Hertzler Doings~April 4-10, 2011

Mon.-Busy day. Dropped Susan off at school and headed to Farmville to get blood work done for insurance company. The nice lady in there called me 'honey', 'sweetie, 'dear', etc. and I felt pretty loved by the time I left there. I wondered if she had any idea what kind of gift she was giving to everyone who came in. Then I met with Carleen at Country Cooking and had a huge breakfast while we caught up on the news. Came home and started making 'Chicken and Dumplings' for supper. Michael volunteered to pick up Susan from school. Still no sign of Buddy. Judy came around 4 and took our blood pressure and also went on a wild windy gator ride with Susan to take good pictures of her. Sammy Jo stayed in with me and it was as if she had a living doll as she played with the puppies and talked in her cute so grown up voice. Janelle and Micah came and played with the puppies for awhile and then went on a sad search for Buddy. Meanwhile, our neighbor called and she told me that she had announced the loss of Buddy to the neighbors and to her church and then advised me to call the animal warden which I promptly did. In spite of Micah's sorrow, he was so very kind to Sammy Jo and explained things to her much as his mother does for him. The guys came home in the midst of all of this activity and then the Birthday Bantons came. Michael had to leave for work but came home later to enjoy the birthday cake and Phil had to leave to go to the cattle auction after supper and Freeman and Alli had to leave because he had stew cooking for a bit too long in the crock pot. But before they left, Alli, Lindsay, and I went down to the bluebells and all of us enjoyed a supper of chicken and cornmeal dumplings, applesauce, carrots, coleslaw, and mint chocolate chip/chocolate chocolate ice cream cake. (Which was smothered in Cool Whip.) Philip, Susan, Gil, Lindsay, and I played a rousing game of 'Apples to Apples' and meanwhile, I made origami boats and airplanes for Emma and Adi. Philip was in his glory and again, I thought he was Gil, as he helped the girls get into their car seats until I saw Gil standing there talking to Michael. Susan and I had a long talk before we turned in for the night and I stayed awake until Phil got home. At one point in the night, the winds were so loud and gusty that I got a bit scared and thought we were in for a tornado. It must be an awful feeling to hear that coming and have nowhere to hide./// I am thankful for Judy's bag of goodies that she brought and the ton of money she saved me by her generosity. I am thankful for the kind lady on the other side of the phone who had compassion for Micah's poor little shiatsu who got lost on a Sat. night. I am thankful for the Bantons and that they are our family. I am thankful that Emma said to me in her distinct 'my mother is a speech pathologist' kind of voice, "Jesus wants us to move. We are moving to a house that has stairs and I will come down the stairs to eat breakfast." It's nice to have someone to blame. Poor Jesus. He gets blamed for a lot these days. Tues.-This morning, Susan saw that Philip was having trouble corralling his run away pigs and she ran out with a pail of garbage and called, "Bacon! Bacon!" and got them back to where they belonged. He came in the house and said to her, "You are a lifesaver! Thank you so much! You are so smart! Have a good day at school, honey...I love you, too. See you when you get home." And I had to write it down because I was so thankful that Susan has brothers like this one, and that they all love her and protect her and encourage her. Came into school with Susan but won't have to teach until 1:20 since they are testing this week. I thought I'd catch up on some blogging and reading my Bible and it's been very nice. Phil's thumb has the outline of the splinter in it and it seems that it might come out longways instead of from point to point. Hopefully the surgeon can help him out on Friday. I think it is making him very tired. Taught only two classes of music in the afternoon since the school is doing achievement tests this week in the mornings. Got to share a synopsis of PF's sermon with the high-schoolers and they understood the 'ping' in one's heart that is a warning from the Holy Spirit to stop doing or not do the thing they were about to do. We had a few laughs as one student especially identified with this and proceeded to share. Met with Select Choir to review a worship song or two and then played some musical mats with them. Went to Walmart. Susan exhausted. Bought her some gummy bear vitamins since the others make her sick and some other herbs to give her more energy. She went to bed by 6. I took a walk and looked for Buddy. Every white plastic bag in the neighborhood gets looked at twice. (He's a white Shiatsu.) Did three loads of wash and tidied the house. Philip went to Financial Peace and afterwards, he joined Michael to celebrate Jordan's birthday./// I am thankful that the colors that would not look good together on a person, look beautiful in God's natural world. Oranges, lavenders, pinks, yellows, whites,...I am thankful that tonight I finally gave Buddy to God and said that I could trust Him with the mystery and I did not feel nearly as troubled. I am thankful for CCA and the teachers, staff, and students who have enlarged my borders. Wed.-Met with DDF at Baine's for several hours for our time of sharing over coffee and rice and bean wrap. So thankful for this friendship. Taught K-2 music classes. Played Musical Mats and sang some Sunday School songs. When we arrived home, Susan yelled, "Buddy is on the front porch!" I began screaming, "Thank you God!" over and over. He was none the worse for the wear. Didn't seem overly hungry or thirsty or dirty, but he certainly smelled bad and I didn't hug him since I didn't have time to change. Janelle and Micah came to pick him up and Micah was very happy. He played with the puppies and had some pizza and then joined Buddy in the car. We left soon afterwards to go to church for a WM meeting and then Missi and I caught up quickly over a Macado's quesadilla, and then we came back to VE to hear Dakota's testimony about her time in Italy with WYAM. It was really good. Went to Walmart and got Susan's chocolate coating. I am thankful that Phil had a nice hot bath waiting for me when I got home and that I got to read 'Robinson Crusoe.' I am thankful that even though we didn't know where Buddy was, God did. I am thankful that we had a happy closure to this oh-so-troubling mystery. Thurs.-Had time to read and study at school. Ran out to get Susan and myself a tuna Subway for lunch. The school is setting up for the ring ceremony tomorrow night. Some of the classes when to a musical dress rehearsal put on by local homeschoolers. Other children left for a 4-H weekend in my neck of the woods in Pa. In Art class, I had the children decorate large men's white handkerchiefs with flour/water batik, writing the word "Mom" and drawing hearts, etc. Next week we will paint them and then I will dry them and scrape off the batiking part and iron them and then wash them and iron them for Mother's Day gifts. I put their initials in one corner. The second graders made poppers and were having fun trying to scare me but I think it mostly got on the nerves of the other teachers. I didn't realize there were many left in the school with all the other activities. After cleaning up the art room, Susan, Graham, and I, met Doreen over in charming downtown Appomattox and Doreen and I got ice cream cones and sat outside Country Charm and talked and Graham and Susan went into Baines and got something to eat and drink and studied at the little table at the top of the stairs. Doreen took Susan home overnight and she is going to help Graham pick up the sticks that have been pruned in their vineyard. We'll meet up with her tomorrow after the ring ceremony. Michael left for Richmond mid-day and Philip went to play basketball with Erik at Maysville this eve. ///I am thankful for this beautiful 80 degree weather. I am thankful that I finally found a belated birthday gift for Judy Blue Eyes at B&L's and I think she'll like it. I am thankful for chocolate ice cream cones and a comfortable friend (who came to Pa. around the same time we did), and a warm balmy day. I am thankful that once I get out of bed in the middle of the night to help the puppies find their mother, I don't mind so much because they are so doggone cute. Fri.-Studied. Washed. Putzed around. Alli called and came over and we played with the puppies and took them outside. Angel became protective of her babies once around Roxy and she showed off and laid down so they could nurse. She growled at Roxy when she became too curious. All this activity wore out the puppies and they slept and slept. Alli had Phil's little girl puppy and when she put her down, she cried, so Alli picked her up and the little girl fell fast asleep with her head drooping over Alli's arm and she looked dead. She has scared us several times by her ability to really relax and play dead. Then Alli brought out a pattern and some material and we commenced to make her an apron in two hours! We were both rather pleased. Phil and I went to the Ring Ceremony at CCA in the eve. Mikayla looked beautiful in her white dress with turquoise flowers, a tiara on her pretty head and sweet, dear smile. We sat with the Guilds and the Sullivans and had a really good time while we ate mashed potatoes, green beans, beef tips with mushrooms, chicken, corn, salad, and cheesecake. There was much picture taking after the presentation of the ring and kind words were spoken to Mikayla and prayers were prayed. I appreciated so much what her father had to say and I had wanted to say something but his words did me in and I could only stammer later to Mikayla, when I turned her ring. A great storm was going on with wonderful lightning and it was raining and the sky was a study of blues, grays, and pinks. David brought Graham and Susan to school. They wanted to keep her another day. They worked for 5 hours picking up sticks in the vineyard and were too wiped out to go to Baine's in the eve. They fell asleep while watching a movie instead. We got home in good time and went to bed.///I am thankful for Marcie's sweet words as she offered to keep Susan for a year so she could continue to go to school there and I could travel freely to Pa. We're not going to do that but the offer was so kind. I am thankful that Alli came over and that it feels like she's always been here. I am thankful for my handsome husband and how terribly smart he is. Sat.-Phil and Philip went to Guilds to hunt turkeys and converse. Susan slept in while I started getting jars and meat in. I decided to can vegetable soup today. It's a perfect day to do it with it being somewhat cool outside. Phil helped me when he could and we canned 23 quarts of venison chunk vegetable soup and had several quarts leftover to eat for supper. Then we went for it and made 23 quarts of chili. We put sweet potatoes and whole grain pasta in it and I cooked kidney beans for several hours while the veg. soup was canning. We are trying to get down to one less freezer and use up the meat and vegetables we have. I also vacuumed the house and washed the floors. Susan cleaned her room and bathroom and Phil hammered the cement with a front loader drill while he waited for Tom to come over. (Soup turned out well.) Did some wash. Watched '17 Again' with Susan and Phil. A little weird but nice ending. Puppies are very entertaining. One tried to eat the popcorn out of Susan's mouth as she was putting it in. If we call 'Puppies, Puppies," they come running. So I think I have started calling 'Georgie' 'Charlie' instead but no one else is really excited about those names. They say that Charlie is better than Georgie which is just a nice way of saying that they don't like his name. I'll have to come up with a better one. ///I am thankful for a kitchen table full of cooling jars of soup. I am thankful that Philip is having a good time with friends this afternoon and evening. I am thankful that I can go to bed soon. I am thankful that even if the federal government shuts down, that Jesus carries the government on His shoulders. Sun-Song on my mind all night long-"...Wonderful grace of our wonderful Lord."-Michael was home this morning. Not sure what time he got in. It was nice to see him at church a bit later. He and Chace were hanging out today. Great SS class on marriage. Sat in the back of church with Alli, Freeman, and Susan,-behind some of my favorite people and in front of some of my favorite people. One of the Chi Alpha Alumni girls was there and she said that Adi was playing with a doll and she asked her who gave her the doll and Adi said, "Aunt Annette." Then she asked her what the dolls name was and she said, "Aunt Annette." I feel famous. I told Sara today that the Banton's were leaving and her kind sympathy made me cry. Perhaps Jesus will tell them not to move (see Monday) but I kind of doubt it. ~~~I've been trying to figure out how to summarize Pastor Frank's sermon. I missed the first five minutes of it and was scrambling to catch up after I got back. But I think I got the gist of it and since he said he would be preaching on it more this month, I thought I'd summarize the notes into a prayer. At least I am going to try. ( I tried but erased it and now I will just pray from my heart.) "Thank you Jesus, that you have called me out of darkness into your marvelous light and that you have given me Your Spirit and you dwell in me. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for taking what belongs to Jesus and for giving it to me. Thank you for giving me the desire to know you and to love you and thank you for giving me a hunger and thirst for your word and a longing to grow closer to you in righteousness and holiness. Thank you for this ongoing relationship that I have with you and that you are always at work in and through me. Thank you for sanctifying me and for always endeavoring to help me keep my spirit, soul, and body blameless until you come. Thank you for being with me and for being my ever present help in time of need. Thank you for always relating to me and thank you for restoring me and thank you for doing Your works through me for the honor and glory of Your name. Thank you that your joy is my strength. Thank you for never giving up on me. Thank you for being my Hosea. Your beloved Gomer, A~" ~~~~~~~~~~~Had the privilege of catching up with Sara. What a dear friend she is and what an amazing woman. There's not many like her on this earth. Please Jesus, bless and keep and heal her. Came home and Phil made toasted cheese sandwiches and I heated up some of yesterday's chili and Phil fell asleep while Susan and I made apple dumplings. Oh Mylanta! (as Susan says) Take two packs of 8 crescent rolls in a tube. Cut up 2 green apples-8 slices each. Grease 9x13 pan. Wrap a slice of apple in the pastry and lay in pan. Mix 1/3 cup melted butter with 1 cup sugar. Sprinkle over apple pastry. Pour 3/4 cup Mountain Dew (I kid you not) over the pastries. Sprinkle cinnamon over all. Bake at 350 for 35" or so. Serve with vanilla ice cream and pretend you are in heaven! I took puppies outside and played with them for awhile and then I went gator riding over to the other property and took pictures of the bank of red buds, the enormous holly tree, bluebells at the river, a butterfly, an old stump, little May flowers, periwinkles, pathways, and the creek. In the little creek cove, I laid my head on the gator wheel and almost fell asleep. The dent was still there when I got ready to go away in the eve. and Phil said 'At least you know how it got there.' It would be a bit disconcerting to have a dent in the middle of my forehead and not know how it got there. Everything was so beautiful outside and I just had to cry several times because it was so painfully beautiful and I felt so grateful to God. Everything in creation cries out to Him and I hear their cries and join them in their praise. Everything in creation is doing what it was born to do and is doing it well and at the right time. Oh, that I would freely use my will to do what I was created to do and do it well and at the right time. Nature has no choice but I do and that makes me love Him even more. Went to church in the eve. and enjoyed the discussion about leadership and goal setting and also got completely silly over gourds but that's an inside story. ///I am thankful for happy memories of garden gourds and 'chilly nights.' I am thankful for new life the size of a large green olive in the womb of a friend. I am thankful for a husband who is always reading, always learning, and always thinking. I am thankful for his prayers for our family and for others we love. I am thankful for Michael's happiness in having a day with Chace, a quick deep conversation at church with Mr. Roth, and a gentleman's generosity which lessened Michael's apartment rent payments significantly. I am thankful that the kingdoms of this world have become the Kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ and He shall reign forever and ever.