Gracie wearing Mommy's slippers Earlier in the week, we were busy with all the usual morning activity and noticed that Gracie was quiet--usually an indication that she's up to something. We went to see what she was doing and found her in our room with my slippers on, trying to walk in them! We had to take a picture.
It's been a busy week for us. On Monday, we met up with Rich, one of the deacons in the church. He's managing the finances/possessions of a long-time family friend who has just needed to go into a nursing home, and he needed to clean out her old apartment. She can't take the things with her, and she doesn't have any family left, so he invited us over to see if we wanted anything. She has very unusual, although expensive taste--art deco black lacquer dressers, Asian masks, and a round bed (I thought about the round bed for guests, but where do you find round sheets and blankets??) As we stood there, I felt so sad. Here this woman has so much money, yet from what Rich says, her mind is going, and she finds her comfort in alcohol. All I could think of is the verse in Matthew, "What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his own soul?" None of her wealth or possessions matter now. How much more infinitely valuable is Christ! We continue to pray that Rich will have opportunities to tell her about Christ in her lucid moments.
Speaking of what's really important, we had a scare this week with my dad. By God's grace, he is still with us, but he very nearly died on Thursday. He had a diabetic attack and had to be taken to the hospital. It was brought on in part by an illness that he's had and by an imbalance in his medication. Praise the Lord, he was with my grandparents when it happened (they live with my mom and dad in an in-law apartment). My mom and I were out shopping, and if he had been alone, it would have been too late by the time we got home. He's still having some tests done to get to the bottom of all of this; we would appreciate your prayers for him. God is so gracious. My mom and dad were supposed to leave for a cruise the next day, which unfortunately, they had to cancel. However, we thank God that this happened here and not while they were away.
After that, any other news seems pretty tame. We took Gracie (and Rocky, too, of course) to a birthday party yesterday for one of the little boys in the church. It's only our second kid party, and it was at one of those indoor playground areas. She seemed to enjoy it. Lou took her down the big indoor slide and climbed through some sort of maze with her. Her favorite, though, was the toddler room which had the big duplo legos. She spent quite a while gathering up the legos and putting them in a bucket. She loves to put things in containers and then carry them around. Maybe she has my appreciation for organization! Rocky was content to hang out in his car seat and take in all the action. He's such a sweet, happy baby. He has the cutest little soundless laugh. He contorts his face like he's laughing, but no noise comes out; it's a riot. Of all of us, I think Lou had the most fun at the party. There was a little arcade section, and he and some of the other dads were having fun challenging each other to some of the games. They'll get to have a rematch in a few weeks. Gracie's been invited to another birthday party. I think she has a busier social calendar than we do!
