Beautiful Art from my "York Mom"

In late March of this year, I shared the below on social media:

Please keep the soul of my "York Mom" in your prayers and keep her daughter and family in your thoughts as they face the upcoming days without Mrs. Grupp.

Since having Charlotte, I have often tried to model the way I parent after how I saw Mrs. Grupp do it.

I had the blessing of being a sidelines witness to the love of their close knit family in college and my young adult years when living in York and seeing how close she and Ashley were....and by extension feeling her love for me. So glad she is no longer suffering but sad at the thought of no more art being created by her, no more laughs being shared with her loved ones, and no more of her constant presence being felt in a tangible way by Ash. May God comfort those who are mourning as they also look forward to reuniting in Heaven someday.

Thankfully, in late May, my Mom and I were able to travel to southern PA to attend the beautiful Memorial Ashley and her Dad planned for her sweet mom. Since Mrs. Grupp was an artist, they decided to set up her art in the hall where the reception was held. The art was available for anyone to take with the request to donate to one of three charities or oganizations that meant a lot to Mrs. Grupp. I already had several pieces of Mrs. Grupp's art hanging here in Ohio but was happy to add to my "collection" of her fingerprints in our home. 😍

The above was what I came home with after attending the Memorial of Mrs. Grupp's life.

I had long had the canvas paintings, that incorporated multimedia elements (and was a surprise from Mrs. Grupp back when I was roommates with Ashley in Pennsylvania), on the opposite wall in our kitchen but now the below pencil drawings are framed and adorn the kitchen entryway wall.

The panoramic sky scenes on the large canvas on the bottom have been hanging in this house for the last ten years and you'll see the pencil drawings resting on top, before they landed in their frames on the opposite wall, served as the inspiration for the large canvas paintings. I remember Mrs. Grupp describing to me and demonstrating in her garage how she used the multimedia approach to create this work. If you zoom in on the image, you'll see the different textures within the canvas art.

I laminated and hung up the smaller pictures that reminded me of Charlotte's Fairy Garden. I have them on display in her bedroom by the window that looks out on part of her Fairy Garden.

The middle imageof a Fairy in her Garden, in the black frame, was the perfect addition to the whmsical dragonflies and butterflies that Mrs. Grupp had painted and given me for one of my birthdays in my early 20s. Since moving into this house, they have hung in Charlotte's bedroom / the St. Francis Room. Charlotte loves the addition of this newest image that also reminds her of one of her favorite movies: Inside Out!

Notice the newest animal in our living room? 🦒

I was also able to obtain one dozen hand-made cards. Every year, Mrs. Grupp made amazing Christmas cards that she mailed to friends and family. So, having some of her every-day cards to mail to others is a bit nostalgic for me.

I plan to use the black and white images as story starters in my classes when providing some hands-on practice for the pre-service teachers I work with in implementing strategies we will cover in the classes. I also plan to have Charlotte engage in coloring some of the black and white scenes after creating a story about what is happening in the scene.

Below is the wedding gift Mrs. Grupp painted for us. She knew that the featured scripture held a lot of meaning for Adam and me, and we have it hanging up in our bedroom. 💕

Connected through Prayer

Every morning, I receive a text from a local grandpa in the community. He sends his granddaughters to Girls GIFT Ministry and faithfully holds the ministry, and me, in prayer. He also prays daily for the Catholic Infertility Ministry I help with here in town since he knows of my involvement with that ministry. Recently, he has added prayers for preparing for the fall semester (say it isn't so!) on top of praying for my current summer (stay a bit longer, please!) routines. 

It means the world to know someone is so faithfully and in a dedicated way is praying for my intentions and me in this way on a daily basis. I don't remember how it evolved that he began texting me every morning with the prayers but I'm so grateful for his doing so as it helps me to also start my days with this prayer-oriented view as well. I usually do my prayers at nighttime as I reflect on my day and think ahead to the next morning. So, receiving these prayers from this gentleman in the early morning hours is a great way to help me to situate and orient my day and the daily tasks.

The funny thing is, I had been doing this for others (praying for others) long before this grandpa started doing it for me. All my life, I've always taken it seriously when friends, acquaintances, and even strangers have asked me to keep them in my prayers. Sometimes, I pray for them on the spot and aloud with them but more often than not, I pray for them during my personal and private prayer time. Being able to pray for others is such a gift and I'm grateful to be able to do so. 

Reflecting on where I've been able to intentionally direct prayer efforts, at large, I'm able to see how serving others in this way has also helped to strengthen my relationship with God, too. Thank you, Lord, for the blessings that continue to pour forth and for your Providential Love. It's amazing to see the thread that connects recent supports through prayer, too. For instance, in the first parts of Summer 2022, I prayed for a dear woman at work who had retired as part of her retirement wishes as she prepared for a different chapter and stage in her life. Ironically, as that one month of praying for her by name, her daughter, and dear colleague of mine was diagnosed with cancer. I transitioned from praying solely for her mother to praying for my friend and her battle against cancer for 18 months. It was an honor to cover her in prayer as she faced surgery after surgery, chemo, and not only the physical but emotional tolls fighting - and overcoming - cancer takes. As I wrapped up that year and a half of walking alongside her spiritually in this way, I shifted to praying for another friend, who also is close to my friend who defeated cancer, as she faced a radically different life for her children in her as they mourned the loss of her husband over the holidays. Initially, this was to be a one month duration of lifting that family up in this way, but it evolved into a three-month stretch until I was called to lift up another family going through struggles with their son receiving diagnoses and treatment for some behavioral and emotional challenges. It was just under a month of praying for this family over this past spring when I received word from a beloved former professor in need of prayers as she and her husband battled cancer for the second time. For the next six weeks, I was able to hold these fighters in prayer, too. 

This Perpetual Prayer Chain now has a woman I met last summer, through work, at the front and center. She is fighting mouth cancer and just has a grueling surgery with recovery being a bit more complicated than anticipated. Please join me in prayer in lifting her up and giving her stamina to face what lies ahead in the days to come for her.

Our Little Firecracker!

Nine years ago tonight, as we watched fireworks from our front porch, the pregnancy test results flashed a big YES that we were expecting!

Watching fireworks on the 4th always brings back the memories of the one time we were able to experience that anticipation and excitement!