On This Good Day: A Perfectly Wonderful Week

Last week we were in Minnesota. When we arrived at my parents' house, they still had a bit of snow, but within two days we were looking at lawns that were starting to "green up."

It felt strange to leave the palm trees and green grass here in CA that morning, and the next morning to wake up to this starkness of winter. (But after talking to my mother this morning, we are thankful that we were not visiting this weekend, as they had several inches of snow cover on the ground again!) I enjoyed the gentle, slower lifestyle of small town midwest living. Walking on the country roads and listening to the robins singing was so relaxing and calming.

Mother writing in her daily journal

Dad and I enjoyed some games of Dominoes

Great Grandma's lifeline to the outer world

I also arrived in time to witness the cresting of the Red River of the North. After record-breaking snowfalls, the Red River Valley was experiencing flooded rivers and alot of overland flooding. (The riverbed is actually back there in the middle of the picture, all the water in the foreground is from flooding)

Sorry this is blurry, but I snapped this picture as we were crossing the bridge in Fargo, ND. The water was only about 10ft below the bridge. Fortunately, the water level was starting to descend when I left, but who knows what the latest snowfall will do to the flood conditions.

Sunday afternoon we put together easy puzzles...

and played more games of Dominoes!

My dad had a daily routine of showing me his family picture. His memory is not what it used to be, but some things are very clear for him. His love of music has sustained him in these latter years, and his voice is still strong and clear, and in perfect pitch. Even though he tends now to sing more Norweigen songs (the language of his childhood), I was blessed several times to hear him sing those old hymns of assurance:

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! Oh what a foretaste of glory divine.

Heir of salvation, purchased of God, born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

This is my story, this is my song! Praising my Savior, all the day long!

And then another day, as I was washing dishes, he came and put his arm around me. As we looked out the window at our beautiful morning sky with scattered clouds floating by, he started to sing:

I'm going higher and higher some day, I'm going higher to stay.

Over the clouds and beyond the blue sky,

Going where none ever sicken or die.

Loved ones to meet in that sweet by and by--

I'm going higher some day.

I am so blessed to have godly parents who live their faith and pray daily for us generations that follow--that we too will know and love the Lord Jesus as they do.

There were so many wonderful signs of spring: a new baby in the family...

tiny buds forming on the branches...

tulips poking out of the soil...

and clean laundry drying on the clothesline. But sadly enough, this spring also brought water leaking through the foundation and into my parents basement.

The last two days of my stay, mom and I were in the basement every couple hours, vacuuming up the water and moving furniture and boxes to dryer places.

It was rather depressing to stand and watch the water as it literally seaped up through any little crack in the floor. The only good thing about the situation was that we were forced to clean up the basement!