Unconventional, Squishy, and First Time in Years

At our Good Friday service I helped downstairs with our children's ministry. They put on something like a Stations of the Cross event that draws hundreds of kids! There were a couple of kids that found all the noise and excitement of the evening just too overwhelming so we hung out in our Special Connections room. I read the Easter story and we played with glow sticks.

 

 

On Saturday Beth and I colored eggs. Haven't done that in years! I kind of fumbled around with the whole process, couldn't remember how to dry the eggs without wiping off the coloring, and I think our food coloring is old because it wasn't sticking to the eggs... it was quite the spectacle! But we had fun!

On Sunday after church we waited until about 3:00 and then went out to The Old Spaghetti Factory for lunch. Not your typical Easter cuisine but we all like Italian and we figured they wouldn't be too busy at that time. And we were right. It was just a five minute wait.

 

After lunch we came back to the house for Easter baskets and Mexican Train. Although I don't really do baskets anymore. I just use small tupperware dishes. I remember my grandma used to make our baskets out of strawberry baskets. Remember when strawberries came in those little, square green baskets?

 

 

And we did a video chat with Diana, Peter and Adelaide. We all miss them SO much!

 

 And... we got a picture of Adelaide in one of her Easter weekend outfits. I've put it as the wallpaper on my phone and every time I pick it up to text or call I say - through clenched teeth, 'She'sh so cute and shqwishy!!!' And then I forget what I was doing. 😊 Happy Easter!

A No Show, A Hospital Run, and Four This Year

Work has kept me on my toes lately. We had water baptisms on Sunday and I knew the tank had been emptied and cleaned so I checked it today and saw the covers hadn't been put over the top. They're 4 large pieces of wood covered in carpet and they're very heavy. I called one of the custodians and we tried to figure them out, it was like a jigsaw puzzle.

When we were just about done with that I got a call on the radio that there was a situation in one of the women's bathrooms. I left the custodian to finish with the tank and I found another custodian had been cleaning the bathroom sinks when one of our huge mirrors fell forward and landed on her. Thankfully she wasn't hurt and it didn't break, it just kind of slowly leaned forward and she braced it. I went to the maintenance office, grabbed some duct tape and MacGyvered it! While doing that, I got another call saying my delivery had arrived so I went upstairs, let the driver into our storage area, signed the invoice... it was just non-stop today. 

I hired a new custodian last week and he was due to start yesterday at 2:00. He never showed. I texted him at 2:30 telling him I was a little surprised that he didn't even show up to his first day at a new job. I asked him if he was available today and he said yes, but gave no explanation as to why he didn't show up. I was trying to show him some grace and mercy. He called me this morning and we talked for a few minutes about the paperwork and his uniform. "Sounds good. See you at 2:00." But again he didn't show! At 2:30 I called his cell and it went straight to voicemail. I left a message and then waited. Finally at 2:45 I texted again only this time it was to tell him the job wasn't going to work out and he wouldn't be working here. So now it's back to square one looking for a new employee. Frustrating.

Right after I got home today I got a call from a friend who needed a ride home from the hospital. Actually the call was from his late wife's daughter, who happens to be his Power of Attorney but lives out of town. His procedure ended up taking longer than expected and all the drivers from his assisted living place had gone home. What?! Why were they allowed to leave when one of their residents was still at the hospital? I just didn't understand that! Anyway, I hopped in my car and drove up to get him. Thankfully it's only 5-10 minutes from my house. I took him home and a couple nurses came with his electric chair and took him on up to his room. Would they have left him at the hospital? I'm glad I was available! 

Every few days I check the bird's nest in the wreath and today...

There's 4 tiny eggs! This is so fun! I believe the birds are called Junko. They're a type of Sparrow. I saw the mommy bird in the nest so I stuck my arm out the front door so I wouldn't scare her and got this picture:

She's keeping them safe and warm! 

I hope you're all doing well and enjoying Spring. It's hard to believe May is right around the corner!

Mama Bird

That's what we're calling her. I've learned she is a Junco and the eggs incubation time is about 2 weeks.

Back in April I wrote about a birds nest in the wreath on our front porch. There were 3 eggs when we left on vacation but a few days later Sharaya sent us a picture of an empty nest. We decided something got them because there were no cracked shells or any evidence of baby birds. When we got home, I put on some gloves and cleaned it all up and tossed the nest. Wasn't sure what else to do with it. 

A few weeks ago another nest appeared and this time there are 4 eggs!

I was up until 2:30 this morning, probably because I ate a lot more sugar than I should have throughout the day 😋 but I decided to check on the nest, just to see what exactly happens in a birds nest in the middle of the night.

And there was Mama Bird keeping an eye on her babies.

Every time I leave the house I tell her, "Bye Mama Bird!" and sometimes she stays in the nest and other times she flies out into the yard chirping at me the whole time.

It's been kind of fun to watch. I make sure the bird feeders and baths are full and we're always listening for the sound of little birds chirping! It could be anytime now!

A Quick Little Post About What I Found On The Front Porch

I came home from work the other day and couldn't figure out what was hanging from my wreath on the front porch.

I looked into the wreath and oh my goodness! Sharaya gave me the wreath for Christmas so I've only had it a few months.

 

On Monday as I was going to work, the little momma bird flew out of the nest when I opened the front door. She sat on the roof right above the porch as I got into my car then drove out of the driveway. Then today when Chuck left for work he called me over to show me the eggs!!

Now we're trying to be very careful when we're coming and going. I know very little about birds and have no idea how long it will be before they hatch but I'm so excited to hear those tiny little chirps!

He Calls Me Friend

Allie was here yesterday. We played outside, she rode her bike, we played Barbies and we colored Easter eggs.

 

 

 

There were a lot of stickers and Allie wanted to use every one! That girl loves her stickers. :)

 

 

 

 

The finished product.

 

 

 

 

I was able to talk with Allie a little bit about the real reason for Easter. Last week she came over and showed me her palm branch she had made at church. She told me the whole story, then I took her out to the backyard and showed her our palm tree. I told her that these were the real branches that they waved when Jesus rode in on the donkey. She was amazed! When she came yesterday, she ran out in the backyard and told me, "This is the real tree, Nana!"

 

We talked about how on Good Friday we remember that Jesus died on the cross for our sins. He did it so we could have a relationship with God the Father. Then... on Sunday we celebrate Jesus rising from the dead! He's alive and wants to be our friend!

 

What a blessing that simple message is. We can have hope because He loves us. We can have peace of mind because He is our Creator and knows us better than we know ourselves. We can have an anchor in the storm because He is our Rock. He's written every day of our lives and we can go to Him with things get tough.

 

Most of all, He calls me friend.

 

I pray you have a very blessed Easter.