A Strong Heart

Frances Agnes Elizabeth Peters : 1927-2008


She was born in a small coal mining town near Pittsburgh. She was born one month late, and with a tooth already in her mouth. When she was seven, her father left the family for another woman, something unheard of in 1934. That was when she came down with severe asthma, which doctors didn't know much about back then. She spent the next several years in hospitals inside oxygen tents, or at home in bed, at times barely catching her breath, unable to lay flat and still inhale. She had to drop out of elementary school, and was never to return. She had to lie about her age to get a work permit at age 16, and never stopped working after that. From about the age of 45 till she retired at 65, she worked two full time jobs, 16 hours a day, with never a day off. She received many awards, all with no education. At about age 60, she was mugged on a city street. She would not let go of her purse, and was dragged screaming. She was a fighter. She was tough as nails and soft as butter. At age 65, she retired and moved here to Virginia to be with us, but kept on working part time. She adored work, and it gave her her identity. She got bladder cancer and had two major surgeries. Went back to work. Then got lung cancer and had part of a lung removed. Finally the cancer spread. The tumors blocked her stomach so nothing would stay down. The hospital fed her thru I.V., but then withdrew it. We said our good-byes and they put her in a deep sleep, and removed all fluids. She would starve to death. Usually in that state, a person lasts maybe a week. She lasted almost two weeks. She was a fighter. I watched as her nightgown went up and down from the beat of her strong heart. I watched. It was un unspeakable time, so why do I speak of it now and sadden your day? Because it is Mother's Day and I must. I want others to know her. Will this help lessen my pain? Probably not. But now her story is here, and it seems right. For some reason, Blogger won't put my pictures in the right order, but you can figure it out..


"...do not forsake your mother's teaching. Bind them upon your heart forever; fasten them around your neck. When you walk, they will guide you; when you sleep, they will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you." Proverbs 6:20,22

Busy As A Bee

Not much text today, it's been a long day and I'm off to bed. Enjoy these pictures I took last year of bees on pretty pink flowers.

A Good Thing

Aren't these blue flowers beautiful? I would never have guessed what they are, though. They are thistles! That's right, this is called a globe thistle, and I came across it in someone's front yard flower bed. The thistle is the national emblem of Scotland, and an ancient Celtic symbol of nobility and character. Of course thistles are invasive and most farmers and gardners hate them. But in fact many parts of the thistle are used for wilderness survival. Milk thistle protects your liver from damage and actually will renew the liver cells, and also prevents plaque buildup in the arteries. And so many of them are actually pretty to look at. So to me, thistles are a good thing.

Then God said "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds. And it was so. The land produced vegetation...and God saw that it was good."

The Bluebirds

They say that the bluebird of happiness is very hard to find. That may be because they are all living in my house! This is my collection of bleubirds, and I recently got a new one. Isn't this little crocheted bluebird cute? He is holding an umbrella and singing in the rain! My blog friend Doris over at Crocheting In Georgia, made him. She even wove tinsel into the umbrella that looks like rain! She crochets beautiful and whimsical things, and has an Etsy shop. Happiness is hard to find because it is dependant on circumstances, coming and going. But joy is an inner contentment no matter what, a constant thing. It comes from God and not things. I know people who have this joy and nothing shakes them, they worry about nothing. Not only does it give that bluebird a run for it's money, it beats him.

"But may the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful."

Psalm 68:3

Spring Celebration

Last night, our granddaughter Anne Marie had her Spring performance at her church and pre-school. The grandparents from both sides of the family were there to watch and cheer her on. All the kids sang several songs on stage, then we went to look at all the artwork they had made during the year. I'm showing my favorites here, her kite, leaf man, and spoon people. Then we all went out for ice-cream. It was a fine balmy evening, and we lingered past dark. The threesome is Phil, me, and Anne. Next is is a picture of our whole group that I asked someone to take. Just before we left, Anne put her bow in Phil's hair, silly grandpa!!

"Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. One generation will commend your works to another...They will celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness." Psalm 145

Tiptoeing

The other day, I happened upon these tulips in front of an office building. So I tiptoed through them, which is not so easy to do when you're wearing Crocs. Just maybe winter is over.

"See! The winter is passed; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come..."Song Of Songs 2:11,12

Songs In The Night

Last night Phil and I went with a friend to see the play "A Little Night Music". Here is all I knew about it: It is a very famous play by Stephen Sondheim that has been on Broadway, and the song "Send In The Clowns" comes from it. So I was excited!! I didn't know the plot, however, and I must say it was full of people running around doing things they should not do, accompanied by bad language. Some of my pictures were even unfit to be posted, and I got rid of them. We will now check out plays more closely before we go to them. On the positive side, the set, actors, and songs were all beautiful. Sitting in the theatre on such a balmy spring evening makes me think of another kind of singing, do you know that God sings to us? He cheers us on, too. We may not feel it at times, but he wants our decisions to be completely ours, as a father teaches his children how to make the right decisions in life.

"The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." Zeph. 3:17