Strawberry Jam

Chris and I have been talking about some of the memories we have as we consider the various sign posts on our site. One of the best that recently came up was "Strawberry Jam.!"  Well, you might say, what has that got to do with sign posts? Here's the story.  Rod's mom has been sending us a shipment of Christmas candy and strawberry jam since we were first married.  Now that doesn't seem to big of a deal until you get the rest of the information. The candy is all home made and is of course very delicious and includes fudge, bon-bons, mint chocolate pieces, rocky road (chocolate and marshmallows rolled) and other wonderful treats. Then, within the same box, yes it's a good sized box, is a 3lb coffee can filled to the brim with homemade strawberry jam. As you may be able to see from the picture, the can is completely covered in duct tape!! And you wouldn't believe how hard it is to get that stuff off enough to get the can open. Mom always says, I hope the lid doesn't come off. We always say, no problem mom, there is not a chance.  Mom has faithfully sent the can of strawberry jam to every one of the places on the sign posts. Great memories of receiving each one and even greater memories of eating it! We may be a bit partial in our assessment of the jam, but it has to be the best strawberry jam in the country. Since the four kids have been grown and in their own homes, we actually split it up into pint containers so each family gets some to enjoy. Yes, it is hard for me to do that but .....I guess it really is fun to share the jam and the great memories as well.  We hope this makes you think of some great memories you have from the special kinds of things your parents did for you.

I just figured out how to follow Rod's post.  I am the one riding behind on the bicycle after all. Virginia does have wonderful strawberries, and we have been going to the fields to pick for twenty years now.  But there is a difference in taste.  Not wanting to start some sort of East-West strawberry war, I will use the words of Emerson Eggerichs "It's not wrong just different." 

Apartment living

What fun it is to go back in our memories to our first apartment.  I was so glad not to have to spent time in the laundromat.  We had an on site washroom.  Granted it was in the basement and the washing machine was the wringer type and the dryer was a clothesline!  It was still fun to play house there.  As a new Christian I had a lot to learn, but I was very happy to be in a little church where people loved and cared for us.  Rod soon decided that two hours at church on Sunday morning was not enough for him.  He wanted to go again on Sunday night.  I did not see the need. I'm sure it had something to do with missing a TV program.  If I missed it , the only choice I had was to wait for the summer re-runs.  I stood my ground and did what  I wanted to do. Rod has always lead by example, so he passionately kissed me goodbye and went on without me?!   After two weeks I too saw the need for the special teaching and fellowship that is only on Sunday night--still do. I did walk home from work/school many afternoons and later learned that the best friend of labor and delivery is lots of walking.  The Lord was showing me then that He always has good in mind for me.

  

Moving on to the Next Sign Post

I have been thinking again about the sign posts. In the spring of 1971 we moved to Boise, Idaho so that Chris could finish her degree and be certified to be a Lab Technician.She had to do a year of working/schooling at a hospital that was affiliated with the University of Idaho and the only one in the state was in Boise. For those who are not familiar with the state of Idaho, it is basically divided into the north and south. There is no line like we have in North Carolina or South Carolina. The people who live in Idaho just seem to know that you are either from northern Idaho or southern Idaho but it is all the same state. The northern part of the state is mostly dry land farmers, very rural and Democratic. We both grew up in this part of the state.  The southern part of the state is where the potatoes are grown in huge fields that have to be irrigated. The terrain is very flat for the most part. It is also politically  Republican. The north is mostly rolling hills as far as the farm land goes and hence it is impossible to irrigate unless you can figure out how to make water run uphill!!!  Anyway, for a northern Idahoan to move to the southern Idaho was considered heresy, at least in 1971.  Well, we were already sort of the black sheep in the family so we moved and wound up in a small apartment on 8th street in Boise.  Chris could walk to the hospital although it was probably at least a mile away.  But she began her year there and I was attending Boise State University. It was a great year for us. We joined a very small Southern Baptist Church and began to make new friends. After a few months there, Chris was pregnant with our first child.  All was well.  I will share a little something I learned in that apartment and in that year about communication. I'm sure most of you never had any trouble with letting your spouse know exactly what you were doing but I was not so good. In fact, neither of us had really been taught much on the subject. We basically got along fine, but I found out the hard way that my way of doing things often said something to my sweet young wife that I did not intend. Example: I was home more during the day than Chris was as she worked/schooled from 7 to 4 ech day. I had classes each day but was always home before her. So, being the thoughtful husband that I was, I nearly always cleaned up the apartment. I would make sure the kitchen was particularly clean. It was never really very dirty but hey, I had time and enjoyed doing it really!  Well, after a few weeks of this Chris came home one day and I had polished the kitchen so that it would shine. She walked in and burst into tears. At first I thought it was tears of gratitude but I soon began to detect that it wasn't so. She was upset!  I thought she would be pleased. But upon my asking what was wrong she blurted out, you don't think I clean good enough for you so you are redoing all of my work.... Well, I was taken aback by this. But I quickly corrected her interpretation of what I was doing. She is a great housekeeper in every regard.  Strangely enough, this little episode in communication is a tool I often use when we are doing pre-marriage and or marriage counseling. We always have to teach on communication and so this little story is often a useful tool and our couples always get the idea.  Our actions often speak louder than our words, so we need to learn how to speak so that those words can be heard clearly.  Chris and I laugh now about these adventures we had early in our married life but they were not easy lessons to learn sometimes. God is faithful and He has always helped figure out what was or is wrong. There were many other great times to be had in our little apartment on 8th street. We have very fond memories of it. Chris graduated from the U of I while we lived there.  About 3 months before Amy was born, we moved to a little house on Resegue street just a few blocks away. I still can't spell it right and no one really new how to pronounce it!  Maybe next time I will be able to share some great memories we made while living there.  Blessings to all who read this.

Starting a New Year

It is Monday, January 2 and we are already a day behind in our Bible reading for the year. We have determined to read through the Bible this year (along with many in our church). But, I am sure we will catch up quickly. Chris and I went out for breakfast this a.m. at our favorite spot, Panera. We received a gift card from friends for there and we enjoy a leisurely breakfast of bagels and coffee there on most Monday mornings. We try not to talk about "work" related issues on these mornings but that doesn't always work.. but today we mostly talked about our diet. Yes the "D" word is in full effect. We have been doing the South Beach diet and pretty good success until Christmas. Oh well, we will begin again this week. Our weight goals are reachable and when we help each other in this matter, it goes better.

We had a blessing on Saturday in that we have been diligently looking for an "island" for our kitchen area. Up until Saturday, all we have been able to find was too big or to small or way to expensive.  What we found was three small kitchen carts all marked at half price because of some damage which we were able to afford and by bolting them all together they made exactly what we needed, and the price was fantastic. Once again, our Father met a need we had been praying about for some time.  We love our space here at Scott and Amy's but it requires "small" things as far as furniture etc so that we don't overwhlem the space and make it crowded.  The Lord has repeatedly helped find the right things when we have been patient and waited for Him to lead to the right place.
So 2012 has begun and we are looking forward to what God has in store for us this year. We are extremely grateful for all of the friends and family we have to share the journey with. We hope you will often join us as we continue "passing through."