Mountain Musings

Forecast: Heavy Snow! **Updated

This must be "the big one." We have at least 4 inches fallen since midnight, and it's still coming down. Forecast is heavy snow throughout the day and afternoon...8 - 12 inches; and tonight 1 - 3 inches more accumulation. A rarity: the community college is closed--is next week's official Spring Break in jeopardy? And I think Jonathan was actually looking forward to taking his mid-terms and giving his speech this week! Sarah, the sledding queen, will be ecstatic when she wakes up!

UPDATE: Sarah just measured, and we have 8 inches now at 11 a.m. and still coming down strong. She's sledding, Pepper is frolicking, Jonathan is studying, Hannah is reading, I'm cleaning, Tom's at work (hopefully with just snow it won't mean any power outages for overtime), and Micah is someplace in Georgia (where it's probably only raining). His flight is due in DC from Atlanta around 8:30 tonight if nothing gets cancelled. 

UPDATE: Independence Air's flight (after a more than 3-hour delay) was taxiing in when Micah called at 11 p.m. to let us know he was in DC. Sarah stayed up to answer the phone when he called at 2:30 a.m. this morning (Tues) to tell us he was at his apartment..."the roads were wet but fine, even better than last Thursday"...when he drove to DC he said.

("OK, now let's get back to normal living and stop all this worrying being concerned, and get some sleep!")   

~Deb

Been There, Done That

Found this fun state activity while checking out a couple of other blogs tonight.

Bold the states you've been to, underline the states you've lived in, and italicize the state you're in now...

Alabama / Alaska / Arizona / Arkansas / California / Colorado / Connecticut / Delaware / Florida / Georgia / Hawaii / Idaho / Illinois / Indiana / Iowa / Kansas / Kentucky / Louisiana / Maine / Maryland / Massachusetts / Michigan / Minnesota / Mississippi / Missouri / Montana / Nebraska / Nevada / New Hampshire / New Jersey / New Mexico / New York / North Carolina / North Dakota / Ohio / Oklahoma / Oregon / Pennsylvania / Rhode Island / South Carolina / South Dakota / Tennessee / Texas / Utah / Vermont / Virginia / Washington / West Virginia / Wisconsin / Wyoming / Washington D.C /

Go HERE to have a form generate the HTML for you.

Thanks to Amy at Humble Musings for this neat travel trivia. I'm hoping that with our 25th anniversary coming up, a few more of those western states might get checked off. :)

~Deb

Down the Tube

For those of you who prayed for me this morning during the MRI, thank you very much! I was calm and not too nervous and could tell friends were praying for my emotions through this situation. Everything went well in that 1) I didn't have to put my head through the tube 2) my knee didn't involuntarily flinch and cause a re-do of the whole procedure, and 3) the technicians were nice enough to turn off the (non-calming) music inside the headphones I had to wear while the machine was running (although I could tell they were puzzled why someone would just want peace and quiet when the patient could listen to music while just lying there doing nothing). I was inside the tube for 30 minutes and then was allowed to leave. Much quicker and simpler than I imagined, and I was only five minutes late for church. The radiologist will read the results tomorrow morning, and we will determine the next step with the doctor after that. Thanks again for praying!

~Deb

Different Blogging Personalities

We've been "trial" blogging for exactly two months...have you gotten a feel for the different personalities in our family? Most blogs have one author--this one has four, maybe five, depending on who can be coerced into writing. Since we type our names at the end of each post, you start reading without knowing which one of us wrote it. Do you automatically figure it out by the subject and style of writing? Or do you scroll down first to see who wrote the post? Interesting thought.

In case you haven't figured it out, Tom writes occasionally and focuses on scriptural/spiritual thoughts and possibly a book review. Deb writes most of the time on any and everything (slice of life, non-brainy type stuff). Micah, the medical muser, has written only once; but we hope to get him back home every now and then to contribute more often. Hannah is the Sunday hymn poster; if you're looking for the not-so-well-known hymn, she's your girl. Jonathan gives food for thought in his numerous entertaining posts and is quite witty. He has acquired much fodder for blogging from his speech classes these past couple weeks and may get a chance to post once his mid-terms are over (19 credits have kept him very busy!). Sarah's contribution is posting the books she's reading. Her place is in the kitchen and not at the keyboard, so you're not likely to hear from her. Oh, well, five out of six ain't bad.

It's been fun writing, and we love reading your comments. (If you're hesitant about leaving your email address--don't. Just click on "comments" and type your first name only and make up an email if you want privacy. I think that works.)  As long as we have readers...we'll keep blogging! :)

~Guess?

Bits & Pieces

• Headed to Madison today (30 minutes north of Charlottesville) for a watercolor class for Hannah this afternoon at Archangel Arts Center.
• Tom & Jonathan originally scheduled to go to a basketball game this afternoon in Lexington--VMI vs. High Point; but Tom's under the weather, and Jonathan's under the guns with studying. Anyone want two free tickets? Give us a call.
• Micah's in Georgia this weekend taking a break from the books.
• Sarah's hanging out in the kitchen--she'll be preparing dinner while we're away. It will be a real treat to come home to her cooking.
• And, of course, there's the MRI tomorrow to think about....

~Deb

Lazy Day Fun!

The girls were outside this morning sledding down the backyard hill until the snow started getting a little slushy. They decided to build a snowman before the snow completely melted, and here he is--complete with yarrow eyes, black-eyed susan buttons, and butterfly bush hair!

~Deb

Get Me Outta Here!

Claustrophobia: fear of being closed in, not having an escape route, being trapped.

That's what I'm beginning to feel, and I'm not even in "it" yet. "It" being the MRI tube that I'm scheduled to go into on Sunday morning to scope out what's going on with my left knee. I finally broke down and went to the doctor this week. His unofficial diagnosis was a "meniscus tear." So that's why my old faithful Ben Gay wasn't doing his normal healing thing.

When the nurse called to ask me some routine questions associated with the appointment, the first question she asked was, "Are you claustrophobic?"  "Hmm, no, I don't think so."  However, that's all I've thought about since; I think her question made me rethink this whole thing. Do I really want to go inside a long tube without any way to get out?  I had never thought about MRI's before and had no idea what they were all about. But I googled "MRI" and sure enough, I found more information than I wanted to know! And why does my whole body have to go inside when it's just my knee being checked out?

So, anyway, if you think about it, pray for me at 9:45 EST on Sunday morning. While most of you will be sitting calmly in church, I'll be trying to not even think about where I am and quoting every verse I know!

~Deb

Snowy Morning

There's snow on the ground and more a-coming down here in the Shenandoah Valley. It's pretty...except when we have to get up to the community college this morning! And that involves walking down the steep backyard hill that leads to where we have to park the car (alongside a country backroad) whenever there's a forecast for bad weather. They haven't cancelled classes yet? But, who can complain? We're well and healthy, and tomorrow's Friday.

~Deb

Who Makes Up These Bizarre Days?

I forgot to tell everyone that yesterday was "Love Your Pet" Day. Today is "Walking the Dog" Day, and tomorrow is "International Dog Biscuit Appreciation" Day! Didn't you really want to know that?? :)

In yesterday's "Dear Abby" newspaper column a wife was complaining that her husband was upset because she wanted more dogs, and she said he agreed when they married that she could have three to eight dogs. She already had FOUR! Poor man!

Anyway, for all you pet lovers out there, today's the day...go walk your dog!

That's our spaniel, Pepper, all ready for her walk.

~Deb

Her Hand in Marriage

"There are three things which are too wonderful for me, four which I do not understand: the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a serpent on a rock, the way of a ship in the middle of the sea, and the way of a man with a maid." Proverbs 30:18-19

Over the past several years, one of the topics of study, discussion, and prayer in our family has been that of marriage and the preparation for marriage.  For a couple of years, we did a survey study of scripture passages (from Genesis through Revelation) that had to do with marriage and gleaned many principles and applications.

One recent project has been reading together Douglas Wilson's book "Her Hand in Marriage" at the dinner table. We have had an enjoyable time talking through the principles he lays out, critiquing/discerning good and evil in practices we see around us, confessing our own failures of the past, talking through our own intentions and approaches, and just enjoying seeking God's ways and grace to walk in them.

Wilson is a reformed pastor in Moscow, Idaho, and has written several books.  In this work, he takes an approach that examines scriptural principles, explaining how they can apply to us today, offering practical suggestions, spelling out very realistic assessments of present practices and attitudes, and using engaging wit.

Some of the main points he covers:

• The downfalls of modern approaches to romance.
• We should follow God's design and pattern for romance as revealed in the scriptures.
• Men are built to initiate, and women are built to respond - do so with God's wisdom.
• Parents, particularly fathers, are given authority from God in determining how a relationship is established with their daughters. Fathers are responsible for their daughters' purity.
• What establishes the foundation for any godly marriage is covenantal faithfulness to the God who gives us marriage.
• Emotional and physical closeness are blessed of God -- provided they are only within the protective fence of the covenant of marriage.  Outside of that commitment, there should be no intimacy.
• A son should be equipped for marriage before he leaves: in the example of his parents, instruction about purity and marriage, instilling courage and toughness (which are needed to be a leader and to approach the father of a young lady!), and training to be a gentleman.
• A daughter should be prepared by training in modesty (both inward and outward) but not in prudishness, parents loving her tangibly, teaching her to honor her parents and to be ready to transfer that honor to her future husband, teaching how to deal with strangers, and how to deflect men's approaches to her father.
• Some criteria for courtship (focused on marriage, wisely evaluating suitors, etc.)
• Governmental entities' involvement.
• An allegorical story called "The Garden" about a young lady saving herself for her future husband.

Wilson's strength is basing his presuppositions upon principles and patterns from the Word of God.  He is also very practical in his applications without getting too formulaic.  Even if one does not buy every last detail of what he has to say, it is a very helpful book.

This book is a very encouraging and refreshing tool for parents who are either starting to think about the future of their sons and daughters or for those families who are already in the midst of dealing with these issues.

Recommended.

~ Tom