Bless the Lord

This is our traditional reading before Thanksgiving dinner.

 

Psalm 103

Of David.

103:1 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits,
3 who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
5 who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

6 The Lord works righteousness
and justice for all who are oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses,
his acts to the people of Israel.
8 The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 He will not always chide,
nor will he keep his anger forever.
10 He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
13 As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
14 For he knows our frame;
he remembers that we are dust.

15 As for man, his days are like grass;
he flourishes like a flower of the field;
16 for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
and its place knows it no more.
17 But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him,
and his righteousness to children's children,
18 to those who keep his covenant
and remember to do his commandments.
19 The Lord has established his throne in the heavens,
and his kingdom rules over all.

20 Bless the Lord, O you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his word,
obeying the voice of his word!
21 Bless the Lord, all his hosts,
his ministers, who do his will!
22 Bless the Lord, all his works,
in all places of his dominion.
Bless the Lord, O my soul!

A very happy Thanksgiving to you all.

Day One: Varese

A little background...my dear husband turns forty next month, and I had been working behind the scenes to try to whisk him off to Italy for a brief trip.  I renewed my passport, and began planning for flights across the ocean without his knowledge.  Unfortunately the trip was torpedoed by his work and also a family vacation that we hoped to take to Florida (which ended up not happening, also).  I made peace with the fact that we might do it another time.

Then David was moved from his project of four years' time onto another focus at work.  This project led him to a business trip in Amsterdam.  He schemed to get a flight from there to Milan and we purchased a ticket for me to join up with him there.  It ended up being the very same weekend that I had originally planned for.

For those of you who don't know, we have dear friends who live in Italy nine months out of the year.  Jobey is a UNCC grad who plays professional ball in Italy, and Kristin and their girls are experienced travelers as they make the trek back and forth from the states a couple times a year.  They always spend their summers here in Charlotte.  They were really the purpose of our visit -- a tour of Italy can wait for when the kids are a bit older and they come with us :-)  We wanted to get to know their life in Italy, meet their friends, and watch a game.

I arrived in Italy on Friday morning. Since I landed in Milan, my flight took me right over the Alps. It was breathtaking! David was already there with Jobey and Kristin, come to fetch me at the airport.

That night Kristin took us on a walk around the center of their city, Varese.

Beautiful architecture everywhere



I loved the shop windows :-)



Clearly there is a food obsession going on here.



When we arrived in Varese we stopped for a coffee at Kristin's favorite place -- an outdoor cafe near a horse farm.  It was oh so pretty and quiet.

On Friday I also discovered that I get dizzy spells when I'm extremely tired.  The flight over the ocean was not very restful as my row-mate kept getting up to do stretches in the aisle.   That night we had enchiladas at the Thomas' house and went to bed.  I only woke up once, around 3:30 (which was 9:30 back home).

Odds and Ends

• I could not be more happy that today is the day that I really, nuts-and-bolts, heavy nitty-gritty details, PLAN THANKSGIVING DINNER.  Oh joy.  But it is getting warmer over the next few days which really spoils the mood for me.  Would setting up the table outside be too ambitious?  I'm afraid we'll all overheat in the house.

• I realize that many of you are waiting to hear about Italy; I assure you I took many pictures but there is a bit of a snag with the computers around here.  Technology hates us.

• The moment I hit the ground in North Carolina I began sneezing, and now I CAN'T HEAR YOU.  I AM ALSO HAVING DIFFICULTY CONTROLLING THE VOLUME OF MY VOICE.

• We recently changed quite a bit in the house...painted the downstairs (finally!), and switched the bedrooms around.  David and I have the master bedroom back -- at the children's request, not ours.  But I assure you I am loving having that closet back.  Wow, I feel like a wealthy woman.

Where Have You Been?

I know, I'm a complete loser for bailing on the dust ruffle/bedskirt issue.  But last week a business trip came up for David, one thing led to another, and the next thing I knew I was here...

(Florence, Italy)

Because You Come Here For All the Hard-Hitting Questions

Over the past few months, Laura and I have been working in fits and spurts to get her nursery set sewed. 

We recently began work on that thing that rests under the mattress and drapes downward to hide dust/mess/monsters under the bed.

Right now you're thinking, "Wow, Kelly, you usually have no shortage of words on this blog; why are you calling it 'that thing that rests under the mattress and drapes downward to hide dust/mess/monsters under the bed'?"

Well.  Because, my friends, Laura and I call it different things.  She calls it a "bed skirt" and I call it a "dust ruffle."  It has become a joke, actually.  One of us will say, "Hey, you want to work on the dust ruffle this week?".  And the other will say, "Yeah, let's get going on that bed skirt."

In order to resolve this question, I am posting a poll in the sidebar where you can all tell me what you call it.  I have my suspicions on who will win (her), and I'm just letting you all know that if and when that happens, I will promptly blame my backwards New England-y speech on my mother (hi, mom!).

Pumpkin Patch

The littlest ones after successfully braving the corn maze

Boys wrestling on a hay mound

Sometimes I hide in crowds and let my husband do all the parenting

Surprise

We usually see these folks in the springtime, but this morning brought a special treat.

For who is God, but the Lord?
And who is a rock, except our God?— 

the God who equipped me with strength
and made my way blameless.

He made my feet like the feet of a deer
and set me secure on the heights.

Psalm 18:31-33