Mother's Day 2012

We had phone chatted on Saturday with the firstborn and his family in Alaska, and with the recent Missouri knee deep in diapers son and his family.  And I'd left a message with our youngest in Austin, but I figured he was working. 

Sunday morning, I suggested we drive up to Ranger Hill.  It is scenic, and west, and only an hour or so away.  I don't know why I have had a desire to go to Ranger, Texas.  It had been years and years since we had been up there.  The little towns are dying.  Old stone hewn houses are overgrown.  I wish we had stopped to take a picture of this one stone house where they had carefully used flat rocks to form a star.  The yucca plants were blooming.  sticks of flowers poking up out of the ground alongside the dark green cedar pollen producers, and light green mesquites. 

But, I am getting ahead of our story.  We skipped Sunday School, as Bob was not teaching, and the pickings were mighty slim.  And while last year's message included the story of Hosea and Gomer, Bob was hoping our pastor would one up that message with Athaliah or some interesting bad mother example. 

When our pastor asked or stories about mothers, I was regretting not skipping church, too.  Stories about mean moms who laughed at fathers in pain is not my idea of uplifting stories.  It is our "natural" bent to undermine our husband's authority.  We need warnings against it.  God started in Genesis. 

Clinging to the verse, where God says: "I will be Your God" I was suprised to hear the pastor come up to me after the ending prayer and say, "Happy Mother's Day"---and point to our youngest, Ben who had slipped in late.  We hugged, and took him to lunch as he needed to head back down to Austin.  (Cori called this morning---I am glad he got a nap on her couch on the way back, as he looked tired).  Ben said his friend, S. up here is getting married in a few weeks.  I wonder if Ben is best man.  I forgot to ask.  Ben said the couple yell and argue a lot.  Not his cup of tea...nor does he think that marriage will last.  

Ben talked of being tired, working 56 hours a week, how he pulled wire all day.  There were not enough ladders, and yet pressure from upper management to finish.  Ben even has a term for the upper management folks---shine-eeees.  Their hardhats stay nice and shiny. 

After we hugged Ben goodbye one more time, we headed west to Ranger, Texas.  It was a gorgeous day.  Not too hot.  Cotton ball clouds.   Your ears pop going up Ranger hill.  It was down to one lane, and felt cooler up there.  It is interesting to see Fort Worth spreading out on the west side.  The scenic side.  I hate those signs that say, rest stop---no rest stop for 120 miles.  The whole DFW area is in between for heaven's sake!!  It is a sign that suggests, go here or forget it. 

There had been a wreck just ahead of us coming back on the one lane, and everyone was forced to make new exits in the dirt and motor down the side roads to another entrance.  If we had not stopped for gas, we might have been caught in the wreck. 

Home in time for the Rangers Game.  And the finale of the silly fairy tale series.  And a fun skype call with Baby James and Baby Matthew.   Both babies like singing.  And Baby James is the busiest baby making noises with the back of his hand, fingers, lips.  Moving, grabbing, throwing himself this way and that...jabbering like the E-trade baby.  Too cute. 

I found cute pictures of Abby and David, too.  So cute. 

Here I was thinking Mother's Day once the kids are flown the nest could be sorta boring.  ha 

I talked to my own Mother.   We are all planning on assembling for Ross's high school graduation.  Just like we did Hannah's...three years ago?!   George, Gisela and Ted all graduated from college---facebook pictures to prove it.  There is no way we could have attended those, as they were held in three different states on the same day!  

I shall add Mother's Day to Christmas and Easter---suspect as far as getting good Bible teaching on those days.  Sad, as the Bible has so much material about the sujects, but these days have been hyjacked by bring-a-visitor, guilt-a-relative, and what folks expect that only come once a year.  Athaliah would have been a good choice in order to teach what not to do.