VOTE! I don’t even read fiction and I am going to VOTE! It really is a cool story. I promise. (NOTE: You must vote for 3 submissions or your vote will be disqualified…be random if you don’t want to read them all…is it cheating to say that??)
Help Dave make it to the next round! Come on!
Thank-You on Veteran’s Day
I don’t even know how you really say thank-you to all of the men and women who have selflessly, with great courage and bravery, protected our nation and the freedoms we enjoy. I know that all the blessings we have as American citizens has come at a great price, a great sacrifice. So, today, I want to remember and thank God for all who have served and for those who are serving. And I want to remember some who are special to me.
Ova Dean Baker. “Grandpa Baker”
Grandpa Baker was an ornery old cuss. He is now deceased but lives big in my memory! Thank-you for serving our country, Grandpa, and for marrying my Grandma and raising her babies as your own. You were a hero in so many ways.
Donald Baker, the day he left for Viet Nam. “Uncle Donald.”
Uncle Donald used to babysit me and play Beatles records and say “Your mom wears combat boots, ” which was simply not true. He was a rascal of an uncle who impacted my life more than he knows. I love him him because he reads my blog sometimes and gets very soft-hearted (his wife told me). Thank-you Uncle Donald for being a kid who went to war and became a bigger-than-life hero to me and all of your nieces and nephews when there weren’t many to be found. I love you!
Everett Allison. “Grandpa Allison.”
He served in WWII with a wife and 5 children at home. He managed to do that and still be an amazing husband and father all at once. He called me “Debbie Jean” the only person in the world who did, and wrote me actual letters – in the mail! I admired him so much and miss him deeply. He was like a movie star to me and since he passed a way a few years ago, the night sky has never again shined as brightly.
Raymond Rhoades, Dave’s Dad
Thank-you, dad for serving your country with honor. There is nothing we love more than getting you talking about all you remember and the ways you saw the faithful hand of God at work in your behalf when you served in Germany during WWII. It is hard to believe how young you were and how much of your faith was being built and perfected during those long days away. You have lived an admirable life and have our deepest love and respect. Thank-you for serving your country and showing us how to have honor and respect and love for this country.
Garry Rhoades (Dave’s brother) and his son Tim Rhoades (our nephew).
Our nephew Tim is still in the Army National Guard. This is him a couple of years ago with his maternal grandfather (Mr. Raymond Groves, now deceased), a veteran, his paternal grandfather (Dad Rhoades, see above), and his father Garry Rhoades, Dave’s brother. Garry passed away a year and a half ago having suffered medical problems due to Agent Orange exposure during his time in Viet Nam. He was never bitter, never blamed the military. Garry remained a patriotic citizen until the day he died, so proud to have served his country. Thank-you, gentlemen, all of you, so much. And Tim? God bless you and keep you! We have you in our hearts!
And God bless those serving actively today!
Thank-you to all who have served, thank-you so much. In my struggle to express my gratitude (me, a person who is rarely at a loss for words), my friend Marie wrote beautifully. You may read her lovely, heartfelt words here.
With great gratefulness…Jeanie
A Gift
Ageless Beauty walking gently upon the Narrow Path
She runs, she glides, she rests, she makes the journey her home
Eyes roam in search of hidden truths to hold, to grasp and adorn
In never-ending pursuit of the knowledge that evades the apathetic
A solid foundation rooted in love, she unites her family
Her green touch hails life in the dead garden, now fresh and new
With tasks at hand to nurture, to provide, to advise
She shifts in form to embody the need of the moment
Watch on, watch long, wholehearted devotion you will observe
She has an audience in me, I listen and absorb
May I sit beside you, Seasoned Wisdom, on the narrow path?
What will you share? What must I know? What knowledge do I lack?
Speak the words that breathe life in the graveyards of my being
Then, permit the Undeserving to leave you with a wish
Hold no more the woes from seasons Time has now retired
Ageless Beauty, age in grace, grow in love, lie down in peace.
From Tredessa Christine Rhoades, (a very wonderful daughter) in watercolor and ink, on the occasion of my 5oth birthday. At this point in life, you enjoy being described as ageless and timeless. *smile…