Misc. Cove happenings

Our days have filled with people. We've had almost nonstop visitors for the past few weeks, and today is a bit of a breather. No guests; just work around the house and yard! When I wake up in the morning and Mr. Gren tells me that we've got company for breakfast, then a few more coming for lunch... I feel a little overwhelmed. But then our guests step through the door and I find myself meeting such beautiful people. From Texas, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Kansas... I can't even remember all of the places these new friends of mine are from, but each other them has been so engaging and kind. We all share the same admiration for the dear lady who, as I type, sits dozing in the sun on her wicker chair. (She's got a little smile on her face and I wonder what's she's thinking or dreaming!) Nearly all of the women who have come to see Miss Elisabeth tell her with tears that she has been a friend to them; a spiritual mother who, even though they never knew her personally, seemed to give them daily wisdom and guidance through her radio program or her books. I wonder, if I could count the number of people on whom she has had an impact, how many there would be?

I've been reading a little in quite a few books lately. Every day I read in Daily Light, which is a collection of Scripture portions compiled for morning and evening reading in the 1800's. It sits handily on the kitchen table here and is a tiny battered black leather volume. The inside cover has printed in it, "Marks on cover show where crickets chewed when we lived in a house without walls". I'm also laboring my way through Dicken's Great Expectations ("laboring" not because I don't enjoy it, but because I keep misplacing it or forgetting about it), and Elisabeth's book These Strange Ashes. (Why do I always try to read so many books at one time? I have no idea. But I think it's the way I'll always be!)

Lately, I've been dreaming about little Caleb. In my sleep, I hold him and he's always so chubby and smiling. Last night I kissed him all over his face and It was wonderful, but I kept thinking that it wasn't quite the same because I wasn't catching that amazing baby lotion smell. :) Then, I woke up and realized that it had been a dream, and my heart swelled with futile longing and my arms ached to hold him. Its hard to go cold turkey without 5 little ones when you've been their "other" Mamma for the year.