Today She is FIVE!

Happy Birthday Olivia!!

I prayed for this child,
and the LORD has granted me
what I asked of him.
--I Samuel 1:27

For the Enlightenment of Brillo Man's formerly youngest and forever oldest:

Click here.

Word Association

I saY ....

YoU SAy....

Spatter

Gnarly

Rudbeckia

Paint

Space

Squelch

Quench

Limitless

Infinity

Friction

Superfluous

Intimidation

Bubbles

Gargantuan

Pomegranate

Dreamy

Cantankerous

Executive

Infamous

Passion

Splendid

Scandal

Tragedy

Masterpiece

Art

my passion...

...is
my art

there are days i feel like my life
is passing by and i’m not doing what
i need to do

.art
.a part of me.
.which i can’t deny
.it’s who i am –and i’ve suppressed that part of me for so long there are moments when i think that part is lost forever.

Creating.
.yes, let’s get the doors
.and finish the ceiling
.so I can make the art
.and be who i am created
.to be


Then I was beside Him
as a master craftsman;
And I was daily His delight,
Rejoicing always before Him…
-Proverbs 8:30

---

regarding the above reference to the doors...
...we're converting one bay of our garage
into my art studio and planning to place
a whole bunch of old wooden doors on the ceiling.
.just because

Praying!!!

All my blog buddies are praying for Arlene today. Please join us in storming Heaven's gates on her behalf.

If you make the Most High your dwelling
even the LORD, who is my refuge
then no harm will befall you,
no disaster will come near your tent...
"Because he loves me," says the LORD,
"I will rescue him; I will protect him,
for he acknowledges my name
He will call upon me,
and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life will I satisfy him
and show him my salvation."
-Psalm 91:9,10,14-16

Famous Words

...or things that have come out of my loved ones' mouths on more than one occasion:

Olivia: “It was Dorothy.” - spoken whenever she needs someone to blame. Dorothy is her imaginary friend who takes the rap for quite a bit.

Mom: “This too shall pass” –an always encouraging reminder that God is working things out for my good –regardless of how things may appear to me.

Dad: “Deb, you’re beyond hope!” -spoken to me on any one of the MANY occasions that I would be ‘gung ho’ interested in a project or scheme.

Grandma C: “Many are called...but few are chosen”....one of her ‘famous’ lines. (Which I still think about to this day –especially when the things of my life seem to take up all my time and I sometimes neglect to spend time with the Lord.)

Char (my long-time college friend): “Tell me more! I want to hear more!” - spoken whenever she thinks that I’ve left out important information when sharing the events of my life.

Grandma P: “Deb, when are YOU going to get married and have children?” -spoken to me almost every time she saw me –and especially if she had just received news of a recent marriage or childbirth.

Lori (my sister): “Ewww! That’s Nasty!” - spoken on various occasions whenever she sees something...uh..er...nasty.

Olivia: “Oh COME ON, Mom!” –spoken whenever I refuse to give in and let her eat a second ‘chocolate popsicle’.

Brillo Man: “I’ll be right up. I’m working on something. Let me finish it” -spoken a dozen times over the course of a two to three hour span before he actually DOES EMERGE from his office downstairs...

(I’m composing this post while waiting for him to emerge. He’s been coming “right up” for the past hour now...)

When he caught up with them,
he repeated these words to them.
-Genesis 44:6

To Honor Dad

In loving memory of my Father

Robert Alan Plohr, Sr
September 2, 1936 - November 7, 1995

My Dad was a quiet man.
A man of few words.
But when he had something to say -
he always spoke with lots of wisdom
and plenty of dry wit.

He had a neat little ‘smirk’ about his expression,
and always a twinkle in his eye. Often, he would
shake his head, smile and tell me I was beyond hope
whenever I would share with him one of my
latest schemes.

He lived through more suffering than any human
should endure –but did so with nary a complaint -
always giving God the glory for the awesome place
He had on the throne of his heart. Grateful for the
second chance at life –and living it with a smile -
always ready to share with anyone who would listen
the miraculous things the Lord did
in and through his life.

Today he sings praises with heavenly choirs
and I’m sure spends much time at the feet of His Savior.
...waiting for the day when we’ll all be united again.

I miss you Dad.
And honor you today.
...until we meet again....
.....I’m still and always ‘beyond hope’.

Above all, love each other deeply.
–I Peter 4:8

The New Food Group...

...I call it ORANGE!!!

For dinner tonight:















Give me some credit --I DID eat some broccoli...

...but realized later that I SHOULD have eaten this:


Tomorrow night, I think I'll choose RED foods.

What can I say? It's the artist in me.

(Can you tell I had nothing to blog about?)

Just call me Techno-Impaired...

Thanks to Pat, my cell phone bill may have increased by $30 this month. And it's not because I spent a bunch of minutes talking to Pat on the phone, because, if you follow her daughter, Sara's blog, you would know that Pat, like Sara, doesn't like to talk on the phone. (I won't mention that twice in my life, I have picked up the telephone and filled Pat's ears with tales of woe...and since then, I've learned that she hates to talk on the phone....she's in Michigan, I'm in Pennsylvania and gas ain't cheap...so guess what? In the future, if I need the advice of a friend, she will have to suck it up and endure the dreaded phone conversation.) Anyway....

Today, on Pat's blog, she posted the lyrics to a song by Toby Mac.
Toby Mac? Pat listens to Toby Mac?
wow.

I don't own any of their CDs. Although I am familiar with some of their music, I hadn't yet heard the song that she posted.

When ‘googling’ the lyrics, hoping to find a site with an MP3 file where I could listen to the song, I found this great site where I was going to be able to download the song's ringtone to my cell phone. Cool.

I also found a bazillion other neat ringtones such as the theme songs to some of my favorite childhood TV shows: The Addams Family, The Munsters, Popeye, Little House on the Prairie, (aka Little Shack on the Grassland if you ran in my circle),

Mission Impossible, Perry Mason, The Twilight Zone...(okay, anyone who knew me as a child - Mom, you know who you are - will know that I was PETRIFIED of the Twilight Zone opening where that big eyeball appeared on the screen. But, I digress. Again.)

I had so much fun clicking and listening to all the different ringtones, that it wasn’t until I read the fine print in the ‘terms of service’ agreement that I realized I had just committed Brillo Man and myself to paying an additional $30 a month in fees to be a member of all these ringtone ‘clubs’.
Oy-vey!

It turned out that it was a simple fix. All I had to do was text the word “STOP” to the companies and I could opt out of the agreement. Problem. How do I send a text message? As techno-savvy as I like to believe I am, I had never sent a text message - because they cost a whopping 15 cents each - unless you have ‘the plan’ - which we do not.

The first text message “STOP” went to my Aunt Carolyn - since she is the first person in my phone address book and I had no clue (obviously) what I was doing. Aunt Carolyn will retrieve this message from her phone (probably about three weeks from now, knowing how frequently AC checks her cell phone messages...)...and she is going to wonder what in the heck “STOP” means. I’ll get a call. (Of course, if she would read my blog, she would know and could save herself the trouble.)

After a phone call to the cell phone customer service rep, she ‘walked’ me through the proper way to send a text message and thankfully, I was able to prevent the certain-to-be stroke that Brillo Man would have had had he opened the cell phone bill and discovered it was increased by $30, thereby sparing me much grief and him months of rehab...

I considered telephoning Pat to share all of this with her personally....but....she hates talking on the phone.....

..."What is this babbler trying to say?"...
-Acts 17:18 (taken SO out of context, it isn't even funny...)

Prayer for Healing

I'm joing with all other prayer warriors in praying for Arlene today.

Please join me in speaking God's Word over her life --as Jesus sent His Word and healed them, let's do the same!

There is GREAT power in prayer!!!

But he was wounded for Arlene's transgressions,
he was bruised for her iniquities:
the chastisement of her peace was upon him;
and with his stripes Arlene IS healed. --Isaiah 53:5

ha ha!! groan....

Who said, "Duh suddle cub up to borrow"?

























Little Orphan Annie with a cold!!!

---

A cheerful heart is good medicine.
Proverbs 17:22

The One I Love

When I was praying for a husband, I had a list.

The top three things were:

I want a husband who loves the Lord with all his heart, mind, soul and strength.
I want a husband with the same beliefs as I.
I want a husband with a servant's heart.

On Christmas Day in 2000, I turned on my computer and logged on to a Christian chat room. There were approximately 15 people chatting about everything from what they ate for their holiday dinner to what Aunt Martha bought them for a gift. I was beginning to think it was a big waste of time for me to be there. So, I typed, "Well, since none of you are ready to prophesy that you are my future husband, I'm outta here. Merry Christmas everyone."

Just before I clicked the "sign out" button, someone typed, "Wait, don't go."
My very first thought was, "Who is this bozo?"
He invited me to go into a 'private' room and chat.
I did.
And five hours later, I knew that this was the man that I was going to marry.

He had shared with me that he was a Christian --shared his testimony about the time he received the baptism in the Holy Spirit (aha --someone with my same beliefs). He talked about how he would lie prostrate on the church altar praying for his daughters. He shared his heart --and I knew that he loved the Lord with all of his heart, mind, soul and strength. Then he said that he was on the staff of an Assembly of God church (the denomination in which I was raised.) Hmmm? perhaps a pastor? No --he was the Chief Operations Manager --with a staff of six or seven --in charge of maintenance, setup and upkeep for Wekiva Assembly of God - a church of over 1000 members. He was also in charge of their Christian school. ....there --was my 'servant's heart' that I had on my list.

There were a whole BUNCH of other things on my list --way too numerous to list here. But suffice to say that while we were courting, I checked off EVERY single item on my list. Brillo Man didn't even know about the list --until I had checked everything off --because I didn't want him to "cheat" and tell me (for example) that he loves to go to auctions and yard sales just to win my heart!

Two months later, in February, he flew up from Florida to Pennsylvania to meet me. He stayed a week. He met my Mom. Just before he was to fly back home, we went to a state park nearby (McConnell's Mill State Park). It was an unusually warm day in February - in the mid 60s. After hiking a while, we stopped to rest on some boulders. Brillo Man pointed out that behind us, carved in the rock, was a cross. Just then, a breeze blew some seeds from a nearby tree. One landed on his shoulder - it was in the shape of a dove. (I'm not kidding). At that point, he turned, got down on one knee, pulled a beautiful ring from his pocket and asked me to be his wife.

Tomorrow is our sixth anniversary. I love him more today than I did six years ago. And can't wait to grow old with him --as the best is yet to come.

Happy Anniversary Honey.
I love you!
With all that's within me....



...a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
-Ecclesiates 4:12

Almost 50

Yesterday was my birthday.

I am officially "almost 50". For those of you who don't know what "almost 50" means, it's 47. My age is something I easily remember because as Grandma P. always reminded me - she was born in 1910 and I was born 50 years later in 1960 and since we both were born in a year ending in ten, our birthdays alway's "matched" the calendar. For example --it's 2007, therefore, I'm 47. Next year, I'll be 48 in 2008 --and....in the year Olivia is scheduled to graduate from high school - the class of 2020...I will be 60! (Brillo Man and I will be wearing T-shirts to her commencement which read, "We are NOT the Grandparents.")

When I turned "almost 40" (37 for those of you not paying attention), I remember being very depressed that I was getting old and would very soon be 40. ha. What was I thinking?!

Anyway...I had a wonderful day. Olivia had been staying with my mother for the past two days, so that we would have a quiet environment for the banking inspector when he came to audit Brillo Man's business. (You remember that he is a mortgage broker...) Because Olivia wasn't here to crawl into bed with us yesterday morning, we were able to sleep in a little later and just chill.

We got up, ate breakfast and headed out the door to find some bargains at several of the yard sales in the area. There was also a household auction en route to Grandma's house where we bid on and WON a 32 inch wide screen HDTV! I've always wanted one - but didn't want to spend the money. Besides, the 19" TV that we have works perfectly. This, however, was a bargain we simply couldn't resist. Happy Birthday to me!

After retrieving Olivia from Mom's, we stopped at our favorite Amish greenhouse and bought a whole bunch of flowers which will probably sit for weeks before we eventually get them planted in the ground. The flowers are GORGEOUS and inexpensive compared to everywhere else. Again, we couldn't pass them up. And, we found another yard sale having an "everything-you-can-fit-in-a-bag-for-a-buck" sale. My favorite way to collect more junk that I really don't need but somehow feel that I can't live without.

In the evening, Brillo Man went and picked up a cake and some good friends arrived to share cake and ice cream with us. Lots of laughter and lots of fun!

Life is good at "almost 50".

Now please excuse me while I go watch my new TV!

This is the day which the LORD hath made;
we will rejoice and be glad in it. --Psalm 118:24

ADDENDUM: I just opened up yesterday's mail and received
an invitation to join the AARP! WHAT is up with that?!?!

Childhood Memories

Inspired by Pat's childhood memories, here are a few of my own:

Girl Scouts –camping - camping - camping! Some of my BEST childhood times. A lot of them spent with my Mom - who was my troop leader.

Riding my banana seat bike (to faraway places without asking permission)(oops).

Playing games in the yard with Bobbi Jo.

Seeing how high I could bounce a super ball on the sidewalk.

Summer-long Monopoly games on the porch at Seltzer’s.

Playing with my Barbie dolls.

Sunday School in the “annex”.

Family holiday dinners at Grandma C’s—eating homemade ravioli until you could ravioli me right out the door!

Roller skating –both on the sidewalk and in the rink. My skates were handed down from my Mom and they had cool wooden wheels. I could go much faster than the kids with rubber wheeled skates—at least until one cracked and broke, sending ball bearing scattering all over the rink floor...and me...kersplat!

Marathon games of Canasta with Mom, Dad and Grandma P.

Good times with the church youth group.

CA (Christ Ambassador) conventions every Easter weekend in Harrisburg.

Missionettes –and all the fun times with the girls. With the one exception of swinging on the vine and falling into the ravine....but that’s another blog....

Marathon games of Scrabble with Grandma P. (she usually won –she used words that I had never heard of –like “fez”. What in the world was a fez? Of course, now I know....and use that word all the time when I’m winning against Brillo Man.)

Going to Grandma P’s and always having a batch of brownies waiting for me in the rectangle plastic tupperware-like container on top of the metal cabinet.

Eating Grandma C’s fabulous pies. She made THE BEST pies.

Listening to Dad’s endless tinkling of spoon upon glass as he stirred his bottomless glass of summertime iced tea!

Sitting in the dining room in front of the mirror letting Mom brush my hair with the brushes from the “brush” drawer. I wonder what she’s got in that drawer these days?

Lying in bed listening to the thunderstorms on summer nights.

Saturday nights watching Lawrence Welk with Mom, Dad, Rob and a big bowl of popcorn. (I wanted to BE Ralna!)

Enjoying the rare occasion when Dad would sit down and play and sing –he ALWAYS played Malagueña and The Lord’s Prayer.

Enjoying watching my youngest brother and sister climb the pussy willow tree which was planted in honor of my younger sister’s birth.

Watching Timmy B. kill ants in his driveway. His methods were as bizarre as he.

Sitting on the porch on summer nights with family and friends and watching our world.

Stopping at Shirley G’s for coffee and laughs.

Running NON-STOP for four blocks down the hill from my elementary school on my way home for lunch. Then eating a fabulous lunch prepared by Mom and begging a dime to stop at “Tom’s”, the corner store, on the way back to school in the afternoon. In those days, a dime bought a LOT more than it does today. I could buy a Reeses Cup and five pieces of penny candy or a whole 12 oz bottle of Coke, or an ice cream sandwich or TWO popsicles!

Wednesday and Sunday evenings after church, gathered at a restaurant with all my church youth group friends, eating and carrying on and having a grand time!


When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
--I Corinthians 13:11

Browsing

Sun
Originally uploaded by tearoom.

I was browsing the recent flickr photos and found this one.
Loved it!
Wanted to share!

Check out the beautiful photos by this photographer! (Click on the photo to be directed to her website.)

The Sock Monster

Today Olivia's preschool class took a field trip to the elementary school to tour the school and see the kindergarten classrooms. When I dropped her off this morning, the kids were SO excited! All anxious to go see their new school.

They all received laminated name tags with frogs on them. Except Olivia. Mrs. Hawthorne somehow overlooked Olivia's name on the list. Fortunately, Miss Lydia was able to make her a nametag with the same frog (only slightly bigger and not laminated) and saved the day because Olivia was about ready to commence pouting.

She donned her newly created nametag and I gave her a hug and walked out the door ---just as I do every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning. But this morning, as I walked past that big yellow school bus in the parking lot, I found myself reduced to tears. And it's not even the REAL thing! It's just the 'dry run'.

Time for a distraction. Ah...a 'yard sale' sign... When I picked Olivia up, sitting in her carseat was a purple CareBear that I found at the sale. Today is Friday and Friday is "surprise day". I always have some little thing waiting for her when preschool is over. She was thrilled to see the purple bear and bubbled with enthusiasm as she told me all about her trip to her soon-to-be kindergarten classroom.

We came home and told Brillo Man that Olivia was SO EXCITED when she saw the school bus, knowing she was going to ride the bus to the school. I'm sure he noticed the lump in my throat because he looked at me and said, "On Olivia's first day of school in the fall, I'm going to be no where near the end of the driveway because YOU are going to be a basket case." He's right. I will be.

Last evening I attended a "Getting Ready for Kindergarten" seminar at the school. It was more about getting the parents ready to 'let go' more than anything else - giving us suggestions as to how to make that 'transition' easier for both children and parents. No amount of tips or suggestions is going to make that transition easier for me.

Today, Olivia appeared as "The Sock Monster" --sorting through the basket of clean laundry which I had not yet folded, scattering it all over the floor as she created her 'costume'.

And after her bath tonight, I held her wrapped in her towel, as I often do, and sang "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and he will make your paths straight." Then we sing it a "silly" way...substituting other words for 'heart' and 'straight'. ...maybe knees and zebras.... trust Him with your knees and He'll fill your path with zebras. She giggles and giggles. And then we sing it the right way again. One day, she'll be too big for me to hold her and sing her songs.

My problem is that I don't want my Sock Monster to grow up. I want to hold her on my lap forever after her bath and sing in her ear. I want every Friday to always be "Surprise Day" But, growing up she is... and it's happening - right in front of my eyes - way too fast.

"Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne?"
--Isaiah 49:15a

A day in my life....

when I didn't know whether to laugh or cry....


...as from behind my computer chair I hear,
"ROAR!!! I AM THE PEANUT BUTTER MONSTER!!! ROAR!!"






I chose to laugh....

"God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me."
--Genesis 21:16

Mother's Day

My Mother's Day was wonderful!

Olivia made me a beautiful flower pot filled with candy. She also presented me with an Elmo balloon which she immediately stated should really be hers since she likes Elmo so much. Of course, she got the balloon --and the big lollipop in the center of the flower pot flower!

Brillo Man gave me a gift bag full of some of my favorite goodies and a coupon to redeem for a hanging basket of flowers. (He thought I might like to pick out my own posies.)

I was told it was "my" day and we could do whatever I wanted to do. I chose geocaching, one of my favorite ways to pass the time. After finding a few 'treasures', we went to dinner at a crowded, but worth the wait, restaurant.

The best thing was celebrating God's greatest gift to me --being a Mom to the most precious little munchkin on the planet.

I trust all you Moms had a grand day of your own. How did you celebrate?

Her children arise and call her blessed...
--Proverbs 31:28a

My 15 Minutes of Fame

So --I listen to the messages on my phone yesterday and hear one from a copy editor at Guideposts Magazine. Check this out --she read my post on Manzanar and wants to feature it in the "Continued" section in an upcoming issue.

I'm thinking that this could be my 15 minutes of fame.

I shared this with Brillo Man --excitedly saying that I couldn't believe that a copy editor from Guideposts actually called me and wants to use something that I've written in their magazine (which by the way, is the ONLY magazine that I read cover to cover every month).

I then shared that if they would mention my blog in their magazine, that I would feel added pressure to write more entertaining and eloquent and profound things because possibly countless millions would be directed to my blog for inspiration and direction. Friends and family who currently don't read my blog (and you know who you are Aunt Carolyn) would be reading regularly, hoping to glean some wisdom. Long lost friends who haven't been in touch, would call and say, "Hey, I saw your picture and blurb in Guideposts and starting reading your blog and now my life is changed forever."

I asked him what he thought.

He said, "you referred to me as 'Brillo Man' in that post."

I said, "so, what's your point?"

---

Comment left on my earlier blog post from the editor at Guideposts:
(note --Sara, this is not plagiarism because I've assigned due credit.)

Dear Deb,

My name is Jane Doe (name has been changed to protect the innocent). I'm an editor for Guideposts magazine and would love to talk to you about having your article of An Education from Guideposts in our magazine. Since I don't have your contact info, please contact me at 555.555.5555.
Best, Jane

Pretty Cool huh?

This is sorta like... I'm almost gonna be famous because my photo will be in Guideposts Magazine. Similar to being on the cover of the Rolling Stone or something. (ahem)

note: Sara, "on the cover of the Rolling Stone" is not plagiarism --even though it's in some song lyric written and performed by someone I can't remember...because I'm giving due credit.

HOWEVER...I will admit that the above cartoon is copyrighted and used without
permission. So sue me.

---

He has declared that he will set you in praise, fame and honor high above all the nations he has made and that you will be a people holy to the LORD your God, as he promised. --Deuteronomy 26:19

A few of my favorite things....

Inspired by kaymac, here are a few of my favorite things...

Watching the Great Blue Heron fish on our pond every morning.

Listening to Olivia's laughter.

Seeing Brillo Man come in from a few hours of riding the John Deere --all muddy and tired --knowing he's been outside doing one of HIS favorite things --DIGGING ANOTHER HOLE!

Playing Scrabble against the computer and winning!

Doing Crossword puzzles.

Talking on the phone to faraway friends.

Singing praise songs to my Lord!

Watching the kingfisher swoop down from his perch and grab a meal from the pond.

Listening to the doves coo.

Watching American Idol (did I say that? --it's true --I'm hooked.)

The smell of freshly cut grass (of which I haven't experienced yet this year because the mower needs new blades).

Changing from 'real' clothes into pj bottoms and a comfy, old T-shirt.

The flowers and new leaves of spring!

Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land. --Song of Solomon 2:12