Thanksgiving

Still My Baby

Ames, Iowa November16th, 2008

The Iowa Statesmen

She Got a Strike!

The simple pleasures in life are still alive and well in Jones County. At the local bowling alley, kids of all ages spend a few Saturday afternoons engaged in wholesome activity. You gotta love the Midwest! :)

Who are these Koppenhavers?

I recognize Aunt Nelda Koppenhaver, kneeling in the bottom right corner with the little girl on her lap. I think the lady seated in the middle is Anna Koppenhaver. Who are the rest of these relatives turned ancestor?

to Gram B, Millie and Clara

Grandma's Hands

HANDS



GRANDMA'S HANDS

Grandma, some ninety plus years, sat feebly on the patio bench.
She didn't move, just sat with her head down staring at her hands.

When I sat down beside her she didn't acknowledge my presence and the
longer I sat I wondered if she was OK.

Finally, not really wanting to disturb her but wanting to check on her
at the same time, I asked her if she was OK. She raised her head and
looked at me and smiled. "Yes, I'm fine, thank you for asking," she
said in a clear voice strong.

"I didn't mean to disturb you, grandma, but you were just sitting here
staring at your hands and I wanted to make sure you were OK," I
explained to her.

"Have you ever looked at your hands," she asked. "I mean really
looked at your hands?"

I slowly opened my hands and stared down at them. I turned them
over, palms up and then palms down. No, I guess I had never really looked at
my hands as I tried to figure out the point she was making.

Grandma smiled and related this story:

"Stop and think for a moment about the hands you have, how they have
served you well throughout your years. These hands, though wrinkled
shriveled and weak have been the tools I have used all my life to
reach out and grab and embrace life.

"They braced and caught my fall when as a toddler I crashed upon the
floor.

They put food in my mouth and clothes on my back. As a child, my
mother taught me to fold them in prayer. They tied my shoes and pulled
on my boots. They held my husband and wiped my tears when he went off
to war.

"They have been dirty, scraped and raw, swollen and bent. They were
uneasy and clumsy when I tried to hold my newborn son. Decorated
with my wedding band they showed the world that I was married and loved someone
special

They wrote my letters to him and trembled and shook when I
buried my parents and spouse.

"They have held my children and grandchildren, consoled neighbors, and
shook in fists of anger when I didn't understand.

They have covered my face, combed my hair, and washed and cleansed the
rest of my body. They have been sticky and wet, bent and broken,dried
and raw. And to this day when not much of anything else of me works
real well these hands hold me u p, lay me down, and again continue to
fold in prayer.

"These hands are the mark of where I've been and the ruggedness of life.

But more importantly it will be these hands that God will reach out
and take when he leads me home. And with my hands He will lift me to
His side and there I will use these hands to touch the face of
Christ."

I will never look at my hands the same again. But I remember God
reached out and took my grandma's hands and led her home.

When my hands are hurt or sore or when I stroke the face of my
children and husband I think of grandma. I know she has been stroked and
caressed and held by the hands of God.

I, too, want to touch the face of God and feel His hands upon my
face.


-- Author Unknown

Summer

Summer got her hair cut and it is oh, so cute!!!!

First Flakes

If you look closely at the roof of the bird feeder you can see the accumulation of some snow flurries that passed through today. It had to happen sometime...here comes old man winter....

The Gall

Mom had her gall bladder removed yesterday. It is an out patient procedure now a days. It is amazing that they can make a couple little holes and fix you up and send you home. By the time my sister, Amy and I finished our lunch it was over. We spent several hours visiting until it was time to go home.







Here is Mom all ready to go into surgery.
Amy and I had a nice lunch in the cafeteria.

Sweet Relief

Gas prices in the Midwest continue to go down. Good news for everyone! The News says prices haven't been this low since 2005.

Non-violent Revolution

Election Day

November 4th is finally here. We have stuck it out through all the ads, debates, mud slinging and fashion police. Now is the time to let your voice be heard. Get out there and vote, no matter who your candidate is, they need you now, more than ever, to do it...put your actions behind your words and get out there and vote.

On a personal note, I can't wait until tomorrow's 'The View' so I can see Barbara serve them all a big ole steaming cup of shutthehellup.......:)



















Carly Simon....Anticipation....anticipation is making me wait...it's keeping me waiting...




A proud voter...ain't he cute?

Fortune Cookie

Tonight I ate with my son at our local Chinese Restaurant. As is the custom, after the meal we were given a 'fortune cookie'. Most of us with a fondness for Chinese food have experience the anticipation of the fortune cookie, what will it say, will it say anything about me...
my girlfriends and I always played the game where you all read your fortunes aloud and then say 'in bed' after the fortune... tonight mine said, 'when we are finished changing, we are finished...'
Sometimes there are lessons in those little folded cookies.