Full house, little mishaps, time off

Chase and Makaila came in last night. They got to the house before Mama and I got home. She had to make a trip to Decatur to take our little Chinese children to the church for a play practice for the Master’s Club Program tonight. Since Mama does not like to drive at night and since we have not gotten to spend a lot of time together, I drove her to and from. The girls were very excited about the play. The older one is going to be the angel Gabriel, the little one is going to be a shepherdess. Both were very clear about the fact that that they could not talk during the play. It made me wonder how much that had been reinforced during the practice. However many times it was communicated, they were both adamant about their silence being a part of the performance; they jabbered about it non-stop all the way home. I cannot wait to see how it turns out tonight. By the way, we have invited the parents to the performance. Hopefully they can make arrangements to come. We have been praying for them and any little open door is a gift. 

Our canine count increased by two when Chase and Makaila arrived. They have two of the puppies from Kira’s first litter – and Prince, one of the two, is huge. The two dogs seemed to know where they were as soon as they were loosed in the back yard. The real surprise is that Kobe did not have the slightest problem with them arriving, in fact she seemed overjoyed to have the company. The four larger dogs played with each other like they were all old friends; which was a surprise to Mama. A good surprise, but a surprise none-the-less. She had anticipated a stronger, more protective reaction from Kobe, who is our least socialized dog. The whole Amarillo Kline clan will be staying until Friday afternoon or evening; maybe Saturday. Kobe should be worn out by then.

Last time Cori and Nate stayed with us Blake was the recipient of a couple little mishaps – a cut to his face and something else minor that I cannot remember. This time the mishaps seem to be focused on Savana. Last week she fell while she was out in the yard with Victoria – helping her attend to the chickens. Victoria saw her get up and begin dusting her hands off and thought nothing of it. When she began crying like she was hurt Victoria went to attend to her and discovered she had fallen into a little bed of fire ants – her hands were covered with ants. Now we are doctoring the bites they left behind. Well, last night, while Nate was feeding her the tray on the booster seat we are using as a highchair broke loose and she slipped between the chair and the table ending up with a large bruise on her right cheek. She was unhurt otherwise. It was just alarming to see her fall and not be able to do anything to help until it was over. Since they will be here for another week we will need to be extremely vigilant. The challenge is that she is so busy it takes all the adults in the house to direct her away from the dangers we can see. We all laugh about it as we race to catch her moment by moment.

When I get off this afternoon, I will be off for the next six days. I am looking forward to it.

Cori and Nate, life changes

I forgot to mention that Cori and Nate jumped in to help us on the cantata. The choir was very encouraged by that. Cori and Nate have been in a church for several years that has a great choir, a choir director that is a very accomplished director and a great choir program. It is one of the things they miss most as they travel for deputation. I am fortunate to have the opportunity to have dedicated choir members; so few churches do. We are small and there is little musical training within the group but there is a heart for that ministry and there is a willingness to learn anything I can teach them; which is precious little, but I am learning as I go. I remember when Mama and I left New Jersey and the choir we had there, I missed that more than anything else. The church we attended in Amarillo had a choir but it was a challenge to sing with that choir – made more disheartening by the memories of the choir in New Jersey. They too had heart, but it was nothing like what we had left behind. But they loved the Lord and they loved to sing. We adapted then and we are have adapted now, but still feel the loss. Isn’t Heaven going to be great – especially when it comes to being in a choir. Until then God has promised to bless every effort we make to praise Him.

With the cantata done there is a little lighter load as far as church duties are concerned but with Christmas now upon us Mama and I still have a lot on our plate. Chase and Makaila are supposed to be here tonight so they can spend some holiday time with us before that make their requisite Christmas appearance at Makaila’s parents’ house. It troubles Mama a little (a mothering issue) but it is really a small matter. Things have a way of changing over the years as we all navigate the issues of life and sooner or later life will take Chase and Makaila away from Amarillo as they both grow. My larger issue is their casual faith, but that too is a matter that life will bring to bear as God continues to work in their hearts. It may be that they will have to be away from Amarillo for that to happen, but only the Lord knows. I am glad they find some time for us. They, too, have busy lives. 

I remember years ago, when Mama and I lived in Texas it was hard to get to West Virginia. When we lived in West Virginia it was hard to get to Texas. But through it all both sets of grandparents helped us work things out the best we could and we all found ways to make the best of it. Life has changed since those early years; a lot – and it will change for our children also. Cori and Nate and the kids will be in Honduras. Maggie and Aaron could be anywhere in the US. Brittany and Andrew could be stationed anywhere in the world. No telling where Becky, Joshua or Victoria will end up. That will largely depend on who they marry; when they marry. I intend to make the best of every change so we can enjoy it with them.

Nate and Cori have continued to take care of a lot of little things around the house; hanging coat racks, moving and consolidating stored items, clearing my tropical plants out of the house and garage into the heated well house, changing the seating at the bar in our kitchen, etc. Mama has been very pleased with all the updates. They have been timely and tasteful – and they have taken care of a lot of little honey dos for me. I will still have to make a few changes when they are on the road again, but I am enjoying the help – and the company. Some of the items were things Mama had suggested but until we rearranged the furniture and eliminated several pieces there was no need for the updates. 

Now that they are done – and extra items removed from the home – I am ready to do even more…someday.

The cantata, hurting, Dad

Cantata practice on Saturday afternoon went well enough for us to understand and practice how we were to be positioned for each song during the play. It was pretty rough on the singing side of the practice because we had a fill-in pianist who was pretty much sight reading the music. It was a generous act on her part to do the best she could and it was deeply appreciated but it left everyone with a bit of apprehension. We made it through the entire dress rehearsal and it did give us an additional chance to sing the songs so it worked out well enough. It was the practice on Sunday afternoon that pulled it all together. The pianist who was to play for the performance, who is not from our church and a last-minute option, is very an accomplished musician. She is the daughter of a one of the members of the church who happened to be coming to her parents’ home for Christmas. The family has been in contact with her for several days prepping her to play for us; however, Sunday afternoon was the first time she had actually played through the music. With her help, we went through the songs several times, practiced getting to and from our positions on the stage and nailed down all the passages that had given us trouble. It was an enormous relief to me – and to the choir members. The performance that night was perhaps the best our choir has ever done. It was a great encouragement to all of them and it was fun to pull something off so well considering the setbacks we had ploughed through leading up to the performance.

Very few knew I was hurting so badly that it was difficult for me to focus. My diverticulitis had kicked in Friday night and by Sunday morning I was in a lot of pain. I hoped it did not show too much through the morning service but by the time we dismissed I was ready to lay down. So, when we got home I went straight to bed. Mama asked me to help her start dinner but I begged off and went to bed. With that she knew how badly I was hurting. The rest helped enough to get me through the afternoon and evening. That afternoon and into the evening I struggled through both the practice and the performance – then through a late-night snack at Wendy’s. By the time we got home again, I was ready for bed. I have found that if I get enough Ibuprofen, Aleve or Bayer Back and Body in me I can deal with the residual pain but it can still be intense. It seems to be abating, but I still will not eat anything solid for the next several days to give my aching colon a proper rest. Hopefully, this will pass without a doctor’s visit. I had warning that this was coming because I told Mama several weeks ago, I felt like my body was telling me to quit eating but I failed to follow through on that insight. Maybe I will be more prone to follow that unction next time. 

Martha called Sunday morning to tell me that the Nursing Home called her to ask permission to take Dad to the hospital because his blood sugar was high. She had discussed it with Danny earlier and the three of us agreed that that was not a good choice based on his medical directives. Later, on Sunday, she texted the siblings to let us all know that Dad was being moved to Hospice care. That should be happening today. For those who do not know, Hospice is called in to serve patients who will soon die. In the several times I have seen Hospice in action I have been thoroughly impressed with both the level of care they provide and the tremendous respect they give to their patients – none of whom survive. That field of service must be a calling rather than a vocation. Dad will soon be home.

It was an emotional weekend.

Calls, play practice, gift exchange

When someone told me yesterday that the fifty phone calls I would be making today was not too bad a load of calls, I did not believe them. However, having made the majority of those calls this morning, I found out that they were right. I did realize they were speaking from experience but I did not know if theirs was a jaundiced view based on the fact that they were not making any of the calls themselves. I will have to give them more credit next time they speak from experience. But I will still reserve judgement on a case by case basis. Ronald Reagan said to trust but verify. That is a good approach to life in general as we share it with those who we do not necessarily know well. After all, the majority of those calls went to voicemail; typical. The good part was that someone had taken the time to write a script for us to use for those calls, going to the trouble to write a separate script for a voicemail or a conversation should a real, live person answer the call. I will have to find out who to thank for that.

Choir and play practice went very well last night. We managed to nail down a couple passages in a song that were troubling us and we learned how we are being positioned during the portions of the play. It was the first time we have been through all the songs we are going to sing in the same practice, so we needed the time together with a pianist accomplished enough to help us through. The only unfortunate part of the whole process is that the lady that played the piano for the practice will not be available for practice on Saturday or to play for the performance on Sunday evening. Our far-out expectation is that the women we are hoping to play for the actual performance will be arriving by plane Sunday afternoon, hurrying from the airport to the church and sitting down for the first time that afternoon to run through the program with us. I am confident that it will all work out, but I am just a teeny bit concerned. When the Lord is involved, things seem to work out, just maybe a little differently than planned. 

Tonight is our Sunday School party at church. It is one of the church functions that I do not get excited about because we always do a “Chinese Christmas” gift exchange. At work, they called it a “Grinch Christmas”. I feel like that is a bit more appropriately named. It is too much of a competition at times – even at church. After all, we are only people; save people, but still just people. Fortunately, I have only seen hurt feelings expressed one time and considering the source, I did not weight it too heavily. We do have some participants that are brought in from a nursing home who are regulars at church and their presents are very simple, very inexpensive. But they are the best they can afford. Those gifts do not get traded out in the “exchange” of gifts. Last year the person in question got stuck with the six pack of grape soda one of our nursing home participants had brought. The gift they brought had been much better and they were somewhat offended but we kept it between us – I think. Cori, Nate and Mama are all looking forward to it; along with the Mexican themed potluck dinner that goes along with the gathering. Mama is always more interested in the dessert table than the food table; but what’s new.

The weather is expected to turn very cold on Saturday night – temperatures in the mid-teens. The cold snap is expected to last through Tuesday. That should be fun.

Rest in the rush, Santa, work, weather

As the days go by it is good to see Cori and Nate get the rest they were missing in the past few months as they started deputation; even in the rush of the Christmas season. I have to keep in mind that there is a lot going on in the background as Nate schedules meetings for deputation, as they have their house on the market in Pace, Florida, and as they try to maintain a home schooling routine amid all the turmoil of rearranging their lives completely. As we approach Christmas the kids have been opening little compartments in a present that has a little door hiding a small present for each day leading up to Christmas. I do not know how far back the count has gone but I have gotten to see the past several days’ worth of little presents being uncovered. The kids have thoroughly enjoyed the ongoing gift. Since none of us are overloaded with capital this year there will not be a lot of presents under the tree Christmas morning, so this daily giving is a nice touch. We drew names this year so there will be only one gift per person – children excluded – but what a joy to share the season with family who can be there with us.

One of the employees at my new job has a side job as Santa. He looks the part and he enjoys the celebrity status so this is a great time of year for him. This morning the company took all the toys that employees have donated and loaded them in the back of “Santa’s” red Mustang convertible and Santa, dressed in full regalia, headed off to the assigned drop-off for the exchange. I don’t know if the kids who will receive the toys are going to be there but I am sure there were pictures and videos taken there along with the sendoff pictures taken here at the office. After he got back to work he went from department to department to see if anyone wanted to take their picture with Santa. There were quite a few takers. I passed. 

I spoke this morning to the new CEO of the company and he reassured me that there was a move afoot to move me out of the department I am now working in to one of two other departments within the company. The decision as to which of those departments I will join is yet to be made but it is a bit of news I have been waiting to hear. The company is experiencing some rapid growth at this time so there are going to be several positions opening up after the first of the year. My new one and my current one will be among those. It was good to have all that verbalized.

We are looking at a three-day cold snap coming this week. Overnight temperatures will in the mid to high teens. Thus far, we have only had those temperatures for a few hours in the deep of night so this will be a real test of our winterization and our abilities to heat the out-buildings for more than a few hours at a time. I will have to bring all the tropical plants into the house because I do not see the need to heat the sunroom just for a few plants. Victoria is especially worried about Kira in the Birthing Center, but I think she will be okay – as long as we can keep power to the building and I do not foresee a problem there. But those are the problems that are not easy to foresee.

As if the weather cannot make up its mind, the afternoon before the cold weather arrives the temperature will be in the high seventies. Go figure!

Reinstated, God’s training method, schedule

Apparently, Cori felt that I had been displaced when the second recliner was removed so it got inserted back into the floor-plan. She was perhaps more correct than I was willing to admit, but the layout still works as intended. Fortunately, we have a very large room to work with. We even got a chance to test the arrangement last night when we all sat down together to watch something on the repositioned television. It worked out well – even with Seth added to the mix. As I understand it, Seth will be staying in Texas while Norman goes back for the last load from West Virginia. Maybe the success of the layout last night is a portent of how well the new layout will work out when everyone is here at Christmas. I am not sure where we stand on how many of our kids will make it but it should at least include Chase and Makaila in addition to Cori and Nate and the grandkids, Victoria, Seth and Norman, Grandma and Grandpa and anyone else who might show up. I have some time off over Christmas that I plan to thoroughly enjoy; even though I will still have to monitor the company emails.

Over the years, I have learned to trust the Lord when things are not going as I had expected or anticipated. He has an unusual way of getting us trained. When I take time to look back at those circumstances that have given me the most trouble emotionally, spiritually or financially I find that each of those times were preparation for some future need. None of them were experiences I would have volunteered for but having endured (sometimes with a less than thankful attitude) the experience and seeing God work through it, there is always a sense of awe in the intimacy with which God makes all things work together for our good and His Glory; not just for me, but for so many who benefited through the testing/trials – the proving of our faith. It has often been said that what gets measured gets managed and what gets exercised gets stronger. So, it would not be a stretch to assume that our faith will be measured and exercised. I feel like I am in one of those testing periods now, but time will tell. If I am in one of the periods of testing it will be interesting to see what the outcome is; what I am learning, why I am learning it and who will be affected by it. The Bible says that the trying of our faith brings patience and patience brings experience and experience brings hope. More than that, because in that hope we will not be ashamed. (Rom 5:3-5 loosely translated) Individual, intimate, life changing training. Only God can provide that kind of training.

Starting tomorrow we will be busy every evening for the rest of the week – until Monday evening to be exact. Most of those activities are related to Christmas; cantata practice, Sunday School Class party, work Christmas Party, then church – during which we will be doing the Christmas play with the choir accompaniment. We have been working on the choir numbers for several weeks and I feel fairly confident that we will do well but Thursday night’s practice will begin to tell. That combined with additional practices on Saturday afternoon and Sunday afternoon should give us the full confidence to get through the program. It is not that we did not start early enough. The issue has been getting a pianist. Hopefully, we have worked that out and in the short time left to us we will get everything ready. 

That has been a bit of a trial also, but not one I am going through alone. 

Rearranging furniture, power woes

Cori, Mama and Victoria have taken on rearranging furniture in the house and eliminating unused pieces in order to open the space, eliminate clutter and increase functionality. For the most part I have been pleased with the changes, but in such an effort we all make sacrifices and mine was one of the two recliners we have had for many years; since we first moved to New Jersey. It was still functional and did not look bad but Mama had wanted to get rid of it for some time. I was not opposed to getting rid of the chair, but I was holding out for a replacement. So, when I came home from work Friday evening and saw the chair dumped onto the porch, it was a little bit of a shock. Not terrible, but unexpected. When I saw the arrangement of the furniture in the living room I immediately understood the reasoning behind eliminating the chair from the floor plan but I am not certain it is a good overall plan – especially for two rapidly aging, pre-geriatric parents. It is certainly more suited to our current situation with four grandchildren in the house. To me, to discard the chair in the process seemed a little rash, but it is only a piece of furniture; one that did need to be replaced. Much of what we tend to accumulate has little value outside of our narrow application so I have to ask if there is a real need to have those items – antiques especially? I am very much in favor of getting rid of clutter, putting items to the most functional use possible, and opening up floor space. I just want to make sure we are planning for the long-term use of space – especially if we are permanently eliminating furniture items from the space. Maybe the chair will find a good home soon.

Meanwhile, outside the house, Kira successfully delivered ten puppies. I think the count was seven girls and three boys. That is a good mix and should be easy for Victoria to sell. They are doing fine in the birthing center; however, Victoria went out this morning and found there was no power to the building. It turned out to be a bad connection between the extension cord and the plug in the well house. The cord is a very heavy cord and the weight of what was near the wall had pulled the plug end partially out of the outlet. I plugged it in and moved the cord so that there is not as much weight at the outlet. It turned out to be a good thing I had to check in that cord because the heater I had in the well house had been unplugged to open the outlet for the new extension cord. I moved my little heater to another location and restarted it. Now I will not have to worry about keeping the well house from freezing – or find the water frozen off in the well house because I did not check the heater. Such is the challenge of getting power to all the places we need it during the winter months. 

Things should be easier once I get the well house in the barn lot completed. I can have lights and plugs in the goat barn and the cattle barn as well as having proper power run to the coop. That will at least give me more places to pull power from during the months we struggle to warm animal habitats as the outside temperatures drops. Fortunately, we have had only a few days of what would be considered very cold temperatures. Mostly we are hovering around freezing every night with the days warming into the high forties and low fifties; sometimes into the sixties. So, we can recover each afternoon before going to freezing each night. It will get easier at some point in the future.

The sad news is that there is not much chance of those projects being completed before this winter is over.