January 16 – “It was a cold and blustery day …”

It was a cold and blustery day …

Sounds like something Snoopy would write, doesn’t it?  Except this time it is no beginning sentence for a novel.  This time it’s a fact.  And I’m not talking about the conditions in Buffalo for the NFL playoff game.  I’m talking about our little tropical island paradise.  It was cold.  And the wind was blowing like crazy, making it feel so much colder. 

 

Noa and Ezra came over to spend the night with us.  Their three older brothers were at a youth retreat with a partner church of ours up on the mainland.  We took the younger ones, and voila.  Kel and Christina have a night with just themselves, their dog, their pet rodents, and Josiah’s fish.  Hey, we wouldn’t want them to get lonely without the kids, now, would we? 

 

Ezra in particular was a great help with the jigsaw puzzle I have been working on.  In fact, with the help of the two youngsters, we finished it.  It is another unique one.  20 or 30 donuts with all kinds of icing and sprinkles.  Best part?  Very colorful.  Worst part?  There only two cuts.  That’s right.  Every piece was cut in one of two ways.  That meant they all “fit” into one another really well.  Just not the right one.  Fortunately, it came with a sort of cheat on the back.  A pattern was printed on the back.  Match up the pattern, then turn it over.  It was confusing, maddening at times.  But we got it done.

 

Last night we went over to Nathan and April’s for supper.  The occasion?  To celebrate Cailyn’s birthday.  Thirteenth birthday, no less.  That’s a big one, to be sure.  She’s a teenager … officially.  And Nathan said she woke up a totally different girl.  Very … teenager-ish.  Have fun, my young padawan.  Only don’t ask me for help.  I never did girls …

 

Psalms 139:13-14 says, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

 

Father, thank you for Cailyn and the thirteen years we have had her around.  She broke the Vaughan mold of having just boys.  Now she’s setting the bar for her two girl cousins.  Keep her close to you.  Amen.