We had a celebration of life this week that brought so many tears!!! I can't stop thinking about it. A friend of ours, Carol Glick, was buried after fighting cancer for two years. She left behind a husband, Dale, that stood beside her throughout the entire, hard journey of cancer. Dale would often give us updates at church and then we would again and again pray for strength, for healing, for patience and for peace over Carol and her family. She was also a mother of three dear boys that seen her fight till the very end. I know that Trevor, Daniel and Denver already miss her and would still love to have their mother here on earth. I'm sure they would still love to have their mom make breakfast for them each morning and pack their lunches. There are so many things that I could list that they would still love to have here on earth with their mom. But we have to have an eternal perspective on this one. Carol was only 41 years old. Way to young to die. Way to young to now leave behind her husband and boys. It seems to be not fair. But, truth is, life isn't always fair. And it seems easy to write these words, "Life isn't fair," until it hits a little closer to home. When I think that life isn't fair, I'm forced to look at my blessings. To see what I do and still have and not focus on what's been taken away. Now, I'm not the one that just buried a family member, I know it's gotta be the hardest thing in life. But I do know that when Mike and I left the funeral service on Tuesday, we were blessed. Both of us said that that was the most inspiring funeral service we ever attended. Why? The presence of God was there. So real. I literally was wiping tears the entire service. I cried as we sang songs and worshiped the Lord. The One who really does give and take away. The tears came rolling down my checks when Dale came out of his seat and bowed on bended knee to worship Jesus during the songs. He was lifting up his hands in praise almost the whole worship time. As I type, right now, the tears are coming again. I don't know how someone can do this? To be hurting so bad and yet praising Jesus midst the storm! I finally had Mike go get me more tissues as stories and poems were shared about Carol. She truly was the life of the party and touched so many peoples lives. I remember once she shared a tic tac with Ashlyn in church. She said that she often carried tic tacs because the kemo treatments gave her a horrible taste in her mouth. Ashlyn liked Carol. When I told her that she died and that we were going to her viewing, she asked questions. "Did you really see Carol? Did you see her legs? Were her eyes open?" It's hard to explain death to a five year old. I tried to explain that because Carol loved Jesus, she is now in heaven with Him. Again, the tears just came a rolling down as Dale and all three boys read letters to their mom. Wow! What boldness and courage to do something like this! I made a quick stop at the restrooms for just a few more tissues before we walked out to the grave yard. More songs of heaven were sung. Men and ladies took turns putting dirt over the grave. White doves were released and watched fly away ... back to their homes. The message was clear all morning long ... Carol loved Jesus and she is now in glory land praising and worshiping Him! For eternity!!! Join us in continuing to pray for the Glick family as they now find their new normal in life.
One of Carols favorite songs was "The River". This has been a long time favorite of mine as well and I listened to it numorous times this week!!!
================================
Garden lettuce always gets ready all once. :) Yummy buttercruch lettuce!
Also, the herbs are being snipped and brought inside. I made a herb butter the other night that we brushed on corn on cob (Costco buy) and it was so yummy. I've used this butter with eggs, grilled sandwiches and spreads. Fresh basil, salt and pepper and butter. Mix it all together and eat with bread! So good! Or try this one, butter, herbs, lemon juice, salt and pepper!!!
With strawberry season peaking right now, we made some jelly!!! And baked many shortcakes! We love this fruit and I can't wait to make some strawberry bruschetta!
We had to start a new patch of strawberries here at home this year. I hope next summer we will have lots of our own to pick!
================================
I didn't take much time to write about Matthew's ball tournament the other weekend. So here goes.
Matthew moved up a level this year. A more advanced level. He is loving his new team players. They call themselves the Tigers. Most of the boys he played with on the Rookies. They have been playing great ball all season and only lost two games in the season so far!
At this tournament, it was a chilly day. Austin is a mess at the games if he can't go down and crawl and because of the rains we had in May, it makes for a muddy mess at ball games. We did go watch Matthew play some games though and he had a great tournament. One in the park homerun! More great hits. Great plays playing first base!!! He loves this sport!!!
Of course ... #44 just like his dad!!!
Going for a big swing!!!
First base ...
Their team got first place on this level!!! What fun and great ball!!! Way to go Tigers!
Crazy!
They were all treated to Rita's after the game!
So proud! Mike helps to couch the team. Matthew loves that his dad is involved in every game!
And Austin loves his dad and demands all the time he has for him!!! It's adorable seeing them always together!
=================
Yesterday was cleaning day here at home. I had my first paid helper help me clean!!! I forgot to take a picture of us together but Bethany Smoker came for three hours to help us clean the house. I thought Hadassah's first market job was going to be on Thursdays, so I asked Bethany to come during the summer to help me clean. Hadassah's market day got switched to Fridays so we had extra help yesterday with getting the cleaning done!!! Hadassah cleaned all the bathrooms and Bethany dusted, swept and cleaned floors. I did the kitchen and some windows. The system worked well!!! Thanks girls for helping me out!!!
============================
We hope to get to the pools soon! The sun is shining but with 70 degree tempts!!! Bring on summer days!!!
