The eve of the feast…

The turkey has been happily brining away all day, floating in the midst of allspice, peppercorns and ginger…waiting to be stuffed and slow roasted…all.  night.  long.

I truly enjoy this part of Thanksgiving.  The menu is made, the pantry and fridge stocked and the assembly begins the eve of the feast…bits and pieces that come together to make the memories that make a celebration…memories that replay every year, not much changed, but full of significance and the constancy that makes family tradition…

It’s waking to the scent of slow roasted turkey and stuffing (snitching a savory forkful, just to make sure it’s “okay”)…nibbling the little bits of fallen crust from the pumpkin and chocolate chess pies (waste not, want not)…laying the table for dinner amidst the soft glint of stainless and candlelight…

It’s the hustle-bustle of the dinner bell and the solemn hush of true thanksgiving, given in prayer to the Author of Life who gives the feast and pours His grace upon all assembled…

It’s the slow-lingering over gravy and casseroles…too much pie and plenty of coffee…conversation and laughter as we think and speak our blessings…

It’s the snoozy-drowsiness of the well-filled and satisfied…

It’s the remembering that many aren’t so well-filled…that the simplest pleasures, graces and blessings should never, ever be taken for granted…

It’s the memory of the importance of the family table…the many times we break bread together, give thanks and make those memories…one bite at a time…

Happy eve of the feast, dear friends…may you revel in the midst of family and friends…peace, joy and blessings to all!

Prayers? Thanks…

Certainly, there is nothing too small to present before the Throne of God…and while these two events are troubling, we praise Him for His goodness when it could be so much worse…

Last night, my son Michael was playing outside and suffered a fall…landing face-first upon a piece of rusted tin roof that had blown off one of the storage buildings.  He suffered a severe laceration on his nose and only narrowly avoided plastic surgery, but has six stitches and a tetanus shot just for good measure.  A large abrasion across his left cheek shows just how very lucky he is…the cut could have split the entire left side of his face, rather than just his nose…a happy occurrence to say the least.  We’re praying for healing and limited scarring…the doctor on call assured him he will make a very handsome priest, despite any scarring…sweet of him to acknowledge Michael in that way, as my good young man shared this very intense and personal call.

On a sadder note, our sweet kitty, Ozzie, is quite ill…we are on our way to an emergency visit with the vet.  And here is a caveat:  do not purchase Giant Eagle’s Paws Premium Indoor Cat Food (dry).  We fed three little abandoned kittens that we are fostering, as well as our two indoor cats and one outdoor cat.  Five of the six became horribly ill, but none so ill as Ozzie.  We will be paying a visit to Giant Eagle, writing their corporate office and are taking a sample to the vet’s office for testing.  We are praying he survives this and beg the intercession of St. Francis, and you, our dear friends…

Heavenly Father, please help us in our time of need. You have made us stewards of [Ozzie]. If it is Your will, please restore him/her to health and strength. I pray, too, for other animals in need. May they be treated with the care and respect deserving of all Your creation. Blessed are You, Lord God, and holy is Your name for ever and ever. Amen.  

UPDATE:  Wow…that’s about all I can say…WOW!  Ozzie’s visit to the vet revealed incredibly elevated white cells and a need for IV fluids and a slew of medications…he was truly, critically ill…things happening that I just won’t describe here…the vet could give us no real guarantees.  There was an actual moment of crisis last night…I held him in my arms and truly begged God for his healing and restoration of health.  Within an hour, he bounded from my arms and was racing about the room, finally curling up on my husband’s lap to sleep.  This morning he is completely well…eating, drinking and playing.  Thank you for your prayers!

My big guy Michael looks quite well, too…the swelling is diminishing and the sutures look neat and clean…I feel he’ll have little scarring, just a very scary memory…God be praised!

What a great way to approach Thanksgiving…

Blessings,

What life looks like right now…

Hi there…remember me?  I used to blog here…but then life crept in along the edges and everywhere in between and my writing fell by the wayside.  I found myself posting little snippets, here and there on Facebook, but just couldn’t manage to do much more than that.  I’ve since severed my ties with that particular form of social media…perhaps permanently…we’ll see.  I’ve received so many precious and supportive emails asking me to return to this space and I realize I truly, truly miss my little journal of sorts.  I’ve missed visiting my other blogging friends, and even the way I ordered my day to allow for writing and reading.  I’m working on finding order and perspective…keeping that delicate balance between what I’d like to do and what must be done…bathing the whole thing in prayer and a real desire to live joyfully in the now…

So here’s what life looks like right now.  Chickens and kittens.  Children and chores.  Fun, family and focus on home. Working out our salvation in fear and trembling…

and joy.

God bless you, dear friends.  I hope to see you here a lot more in the future!

Blessings,