Today my dearly loved sister-in-law Kim had a birthday.
I love her.
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Today I got to talk on the phone with my Aunt Joyce in British Columbia. She is my mother's only sister and is very dear to my heart. I was able to give her an update on how my mom is doing with her Alzheimer's, and we talked about my aunt and some other family members possibly coming for a visit sometime in 2014. Oh how I hope it works out, and they can come!
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Today Marco died, and my heart wept with his wife Maryann and other family members.
Who is Marco? I only knew of him through Facebook, but he is a young man who lives in North Carolina. He returned to his home on December 2 from a family gathering and discovered that the house was being robbed; tragically, he was shot before he could get away. He and his young wife Maryann are expecting their first child in a couple of months, and they are part of a conservative Anabaptist group. Maryann (and presumably other family members, too) posted updates on Facebook during the past few weeks when Marco lay in the hospital, his brain struggling to recover from the gunshot. A large group of people gathered through that Facebook page and fervently wished and prayed that Marco would survive. We mourned when we read today that he did not.
I know that tragedies occur every day all around the world. Unfortunately there is nothing unique about a thief shooting and killing a man. But something about this particular situation grabbed hold of my heart...
...my heart which is aching right now.
(Also, this situation reminds me how blessed we were to escape death or injury during the robbery here in our home seven years ago. Reading about Marco's shooting brought back a rush of memories and feelings from that day. Thank You, God, again for saving Jeff's life!)
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Today I saw a sight I'd never seen before.
Josiah went outside to play this late afternoon, but immediately turned back and opened the door to yell inside that I needed to go out and see something. I hurried outside, looked upward, and couldn't believe my eyes. After I had watched for a while, I dashed inside to grab the camera and was able to record the last part of the amazing sight. I have no idea how long the "river" had been flowing before Josiah discovered it and I started recording it. It was awesome, in the true sense of the word.
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Today I mopped the kitchen floor--an event which had not occurred in this house in a dreadfully long time. Why did I do it today? Because...
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...tomorrow my extended family (sadly, not all of them) gathers to celebrate our big family Christmas! Joy!!! :)
3 comments:
"Crook" was one of the words in Amanda's -ook words book. She was worried and having difficulty sleeping. It's so hard to decide how to help her through her fears. Do I acknowledge that it could happen to us and talk about what we might do? Or do I talk to her about how we live in a safe area? The fact that we lock our doors every night worries her too. I will have to read her the story from Moses.
Katie
That flock of birds is amazing! Did you ever hear anything about it (news, radio, etc.)? Something that big and unusual would seem to be attention getting to more than just you.
Wow - what an incredible flock of birds!! Did I hear you on the video saying they were going from east to west? (or was it vice versa??)... Have you any idea what kind of bird it was? Or whether it's an annual migration?? Incredible!
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