My Little Shopper

Checking out a new dress we got last week.

Lily was getting anxious after being cooped up in the house for so many cold and snow days and after listening to her whine "go, go, go" over and over I finally asked her where she wanted to go. She quickly dried up the tears, firmed her lower lip and said "shopping?!" with her head cocked to one side as if to partially ask a question. This was cute of course, but not enough to get me motivated to get ready and hit the town in the slush, so we put it off until today and hit up the Old Navy kids sale and some home stores for my basement office / forever a work in progress. She could not wait to try on her new clothes and pranced around the house saying "I cuuuute!"

In other Lily news... she has started an interest in using the potty. So far we have only had success with #2, but hey, if you have to choose one or the other... that's the one I'd pick. The funniest thing she's done in this area is when she has already gone, but she does not want to get off yet (she plays with bath toys while she's in there), she'll say, "I poopoo again, one minute" to buy herself some more play time. She is usually true to her word though, so we don't mind being patient!

Remembering Mema

My amazing Mema, Ethel Fant, passed away last week after struggling for several months with a body crippled by a series of strokes. Seeing her in that physically weakened state and not being able to communicate with her was especially hard given the nature of her life and knowing how full she lived it.

I truly do not know of anyone else personally who lived the kind of life she did. She did it all, and all with a servant's heart and a fearless and exuberant spirit. She came from a humble background and had more than a couple of tragedies strike her and her family, but she never seemed to loose sight of what was important ... to love the Lord her God with all her heart, soul and mind, and to love her neighbor as herself. This made all the difference.

To me, she has always embodied the kind of life you can live if you simply follow those words and don't let the fears, inadequacies and insecurities of the world get in your way. Not only did she lead a life of service, but I know she had a great time doing it; and this attitude put her in some amazing situations and left us all with an incredible legacy.

The following is something I wrote for the funeral service. I borrowed heavily from an idea I got from an email forward (of all places) and it does not even begin to sum up her story, but it was my way to honor her and spend some time remembering the life she led.

Mema's Hands

Looking at our hands, we can recall how they’ve served us through the years.
They represent how we’ve embraced life and how we’ve spent our time on this earth.
Though now at rest, Mema’s hands tell the story of a life spent
reaching out to others and folded in prayer.

They were scratched picking cotton on a Mississippi farm,
held her pencil at school, and tucked a basketball under her arm.

As a young nurse, they bandaged the injured and cared for the sick.
Then signed the enlistment papers that sent her to Ft. Bliss.

They held another soldier’s hand, as she began to realize,
that he was the one, she was to love for a lifetime.

They waved goodbye, as he went to war overseas,
then shook with excitement when he mailed her his ring.

Holding her new babies, they were clumsy and unsure,
but in teaching them to serve, they were strong and secure.

When Robert grew sick, they held the family together.
They cared for him, fought for him,
and wiped her tears, as he went to the Father.

They nurtured three children and then saw them off,
to become the adults, who she was so proud of.

They held a plane ticket, as she answered God’s call,
spending a year in Africa, to show Christ’s love to all.

They cared for countless others, when she returned;
patients, friends, neighbors and so many kids...

Children who had no other place to go,
found shelter with Mema and were loved as her own.

They brought many smiles during her stint as a clown.
And this, especially, made her grandkids proud.

They were kind and playful with her grandkids and their kids,
and helped her become “Mema” to ALL Glasgow’s kids.


Mema’s hands show the marks of where she’s been and a life well lived.
Most importantly though, they have now reached out,
touched the Father, and been led home.