Our weekend in flyover country was very cold–indeed, frigid. I wore my (vintage) fur coat to church, it was so cold. We did have a few diversions.
The boy came over with the twins on Friday in between a birthday party at the Mini Fig store and a date at the Cat Cafe (no school that day)…
Kirkwood is such a happening place. A Mini Fig store and a cat cafe.
Continuing the ‘In Memoriam Glynis Johns’ theme, we watched Mary Poppins (1964) and were reminded what a great movie it is.
Disney really peaked with that one. It had a message for all the parents in the audience, especially the fathers.
Thankfully, Mr. Banks is redeemed.
Sunday morning as we drove to church in the negative-five-degree cold, I said to the OM, “I bet [our old church] is closed this morning.” But we had an (almost) full house at our new one–everyone who stayed home missed a good class on Unconditional Election. Oh well. We hunkered down in the afternoon and attempted to stay warm watching the PGA in Hawaii.
Meanwhile daughter #2 et al are busily packing up their stuff and getting ready for the big move to flyover country at the end of the month…
…as well as Ida’s first birthday this week.
And I received this text:
Of course she did.
And this is interesting. Here’s the song that started Bobby Zimmerman on the road.
You’re drifting too far from the shore You’re drifting too far from the shore Come to Jesus today Let Him show you the way You’re drifting too far from the shore
How was your weekend? Ours was dark and gloomy and rainy, but full of festive seasonal fun nevertheless.
We went to the Christmas concert Friday night–a packed house of Presbyterians, plus a few random Episcopalians I recognized and even a few Jewish Messiah lovers. I enjoyed it very much, but didn’t get home until 10 p.m.–way past my usual bedtime!
On Saturday I went to the funeral of an old 99-year-old friend at my old church. Shirley was quite the gal–a lifelong Episcopalian, Republican and Cardinals fan who went to spring training in Florida every year. She was also a professional woman who had enjoyed quite a long and successful career. The former rector came from Florida to speak along with the former President Pro Tem of the Missouri State Senate. He told the story of how Shirley was sad when she gave up her season tickets to the Cardinals at age 97, but that she had to admit that watching the games on her daughter’s big screen tv had its benefits–namely being able to see Nolan Arenado, “the most beautiful man ever,” up close and personal.
The service was 100% Rite I, but the interim rector kept lapsing into Rite II. C’est la vie. The lay readers were good, which would have pleased Shirley. She had been one herself for decades. I always felt so validated when she gave me a thumbs up after I read. The church was almost full–which said quite a lot about 99-year-old Shirley–but the singing was weak. Shirley, I daresay, is well out of the Episcopal Church and in heaven now.
For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth; And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, That in my flesh I shall see God, Whom I shall see for myself, And my eyes shall behold, and not another.
–Job 19:25-27
After Mr. Smith went to the spa for his shampoo, daughter #1 came over and helped me decorate the tree.
We also watched the 1951 A Christmas Carol–the best version in my not so humble opinion.
This scene always makes me cry: “You’ve made Fred so happy!”
The boy was in Kansas City with his family all weekend, so it was just the OM and I at church and a quiet Sunday afternoon.
Also, I did want to wish a happy birthday to my dual personality. Happy Birthday, sweet sister of mine!
I hope someone is cooking you a nice dinner and that my present arrived in time for you to open it today. I hope you watch a good movie, maybe Captain Blood (1935) or How to Steal a Million (1966). I will be toasting Fizzy Fuzz, Pompey, Pete, and Robert Preston!
Also, this meme made me LOL:
P.S. Many thanks to whoever sent the fruitcake from Texas–there was no card!
Another super busy weekend with a variety of events, several of which involved getting dressed up and socializing with people. But the weekend was dominated by the wee twins’ 7th birthday and their birthday party. Their parents rented one of the small movie theaters at the Galleria and invited 20 kids to watch Aladdin (1992) in their pajamas.
They got popcorn, candy and a drink and, of course, a special cookie.
I must say it was a pretty fun party. When Jasmine and Aladdin go on their magic carpet ride and sing “A Whole New World” all the girls in the back row, led by Lottie, burst into song and sang along. Several of the boys (down in front) got annoyed and said, “Be QUIET!” I was amused–funnily enough the boys were better behaved than the girls. I also enjoyed the movie–Robin Williams knocks it out of the ballpark. I had forgotten that it was the highest grossing film of 1992!
Later in the day the twins also came over to our house for a more sedate birthday gathering with a cookie cake and a few presents to open.
We also managed to go to church twice–once on Sunday morning and once Sunday evening for Lessons & Carols followed by a congregational meeting to vote for our senior pastor candidate. It was a full house and we blew the roof off singing–this congregation loves to sing! And we voted in the new pastor!
Among other Advent standards, we sang O Come, O Come, Emmanuel which I always associate with my earliest pageant experience at my school in kindergarten. We sang it in the dark with our little candle/flashlights. It made quite an impression. That old 13th century Plainsong is so sad and eery sounding. I never really understood the lyrics until recently though.
O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free Thine own from Satan’s tyranny; From depths of hell Thy people save, And give them victory o’er the grave. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.
There’s actually a whole lot I understand now that I did not before. I am so grateful for my new church. I am so grateful for Tim Keller and R.C. Sproul and John MacArthur and John Piper for pointing me in the right direction and for encouraging me to find a good church!
It is December again and time to decorate the church, which I helped do on Friday morning.
So pretty and understated. (The TV screens are not usually there. We had a presentation earlier in the week about our senior pastor candidate.)
Later in the day daughter #1 and I celebrated at 19 North, about which I will tell you more later. Then we watched White Christmas (1954), officially ushering in the yuletide season. It never gets old.
The OM and I also ventured out and bought our Christmas tree this weekend from our friendly neighborhood Optimists–they get smaller and more expensive every year.
We’ll put it up and decorate it in a couple of weeks. For now it is chillin’ in a bucket of water in the Florida room.
I am doing my best to chill as well, but there is a lot going on. On Sunday we heard our senior pastor candidate preach and next week we, being Presbyterians, vote on whether we call him to our church. It has been a long process (almost two years!)–but all’s well that ends well, right?
We also had an Advent craft event in between services instead of Sunday School. Lottie is a real crafter and she hunkered right down and made some outlandishly garish Advent decorations.
The bud concentrated on the yummy treats available but also colored this for me, which I will treasure always:
Meanwhile Katie shared a cheeseburger meal with her Mommy and said this:
Can you even?
Well, have a good week! Watch an old movie, consider the Incarnation, and try to chillax!
“Fear not, I am with thee, oh, be not dismayed, For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid; I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand, Upheld by My gracious, omnipotent hand.”
How was your weekend? We had another lovely fall weekend with a stupendous sunrise on Sunday. What a view out the kitchen window!
In church the choir sang and the wee bud stood up and applauded. I wanted to applaud after our sermon by our guest preacher Dan Doriani on the “I believe; help thou mine unbelief!” passage from Mark 9. How great is it to feel like that after a sermon? Yes, pretty great. We also found out that a new senior pastor has been called and it will be announced next week after he has had time to tell his current church that he is leaving. It has been nearly two years since our senior pastor left, but I think we have been doin’ all right.
The boy and the wee bud and daughter #1 came over after church. (Lottie went to another birthday party.) We had bagels and prosecco and good conversation. Then he moved a few things for me and turned one of the carseats around so baby Ida can use it. We are almost ready for a visit from daughter #2 and family.
By the way, the wee bud hit a milestone this weekend, scoring his first goal in a game with his indoor soccer team.
It was rather momentous! His other grandma, Mom and aunt cried. I would probably have too had I been there!
Miss Katie is also showing promise in her backyard…
…and Ida is the tunnel queen.
And hold the phone, Mizzou beat Florida with a field goal in the last 7 seconds! 😂😂😂
I tell you the world is falling apart, but there is still plenty about which to rejoice and be thankful.
Fear not, I am with thee, oh, be not dismayed, For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid; I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand, Upheld by My gracious, omnipotent hand.
Thanksgiving is just around the corner! We should rejoice and be thankful, despite our manifold sins and general wickedness, all year round, but I especially do at this time of year. As always, it is the little things that stand out for me, such as the chip fest we enjoyed on Saturday night when the boy dropped off Lottie while the wee bud went to a birthday party. (Their Mom was in Dallas this weekend.)
Daughter #1 and Mr. Smith joined the OM and Lottie and me to watch The Gnome-Mobile (1967)–a vintage Disney film in which a multi-millionaire lumberman (Walter Brennan) and his two young grandchildren (played by the kids from Mary Poppins) encounter two gnomes in the Redwood forest of California who are supposedly the last of their kind. Hilarity ensues. Although there is no princess in this film, I think Lottie enjoyed it. At least now she knows what a gnome is.
On Sunday we all went to Sunday School, but then the boy took Lottie to a birthday party and the bud stayed with us through church. He came over to our house after church to hang out with daughter #1 and Mr. Smith who joined us for total depravity casserole. Of course, Lottie had told her brother all about The Gnome-Mobile (including the car chase) and he wanted to watch it, but I was like, um no, not right now.
The boy and Lottie came over after her party. We hung out on the driveway for awhile, probably for the last time til next year.
It was another beautiful weekend.
And Mizzou beat the pants off Tennessee! Hometowner Cody Schrader, a graduate of Lutheran South, was the star of the game. According to the AP, “Cody Schrader put together one of the most impressive performances in Missouri history Saturday night, running for 205 yards and a touchdown, catching five passes for 116 yards, and leading the No. 16 Tigers to a 36-7 rout of No. 14 Tennessee.” Normally I could care less about Mizzou football, much less watch a game, but Matt Mitchell gives them so much grief for being in the SEC, I have become an interested partisan. Anyway, I was pleased that they won.
In honor of Veterans Day we watched Gettysburg (1993) which is based on Michael Shaara’s fine book The Killer Angels. It is a good movie, except for the miscast Martin Sheen as Robert E. Lee. But I much prefer old Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain anyway. As you know, he is a hero of mine.
This is a different kind of army. If you look back through history you will see men fighting for pay, for women, for some other kind of loot. They fight for land, power, because a king leads them, or just because they like killing. But we are here for something new, this has not happened much, in the history of the world. We are an army out to set other men free. America should be free ground, all of it, not divided by a line between slave states and free – all the way from here to the Pacific Ocean. No man has to bow. No man born to royalty. Here we judge you by what you do, not by who your father was. Here you can be something. Here is the place to build a home. But it’s not the land, there’s always more land. It’s the idea that we all have value – you and me. What we are fighting for, in the end, we’re fighting for each other. Sorry, I didn’t mean to preach. …Gentlemen, I think if we lose this fight we lose the war, so if you choose to join us I will be personally very grateful.
(Jeff Daniels as Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain)
Well, continue to cultivate gratitude, appreciate your freedom and enjoy your Monday.
Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout to God with the voice of triumph! For the Lord Most High is awesome; He is a great King over all the earth. He will subdue the peoples under us, And the nations under our feet. He will choose our inheritance for us, The excellence of Jacob whom He loves. Selah
Another exciting weekend–mostly for Mr. Smith who went to the bud’s last soccer game of the season. Dogs are not allowed on the playing fields, but daughter #1 smuggled him in in a canvas tote bag. (There were three other dogs there as well.)
He was a good boy. And he didn’t distract the bud (too much)–especially when he was playing GOALIE!
His focus was not exactly razor sharp, but he didn’t allow any goals–the other team hardly made it onto his side of the field. Yes, his team had an undefeated season! I will say the bud always seemed to have the biggest cheering section with at least seven family members in attendance (+ Lottie!). Two grandparents, two aunts, a great aunt, a great uncle, his Mom–I don’t think he even really noticed. But really, I ask, what would you rather be doing than sitting on folding chairs on a crisp fall day watching six-year olds run up and down the field?
After the game Lottie and I went over to daughter #1’s house while the bud went to his team party with his Dad. We unpacked all the dolls and filled up the doll case, which you will recall we had moved last weekend.
I’m sure there will be some rearranging going on, but we had super fun.
In other news I went to a DAR meeting and was brought up-to-date with all the patriotic doings of this group. It is that time of year when we promote Wreaths Across America, where wreaths are placed on veterans’ graves. I always sponsor two wreaths, one each for my father and father-in-law, who are both buried at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery. Would you like to help us honor and remember as many fallen heroes as possible by sponsoring remembrance wreaths? You can do so here. More than two million volunteers and supporters will gather on December 16 to Remember, Honor and Teach at more than 4,000 participating locations in all 50 states, at sea and abroad. I think that’s pretty cool.
Everyone came over to our house for bagels after church on Sunday, even Mr. Smith, who ran laps around the house with the wee twins and their Dad.
Afterward the OM and I went to the kick-off of our friend Liz’s mayoral campaign down at the train station.
It was a busy weekend. I am thankful for family, friends and living in America!
And this babydoll tried on her hand-me-down Christmas dress…
It was a dark, rainy fall weekend and the wee bud had a bye in his soccer team’s schedule, so you will not be getting my usual repetitive weekend wrap-up. Go ahead and sigh with relief, oh loyal readers.
We did, however, arrange to have my large glass doll case moved from my house to daughter #1’s house and that was my major accomplishment of the weekend. Our friends in the crew at Davis Place Estate Sales obliged us and did the heavy lifting and carrying up and down several flights of stairs. I meant to take pictures, but forgot. But here it is home now in daughter #1’s craft room.
Sunday was Reformation Sunday and we sang “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” in church (with trumpet accompaniment) with appropriate gusto. Afterwards we enjoyed total depravity casserole (with tater tots!) at our house and our first fire of the season.
And Halloween Peeps from Aunt Mary!
And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us, we will not fear, for God has willed his truth to triumph through us. The prince of darkness grim, we tremble not for him; his rage we can endure, for lo! his doom is sure; one little word shall fell him.
We enjoyed another really beautiful fall flyover weekend. We went to the pumpkin patch at the Methodist Church…
…and Mr. Smith proudly wore his pumpkin suit…
We went to 19North and officially switched back to our red blend for the fall. We asked if we could order french fries off-menu and were told, of course, that was no problem, because “we know someone.” I felt so seen.
On Sunday our church service was held outside on the lawn in front of the youth house.
It was our usual service with music, sermon and communion–I was a doubter, but I really enjoyed sitting in lawn chairs in the beautiful sunshine.
We sang my favorite new hymn, “Come Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy”, and I cried from start to finish. I cannot help myself. Here’s your weekly reminder to repent.
Come, ye weary, heavy laden, lost and ruined by the fall; if you tarry till you’re better, you will never come at all.
After church we had Episcopal Calvinist Souffle, which daughter #1 suggests we call Total Depravity Souffle, and later we went to the wee laddie’s soccer game.
The bud’s team is still undefeated and once again made the opposing team’s goalie cry (he made it to the third quarter at least). This is not due to anything the bud contributes, but at least he can act like Messi after each goal. This time I remembered to take a picture of our favorite coach/photographer.
In addition to all this, I also went to a funeral on Saturday–the 95-year old father of a high school friend. He was like a lot of the fathers I knew growing up. He was the captain of his high school baseball team and the president of his class. He went to Amherst and was the president of his fraternity. He was president of his company. He liked history and singing. He was an all-around good guy, a happy guy who knew that “Every day is the best day” and that God is the author of all things. He was a conservative man whose outspoken daughter must have taxed his soul, but he loved her and they got along despite their differences. He ended up happily living with her the last few years of his life. I mean, that is the ultimate reward–to have children who want you around.
Of course, the ultimate, ultimate reward is to be in heaven with Jesus, and my guess is he is there, having laid down his trophies at last.
His family went to church with me growing up, but I guess after his daughters graduated from high school and the Episcopal Church alienated a goodly portion of their members in the 1970s, he moved to the PCA and was a pillar of the church in which the funeral was held. He figured things out much sooner than I, but we ended up in the same place.
We sang “How Great Thou Art,” “The Old Rugged Cross” and “It Is Well With My Soul” and a bagpipe band piped us out with “Amazing Grace”. He had planned the whole service, scriptures and all. You guessed it; I cried through a lot of it and was undone by the pipers. You can bet I was taking notes!
Well done, good and faithful servant.
And when before the throne I stand in Him complete, “Jesus died my soul to save,” My lips shall still repeat.
Jesus paid it all, All to Him I owe; Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.
Well, I had a wonderful visit with daughter #2’s little family–the weather was perfect and we had quite an extended gabfest. We went to all the parks: green, red and blue. We went to the pumpkin patch.
I had a wonderful time.
My travel, though stressful (heightened security!) and exhausting, was incident-free and (relatively) easy-peasy. Daughter #1 was waiting for me at the airport when I returned and the OM did not burn the house down while I was gone. ☑️
On Sunday everything was back to normal and we went to church and watched the wee bud play soccer. But it was a lot colder this weekend and we had to dig out some hats and gloves!
Are we having fun yet?
Even so, it is good to be back in flyover country!
Lead me, Lord, lead me in thy righteousness, make thy way plain before my face. For it is thou, Lord, thou, Lord only, that makest me dwell in safety.
Teach me, Lord, teach me truly how to live, that I may come to know thee, and in thy presence serve thee with gladness, and sing songs of praise to thy glory.
dual personalities 