It's Friday. It's been a long and somewhat difficult week.
Difficult because I visited my aging father who now lives with one of my younger sisters and her husband. They don't have children and don't work full time so have the extra room and time to help him but it still makes me a little sad...and sometimes a little guilty that the rest of us can't do more or that we don't live closer to help out more. So, I guess I will have to help by visiting on days off and during some holidays........and by calling and checking on things. It is hard to see our parent age and become so frail.BUT...God is good...my dad is a Christian and I know where he will spend eternity and for that I am thankful!!
I had a friend lose a parent this week but she also became a grandma! One of the elders in our church lost his wife this week to brain cancer. She was only in her 60s. I had a young co-worker give birth to her first baby this week......he is precious! It always amazes me how God shows us just how precious life is...either by taking a life or giving one. And yesterday, we woke up to a house that was only 62 degrees and even though the heat clicked on, it was not warming the house. Thankfully, the furnace guy came in the early morning and I left work to meet him. It only took a half hour so I went back to the classroom only to get a call to go get Claire who was in the high school nurses office with a 100.4 fever and headache. So, I had to leave work again!
But this week has had some blessings among the difficulties. I will share 5 of them in photos with a brief description.
I'm linking up with Susanne to share our FIVE FAVES and with Jerralea to share our PRAISE POST.
FIVE FAVES I'm PRAISING HIM FOR:
- YOUTH GROUP STUDENT LEADERS TRIP!
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| Claire (4th from left) with the youth group young adult leaders and student leaders from our youth group at the Encounter Conference in Central NYS 1st person on the left is a church staff member in the role of leading the Senior High Youth Group |
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| Claire and one of her youth group friends Lots of good stuff happened with the teens and leaders at the conference I'm thankful they had a safe trip and grew spiritually! |
- DEEP WOODS HIKE!
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| On the Tirrell Pond trail from Blue Mountain Central Adirondacks 8 November 2014 YES...that really is SNOW. It was only 28 degrees on our hike. |
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| me on the trail photo courtesy of Cheryl A Blask c. 2014 |
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| Our destination: Tirrell Pond with Blue Mountain in background A cold hike with 3 other hiking friends.........we hiked 6.8 miles in the snow and mud! |
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| the sun made an appearance at one point |
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| the rugged, rocky and mucky part of the trail...this was a challenge.... .we had about 1 1/2 miles of this. |
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| the last half mile to the pond... ...we were thankful for those boards although there were icy spots! |
- VISIT WITH DAD He lives in a little apt off my sister Hope's home. Her husband Donny built it. Here is a photo of their road......look to the right....that is their driveway from this main road. They live about 70 minutes from me in Central NY. I had Veterans Day off so went out there for a couple of hours. It was a pretty day but a sad one in many ways. I thank God for my sister and her husband. They are doing so much for my dad.
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| photo courtesy of Hope M S |
- NEW HIKING BOOTS. After last Saturday's hike in the deep woods with snow and mucky, deep mud, I decided I had to splurge on new hiking boots....WATERPROOF ones. The ones I've been wearing the last 3 years are water resistant and ankle high. But they do NOT keep my feet dry in wet conditions. I can't afford ankle high AND waterproof so the ones I have pictured below are the ones I decided to buy. Plus I was able to use 2 of my LLBean coupons! I ordered them Sunday evening and they were on my doorstep on Tuesday night. A true blessing. I'll be breaking them in tomorrow on a short mountain hike up near Lake George.
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- THIS SCRIPTURE:
What things made your week special? Please share in the comment section!
Happy Weekend!
7 comments:
Those are amazing photos from your hike. I can see why you love to hike so much. I'm glad you were able to visit with your dad. I am so glad that Mom is able to be with me rather than having to live in a facility of some kind. Have a blessed weekend.
I noticed that it happens often that when one person dies there is a new birth ! It's quite amazing !
It's so hard as parents age. I'm glad your sister and b-i-l are available to help.
Glad you were able to get your furnace worked on - we're going to be needing the heat a lot!
Glad Claire had a great trip!
6 miles in snow and mud? You are awesome! Glad you got new boots to do it in.
It is sad to see our loved ones age. It's great he can be with family and not in a nursing home.
I am so impressed with your hiking mojo! Wow! You go, girl! If the temperature plummets to 40F, I wimp out, California style.
I'm glad your dad has a safe and comfortable place to live near family who can care for him.
That looks like a "brisk" hike but a beautiful one! Waterproof shoes I think would be essential in those conditions. Is there a big difference in price between ankle high boots and regular ones?
Youth conferences are wonderful for young people. I wish my kids could have attended more. Hope Claire is now feeling better.
Yikes to the furnace quitting. It's a good thing the furnace guy could come so soon.
My sister just bought the house next to my dad...and I'm five hours away. He's still young, but I'm grateful that she's thinking of the future.
Your new hiking shoes look comfy...but dry is so important too. I've heard great things about Lake George.
I'm grateful you can see the blessings in these difficult days.
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