Posted by
Steven in
Holidays,
Home on December 31st, 2005 at 06:33pm
It’s New Year’s Eve and the Lasagna is in the oven!
Today we had breakfast at L’Auberge in Del Mar. Lucy had the Farmer’s Market Omelet, Sudi had Almond-crusted French Toast and I had Blueberry Pancakes. It was muy deliciouso! We hung around the hotel for a while to take pictures. After breakfast we went to UTC for some shopping. It started raining while we were there – the first rainfall of Winter. After the mall we went across the street to do some browsing at Bookstar. It’s very relaxing to be in a book store while it is raining. Finally, we rented some movies for our party and are just about to indulge ourselves in Sudi’s Lasagna!
 Sudi (what a beauty!), me and her fancy hat |
 What about dessert!? |
 Dinner Breakfast Time! |
 Relaxing in the lobby |
 Lucy and me after breakfast |
 Nice boots, Lucy! |
Posted by
Steven in
Home on December 30th, 2005 at 06:11pm
Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve, so we’ll stay up late and have a little party! My baby is preparing her famous Veggie Lasagna. It’s got ground veggie beef inside along with four types of cheese. I can’t say anything else about it being that it is a top-secret family recipe.
Here is a very nice shot of Lucy and Sudi by the window…
 Lucy & Sudi by the window |
 Mmm… Veggiesagna |
Posted by
Sudi in
Family on December 6th, 2005 at 03:31pm
I met Russ and Marcia Hensler on January 16th, 1999. A couple other families had considered taking me in but they were the ones who decided to be my host home during my church internship. Almost immediately their house became my home. I lived with them for 8 months, surely one of the happiest times of my life. Shortly before I left their home to go live in my own apartment, Grandpa told me he and Grandma had grown to love me like their own grandchild, like the granddaughter they never had.
Gm took very good care of me, very much like a grandmother would. She made all kinds of “vegan” food for me even though Gm and Gp were “meat eaters”. She welcomed a few of my friends on several occasions and my mother, Lucy. Everyone that came to their home walked away with a blessing. They always went out of their way to accommodate me and make me feel at home. They were both very generous with their resources and their love. Many times after a long day at church, I would come home and find Gm on her recliner, Gm was a very good listener and we would talk for hours. Through many talks and stories we shared, we became good friends.
Gm and Gp had a beautiful house with a pool. All of us enjoyed many hot summer days there. Gm and Gp’s house was our meeting place back in those days, all our activities as a family revolved around their home. Those summer days were fun and happy. We swam for hours, ate outside, played games, laughed. I look back and think how their love hovered over us and how being there in their home was like sitting under a big oak tree, it was a safe place.
Gm was a very warm person, very loving and affectionate, she always gave the best hugs. She was always happy… I think her secret was that she had a grateful heart. Every time I talked to her in person or on the phone, she told me she was grateful for her family and that not a day went by when she didn’t thank the Lord for the great life God had given her. Her parents “Mother and Daddy”, as she would call them, were her sweetest memory, her children – her greatest pride and her four grandsons – her deepest joy. Grandpa was the love of her life and the way they loved each other and cared for each other was a beautiful thing to see.
Gm was an amazing story teller. She told the funniest and best stories about her “time” which was of course “better.” Steven and I loved listening to her tell us stories about life, people and family members, we heard all about their marriages, their children, their fortunes and misfortunes. Listening to her was amazing. Gm used funny words like “spicket” and funny expressions like “I’m such a lazy lout today (yawn).” She had a great sense of humor and the best laugh (I can still hear it). Grandma always spoke her mind and we loved her for it.
After Grandpa died on Dec 5th of 2002, Gm, Steven and I became even closer. My favorite memories are going up to her house for the weekend. We would make lunch, she loved Steven’s delicious pita pocket recipe. We’d go to church, watch movies or the news. Sometimes we looked at old pictures or sat and talked while we drank a cup of tea. On lazy Sunday afternoons we’d read the paper and take a nap. Sometimes we would buy a strawberry cheesecake and gobble it up and sometimes right before bed we would have our favorite snack, peanut butter and Ritz crackers. Gm made everything special! We loved coming over, her home always peaceful and warm. Many times when it was time to go, Gm would thank us for visiting her and maybe she assumed we were doing it for her, but the truth is that Steven and I needed her just as much as she needed us and that our times with her filled our memory banks with rich deposits.
I didn’t grow up with grandparents. I never met my mom’s mom or my dad’s parents. My mom’s dad passed away in ‘86 and even though it was hard to see him suffer and die, I never had a relationship with him. It didn’t take me long to realize, after living with Gm and Gp for a while, that these 4 grandsons, Dan, Steven, Mark and David had been given a very rare and special gift and that theirs was a great legacy left behind by two wonderful people. Today that legacy is mine also and I am very proud of it!
Steven and I got married on September 8 2003, that day Gm and Gp would have celebrated their 62nd Anniversary. By that time Gp had been gone for 9 months, but I know he was watching and he must’ve been very pleased. Now, more than ever Steven and I feel privileged to share with them our anniversary date. Their love for each other and their wonderful marriage will always be our inspiration. I feel very fortunate to have known my husband’s grandparents so well. Because of that, I can see where so many of Steven’s wonderful qualities come from. Gp’s gentleness, wisdom and love for the Lord, Gm’s warmth, affectionate nature and generosity. Having Steven with me will be like having a piece of Gm and Gp for the rest of my life.
Grandma had a deep faith and love for the Lord and was very grateful to Him. The evidence of her faith was the way she treated people. She had the amazing ability to accept others exactly the way they were and to see the good in them. She loved everyone and she often described people as “lovely people”. Another thing I remember is that Grandma always noticed beautiful things, whenever we drove somewhere she would notice all the colors in pretty flowers. Everything about her had a touch of beauty, her home, her table settings on Christmas, her outfits. Now I know that the beauty she saw and displayed was a reflection of her heart.
When Gm’s health started to decline and we knew the end was close, one day this song by Steven Curtis Chapman came to mind and it gave me great comfort.
Her house was where the family gathered every Christmas eve;
A feast was set on the table and gifts were placed beneath the tree.
Everything was picture perfect, Grandpa would laugh and say,
That woman spends the whole year getting ready for this day.
One year the leaves began to fall and her health began to fade;
We moved her to a place where they could watch her night and day.
But she kept making plans for Christmas from her little room;
She told everyone, I’ll miss you but I’ll be leaving soon.
I’m going home for Christmas and I’m going home to stay;
I’m going home for Christmas and nothing’s gonna keep me away.
I’ll be with the ones I love to celebrate the Savior’s birth;
This gift will be worth more to me than anything on earth.
I’m going home, home for Christmas.
And as we sing ‘Joy to the World’ I can’t help thinking
Of the joy that’s in her eyes right now.
And though our hearts still ache, we know that as we celebrate,
She’s singing with the herald angels and heaven’s glowing on her face.
And now she’s home for Christmas and now she’s home to stay.
She’s home for Christmas and nothing could’ve kept her away.
She’ll be face to face with Jesus as we celebrate His birth.
She’s home, she’s home for Christmas. She’s home to stay.
Thank you Grandma for taking me into your home.
Thank you for opening the door through which I would be so blessed.
Thank you for telling Steven and I to love and enjoy each other always.
Thank you for teaching us with your example how to live a good life.
Thank you for being the only Grandma I ever knew.
Thank you for loving me like your own!
I love you and I will miss you and in the hope we share for eternal life,
we shall meet again.
“I thank my God every time I remember you.” Philippians 1:3
Rest in peace sweet Marcia. Rest in the arms of Jesus.
Posted by
Sudi in
General on December 4th, 2005 at 08:44am
We just finished a great series of mp3 called “The Bible in 24 Hours.” We’ve been listening to them while we do our treadmill. Back in 2004 a lady that we met at a Bible Study introduced us to the Bible teaching tapes of Chuck Missler. A lot of his material is available at his website free of charge so we have listened to dozens of mp3 and have learned so much about God’s Word. www.khouse.org
When studying the Bible, Missler says that if you encounter a difficult verse or passage all you have to do is put Jesus right in the middle of it and it will make better sense. He points out that the theme of every book of the Bible is Redemption and Redemption is spelled J-E-S-U-S.
This morning I thought about that in light of Christmas. If I really want to understand the “season” I need to put Jesus right in the middle of it. The “reason for the season” is Jesus, his birth, death and resurrection and the huge implications those events have in our lives. In the next few weeks I want to remember to spell Christmas, J-E-S-U-S.
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6
