My Grandma

When I was little - I most strongly associated my grandma with good books. Mostly because she would always bring books for us grandkids every time she visited! Through the years I have learned more of the dimensions of her character and beautiful heart. And this is just a little glimpse of one of my favorite people. . .

(photo by my mom)

My grandma is adventurous, fun-loving, and the most practical and hard working person I know. I love listening to her incredible stories of God's provision in hard times. Some of my favorites coming from the years she and Papa worked in Brazil. This next picture is when we were walking down an old road out in the jungle together. A wonderful memory in which we walked with multiple Blue Morpho butterflies floating their iridescence down the trail.



Her name is Ardis Opal - and she is

an organizational genius.

Prepared for everything.
And can mend or fix anything!

She really enjoys playing softball.
She really doesn't like broccoli.
She likes the color purple.
And she loves time with her family!

I love -
Her neatly written lists for everything and spotlessly scrubbed house.
Her marked up Sabbath school lessons filled with good notes.

How she underlines good magazine articles and cuts them out to share.
How much fun she and her siblings have when they get together!

I love -
Listening to her sing - because her heart has walked the words.

Meandering along footpaths as she points out different bird calls.

Listening to her chattering along in Portuguese with an English accent.

And her little intonations of delight when she sees something she likes.

I love -
That she would rather finish a meal with something salty than sweet.

Her canoe camping pictures from Canadian wilderness treks.
Our relatives in Brazil - who are family because of her big heart.

Her steady faith through each stage of life - even widowhood.

I love -
That God bloomed surprise for her in an unexpected place and my grandma fell in love - head over heels in love! And that this past April she married a wonderful man. Their journey together this year has spilled beauty over into the lives of all around them.

I love you Grandma!

In Anticipation :)

Spending some quality Nathan time this weekend has been super! I treasure every minute - but we agree that isn't quite the same without Shaila :) We miss you lots!

I'm so excited that I get to see her next week at camp!

These pictures were taken of all of us weeks ago the morning she left! 

(I'm really behind in picture posting due to a reformatted computer)

Recent Joy

My new grandpa! (pictures to come later :)

When grandma sings

Surprise visit from from my Brazilian family 

Harp music

Wild blueberry crops to come

Aunt Lyn joy

Cross-cultural Issues class

Paul and Petra - energetically teaching life lessons

God's gracious providences

A Danish blessing sung 

Mothers day celebrations

Grandpa Ken making hickory whistles for all us kids

Blasting ridiculous noises across the fields

Fat green figs swelling under fragrant leaves

Twin kids - only a day old!

Cuddling the soft little ones

Fuzzy chicks scuttling like a lost cloud

His old blue grass records

Kiwi - found with a song

Practical parables of God's heart

Sunlight treetops

Evening light warming wood floors

Hammocks slung sturdy

Quartet fun

Sock skating on slick floors

A metal turning demonstration

Clover fields - sweet smelling in the sun

Blessings Unfolding

Tomato leaves uncurling
Sunscreen
Dirt-covered limbs all happy
Buttercup faces smiling
His gentle voice guiding
Joy in quiet duties
Hats on the wall
Carrying rocks back from walks for flowerbed hems

The tap on the shoulder to pray - so many miles away . . .
A motorcycle wreck at 60 mph
His angel(s)
No spinal cord injuries or broken bones!
Seeing Phoebe's friendly face in the ER
That I still have my Nathan :)

Mr. and Mrs. Chickadee residing in the bluebird house
Moss-made nest with love tufts of softness inside
The tiniest chickadee egglets you ever saw!
Sun-filled windows
Orchids arching graceful
Long talks with heart friends
Sisters laughing long

Micheal and Christina

May Gods sweetest blessings lift you ever higher in His joy.

To my Shaila Rose:

I remember your swaddled smallness that night when I snuck out of my room to stand on tiptoe and lift you out of your crib. There in the darkness your tears slipped away to the rhythm of the rocking chair. My little four-year-old heart swelled to bursting with something bigger than words. . . Have I ever told you this: you are my first memory of loving someone?

We grew side by side. Me spinning yarns of words and you making something useful with the yarn. You always surprised me with your boldness and courage even in the dark. And oh - the tepees and forts we built! The leaf piles and tire swing gymnastics, ballet recitals, swimming games and silly wrestling matches. And who knows how many times we crossed the great plains with that little red wagon and built a homestead in the wild frontier!

Our feet have worn the same shoes, sloughed through the same mud, and stood on stubborn ground. You have held me in a downpour of rain and tears and imparted wisdom beyond your years. And though some days it seems that we are as opposite as fire and water, there are many other days it feels as if we are twins. Our stride is well matched for this relay of life. Each in turn carrying the other. Sometimes simply sitting side-by-side. And when I listen to you sing, my soul soars along with your angel voice.

And you, my angel rose, have blossomed. From a tiny wonder of life who toddled after me into an inspiring friend upon whose strength I can lean. This sister metamorphosis - a heart journey from God. I treasure you!

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So, dear friend, while life is joyous and full it is also fleeting and frail. Please tell someone today how much they mean to you. Words of cherishing love will never be regretted.

My Papa

Earthened.
In the way of all men before him.

A pioneer, like no man before him.
I miss my Papa.

My grandpa was the grandson of a missionary doctor and the son of a dairy farmer. He was a teacher, pastor, pilot, mechanic, athlete, marksman, renowned gardener, lumberjack, story teller, colporteur, woodworker, farmer, master guide, and a missionary.

I remember being held up against his shoulder to see the stars at night. "And that is Cygnus the swan." The autumn air was chilly and the starlight crisp. "If you listen, you can hear him honk as he flies across the sky."
I strained my toddler ears to hear the big bird in the distance - "HONK! HONKKK!" Papa teased in my ear. I jumped! Papa chuckled. Regaining my composure I told him not to be afraid - I would take care of him - and could we please go back inside?

As a skilled gymnast in college Papa's favorite stunt was walking on his hands up a series of ladders to the top of the scaffolding in the gymnasium. One of my early memories is of Papa tumbling a perfectly straight row of somersaults and trying to show me how to tuck my head just right. I wanted to look where I was going which resulted in rather ungraceful sprawls. He also would demonstrate the head stand and walk on his hands for me - I never got the hang of it!

Riding on top of a load of wood in a wheelbarrow I would laugh as he would run uphill grinning at my joy. He built a playhouse out of the old stone room in the mountainside next to the spring in the woods below their house. He also enjoyed racing alongside our car as we left their house. When we were older he taught Shaila and Nathan and I how to build lean-tos and shelters that were water tight, hefting logs that were as big as I was on his shoulder carrying them easily through the woods. He used the axe, machete or chainsaw as naturally as one would use their own arm and was skilled in the art of hewing.

The only skill my mother interfered with was learning to drop start a chainsaw. But our camping trips were filled with invaluable lessons in orienteering, canoeing, cooking over the fire, types of trees and their uses, species of birds, wild edibles, and wonderful songs and stories around the campfire. Stories about his favorite cow that took first place in the state fair five years in a row. Or the time Papa and a buddy raced the Michigan Championship, a 270 mile non-stop race. Even though they had a heavy outclassed old-town canoe they finished in the money at 10^th out of more than sixty canoes – their time was 27 hours and 33 minutes. In more recent years Papa and Grandma would travel for weeks at a time by canoe through the Canadian wilderness and bring us back pictures of moose, interesting birds, and other wildlife.

But Instituto Adventista Agro Industrial in Brazil was Papa’s lifework. A miraculous story of God’s blessing on a young man’s dream, 25,000 acres of virgin rain forest, and the lives of children from the remote rivers of the Amazon.

I was in Brazil during Papa’s last visit to his heart land. During this trip Papa developed an infection in a wound and was hospitalized for a time. I had the privilege of staying with him and recording his memories of the school. It is a story of young ideas, hard labor, and unstoppable hope. Of protection from leopards and venomous snakes, and of hundreds of greenhouses that produced agricultural wonders. A history of raw trust in God and a commitment to tithing that is still blessing the lives of the hundreds of students who attend each year.

Many of first students became like my grandparents own children and are considered family to this day. They fondly remember his simple faith, dedication to their success, and his legendary strength. They credit their success in life to the education he gave them. But though he appreciated their generosity, more than once Papa told me, “They were greatest bunch of kids I’ve ever worked with. They gave us the credit but it was God’s blessing on the kids tithe more than anything else. God blessed far more than we deserved.”

I’m so grateful for my Papa and the treasure chest of memories that my heart holds. The memories are accompanied by his favorite song: the Portuguese translation of the hymn "There is Joy in Serving Jesus".

The Best!

I LOVE my brother and sister!!!

For a billion reasons!

And just because!