The First Hundred: July 2006

What's New?

Luke shared his new quilt with Papi...

...and Josiah shared his new trike with Reiley.

We Don't Work on Fridays...

Maybe this explains why I feel so wonderfully tired this morning...

28 on the 28th

Happy Birthday, Karina!
We're glad you've come to Chicago to celebrate your golden birthday with us.

Clean vs. Messy

This morning I mentioned to PR that we should clean up a bit around here, since the grandsons are coming over to visit this weekend. He said, "Isn't it kind of backward to clean up when those little guys are just going to come along a mess things up?" I didn't answer, but here's what I should've said:

Clean is a sparkling kitchen. Messy is a fridge filled with sippy cups and bottles.
Clean is empty trash cans. Messy is trash cans filled with disposable diapers.
Clean is scrubbed floors and vacuumed carpets. Messy is a trail of animal crackers, Goldfish, toys and puzzle pieces.
Clean is a freshly-made bed. Messy is finding a small sock under the covers.
Clean is a polished bathtub. Messy is a bathtub ringed with rubber ducks, fish, and baby shampoo.
Clean is a streak-free window. Messy covers it with tiny handprints.

Messy is okay. It goes home too soon.

Eat Fresh!

The 1st tomato of 2oo6.
I wasn't going to pick it, but it fell off the vine into my hand.
Providence of God.

Sweat? No Sweat!

Same workout, different thermostats.

PR says he's working a lot harder than I am. I just tell him it's not ladylike to sweat, so that's why I only perspire (slightly).

Family Friday

Mark is home from Ft. Riley, Kansas, for a short leave, and it turned out to be a good chance for him to see his nephews again. Josiah (and his parents) came for breakfast....

....and a ride in the swing.

(He gives sweet "sugar")
Josiah had a playdate scheduled, so he missed our trip to see his cousins Reiley and Luke. We met them at the mall in Rockford.

Mark, Karina, and Daniel had some "sibling" time.

Uncle Mark and Luke got reacquainted.

Reiley took turns riding on his uncles' shoulders.

Fun day.

At Your Service

I mentioned to PR about hearing a report on TV that they're working on a washer/dryer that will notify you by email or cell phone message when your laundry is done. PR's response: "Will it also tell you that it's folded and put away?"
Now that would be a great invention.

The Sky is Falling

I was pretty quiet on our early morning walk today. PR asked, "What's the matter?" My answer: "The world is in such a mess."

After walking a few more minutes in silence, I looked down and noticed that a bird had made a "deposit" on the front of my shirt. "Oh, boy", I thought. "That really helps my mood." PR mused, "I wonder if birds can see you coming, and do that on purpose..." As I started to imagine birds conducting contests in the treetops, PR interrupted my thoughts:
"Did you see me scramble out of bed this morning?"
"Well, I did see you sit up, wide-eyed, with one hand pointing upward."
"I was dreaming about eternity again. And feeling scared..."
"Scared?"
"Yeah, there's so much to be done, and not much time left."

Kinda puts a little birdie-doo into perspective.

Out to Lunch

We parked the car and headed toward the entrance to the restaurant. Then we noticed an ambulance out front, and the EMTs helping a man to his feet from the sidewalk. As they walked him toward the open door of the ambulance, PR leaned over and whispered to me, "Maybe we should find out if he just ate lunch here..."

High Adventure

It was a working vacation; our North American Baptist 48th Triennial Conference. (No, PR and I haven't been to all 48.) This one was held at the YMCA of the Rockies ("Visit once, You'll be back") near Estes Park, Colorado. And it was definitely more about the vacation than the working.

We were surrounded by magnificent views.

On Friday, PR had an interesting adventure...

The day dawned beautiful..... he and a retired friend, John, had started hiking up Long's Peak (a 14,000-plus foot summit) at 4am, in the dark. They stopped to enjoy this wonderful sunrise.

After climbing 3.5 miles, almost halfway to the summit, PR decided the wrenching knots in his calves weren't going to go away, even with a bit of rest and massaging. He also remembered that what goes up must come down, so, at 7am he started back down to the trailhead. The descent took only an hour and twenty-two minutes.

John, a 71-year-old, extremely fit and experienced hiker set his sights on the summit.

We went back to the trailhead late Friday afternoon to pick him up. Since he wasn't back yet, and his wife was with us, she wanted to hike up the trail to see what it was like. This photo was taken several hundred yards up from the trailhead. We met hikers coming down, who said they'd seen him near the summit, but not to expect him any time soon. The weather was getting bad.
Long story short: we didn't see John until 11am on Saturday. He made the summit at around noon on Friday, but the descent was slow-going and hampered by drizzle and fog. The drizzle turned to rain, and with the poor visibility he got off the trail. By dark he had hunkered down under his poncho, to sleep on a rock.
The hard part for us was not knowing. Was he hurt? Had he slipped and fallen? Did he have a heart attack?
Whether it was a single prayer or the prayers of 1200 gathered after breakfast on Saturday, we know that God heard and led John safely down, after 30 hours on the mountain. And, do you think I was glad PR had listened to his calf muscles? You bet!