Grandpa

Grandma and Grandpa Trudgen in 2001







Chris's Grandpa Trudgen was a dear man with handsome features and kind eyes. I hear he was as stubborn as a mule, but I never got to see that too much. In fact, the only defiance I remember is the stiffening of the jaw and a silent wave of the hand if he was protesting something. It was quite cute. And he always called me "Honey." Can you tell how fond I was of him? He was also an excellent gardener and a lover of roses. He had about 200 bordering his home at one time. He nursed little seedlings in his basement until they were ready to plant outside. He was quite a joker too. I'd try to get gardening tips from him and it always ended up in some mythical seed or plant story. He was a man who stayed married to his wife, who raised 2 children and lived to see 7 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren (three of them are mine!). He was 85 years old and he and Grandma celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary earlier this year. Sixty three years! I will be honored if the Lord allows Chris and I that achievement. Grandpa passed on December 5th. We love you, Grandpa, and we will miss you dearly.

Grandma and Grandpa Darling

My parents came out for a couple of weeks from FL. We enjoyed our time with them immensely. Lily couldn't get enough of Grandpa and all of us savored each other's company. There were 11 of us all together for our Thanksgiving feast, which was possibly the best ever due to my fabulous husband and my awesome brother-in-law, Matt. My only regret is not photographing the food and the table setting. It was beautifully done.











Grandpa reads to Lily.















Mom's surprise 60th birthday party.

Cousins

My sister, Gidgett (yes, we are Gidgett and Ginger, believe it or not), and her family came out from upstate NY for a week. What a wonderful time we had together! The three older girls hung out most of the time, while the two youngest (my Lily and her Gavin) were best buds. The artwork was profuse and I would say a colossal waste of paper except for the fact that it was worth every bit of creativity! We enjoyed every minute of their stay and have lots of new memories to celebrate.









Morgan, Lily, Alex, Gavin and Audrey















Lily and Gavin

A Story

They tell a story, as my friend Amy says.

My Favorite Season

Autumn is my favorite. I'm missing the falling of leaves that is, to me, a truly spiritual experience. And New York's showing is like none other. But the Arizona crisp evenings, the carving of pumpkins, and the gourds and candles decorating my counter are still cherished.

Homeschooling or Pyrex Commercial?

Just one of the many reasons I "LOVE" homeschooling. A simple science experiment brings the joy of learning to our home.

Grandma Gigi

What a wonderful time we had with Grandma in town. For me, it was such a treat to have a woman of her age and experience lavish love and compliments on our family. Grandma/Great Grandma is such a special lady.

We created many treasured memories...and mostly around the house! We just enjoyed eachother's company and my husband's cooking! Not so much the clean-up though...

Normal Life

One of Lily's clay creations.




















A classic Chris expression. SO lovable!














A spider makes his home on one of my homeschooling books after less than 24 hours of no use. Cool, huh?













A lovely candlelit dinner of salmon and asparagus enjoyed by all. The company was even better.





















Unsolicited help from Audrey.













Beautiful as always.











When I take a step back, like I do when I blog, I realize how much I love my life. I am so thankful for all that I have and don't have. I love my God. I love my husband. I love our girls. And, yes, I love our dogs and my plants too. In the broader circle, I have friends. Not just any friends, but ones with which many storms have been weathered. And we're STILL friends! Life is hard, it's exhausting, often disappointing and frustrating. And life is beautiful. I'm not sure that I'd be so fond of it's beauty if I didn't have to look beyond the blemishes.

Some blemishes of the week would be: an emotional daughter going through loss and adolescence, migraines, a largely unavailable husband, quarreling children, and worst of all a very mentally ill mom and a father with a blood clot in his lung after knee replacement surgery and my aching heart because of it. (Yes! Pray for them!!)

Some of the treasures of the week would be: talking with my children about the difference between Cain and Abel and seeing their desire to be like Abel who had is eyes on God and not on his brother :), hearing my children practice piano and enjoying it, getting organized in areas I haven't for years, working in my yard/garden in the cool of the morning, picking my first pomegranate (not ripe yet), having time and energy to think about my husband's desires and to act on them, hiring my children to wash baseboards and walls, getting my dogs a haircut, reading and cuddling with my girls, hearing my kids be tickled by my husband, reading the Count of Monte Cristo, enjoying the fall break from school and routine, and especially awaiting the coming of Great Grandma next week. I am truly thankful.

Above are some random pics from moments of beauty in the last month or so...

Thanks for listening.

Blackberry Picking

In early September we went up north to visit our friends and went blackberry picking. We had a great time! All pics taken by Chris and Erin on the point and shoot. :)

Blossoms and Pomegranates

Flowers. I LOVE them! Yes, I live in a desert, but God has designed so many beautiful plants to do well here...with a little help! These are scattered around our yard. Can't wait 'til those pomegranates are ripe!

Flooding Fun and Thank God for Engineers!

About three weeks ago we had some awesome rains. Lily was convinced we had to check out the flood at the end of our street. So, sporting her favorite rainboots and her big girl bike, she led the way. It was a record high. With water levels being literally about four feet from the sidewalks, I was thankful for my engineer friends who take care of water retention planning and design. Our beautiful park saved our homes from being flooded!

Christmas in Egypt

Some of our favorite little people as stars in their Choir Camp performance: