The sky looked very hopeful this morning – no blue was visible but the clouds didn’t seem nearly as threatening as yesterday. I took my chances and set the living room carpet out to dry. Kaleb is complaining about the smell of it in the house, since I used some kind of pine cleaner to scrub it and while it’s still wet, it is pretty strong. So I kept a careful eye on the sky today, hoping no rain would fall while that rug was outside. I got lucky. It didn’t start raining until after nine tonight, but the carpet still has a bit more drying to do before I can set it on the floor again. It’s currently leaning against the outside of our front door, safe from the threat of rain, but outdoors so the smell doesn’t cause Kaleb to throw fits. I can’t believe how much time I’ve taken just trying to clean one carpet. It shouldn’t be this hard, but getting it professionally cleaned costs more than buying a new one. Sad, but true.
After I posted my blog at the library this morning and did my obligatory trip to the grocery store, Kory and I actually went for a long walk today. We hit a few new streets on our way down to visit Tante Ruth. I’ve been pestering Kory all week to spend a little more time with her, so making her the destination for our walk was just the ticket. As usual, she was thrilled to have us come by, but it really wasn’t a long enough visit. She’s still up in her chair, trying to listen to TV and completely oblivious to the world around her. I’m so thankful for all the simple things I have, after I’ve been to see her.
I put some old bread out on the deck today to feed the little sparrows that have a nest up in the eaves of our roof. The seagulls, crows and jays came and got most of it, but it was still nice to have birds right outside my window.
Before Kaleb got home from school I worked on a few more articles for the LaConner paper. It’s so hard to find time to just sit and write. I was hoping for lots of time to do that when we are here, but our social life got in the way.
We invited Cousin Odd’s ex-wife, Inger and her brother, Knut and his wife Turid over for Enchilada soup tonight. I got smart and made something simple. It only took two hours to make everything instead of four or five. I’d taken a bottle of Trader Joe’s Enchilada Sauce with me since that’s Kaleb’s favorite soup, and today was the day to use it up. I tried a new cornbread recipe, one that doesn’t require creamed corn, and it was a good choice! It has a cup of crispy cooked bacon bits in it, so I really liked that addition. Yum. And I made a salad, but as I suspected, no one touched it. I think Norwegians think there is something scary about a fresh green salad. At least they ate two bowls of the soup.
We had a wonderful visit after dinner with them, as we shared different things God has done in our lives. They are strong Christians but are struggling. Knut and Turid’s daughter gave birth to a son and when he was two years old they found out he had a genetic deficiency and wouldn’t live to adulthood. It was the same week they found out they were pregnant with another child, who was also later diagnosed with the same problem. One of the boys lived to be seven years old and the other, only five. They struggle with understanding God’s plan in all that. I was able to tell them some of the good that came out of my dad being murdered, and I reminded them that unless a seed dies, it cannot bring forth new life, so even though we don’t know now why those children died, God does, and it’s all part of His plan that we have to accept.
It was an emotional evening, and all of us were teary more than once. Inger and Knut’s mother just died last week. She was 93 years old and had a good life and even told them both the day she was going to die, that “Today, I’m going to meet Jesus,” and sure enough, she did.
Inger found out recently that her first grandchild that is soon to be born to her oldest daughter, Camilla, will probably die at birth, if not before. There is very little water surrounding the baby and they’ve detected heart defects and chromosome problems, so they are trying to prepare Camilla for a still birth, but they are all holding onto their faith and trusting God for a miracle. We don’t know all God has planned, that’s for sure, but we do know that He has our back and He loves us more than we know. He promises to always works things together for good, so that’s what we can focus on. But it’s a tough time for that family, right now, for sure.
Kaleb brought Andre home for dinner and to spend the night. After dinner they walked across the street to a youth meeting at Philadelphia Church. Their friend Daniel was there too so he came home with them and now they are all asleep in Kaleb’s room. That double-wide bunk bed was a smart purchase. I love having the kids hang out here. We played Aggravation tonight and Kaleb proved to be most aggravating. He was proud of that.
Tina, Daniel’s mom, called to tell me that she told Daniel when he’s at our house, I’m the boss and if I tell them to stop playing electronics, he must do it immediately. Daniel told her, “Yes, I know. And I know what happens if I DON’T stop!” He was referring to the fact I take away electronics from Kaleb for days on end if he doesn’t obey. Apparently, no Norwegian parent would be so cruel. So I’m sure Kaleb’s friends think I’m a monster.
Kids in Norway get little or no consequences for their bad choices. I just wonder how that will play out in twenty years time. For some reason it makes me think about the stop signs in Turkey. They all look like American stop signs but their word for STOP is DUR. When I was a kid and somebody said something obvious, we’d say “Duh” or “Dur,” meaning “no kidding.” So when I say STOP, I mean, STOP. DUR.
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