Christmas Is A Time To Give

"God sent His Son, they called Him Jesus."     But when He came, He wasn't born in a nice, warm house or in a hospital the way you and I were. He was born in a cave or a stable, probably where the lambs were born. After all, He came as the Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world. Another thing to think about is that there were no doctors or midwives or nurses. We think Mary and Joseph were all alone in that dark place at night when the LIGHT of the world came to them as a tiny baby. He came to be their Savior, too. But He started His earthly life as a helpless  baby. Jesus is GOD. He is the One who has always lived and has all power, but He became a human being. Why? So He could die. When you think of the blessings of Christmas, think of Emanuel (God With Us) and think of Jesus, Yeshua -- our Savior.

 

We have a tradition of giving gifts at Christmas time -- sometimes big gifts, sometimes home made gifts, sometimes a plate of cookies or a Christmas card. We do that to remember that the greatest gift was given on that first Christmas -- "the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8-10)

 

Now I want to tell you some things that I hope you will take to heart. I am praying that God will help you understand that He has plans for YOU. I love Jeremiah 29:11. It says, "For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope."

 

1. Just as God sent His Son to this earth for a purpose, He has also placed YOU here for His own purpose -- and it is a GOOD purpose for you.

 

2. God chose Mary and Joseph to be the ones who would nurture Jesus through His babyhood and childhood. And He also chose the very parents (or step-parents) that He wanted YOU to have. They didn't choose you and you didn't chose them. But GOD chose you for each other. And it was the BEST choice in His plan for you.

 

3. Bethlehem is where the Heavenly Father wanted His Son to be born. Think of where YOU were born. Maybe you would rather have been born in a warmer place or in a busier city or in the forest near a lake. But He decided where He wanted you to be as a child and where He will take you in the future. And it was the BEST place for you.

 

4. God gave the greatest gift that was ever given and the greatest gift that could ever be given. And He is so GOOD!

 

How are things for YOU this Christmas? Have you found gifts to give? Are you wishing you had more money so you could buy something nicer? I want to encourage you because I think the very best gift you could give won't cost you any money at all. It is something that ALL of you can give and I hope that ALL of you will want to give this to your parents, your siblings, your friends, your neighbors. It is something that everyone (including you) needs. It is to be LOVED and to know it.

 

Take your parents and your siblings, sometimes we get mad at them. I've been mad at mine and pretty upset with our children and our grandchildren from time to time. They have hurt me. And I am sure that I have hurt them. When that happens, we usually handle it wrong. We might want to get even or be rude or just cold and unloving and not spend much time with them. But when we behave that way, we are not only sinning against them but we are sinning against God. And that is serious.

 

Why is it serious? Partly because we are not being thankful to God for giving us the RIGHT parents and siblings for us. And it is partly because we are disobeying what God has commanded us in His Word. We are to love our neighbor as ourselves; we are to honor and obey our parents; we are to be kind to one another and forgive each other just as GOD has forgiven us, for Jesus' sake.

 

Here is what I hope you do. I hope you think about these things and pray about them. I hope you will ask the Lord to show you if you have failed to show love, kindness, respect, and obedience where He has asked you to do so. If there are problems, I hope you will make them right.

 

The best Christmas present you could give your Mom, your Dad, your Sister, your Brother, or anyone else is to sincerely repent before the Lord, apologize to anyone you have wronged, and ask the Lord to give you the ability to LOVE others the way HE loves you. What an awesome Christmas it could be -- revival in our homes and family!  

 

Love, Grammie

 

PS: The baby shown here was the first baby picture I found on my computer today. It is one of our grandchildren. Can you guess who it was? Send your guesses to my email brenda@buza.net or on facebook. First correct answer gets a prize!

 

Fun With Grandchildren

Gramp and I love doing things with all of you. We look back at some very special times with you, and nothing beats being there when some of you were born. What an awesome privilege and what a miracle to hear a grandchild's first cry and see the snuggling between you and your parents.

Some of the other memories include:  apple picking (Gramp loves it), pick-your-own strawberrying, school programs; visits with us to attend VBS or Day camp; flights to Wisconsin with Timothy;

going Amtrak to Chicago with Emily; visiting the Catskills with Kris, Kelsey, Kate, and Heidi; going to the Cincinnati Zoo with Marcia, Amber, and Joshua; visiting the Creation Museum with sixteen of you; having backyard cookouts and birthday parties at your places and ours; attending graduations; traveling to colonial Williamsburg with Kyle, Timothy, Joshua, and David; visiting Cary Lake to see Grammie Ruth and to help on the camp; trips to "the condo" in Island Falls . . . and so much more! We cherish those times and we hope you will remember such times with fondness. As the Lord provides, we hope for some more special memories that include YOU, of course!  

More than anything, we want  you to know that there is one trip that we want to make with every, single one of you. It is the most expensive trip and most important trip in all of time and eternity. That is the one that takes us to Heaven. Jesus paid for it with His very life when he suffered on the cross, paid for our sin, and was raised again. We cannot be good enough to go to Heaven. We go because we trust, by faith, in all that Jesus has accomplished on our behalf. And only HE is good enough to make our salvation and our Heavenly home ours!

Just last night, Grampie was speaking of our newest baby -- and (as we have said of each one of you), he said that he prays that Isaac will know Jesus. He and I both pray -- as Grampie put it last night, "may our circle be unbroken." As much as we enjoy the wonderful people you are and the wonderful things we have been able to do together, all of that is very insignificant compared to the wonders that GOD has prepared for His children. The Bible says that, "eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither has it enters into our hearts the things that God has prepared for them that love Him." So we cannot imagine the glory of being with Him forever more.             

A Virtual Reunion With Our Six "Kids"

           Wayne, Valerie, Jonathan, Brenda, Stephen, Marcia, Kevin, Bethany

On February 18, 2012 we celebrated Grammie Ruth's 90th birthday at our home in Glenburn. A lot of the family was here for a wonderful celebration, but Valerie and Bethany and their families were unable to be with us. After Grammie saw this picture, she asked if I could clone in Valerie and Bethany so we could have a family picture. So I did!  We have not been together at once place for about eleven years now and we hope that changes very soon.

Once the picture was "doctored", I posted it on facebook and people had fun discussing it. Here -- saved for posterity -- is that discussion.

Bethany Sykes hehehhee...I have been pregnant so much the last couple years you could only find one that I was prego ... too cute.
Brenda I had to have you standing up. I wondered if you would notice that. The picture was with Chris and holding onto the sold sign at your house.
Bethany  I thought that was were you took it from. I love the picture though.
Brenda  Not the ideal way to get our family together.
Kelsey Jacobsen Who there is actually there?
Brenda  The "painted in ones" are your Mom and Aunt Beth. I WISH we could all be together again.
Kelsey  Are you all really standng infront of those cupboards?
Stephen Buza Yup, that's your grandmother's house.
Brenda  We really are. That is in our kitchen and we had all gathered there for Grammie Ruth's birthday. I made Gram a book for mother's day from the 90th birthday pictures. [When she saw the original of this picture], she said I should clone your Mom and Aunt Beth in so we could have a family picture, so I did!
Kelsey My eyes are starting to play tricks on me I guess because everyone is starting look pasted in.
Brenda Buza Hahah... I will show you the original picture as soon as I find it. It had a "messy" roaster full of taco meat, etc, on the island, so I cropped us out. [Note: I haven't found the picture, so must have tossed it out.]
Stephen I think she made Valerie taller than she is in real life :)
Brenda Buza Actually, Dad was kinda slumped over in that picture, Stephen.   I tried to compare her to me. But, yuh, I probably gave her a couple of inches. I don't think she and Jon are all that different in height -- I think she is around 5'7" and he is around 5'8", but I'm not sure. That is why I put her beside him, haha.
Stephen Yeah, dad's slouched. Despite the effects of gravity over the years, Dad probably still has an inch or so on me. I think you've got Val about 5'9" or so. But I can't say for sure whether Bethany really has that 1.5" on Marcia or not.
Brenda  I was wondering how tall to put Bethany, too. I'm about 5' 2" and I think Beth is slightly taller, but unsure.
Wayne  Stephen, do the effects of gravity over the years cause a vertical decrease and a horizontal increase?
Kevin Buza  All I know is that if I didn't have bowed legs I'd be as tall as Dad.
Wayne I would be taller if my legs were not so short. I would weigh less if I were not so fat. I would be smarter if (no never mind - you cannot improve on perfection).
Brenda You have the inseam of a shorter man -- so you really ARE tall above the waist. I was thinking, Stephen, maybe Valerie was on her tiptoes!
Valerie:  ‎5' 6"
Brenda Tiptoes!
Bethany  I would not have complained if you had given me 3-4 inches in height.
Brenda Buza ‎Bethany, you know what I say when people complain about being short. "Someone has to stay down here with ME."

I look at that picture and think of the days when our little children were running around playing with the pots and pans, digging in the mud, playing around the junk cars that were left behind our house, riding their bikes, irritating each other -- and look at them now! Some of them have adult children of their own. The first great grandchild has been born. Graduations and college and all the things involved with the grandkids spreading their wings are happening. WHERE did the time go? I cherish these children of ours and their children. I cherish all the memories made and all those in the making. GOD is so GOOD to us!

Kevin  Where did the time go? Into the past! Ps 39:5b ... "Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor."

Bethany  Kevin, I think you have as much gray in your beard as does does...lucky for you that you still have hair on your head :)

Kevin Buza ‎Barbara says she likes it, makes me look distinguished. I will confess, though, my forehead is larger than it used to be.

Stephen You whiner

Bethany  Well of course Barbara likes it! I on the other hand enjoy teasing you about it :)

Kevin Tease away, Sis. You can't tell in the photo, but there is some graying at the temples too.

Bethany Stephen, you have no room to talk...I didn't think it was possible, but you have far less hair on your head then Dad does. bwahahhaha  Oh and he only has about three.

Stephen  He's whining about his forehead. I have something like a foot of forehead, so I have 12 inches to talk. That's plenty of room.

Kevin  Stephen, you misspelled "winner".

Stephen  ‎:) Sure. That's what I meant.

Bethany  I look out of place in this picture....I am the only blonde here...of course you all used to tell me I was adopted or found under a rock or something.

Kevin  ‎... under a cabbage leaf as I recall.

Stephen  I'm the only one that doesn't wear glasses (aside from one sister who had her vision correct with lasers).

Bethany You don't wear glasses because you don't want to see the world as it is...hehehe.

Stephen  heheh.. I wear invisible rose colored glasses I suppose. I do have glasses, somewhere, that an optometrist made me buy once. He said my vision gets blurry when my eyes get tired and that I might want to wear them at night sometimes after a long day of looking at computer screens. He also said he doubted my vision would ever get worse. But, I never wear them, because they give me a headache.

Kevin  I only wear glasses because they look cool (and it is cool to see the world).

Brenda  [Back to the other topic] You are ALL cabbage patch kids. Not one of you has my genes --- not by the way you torment each other. hahaha.

Stephen  Mother, let's be honest here. We trace our ancestry back to the Marquis de Sade through your side.

Brenda  That's what they say ... was he the one who had the tormenting genes? [Did my elder son just call mine a family of sadists? I thought it was the Buzas who had such a propensity for teasing and arguing.]

 

Of course, this type of interchange has been typical over the years. I love you all so very much and love the fact that you can have so much fun and laughter when you are together (even in cyberspace). If you missed out on it there is space for adding your comments below or you can email them to me and I will insert them in the body of this text.

 

 

 

 

Just Talking About Mothers and Love

This past Sunday was Mother's Day 2012 and I just want to say how blessed I am to be coming upon my 69th birthday and still have my Mom. I wondered how many people still have their mothers at my age, so I looked up the oldest living Mother/Daughter pairs. It was amazing to find that the oldest known mother (Sarah Knaus) and and daughter were 119 and 96 when the mother died. After reading that, I concluded that my mother and I are highly unlikely to break the world record (not that I thought we were about to do so).

This year my Mother's heart was touched by love messages. Two of them were sent to me on facebook and . . . well, they made me cry. I want to preserve them here so that when I need comfort and encouragement they can be found readily. You may read them if you wish:

This one is from Marcia:

Mom, Happy Mothers Day! Thank you for your love, thank you for teaching me about the True and Living God as the only way to inherit eternal life, thank you for being an example of someone who strives to walk with Jesus, and thank you for the advise you give....if only I had taken your advise at the age of 18--but when I was hurt because of my choices, you WERE there waiting for me years later to give me more sound advise, you forgave me as Christ does, and you love me in spite of it all--THANK YOU------oh, and I think you are such a classy Christian woman-who wouldn't want to just hang out with you? Have a great day, Mom!

The reply was from my very heart:

Ahhh ... Marcia R. Buza, I can truly say that you have blessed my life over and over and you still do. As for the detour, that sadly happens in many lives. But let us take this opportunity to say without question that God is faithful to forgive, restore, and use us in His Kingdom. I am so GLAD to see that in you. I love you, dear daughter, and pray this is a very good Mother's Day for you, as well.

The other facebook message(s) came from Bethany and I cherish them, too:

Mom ~ Happy Mother's Day to the most wonderful mom in all the world! :) I am so blessed that God choose to put me into your loving arms. You have been such a wonderful influence in my life. I would not be the person I am today without your love, support, understanding, forgiveness, and your tender loving heart. I love you my dear sweet Momma.

The tearful reply: Thank you SO much, Bethany Buza Sykes! And I am so thankful that God sent you into my arms. What a sweet, little bundle you were (what happened to you, LOL). No, seriously, I am very blessed to have you in my life. . . please pass the tissues because you made me cry!! I love you, honey.

The reponse? I love you so very much! You are my greatest teacher! You mean the world to me! (tissues passed)

Grandchildren, I made this blog for me -- to remember and cherish the love that was poured out on me a couple of days ago. But if you are reading this, please keep a couple of things in mind:

#1: Your mother will be one of your best friends for your whole life, even when you go through an inevitable time when you question that fact or don't believe it at all.

#2: If you have a Christian mother, she will not stop praying for you. She will do everything within her power to help you and care for you. She will rejoice in your triumphs and will weep over your sorrows.

#3: Your mother loves you MORE than her very own life. There is nothing she would not give or do if she believes it is for your good.

#4: Sometimes being a mother is a very hard job. But when she hears things like I heard from the letters, phone calls, facebook messages, and card that I got on Sunday she knows it's worth it! It's worth every tear, every hard job.

#5: For the Christian woman, being a mother is a HIGH calling and is filled with blessings.

LOVE your mother and let her know it! When you are a parent you will start to understand how much she loves YOU...

A Letter to Grandma and Grandpa Buza

Now that we have no-added-cost long distance, email, and social networks the hand written letter has become pretty rare. But when we were first married, we had NONE of those. But we had the advantage of holding a letter in our hands. This is a letter that Grandma Buza saved for many years and she passed it along to me when she was around 90. I thought you would like to read it:

                                                                                        28th February, 1965
Dear Mom, Dad, & Joel -

Well, it looks as if the baby won't be here in Feb!! I went to the doctor Friday and he says to come back Tuesday if the baby hasn't arrived by then! -- He thought I may have started labor, but I guess not!! Today I had a few regular pains 20 and 15 mins apart, but after 5 or 6 or so they quit. Wayne and I were hoping, but alas!! Yet they may start in again pretty soon .... who knows!?

We were happy tonight to have a 'phone call from Grammie  and Andrea. It was so nice to talk with them -- their voices were so clear... sounded as if we were talking with someone right in Towanda!   (Note: I was talking about Grammie Muriel and Andrea Kneeland Kervin. Towanda, Pennsylvania is where Grampie and I worked at Memorial Hospital.)

Wayne has had quite a cold and sore throat, but I think the worst of it is over. He still doesn't feel quite as well as he could, though. He's been taking bufferin, drinking lots of juice, and resting. I hope he's over it before the baby comes, and I hope I don't catch it from him. I've been fighting a cold for over a week now --- have had the sniffles, but I think it won't develop into anything more serious.

Grammie mentioned what a good time you all had at dinner together .... I wish we could have been there, too!! I can imagine the fun you had! -- Nothing is more fun than eating anyway, is it, Mom? -- Mom & I like to chew the bones !!!

I hope the baby comes before my poor Wayne goes crazy!! I think he can hardly bear the suspense .... of course, he's no more "up in the air" than I am!!!! He says today that he's the proudest father in the world already, and don't know how he'll feel when the baby comes ..... I told him he'd explode; he couldn't hold it al in!! He's precious! He certainly is good to me, and I'm sure he'll be as fine a father as he is a husband. -- He does such sweet little things that so many people wouldn't think of!! He has been so patient with me, especially since the baby's been on the way ..... and it could have been so easy for him to be impatient! You have so much to be proud of in him..... his little faults aren't many, but I complain about them until I think he has 10 times as many good points as he has faults! -- And then my short-comings must drive him crazy!! (I've been twice as bad these past months!!)

It is nearly bedtime now, but I did want to get letters written tonight for tomorrow's mail. Wayne wrote to my family for me. -- It's been ages since he had written, so he decided it was his turn!

We love all 3 of you very much -- Write to us when you can, because we enjoy hearing from you so much!!! -- There isn't much news, but we'll let you know when the "big news" happens!

Love,
Wayne and Brenda

It's fun to go back and look at some of those old letters and see our attitudes and relive some of the memories. As many of you know, Valerie came into our home on March 11.  What a blessing she and our other children are and have always been. God is so GOOD to us.

Of note: Joshua told me recently that I use too many exclamation marks. I know that is true and for quite a few years it has been my habit to go back and edit most of them out. I see this letter. The exclamation points, the ellipses, and the dashes ---  are BAD!!!!

More Memories From Our Mad House!

Top: Valerie, Marcia; Bottom: Kevin, Jonathan; Middle: Stephen, Bethany

This blog is taken from a Facebook discussion among siblings -- our "kids", who had a marvelous time sharing random memories of their growing up years!

You may wish to read the previous blog about the things our children remember after 40 years or so, also. All I can say is that we have some delightful people in our family. I've loved reading of their memories and that has sparked some of my own. Grandchildren, maybe some of you are keeping journals. What a great idea to do that and be able to pass along the highlights of YOUR life to the next generation.

TIME WITH DAD:

Jeannie and Stephen Buza

Stephen:  I remember being ten and going hunting with Dad, walking through the snow, carrying my own firearm. Very early on it was an ancient .22 single shot, while my Dad carried his .32 Special lever action, which I think he's still sad to have go...tten rid of. Later, my dad had his Remington .30-06 and I carried a Savage over-under with .22 magnum on top and .410 on bottom. I'd have the .410 with birdshot in the chamber, but a couple of slugs in my pocket, just in case. We'd walk along the Pumpkin Ridge Road, check the fields. I nearly always walked behind him and if there was snow on the ground, I'd do my best to step in his footprints, but boy did he have a long stride! I'd practically have to jump to get to the next footprint, and so I'm sure I wasn't being particularly quiet. I remember the first time I saw my dad shoot a bird near the old collapsing house that we weren't allowed to go in (there's NOTHING left there at all now -- even the stone cellar has collapsed). I remember walking behind my Dad toward the upper field when a partridge flew out from an apple tree and my dad hit it while it was flying. I remember shooting a number of birds through the woods back there with my Dad. But what I remember most about it was just being with my Dad. He worked a lot, was on call a lot, when I was young, so to get two or three hours just the two of us being manly men was pretty important when I was ten. At some later time, my younger brother built a path through the woods that met up with an old skidder trail and, eventually, Pumpkin Ridge Road. It was a lot easier to get through the path than wend your way through the woods and not be sure exactly where you'd wind up. When I could hunt on my own, I used to go out along that trail with a rake in October and rake up all the leaves and dead branches so that it would be a very quiet walk through the cedar swamp that you passed through. I snuck up on a few deer and many birds and showshoe hare while on that path. Or course, to get there, you had to cross the footbridge, and that was only there because my brother (aka "He-Man") put the granite foundation in place by himself.

Stephen Buza http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4NS7gChzvk

Find Your Wings - Mark Harris

http://www.youtube.com/

Stephen: How time flys raising children

Valerie: I love both those songs. What a blessing. And all the stories. What a blessing. I am sitting here with two boys playing chess, one little girl doing a math activity, and a very little boy drawing a creepy ogre that looks like it came from ..._Where the Wild Things Are_, and I'm getting ready to read a story about beaver. (_Flat Tail_ by Alice Gall Crew and Fleming H. Crew, a brother-and-sister team who had a childhood a lot like ours and grew up to write nature books together.) It's in the simple things of ordinary that life is good.

Bethany Buza Sykes   ‎I know this story is from my teenage/ early twenties years. I remember Dad and I going to Bangor to buy a new tractor. You and Mom had always agreed on amounts to spend on things....You went a little overboard, because this "on...e" was so much better. Now I must go back to the night before. Mom and Dad had gone to the grocery store and Mom wanted some grey pupon mustard instead of the boring old frenchies mustard. Dad told her it was silly to spend that much more on mustard. So as I was standing by my father and he made the decision to spend more then $1.50 on the agreed amount for the tractor purchase...I simply looked at Dad and said maybe next time you might want to let her have that Grey pupon...we had a great laugh over it, and of course had to tell mom who whole heartily agreed that she should have it next time.

Kevin: I built my deck ... 10' by 42' across the front and 6' by 28' along the side. Loved doing it too. When I do projects like that people have asked where I learned how to do that stuff. I always tell them I learned by watching and helping my Dad with his projects. I loved holding the boards while he cut them, etc. Those are precious memories for me: helping Dad with some project. I remember times watching Dad working outside and taking some cold water or iced tea out to him so he could cool down.

Bethany Buza Sykes Kevin people always ask me how I know how to do these "manly" jobs. My answer watching my dad and brothers...Helping my dad and brothers (probably more like getting in the way)
Kevin Buza When Ashley got her first vehicle, the first thing I did was introduce her to the concept of internal combustion engines, where the power comes from, how it gets translated from battery to spark combined with gas to create an explosion to p...ush a piston down from the force of that explosion and how that gets translated into rotational energy that propels a car. What fun it was for me... so much so that I've already started teaching the other two those same things, a little at a time.

IT DOESN'T COST MUCH TO HAVE FUN AT HOME:

Jonathan Buza We went out along side that trail and chopped a cedar tree down for the beams for that little foot bridge. The back is fine, considering all the stupid things I did with it I am certinaly blessed to not wake up to a sore back every day. God is good. I was quite fit when I was a landscaper. I wish I were that fit now. Everything is heading sort of like that old house. haha

Kevin Buza Oh, the sand pile by the old boat.... I loved playing in it until the red ants moved in!

Valerie Jacobsen I remember Mom cleaning up the yard, some old boards from a building project. She found a nest of baby pinky mice, and she put them in a jar and called us to come look. I remember kneeling by a rotting log with her and watching all the ants scurry to save their babies after we broke it open. Both of our parents were always aware of the kind of experiences that would enthrall a small child.

Bethany:  I remember when it came time for me to get my license Dad took me to the gas station and taught me to pump gas, and he taught me how to change my tires, check my oil and other fluids...because he was tired of having to do it for all the girls. As a matter a fact I changed a tire for my older sister about 6 years ago because I love her, and because my wonderful father taught me to do it (because he was sick of it....lol)

THE STORIES OF BATS (AND OTHER CRITTERS) ARE CLASSIC MEMORIES

Valerie Jacobsen

I remember one of the times a bat got into the house--and I remember that bats are among Dad's least favorite creatures. We were all in bed for the night, when I saw it swoop through the air over my bed. I screamed for Dad, and he came runn...ing. In the process of investigation, my brothers claimed to have seen it too, and described it as white and about a foot long. With that, Dad doubted our tales and told us to be quiet and go to sleep. I felt very well vindicated the next morning when I learned that after they went to bed, Mom and Dad heard the bat scratching and were awake long into the night looking for its hiding place before they finally found it, clinging to the back of a dresser drawer in their bedroom.
I also remember Dad shooting another bat in the bathroom. And I remember Mom unpacking from a camping trip when a larger garter snake crawled out from our things, and she had to call Dad home from work to capture it for her.

I remember Dad trapping a possibly rabid skunk in the cellar and removing it, trap and all, to take it into the woods and shoot it. (This is a little bit fuzzy. Is that how it happened?)

[My Note: The skunk was already dead when Dad removed it from the basement.]

Brenda Buza Dad or Jon will have to tell you about the bat experience when they were working on our Marshfield house. Dad was trapped in a lift and Jonathan 'playfully' told him there was a bat down his shirt... ugh!! We still laugh about it.

Valerie Jacobsen Dad can substitute the truth for my euphemism "least favorite creatures" if he so desires.

Michele and Jonathan Buza

Jonathan Buza  I might of missed liking a comment. I LIKE IT ALL!!! This is fun. It doesn't sound anything like me that I would tell dad there was a bat crawling on him. We were working on the shingles on the back side of the house. As I recall there... was an area that had been patched where an old door or window had been, and we were pulling some shingles to work the pattern of shingles together. Well upon pulling a few shingles five or six bats came out. Dad really doesn't like bats and he let out a scream. What a brat I said "there is one on you". But when I told him I was kidding he felt all better and we went back to work. I don't like bats either!

Wayne Buza Val mentioned the skunk in the basement up earlier in this biographical novel. The skunk had crawled in the basement and I think it had died there. But to be sure it was dead I used the hole and shot it. Then carried it out into the woods without touching it at all. DO you all remember the other skunk?

Brenda Buza The "other skunk". We had gone to Grammie Ruth's and Grampie Jim's for the weekend. When we got home it was dark and more than one child was asleep. Dad and I went inside with some people and our "gear". And when we opened the door to the entry way it wasn't latched and a powerful odor struck us -- it was SO strong we didn't recognize what it was. I was inside the house and Dad went back out to get another child or children. In the meantime, I thought something moved under the chair in the entry way and I leaned down to come eye to eye with the skunk just as Dad was getting to the outside door. I remember yelling "SKUNK". Dad went outside and I went inside. To make a long story short, we fought that odor every time it rained for a long while afterward.
Dad: Mom was lucky. I came eye to - well the other end of the skunk. I think his "tank' was already empty by that time.

Jonathan Buza Dad, I don't think lucky has anything to do with looking at a skunk on your porch no matter which end your looking at. haha I remember when you were going on a fishing trip to the Allagash and you told me you would pay me to dig worms. I'm not sure how many hours I spent flipping over rocks and boards and digging holes. Seemed a little like robbery seeing as that was the sort of thing that little boy did anyway.
Dad: I cannot believe that your father would be numb enough to pay you to dig worms. Certainly you are making that up.
Jonathan Buza My prices were cheaper than buying bait and you were busy. haha

[My Comment: The point of paying a little boy to help out once in awhile is to help instill in him the value of working for what he has. Some duties were expected because you lived there. But having the opportunity to make a little money now and then is good -- on the other hand, I don't think "allowances" help develop character. I think when you compensate someone because they breathe helps breed and entitlement mentality. Of course when you want something done and don't have time to do it yourself is a perfect opportunity to develop some character in a child!]

TENTING AND ALL

Brenda Buza

I'm a little surprised that nobody has talked about the tenting and travel experiences we had as a family. I liked those times SO much because there was no 'phone to interrupt our fun. Do you remember the time that I went "on strike" at Perdido Key? I had this pity party because everybody was having fun going from beach to pool to hot tub, etc, while I was doing laundry, cleaning the condo, making meals etc. So I made a dish of pineapple and took it with a book out onto the deck. . . I think it was 7th floor. The Gulf was beautiful and I could see the dolphins doing their gymnastics. Time went by and some people came in for supper -- but there was nothing. Somebody came out onto the deck and asked what was for supper and I told them, "whatever you fix." The room went silent. But in a bit there was some movement. I think somebody made tacos the whole time I sat there and did not enjoy my book or the scenery because I felt so guilty.

Barbara and Kevin Buza

Kevin Buza Camping.... in one of our recent church small group meetings our "icebreaker question" was "Tell about a camping experience." So, I told about borrowing a van, packing a tent, and heading for Florida to camp on the beach, only to arrive an discover that the tent poles were sitting outside the barn way back in Maine. 

Brenda Buza So, Kevin, we bought another tent that went flat in a rainstorm and soaked all of our clothing and bedding ... did you tell that part? What a wild tenting experience THAT was.

Stephen Buza Haha... I don't remember that tenting issue. Is that because I was in Florida already?

Kevin Buza ‎... and then Hurriance Elaina came through as I recall.

Brenda Buza I think you weren't with us, Stephen. It was the night before Valerie's graduation. We had to go to a laundromat to dry everything and then on to a motel room. Weren't you at home working at that point?

Stephen Buza If it was the night before Valerie's graduation, then i was living on campus. 

Brenda Buza OK -- short memory fuse here.

Marcia R. Buza I remember the tenting experience and the rainy tent......Maybe Mom and Dad were discouraged about it....but, I remember that I didn't feel affected by it....I remember being scared about the hurricane, though.

OF CATS AND DOGS AND PERCEIVED "PUPPIES"

Stephen Buza I still think that dogs are boys and cats are girls.

Valerie and Paul Jacobsen

Valerie Jacobsen One of my very first memories after Stephen's birth--I'm pretty sure I was less than two--was coming downstairs to find that our dog had puppies in the night. I was delighted beyond description.

Mommy, on the other hand, was disgusted. Those weren't puppies and she was mad at the dog for what she'd left on the floor! [My note: Kiki was a pretty young puppy when Stephen was born and was not interested in being house-broken.]

 Does anyone else remember that dog? Mom told me recently that Dad had to shoot her because she had gotten in with a porcupine and was suffering so badly. :-(

I remember thinking that dogs were the boys and cats were the girls of the same species. A little inconsistent, I know, but there you have it.
I remember thinking that if you turned off the TV the little people inside would be frozen in place and would pick up where they left off when we turned it on again.

[My Note You called the dog Kiki. You must have thought she was a cat!]

Valerie Jacobsen Well, I knew she was a dog, but I thought a dog was a kind of cat. 

Brenda Buza One of the first words Valerie said was "down". She would roll up a newspaper, shake it at the dog and yell "down".  I worked for a few weeks before he was born and Ruth Sprague was the babysitter -- that is where Valerie learned to tell the dog to get down.

Kevin Buza LOL. I knew there was a dog prior to Honey, but could not remember it. [My note: Dr. Shaw gave us that dog. He raised labs and used them for duck hunting.]

Stephen Buza

Valerie Jacobsen So my first kitten was Nickel-huppy-kiki. Nickel was the name Mom suggested, for the gray spot on her head and puppy-kitty was her species. 

Stephen Buza Actually, I might have been trying to feed the dog instead, and the cat pounced.

Valerie Jacobsen I mean him. I thought the cat was a girl when I was little because, again, cats were girls.... Yeah. I woke up in the middle of the night, suffocating with him sleeping on my face. I pushed him away in such a panic that he hit the wall with a very loud thud. And I was about 13 then. This is after he came back from his long, mysterious adventure.

Stephen: My hatred of cats started there. I was young, maybe 5 or 6, and I had a piece of gristle that I was taking out to give to the cat, but it was dark out and I couldn't see her, so I was just holding it in my hand with my arm outstretched. So...mehow, she bounded up the steps, leapt in the air, and grabbed onto my hand with both paws, clawing me pretty badly. I still have the scar on my right ring finger. Never liked cats after that, and I can't think of any redeeming qualities they have that might have improved this over the years. 

Marcia R. Buza I don't remember the dog prior to Honey

Valerie Jacobsen I think that dog was gone before Kevin was born. Not 100% sure though.

Wayne Buza: IS this thread public or family? IT must be a public thread. I am not related to. ANYONE here and none of these things ever happened. Well I do remember a bat or two

Brenda Buza The only time I enjoyed cats was when they lived in the barn. They would keep the mouse population down and they had no tables or cupboards to climb on. They were contented climbing in the hay and coming into the stable when I was milking (by hand, of course). I liked squirting a little milk at them and they would lap it in mid air. That was fun -- my opinion? Cats do not belong inside houses, LOL.

Stephen Buza http://ablestmage.wordpress.com/2008/03/13/random-image-cow-milking-squirt-to-cats-mouth/

Random Image: Cow Milking Squirt To Cat’s Mouth

ablestmage.wordpress.com

Brenda Buza: EXACTLY, Stephen! And they sit there and WAIT with pleading eyes.

RANDOM FUN AND BIRTHDAYS

Brenda Buza I can remember all being in our living room and laughing until we ached. Stephen and Jonathan could have us ALL in stitches!! 

Brenda Buza We had birthday for Kevin in a motel with a pool a few times; I remember a birthday for Jonathan at a picnic table along the New York turnpike. I think Jon was 3. We were on our way to Illinois to see Gramma and Grampa.

Bethany: Okay, so I love to look at rocks, I love looking at all the different shapes, sizes, and colors. I wonder if it came from all that rock picking when the house was moved?

Christopher and Bethany Sykes

Stephen: Heh.. Maybe. I did my share or rock-picking in the gardens too.

Bethany:  Once upon a time there was this pretty little three year old girl with beautiful blonde curls! Her big brother asked if she wanted to play barber. She didn't really know what that was, but she said yes. When brother was all done the little... girl went proudly to show Mother how beautiful her hair was. The mother saw only one little ringlet hanging down by her ear...the rest were on the floor at her brothers feet. Mother cried and cried and then took the little girl into the barber shop and said to the barber can you fix her? Poor Mother, Poor Little girl, and Poor Brother. Although I would imagine if mother had not have cried the little girl would have thought nothing of having only one curl on her head.

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED WITH THE NEIGHBOR'S GARDEN?

Bethany:  Oh yes! Oh and your story about having lunch from the garden...I always loved to do that! Just have to remember to pick from your own family garden, right Jonathan? 

Jonathan Buza Why where did I steal vegetables from? 

Stephen Buza This sounds vaguely familiar.

Valerie Jacobsen I remember the Grays' cows getting in our corn.

Jonathan Buza Ohhhh That explains it. Must be that I figured if his cows could eat our corn I could snag a few peas and carrots from his. haha I don't remmeber making like a hobbit and stealing farmer maggots crops

Bethany Buza Sykes ‎Pearlie Gray we got caught of course, and got in big trouble.

[My Note: I don't remember if/what Jonathan did something with Everett Gray's garden. But I remember the gentleman, himself, carrying a huge bag of peas up to me and apologizing profusely for what his cows had done in our garden. They had devastated about 12 rows of gorgeous corn. That was kind of him to try and make some sort of restitution. And beyond that . . . did you, Jonathan?]

Kevin Buza ‎(cough) Halloween candy (cough), November 1st

Stephen Buza Jonathan was enterprising. He figured all of the households within a mile would be stuffed to the gills with leftover candy the day AFTER Halloween, so he went around with a pillowcase and collected. I'm quite sure he got ten times as much candy on November 1st as he got the day prior. 

Kevin Buza I always thought he was a genius for doing it and didn't understand why Mom & Dad were upset. Spirit of an entreprenure right there.

Jonathan Buza Just trying to do my civic duty. 

[My note: Jonathan, you have always had a rather well developed sense of logic -- and justice.] 

Marcia R. Buza I wanna go back!!! Back to then...please?......It would be really cool if in Heaven God would let us see back to times like these...

ECLIPSE OF THE MOON, COMETS, AND ADOPTED DAUGHTERS:

Bethany Buza Sykes I remember Mom and Dad allowing us to drag a mattress outside by the barn and lay on it to watch an eclipse late at night, and again when Haley's comment came around....It was so cool!  I remember thinking what a great party it was to be awakened in the middle of the night (probably 9-10pm...hehehe) to go see it and laying on the mattress looking up at the sky it was just awesome.

Valerie Jacobsen I think the star party was probably after I went to school.

Bethany: The comet was I think my early teens 

Kevin Buza . . . the comet came through to mark my graduation from high school (and Val's from college)... 1986.

Marcia R. Buza I remember that Mom made Beth go for a walk with me cause I was lonely and Beth was so mean she told took me down to the bridge and told me I was adopted and she said if I said anything to Mom about her not wanting to go for a walk with me that she would cut my dolls hair off....thats how it happened, right Beth?????

Marcia Buza

Bethany Buza Sykes  NO< I did cut your dolls hair off because you never would let me play with it, and you were mean to me on that walk....although as usual Bethany cried about nobody playing with her, and her big sister was told to play with her and then the walk where I found out that I was adopted and I was going to be beaten up if I told mom anything....of course you never would have, but I figured if Jon could cut my hair I could cut your dolls hair...:)

Marcia: lol.....I love you Beth......now, I would love to go for a walk and talk.

Bethany:  As would I...we loved each other then too, but i think I felt like everyone didn't need alone time of there own...I was such a brat sometimes, but aren't we all.

[My notes: did you tell each other you were adopted? Both of you look to much like family for that one to have any lasting impression, don't you?]

Marcia R. Buza Speaking of after you went to school, Val........You were so good about writing to your siblings while you were off to school....and I remember you sending a good book about dating that I wish I had taken more seriously.....

Bethany Buza Sykes I have never been very good at remembering birthday's or writing letters....wish I had been though. Of course I was really good at writing so so so so so so so so so so so, etc, much.

Marcia R. Buza yeah....I remember the so so so so so letters that you wrote Beth!

[My note: Oh, Bethany! Those little notes from you to Valerie with about 4 lines of I love you so, so, so, so..... were SO cute!]

GODLY COUNSEL AND WISDOM PASSED AROUND

Marcia: . . . and I remember you [Valerie] sending a good book about dating that I wish I had taken more seriously.....

Bethany Buza Sykes I never really listened to the council of those that loved me, and were looking out for our best interest. The council of those in our lives and the council of The Lord God himself should always be listened to. It took me two failed marriages to realize that what I wanted and what God wanted were not in line with each other.

Valerie Jacobsen Sorry for that experience, but so thankful that God is so good to us.

Bethany Buza Sykes I thought I didn't need to take the counsel of my parents, church family or God. I thought this is my life, and I know what is best for my life. NO God knows what is best for my life. Even through my disobedience, God had a plan, and sent Christopher to me, but the hurt and pain I dealt with could have been so avoided if I had adhered to those that loved me, and prayed to the Lord for his will in my life. Marcia R. Buza I didn't either Beth. It takes most people most of their lives to realize that Gods way is always best. Amber asked me tonight why everyone always says that growing up is hard? We got the chance to talk about how growing up is alot less difficult if you listen to the council of your parents and if you make a choice to go Gods way...

Marcia R. Buza God was gracious to send Chris to you Beth. And God was gracious to send you to Chris for that matter.

Valerie Jacobsen Marcia, it's the only way to have all the wisdom of a grownup when you're not quite one. But Christians really never outgrow the need for godly counsel. We are made into one BODY, not as isolated, individual units.

Kevin, Jonathan, Dad, Bethany, Marcia, Mom, Valerie, Stephen

[My note: This is one of the chief reasons that I am keeping up with this blog. I hope through the stories and specific warnings that God will use our experience and the lessons He has taught us in life to help this new generation. While I realize that many people learn from their own sin and error and not from ours, we do have a responsibility before God to encourage, admonish, and correct the children that He has entrusted to our care. We pray continually that they will listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit and that they do not resist or grieve Him.]

SECRET PASSAGE:  





Stephen: When I was about eight, we were locked out of the house one time. Dad took me down in the basement and there was a little hole in the living room closet floor. Couldn't have been more than sixteen by twelve inches. The closet was where a... bathroom used to be and there was still a hole there (I'm not sure why the hole was rectangular). Over the top of the hole was a piece of chipboard, and on top of that was what felt like fifty pounds of shoes and boots and whatever other paraphernalia normally collects in the bottom of closets. I lifted it up, pushing all the shoes out of my way, climbed up into the closet and unlocked the front door. After that, I kept the bottom of the closet clear of shoes, because it was my escape hatch. I got good at climbing up or down through that hole. There were probably quite a few times after bath and pajamas that I climbed down through the hole, up through the cellar bulkhead, and out into the night and nobody was the wiser. I also escaped from siblings during hide and seek and was never found. It was easy to stop in the closet and drop out of sight into the darkness below. It was a pretty sad day when I was twelve or so and I could no longer fit my shoulders through the hole.

Grampie and Me (MANY Years After These Stories)

Kevin Buza Yeah, when that closet got converted I tried to put my foot in that hole. It wasn't happening, never mind my shoulders. Don't know how anyone ever managed to fit through it.

Wayne Buza I think the hole in that closet was a LOT smaller than 12x16. It was cut in the floor for the drain to the bathtub. It was put there before we bought the house and then not covered until we moved the kitchen into the living room and the living room to the kitchen, and made the pantry there where the hole was. I remember Stephen going through it to open the front door.