New Addition

 Three photos from our time in Buffalo.

Granddaughter #4 arrives home and I get to hold her with Dan and Granddaughter #3 looking on.

Granddaughter #3 is thrilled to be a big sister.

The whole family with babe at almost three weeks.

Faces are blurred at request of daughter.

Surprises at Home and Other Tidbits

I got home from a month in Buffalo helping daughter Sarah and family which has now added a new member.  New baby arrived the week after we arrived. Dan stayed until baby was one week old and I stayed till she was almost 3 weeks old. I'll share some photos with faces blurred on another post.

One surprise when I got home was this new puzzle selected by one of the granddaughters who live nearby at a local puzzle swap.

The puzzle was dumped out on the puzzle table - not my typical method for starting a puzzle.  It's supposed to glow in the dark.  I think I'm committed to doing it and have in fact assembled the border.

These icicles are unlike any I've seen before.

Views out the windows continue to be dominated by winter.

The other surprise was this tuba. Dan didn't say anything to me about getting it from his younger brother who unfortunately is terminally ill and now in hospice. Dan went to VA from Buffalo to help make his brother's move from the hospital to assisted living.  From there he came home.

 On the day we arrived home I heard Dan buzzing on his tuba mouthpiece. [It was the only part of a tuba he had kept after majoring in music at Peabody Conservatory and being the principal tuba of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra for 10 years.  He moved on to another occupation after getting an MBA and found other outlets for his creativity.]

Next I heard a tuba playing and rushed up to his study where he sat playing this tuba.  I knew it had to his brother's who also went to Peabody but didn't take his degree in music any further.  I started laughing to hear him play.  The sound brings back lots of memories.  Getting as far as he did on the tuba required lots of practicing. He even took it on our honeymoon!

He also has this guitar in his study and has been teaching himself to play for years.  He does well.

Other creative outlets were barbershop quartet singing, glassblowing, wood working, and oil painting.

He hasn't painted anything since we moved here.  He says he's been wearing a construction manager hat for the last year, culminating with the barn work.  With that done he wondered how he was going to fill his time.  I did suggest buying a tuba again but he pooh poohed that suggestion as too expensive.

Now he has the tuba and is finding it very easy to get his technique back.  He's someone who has always needed a challenge. This will keep him occupied for awhile though I hope he goes back to painting, too.

 

 Home Again!

More about that to come.

Prayers for Ukraine

 Father God, King of all nations, we cry out to you now for the people of Ukraine. We ask you to rescue those who are vulnerable from the hands of their enemies that they may live without fear before you all their days [Luke 1:74-75]. 

Kyrie eleison – Lord have mercy.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, grant us peace.

Lord of lords and Prince of peace, our politicians are predicting the biggest war in Europe since 1945, and we simply cry out to you urgently to write another story in our time. Thwart the dark machinations of evil men. Give wisdom beyond human wisdom to peacemakers seeking an equitable and less violent way. May politicians exercise the wisdom from above, which is peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, and full of mercy [James 3:17].

Kyrie eleison – Lord have mercy.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, grant us peace.

Holy Spirit, we pray for the church in Ukraine, a nation in which 70% of the population call themselves Christian. Give our many brothers and sisters in that nation courage in this crisis that they may proclaim the good news of your kingdom, bind up broken hearts, and bring comfort to all who mourn. [Isaiah 61:1-2].

Kyrie eleison – Lord have mercy.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, grant us peace.

You Lord, make wars cease to the end of the earth; you break bows, shatter spears, and burn shields with fire [Psalm 46:9]. And so we ask you now to save the lives of many people in Ukraine. Make a peace that is strong and not weak. De-escalate this crisis. We hear of wars and rumours of wars (Matt. 24:6], but you Lord are our rock, our fortress and our deliverer. Our hope is in you. And so we address the nations now. In the name of Jesus we say: “Be still and know God! He is exalted among the nations; he shall be exalted in the earth [Psalm 46:10]. 

Kyrie eleison – Lord have mercy.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, grant us peace.

Amen

Source: 24/7 Prayers