December Memories #1

December went by *like the shuttle of the weaver*

We took a deep breath and it was gone. Here are some highlights beginning with . . .

A Field Trip in Austin MN December 8, 2008

We had a field trip yesterday---sat in the court room for about an hour listening and observing. Very interesting.
Be sure to have your insurance on your car up-to-date or they fine the socks off you. The judge was a very pleasant man and seemed understanding. He was kind and concerned and had a sense of humor. One gal was fined for littering.
"What did you throw out the car window?"
"A cigarette."
"Was it flaming?"
"No."
The police was a woman. She wrote on the ticket -- driver failed to use blinker when turning "because there was no one behind me." Driver was snippy and talked back to the officer and threw a cigarette out the window twice --
The judge asked, "Did you throw the cigarette out and then get out of the car and pick it up and throw it out again?"
The gal explained there was only one cigarette and she only threw it out once. "And the police threw the ticket in my lap and said, 'Have a nice day!' and I didn't think that was very respectful to just throw the ticket in my lap."
The judge didn't fine her for littering. "If it was shattered glass or metal objects that could harm another vehicle or if we had a drought it would be different." The whole court room was smiling.

Then on to the fire station. The main thing to prevent fires is a working fire alarm.
We need to get the batteries replaced in ours.
Fires caused by candles in Austin in a year: 1,000,000. That's amazing. Did I read that right? Double checked with Jorgan and that's what he remembered. So why do we burn candles? On second thought I'm wondering about statistics like that. Do they mean 1,000,000 candles were lit? That would be a lot of little fires.

Lunch at Culvers!

On to a tour of Cedar Valley. That is an amazing place... where handicapped and mentally challenged people can work and contribute to the community. Very cheery and everyone was happy and busy. Hormel gives them lots of work. We saw lots of Spam and cans of Chili and pouches of pepperoni. Lots of assembly lines. Some things are packaged in display boxes. Those boxes are shrink wrapped and shipped out again. Some people are paid by the hour--others by how many pieces they get done. Everyone gets a pay check. ;-) They are matched up with the right job for their skills. Cedar Valley is helping more than 200 people in Mower County.

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This happened to us the other day. After eight o'clock on a school morning. I'm doing the mom thing, "Hurry up! Don't do this. Do that. Get out to the car!" ...being a crotchety old monster. Jorgan and Krysta are safely in the sub with everything they need. I storm up to the driver's side and open the door... step up on the icy running board and quicker than a sneeze I'm on my back looking up at the sky. Jorgan and Krysta's startled stares and open mouths are priceless. I start laughing like a hyena. They take time to ask, "Are you okay?" before they start laughing. I climb in and look at the clock. It's 8:18 A.M. ARGH! It seems like our brains and bodies are programmed to climb in that vehicle and start out at 8:18 A.M. every blinking morning. There is no way to get there on time when we leave that late. But at least we are laughing! It didn't hurt, fortunately... I was talking to my friend the other week. She said she was always late no matter what she did. She would determine to start early to get ready then she'd fritter away the extra time and still be late. -

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Lo, how a rose e're blooming From tender stem hath sprung,
Of Jesse's lineage coming, As men of old have sung.
It came a flow'ret bright, Amid the cold of winter,
When half spent was the night.

Isaiah 'twas foretold it, The rose I have in mind,
With Mary we behold it, The Virgin mother kind.
To show God's love aright She bore to them a Savior,
When half spent was the night.

This flower, whose fragrance tender With sweetness fills the air,
Dispels with glorious splendor The darkness everywhere.
True Man, yet very God, From sin and death He saves us
And lightens every load.

From the German
English version by Dr. Theodore Baker

Someone asked me what the rose is about... I looked in various books and asked Ellis. He looked too, and we are both puzzled. We thought we could look in Strong's concordance and find a scripture in Isaiah that specifically calls Jesus a rose. Does anyone know the history of this beautiful song?