Love in Action (a little before & after)

Today was a wonderful day. I woke up early (i.e. for a weekend) because I was so excited a team from my church was coming to do a big project at my house: re sodding by downtrodden front yard. It had been taken over by weeds (especially those pesky violets) and crabgrass. It also had a huge dead spot due to the large amount of clay fill that had been deposited into the hole the plumbers created when they dug up my yard to put in new pipes. New grass has been long overdue but the task seemed so daunting to me. Today, on the contrary, 9 lovely people were Love In Action. They removed the sods, put it all in compost bags, rototilled, raked, evened-out, and laid 810 square feet of sod. Not bad for 2 hours and 45 minutes. It was impressive.

My failing yard.

10 days after 2 applications of Round Up!

The finished product

The Amazing Team from Genesis The Church

Double click on the picture below and see the blow-by-blow pictures!

2009 New Sod Love in Action

Prayers Needed

Hi Family,

This past weekend Susie and Paul came to visit Mom{Grandma}. We had a nice visit with them and they are doing well. They did inform us on their children which could use our prayers. Michelle and Jim are both out of work and looking for new jobs. Heather is at a community center following a program their to get her life back on track. At present she does not want to see her family but Sue did go and see her and said she looked better then she had.

Kirsten broke bones in her legs several weeks ago after falling on ice. She had another surgery a couple of weeks ago and has had complications. She got an infection in her leg where they had put screws in and these had to be removed, leaving an open hole the size of a golf ball. She was sent to a nursing home for treatment and drainage of the wound. She now has seen another doctor who will be performing more surgery soon. Kirsten is now at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital awaiting her next surgery. She may have to have a series of surgeries to repair her leg. The doctor says it will be at least a year of healing. All of them could use our prayers. If you would like to send Kirsten a get well the address to the hospital is: Advocate Lutheran General Hospital
1775 W. Dempster Ave.
Park Ridge, IL 60068

Winter also has had a bit of bad luck lately. She lost her job a couple of months ago and recently had a fire in her apartment. She is now homeless and jobless. She is on the job hunt and living with us and friends.

Sorry to bring so much bad news in one post but that's the way life is sometimes. I hope that life is going well for the rest of you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love, Debbie

Crews make progress fighting 2 wildfires in UP

This was on my local yahoo news today . . .

ISHPEMING — Light showers, cooler temperatures and diminished winds have helped firefighters battling two wildfires in the north-central Upper Peninsula.

how cool!

I took the leap . . .

of faith and sprayed my entire front lawn with Round Up. Over the next few days I should see my lovely grass weeds fade away into a dull and drab brown.

On May 30th some folks from my church will help me dig up the dead grass and lay down 810 square feet of new sod.
****
As I was spraying the Round Up I was thinking about how God asks us to die to ourselves so that he can put new life into us. The apostle Paul wrote, “To me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:20). For myself that means that I have to give up my own plans for my life and walk in the path Christ has willed for me. His path is supremely better than mine. "I run in the path of your commands, for You have set my heart free." (Psalm 119:32) Sometimes, however, I am like the stubborn grass weeds and I refuse to die even though it brings new life. Thankfully we have a most persistant God. He will apply another application and draw us closer to Him.

Have you ever experienced this?

A Few Random Updates

Hi Everyone,
I hope you are all doing well. Thanks Debbie for writing a post - I love knowing that you are doing well. So a few posts that I have been wanting to write are conglomerated into one here so that I wouldn't forget!

Did you know that Flat Adam came to Africa with me? He is booking his flight back to Wisconsin later this week. He had a great time and especially loved seeing the wild animals. (Double click on the collage and you will be able to see the pictures up close!)


Tim and Carrie were able to attend the Oakland County's Outstanding Teacher of the Year banquet with me on the 7th. I was a nominee. 3 fantastic teachers won - I was honored to be in the running. Then again, Tim and Carrie should have been nominated too! We had a delightful evening - many great speeches given by the teachers - each speech was very different. We then enjoyed an array of hor d'oeurves.


This past Saturday I volunteered for the CDC (Central Detroit Christian)'s Little League Football. We served up a barbecue (hot dogs and burgers) for all of the teams and the volunteers that help with the games. It was lots of fun. We were rained on a bit but we didn't melt. I even had the chance to pass the football around. I LOVE the size of the peewee football - it's just perfect and I can throw a pretty decent spiral with it!

This morning, despite my head cold, I managed to get up at 4:30 am and head on down to the Eastern market for flower day. It is one of my favorite days of the year. Five of us kept warm walking around and picking out new blossoms for our yards. This year I bought dwarf snapdragons, herbs and vegetables, zinnias, dahlias, English daisy (it's really cool - it's pink and white and totally wacky), marigolds, and lobelia. We were home by 8:30 am and were able to all make it to church on time. (We did make a quick stop to one of my favorite bakeries - Avalon - mmmm!)

Family, Faith, and the Final Countdown

Hi All,

Here are some pictures of my favorite granddaughter, Faith and a picture from Mother's Day at Wahlstroms.

We are waiting for some warm weather here. There's been snowflakes in the air today. Only 13 1/2 days left of school for me. {Not that I'm counting or anything} The kids are so done with school it makes the last days seem very long.

Love to all, Debbie

Happy Mother's Day

Grandma, Mom (Emily), Carol, Debbie, Joy, Addy, & Emily Ann

You're my special mother, my gift from God above.
You share your time and talent, and give freely of your love.
You're a best friend to all and even though you're sometimes hurt,
your loyalty will not budge.
My heart is always happier, whenever I hear your voice.
I pray God's angels surround you as He gives you reasons to rejoice.
You're a busy lady now. Your own life is filled with much but you'll always be close by as you're always in my heart.

(adapted from a poem my mom framed for me called "A Special Daughter.")

I love you, Mom!

Tender Flower

This picture captures Alaina just how I see her - so sweet - so tender - so beautiful.

the next Julia Child

I had a blast spending time with Alaina-loo the last weekend in April. One of our favorite activities was "cooking" with spoons, pots, and bowls. If you want to see the images closer up - double click on the image.