The Sandwich Generation

I've read plenty about it--the sandwich generation, but until now, I didn't understand it because I hadn't experienced it.  It's been a steep learning curve.  I'm constantly trying to find the balance between my parents' needs and my family's needs.  I certainly have not done a perfect job of it.  I find myself going before the Throne of Grace for both my parents and my children on a daily basis.  It's a very weak and humbling position in which to be, but I know it's exactly where God wants me.

Friday was a sandwich day.  I got a call about 6 a.m. informing me that my mom had been taken to the emergency room.  I got out of bed, quickly got ready, packed a hospital bag and headed out. Here's a pro tip--never  go to the hospital with a friend or relative without a bag packed with high protein snacks, a water bottle, Advil (you will get a headache while there) and plenty of reading material.

When I arrived at the hospital, Mom, true to form, thought all of the fuss was much ado about nothing.  It wasn't exactly nothing, but it could have been much worse, so we were both thankful for that.  I distracted her with stories about the kids while the doctor did his work.  I was in disbelief when they released her just two hours later.

After meeting up with the staff at mom's house and giving them the doctor's instructions, I talked with Dad who had just gotten into town.  Mom had been approved to go on a little shopping trip with Dad, so all was well.

It was nearly lunch time and I had a full day of work ahead of me at home, so I headed that direction. Grace called me on the way.  She had been asked by the woman who does my hair if she wanted to work at her salon.   First, Grace would need to pass a little test.  She would have to do a foil hair color, a long, layered cut and a buzz cut.

"Mom, do you have time to get your hair colored today?"

"Well, how long will it take?"

"About 3 1/2 hours."

Gulp.

"Grace, I'm making a turkey dinner for your brother's birthday today. . .  alright, I'll do it."

Grace was relieved.  The person she had lined up for the color couldn't make it at the last minute. Mom to the rescue.

I got home, ate a quick lunch, prepped the turkey, stuck it in the fridge and gave clear instructions on how to get it cooked (America's Test Kitchen style--breast side down at 425 degrees for 1 hour, then flip the turkey, 325 until done).  Grace grabbed all of her tools and I grabbed my hospital bag.  I was in it for the long haul.  Once my hair was done (and beautiful, I might add), Grace asked me to text my friend to see if her daughter would like a free haircut.  The only caveat--she needed to come to the salon right now.   She was game.  Yay!

Next up--the buzz cut requirement.  Before I could deal with that, however, I needed to make sure dinner was on track.  I scurried home, gave some orders to peel potatoes and made sure the rest of the menu was coming along.  It wasn't, but at least the turkey was in the oven.

Matt, Paul and I then headed out again.  Paul was to be the recipient of the buzz cut.   We dropped him at the salon and then went to go pick up Matt's car at the mechanic's before he closed.  All three of our car were in the shop last week, but that's a whole 'nother story.

By the time I got back home, my Mom and Dad had arrived.  Mom had been given clearance to join us for the evening.  My sister and brother-in-law would be over an hour in coming, but that was o.k. because I needed every bit of that time to finish making the dinner.  A big shout-out goes to Elizabeth, who was a long-suffering servant all that day.  She even taught Lydia how to make the famous family Texas sheet cake recipe.

My Dad picked up Grace and Paul at the salon right before dinner.  It had been a marathon for Grace, but we think she passed the test.  The cosmetologists at the salon were impressed with her work. We'll see how God works out the details.  Paul loved his dinner (that guy can eat!) and Joseph cried when he missed his chance to blow out the birthday cake candles.

I won't lie.  I wanted to have a good cry several times on Friday, but I didn't have time.  So instead, I threw up some arrow prayers and by the grace of God, He got me through it.  And then I had a good cry and good prayer time in the middle of the night.

 "And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus."  Phil. 4:19

Kraut, Strudel, Pfeffernusse & More

We spent a few days in farm country over the weekend.  Uncle Keith and Aunt Leanna hosted our family and several other family members for their town's annual German festival.

                                            Joel, wearing his Great Grandpa's German hat

We arrived Thursday evening right around bed time.  I wanted to hit the yard sales bright and early Friday morning.  Many folks in town host yard sales over the festival weekend and I usually get some really good deals.  This year was no exception.  I nabbed a hardly used gas grill, an antique desk (a graduation present for Grace) and a Carhartt coat.  Paul was so excited that I found that coat for him. So was I.  A winter coat for Paul was on my list.

I had hoped to go to the yard sales by myself, as I usually find some good Christmas gifts for the kids amongst the treasures, but I only made it to one sale before the kids found me.  The town is small and the kids know their way around.  Once they spotted me, Lydia said, "Yay!  Now we can ride in the van!"  So I took them all to the next sale.  That sale was in a tiny garage, but we managed to cram in there.  It was an estate sale and there was a lot of stuff at great prices.  I was using all of mental capacities to decide what thing would work for what child as a gift, stocking stuffer, etc.  Matt would hate to be in my mind when I'm mulling decisions such as these.  TOO MANY WORDS.

Anyway, the kids kept coming to me and asking, "Mommy! Mommy!  Can I get this [stupid, useless piece of junk] ?"  They were interrupting my train of thought.  Exasperated, I finally asked, "How did I end up with eight kids!?"  I corrected myself, "I mean, I know how I got eight kids, but why are they all HERE right now?"

I bought each of them a small item.  They were satisfied and then headed back to the home place to leave me and the rest of the yard sales in peace.

Of course, we ate our of fill of German food over the weekend.  Sausage, kraut, kartoffel und kloss, kuchen, apple strudel, pfeffernusse, cabbage rolls and kraut ranzas.  We also enjoyed the parade, seeing the sheep (3,000!) that are eating down my Uncle's fields out at the farm and witnessing some gorgeous sunsets.

The highlight of the weekend for me, though, was getting more information about my Volga German heritage.  A man from Concordia University was in town giving presentations about the Volga Germans. I attended a couple of his talks and after the last one, I asked if he could tell me how to get started finding out how to trace my family's roots back to Germany.  He asked me my Uncle's name and then proceeded to show me a 124 page document following my family back twenty generations to the 1400s.  Alrighty then.  That saved me a lot of work.  I haven't had time to thoroughly comb through the information yet, but I was excited to put some of the bits and pieces I remember my Grandpa telling me about his parents into some sort of context.

I'd like to spend some time talking with some of the townspeople that remember my grandparents before they all pass away.  I wish that when I was younger I had cared about such things.  I have all sorts of questions for which I wish I had answers.  Anyway, I made a very good start.  What neat surprise God had in store for me this past weekend!

Jude is 7

Jude's birthday was near the end of August.  We celebrated by going to the county fair.  Jude's big day happened to fall on the fair's "Kid's Day," so it worked out perfectly.

Jude's biggest concerns were getting to ride a couple of rides and seeing the rodeo.  We fulfilled both of those wishes.  We also saw Grace's photography entries and Elizabeth's dress.  Grace accidentally entered Liz in the adult class, but Liz's dress still received a blue ribbon.  The whole family was so excited for her.

 We also dropped by the bee booth to see Lydia.  She spent a few hours that day answering people's questions about bees and giving them honey samples.  She was in her element.

Jude took the whole family to Dairy Queen for dinner with a gift card he had received for his birthday from Grandpa Tom and Grandma Jane.  After dinner, we headed back to the fair to partake of elephant ears and the rodeo.

Joseph is really into horses right now, so he loved every minute of the show.  Daddy and I tried to convince Jude that we should head home at about 8:30 p.m.  No dice--he wanted to stay to the very end, so that's what we did.  Thankfully, Auntie Em and Uncle Wade watched Rachel for us during our time at the fair (almost 8 hours).

The next day, the whole family enjoyed another party for Jude at his godparent's house.  We got to go swimming and grill hamburgers (Jude never gets tired of those) and birthday cake--chocolate, with cowboys on top.