August 17th 2015

It's been five years since I posted on my blog so I thought it was fitting to say a few words about those 5 years!  Jim & I are looking forward to celebrating our 55st. anniversary on the 24th of Aug!  We will probably go out to dinner for the event.  We are pretty private people when it comes to celebrations.  But, we are looking forward to a trip to Lima, Ohio in September.Our plan is to use the money for the trip as a delayed anniversary gift to ourselves.  The occasion for a trip to Ohio is to see Stanley Tam.  He is the man who wrote the book "God Owns My Business"  through which we both came to know Christ as our Savior.  He will be celebrating 100 years of life in September!

 During the past 5 years there has been a number of changes in our family. Three of our grandchildren have married and started their new families.  Abby & Dave brought us our first great grandchild in December of 2014.  Her name is Esther Natalia Stalsbroten and she is a really cute baby!

Katy Brackett graduated from nursing school and has her own apartment, a great job at a hospital and leads youth and music at a Spanish speaking church.  Jessie Metty graduated from college in the spring with a degree in Public Relations, Jenny Brackett from high school and  is working full time at a first class hotel and will be continuing her education on line. Jimmy Brackett finishing his last year of college starting this fall at Messiah college.  He will be a senior on the college football team this year.  All of our grandchildren are really great people and it's exciting to see how the Lord will direct their lives.

Our four children are busy with their lives. All but one of them are in the middle age stage of life.  Our youngest is still in his 40's!  We are thankful for all of them and hope and pray they will always be blessed and be a blessing.

Jim & I are in pretty good health.  The hardest thing I deal with is trying to lose weight. Being 72 years old I've lost interest in exercising but have become much more aware of what I'm eating.  My days are spent doing household chores, cooking, crocheting, weeding and going to Bible study and a prayer time on Weds.  Looking forward to Fall opportunities in the Women's ministry at church.  Jim is a slender man in pretty good health.  He is active each day and interested in many things mechanical!

some things mechanical!

We each enjoy the simple small things in life;  church, friends & family;  birds, clouds, storms and all of creation.  We love seeing our family and especially that sweet baby girl!  We are looking forward to another great grandchild in Feb. 2016!  Nathan & Mary are the expectant parents.

Feeling very blessed;  remembering life and how God has changed me through trials and the joyful times of life!

This morning while hanging out the laundry I had one of those fleeting moments of deja vu!  It was sunny and warm not quite hot yet and the sound of the locusts singing in the trees brought back so many memories of a 17 year old girl!  She was anticipating eloping in a little over a week while she worked at Keller's bakery in Linthicum, MD.  Her beloved boyfriend had made all the arrangements for a Wed. evening church ceremony at Mt. Olivet Lutheran Church in Washington DC.  There was also a short 1 day honeymoon planned at Betterton, MD on the eastern shore. Remembering those days has been very nostalgic while listening to the locusts and hanging up the clothes.  How quickly time has flown by.  She never would have thought back then that she would some 55 years down the road be remembering her decision to go through with getting married.  I see girls today who are 17 and they would never dream of running away from a good parental home and eloping.  Well that's what I did and God took all of my immaturity into consideration and blessed my life incredibly anyway.

Looking forward to the Next 50!

In approximately 3 weeks, 50 years of marriage will be celebrated! How can it be that the time has gone by so quickly? We were just 17 and 18. Two teenagers in love! I have often wondered why our marriage has lasted this long. God must of been pleased ( after He stopped smiling :), to be gracious to us and reveal His mercy to us at just the right time. There is no other explanation to the question. Before I knew Him as my Savior, I remember the pastor that married us quoting scripture, saying the blessing over us. "What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder." I did not know the love of God or His power to work in my life. I believed the scripture and if anyone objected to our marriage I intended to use Him as my defense! After all, I had eloped, was underage for legal marriage and wasn't as smart as I thought I was but was pretty sure that God approved of marriage. Now, 50 years down the road of life, with 4 children, and 7 grandchildren I can most assuredly testify of the Lord's blessing on our union. He is just that kind of Heavenly Father! Forgiving, loving, full of mercy and truth, they are only a few of His attributes we've experienced. Our great God made the world, the universe and everything in it to glorify Him. Marriage was His idea as He brought the woman to the man, to multiply and fill the earth. As He has explained in the scripture marriage is a picture of our relationship to Christ. He is the bridegroom and the church is the bride. She is holy and pure because of His sacrifice. I hope our marriage brings Him glory as we celebrate His goodness to us and praise Him. I'm so happy to be the wife of my beloved husband and also part of the bride of Christ.

The Measure of A Man

Looking back over nearly 50 years of marriage, I can confidently speak to the quality of the character of the man I married at age 17. To realize at such a young age what constituted the fidelity and love that this man has given me all these years was not in my thinking at that time. For one so young to have to grow up so quickly took a mighty strong character. This man had exhibited maturity beyond his years during the time we were both growing up. He held his first child at the age of 19. She quickly won his heart and they were bonded as father and daughter. The more the responsibilities increased the harder he worked to provide for his growing family. I do not recall a time when he bemoaned his lost youth and the freedoms so many of his peers had as young adults. He took responsibility for his decisions and as his father commented on our elopement many years ago, "you've made your bed, now sleep in it". Sounds a little harsh, but that's exactly what he did. As the years and decades passed 3 other children were born and raised by a hard working Dad who loved and provided for each one. Before the 4th child was born, a wonderful thing happened to this already wonderful man. He was introduced to Christ as his Lord and Savior. From that point forward his life began to take on a new focus. To know God and to live a life that was God centered. The Bible became the source of instruction on becoming a man after God's own heart. God has been true to His word to complete what He has started in a person's life. As the measure of integrity in his heart began to grow so did an amazing transformation. Integrity that was there all along began to mature and exhibit qualities of what God desired in a husband and father. God is not slow about his promises. Even though spiritual growth seems to take forever God does accomplish His purposes in our lives over time. The youthful energy has now slowed somewhat but the desire to serve God has increased. This man will leave a legacy to his children and grandchildren of stability, faith, consistency, hard work and a servant's heart. He has been most faithful to me and will always be the love of my life and my friend.

THE MEASURE OF A MAN

I am going to meander away from my previous blog thoughts for a while.
Lately I've been pondering thoughts of, "What is the Measure of A Man?" My father was the first man in my life and from him I measured my impressions of what a man should be. As the first of four children and being the only girl I believed I was special to my Dad. He was a good father and provider. He was an honorable and brave soldier during WWII. As it has been recounted to me, he adored me as a baby and would walk with me in his arms around the house and sing, "I'm Going to Buy a Paper Doll". Although this early relationship with my Dad cannot be consciously recalled I know that those moments are ingrained in my soul. So, through his voice and touch I began to know my Daddy. When he went away to fight in the war I was almost three years old. I must of wondered where he went.
By the time I was 2 1/2 I had a new brother competing for attention. Then three years later another brother arrived on the scene and then eight years after that another brother was born. By this time I was a teenager and loved being able to take care and help my mother with a newborn. Dad stayed busy earning a living and providing for his family. He was faithful to take us to church on Sunday morning where I received a knowledge that there was a God whose Son was Jesus. These were my first impressions of what a man was supposed to be.
What was it that caused me to relate to this man called 'my father'? The estimation of his love for me determined his worth in my eyes. Many conclude that the measure of a man's worth is found in his achievements in the business world, or perhaps it is the wealth he has gained and the power he has over others and then again many judge him by his outward beauty, his physique or personality. But for me, my Dad was security and protection. He provided a safe haven for me to grow up and he introduced me to church and the concept that there was a God.

Father's Day 1961!

On Saturday morning, June 17th, as I got out of bed my water broke! This was the due date for the baby. Little did I realize that it would be 18 hours after I arrived at the hospital before our daughter would be born! Kellee Anne Brackett arrived at 1:21 PM Sunday afternoon. It was Fathers Day and everything was normal and we had a beautiful baby girl weighing in at 6lbs 14oz. and 20 3/4 inches long. She was born at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore, MD. My doctor was Dr. Daniel Ehrlich a fine Jewish obstetrician. It was a long birthing process and I had little knowledge on how birthing worked, so when the final hour approached I was given a "saddle block" and the doctor helped her out with forceps. About 6 hrs. before she arrived the Dr. had told Jim to go on home, it was going to be a while. So, being dutiful and tired he went home and got some sleep. Things starting progressing back at the hospital and the Dr. called Jim and told him to come on over but to take his time. He stopped at Dairy Queen, got a milkshake and probably talked to Chuck who owned DQ before he headed on over to the hospital. When he got there our daughter had already arrived like 1 hour ago! I remember laying in the hall wondering where he was. How I wanted to share our precious gift together. Finally, we got to do that! Kellee was beautiful with a head full of dark hair, perfectly formed with 10 fingers and 10 toes. Four days later we got to bring her home. How joyous and proud I felt to hold, dress and care for my very own child. Jim's Dad met us at the curb and asked to carry his grandchild into the house. So, baby Brackett met her Grandaddy for the first time!