'twas the night before 60

'twas the night before 60 
and all through my thoughts 
memories danced and flooded my mind

snippets of my childhood

 

my first exposure to KCU was in 1972

snapshots of the boy I crushed hard in 1973

he didn't even know I was alive,

but I was VERY aware of his life!

 

 and married four years later

when we started out he was a banker

I worked as an accounts payable clerk

 

thankful thoughts of the children I carried in my womb:

the awe of those first flutters that let me know life was growing there,

the wonder of watching my abdomen expand and move,

waddling the last couple months of pregnancy, 

the pain and the joy of birth

1980

our firstborn,

Elizabeth and Sarah

I was so young!

Sarah and Beth were excited to have a baby sister, Deborah, in 1983

the girls loved it when Jonathan joined us in 1987

we moved to Kentucky in 1988

Andrew was a welcome addition in 1989

it was a joy to begin to adding "babies" to our family who were already mostly grown and were great big brothers and sisters to those we had birthed

one of our very first KCC "D" groups

Baby Ruth arrived in 1992

Elizabeth, Sarah, Deborah

Andrew, Jonathan, Ruth

I've enjoyed flashbacks of moments from their childhoods

church, Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday night
family picnics
recreational sports
high school sports, drama's, choir/musicals
sled riding
wandering the hills and cutting wood at Tonda and Amon's
bonfires at the Treap's
backyard wiffle ball and kickball games
Christmas caroling and Easter sunrise services
baptisms 

a trip to Florida in the yellow wagon, complete with a Sears turtle

much too quickly,
in the blink of an eye,
our babies were adults
and each of my children struggling and finally making faith their own,
some harder and longer than others,
but all finally reaching the point of surrender and obedience

the family tree once again began to expand:
adding 
son in laws
grandchildren
daughter in laws
more grandchildren

Bill's death brought changes that continue to surprise me as they reveal themselves
but some things remain the same,
God is faithful and trustworthy
my children are each walking with the Lord
our family tree is still growing
we had welcomed 13 grandchildren when Jesus called Bill home

in September 2016 I was waiting for #16 to arrive in March 2017

and we were able to do a family picture 

we have a family vacation coming up soon,

the first time we will all be able to be together at a vacation spot

we will be getting new family pictures while we are there,

with the number 19 on a mommas belly

it is so exciting

now 'tis the very early morning of turning 60

and thoughts continue to swirl
and whisper
and tumble
and battle
and tease
and shout
and take me down rabbit trails

bringing 
whimsy 
joy
thankfulness
happiness
sorrow
expectancy
peace
as I remember what was
think about what is
and speculate about what may lie ahead