The escapades of Goldilocks

Once upon a time there was a little girl named Goldilocks. One day she wandered into the woods and came upon a house owned by a family of bears. The bears were out for a walk and Goldilocks, upon finding the house empty, decided to enter uninvited...

Andrew, Jesse, Mariana, Isaac

2002

... and then Baby Bear cried, "And there she is, sleeping in my bed!" With that, Goldilocks woke up, rubbed her eyes, and invited that bear family to Trick-or-Treat with her.

Ten years later, Goldilocks was back in the forest, and she came upon another home owned by a family of bears. Once again she entered the house...

Eden, HopeAnne, "Aundrea"

2012

This time Goldilocks was a bit older and a bit more embarrassed so she didn't invite those bears to go Trick-or-Treating with her. But to show their forgiving spirits (and to get some candy in exchange for the porridge she ate), those bears went to Goldilock's house for Halloween.

A few years later, one of those bears, presumably from the trauma of Goldilock's break-ins, turned rogue, became a gambling card-player who terrorizes the cheating mouse, Mike, in the movie Sing. On Trick-or-Treat night, he found an M&M that reminded him of one of his family members, and visited the home of Goldilocks who did finally grow out of all that breaking-in and is living a good life in New York City.

The End.

Offense

"Of one thing I am sure. Complaining is self-perpetuating and counterproductive. 

Whenever I express my complaints in the hope of evoking pity and 

receiving the satisfaction I so much desire, the result is always the opposite of what I tried to get. 

A complainer is hard to live with, and very few people know how to respond to the complaints 

made by a self-rejecting person. The tragedy is that, often, the complaint, once expressed, 

leads to that which is most feared: further rejection.... Joy and resentment cannot coexist." 

Henri Nouwen, ‪The Return of the Prodigal

A few years ago, the kids and I were studying the life of Joseph. I remember asking the children to think about why Joseph received favor wherever he went - with Potiphar, with the guards in prison, with fellow prisoners, and with Pharaoh. We talked about Joseph's character in spite of suffering and hardship. Clearly, we determined, he could not have allowed life's circumstances to make him bitter and angry. If so, he would not have been the kind of person that others held in such high esteem despite his position as a slave and prisoner. And, I'll admit, at the time, I meant the conversation to be a (hopefully) learning experience for a child or two, a lesson about good attitudes and respectful interactions.

This morning, the lesson was for me. I was reading about Joseph in Genesis and something in chapter 45 jumped out at me: Joseph gave his brothers brand-new clothes, money, food, everything they would need for their trip home, and more. Not only did this man of integrity find favor with everyone he worked under, he was able to lavish gifts on the same men who had been the cause of his suffering all those years.

And the only comment recorded that references their actions toward him years before? "Take it easy on the journey; try to get along with each other." (MSG) Get along with each other? Not, "Make sure you don't kill each other along the way?" or "Hey, don't lie to Dad this time. I'm alive. I wasn't eaten by a wild animal?" or even, "Good luck explaining this one to the man you've been lying to all these years. Hope you can get yourself out of this mess!"

There is no place I have had to work harder on forgiveness than with the most difficult children in my home. And there is no place I have had to work harder at taming my tongue than with these same children. My human nature bends toward offense, bitterness, anger, and revenge. My hardened heart says, "You hurt me and you can't get away with that. I'm going to remind you of this until you repent and change!"

But Jesus steps in and says, "I was hurt, too. In fact, every time a child rejects you, that child is rejecting me more than you. You know who you are, Cindy, and whose you are. Face this child with my love and you'll lead your child to see me as a good, good Father, too."

Joseph is a fruitful bough a fruitful bough by a well (spring or fountain), 

whose branches run over the wall. Skilled archers have bitterly attacked and sorely worried him; 

they have shot at him and persecuted him. But his bow remained strong and steady and rested in the Strength that does not fail him, for the arms of his hands were made strong and active by the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob, by the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel. 

Genesis 49:24 (AMP)

The end...or the beginning

All good things must come to an end and so did Andrew and Sarah's special day.

Grandma Mary Ann and her namesake,

Mariana

Eden being so patient with Victor

who long ago threw off the suspenders, bow tie, 

shoes and socks

Canjoe* and Isaac

But no one leaves before cake...

Thanks to the groomsmen and bridesmaids, the couple left in style.

Why, oh why, did we introduce the groom to this movie oh so long ago?

May your marriage be your greatest testimony to a world looking on...

The end...or maybe just the beginning...

First place gift

Grandma Mary Ann gave Andrew and Sarah a quilt from her collection.

This special quilt was made by Grandma's Aunt Louella, her mother's sister.

Grandma was very close to Aunt Louella growing up since Grandma's mother passed away when Grandma was only two years old.

Aunt Louella made the quilt in the depression era and entered it in the State Fair.

It won first place!

Another treasured gift with a story.

Grandma recently remarked, "Isn't that beautiful? Aunt Louella had no children to hand it down to."

A special wedding guest

You may have noticed that hedgehogs, once the subject of one of Andrew's documentaries, made their appearance at the wedding.

Even more special was the appearance of a wedding guest who also happened to be the subject of one of those documentaries - Canjoe* John.

What an honor it was to have Canjoe* make the trek from Tennessee to Georgia for the wedding. Andrew had been preparing for his appearance for quite some time. He found a birdhouse pattern that looked amazingly like Canjoe* and asked PopPop if he's construct it. PopPop readily agreed. Watching Canjoe* open this gift was a highlight of the reception.

Canjoe* took the birdhouse home painted on some more details, and named it the CanPa* John birdhouse. He has plans to mount it on a 4X4 post, put it out on his hillside for any birds who want to move it, and make it into a seasonal scarecrow for display.

But Canjoe* had his own surprise in the works. He wanted to give Andrew and Sarah something special, unique, and related to his wife, Sissy, who died way too young. Canjoe* said that after long thought and prayer, he remember the fine sterling silver bowl that the two received on their wedding day. It had been a gift from one of the ENT doctors with whom Canjoe* worked. Their wedding was held on September 1, 1979 in the chapel of the US Naval hospital at Camp Lejeune. Those in attendance were mostly the enlisted and officers, with their spouses, of the EENT (Eye, Ear, Nose, and Throat) clinic where Canjoe* worked. CDR Jeff Powell, MC, USN was a doctor in the clinic and he gave the beautiful silver bowl to Canjoe* and Sissy. To them, it was the finest gift they received and treasured by both of them. They brought it out for use on special occasions only. Canjoe* decided that Andrew and Sarah would be the only ones to fully appreciate having it and it represented a shiny reflection of many fond memories Canjoe* and Sissy shared. He thought it needed to carry on in the hands of their lives together, and to be used to reflect their love as well.

What a thoughtful, precious gift that will be treasured for always.

We tell no one

There's an elephant in the room. About a certain little video that's floating around on Facebook. I've avoided the topic long enough. However, we have come to the part of the program where we must talk about the dance.

There was no dancing at my wedding. Even if the church would have allowed it, this bride had not even attended a dance until college and those were awkward enough. Neither the bride nor her father would have known what to do and it, too would have been awkward. Since I married outside my denomination (until they merged a few years later), and since the Good Doctor was one of "those" Mennonites who attended proms and homecomings and knew what to do at a dance, he would have felt right at home in his dancing shoes. My body parts, as Rosita says in Victor's favorite movie, Sing, just aren't responding.

So, little known fact. I have an identical twin sister. And I employed her services for the mother/son dance.

True story.

She and Andrew planned the whole thing.

It was...interesting...to say the least. But who am I to criticize? I washed my hands of the whole deal.

It was...entertaining. We'll give them that.

Or maybe it went something like this...

Sarah: You guys need to pick a song for the mother/son dance.

1 month later.

Sarah: Okay, you guys really need to pick a song for the mother/son dance.

Andrew: Okay, mom, can you find something?

Me...Google search, youtube search, everything's sappy or romantic, been done, boring..

Me: I got nothin'. Can you find something?

Andrew: Nothin'.

Me: Okay, Andrew, here's the deal. Neither one of us is sappy or romantic. This needs to be creative and unique. You in?

Andrew...full agreement with one exception: No mash-ups. Got it.

We throw a few song ideas back and forth. Finally, Andrew types, Don't You Forget About Me. Bingo! He insists it needs a little Breakfast Club throwback at the end. I comply. Whatever. But then...

Me: Ummmm, who is going to help us choreograph this thing?

Andrew: Ana?

Me: Perfect. I'll ask her.

She was all in. She didn't yet know exactly who she was working with. Nor did she yet know that we had chosen a song which cannot be danced. She thinks everyone can move as directed and that we have chosen a song for its dance-ability, not its craziness. But when she and I visited Andrew in Kentucky, we spent a whole evening in his dance studio (ie. furniture-less living room), figuring the whole thing out. And since it's not really the greatest quality, we are supposed to tell you that she had nothing to do with it. Nothing at all.

And then, the best part...

Andrew: Who should we tell?

Me: No one. Especially not Dad... Well, do you think you should tell Sarah? Will she be okay with a surprise?

Andrew: She'll be fine. We tell no one.

Me: Fine. Then as far as anyone is concerned, we're doing a traditional mother/son dance to Beautiful Boy by John Lennon.

Andrew: I'll tell Sarah that we've chosen our song.

So, Sarah, if this wasn't okay with you...it was all my identical twin. You can take it up with her.

And to the Good Doctor, every time I practiced by myself in the kitchen, I thought of what your face would look like when the song started, and I'd laugh and laugh. I only wish those cameras were on you, and not me.

I mean...my identical twin sister.