Pelley Family Blog

Recently, I was struck with the idea of sending a Thanksgiving greeting rather than a Christmas greeting. I LOVE Thanksgiving - it is one of my favorite holidays to celebrate. We spend the month filling our Thanksgiving tree with “thankful leaves” - which keeps us giving thanks for God’s many blessings! So - just to be different, I decided to write to you, and recall some of the blessings God had given us this year.

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! (2 Corinthians 9:15). I couldn’t resist beginning with this! It is only because of Him that we celebrate anything at all.

Haiti - that’s where Mike and Joanna went this spring. Since Joanna wants to spend her life working in third world situations, we thought we’d get her started. And Mike is always ready for a Work & Witness trip.

Activities - we try to keep them under control - but they still include therapy for Grace - including horseback therapy, which is kind of nice! Ruby tried her hand at Upward Basketball this year. Nazarene Youth Congress was a great time for Joanna & Grace.

Nourishment - we don’t take the food on our table for granted.

Knowledge - we still love homeschooling. And reading!

Scripture - The girls quizzed John last year, and began Hebrews in August. All three were able to quiz on the same team for Regionals as well as a tournament over Memorial Day weekend - that was a treat! The best part: they are internalizing God’s Word!

Girls - yep! Three of them - Joanna (18), Grace (16) and Ruby (12)! We are very thankful for these three beautiful blessings! They bring much joy to our lives.

Income - Another thing we don’t take for granted - Mike now has worked for Rockwell for 34 years. He changed positions a year ago and is enjoying his new job!

Victory Church - We enjoy this ministry! We’ve been without a pastor since February, which means a lot more work for us, but it’s still good!

Illinois - that’s where Joanna now makes her “home away from home” - Judson University. She’s loves it - in spite of an incredible load - and is making the most of her college experience!

Nature - For all of the grief it gets - Cleveland is a great place to live - four seasons - fall colors - variety - we enjoy walks in the MetroParks, biking, and enjoying the birds outside our dining room window!

Graduation - we had the first of what will be many years of Pelley graduation celebrations. Joanna’s high school graduation was a really good time of celebrating this wonderful gift God has given us! Check out pictures on our blog, mentioned above.

May this jumpstart your heart and mind as you recall all the many blessings you have received.

Just a hodge-podge of “fall” stuff today.  Our colors have been muted this year - but in this last week or so, November no less, the few trees that do have leaves are beautiful.  Our maples are about the last to change, often after we have snow.  They’ve been glorious!!

This little “weeping maple,” above, has spring color for about a day - literally.  So - it’s been nice to enjoy several days of color from it this fall.  Grace and I had just pulled in from swimming and I said - “Let’s get a picture!”  Good thing we did, ’cause the next day those leaves were gone!

Food continues to be an issue with Ruby.  She is quite picky, and it’s hard to find things she gets excited about - unless it’s Chinese.  One of her current favorites are soy beans in the pod.  If you’ve never tried them - there’s a trick to eating them.  They pods are inedible - so you squeeze the delicious beans into your mouth and discard the pod.  A few days ago, after finding little in the house that she liked, I suggested a bag of soybeans.  She ate the whole bag - and enjoyed stacking the pods into a tower.

I didn’t take a picture of the backyard today - just the new leaf that appeared on our Thanksgiving tree!  Yep!  That’s what happened here last night!

Ny nephew and his wife, Andy & Susan, were back in Chicagoland to speak at their alma mater, Olivet Nazarene University (where Joanna would be if they had architecture!).  Since Austin (my other nephew) already lives in Chicago, Phil & Brenda (their parents) went out for the weekend.  They connected with Joanna at Judson - what a treat!

Phil & Brenda with Joanna (architecture building in background!)

Cousins - - Andy, Joanna, Susan, & Austin

O - H - I - O!!!!!

Joanna was grateful for a good meal!!  She’s NOT enjoying cafeteria food!  Thanks, Phil & Brenda, for taking care of our girl!

Joanna was home last weekend for fall break!  What fun we had.  She was joined by a friend from Judson, Khin Kyi, who is from Burma.  Joanna had a few agenda items for the weekend, including fresh pancakes.  Sounds like she’s been eating in a cafeteria!!  Khin Kyi needed some warm clothes, as this is her first winter.  They also wanted to do some apple picking and hiking in the woods.  The rain FINALLY stopped long enough for those activities, although I must say - it was quite muddy!

Joanna showing her Dad a new program she’s learned on the computer.

After the first mile and a half!

Stopping to get some pictures - Khin Kyi had never seen fall colors before!

Joanna’s been playing with little “creatures” ever since I can remember.  She’d love to play in the garden when Mike would be digging around - so many worms!!!  Here she’s playing with an inchworm we found on the trail marker.

Ruby and I took a path that went down to the bottom of a ravine a few times.  Her shoes were already muddy, so why not get them wet in the stream???

Apple Picking (and eating!) time!

Grace LOVES to pick apples.  She parks herself under a tree where there are lots of low-hanging apples - and goes to town!  She said she could do this every day!

Did we mention that picking apples is therapeutic?  If you are a PT - you will notice that she’s up high on both knees - reaching away from her body - using two hands.  Does it get any better??

Okay - not all was fun and games when we got stuck in the mud - oh - the girls thought it was fun.  After unsuccessfully trying to push us out, they just went picking grapes while we waited for a tow!

Thirty-five pounds of apples later! 

It’s been a beautiful weekend here.  Spring and summer have brought lots of rain - and summer was extremely hot.  This is MY time of year - in fact - I just may finish this post and take a walk!  Anyhow - yesterday was a good day for getting outside things done.  Our outdoor nativity has been looking pretty bad the last few years, and we’ve not found a good replacement.  A few months ago, however, Mike found a website for “do it yourself” nativities.  The one we chose was a sillouette.  Yesterday, he and Ruby painted the wood and traced the pattern onto it.  Next week they’ll cut it out.  Mike is holding down the paper for Ruby -the breeze was a little strong yesterday!

The new quiz year has officially begun.  Hebrews is the long-awaited book.  A few years ago, Joanna asked us if she could delay graduating for one year - just so she could quiz Hebrews!  She changed her mind, but really misses this opportunity - the theology books are her favorites!  This past week, Grace told me that she doesn’t care how she does this year - competition-wise.  I was shocked.  She then explained:  “I’m having so much fun studying Hebrews that I don’t care how I do!”  Wow!  Music to a mama’s ears!  Last week was the first meet - both girls had rough afternoons, so they did not place in personal scores - but they came in second and third in the memory quiz.  Here they are with their coach and their trophies!

Grace has been talking about driving for as long as I can remember.  This became more frequent as she approached the “age.”  Several months ago, I asked her, very honestly, “Do you really think you will be able to drive?”  She looked at me and very seriously said, “Why not?”  I guess we’ve raised her to not let her cerebral palsy stop her - and at least try.  And for her, driving would be no exception.  She passed her written test easily enough.  But, they would not issue her a license until after two trips to the doctor and a big form filled out.  This past Friday, she finally came home with that coveted license!  Mike’s had her in an empty parking lot a few times, and she’s handling it fairly well.  Quite a while before she’s on the road, though.  Her doctor wants her to go through a driving assessment at a local hospital.  They won’t take her until she’s eighteen, giving her lots of time to practice!   So - here she is proudly displaying her license!

She did a “test run” in the golf cart this summer!

The day after Labor Day means it’s time to start Pelley Home School!  I refuse to begin any earlier.  Mostly because of our busy summers. By mid-August, we’re finally home - and I need some down time.  There’s also this feeling that once school begins, I won’t get anything else done.  So - a bit of panic sets in.   We always do something fun, and hopefully educational to begin the school year.  Official name - Back to School Vacation!  It’s been as elaborate as a loop around Michigan, taking in historical villages, or our trip to Boston.  It’s also been as simple as visiting the zoo.  This year, Grace decided she’d like to do Hale Farm and Village.  I convinced her to wait until the weather is cooler - a nice, crisp day with leaves changing color - and she agreed.  So - without much fanfare, school has begun.  I already need to consult with Mike tonight on Geometry - this is not good news.

Grace with her Science Bood (which she’s excited about) and her Geometry book (much less excited).

Ruby was the only family member without a “homeschool’ t-shirt.  Well - I don’t do t-shirts, so that doesn’t count:)  So - during our “back to school grand book opening party” she got her official t-shirt.

Ruby never really got to celebrate a brithday before she was adopted.  It’s just not done - at least at the orphanage.   We sent a cake and some gifts for the birthday just before we met her.  I guess that was the first celebration of any kind — and they did not let her bring some of the gifts when she left.  At our house - we’ve had a “1/2 birthday” tradition.  You get to pick the menu for dinner and you get a cake.  Today is Ruby’s 12-1/2.  We were on a tight schedule after church, so we took her to her favorite Chinese restaurant.  Yesterday, she and I made a German Chocolate Cake - yummy!  You are growing up girl!

People ask me how I’m doing with Joanna being gone.  Lots of people must be praying, because I’m doing amazingly well.  One thing that helps is our very busy life - not a lot of time to sit around and think about it - and that’s okay with me.  While we were gone last weekend, I had a sense of, “This is right!”  And it is.  Not always easy, but right.  Joanna has been my right hand for a long time - helping with everything.  For the first three or four mornings, when I’d walk out of my bedroom and peek into the next room, I’d see Ruby in the top trundle, the bottom pushed in neatly, and it was like an empty space in my gut, reminding me that she’s gone.  And, as much as she has been gone from home before, this is different.  Yesterday I had one of those “empty gut” feelings when I ran into the little bathroom, by our back door, where we keep our coats, boots, and suchlike.  I looked up and saw this: