Change And Decay

Dear Byron, 

Check back a couple blogs and you will see that we are changing some things about our life. It looks now like we may have a buyer for our vacation home here in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. We've been here since middle of July, watching one couple after another come by to consider whether they'd like to own a part of this beautiful country. Now perhaps we have some folks who will say yes. If so, in a few weeks it will no longer be ours. Sorry about that, Byron, because our family has had so very many great times up here in the years before you came along. 

But then things change. 

I was thinking about change this morning when I awoke. For some reason a line from an old hymn came to mind. 

"Change and decay in all around I see. Oh Thou that changest not, abide with me." 

Speaking of decay, the house that we're selling is fifteen years old and the people interested in it pointed out that a couple of the double-paned windows have broken seals. Water has gotten in between the panes. So we'll have to replace them before we can complete the sale.

And that's the way of this world: change and decay. I've been living in this body now for nearly 79 years. Believe me, Byron, it doesn't work like it used to. Lots of decay has set in over the years and with the help of some good doctors we've had to make some major repairs.

And one more thing. As things change for GGMa and me—and our entire family—I'm thinking about those who lived before us, people like my Great-Grandparents. They made some very big changes when they left Germany and England, never again to see their parents, grandparents and relatives. I can hardly put my arms around that thought, together with all the fears and anxiety that went along with their decisions to get on ocean-going ships with their meager belongings to move to a strange country.

In the next months I've decided to do some poking around to see what stories I can come up with about those people from our family. I know, I know. You're not really interested right now. But maybe one day you'll find these ramblings and be glad to learn more about your past and ours. 

Until then, just be happy that in the midst of all the many things that change in this world we have a Jesus whose love never ever changes. 

And know that we love you too, 

GGPa 

Wee-Z And The Big Black Bear

Dear Byron,

I wrote to your Mommy and Daddy about some excitement we had up here in Pagosa Springs, CO. this past week. I was taking my daily walk around the neighborhood and GGMa was standing on the back porch deck when suddenly she saw a bear like the one in this photo come ambling across the meadow from the west toward our house. This in itself was quite a surprise, because, while we've seen a herd of elk, several foxes and coyotes, we've never seen a bear near our house. I did encounter one way up the hill in the woods one time, but never down in our area.

Anyway, what got GGMa really excited was that our little Pecka-poo, Wee-Z, the brave, 10 pound defender of our house, took off after Mr. Bear, barking and warning him to get out of here. GGMa said she yelled at Wee-Z to stop, but to no avail. That ol' bear didn't belong and Wee-Z was gonna see that he ran away. GGMa says she was so afraid the bear would scoop him up for a one mouthful meal. Thankfully the bear ignored our little guardian and went on his way. Nevertheless Wee-Z stood his ground and barked until the bear was gone.

For a time, after she lost sight of the bear behind the house, GGMa says she thought he had gone into our garage—the door was open—to look for a garbage bag full of goodies. However, when she cautiously pushed open the side door to peek in, no bear. He had proceeded on down our driveway and off into the neighbor's yard. Wee-Z scared him off! don't ya think?

You can read more about the current bear problem up here in the Pagosa Springs SUN Newspaper -that's where I found this photo and and read the story about bears. It seems that this spring's dry weather  up here in the mountains has left the bears without adequate wild food, so they've started to come among the houses looking for garbage, bird seed, left-over bar-b-que and anything else they can find.

I'm happy that you have a doggie in your house. Her name is Tootsie and I'll bet you and she have become great friends. Of course, you don't have any bears in Houston, except at the zoo, but you should be happy that your dear little animal-sister is with you to raise the alarm should any other critter or person try to break into your house.

As a boy I always had a doggie to play with me. We roamed the farm and were fast friends and companions. And I'm happy to see that you have Tootsie to be your friend as well. Give her a big hug for GGMa and me.

We love you,

GGPa

The LORD Of The Mountains

Dear Byron,

You will remember that in my last note I mentioned our second home in Colorado. Your Mommy says she's happy that we've not sold that house yet. She wants you to be able to play in the snow maybe next winter. I'm all for playing in the snow. Perhaps we can arrange for that to happen whether we sell this house or not. Right now, though, there's not a flake of snow in sight. Here's what we saw yesterday as we sat on our front deck here in Pagosa Springs.

View from our front deck

If you look closely you can just make out the mountains, but everything is very hazy. That's because the mountains have been covered with smoke these past couple days. Because of this some folks around here are asking if fires have again broken out in the mountains of Colorado. I was worried about that as well, so I did a search of the weather sites on my computer. I learned that the haze is caused not by fires here in Colorado, but by fires in states further west. The wind is bringing the smoke eastward. We have no more fires here. The summer mountain monsoons, as they're called, keep the mountains wet with fresh rain almost every day. As a result, we have no more fires. 

Well, Byron, that gives you just a little taste of what life is like here at 7,000+ feet up in the mountains in the summer time. Perhaps one day you will get to hike and camp and even hunt in the same mountains. And perhaps you will, like your parents and grandparents, get to go skiing, snowboarding and snowshoeing in these mountains in the winter. Always lots of things to do in the great outdoors. 

One thing I do hope you will do. I  hope you will get outside the city in which you grow up and spend time every year in the beauty and wonder of the outdoors. Only in that way will you be able to appreciate the wonders of God's creation. 

The psalmist puts it well when he writes about the LORD. 

From your lofty abode you water the mountains; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work. You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth and wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to make his face shine and bread to strengthen man's heart. The trees of the LORD are watered abundantly, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted. In them the birds build their nests; the stork has her home in the fir trees. The high mountains are for the wild goats; the rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers. ... O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. - Psa 104:13-18, 24 ESV

Stay well, dear Byron. Give our love to your Mommy and Daddy.

We love you too,

GGPa

Our "Koderader Retreat"

Dear Byron,

I'm sad, so sad that I've neglected to write to you for well over a month now. Meanwhile you, Mommy and Daddy have settled down to a regular life in your new home in the Heights area of Houston. I do pray that you are happy. I hear that you are, but please know that your GGMa and I miss you. Perhaps when we get back to our house in Spring we'll be able to see you again.

Oh, I didn't even tell you where we are. We're in Pagosa Springs. That's a small town in Colorado. Yes, in Colorado. You see, we've had a second home here ever since 1997. That's a long time ago, isn't it? Your Daddy was here for the Christmas time vacation that the whole family took. At that time we had a special family dinner during which we dedicated the home to the honor of our Lord Jesus and for the use of family and special friends. Over these past 15 years we've had many, many people use our Colorado home (we call it our Koderader Retreat). Your Aunt Cassie was responsible for the name. When she was a little girl she told us she couldn't pronounce Colorado. All she could say was Koderader; hence the name.

GGMa and Aunt Cassie and Wee-Z up here

Here are some of the notes we received in our Guest Book:

Thank you for letting us stay in your lovely Pagosa Springs home. Everything about this place has been wonderful: beautiful mountains all around; spectacular views everywhere, invigorating mountain air, cool, comfortable weather. 

You are to be commended in your choice of this site and its natural beauty, absolute comfort and relaxation is our way to describe this home. 

Lots of fantastic things to do here—Chimney Rock, hot springs, horseback riding, hiking. We had a great family time. 

This home is so warm and friendly with all the family pictures everywhere. Their importance to you is so obvious. 

The rain Monday afternoon (moving south to north) was spectacular; I think I'll have a great photo or two of mountain clouds, etc. The pure and fresh aspect of this area simply takes one's breath away. 

We were blessed to stay here this week and are very thankful. I wrote a song for you. The words are on the picture and recorded on the CD. 

Only heaven could be as pretty as here. . . 

We have enjoyed a very restful week. The people here have been so nice to us.
I almost got Dar on the hot air balloon. Maybe next time . . . 

Your cabin has a warm, welcoming feeling, making us relax immediately. It has been therapeutic for both of us, just to get away from the big city.

And so go the many comments, on and on, year after year. We only regret that you may never get to visit with us in our Koderader Retreat. You see, Byron, we're selling the house. After all these years we've had to make some difficult decisions. Times change, people change and so do the circumstances of our lives. At this stage in our lives GGMa and I have decided to downsize our responsibilities and maybe even move to a new home in the metro area. We'll have more to say about that another time.

All this is a reminder that your life as well as ours will be full of change. But regardless of where you go on your journey, remember this one important fact:

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. - Hbr 13:8 ESV

His love for you never changes and He will always be with you wherever you go, even as He has always been with us and the rest of our family.

We love you,
GGPa

Your New Home

Dear Byron,

You're gone. This past weekend you, Mommy and Daddy, all left us to go live in your brand new home. You were here for three whole months and now you're gone. Oh, you're not that far away. We live in the suburban part of Houston and now you live inside loop 610, about fifteen minutes from where your parents work. That's one of the big reasons they bought your new home. Both you and they will be much closer to the downtown area of Houston and you won't have to travel so far.

But we'll miss you. We'll miss your happy smile. We'll miss the excitement of learning so many new things. And you certainly did learn lots right in front of our eyes in these past three months.

• You learned how to drink from a cup and how to hold your own 'sippy' cup. And just this very weekend you gave up drinking from a bottle. Wow! You're really a growing kid. 

• You learned so much coordination with your hands. You went from having to grab this or that with your entire hand to being able to pick up little pieces of food with your index finger and thumb. And boy, do you ever love to push the buttons on my iPhone with your finger. 

• You also learned to hold a spoon and spoon food out of a cup or off your own dish. You love to feed yourself and you're getting better at it every day. 

• You're just beginning to learn how to sit on your trike, not quite with the pedals yet—that will come later—but you're learning to pull and push with your sturdy little legs. More to come in that arena. 

• You learned to say your first words. You say 'Momma' and 'Dadda' and 'Bye' and your favorite expression, 'Duck, duck, duck!' When you get going with something new you break out into that chant and we all see how proud you are of yourself. 

• But here's the biggy. In the past couple weeks you learned to stand on your own two feet AND TO WALK! Wow! 'Duck, duck, duck!' everywhere now. How very happy we all are to see you walking. Every so often you slip and go plop down on your bottom, but then up you come and off you go, 'Duck, duck, ducking' along. Its been great to behold. 

We also note your curiosity. You want to touch everything, hold it, tear it apart, examine it, feel it, sometimes taste it. So many curious and wonderful experiences. Its a big, glorious world and little by little your own private world is expanding even as your body and mind grow and develop. And all the things I mentioned above have been in only these past three months. I can hardly wait to see what will happen in the next three to six months.

But you have a new home, the first I imagine of many. Your Daddy tells us that he fully expects your family will even move overseas to some far, far away place like Korea or Singapore or something like that for a few years. After all, he is an engineer and he works for an international energy company. So many adventures await you and your family as you learn about this big, big world.

But wherever you go, wherever you and your Mommy and Daddy make your home, we know that we'll be welcome to visit, just as you visited us these past three months. And one more thing, a word from our dear Lord Jesus, 

Jesus answered him, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. - John 14:23 ESV 

As you grow you will understand more and more that Jesus has already made His home in your heart. You will learn more and more about His never-ending love and care for you and your family. Keep that good Word in your heart. Guard it carefully. Don't let anyone or any thing take it from you. And the more you learn about His love, the more you will see Him and hear Him and talk with Him in your home.

Each evening while you were here at our home we prayed for you, thanking Jesus for the day and for His protection and blessings. Our prayers will continue, Byron. God bless you and Mommy and Daddy.

We love you,

GGPa

Live Long And Prosper

Dear Byron,

We have been so sad these days to see you get sick for the first times. You came home from the baby-sitting service your Mommy and Daddy use with a bad cold and a slight fever. You were not a happy camper that day. This past week they sent you home with pink eye, an infectious disease that caused your eye to turn all red. It hurt bad too. You had to go see the doctor to get some anti-biotic medicine for those bad bugs that wanted to live in your eye. It went away—for a while. Then, just when they thought it was gone for good, whoops, it came back again. Your crying made us almost want to cry. Yesterday, when you stayed home with Daddy, Gma and me, you had some long naps. Those, together with the medicine, seem to have you feeling much better today.

I got sick when I was a little kid. One time I had pink eye too. They made me stay home from grade school until it went away. I don't think they had any medicine for it back in the 1930s. All I know is that it hurt and I was supposed to stay out of bright light. Eventually it did go away.

My folks were scared us kids would catch diptheria. We heard of kids getting really sick with that stuff.  You'd get fever and chills, a sore throat and headache, have a hard time breathing and a really stinky guck came out of your nose. I think there were other complications. Now kids like you won't get it because you're vaccinated for it.

What really, really scared my parents was polio. That was a disease that turned kids into cripples. My Uncle Gilbert had it when he was a kid and walked with a very, very bad limp all the rest of his days. The disease was passed on by people breathing. I especially remember we didn't get to go to the Minnesota State Fair because of the polio scare. Fortunately, hardly anybody gets polio any more, because Dr. Jonas Salk and his team developed a vaccine for polio in the 1950s. That was followed by another even better vaccine by Dr. Albert Sabin in the 1960s.

There were lots of other diseases that people got. Some in our community died from pneumonia, because nobody had good medicines to fight it. In fact, Byron, it wasn't until the end of the 19th century that doctors and scientists realized that there are lots and lots of tiny bad bugs everywhere that want to take up housekeeping in our bodies. I found a little booklet by Dr. Isaac Azimov that tells all about how we discovered germs. We call them bacteria and viruses now.

There were lots and lots of diseases that seemed ready to getcha when I was a kid, besides the ones I've mentioned so far. There was measles, mumps, smallpox, chickenpox, whooping cough and scarlet fever. Way back in 1900 I read that over 60% of American kids died from diseases like these that were passed on from one person to the next. In those days 165 of every 1,000 kids died before their first birthday. In some cities this number was as high as 300. Overall, the average person only lived to about 50 years.

But modern medicine has made some remarkable progress. Here's a list of major diseases conquered during my lifetime.

1. Chicken Pox
2. Diptheria
3. Influenza or Hib disease
4. Malaria
5. Measles
6. Pertussis or whooping cough
7. Pneumococcal disease—various types of pneumonia
8. Polio
9. Tetanus
10. Typhoid fever
11. Small Pox
12. Yellow fever

All I want to say, my dear Great-Grandson, is that you are very blessed to be born in the 21st century with all the progress that has been made to fight sickness and disease. Some are saying that you could live to be over 120 years. We do pray that you have a long, happy and prosperous life and that all through your life your remember that you are a beloved child of our Father in heaven. 

We love ya, 

GGPa

Learning And Growing

Dear Byron, 

You already started to walk over a week ago, but boy-oh-boy are you getting with it now. You have discovered this new way of getting around and day by day you are becoming more sure of how to do it. Yesterday, as you kept saying "Duck, duck, duck!" you paraded around the living and dining room on your sturdy little legs. Once in awhile you went plop down on your bottom, but then up you came and on you went. Meanwhile your Mommy, Daddy, GGMa and I all kept shouting, "Hurray! You're doing it. Good job." It won't be long now before you're even running. Congratulations on this next important step in your life journey.

And we see that you are learning to use your hands. You're getting quite good at picking up bits of food, holding your spoon, sippy-cup and bottle. That coordination thing, like throwing a ball, is coming along quite well too. And you've learned how to climb up on the couches and chairs. We have to watch as you do that, because a few times you have fallen and almost hurt yourself.

Everything is new and interesting. It's fun to eat food, to use a spoon and bring it to your mouth. And my, but those strawberries, blackberries and raspberries are really good. I notice that once you've learned a new skill you want to do it again and again and again. That's great. It creates the coordination I mentioned above.

You're also learning now to manage your feelings. Basically I see that you are a very cheerful little guy. You wake up happy most of the time, but when you are tired or want something you will let us know loud and clear. Of course there are also those moments when you very much want to be held and comforted. Its complicated, isn't it? Lots of us adults still struggle with our feelings. And I believe you will continue to do so as well. 

We hear you learning to talk. Lots of nonsense mumbles yet, but your vocabulary is growing. You still do lots of pointing and using one-syllable words, but little by little you are trying to combine words. We're trying to teach you what nose, ear, mouth and eyes are. And you're quite good at doing patty-cake, patty-cake, baker's man. We also see you responding to simple directions like, "Get your ball" or "throw it to me."

What was fun last week was to see you bring home your first painting from school—day care, that is. They gave you some water-paint and a brush. Suddenly, there it was. Or shall I say, What was it? In any event, we put it up on the frig. Besides that, you're pointing to the animals and machines in your picture books. You don't know yet about writing, but that too will come in time. 

We see that you love to put things in holes or boxes. When I gave you a bath last night, I was rather amazed to see that you know all about filling up a cup and pouring it out. You love water and you love your soft "blankie". When you hold it, in goes your thumb into your mouth.

And you are discovering music. Mommy and Daddy were plunking away on the piano a couple nights ago. Suddenly there you were pounding the keys yourself as you stood beside them. We notice that you have a growing sense of as rhythm as we sing little songs or keep beat with our hands. All quite amazing. 

So many things to learn. Such great fun, for you and for the rest of us. Keep it up, kid. There's a whole, big, wonderful world out there. 

We love you. 

GGPa