Goodbye to a Merry Friend

We started decorating for Christmas this afternoon. (I know, I know, it's still November. Sigh.) Alas, there was a casualty since last season.

My sister's family got us a "Merry Monster" several years ago. (I think that's the correct name anyway.) For those uninformed among you, the Merry Monster is a jolly little critter who sings a couple of Christmas-like tunes when you press his foot. The best thing is that there is absolutely no volume control. And the speakers that must be inside this thing put Bose to shame. It goes up to 11, if you know what I mean. The kids love it. The parents love it in 6 minute increments.

Sadly, Merry Monster refused to belt out his traditional jingle-jolly-deck-them-halls-merry-sparkly-white-christmasy mirth this year. I suspect the parts I heard rattling around inside of him had something to do with that.

Goodbye, Merry Monster, I hardly knew ye.

Two Beautiful Lives

Our family left for PA almost two weeks ago after receiving word that Dave's grandmother (on his father's side) was very weak and unresponsive and not expected to live very much longer. We arrived in PA Tuesday evening and had a couple of days to be with Dave's mom while his dad was in Ohio with his dying mother. On Wednesday, we went to visit Dave's other grandmother, who was living in a skilled nursing facility in the area. We took all the children and visited with her for over an hour. The children did great. It was such a blessing to spend that time with her.

Thursday morning, Dave's dad decided to return to PA. Ten minutes before arrived home, we got a call that Dave's other grandmother (my mother's mother) had been taken to the hospital because she was unresponsive. As soon as he arrived home, he and Dave's mother drove to the hospital. Probably 30 minutes after they left, Bob called and said that Mom-Mom Hogsett had passed away. She breathed her last breath here on earth and stepped right on into eternity with her Lord. The next morning, Mom-Mom Mateer also went to be with her Lord.

These two beautiful women went home to be with the Lord within one day of each other. Their lives were so interconnected: they had lived in the same town, worked at the same school, worshiped and served at the same church, had children that married each other, and even lived at the same assisted living facility in their later years. Their lives were intertwined in a way that few people's are. Most importantly, they shared the same love and passion for the Lord and the things of the Lord. The families decided to have a double funeral service to honor and remember both of these precious women. So, after being in PA for almost a week, we had a funeral for both women of faith on Monday morning.

How we thank the Lord for blessing us with such dear Mom-Moms.

Mom-Mom Mateer with Sarah Mother's Day 2008

Mom-Mom Hogsett with Dave, Sarah and Josh Christmas 2008

Anticipation

Samuel and Anna eagerly anticipate the Sunday-morning homemade cinnamon rolls...

First Florida Camping Trip

As a kid, our family camped fairly regularly. I have many fond memories of days full of hiking trails and creating our own adventures in the woods, followed by evenings around the campfire. We've gone a few times as a family, but not as often as I would prefer. In particular, we hadn't gone camping since we moved down to Florida.

With the 149-degree-days behind us for a month or so, we thought we'd give it a shot this weekend. We  didn't go too far--just to Gemini Springs across the lake--figuring that if things didn't go too well, we could always bring a few kids back to the apartment and meet up again in the morning.

We kind of went to the other extreme on temperatures with near-record lows Friday night. But everyone bundled under the covers and did really well! We decided to only stay one night, but got the full experience: evening campfire, s'mores, games around the campsite, late-night outhouse runs, getting up before dawn, cooking bacon on the fire, whittling sticks, hiking, and lots more!

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Today was the last day of our preschool study on Community Helpers in co-op. We ended up with asking the kids "what do you want to be when you grow up?" Today was when we talked about that. Here was Samuel's answer:

"I want to be a fireman, a police officer, a doctor and a postman!" He also wants to be a daddy. :)

Sarah and Joshua learned about the Statue of Liberty. Here is a lovely picture of our own little Statue of Liberty.