Mom Alice Warner

On this day, October15, 113 years ago Albert and Clara Myers of Waddams Grove, Illinois welcomed a new daughter, Alice, into their family. They had three older living sons and had also lost two children to diphtheria several years before. Alice was a bonus baby, born late in their marriage, but a welcome joy to their lives. 

The Old Myers Farmhouse (now gone)

 

Brother Clark and Alice with their father, Albert, 1903 or 1904

Alice grew up there on the farm and then attended Bethany Hospital in Chicago for Nurse's training where she met Arthur Warner, an Indiana Quaker farm boy turned preacher attending Bethany Seminary. They met in Greek class. : )

They married and spent a lifetime together raising a family and serving the Lord and His church via the Church of the Brethren. Together they served in North Dakota, Michigan, Iowa, Illinois, Virginia and Maryland. What an extraordinary life journey they had. 
 

Pop & Mom, Ralph, Barbara and my birth mother, Janice; Lynchburg,VA sometime in the mid-late 40's

I entered their lives as their first grandchild in 1953 and then became their adopted daughter in 1963. Mom always said it was like having a second life...and I suppose it was--as, while their peers were retiring and doing "age appropriate" things, they filled their 60's and 70's with carting carloads of girls to high school football games, chaperoning dances, camping, leading 4-H Clubs, having a house and yard full of teenagers, projects scattered everywhere and all the rest that goes with having a teenager in your household. And they did it with such grace and love and enthusiasm. Amazing!

At age 60, Floyd, VA a year before they adopted me.

Nurse Alice, 1968; Selma, VA

1969-Mom in the kitchen; She always wore an apron!

1970 in the best chair EVER...red leather rocker; Selma, VA

Mom at my wedding, February 15, 1975

Mom on her 90th Birthday; October 15, 2002; Thurmont, MD

So today, on her birthday, I raise a glass of Dr. Pepper (mom's favorite) in honor of a woman who had an inner strength beyond my comprehension and who loved her family unconditionally...every single crazy one of us--no exceptions! And all deeply rooted in her love for God which started back there in 1902 on the Myers Farm when the family thanked the Lord for her arrival.

All the birthdays of my life and on the occasion of many other friends and family, Mom recited this little poem:

Many happy returns on the day of thy birth-

May sunshine and gladness be given;

And may the dear Father prepare thee on earth

For a beautiful birthday in heaven.

Happy Birthday, Mom! Gone from this life and into eternity and the presence of her Savior. Beloved. Never forgotten.

Birthdays, 2015, Part A : )

On this past Thursday morning, as I was waking up and thinking about the day ahead, I came to the conclusion that for the first time since at least a week before I officially went back to work in early August, I was reasonably caught up with myself work-wise. Whew! Almost 2 months of frantic, always feeling behind, definitely stressed and over full days. It's not that I'm now on top of every detail, but I've shifted into being out of constant panic mode and into manageable. A nice place to be! (Deep breath!)

One of the blessings of a large family is that there seems to be a birthday around every corner. We start off the year with Stephanie and Claire:

Then come the birthday twins Simeon ...
 

...and Jordynn, who was 18 in January--an important milestone;

LIz was 10 in February, a double digits celebration; 

Cherith was "Sweet 16" in May;

June gives us both Micah at the beginning of the month and Alice at the end. This year they celebrated with an "Alice in One-derland" theme;

 
Melissa, Phil and I are May, June, July. Phil finally got his yearly made-from-scratch German Chocolate Cake when we celebrated while we were at Jeshua and Sara's in late June. Nice to have Grands helping make and decorate!

After we all came home from camp, Andrew turned 5 in July (caught him in a still moment--enjoy it while it lasts as he's usually in motion!).

Jeshua finally comes along at the end of August (photo taken in June).
 

Then we get a break until this past week, when Jen turned 33 on October 5. If we're calling "10" double digits, I guess we'll call this "repeating digits!" 

For her birthday I gave her a craft morning. And those words bring me back to the beginning of this post...I finally felt like I could share my time without adding to my stress level. So this morning, the children, Jen and I had a Hobby Lobby field trip, added our pretties to some treasures out of her craft stores and mine and made good use of the leftovers of last year's Christmas tree that Phil had cut into slices for me for a school project. 

 

Busy at work.

The finished product...

 ...and on the door.  Beautifully adds a touch of fall!

A nice stress-free way to spend a morning. 

So now we get another break until November, then the December deluge comes!! But I guess I'll save that until they have come and gone...a Part B to look forward to. 

Meanwhile I'm enjoying the calm, engaging in a few projects of my own and am counting my blessings! God bless us, every one!