Summer 2008

WOW has this past spring and present summer been a whirlwind of ups and downs. Last spring on his spring break Jim had a very simple knee scope procedure done. Back to normal in 4-6 weeks. Welllllllllll that is not how it has played out. 6 months later Jim is still walking with a cane, and is still having enough pain in his knee that he cannot bare weight. He had a second surg. that caused a week stay in the hosp. Was on IV antibiotics at home for 2 weeks. He has been seen by 5 different Dr's. Watching him struggle physically has been very hard for me. He had the surg. so he would be back to normal for Molly's wedding. Wellll our bride was walked down the isle by her daddy and his cane. He was a a good sport about it but i knew he was very discouraged. Now Molly's wedding was most definitely a high point for our summer. i still cannot get over how wonderful her wedding went. Shortly after the wedding Jim's mom took a turn for the worse. We spent quite a lot of time at the nursing home in Chrisman which was good that she was so close. We were able to come and go without driving a large distance. On Aug 15 she passed on to Heaven. She is a woman who leaves a very big hole in our lives with her passing. While we were at the farm yesterday packing things away, bringing things home, i realized that she was the "glue" that kept things rolling. Each box, basket,and breakable china, holds a memory of times spent out on the farm. As we were loading her round kitchen table to bring it to our home, i could remember many Christmas eve's, Easter Brunches, and spur of the moment suppers spent around that table. Then i realized something else. i am now the oldest Humrichous woman. i have have rolled that around in my heart all day. i so want to make memories for my children and everyone else that is in this family of Humrichous'. So pray for me as need to be more "serious" about my role here in our family. And if you could, please pray for Jim that soon he will find relief for his leg....t

Goin' home

Today we had the burial service for Grandma Charlotte. i know that several have written about her home going. After the service, which was all family, we went back to the church for a wonderful brunch. Oh, what fun we had. When i married Jim the family seemed pretty small. (i came from a family of 4 children and had both sets of grandparents and several cousins, aunts and uncles). When i married Jim, he had only one bro with 4 children. Well now we have little ones EVERYWHERE!!!! There are 8 grandkids and 10(so far) great grand kids. And of course there are 5 spouses of the grand kids. i felt sad when it was time for everyone to pack up and get ready to leave. Many things will change now that Charlotte is not here. She is missed but i know that she is with her Savior. What a tribute of the grace of God, that all of her children, grand children and now 2 great grandchildren profess to belong to the Lord. God is so good....t

Fried Chicken!!!!!!!!!!!

i am so proud of my oldest daughter!!! She invited us for supper last Sat. When i asked what i could bring, she said she couldn't think of anything. She said that she was going to fry chicken and make mashed potatoes and some other sides. Well i talked her into letting me bring strawberry shortcake. Now frying chicken for company is (i think) very hard. You have to fry each individual piece and keeping what is finished warm while frying other pieces can be really difficult. But you know when we got there, she and Frank were working together in the kitchen and let me tell you, it was delicious!!!! She is going to make Frank such a good wife. It was so odd being in HER kitchen asking what i could do. What a super hostess. We had a wonderful evening. We all ate out on the screened in porch and we had so much fun. And then on Sunday she and Frank came to our church. What a great weekend. Thanks Sissy for the wonderful fried chicken!!!!....t

Wedding Shower for Molly

i know that the Maid of honour is the girl responsible for giving the Bride a shower. But in Molly's case that means Anna and since she is only 14 she does not have much experience. So i will be doing a lot of the brainstorming and organizing Molly's shower. i realize that it isn't correct etiquette for the mother of the bride to be giving the shower so i will be HELPING Anna through this fun day for Molly. Since the last shower i gave was 27 years ago, i am really clueless. i have spent most of the day reading on line about all that is involved. Theme, favors, decorations, menu and games. Where i am struggling is the theme. If any of you have any ideas or suggestions i would so appreciate it. Thank-you all....t

Our Church

Yesterday was a wonderful day in the life of our church!!!! We have a small congregation, but we had 7 new people join our church. God is stirring in the hearts of His people. Since the first of this year we have been trying a somewhat more contemporary worship and praise time in our AM and PM services. As we were singing the prayer and worship song "Breath" my heart was so full of worship to our Lord. i was not surprised when i saw that our altar was FULL of brothers and sisters on their knees in prayer. God is doing a new work in our church and i am so glad that He is using our family to accomplish His will. This AM i was using the book, "Say Goodbye to Shame" by Jackie Kendall, for my devotions. The scripture that stood out to me from her lesson on really trusting God, was, Romans 8:32 He who did not grudge His own Son, but gave Him up for us all----can we not trust such a God to give us, with Him, everything else that we need?? i love the question mark. It requires an answer. Yes or no....t

Molly's Wedding dress

Last week our family found themselves with many trips back and forth to Danville from Chrisman. Grandma Char gave us all a scare and was in the hosp. for about a week spending several days in the ICU. Well, that story is a whole blog in its self and i do not have the energy to go there today. Soooo when Molly and i were in the ICU waiting room together she asked me if i wanted to stop by her home and see her wedding dress. She purchased it from Nordstrom's on-line so she had found it with no input from anyone else. (that is so Molly) So when she asked i had felt really honored that she wanted to share her dress with me. When i got there she took me back to her walk- in closet and pulled it off of the rod. i was speechless when i saw the beautiful dress. She had so beautifully captured the whole essence of her in this gown. i have never seen a gown like this before. While i was looking at it my heart was being pulled in two directions. One direction was processing this breathtaking gown on its breathtaking young woman. For the first time in her 26yrs i saw my daughter as the woman she has become. My funny, silly little Molly had become a very sophisticated and articulate woman. This is so evident in the dress she had chosen. And then the other part of my heart was saying nooooo it wasn't long enough, i want her back home, to the days when she went to FCA camp, to the days when she would so lovingly hold her baby brother and sister, to the times she and Gretchen would be models--wearing vintage clothing in the hot summer days, all over Vermilion County. But the same heart of mine that was being pulled, so suddenly was filled with a new love for her. A love that allows me to say YES!!! Enter into this marriage with all the truths that lay tucked into your heart. What a woman you have become. So beautiful on the outside and so beautiful within. i love you Molly and i pray that you will walk into the light of Christ that you had found in your youth. God Bless you and Frank as you begin your lives as husband and wife....t

Anna's Birthday

On Monday my "baby" turned 14!! Even now i tear up just seeing it in print. For 27 yrs i have had a little one to fill my day. All of my children have brought great joy in my life. When i found out that yes, indeed God was sending us a "surprise package". i felt like i held a very special treasure within me. When it began to be evident that child#4 was on her way i began to get some of the "good natured", rude comments that some people feel they must share. i swear 100,000,000 people asked me "don't you know what causes that??" or this one " i am sure glad that it is you and not ME!!!!" i so wanted to say "yes i am glad that it is me and not you too" Next year Anna will go to high-school. When all of my other children went to high school the mom--child relationship changed a little. And i think that it should, but no one asks if you are ready to let go a little. It seems like only yesterday that i would get up in the night with her and would rock her back to sleep after the big burp happened and then she could fall back to sleep peacefully. But, now if i hear her up in the night i give her a Midol and heating pad and she goes back to sleep on her own. There are so many things about Anna that makes me so proud of her, the way she goes over to our neighbor's and spends time with their Down's Syndrome daughter. i love to watch her play with all the babies in our church nursery. Anna has a very tender heart and she really wants to make good choices. The other morning we all woke up late and in the rush some sharp words were said, but i never thought much about it because i know how easy it is to say things that we don't mean. But on her lunch break she called from school to tell me that she was sorry for the things that she said to me. WOW she really is growing up and she is making good choices. There are so many wonderful things that are waiting for her as she grows up and i want her to experience everyone of them. But on the other side there holds too many disappointments that i wish i could keep her a way from. i know that will be impossible. i just want her to ALWAYS know that no matter how big or how small the heart ache we are here for her. We will do whatever it takes to help here become herself. Not what i think she should be but the precious Anna that God so wonderfully gave to us, 14 years ago....t