I'm a girl.  As such, I naturally clashed with my mother a bit, when a teenager.  But over the years of adulthood, I'm growing to appreciate more and more the treasure I have in a mother.  There are things she never had, that I take for granted.  There are lessons her parents never taught, that she spent years instilling in me and my siblings.  Now as I travel through parenthood, unsure and inexperienced, I realize just how much I still have to learn.  And I never seem to catch up to her!

My mom is a trucker now, and far away most of the time.  Oh, how I miss her presence in our lives!  But thank goodness for cell phones and facebook. Between conversations and photo albums, we get to feel like a part of so exciting adventures and sights across the country, in the life of a female long-haul deliverer.  And though I don't know how she does it -- I don't know if I could -- she has even been able to grow in faith with other lovers of Jesus and the Bible, in a dramatic and inspiring way.

In love with Hebrew and the Jewish nation, and in need of a church and something to do one Saturday morning, my mom experimented with visiting a Messianic synagogue one weekend and was amazed.  The fervor and solid doctrine of the congregation, along with all the symbolism and meaning of the Jewish culture, drew her to a new level of faith and motivation for growing and seeking God.  Amazingly, God arranged it for her to be able to pass through that town three weekends in a row, which almost never happens in her job, establishing lasting relationships with some of the people there.

Now she visits Messianic synagogues wherever she goes, and has worked her way out of trucker solitude.  It also pushed her to relearn her beloved Hebrew, now that she knows some people who speak it, she has found a Christian music she likes, that of Jewish praise, which also employs her Hebrew.  And in addition to sharing her testimony with those she meets, which she had been doing, she is now excited to help in the work of re-introducing the gentile church with their Jewish brothers, and introducing Jews to their Messiah.  Check out where she's been finding community, at Beit Simcha .org .  And check out Mom's blog, at http://kjontheroad.blogspot.com.

My eccentric, homey,  traveling mother.  Gotta love her!

Eddy and I went to Grandpa Peter's and Grandma Linda's house a little while ago.  We had a great time!  (sorry, no pictures.  I had to take them with dad's camera, and haven't retrieved them yet).  We said 'hello' to the horses, tried to find the kitty, played with the dog, ate the ever present grandparent treats, watched some cartoons and looked at old pictures.  In short, we did all the things you'd expect when visiting grandpa.

But I noticed something interesting while I was there.  Their dog, Hoppis, (small grey Scottish terrier, middle aged, but with lots of energy) acts exactly like Eddy!  Actually, I should say it the other way round, since the dog is at least  twice Eddy's age.

I was trying to get a shot of Hoppis.  It was very difficult because once you put Hoppis somewhere, he immediately runs up and sniffs you or licks your face.  So does Eddy (substituting hugs and hair-holding for the sniffs and licking, of course).  I tried to get a decoration out of Eddy's grasp and he immediately pulls it away.  So does Hoppis!  They both love TV.  They both love playing wildly with toys.  They both love running fast outside.  They both love running up and down stairs.  And they both love eating!

Eddy and Hoppis were inseparable almost the entire time.  They stole each other's toys, they chased each other, they hugged and kissed each other, they ventured into the barn together.  They were two peas in a pod.  Often we adults would sit and watch Eddy and Hoppis run round and round in a circle, chasing each other and having a grand time.  Kinda makes me see one reason why people get dogs...

...not that I'm going to get one.  He gets along with Hoppis well enough =)

Here's our house in Afton! We love it! Eddy, Mom, and I have already started off the spring outside getting our hands dirty. I plan to do a lot more.  I'm so blessed to be able to live in so many cool houses. It sure makes it easy to move a lot when the new place is always so exciting!

A note about these pictures: Remember, it's early spring, and everything is going to get A LOT greener and prettier!

Yeah, I had a long week. Studying and working cut off much of my sleep, then the events began. Thursday music practice, Friday getting the house clean and making food for my dad, husband and son, and off to Linda's for the retreat. Eddy attended the dinner, with us, then went back to my house with dad. Full, full full retreat! A long evening gathering, with much prayer, opening up and...tears, of course. And giggling long into the night. An early start Saturday with everyone helping to put a delicious breakfast together. Laughter, stories, and food filled up our free time so we went straight from that into study time. My study was first, which also went long. Then Aunt Jan's and off to lunch at the Sand Creek Cafe (a fine establishment and official hub of Sand Creek, WI, population roughly 100). I took a detour with Linda and Bernadette to the store, so when we got back everyone else was already out riding the horses. At this point my week hit me. I felt weak and headsick, so I skipped horse riding and sacked out with some music in the livingroom. But I was up again for the scavenger hunt, the final study time with Bernadette, and gift exchanges. Stories and talking started up again, but my church service was coming up fast, so I bowed out and headed to church. I met the team just in time to grab a bite to eat with them, get an update on any changes, pray, and go right on stage! As I sang I realized my head sickness had turned into a sore throat. I got home, talked to my dad, then my husband, and it turned into a late night. Sunday was another early morning for practice at church. I dragged myself out of bed later than I should, with no time for breakfast. Thank goodness for church babysitters! We all stocked up on donuts, I had a good warm up, and had a good service. But my throat was worse. During second service I broke down and had a cough drop. It made me feel SO much better...until I got on stage! Oh no! My voice broke, and squeeked, and failed. I made it through, greeted people I knew, got Eddy, and went home. Home, home, home. Eddy fell asleep in the car and I wanted to. We crashed at home and slept all afternoon. Then back up to help Dan wash his truck, I got Eddy ready to go to Bible Study, We dropped Dan's truck off at the mechanic, dropped Dan back home, and left for Bible Study -- LATE. We didn't have a chance to make dinner at home, so fast food on the road. I met the ladies with a toddler and a dinner, which complicated the meeting, but we made it through, with a visit from Dan halfway through, on his way to Minnesota. Home again, home again, jiggety jog. Finished our dinner, but no firewood, so we snuggled in blankets and ate while watching VeggieTales. SLEEP. We both slept like logs. The retreat was over, church was over, Bible study was over. Back to life.

I had a mediocre birthday. And I didn't blog on my birthday. For a sometimes perfectionist, that drives me crazy after the big deal I made of it, but, what can I say? The day started in a not-so-good mood and then got better, but also busier. I had house to clean, Eddy to take care of, a baby shower to go to, then straight over to choir practice, a quick bite, the church service, out to dinner with my dad, and home to bed early for more choir in the morning. Blogging was not on the schedule.

Birthdays are a big deal to me. And in the past a day like my yesterday would've broken me down and taken a long time to recover from (aside from the great dinner with Dad and his wife Linda. Thanks, guys!). But even without too much glamor, one nice thing about my birthday this year was that I had a glimmer of maturity about it (wow, where did that come from?). I realized everything doesn't have to be about me (I'm still working on that lesson).

Lately I have been thinking about missions for my church and family and about a friend in the hospital. Friday was spent devoted to Eddy, Saturday I got to shower a friend-who's-expecting with gifts and hugs and catching up, then I got to help serve the church with sincere music to the Lord. Sunday had more of the music, plus hugs and prayers for a couple with a baby loved one in the hospital, a listening ear for a friend, and group acceptance and prayer for another struggling friend. And in thinking on others I found joy! Life is not about me. Besides, I got tons of good wishes from tons of friends and family, many of which I rarely hear from! How cool is that? So I decided I shouldn't weigh others down with silly daydreams that didn't come true, and instead I should love them.

A great after birthday perspective for the good and bad birthdays of life: Love your neighbor as yourself.

I love randomly seeing familiar faces and hearing from friends! After a later-than-usual swim at the Y today I noticed someone on the treadmill and I did a double-take. Amanda? And indeed it was. We had a pleasant and unexpected chat at a place where I very rarely see people I know. Apparently our workout schedules are inconsistent enough that even though we come often, we'd never seen each other there.

I picked up Eddy from childcare and we went off to buy groceries. I fumbled in the car a few moments, then got out to help him out of his seat. In the corner of my eye I spotted an older looking man staring at us (kinda freaked me out). Out of motherly protection I glanced over and, oh! Dad! We hadn't seen each other for a couple months, but he just happened to be driving by and saw me pull into the parking lot. We strolled the aisles a few minutes catching up before he had to get back to his day.

I decided to cancel my other errands when the weather started turning bad, and Eddy and I hauled our groceries home. I picked up the mail at the mailbox, then drove in. Since Eddy was fast asleep by this time I decided to peruse the mail before going in. A letter addressed to me from an unfamiliar name in Chippewa Falls. Was it an advertisement? A baby shower! An old friend who'd long moved away was being thrown a baby shower by her mother-in-law right in town! I can't wait!

These winters can SEEM isolating, but it's only an illusion. Good to know there really are loved ones all around.