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That was the summer of 1985. Sometime after the garage sale and before school started in the fall, we loaded up our trailer with all of our things, and we moved to Seattle to live with my grandparents - just until we could get settled in our own place. Things don't always turn out just like you plan... Scratch that. Do things ever turn out just like you plan???? I know that my parents never planned to stay with my grandparents as long as we did, but those months contain many many fond memories for me. These grandparents are the Swedish grandparents: Mormor and Morfar. Daddy said that we all gained 10 pounds the first month we were there because Mormor was always feeding us. Morfar was forever trying to teach me Swedish too. His method was full immersion with lots of sign language. It might've worked except that i didn't have anyone else to speak Swedish to. While we were there, i tried very hard to write down Mormor's recipes for all of her wonderful Swedish pa...

That was Fairview. When we moved there, i was in the second grade. In that small town, my entire grade level consisted of about 20 students. I don't remember too many signficant events in Fairview. We lived there until the beginning of third grade, and then we moved to Atlanta, Michigan. Atlanta's about 30 miles away (or at least that's what my third grade mind recollects)from Fairview, and we got to live close to my Uncle John and Aunt Julie and their kids, Chris and Susie. That didn't last too long though. Before the end of third grade, we were back in Fairview - at a different house this time. I remember living down the street from a girl who became my very best friend. Her name is Valerie. Valerie is a little bit older than me, but we became very very close. .............................................i'm stuck here, i'm afraid--because thinking about my friend Valerie brings a special feeling in my heart and a little bit of sadness because when ...

Have you ever eaten fresh sweet peas straight from the garden? I don't mean cooked. I mean like candy. You snap off the pod, and then you pry it open and let the peas fall into your hand like a handful of m&m's from the bag. And then you pop 'em all (like 5) into your mouth at once. And they are SO YUMMY, that you just want to have some more! When we lived in Michigan, one of the things my parents got to dig their interests into was gardening. Over the time that we were there, we had lettuce (in garbage bags to give away- there was so much of it) and green beens and corn and ... we planted a lot of stuff. It was July 4, 1982 or 1983 or maybe 1984. I was very much looking forward to spending the evening with some neighborhood friends who invited me to watch fireworks with them. I don't know if i had ever really done the fireworks thing before. We had done the sparklers thing and all, but i was very excited about real fire works. Well, my mom was at wor...

Last evening, August 7, 2007, i was lying on my bed around 9 pm when i thought i heard my husband come in the house. He had been visiting a friend who lives in our apartment complex. I dosed off briefly and then woke back up to some popping noises in the other room. I assumed it was my husband, and i called out to him, but i didn't get an answer. So i got up and started looking for him. The popping noise was coming from the bathroom, but the door was closed. I stood at the bathroom door and called to him, but he still didn't answer, and since he didn't answer, and i saw flashing lights from inside, i kicked the door open, not knowing what was going on. When i opened the door, i saw small flames/really big sparks falling from the ceiling. I looked up and saw a very small fire contained (for now) in the fan in the ceiling. You know the fan i'm talking about, right? The one you turn on to help eliminate unpleasant odors from your bathroom... Well, ours hasn't ...

After we made our way into the stadium (LP Field), and i made my way to the field itself, I just began to pray and cry out to God, and i gave Him complete permission to do in me whatever He wanted to do -- no holds barred. As i looked around the stadium, i wanted to call my Dad, because i seeing all those people there to honor God made me think of my Dad. My dad is a tender-hearted and sold-out to God man full of compassion and love. It blesses his heart to tears to see people love God will their whole hearts. After a few minutes, i finally decided to call my Dad and encourage him to try to get access to the video that was be played by God.Tv. (They're playing the whole day 2 more times by the way). And i began to weep because i knew how much it would bless my dad's heart to see this. --and then i started to correct myself a little, knowing that i should be concentrating on God, instead of Dad. But then something unexpected happened: the Holy Spirit began to minister to m...

Now, i'm going to flash forward to the very recent past so that i can tell about my experience at The Call Nashville (www.thecall.com) Follow that link for more information about what The Call is. Basically, it's a really really BIG prayer meeting that lasts all day long. It's not a party. It's a solemn assembly. The people who come are serious about seeking God. I've never been to any of The Calls before. I think this one was like the eighth...i'm not sure about that number. The focus of our prayers had a lot to do with the scripture that says, "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven and forgive their sins and heal their land." (2nd Chronicles 7:14). I don't know if everyone is noticing it or not, but our country is becoming more and more depraved. But a lot of people want to call this liberality or freedom, but the truth is tha...

Ok, i know i said that i would tell you about the peas and the milk, but that story's going to have to wait a bit. Here's why. My mother's memory is distinctly better than my own, and i had forgotten when i had first met my aunts and uncle and grandma in Michigan. We went to Michigan for vacation a year -ish- before we moved there. And that's when i met my cousin, Robin. Robin is one year older than me, and we were like best friends the moment we met. For part of our trip, Mom, and Dad, and i, and Robin -- i can't remember if Robin's family stayed there or nearby-- stayed at Aunt Clara's house. This Aunt Clara is actually Great Aunt Clara. The distinction is important because there's my Aunt Clara who is my dad's sister, and then there's the Aunt Clara who is my dad's aunt and my grandmother's sister. Both of them are great, but only the older one gets to actually have it in her title of who she is. So anyway, Great Aunt Clara and ...