...Bake Something Good.

The baking gene skipped me.  Both of my grandmothers were really good at baking, and my Grandma Netta lived with us.  She kept us in cookies, cakes and pies.  I don't remember a time when there wasn't something sweet to eat in our kitchen.  When I was eight, she let me help her take cookies from the oven for the first time.  I burned my arm by touching it to the oven.  That should have been my warning. 

My mom bakes all the time.  She will tackle any recipe, the more challenging, the better.  I wish I had her patience when it comes to measuring and mixing.  I just get flour all over me and the kitchen and get frustrated.  The fact that Frank doesn't care for sweets has kept me from trying too hard, too.  When I was in home ecomonics class in high school, we had to make biscuits.  Mine turned out hard as rocks.  My dad laughed and said that I needed to practice or I wouldn't be able to find a husband.  I told him that I'd find a man who didn't like homemade biscuits.  He said it couldn't be done, but I did it.  Yes, Frank likes those nasty canned biscuits better than homemade ones!  Those I can handle, but he even does those better than I do.  Sad. 

Jen is a baker, too.  She even has Dean helping her bake.  He's two.  Has his own apron with his name on it and a chef's hat.  He's really good at placing the paper liners in the muffin tins and he loves to pour the ingredients from the measuring cups and spoons into the bowl.  In fact, he's gotten so confident that when Jen tries to help him pour, he tells her, "No, Sugar. I do it."  I love the fact that he calls her "Sugar".  It fits her perfectly!  Jen bakes cupcakes and cakes for anyone and everyone.  If she's ever met you and finds out that you have a birthday coming up, she'll bake you the cake of your choice. 

Now, there's one cake that I can make and it always turns out well.  It's a Baby Food Cake.  Sounds strange, but it's basically a spice cake made with plum baby food.  You can use applesauce if you prefer.  It's baked in a bundt pan (no layers for me), and has a delicious lemon glaze.  Good stuff.  I used to bake those all the time when I needed something to take to a potluck.  I also baked them for Jen and her friends when she was in college and grad school.  It made me feel so good when Jen reported that the cake was gobbled up instantly.  But, her friends also gobbled up the slice and bake cookies I sent.  I guess they were just hungry students who would eat anything and everything. 

This week I've made quick breads for a sale our Sunday School class is having to benefit the daughter of one of the couples in our class.  She is leaving in January on a mission trip - eleven countries in eleven months.  We're hoping to raise a good bit of money for her.  I admit that I cringed when I found out that we were only doing breads and not cookies and such.  But I can do muffins, so I made cranberry orange muffins and one loaf of cranberry orange bread.  Yesterday I turned out three loaves of pumpkin bread.  All are in my freezer waiting to be sold next Saturday.  None of them stuck to the pans or broke in two, and I didn't even burn myself!  Maybe there's hope for me yet.  Maybe I can get these two to help me learn to bake something more difficult.

...Be Like My Mama

Happy Thanksgiving!  I hope that you and your loved ones have had a good day and that you've taken time to count your blessings.  I believe in counting my blessings each day and think that every day is Thanksgiving, and I know it may sound strange, but the holiday of Thanksgiving is just not a big deal for me.  Our family is scattered, so we sometimes get together and sometimes we don't.  In fact, for the past few years, my husband and I go to Cracker Barrel to eat with whoever is around.  There's no shopping, cooking, or cleanup, and the food is good.  You see, my health has been bad for the past six years, so I haven't been up to cooking a big meal, and my mother-in-law, who lives near us, is legally blind and suffers from other health problems, so this is just the easiest solution for us.  She used to be the one to cook the big holiday meals.

My mother, on the other hand, is a dynamo.  She is 73 years old, works four days a week managing a store, helps out everyone she can, and comes to take care of me every time I have surgery or have to go in the hospital for some other reason.  That's been a lot over the past few years.  Since 2005, she's been here to help my husband take care of me when I started peritoneal dialysis, had a kidney transplant, had a rejection episode, had sinus surgery and two total hip replacements (those three took place in a five-month period), and then when I fell in the hospital here and had to be airlifted to UAB so that my transplant doctors could oversee my care.  You'd think she'd be sick of me by now!  After all, most 54 year-olds are taking care of their aging parents, not the other way around.  I'm so very thankful for Mama.  She's the best.  And did I mention that she fractured her hip, had pins put in it, and then had it replaced the following year?  Strong woman!

She's starting a new phase in her life tomorrow.  She's moving.  This week she's been packing her belongings and will load them on a truck tomorrow with the help of her nephew and some other dear relatives who live near her. Her sister died last year, and my cousins have offered to let Mama live in my aunt's house rent free.  That is a great blessing!  She'll be next door to one of my cousins and her husband, which gives us peace of mind knowing that she will be near family.  Her remaining sister lives near her now, and they are very close, and they'll still see each other often.  They go to church together, buy groceries together, and just do fun sister stuff.  They'll be living farther apart now, but I know that nothing will separate them for too many days in a row. 

My mom not only has physical stamina and strength, but she also has the strongest faith of anyone I know.  She's such an encourager and friend, and she has a positive attitude about everything.  In times when I could have given up, she wouldn't let me.  When I'd get frustrated because I couldn't do something due to physical limitations, she would make me stop and listen while she talked to me about what I could do and helped me focus on that and working toward what I couldn't do at the time.  She has taken such a load off my husband by being here with me so that he didn't have to take off so much time at work. 

Mama would have made a great nurse.  In fact, I think that someone should make her an honorary nurse.  You see, on December 13, my younger brother, Mark, will have a kidney transplant at UAB.  Mama will be there to take care of him after his surgery because his wife, Michelle, will be his donor.  Another blessing!  After they are discharged from the hospital and move to the apartments near the hospital for three weeks, she will stay and take care of them there.  That's at least a month that she will be off work with no pay, but it's what she wants to do, and what she does so well. 

She took care of our dad, who was on dialysis for about ten years.  Daddy had two kidney transplants at UAB, a year apart.  Our other brother, Randy, gave him a kidney, but due to complications from the surgery, Daddy didn't leave the hospital with the kidney.  The following year, he got a cadaver kidney, but rejected it before he was able to go home.  Mama stayed with him in that tiny hospital room both times for four long weeks.  A testament to her strength is the fact that kidney transplant patients are still put on the same floor Daddy was on in the early 1980s.  When we'd walk the halls after my transplant, we'd pass the rooms Daddy was in, and she'd point them out to me and talk to me about their stays there.  Daddy passed away in 1988.  Frank and I were amazed that she could pass by those rooms and have all those memories rush back at her and still hold her head up and keep going, encouraging me the whole time. 

My daughter, Jen, had surgery a couple of weeks ago, and the mother in me wanted so badly to be there to take care of her.  Before she told Frank and me that she was having surgery, she and her husband, Marcus, had already lined up child care for Dean and had everything arranged.  She knew that I wasn't able to go and take care of her and Dean.  It hurt me to know that I couldn't do it, but I'm so thankful that they have friends who stepped in and helped them, and did a wonderful job.  They made it through a rough weekend with the help of those kind friends and lots of prayers. 

I see other moms, daughters, grandmothers and wives taking charge of situations and stepping in to handle things with such grace and strength, and I wish that I could do that.  But, I know that there are things that I'm just not able to do, and have to accept that and do what I can.  I pray a lot.  I feel like this is the ministry that God has given me and it's something that I can do whether I feel well or not, whether I can walk or not, and I can do it from any place at any time.  This is something else that my mama and daddy taught me. 

So, if you have a mother who is always there for you the way mine is for me, I hope you'll let her know what a blessing she is to you and how much you love and appreciate her.  I'd give anything to be able to help my mom move this weekend, to pay back a small fraction of all she's done for me.  But, as I told her earlier, since I can't be there with her, I'm praying for her.  It's what I do, and I'm honored to be able to do that for her.

I love you, Mama.

Dean, Jen, Mama and Me

... Have a Purple Purse

For years and years I wanted pink shoes.  I have narrow feet that are hard to fit and have to buy expensive shoes, so I usually stick to black or navy.  Pretty boring, I know.  It was my heart's desire to own a pair of pretty pink shoes one day.  I even told Frank about 20 years ago to bury me in pink shoes because they wouldn't hurt my feet if I'm dead.  Morbid?  Yes.  But that seemed like the only way I would ever get them.  Well, lo and behold, the spring before my transplant, I found a pink suit and, yes, pink shoes!!! I was so excited to wear them.  It made me feel good because I was very sick at the time, and any little thing that made me feel pretty was encouraging.

As far as purses go, I usually stick with black or navy, too, mostly so that I don't have to keep changing them between casual and dress clothes.  Changing purses is a pain, especially when it's time to leave for church and I've been using some other purse that just won't go with what I'm wearing.  I have bought purses for summer that were cute and colorful, but being the stick in the mud that I am, I always come back to black for fall and winter.

My mother-in-law always gives us money for birthdays and Christmas because she is sick and can't get out and shop any more.  This is very sad because she was a super shopper in her day.  She bought me some of the most beautiful clothes when she was in her prime.  And they always fit!  She gave me some money the other day for my birthday, and I went shopping on Saturday.  There are some major sales going on right now and I took advantage of them.

Besides being a stick in the mud, I'm also cheap.  I'd say frugal, but cheap fits me better, particularly when it comes to purses and earrings.  I refuse to spend more than $10 on a pair of earrings unless I'm using someone else's money, and my limit on a purse is $20.  I also use a purse until it's falling apart, and it was time to let go of the one I had. So, I was scouting for a purse, and told Frank to help me look, bearing in mind the price limit.  He quickly lost interest and wandered to the men's department, leaving me to search for my own cheap purse.  I found it!  It was the only one on the rack that was marked down, so I wondered.  Always the skeptic when it comes to price tags, I carried the purple purse around and thought about it, looked at the ugly black ones that were large enough to use for a diaper bag for my grandson, and decided on the pretty purple one.  I know.  Daring, right?  I had chosen a top with purple in it and some jewelry to go with it, so I thought, why not?  I love it!!  It's perfect, and I can't wait to use it.  I was able to find slacks and a sweater to complete the outfit - not purple, but gray.  Can't be too daring!  Besides, I couldn't find any in purple. I put the outfit on and went to my MIL's house to show it all to her.  She was thrilled to say the least. 

The best part of all of this is what I paid for this purse.  It was $35 and marked down to $13.99, well within my price range.  Then when we got to checkout there was an added discount with the coupon my husband had, so the final price was - wait for it --- $5.41!!  I know!!! I could hardly believe it, either!  I love a bargain and you can't beat that one with a stick.  It doesn't take much to make me happy, as you can see, so I'm ecstatic about this lovely new addition to my wardrobe.  Now to find a lightweight jacket...

...Sing Like Those People I Heard Last Night

Last night, Frank and I were treated to tickets to see the musical, "Oklahoma!" at the Gertrude Castellow Ford Center for the Performing Arts on the campus of The University of Mississippi (Ole Miss).  What a treat!  I love that musical, and the touring troupe we saw last night was great.  Now, our daughter and son-in-law work in theatre, so we have a special place in our hearts for those who work so hard to bring good productions to town.  They blew us away! 

Frank and I are both singers, although he's so much better than I am that I mostly listen to him.  We sing in church and do mostly Southern Gospel music, our favorite.  I used to be better before two sinus surgeries.  In the first one, the surgeon repaired my deviated septum and now my voice has changed.  It's nasal and I hate it.  With so many sinus infections, it actually hurts to sing.  I know that one day God will give me my voice back.  Until then I'll just make joyful noises.

But, back to the actors.  It was such fun watching and listening to them.  Their energy amazes me.  The fact that they can do this night after night along with traveling to different venues is amazing in and of itself.  My daughter tells me that she gets new energy just walking into a theatre, and then when she's in the stage manager's booth, everything else falls away and she's in her zone.  She's really good at her job, partly because she loves it so much, partly because she just so good!  Her husband is a director/actor/stage combat instructor/fight captain, and other things that I don't even understand.  He teaches all of these things at a university, too.  There's a lot of talent between the two of them.  It makes me wonder what my grandson will do when he grows up.  He's already showing a great sense of humor, a bit of drama, and he's singing. He knows how to work a room! 

I'm not comfortable on stage, but Frank is.  He's so good in front of a group, whether singing or talking.  I like to have him standing beside me when I sing for support.  But, I can do it, and love it once I get started. 

I hope to be able to sing again soon, because God has blessed me so much and I want to sing His praises forever!

...Be like Him

Hello, All!  At least I hope there are enough of your reading this to constitute an "all".  Today is my 54th birthday, and I thought I'd give myself a gift and write a blog.  I hope you'll enjoy reading my thoughts and that you'll find some inspiration, hope, humor, and maybe even some useful information here. 

I find myself telling friends all the time that when I grow up I want to be just like them.  Last night, I got to thinking about a title for this blog, and decided I'd write about the things I want to do when I grow up.  I'd better hurry, don't you think, since I'm 54!  Then I thought, number one, I want to be like Jesus more each day.  That's the best anyone could ever hope to do.  He's been working on me for a very long time, and He continues to work on me each day and will until I meet Him face to face.  So, as I've pondered what changes need to be made in my life, some things jumped out at me and hit me square in the face.  Don't you hate that?  In this case it's a good thing. 

Some of the things I want to work on this year are:

Prayer.  I pray all through the day already, and have some great prayer warrior friends.  We share needs and talk to the Lord constantly about those needs.  So many people have prayed for me over the past few years that I know the power of prayer.  You see, I've had a kidney transplant, and multiple surgeries since then.  It was three years ago next month that I received a kidney from a friend at our church, a young man of 29 years, who has the wisdom of a man at least twice his age.  He and his beautiful, sweet wife and their children have become family to us.  Also, all the people who have prayed for me and my family are our family now.  We have grown so close to all of these wonderful friends.  Even though I pray a lot, I want my prayer life to become deeper and more meaningful.  I just want to be closer to Jesus.

Bible study.  I've started a Bible study at our church along with about 100 other women and it is one of the best things I've ever done.  It's only eleven weeks along and I've already learned a ton.  I'm thankful for the opportunity to study the Old Testament with a group so that I can hear what they get from the lessons.  I'm looking forward to learning more each week.

Giving.  I love to give of myself, my time, talents and money to others.  However, there have been some obstacles in the past few years.  First there was kidney failure; then dialysis; then the transplant (which went very well!), an episode of rejection of the kidney which was turned around quickly, but left me more immunocompromised; then various other surgeries and illnesses.  Throughout all of these God has taught me so much, and I'm so thankful to Him for seeing me through all of these and teaching me important life lessons.  I want to share all of that with others.  That's one reason for this blog.

So, that's just a sample of what I want to be when I grow up.  There's a song that speaks to this.  The lyrics are simple, but they say it all.

He's still working on me
To make me what I ought to be.
It took Him just a week to make the moon and the stars,
The sun and the earth and Jupiter and Mars.
How loving and faithful He must be.
He's still working on me.
(Words and music by Joel Hemphill)

We're all a work in progress.  I hope you'll come along with me on my journey.