WHAT I DID FOR MY 55TH BIRTHDAY!!!!

So, what does one do when faced with the dreaded "AARP" age????? Why - ride a roller coaster, of course!

This is the "Kraken" at Sea World/Orlando, and yep, I rode it ON MY BIRTHDAY! It was BIG, it was FAST, it was SCARY, it was UPSIDE DOWN MORE THAN RIGHT SIDE UP!!!!!!!!...AND IT WAS FUN!!!

Don't EVER tell me I'm old - because I REFUSE to be!

I have a new "Granddog!" Athena has come to stay with my daughter for a trial run at living with her....She is the most gorgeous BIG German Shepherd ! She's been with us 2 days and has settled in quite well - quiet and gentle thus far.

Over the years I've tried to explain to my children how rare it is to truly have a "close" friend. Not very many come along in a lifetime, and when they do - you cherish it always.

In October of 1981 I found just that friend. Denise and I moved into our new neighborhood in Leesburg, young married girls with babies. I ran out of gas a couple of blocks from home one day and was walking back with the boys, when she pulled up beside me and offered us a ride. I recognized her from 2 doors down and accepted....and that was the start of an amazing 26 year journey. Not only did we raise our kids together....we laughed, we cried, we fought like sisters, we prayed, we supported each other thru unbelievable life obstacles...but thru it all, we maintained a love that could not be overthrown...

I like to remember the times when we would sit on our front porch, hour after hour, while our children played outside. Denise had such a sense of how life should be....and never shied away from voicing her opinion! If she didn't approve of a teacher's methods....look out - she told her...but then she'd get right in that classroom and work like a dog helping out....If a neighbor needed a meal - she was the first to cook one - and then arrange for everyone else to respond. Having a bad day?....Denise was there with a kind word - or would just take the kids for a while.
I saw her scramble to make house payments when her husband left...pulling together and organizing an in-home babysitting business to keep her at home with her own kids. She showed me how to shop for bargains (year after year after year - we travelled to Reading Pennsylvania to the outlets....some of the BEST days I've ever had!)...

When Lisa was born, and was so sick in the hospital with asthmatic bronchitis as a 5 month old - I sent Denise home to get some sleep, and, myself being 7 months pregnant with Valerie, climbed into the croup tent with Lisa and held her while she slept.....Our boys Tim & Mike - we put on a plane at age 12 to go off to Space Camp - nervous as can be - but glad that they had each other! When Lisa couldn't calm down as a colicky baby - Denise would run to my house - thrust her into Steve's arms - and flee....only to be frustrated that Lisa would immediately calm down with Steve's calming effect! There was the famous night, also, when she called, screaming in the phone, that something was IN her washing machine. Steve went running to her house - only to find a lovely, large green TOAD! (Maybe she should have kissed it - it might have been the Prince she was looking for!)

The funniest time EVER, though was surely the day we decided to take our city-raised kids to the country to see a farm. We had already introduced them to picking berries or apples, but Denise had found a farm that LET YOU MILK YOUR OWN COW! Well, well, that was just the thing that we HAD to do so our kids would grow up not missing out on good, solid values and hard work! So, off we went, 5 kids and 2 30-something women to Western Loudoun and some unsuspecting cow. We were shown to the barn, gathered the kids around us...and explaining where milk came from, placed a bucket under her udders, and each sat on either side of this poor cow and started pulling at her teats. Nothing happened. So we tried harder...still nothing. By now, the 5 kids (ages 18months, 2yrs, 3, 3 1/2 & 4) all started to wander off - scattering chickens and stepping in droppings....BUT, Denise and I could not leave Bessie, the cow. We had just started to get a trickle of milk....and suddenly realized that we couldn't just "stop" milking the poor cow! She (the cow) was in agony and getting restless...and our kids were running helter-skelter....And at that moment, Denise and I looked at each other - under the cow - and just about died laughing. It was truly a "Lucy and Ethel" moment.

As with any long-term relationship there were good times and bad. We had years where we were close, and then others where we drifted apart a bit - sometimes because we disagreed, but other times when life just got in the way. We always seemed to be able to be there for important days....birthdays, graduations, weddings. And Christmas. Even the year when Denise was SO mad at me that she hadn't spoken in 6 months...she showed up on my doorstep on Christmas Eve with her yearly batch of Cinnamon rolls. And once again, we were off and running - two peas in a pod just trying to get thru life.

In the past couple of years, Denise's physical and emotional challenges have really taken it's toll. I found that reaching out to her was not always accepted, but then a few days or weeks later, she'd call up - just like nothing had happened and we'd get together and talk like we always had. She had just challenged me to start working out with her to get healthier....and was looking forward to the arrival of her first grandchild this fall. So much excitement ahead....

Denise's faith in God has always been strong....with every single roadblock, she would look Heavenward and say, "He will get me thru"...or "It is God's will". And just like when Jesus told us in His sermon on the Mount, "Consider the Lilies of the field - they toil not, neither do they spin...but God in all his glory clothes them....how much more will He do for his children?" - Denise believed that God would ultimately take care of her. She was as fragile as a lily - offering a beauty of her own - All Denise ever truly believed in was Love. All she ever wanted was for people to love her. She gave to her children all of herself. They were her true pride and joy. I never, ever heard her say anything negative about them. She gave love to her friends. She gave, and gave, and gave....

It is truly my hope and belief and prayer that God is taking care of Denise today - with HIM in that beautiful field of lilies - where they toil not, neither do they spin....forever free from the pain of living here....but in his Glorious Heaven.

May you finally be at peace, Denise.

So, Ian has been "officially" inducted into the Kerby passion for Roller Coasters!!! We took him to Kings Dominion for his first ride....the "Scooby Doo". He had absolutely no idea of what to expect...but summed it up at the end by saying, "Why is it stopping??? I want to go AGAIN!!!"

He totally enjoyed the coaster (rode it 3 times), the Avalanche (a bob-sled coaster ride), the Log Flume (very WET), the flying airplanes, the waterpark, etc, etc.... One very happy little boy.
On the way home, he was eating and we noticed he was trying to feed himself as he was falling asleep - hitting himself in the face with his food! TOO FUNNY!

We also just took a vacation to Williamsburg where Ian learned how to be in the water without being afraid...how to play putt putt (pretty well, actually) be a beach bum...and watch the fife and drum band! Oh, yes, the rest of us had fun too....but life is truly all about Ian!

WooHoo! Steve and I just had the most FUN tonight! We scored free tickets to a Taylor Hicks concert !!! Even though it was HOT (in the 90s when we got there...it was outdoors)...the sun set just as it got started...and WOW is he a great entertainer! I loved his musicianship....his performance (he isn't "spastic" with his moves any longer)....and the vocals were amazing.
What a fun, random thing to do tonight!

What a crazy weekend! Steve and I decided to do some BIG entertaining....so we had a small group of 12 last night - some new and old friends from church....and then today had 40 (!) from our "State Fair" musical group for a pot luck! The photo is taken in my family room (it looks so big when it's empty!)...with Martha in the middle!

On another note - Ian was incredibly funny today! During the sermon he was listening to Bruce preach, when he turns to me and asks, "What does obey mean?" I was so happy that he was focusing on the lesson! However, shortly thereafter, he once again turned to me and asked, "Why is his voice so loud?" Ok, so he was listening - just not to the content!

Later tonight, after Ian had been playing outside with all the kids and screaming and yelling....he settled down to watch his favorite movie, "Cars". When his mom called about an hour later, and he tried to talk to her on the phone, he discovered that he had lost his voice! He was so confused and wanted to know "where did it go?" ....THEN, he lifts up his shirt, and says, "But it's still ME! I'm not wearing a costume!"

Kids! Thank you God for giving us these little bits of laughter and joy!

It is a rare moment when one can watch her offspring fully come "into her own". So it is with watching my daughter spend the last few years working extremely hard to accomplish something she once told me she could "never do". I remember sitting in my Aunt Fran's living room with Valerie (Fran was a nurse from the 40's and a professor of nursing until the 70s)...and she would hound Valerie to try and consider a career in nursing. Val was SO resistant. Then, she became a volunteer at the hospital...then a secretary in the ER...followed by being an ED tech....and the rest, as they say, is history. Science, Math, psychology, pathophysiology, biology, blood, gore and butt wiping...she's done it all now...and thus I am proud to watch her embark on a career that can only be described as extremely fulfilling while unbelievably exhausting. It will take all of her heart, mind, soul, and body to give to the patients who so sorely need nursing. Val has what it takes.......thank you, Val, for going after a dream that at one time may have seemed out of reach.
You GO girl!! :)

Best Friend...

Aside from my family, I have been blessed to have a "best friend" in Martha Lynch. She has been mentor, confidante, friend, buddy, travel partner, theatre companion....words could go on and on. I captured this photo over the weekend "in her element" - just using one of her many, many talents of flower arranging.

A question that's been on so many minds this past week...."why do they die"?

Sometime between 9am and noon today a little bit of "spring" at our house died. About 2 weeks ago a pair of morning doves returned to our front porch to build a nest where they had successfully raised a baby last year. We watched in great awe and anticipation as the parents brought twigs and grass a built a beautiful nest. A pristine white egg was laid, and for the past 10 days it was never unguarded or left alone. I was amazed at the mother's patience and resilience - through cold, wind, rain, heat....she never seemed to move - or if she did change places with the father - it was a smooth process.

We all tiptoed around the porch until proving to her that we were no threat to her baby. Every morning, including today, we looked on in wonder at what must be growing and developing inside that egg - nestled safely under her belly.

However, at noon today, Matt came in, quietly as ever....but then announced that they were gone....yes, GONE! No sign of mother or egg.

I had noticed some noisy activity in our back yard this morning with a huge black crow irritating our robins (who, also have nests in our trees)...and I wondered if they had somehow caused this dove to lose her chick.

I finally found the egg, crushed and broken under a bush near the nest....and will wonder... did a predator attack? or did the mother accidently knock it out of the nest??? Will never know....we often don't know why or how someone/something dies. It just does.

Explaining this to a 3year old grandson was a trip....he was upset at the same time curious. We talked about the flowers he had just picked in the yard - about how beautiful they were now - but that they would die today because they were picked....about the birds who live so shortly and then die...about all God's creatures and living things that are born, live and die - only to go on and enjoy Heaven with him. To me that makes sense...to my 3 year old....it doesn't. He simply wants things to stay the same....and he cried.

....from a prayer I read this morning...." Therefore will I trust You always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for You are ever with me and You will never leave me to face my perils alone."

A topic close to my heart! I read constantly - can hardly go a couple of hours without reading something! I have a library (a whole room!), as well as bookshelves in my bedroom. In my "special" bedside cabinet I have the following favorites....

Pillars of the Earth
The Kent Family Chronicles (John Jakes' - just finished reading the entire
8 book series for the SECOND time!)
American Dreams - again, John Jakes' series
Wicked & Son of a Witch - two extremely interesting and VERY different
types from my regular genre - "outside the box"
Morgan's Run by Colleen McCoullough
Davinci Code
assorted Nora Roberts, Tom Clancy
My Jihad
at least 5 translations of the Bible
and last, but not least - my all time favorite "story" - Thorn Birds - I have
both the book AND the miniseries on tape...watch or read it every year.


Look at the list of books below. Bold the ones you’ve read, italicize the ones you want to read, cross out the ones you won’t touch with a 10 foot pole, put a cross (+) in front of the ones on your book shelf, and asterisk (*) the ones you’ve never heard of. (note: I never say never to reading a book - but sometimes (rarely) simply don't finish one if it's too boring).



+1. The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
+4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9.* Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
* 10. *A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
+11.Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
+12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
+13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
* 14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving) Thanks Cole. It was amazing
+15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden) Excellent.
+16. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)
*17. Fall on Your Knees(Ann-Marie MacDonald)
+18. The Stand (Stephen King)
+19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban(Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)
+ 22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
+23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
*24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
+30. Tuesdays with Morrie(Mitch Albom)
*31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
+32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
*33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand) Have it on the shelf, haven't read it.
34. 1984 (Orwell)
*35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
+36 . The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
*38. I Know This Much is True(Wally Lamb)
*39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
*41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
* 42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
* 43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
+45. Bible+ Well, this is actually my favorite book.
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
+49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
*50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
*51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
*53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)
+55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
*56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
+57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
+58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
+64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
*65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
+68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
+69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
+70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
* 72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez) -
+73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
*76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving)
*79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
*81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
+ 82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
*83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
*84.Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
*86. Watership Down(Richard Adams)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. *The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. *Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. * Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. *In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth(Pearl S. Buck)
*94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
+100. Ulysses (James Joyce)

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Summer Outdoor theatre fun!!! Fun Theatre is BACK!!! In cooperation with Morven Park, Martha Lynch and company are putting on STATE FAIR, a purely "Americana" musical this summer! Performance dates are the last 2 weekends in June!

SO - PASS THE WORD....Auditions will be held on Friday, April 6th at 7pm and Saturday, April 7th at 1pm....at the Morven Park Equestrian Center (Rt. 15 just North of Leesburg, turn left onto Tutt Lane to the Center).

ALL PARTS OPEN - and tech help is welcomed!!!!! This is promising to be a true "horse and buggy" show - to include outdoor participation from a Pony club and an antique auto club!

Questions??? call Martha @ 703-777-8191....or myself 703-728-7059 or e-mail @kerbykornr@yahoo.com.

OH MY GOODNESS! VAL & I JUST SAW THE MOST AMAZING NEW MUSICAL TONIGHT!
It is called "Nevermore" - the dark story of Edgar Alan Poe...but in a way that grabs you from the moment it starts and doesn't let go - even to the end....I was on the edge of my seat! The music is phenominal, (Just think of the words of the "Raven" - put to blasting great musical theatre style = kinda wanted to stand and applaud before it was finished!) the vocalists way beyond good...and the acting, especially by the lead, Evan Hoffman, is every bit as good as I've seen on Broadway! This one should be a hit!

It's at the Kensington Arts Center, in Kensington, Md. runs thru Mar 31st.

Grace and the Greenville Oaks CofC...visited this wonderful family of God today in Allen, Tx! Such a timely sermon on the subject of Grace and works. With the scriptural reference in Gal. 2, we were led thru a study of simply how much we, as humans, have failed and failed when we are trying to "get it" with salvation.

Powerful concepts were shared by the use of parables - (oh, my, isn't that use of a dramatic technique? Is that allowed?????)

#1. A miner was having difficulty with the concept of grace being "too easy" - he didn't
"trust" anything that was "free". However, when questioned as to how he got out
of the mines every day, he replied that the cage came below ground and picked up
the miners and carried them to the top. When asked that this was a "free" delivery\
on a daily basis and why would he "trust" this since it was "free"....he replied that
it had cost the company a "lot" of money to build and maintain the cages....and then
he immediately understood the concept of grace - something that cost the owner
much - but was given free to those who needed it.

#2. A 16 yr old girl was driving a car and had an accident that killed her 12 year old friend.
In her anguish over the death, she vowed to do everything in her power to make up
for it, helping the family of her friend, being there for them, doing something for
the rest of her life to make up for the death. However, she eventually came to
understand that no amount of "work", of "action" could make up for it - but simply
to be sorry for it and accept the forgiveness of that family was the answer.

How often do we beat ourselves up for being sinners...and try to "work" our way
to salvation?

I found this sermon liberating - for so long we, as CofC members, have tried to take the concept of grace - and then junk it up with laws, which, basically destroys what Christ came to do away with! (see chap 2 of Galations).....We become legalistic, picky, finger-pointing...instead of simply
loving each other where we are, continuing in study of the Word, focusing on PRAISE and WORSHIP, and being thankful for the absolutely free gift of Salvation thru Grace that we have received.

What a beautiful day!

So, what does one do on the first day of a vacation???? Why, get up at O'dark hundred...and drive to the airport, slog thru all the security, sit at the gate for an hour, only to be told, "The plane is delayed getting here"....and then, "the flight is cancelled". (seems there was "fog" - at the airport, mind you - NOT at our HOUSE, though!) Our options? We could take a flight, 3 hours from then, to DENVER, "enjoy" a layover of 3 more hours, then fly to Dallas, getting in sometime late evening???!!!! Nope, sorry, won't spend the first day of my vacation in airports and on planes....besides, isn't Denver where some of the worst delays and cancellantions have been lately???

So, we took a $40.00 taxi ride home, took a nap, surfed the web, watched a movie, took in dinner at Don Pablo's (pretended we were already in Tejas!)....and am turning in early....so we can do this all over again tomorrow - same time, same flight...different day..

Oh, wait! Isn't there a movie about this sort of thing? Groundhog something?

It will be 70 degrees when I get there....It will be 70 degrees when I get there....It will be 70 degrees when I get there..........

g'nite!

This morning's sermon had some really interesting stuff in it. It was a call to action to get out of our comfort zones and pay attention to evangelizing those around us. Nothing new, there, I know - but some of the statitics were interesting that they reviewed. In a 3-mile radius of our church building:
Most households are of the traditional married, two parent families
The average age is 34.8 (younger than the national avg of 37)
College graduates account for 62.5% (as compared to 24.4% in the US)
84% are white collar workers
1.6% unemployment
Avg. household income $123,289.

As I reflected on these stats, I remembered back to the days when I was longing to move away from here. Early in our marriage I constantly begged to move back to Texas, to live in a less expensive economy, to be nearer my mom and sisters. While those were all good reasons to move....however, there were some really strong reasons to stop and think about raising my family in THIS environment. I was becoming more and more aware that elsewhere in this country the expectation is NOT necessarily for one to go to college...unemployment rates are much higher...and while housing is cheaper...incomes are not nearly what they are/can be here. We have obviously made it quite well...and that's even with my not working full time for the majority of my children's lives.

I agonized over the worry that my kids wouldn't be raised around a whole bunch of other Christians...so we moved to the Fairfax Church - specifically so my kids would have a youth group and mentors. I believe that paid off in a big way. They have great memories of church activity and involvment, mission trips, friendships...and most importantly a "church home". It was a committment I made to my kids and it was probably the single most important one I ever made.

Tim once told me that if we hadn't gone to Fairfax - then he'd probably never gone to ACU - and would really have missed out on that portion of his life.

So much of what we do and decide impacts a lifetime....especially for our kids.

So, while I DO regret not being closer to my mom - she knows I love her and we have a good relationship.

I Don't regret that each of my kids experienced a great youth group and church family
I Don't regret that each one went to college - and finished !
I'm proud to be living in the capital of the nation - amongst people who are smart, intelligent and invigorating. (My mom taught me the importance of that - that's why we left WV and didn't raise the kids there).

It's expensive, busy, crazy at times....but we are so blessed to be here....
Yes - I still LOVE Texas - but I really do think God kept me here for some reason. (Sorry, God - I really fought you tooth and nail didn't I?) It has made my kids who they are today....it has opened doors of insight and understanding within myself about God and His church via the wonderful family of God at Fairfax...the diversity here has made me more tolerant and understanding of so many other cultures - and helped me be less judgemental as to traditions and manners of living and worship.

Haven't given up on living in Texas again someday - maybe when I'm an old withered up widow.... or maybe by some miracle Steve might even come with me (oops, I was just dreaming there for a minute - never!)...we'll see!

"Be Still and Know that I am God"....it's so HARD to be still!

I am so anxious about Tim & Jill's job situation..

I LOVE Val's new BF - am anxious to get to know this person so important in her life! But don't want to "jinx" anything!

I worry about Matt and his spiritual life....it's SO out of my control (isn't everything!??)

I worry, I worry, I worry...and it's WRONG to worry!!!! ARRGH!

Guess I'll just have to keep busy. and pray.

A scripture I was reading the other day caught my eye. Mark 14: 51 & 52 is the end of the moment when Jesus was betrayed and all of his followers left him. I had never noticed and now wonder why it was included the phrase,

" 51A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, 52he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.".

What a strange word picture to have added at this point. What is the significance? Is it allegorical? I have always believed the God has a purpose for ever word in the Bible.

Perhaps tomorrow, I'll add another puzzling scripture to ponder...