Saturday, April 26, 2008

A Very Busy Week

This week was totally busy. I wasn't hardly home at all! A few months ago a friend of ours, who is the chaplain for the county jail in a neighboring county, asked us to come do music for a revival he was holding at the jail. He had asked an other pastor friend to preach. We didn't know what the schedule would be we only knew what time we were supposed to be there for the first service. We had to leave home about 10:30 so we knew we would be gone most of the day. We only had one service at noon and then we had the afternoon free. My mom, my sisters and I all decided we needed to do some shopping so we headed to some stores for the afternoon. We met back with the pastor's family and the visiting pastor for supper. That evening we had two more services.
Tuesday promised to be even busier - and it was. My dad and I had an appointment in Peru (which is about 25 minutes from our house). We had to be there by 11. We got there before 11 and thankfully we were able to get in quite a bit early since our time was short. We were headed out to the car by 11:08 so we had enough time to get to Kokomo for the service. Wrong! We had a flat tire. It didn't take too much time to change it, but it was still more time than we had. Thankfully a state trooper (we were at the State Police Headquarters) came out to help so it went faster.
When we got on the road we got a call from one of the pastors saying that plans had been changed and we didn't have a service at noon after all. That was wonderful news because we weren't going to make it anyway. Now we had time to go get a new tire. We drove straight to a tire shop left the car and then walked over to get lunch. It didn't take long for the tire to be changed so we still had time before the next service which was at 2:30.
We did more shopping that afternoon while we were waiting for the next services. I actually found something that day. I was looking for some t-shirts and I found one. I wanted more but couldn't find any more so one is OK.
On with my very long story...
Again we all got together for supper and then headed back to the jail for two more services. That night we didn't get home until 11:00. Amanda and I had to leave for Kentucky at 7:00 the next morning! I had gotten mostly packed before I left that morning but I still had some stuff to do.
We got up just before 6:30 the next morning (I never get up any earlier than I have to) and Rhenda was supposed to be here to pick us up at 7:00. We were ready.
I guess maybe I should explain where we were going... Rhenda (our neighbor) asked Amanda and me to go with her to the Quilt Show in Padukah, KY. We of course jumped at the chance even though I don't think I had ever heard of the quilt show before. I had NOOOOO idea that there were as many quilts and quilters in the world as there are! I guess I am getting ahead of my self here... We got to Padukah about 2:30 I think. We went to the quilt museum first. It was amazing. There were some absolutely beautiful quilts there!! I can't even imagine the amount of time and work that went into them. My favorite section was the miniature quilts. They were quilts made to scale - just a really small scale! Some of the pieces of fabric were SO tiny! I can't even imagine trying to work with anything that small!
After the museum we just walked around and went into a few fabric shops. There were so many beautiful fabrics! I was amazed at the whole thing!
Our hotel was over an hour away from Padukah. By the time we ate supper and got to the hotel we were all tired!
The next day we got to the show about 10:00. There were masses of people. When we went to pay we started walking towards the end of the line and we walked, and walked , and walked... We finally reached the end of the line. I was please with how quickly we made it through line. We were only in line for 11 minutes.
And then for the quilts...! Wow! I won't even try to describe them. There were far too many. Many of them were beautiful, some were just impressive because of the skill it took to make them and some were just ugly! I like traditional quilts and there is a trend to make quilts like modern art. They are kind of strange. Some were kind of neat. I will try to post some pictures at some point. Amanda's camera batteries went dead so she couldn't get pictures of all of the quilts.
I had NO idea how long it would take to go through that place. We went through the actual quilt show in a couple of hours then we went out to eat our lunch that we had brought. When we came in I just thought there was one more room to look through before we went onto the next thing. Wrong! Every time we thought that we had reached the end there was more. The building was massive. We walked and walked and walked down the hallway towards the rest of the vendors. There were little building like things inside the building. They had tables and chairs sitting on the roof tops. Along the hallway were room that had little shops in them. I was totally on quilt/fabric overload by the time we got through with that!!
When we left we went to a huge fabric store down there. They had gorgeous fabric. I think I would have enjoyed it a whole lot more if there hadn't been so many people and I hadn't been so tired. It was still a really neat place though. I would love to go back again sometime when it isn't quilt show week. I did buy some beautiful fabric there.
On the way back to the hotel I called my cousin who just lives a little over an hour away from where we were staying and asked if she knew of any good Chinese restaurants. She told us which was her favorite. We went there and it was SO good. We all loved the food. It was a nice place. They had a pretty patio that we sat in to eat. The wind made it a little cool but they put a heater next to our table so it wasn't too bad.
Friday morning my Aunt Sue met us for breakfast while Erin (my cousin) was in class at her college. When we were done we went across the street to yet an other fabric store. Erin finished her classes about 11:00 and came and picked us up. Rhenda wanted to go back to the hotel while we ran our errands. We had to go to the bridal store so I could try on my bridesmaid's dress for Erin's wedding. It fit. Yea! Well, it almost fit. The straps have to be shortened and the bottom has to be cut off four inches and hemmed. I knew we would have to do that because those dresses are made for people who are 5'8". I am only 5'3". We did a few other little things and then met with Rhenda again for lunch. We went to Steak and Shake. We had to go back to the bridal shop to pick up my dress because I talked to Mom and we decided that she could adjust the straps and I already knew we could do the rolled hem. That way we save over $30 having them alter it. I just had to ask exactly how they were going to do the hem. I am picky (and so is Erin) about all the hems matching. I don't like it when some are an inch deep and some are a half an inch, some are hand sown, some by machine, some straight stitched some blind hemmed... You get the point.
Anyway, back to my story.
We had to say good bye to Erin and Aunt Sue after that. They had to do more wedding shopping and we were going to stop by Grandpa's so we could see him, Norma, and Uncle Bob.
The funniest thing happened when we got to Grandpa's house. When we pulled up there was a little Amish girl sitting in a chair beside his barn. I thought "What in the world!" We waved and said "Hi". When we got inside we asked Grandpa what was going on and he said that an Amish family had just moved in next door and their goats had gotten out and had eaten a bunch of Norma's flowers. Grandpa went over to tell them and the mother sent this little girl over to watch the goats until her dad got home to fix the fence. We were very entertained watching her while we sat and talked in the living room. She was hilarious. She would sit in every position imaginable in the chair. At one point she had her head under the arm of the chair and was hanging upside down. She kept running back and forth from one side of the barn to the other because Grandpa had told her to make sure the goats didn't go on the other side. Uncle Bob decided she might like a candy bar so he grabbed one out of the candy dish on the coffee table (Grandpa has always kept a stash of snickers bars one hand) and took it out to her. You should have seen her when he took it to her. I think she had it in her mouth before he had turned around.
We were only able to stay about an hour and a half at Grandpa and Norma's. I wish we could have stayed longer but I am thankful for the time we had!
On the trip home we stopped and got an audio book from Cracker Barrel and listened to it all the way home. It made the trip go faster! We didn't get home until 11:30.
Tonight we went to Peru for a birthday party. One of the ladies in our church is turning 25 tomorrow. We had a nice time with everyone. I had met quite a bit of her family but there were many people I hadn't met. There were lots of kids! She has three kids and she has 3 siblings that are about the ages of her kids and then there were nieces and nephews. Wow! It was kind of funny to watch them when they would go from one room to an other. It was like a train!
I guess that is the end of my VERY long story. Congratulations if you made it all the way through! :)

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Heather's Chariot

A few weeks ago I decided to take Heather down to our neighbors to see the horses. I decided to would be fun to put a sheet in the wheelbarrow and give her a ride. I put her in when the wheelbarrow was up by the house so she had to ride down the hill. At first, she didn't quite no what to think. She didn't think this was quite right. When we got to the bottom of the hill, however, she decided it was great fun. She sat up straight as an arrow and acted like she was a queen. It was SO funny to watch her. If I would stop for a minute she would say "Go, peas, go!" It was hilarious!

Friday, April 18, 2008

Earthquake!

This morning at about 5:37 I started to dream that my younger sisters were running back and forth across their room and shaking everything. (their bedroom is above mine) Then I woke up and everything really was shaking! The whole house! Talk about a strange feeling. I had never felt an earthquake before. It didn't last long maybe 30 seconds. After it was over I started thinking "Maybe I didn't really wake up and the whole thing was a dream. Earthquakes don't usually happen in Indiana." This morning I read that a 5.2 quake hit near West Salem, Illinois. It shook a large portion of the Midwest. Since it did no damage I can say... It was kind of fun!

Thursday, April 17, 2008

"For By Grace..."

My friend, Courtney, has just started a blog and she gave her testimony in her first post. I decided it was a good idea. I have never tried to write mine before, so I decided now would be a good time to try.
When I was about six years old my dad told me he wanted to talk to me one evening. He sat me on his lap and started telling me the plan of salvation. Being a pastors daughter, it wasn't anything I hadn't heard before. For some reason, and to this day I don't know why, I was so stiff and didn't want to listen. I didn't really understand I don't think. I did "pray the prayer" just to get the conversation over.
For several years after that I struggled with knowing what I needed to do but I was too proud. When I was eleven I talked to Dad again. I can't really explain what was going on at this point. I said a prayer again (for about the millionth time at this point). I kept struggling after this with thoughts like "Did I really mean it?" and "Did I say the right thing?" I still had no peace.
In April of 2002 I had gone to a revival meeting one evening and when I came home I was lying in bed with the same feelings going over in my head. "Am I sincere enough?" And then... God started to move. I started realizing something that I had known for a long time but had not really realized. I don't have to do anything 'right'. Salvation is by grace through faith and not my prayer with just the right words. God just brought me to a point where I trusted Him. I finally believed Him when He said "Whosoever."

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Home Sweet Home

I didn't take this picture (I don't even know which of my sisters did) but I thought it was cool. Since the pictures that I have been wanting to post haven't been put on the computer yet, I will have to settle for this one. Our house looks a little different now with out the snow. :)

Heather and Ava

Heather wasn't quite sure what to think about Ava when she was first born. Now she thinks she is pretty cute. :)


Sunday, April 13, 2008

A Funeral To Remember

I wanted to write about Grandpa's funeral yesterday but I don't even know where to begin. It was a very unusual service. I had never been to anything like it in my life. Dad decided that the best tribute we could give Grandpa would be to play his music -  so that is what we did. My cousins joined us to play. The songs weren't well practice and some of us didn't know all the words but I think we accomplished our goal.
In between each of the songs my Uncle Mike asked for a memory or testimony from anyone. Many friends gave wonderful testimonies and memories. Both of my aunts and a few of my cousins and siblings told stories.
When that part of the service was over my Uncle Mike preached a short message. It was very good and he was able to make all the family laugh with a few inside jokes. :)
We were all amazed at how many people were there! There was literally standing room only. The hallway was lined with chairs and there were still people standing in the back. How blessed we are to have such friends.
I was most amazed when I was standing in the hallway talking to someone and looked up and there was my dear friend, Bethany, and her dad! My jaw dropped and I think you could have blown me over! What a wonderful surprise! I couldn't believe that they would drive a total of ten hours to be there for the service!!
After the service we went to our church building and had lunch. It was wonderful to get to spend some more time with our friends. It was an exhausting day but I will never forget it! 

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Eschol Cosby 1910-2008

This morning, at about 7:30, my grandpa, Eschol Cosby, met his Savior face to face. He has been longing for this day for a long time.
I thought I would just post a few pictures of him through out his life. I will post more later.

Grandpa and Grandma
The Young Family



The first grandchild


Wasn't he cute?

The army


Grandpa and his brother Cecil

Saturday, April 5, 2008

Blog Title

I have decided to make a little explanation for my very strange blog address. I decided to start a blog as a kind of journal for myself. I just wanted to record things so I wouldn't forget. I started my blog late one night and this is what popped into my head. Today will soon be passed; never to be lived again. So, in case anyone was wondering, that is where the name came from.

Friday, April 4, 2008

The Need's Visit

Our dear friends, Ovid and Bettie Need, came to visit this week. Bro. Need had to come up this way to preach a funeral so they came by for a visit. They arrived Wednesday evening and left this (Friday) morning. We had a wonderful time!
Thursday morning Bettie, Amanda, Stephanie and I went to our neighbors to look at her quilts and then went to visit a friend of the Needs. This friend only lives about 10 minutes away from here. She is 96. She showed us some of the sewing and quilting projects she is working on. It was quite amazing to see someone her age doing that. Her stitches weren't all that great but just the fact that she is still doing it is amazing! I would have enjoyed the visit so much more if this lady's care taker hadn't been a chain smoker! I could hardly breath. Stephanie had to go back out to the car because she has such bad allergies.
Mom and Mrs. Need both had colds while they were here. :( that kind of put a damper on the visit. We still enjoyed the time so very much though! We always look forward to their visits!

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Changes

Our friend, neighbor, and Grandpa's nurse, Jennifer, came over this morning to check on Grandpa and discuss the plan of action with my Dad. She needed to know exactly what kind of care we were expecting and wanting. It is a really fine line to walk. Where do comfort measures end and "prolonging life" start? It is an extremely difficult problem. We want to do everything we can to make him comfortable with out making him linger in a state that he doesn't want to be in. (At this point he is so weak he can not even stand with assistance, he has to be fed, he has a catheter, and when he tries to talk it is barely audible.)
Deanna, Grandpa's bath aid, was also here this morning when all the discussion were going on. When it came time to bathe him Jennifer came out a few minutes into it and told Dad that she thought it was time for Hospice. It was a difficult decision for her because it means that he will no longer be her patient. We all hated to loose her and Deanna but decided that it was the best choice. He will be provided with so much more care this way and be much more comfortable. We have loved having Jennifer and Deanna, but I guess it is time for a change. Life is always changing, isn't it?

Romans 14:8

For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.

I have been reading through Romans the last few days. Yesterday this verse seemed to really jump out at me because of everything that has been going on with Grandpa. There have been some really big changes today. I will try to update later.