Stahlke Adoption: January 2014

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Cold!

Yesterday evening in a temp of -10, I walked from the alley to the house without a hat. To my surprise, that temperature caused a brain freeze!

Monday, January 27, 2014

Johanna Charlotte Golz, Jan. 22, 2014

Granted the gifts of life, a beautiful name, baptism, a loving and devoted family, and now eternal life with her Lord.

From her funeral service today:

"Who so happy as I am, even now the Shepherd's lamb?
And when my short life is ended, by His angel host attended,
He shall fold me to His breast, there within His arms to rest."

- Lutheran Service Book, Hymn No. 740, st. 3

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Unintended Team Work

I decided that some sledding would be good for Peter, to expend some of his almost limitless energy.

As I entered the dining room, he sat with his head lowered and a scowl on his face. The slice of pie in front of him remained untouched. Everyone else was silently eating their snack, doing their best to ignore the problem.

I jumped in, “Peter, if you finish your pie without a problem, I’ll take you sledding.”

He mumbled back to me, “First, I have to settle with Dad.”

Fifteen minutes later, after strong words and tears between father and son, Peter and I headed out the door with sled in hand. The combination of my carrot and Jonathan’s stick got the job done.

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Reprieve

The temperatures in Chicago hit the high 20s today, and it felt positively balmy. Lots of people ran errands, washed cars, shoveled snow, and did outdoor things.

Tomorrow night the polar vortex will attack again, with an expected low on Monday of -16 degrees F. and a high of -5 degrees F.

Brrrr!

Friday, January 24, 2014

Speed Prayer

For years, my goodnight prayer with the younger children has been the familiar "Now I lay me down to sleep," with a change of text to make it less scary:

Now I lay me down to sleep.
I pray the Lord, my soul to keep.
Keep me safe throughout the night
Till I see the morning light.
Amen

Yesterday, our van perched in the exit lane of a parking lot, with cars approaching from behind. Peter jumped out of our van to go with Jonathan to David's basketball game. I realized that Peter would be in bed fast asleep by the time I got home later that night. So Peter and I said our goodnight prayer as fast as possible while the other cars waited. I think we did it in five seconds!

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Statistics

The public radio station in Chicago aired a series recently on heroin addiction. I was struck by several statistics they cited:

80% of people in the criminal justice system have a drug addiction problem.

Most drug addicts relapse more than five times, requiring repeated trips to rehab.

Many things can serve as triggers for relapsing into drug use. The radio station had an entire show on the trigger of driving Interstate 290 (the "Eisenhower"), which passes about three blocks from our house. One of the exits with easily available drugs for sale is Harlem and I-290, which is within walking distance of our home. For suburban kids driving into the "city" for drugs, our town is a destination.

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

A Question

Our neighbor approached me as I parked in front of our house. He wanted to talk to me, but seemed very hesitant to speak. My immediate thought was, "What has one of the kids done now?"

It was a pleasant surprise to hear instead, "Our family receives a CSA [community-supported agriculture] box of vegetables every week, and there is more in it than we four can eat. Would you be interested in having some of the food?"

Whew! I'm relieved the answer was so easy.

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

A Mother's Love

"Mom, I didn't think you'd really use them!"

Yes, pizza-flavored lip balm is not my first choice, but there are some things you make yourself do.

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Inside Meanings

1968: "Let's make cudding!"
My brother, sister, and I busily stirred our ice cream until it was the consistency of a thick milkshake. This dish had been named by my three-year-old sister, who had a speech impediment at the time and couldn't say the letter "p." She subsequently was treated for allergies, her hearing improved, and she now speaks normally.

2010: "Go get SpongeBob," I told Peter.
He was about to have a tantrum, and I figured it couldn't hurt to see if his favorite blanket would help matters. Calling the item by its decoration meant no questions as to which blanket in the house was needed--the one with the most potential for soothing him.

Friday, January 17, 2014

Yum!

Peter gave me lip balm for Christmas, in several wonderful flavors:

Pizza
Chocolate Milkshake
French Fries
Popcorn
Hamburger

Reminds me of the Harry Potter jelly beans!

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Beautiful Image

A member of my church choir sent me this photo of a wonderful sculpture. As the woman enters the door that takes her from this life to the next, she emerges into the arms of her Savior.

Source: Come Unto Me by sculptor Jerry Anderson (2000). Life-size figures located in the grand foyer of the Spilsbury Mortuary in St. George, Utah.

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Much Faster

I file our important papers in a fire-proof file cabinet with a lock. We own only one key for this file cabinet, which was misplaced about a year ago. Fortunately, the file cabinet had been left unlocked, which means the button over the keyhole is sticking out.

Well, with kids in the house, a button to push is just too tempting. Someone came by and locked it. And that's how it's been left for a year.

Last summer, our old car was totaled in an accident. To sell it for even a nominal fee requires the title, which is in the file cabinet. We must now move the old car along, since we need the parking pad for our new vehicle.

At breakfast, I explained my predicament to the kids, and one of them piped up that it was easy to unlock the file cabinet by hitting the button a certain way. Within minutes it was open.

I would have been better off asking my question a year ago!

Wednesday, January 08, 2014

Heat Wave

You know it's been cold when 15 degrees Fahrenheit feels warm!

Monday, January 06, 2014

Thank You

We received a beautiful Christmas card in the mail that included a generous gift card for ToysRUs.

Many thanks to the anonymous donor, who along with others has helped us with the additional expenses that Christmas brings.

Sunday, January 05, 2014

My Name on Facebook

Today's soloist at Trinity wrote the following this morning:

We need you to sing at church Jan 5 says, Mary Stahlke and Rob Rogers. Ok! I'd love to I say.... God says, "I'll dump about 12 inches of snow on top of the already 12 inches from earlier in the week and make Pastor keep church open"

The vocalist made it to church, with difficulty, and sang beautifully!

Saturday, January 04, 2014

Chicago's Weather Forecast!

Sunday
HIGH/LOW
13°/-19°

Accumulating snow, gusty winds out of the north-northeast and much colder.
New snowfall from near a foot far south to far north.
Accumulations over city could range from 3 to 5 inches north to 6 to 8 inches south sections.

Monday
HIGH/LOW
-10°/-18°

Dangerous, record-breaking cold.
Wind chills 30-below zero. Variable cloudiness with a chance of snow flurries/snow showers NW Indiana.
Extremely cold overnight; -40-degree wind chills possible.

Thursday, January 02, 2014

Another Prayer

My mother telephoned me this afternoon, saying, "You've got to hear this, Mary!" She turned on the speaker phone and placed it near my dad. I heard a strong, low baritone voice. My father has always sung with the congregation in church and for birthdays, etc. at home, even though singing is not one of his best gifts. The voice I heard today was stronger and more melodious than I've ever heard from him before. Perhaps dementia releases his inhibitions and he could sing out: "Kumbaya, my Lord! Kumbaya! . . ." What a joy to hear this prayer, for the Lord to "Come by here!"

Stahlke Adoption