Blessings Abound

Hi son! What a beautiful day we're having. Sorry I'm late today, but I warned you last week. 

Before I go any further I want to remind you that it was Rita's birthday yesterday. First, her birthday disappeared from my iPhone calendar and I had to ask her to refresh my memory, I was two days off, and then dad's sugar has been messed up a couple of days and so I missed calling her on Saturday. And today of all days, she's off having fun with Morris. Imagine that! So Rita, I know you're reading this, Happy Birthday! I love you!

Dad and I didn't make it to church this morning. He woke up again this morning at 6 am and his sugar was a mess until about noon. It's been dropping way down to the 40's still but he manages to edge it up with honey until it's normal and then it stays okay usually for the remainder of the day. The doctor has written him orders for some new blood work so guess he'll get that done next week. He's fine this afternoon, just stayed quiet this morning until he got it regulated.

I took a "field trip" with Corey this morning. She was headed to Joann's and I was running very low on some specific paint colors that I use a lot. My problem lately is, do I build fairy houses or do I paint. They each make their own mess and the two messes don't mix very well so I try and limit the studio to one particular mess at a time.

Dad and I took a trip to the Habitat Store last week looking for more chairs. I found one that will work but several others they had were $25 each and I'm not looking to invest that much. As

This is what they're for...

Corey and I were picking up Josh from Hebrew School this morning there sat two chairs by the garbage in the alley. We were loaded with flowers and so after I got home dad and I went back and there they still were so we loaded them up. So, dad and I took a trip around the neighborhood and found a very nice night stand to redo, two more chairs for the porch (these are MINE) and a brand new patio umbrella that dad wants to use on the back deck. We had to make two trips but it was worth it. I have enough chairs to last me this week. Next week I'll probably work on fairy houses.

This is what I'm doing with the chairs.

Josie is not feeling well yesterday and today. I stopped in to see her why Corey and Josh were loading up one of their very unfriendly roosters that someone had agreed to take. She's going to come over one afternoon next week and we're going to make her a fairy garden that she can take home in a doll cradle that I have. I picked up some plants today while Corey and I were out.

Dad and I finished our dining room table and chairs and we love them. I put three coats of mod podge on the top while I was laying down the music sheets and then dad put on 7 coats of polyurethane. We love how it came out. Then, dad stripped the kitchen floor and mopped and waxed it anew. You can see yourself in it. Right now, if I look through the studio to the kitchen the kitchen floor looks like a sea of glass. Next week, the studio floor! That's going to be a little bit more of a challenge considering all that I have in there. 

The front porch is coming right along. Those two chairs we brought home today are going to be a week long project but they're all wood so dad can replace one of the bottom braces on one, we'll clean with a wire brush and then a good coat of white enamel paint. I would love to paint a "rug" on the porch but I don't know if I will have the time this year. I'll just have to see how it goes.

We did some checking on the Saturday Market here but they've changed it to Friday night's once a month and it's pretty spendy for us so we're looking at about a half dozen different things going on it our area like church craft sales, flea markets and such where tables are a little less expensive. They have a huge craft market here at Hudson Valley College a couple of times a year but it's way out of our league and everything has to be hand made from scratch; nothing reclaimed, refreshed or reused. That kind of defeats our whole purpose of trying to use what's already available and still usable or re purposed. I could make signs, and most likely will, but a space for that particular fair is $350 for the weekend for a 4x10' space.Our of our league.

So tell me, what's Spring like in heaven? I can only imagine. And that's as it should be, but I can picture iris, lilacs, daffodils, tulips, fuchsias, daisies, black-eyed susans, sweet peas, and oh the fragrance. I can just smell all of those flowers and see the butterflies and birds. I can hear the crickets at night and hear the bullfrogs croak in the full streams and under the waterfalls. Heaven must be a glorious place. I guess I really didn't think much about heaven when I was younger. I knew it was there and that one day I'd be there but other than that, not many questions. But, as people I love have gone on to be with the Lord the image has become clearer. I'm sure that everyone who things about heaven imagines it in his or her own way. I imagine it with the things that I love and enjoy. Dad and I often talk about and wonder if you're actually getting to spend time with family you never knew. If you've had a chance to spend time with your "pa" and "ma" Jamison, "mamaw and papaw" Coffman, great grandpa and grandma or the three brothers/sisters that we lost before and after you. For us, it's more comforting to think about you being with people who love you than to just imagine you "off in a void" somewhere. But then again, never in my life did I EVER see you without people around you who knew and loved you. 

Well, I do believe Spring has finally arrived. Enjoy your time there with beauty we cannot even imagine here. Spread your joy. As I sit here and look over at your picture I can only smile and I think again about how proud the Lord must be knowing He created such a man after His own heart. I know we are.

Until next week, be Aaron, love mom