An Heir of Grace

Update: Missouri

December 8th, 2008

Three seasons have come and gone since my last post. I have wondered many times if I was ready to hang up the keyboard and find a final resting place for my archives, but deep down I knew the desire to write would surface yet again—and it doesn’t surprise me at all that it happened at three o’clock on a dark, chilly, December morning. Some things don’t change.

I actually began thinking about blogging again when I met a young man who is a good friend of Bren’s from school. He has taught himself web design and I thought it would be neat to have him customize my blog for me. It will be awhile since I’m still working on the design details, but I decided not to wait for the new blog to begin writing again.

To briefly summarize the past eight months:

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I Love to Sleep

April 19th, 2008

I love sleep too much. I know this because whenever I get a lot of sleep I feel the need to tell the whole world. Hey! I got to sleep in today! I don’t have to be in to work until 2 p.m. but I have been late once or twice because I overslept. I think my co-workers find this amusing…or I find it amusing and they think…well, whatever they want. I hope they know that my afternoon naps are the reason why I have the energy to hang out with teenagers all afternoon!

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Quick Nightcap

April 18th, 2008

Bren’s need to write a five-page alternate ending to Lord of The Flies for English tonight totally trumps my desire to blog, so I won’t complain. Maybe in the near future I’ll get a little laptop of my own and leave Brenna’s alone. She’d be thrilled.

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Prayer Request

April 15th, 2008

This is my aunt, Janet, who is nearing the end of her tour in Iraq. She emailed the family asking us to pray for her for what sounds like a serious physical problem, so I am passing this request on to you all, her brothers and sisters in Christ, family, and friends. She’s due to come home around May 23rd. Please pray her home!

Thank you.

~ Donna

Posted in Prayer, People, Family | 2 Comments »

Games ‘n Such

April 15th, 2008

I saw something today for the first time this winter (it’s actually Spring now, isn’t it?)—a snowman. We received two or three inches of snow last night and this morning, and it was wet snow; definitely not the norm for us. Our snow is dry and powdery and it squeaks when you walk on it. It is impossible to create snowballs and snowmen with it. Good about the snowballs (everyone and everything would be a target seven months out of the year), not so good about the snowmen. I love snowmen. The one I saw was created by a six-year-old in his yard at the end of our street. It was no more than two feet tall and had small branches for the arms. I left my camera at home, so I didn’t get a picture, but it was a cute.

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Moving — Again

April 13th, 2008

Is it my imagination, or did the girls look like they had fun last night? (Hint: the bikini top-wearing fashion statement is related to me in some way). Amazingly enough, Bren got to sleep by 3 a.m. and was rested enough to keep from falling asleep in church this afternoon.

While I sat in the truck this morning waiting for Bren to emerge from her friend’s house, I rolled the window down so I could smell and feel the cold air. It hit me just how much I am going to miss about Alaska. I love the cold, I just don’t like the brutal frigid air. After I took this pic I hung my hand out the window and tried my best to memorize how good it felt. I know soon enough I will be hanging my sweaty hand out the window, letting it float on the hot Missouri summer air.

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Posted in Church, Family, Military Life, Alaska | 1 Comment »

Girl’s Night Out

April 12th, 2008

Bren and I had a really nice time out tonight doing our regular biz in town. I got off work at six and by seven we were headed for Fairbanks. Rick had gotten up at 3:30 a.m. to help with a breakfast fund-raiser at the club this morning, so he was pretty much useless this evening and looked forward to getting an early night. It was all good—he doesn’t have what it takes to hang with Bren and me on our marathon reading sessions at The Mother Ship anyway.

The bookstore was really quiet and enjoyable this evening. After a couple hours, Bren finished reading Love Walked In which she loved. Once when I looked up from my book and over at her, she was holding her finger on a page and had a pouty lip. I asked her what was wrong and she said, “I’m about to read the last sentence but I don’t want to because I don’t want the book to end.” Since I am reading Belong To Me, the follow-on to Love Walked In, I pointed out that she has the next book to look forward to when I’m done with it. I discovered that my point was just a slight consolation when she finally did read the last sentence, closed the book, held it to her chest and got teary-eyed. Make no mistake about it—this girl loves good books! The real consolation was Bren being able to get up and comb the book shelves for her next read.

After B&N we went to see the scary movie Prom Night with about fifty million other teenagers. We sat, ate popcorn, jumped in our seats, Bren yelped a few times, we wondered why the fleeing damsel in distress ALWAYS trips and falls while being pursued; we criticized the ending, and then it was all over. It was a short movie.

Girl talk on the thirty-minute drive home was the highlight of night. With soft sounds playing on the car radio accompanying Bren’s voice, and the Northern Lights dancing around the dark starry sky, I thought to myself I hope I remember this night with my daughter, April 11, 2008, forever.

Posted in General, Family, Books & Movies | 2 Comments »

Handwritten Letters

April 10th, 2008

C.S. Lewis’s full name was Clive Staples Lewis (1898-1963). I did not know this.

Currently I sit in an overstuffed chair by the fire at The Mother Ship (Barnes&Noble) in Fairbanks scribbling these random thoughts on a piece of graphing paper I ripped from Bren’s still unpaid for math notebook. After reading fifty pages in my current read Belong To Me, I paused for a stretch and made my way to the restroom at the back of the store. On my way back to my seat I swung by the theology section to see if Piper, MacArthur, Sproul, Packer, Willard, or Strobel had anything new published since I’d last checked. With negative results, I turned to walk away when Yours, Jack, by C.S. Lewis caught my eye. Beautiful dust jacket.

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Posted in Family, Books & Movies | 5 Comments »

Hellooooooo?????

March 30th, 2008

Thought I would stop in and grease the blogging wheels here at An Heir of Grace. I’m drafting a post that will explain some big changes that are coming up in our lives rather quickly. Look for it tomorrow (Mon). I kept getting interrupted and didn’t finish it tonight.

This weekend Bren attended the ROTC Ball in Fairbanks with her friend G. They had a wonderful time and she reported afterward that the Ball was much more fun and classy than the prom was last year. Thankfully she has decided to forego the prom this year, even though she’s been invited by an upperclassman. Having a teenage girl can be expensive this time of year! But, as you can see by the pic, I think she’s worth every penny. The girl cleans up perdy good :)

click on pic to enlarge

Posted in People, Family, Military Life | 1 Comment »

Winter Blues

February 7th, 2008

It’s nearly eleven a.m. on this incredibly frigid day in the middle of this incredibly frigid week. I’m sitting on the couch in the living room, feet up on the coffee table (coffee within reach), laptop on my lap. Bad Dog Neezy is sprawled out on the love seat snoring across the room. The Atlantis Space Shuttle launch is being broadcast live on Fox News. My feet are really cold.

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Posted in General, Bible Study, Family, Blogging, Alaska | 11 Comments »

No Excitement Allowed

January 2nd, 2008

Happy New Year, everyone.

Hm. There is so much stuff going on in our personal lives at the moment, that I’m finding it difficult to to write much of anything. I don’t recall a time in the past when a new year began on low note. I’m confident things will be brighter before long.

New Year’s Eve we didn’t do much. Bren walked across the street to a party she had been invited to, but came home at 11:30 so be with her dad and I at midnight. Rick didn’t stay up much later, but Bren and I watched most of a movie, then we lay in bed talking until around 4 a.m.

Rick woke us girls up at 1 p.m. this afternoon and took us out to lunch and a movie. We saw National Treasure which we enjoyed. I thought it was better than the first movie. After picking up some neccessities at Wally World, we came home and have had a quiet evening.

We’re such an exciting family.

Posted in General, Family | 5 Comments »

Still In Holiday Mode

December 27th, 2007

Bren came in to work with me this afternoon at one o’clock. There were only three girls in the teen room watching T.V. when we arrived, so I knew I would have plenty of time to take all the Christmas decorations down and clean real well, which is nearly impossible to do with a room full of kids.

I worked non-stop, cleaning for four hours while Bren read her Beth Moore book, watched a movie, and played Guitar Hero on PS2. Rick came and picked her up at 5:00 so they could go home and get ready for their date. As a Christmas gift, Bren wanted to take her dad out to our favorite Thai restaurant in Fairbanks. Bren and I have eaten there sevearl times, but Rick had never been. He loved it.

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Posted in General, Family, Books & Movies, Bible | 5 Comments »

Christmas Day

December 26th, 2007

I’m never letting Bren go to bed early on Christmas Eve ever again. She woke up a little after 5 a.m. this morning and lay there in bed until exactly 6 a.m., at which time she woke us up. I had only been asleep for three hours. Yes, I realize that was completely my fault, but still. Six a.m.?

The gift-opening session was a blur, but I do remember opening this, and being very surprised:

My friend, Kim, has one of these coffee makers and makes me a great cuppa coffee every time I visit. I’ve been wanting one for about a year, and now I have one :)

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Posted in Family, Books & Movies | 5 Comments »

Christmas Eve

December 25th, 2007

Today was the first day I had even a smidgen of Christmas spirit. I woke up around 11 a.m. and peeked in on Bren. I was surprised to see her half-awake. I laid on the bed next to her and we took several minutes waking up together, talking about our plans for the day.

After Rick came in from shoveling the driveway Bren made a dash for her stocking, which she always opens Christmas Eve morning. Afterward, resisting the urge to run to the computer to use her $25 itunes gift card, Bren offered to make an omelet and bacon breakfast for us, which was delicious (where she got the cooking genes, I’d like to know!) After we ate and got presentable, we drove to town for some last-minute shopping.

Actually, Bren had something she wanted to get for me, so they dropped me off at The Mother Ship where I indulged in a venti coffee of the day and looked for a good book for my friend, Kim. Before long Bren and Rick were back. Rick found a chair to relax in while doing his best to put on his “waiting patiently” face while Bren and I browsed a bit more.

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Posted in General, Family | 1f47 6 Comments »

Winter, A Movie, A Book & A Tree

December 17th, 2007

Okay, we’re done being spoiled with the “warm” weather (by warm I mean above zero) Winter is here. The “coldest in clear and calm valleys” comment…that would be us. Now where did I put my long johns?

This weekend was the most enjoyable one we’ve had in quite awhile, mainly because we spent most of it together. Bren had a wonderful time at the sleepover party with her friends, and we were so happy to know she was out having fun. Rick and I indulged in a Stuffed Crust Supreme pizza at Pizza Hut (although the silverware was dirty and the place needs to be bulldozed at the earliest convenience, the pizza was sooooooo good!) Afterward, we rented Ocean’s 13 from BlockBuster, and relaxed on the couch under a warm blanket for the evening.

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Posted in General, Family, Books & Movies, Alaska | 1 Comment »

It’s The Little Things

December 15th, 2007

A winter school dance + being crowned Sophomore Class Princess of winter dance + learning how to dance + 13 hours of uninterrupted sleep = one very happy girl. This is the first time in many months that Bren has been so excited and happy, and it brought her dad and I much joy to see her that way. As my friend Kim said to me recently, when things are not going well in life for a long period of time, you learn to find happiness and joy in the little things.

It’s about 3:30 right now on this Saturday afternoon and it’s nearly dark out. There is several inches of new snow on everything and it looks quite beautiful. I remember when I was young, taking walks in the snow with my dad just after sunset. Everything was blue and sparkling and so quiet. And I also remember my dad joining all of the neighborhood kids out in our backyard for a snowball fight in Philadelphia when I was ten. He beamed me right in the eye with a snowball and it took quite awhile before I coud see out of it. He felt so horrible. Funny how memories come flooding back when you least expect them.

Bren’s attending a sweet 16 sleepover party tonight, so Rick and I are going to go into town and maybe catch a movie. Has anyone seen any good movies lately?

Posted in General, Family, Alaska | 1 Comment »

In No Particular Order…

December 13th, 2007

I haven’t disappeared, and here’s a post to prove it. I just got home from work and decided tonight is the night to forget everything I should be doing, make a cup of tea, kick my feet up, and give the keyboard a whirl. Rick cut himself back early from work this afternoon to take Bren to the high school basketball games in town (she’s taking pics for yearbook), so it’s just the dogs and me home at the moment. If you can’t make sense of what I write, don’t worry—it’s me, not you. (By the way, why didn’t anyone tell me Christmas is in 12 days?)

Life in our house has been a bit strange lately because we are dealing with a few things that have cluttered up the path our normal thoughts and emotions travel down. It’s nothing too serious, it’s just that feeling you get when life begins to change and you realize something’s different. All of a sudden you’re making all kinds of adjustments, trying to get comfortable with the new circumstances. That’s where we are. I’m not to the point where I want to share what’s going on—maybe in the near future.

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Posted in General, Prayer, Quotes, Family, Bible | 2 Comments »

2 a.m.

December 4th, 2007

I should be asleep by now, but I have so much on my mind. I just got done asking someone to do something for me that was just so over the top, and I have a knot in my stomach. How could I?

When you feel like what you are asking for may be too much, but you aren’t quite sure—should you ask anyway?

Posted in General, Family | 5 Comments »

In A Bit Of A Pickle 1f87

November 16th, 2007

Have you ever gotten a room in your house really super clean after it’s been messy for a long time, and then you just want to stand in the doorway and look at it? Just wondering.

I ended up sleeping in this morning until 11:00 after going to bed at about 4:00 a.m. As I lay in bed in that almost-awake-but-not-quite stage, a thought popped into my head that yanked me into full consciousness: I’ve got cooking club today. In four hours. (Now where did that thought come from? I wasn’t even thinking in the same ballpark as Now, what do I have to do today? Weird.) I had completely forgotten about it and was not prepared at all.

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Posted in Family, Parenting | 3 Comments »

A Not-So-Short Update

November 12th, 2007

One of the great things about being sick is you can lie in bed all snotty-nosed, droopy-eyed, sans make-up, and be completely lazy and useless – and it’s okay. So although I’m pretty miserable at the moment, I’ve been afforded this time to reacquaint our family with yours.

So, how are you all doing?

I’ll begin with Rick. He has finally finished his Bachelor’s degree in Human Resource Management, and we are so doggone proud of him we can’t stand it. He is the epitome of perseverance and discipline, that man is. (Why hasn’t some of that rubbed off on me?) His job is going great; he’s still enjoying it and staying busy, so he’s happy. Rick has been in the Air Force for 28 ½ years now. We would like to stay here until Bren graduates, so he’s going to put in a high year of tenure extension request so we don’t end up moving during Bren’s senior year. There’s a possibility he may be filling in a command position for several months that would be reminiscent of his 1st Sergeant years (only on speed). He acts like the pace of that job would be a big deal, but I’m not buying it. He’d love it.

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Posted in General, Family | 4 Comments »

December 8th, 2008

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