EMMANUELLE (Emma and Us)

                                                                  Emma....

     This is a recent picture of our ten-month-old granddaughter, Emma, who lives in Beersheva, Israel.  We always hear that (like her father) she is already fascinated by "screens."  The thing that has recently surprised me is to learn that as of yet, Emma has no teeth.  I have not thought too much about this but was surprised since we had recently visited IN and two of our other grandchildren including six month old Malachi who already had two teeth.  Anyway I keep reminding Emma's father to let me know as soon as she gets her first tooth!  Yes, the above was a rabbit trail...

     It is way off the subject of this particular blog...  In January of 2014, Emma and her parents had visited us in PA for Christmas.  They then came to Florida for a visit and because John and I wanted to see them one last time before they left for Israel, we packed up our house in two days in PA and drove to FL in another two days in order to see them for three days before their flight back.

     That was not a problem at all.  Yet here we are in Fl  preparing to return to PA.  The problem is, without an Emmanuelle to inspire us, we have kept putting off the date of returning.  We have all sorts of reasons (valid and not-so-valid) for delaying.  But today we decided to wait to leave until next Tuesday...our rationale being it gives us a few extra days to use up food and also we can put out the trash and recyclables one last time!  So that is our new (and hopefully last) goal....

       PA here we come....next week!

                                                                          

                                                       Back from Tanzania...

     I love the picture above....it is my six-year-old grandson, Ezra, on his last morning in Tanzania in 2014.  Each year he goes with his family to Iringa, TZ from January till around May when they return to the States. As my daughter-in-law, Linda, noted "he is already a TCK."  She should know since she was born in Sierra Leone.  Of course, Ez's sister, Indigo, is also a TCK.  Ez is six and has already been to Africa five times.

   I have another granddaughter, Emmanuelle (Emma), who lives in Beersheva, Israel.  She has already made one trip to visit John and I, (her grandparents) in America and she will only turn one on July 17th!  Will she come to American enough to visit that she will be considered a TCK?  Most likely not...

     But my other two grandchildren, Evangeline (Evie) and Malachi, just like my own children were born in the good ol' USA.
 
     My daughter, Phoebe, and her husband, Greg, have applied to adopt children from Colombia but are still waiting.  If that does happen, I will have grandchildren who are TCK's...

     All four of my children were born in Oswego, New York and never did I imagine that my children would leave Oswego for "far away places..."  But I truly believe they are living where God wants them so a deep joy comes from that.  And a gratefulness for the times when I do see them!  And now I know that just because Evie and Mal were born in Maryland and Indiana, they could still end up in upstate NY!  God is always full of surprises:)






     

     

    

Phoebe's gift to me...

May 23, 2014

     Although the beautiful planter above has a Thanksgiving theme, it is just one example of the beautiful planters my daughter Phoebe makes and sells.  If anyone reading this would like one for a gift and will be in Oswego NY this summer or Nashville, TN the rest of the year, she would be happy to sell you one!  I think they are gorgeous...my most recent one from her of course had an Easter theme!

     I know Easter has come and gone and so has my time in Florida!  A week from tomorrow we (my husband John and myself), plan to head north to PA.  But it will be with mixed feelings (as always)...whichever place I am I seem to settle in.  John is about 9 weeks from having hip replacement surgery but even that did not seem to inhibit our joy during these months.  And now, as he sees improvement each day, he is definitely happy he decided to have it. 

     It has been a busy time.  Tomorrow we will go pick up our taxes and mail them in since we took an extension.  Another thing to cross off our list.  During these months John has kept up his blog www.ADozenSeconds.com which has kept him busy.  He publishes it three days a week.  And right now we are sifting and sorting papers and trying to use up food.  Some friends from here will actually be visiting PA this July which will seem strange to see them out of their natural habitat.  

      In 2012 John's book for children A Pillar of Pepper and other Bible Rhymes was republished both as a kindle book and a hardback book and the interesting thing is that I am seeing to my surprise that the hardback book is the one people still seem to want ....for their children and grandchildren.  It is rather expensive so I was not expecting that to be the case.  I thought the kindle would be more popular but maybe with children, people still like a book they can hold in their hands!

      January to May....in Florida.  We'll be leaving "Summer" to go back to "Spring...."