Greg and I really enjoyed getting to spend time with one of my youth group buddies this weekend! Amanda now lives in Pittsfield, MA only 5 hours away from us! She was nice enough to make the drive down in the rain to spend a wonderful weekend taking in some of Lancaster County and breaking in the guest room in our home. We had a homecooked meal of Dijon Rosemary Chicken and broccoli on Friday night and went to one of our favorite local Italian restaurants- Fiorentino's on Saturday night. The highlight touristy item was once again Central Market. You just can't get enough of this place. It was fun to rediscover some of the hidden stands that I so easily over look on my routine grocery runs there each week.
One of Amanda's greatest gifts is her overflowing generosity and her love for others. She came stocked with baby gifts and house-warming gifts and even a little chocolate for Greg to have all to himself. There was a precious stuffed panda (Amanda's all time favorite collection), a really cool stuffed buffalo that could also turn into a pillow and a blanket, baby books, baby magazines for me, our first onesie outfit with duck feet, and a door jamb protector in the shape of a panda. Wow!
She also gave me a copy of her dad's book, "Physician, Heal Thyself" that I can't wait to read. Her dad was an incredible neurosurgeon who practiced in Houston at MD Anderson. He was faced with a diagnosis of glioblastoma (an aggressive form of brain cancer) and was able to live a few years past that. He bravely faced many experimental trials in order to pave the way for others to hopefully have more successful treatments down the road. He called himself a "human lab rat". He went home to be with the Lord in February of 2008, a victorious child of God who gave so much of himself here.
We also had some loss and some sickness on both sides of our family this past weekend. My great Aunt Sammy passed away last Thursday at 94 years old. She was the oldest of 13 children (I think). My mom, aunt, and granmama went to the funeral in Tennessee on Saturday and Mom said that the funeral was such a sweet time of remembering and honoring Aunt Sammy. She was a very humble and giving person who lived simply her whole life. She was famous for her amazing sweet tea and for always having food on the stove for visitors who would come by. I remember her sweet tea. I also remember going to her house a few times when I was a child, and Uncle Virgil and she had the largest tree in the entire county standing in their front yard- something they were also famous for. They had geod rocks sitting at the base of the tree, and one time I got to pick one out that had the sparkling inside showing. I kept that rock in my bedside table for years, and I know that it is still in one of my memory boxes somewhere. Aunt Sammy is with her Savior now, but she will be missed by her large Tennessee family and especially by my granmama who was the second child in the family.
Greg's sister, Kristy, had a surprise surgery this past weekend to remove her gall bladder. We were really worried about her on Saturday when Greg's mom called to tell us that she was on a morphine drip and they were unsure when or if surgery would be performed. Thankfully, the surgery went great to remove it on Saturday and she was able to come home Sunday to rest. Providentially, this was her spring break in nursing school, so she will have time to recover and will not risk having to lose a semester of classes. It is so hard to hear when family members are hurt and you are too far away to give them a hug!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment