Tyndale Publishing Book Review - The Song by Chris Fabry

I'm not usually a romance book reader, but I thought I would try something new this time...so I agreed to review

The Song by Chris Fabry

for Tyndale Publishing.

The writing is full of emotion, but not syrupy or too sweet, but very real and raw emotions.  I felt for every character, even the antagonist Shelby, despite her plans to try and destroy the marriage of Jed and Rose.

Jed is the son of a country singing star, and has not only inherited his talent, but his vices.  When his success and failures threaten to destroy his life, and the lives of his family, Jed turns back to God for help.  And God always helps His children when they ask.

I don't want to spoil this book for anyone, so this is all I will say about the book, except that I give it a thumbs up!

Now a little information about the author, Chris Fabry.

Chris Fabry Chris Fabry is an award-winning author and radio personality who hosts the daily program Chris Fabry Live! on Moody Radio. He is also heard on Love Worth Finding, Building Relationships with Dr. Gary Chapman, and other radio programs. A 1982 graduate of the W. Page Pitt School of Journalism at Marshall University and a native of West Virginia, Chris and his wife, Andrea, now live in Arizona and are the parents of nine children. Chris's novels, which include Dogwood, June Bug, Almost Heaven, and Not in the Heart, have won two Christy Awards and an ECPA Christian Book Award, but it's his lyrical prose and tales of redemption that keep readers returning for more. He has also published more than 65 other books, including nonfiction and novels for children and young adults. He coauthored the Left Behind: The Kids series with Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye, as well as the Red Rock Mysteries and the Wormling series with Jerry B. Jenkins. RPM is his latest series for kids and explores the exciting world of NASCAR. Visit his Web site at www.chrisfabry.com.

This book was based on the motion picture screenplay by Richard L. Ramsey

The Song movie.

Be blessed,

Debbi

* I received a free copy of this book from Tyndale Publishing for review, but the opinions are totally mine.*

Time for a New Life - chapter 5- One Year Later

A year has come and gone sine John and Sarah moved back to her grandmother's homestead.  A year full of challenges and difficulties.  But also a year of growth and change, for everyone in the family.

chapter 5 - One Year Later

handmade rocking chair

Here I sit in my gramma's rocker on the front porch of our home.  I'm holding a letter that I just received from Matthew James Smithe, Esq., the lawyer whose first letter changed our lives.  It's hard to believe that it's been a full year since then.  Our old life seems like it belonged to some other family, or perhaps a movie I once watched on television.  The big house, the designer clothes, the scramble to stay on top of the bills, the backstabbing from the others in the country club.  Today, there is just a small farmhouse, jeans and t-shirts, and a town full of people that are more then friends...they are family.
"Mom, we won!  We're the county champions!"  I hear my son yell as they pull up the driveway.  It took many months, but with the help of new friends in school, Jacob has settled into his new life.  His grades in school have gone up, and he's the captain of his baseball team.  Jacob jumps out of the back of the truck and come running up the porch, as the rest of the players also get out of the truck.  "Mom, it was great.  It was the top of the 9th inning, and we were ahead so Dad let little Tommy take a turn in the outfield.  The other team got the bases loaded, and with 2 strikes, their best batter stepped up.  He hit a hard drive right up the middle, right to Tommy."  With a laugh, Jacob continues his story, "with his eyes closed, Tommy just puts his arm up in the air and the ball dropped right into his glove.  And that was it, game over, and we're the champs!"  I hug my son and then he runs off to play with the rest of the boys.  John comes up on the porch and takes a chair.  "Sarah, what a day.  What a good day."  He bends down to kiss my head, and rubs my every growing belly where the newest Wright resides.  Then he stretches out his legs, and promptly falls asleep, with a smile on his face.

goat's milk soap

John has worked hard this past year, fixing up the house, planting a garden, and then opening his own shop in town.  It may not be what others would consider much, but John is once again very proud of himself.  And happy to have time to spend with his family.  The girls took to their new lives as if they had always lived on a farm.  The first thing they did was bring home a puppy that a friend gave them.  Then another puppy.  Then we got some goats for milk and chickens for eggs.  The girls help me make soap and cheese, to sell at our shop, and Jacob drives the tractor and helps with the garden.  In fact, the very first time, he ran that tractor right into the barn door, just like I did when I was his age.  I glance down at the letter I was writing to Mr. Smithe.  The response to his letter reminding us that the one year condition of my grandmothers will has expired and offering his assistance in selling our property.  I smile  as I fold up the letter and slide it into an envelope.  We have decided to stay here, home.  The future is bright and full of possibilities.

I hope this story reminds us all that our happiness does not come for the things in our lives or the amount in our bank account.  Our happiness comes from good friends and loving family.  And every little moment that makes up our lives...together.
Please click on the links under the pictures to visit some wonderful handmade shops where you can purchase these items, or so many other wonderful handmade items.
Be blessed,
Debbi

YBC Storytime - Time for a New Life - chapter 3

Last week we saw John and Sara finally come together again in their time of trouble instead of blaming and fighting.  Since then, they have finished packing up their most important belongings and sold everything else.  Furniture, vehicles, fine china, designer suits and shoes, electronics.  All that is left is some clothes, photo albums, and a few other items.  The money they received from the sale, while it couldn't pay their debt, it did give them some thing to live on, for now....

Chapter 3 - Where do we go from here?

"John, come quick!" I yelled for John as I came running into the house holding the mail.  Another pile of bills and letters from collection agencies, but one envelope held my attention.  The return address was a lawyers office, one I had never heard of before.  One from our old home town.  I had already read the letter on the walk into the house, and now I'm walking with a lighter step.  "What is it?  Is the house on fire?  We should be so lucky."  John jokes as he comes out of the bathroom.  He frowns when he sees the pile of bills, and starts to turn away until I hand him the letter.  He looks at it, then he starts to read it.  I see his face go from confused to surprised, and then a smile spreads across his face.  "Kids!  Kids, come in here, quick."  In runs Janie, followed by her big sister Anna, and then slowly, sullenly, in comes our oldest, Jacob.  "What is it Dad?  I was busy." Jacob growls.  Seems like that is all he does now, growl and sit in his room, alone.

John just tells everyone to have a seat, we have great news for everyone.  To my surprise, he hands me the letter and sits down with the kids.  "Well, Mom?  What is it?  Is that an important letter?  Do we get to keep the house?  Did we win the lottery?"  Janie is full of questions and starts to giggle.  "Don't be stupid, just shut up."  Janie's eyes fill with tears at Jacob's comment, but John just picks her up and holds her on his lap.  So I  read the letter...for the family.

"Dear Mrs. Wright,

barn photo

      First let me extend to you my condolences on the loss of your grandmother last year.  While you and I have never met, I visited your grandmother often while I was enrolled in the local university, and she was the most loving and amazing woman.  After I graduated, I left town to start my law firm.  Imagine my surprise when she contacted me two years ago and asked me to handle her estate.  I assumed that she would have used your family lawyer, but she wanted the matter of the family farm handled separately from the rest of her estate.  As per her request, I have sold off most of the farmland, but kept the homestead and the surrounding 3 acres, for you.  She used to regal me with stories of the summers you would spend with her when you were just a child, picking berries and making pies, feeding the chickens, and learning to drive a tractor from your grandfather.  She also shared with me the time you knocked down the barn door with that very same tractor.  She wanted you to have this property.  It has taken me all of this past year to clear up this part of her estate, but it is now ready for you.  The house and barn and property is debt free and repaired and ready for you.  The only requirement of this inheritance is that you live in this house for one year, after which you may sell it if you wish.  You can contact me at this number at any time.

Sincerely,

Matthew James Smithe, Esq."

barn yard quilt

"WHAT???  A FARM???  YOU WANT ME TO LIVE ON A FARM?  YOU MUST BE NUTS.  I WON'T GO!!!"  Jacob jumps up from his seat and screams at us as he runs from the room.  We can hear his bedroom door slam.  John and I just look at each other and I try not to cry.  Janie is quietly sobbing in her daddy's chest, then I feel a small hand in mine.  Anna, quiet little Anna takes my hand and looks up at me.  "Don't cry Mom, it's going to be ok.  Jacob didn't really mean that.  Once we move, he'll realize that God answered our prayers.  We now have a place to live.  We now have another home."

I kneel down and squeeze her tight.  "You're right Anna.  God has answered our prayers."  I look up and find John just looking at me, and then he smiles.  Janie smiles.  And then I can feel a smile sneak up on me.  And it feels good.

It seems that life is changing for the Wright family.  A farm?  How exciting.  And so are the handmade items I found to compliment my story.  You can click on the links below the pictures to visit the shops where you will find these items, and many others also.  And check in with us next week for moving day!

Be blessed,

Debbi

Time for a New Life - chapter 2

Welcome back to Yankee Burrow Storytime.  Last week we met John and Sarah when they received a letter from their bank.  It was the type of letter no-one wants to see, but too many families today have received, they are losing their home.  Join us as we watch this family make a new life.

(oh, and in case you didn't know, this is a fictional story.)

Chapter 2 - Packing up the memories

baby brag book

"Mommy, where are we going to live?"  My youngest child, my little girl, still my little baby, so full of fear and uncertainty, asks me this question while helping me to put our family pictures into boxes.  I don't know how to respond. I can't respond because I don't know where we will be at this time next month.  I get up from the floor where I am surrounded by boxes, sorting and packing up my broken hopes and dreams.  I grab my little girl up in my arms, move to my favorite spot, and plop down on the window seat and just hold her as she softly cries.  Janie is only 5, she should be playing and laughing, but instead my sensitive little girl is frightened so I just sit and hold her, because that's all I can do.

baseball pendant

I hear John come in the back door, followed by our son Jacob.  They are laughing and joking, talking about Jacob's baseball game.  How can they joke and laugh today?  I feel a rush of anger spring up in me, the heat rushing to my face as I try to push down the feelings.

"Sarah, where are you?  You should have been there, Jacob was amazing.  Yankees, here we come."  John enters the room, and stops when he sees me, and sees the boxes all over the room.  "What are you doing?  I told you to stop packing.  We are not moving.  This is our house and they cannot take it away, not without a fight."  John's yelling causes Janie to cry even harder.  And I say nothing.  Again.  John storms from the room, and I hear him go to his study.  I hear the bottles clink as he prepares a drink.  During all this I'm watching Jacob, watching the smile leave his face, his shoulders slump as he turns and leaves the room.  At only 12 years old, Jacob is losing his childhood too quickly.  I tell Janie to go and find her sister, then I go into the study only to find John throwing back his drink.  I cringe when I hear the glass shatter after John throws it against the wall.  And my heart breaks even more when I see him start to cry.  Finally.  I walk to him, and softly touch his arm.  He turns to me, holds me tight, and apologizes.  For his anger.  For losing his job.  For not taking care of his family.  And we both cry.  But this time, we cry together.

cake topper

Come back and join me next week to see what's next for John and Sarah.  And you can click on the links below the pictures to visit these great items available at HandmadeArtists.com

Be blessed,

Debbi

The Power of Love - chapter 6 - Grace is given

Welcome back to YankeeBurrowCreations Storytime. Grab a drink, pull up a chair, and let's see where my imagination takes us today. When you're done reading, click on the picture links to see what cool handmade items I found to accompany my story, that are also available for purchase.

 

The Power of Love - chapter 6 - Grace is given

striped crochet blanket

 Sitting still is not something that I will ever get used to, but crocheting helps.  I was taught how to crochet while in rehab by a wonderful woman with a lot of patience.  I would get frustrated, and the shakes from the withdrawal symptoms made it difficult to hold the hook, but she never gave up on me.  I can see now that the day the judge ordered me into rehab was the turning point in my life.  But oh, it was hard.  The hardest time in my life.  Even harder than watching my children stare at me through the back window of the police car as they were taken from me forever.  Funny how I didn't pay any attention to them while they were with me, but the emptiness I felt when they were gone was so painful.  Not even the drugs could make the pain go away.  And I tried every drug imaginable until the day someone found me almost dead in that flea bag of a hotel that us girls used for our "business".  After the doctors in the ER stabilized me, the police took me to jail.  And from there, the judge showed me mercy and sent me to Hope House.


fork man flower holder

I remember my first morning of sobriety at Hope House.  I opened my eyes, and there on my nightstand was a single rose.  Just starting to open, and a note underneath welcoming me to my new life.  I was amazed.  And touched.  And for the first time in 20 years, I felt hope.  I quickly immersed myself in the 12 steps of recovery, and in the day to day life at the house.  I found myself surrounded by people who didn't know me, but knew my life, and cared for me anyway.  It was through them that I met my higher power, my Father.  Over time I grew stronger and was able to find a job and an apartment, but I never left Hope House.  I became a counselor there and assisted in the programs of the church.  Like the food program.  Serving the people who lived on the streets feed my soul, but I never imagined that my past would find me there.  Until the day I looked up and saw Mara.  My heart stopped, then raced so hard and fast I thought it would jump right out of my chest.  I knew her the moment I saw her.  My baby girl, a woman.  And I recognized that look of pain and fear in her eyes.  And I cried.  I cried for her, and for me, and for all the bad choices I made in my life.  My pastor saw my reaction to this woman, and pulled me aside, where I poured out the whole story of my children.  I had not told anybody here that I once had a family of my own.  It was such a relief to share this last part of my past.  Without a word, I watched as the pastor sat down and talked to Mara.  Then over the next few months, I became friends with her, but I did not tell her who I was.  Not right away.  But our life stories did unfold as we spent time together serving the food together.  Now I know her as Hope, and she knows me, the real me.  The day I told her that I was her birth mother was amazing.  A lot of tears, but no anger.  Surprisingly no anger.  Just Hope, and Grace, from each other, to each other.

I feel Hope jump up from her chair, and then she is running and crying.  And hugging a stranger.  But she's not really a stranger.  I know who she is, and I am afraid to meet her.  Will she blame me?  Judge me?  Condemn me? 
No, Faith just hugs me.  And thanks me.  Me! 

Thank you for joining me on this journey. And remember, every item I have shared as part of my story is available for purchase, just click on the links below the pictures. And come back next week as we watch Love unfold.

 

Be blessed,

Debbi

The Power of Love - Chapter 4

Welcome back to YankeeBurrowCreations Storytime. Grab a drink, pull up a chair, and let's see where my imagination takes us today. When you're done reading, click on the picture links to see what cool handmade items I found to accompany my story, that are also available for purchase.

The Power of Love - Chapter 4

 

"We are approaching our destination. Please return to your seats, and return you seats to their upright position."  I look at the flight attendant as she starts her speech, and then I look at my hands.  They are shaking.  I put on my seat belt, then squeeze my hands together, and pray.



Hand Quilted Wall Hanging

That's when my Father reminds me of the last vacation Hope and I took together.  Just the two of us.  We decided at the last minute to hop into the car and drive to the beach.  It was her 16th birthday weekend, and she wanted to spend it with me.  I smile when I remember my husbands face when we told him it was just an all girls trip.  First he was sad at being alone, but then the realization that he would be free for 3 days brought a big smile to his face.  It took Hope and I days to get the house back in order after we got home.  But that trip was worth it.  3 days of giggling, eating, sunbathing, shopping, and talking.  That was my favorite time.  At the end of the day we would grab a soda and sit on the deck of our hotel room and share our feelings, and our dreams of the future.  But despite the comfort we were finding in our relationship, Hope was still holding something back.  That last night there, she timidly asked me about her birth mother.  I was stunned.  I never expected that, and didn't quite know what to say, or even how I felt about the question.  It was THE question I had always dreaded, and feared.  And like a coward, I just changed the subject.  Hope never asked me that question again.

Vintage 1970's luggage

I feel the bump as the planes touches down.  I stay in my seat as I watch as the other passengers start to unbuckle.  I sit as everyone grabs their luggage from the overhead carry on compartments.  I sit and watch as the flight attendants assist the other passengers out the door.  Finally, I am the only one still on the plane, frozen in my seat.  Deep down I know why Hope left home.  And I know why she has now asked me to come to this far away city.  And I feel the fear deep inside me.  Then I feel something else.  Peace.  Deep inside me.  And an all consuming desire to see, and hug, my daughter.  So this time I will not be a coward.  I take a deep breath, stand up and grab my bag, and walk off the plane.  I walk down the long hallways, lost in the crowds of rushing people.  As I turn the corner I see her and stop.  She is sitting next to a woman that I did not know.  Yet I did know.  How will she react to me?  How will I react to her?  Then my eyes are drawn like a magnet back to Hope.  She is beautiful.  She finds me in the crowd, and before I know it, she is standing before me.  Smiling.  Laughing.  And hugging....me.  And deep down I know, I am still, and always will be, her mother.

 Thank you for joining me on this journey. And remember, every item I have shared as part of my story is available for purchase, just click on the links below the pictures. And come back next week as we talk to Hope again.
Be blessed,
Debbi

The Power of Love - Chapter 3

To view my other stories, visit my personal blog, http://debbihuntington.blogspot.com/

Welcome back to YankeeBurrowCreations Storytime. Grab a drink, pull up a chair, and let's see where my imagination takes us today. When you're done reading, click on the picture links to see what cool handmade items I found to accompany my story, that are also available for purchase.

You can find Chapter 1 and 2 under the Yankee Burrow Storytime tab.

The Power of Love - Chapter 3

hand knitted lap robe

I look around me, at all the people walking...running...sitting...saying hello...saying goodbye.  I don't think I can do this, and I peek at the sliding doors, opening, then closing, then opening again.  If I time it right, I can sprint out those doors and be gone before Hope can stop me.  But I've done that before, and I won't do that again.  So I pick up my needles and yarn and continue to work on my blanket.  And wait. 
My name is Grace.
My mom gave me that name, and sometimes I wonder if she knew, knew my future, and knew that that is what I would need, grace.  I was the youngest child in a very large family and while I always knew my mom and dad loved me, getting their time and attention was next to impossible.  So I got it where ever I could find it.  And usually in the wrong places.  That is how I found myself addicted to drugs by the time I was 17.



vintage black leather jacket

High school started out fun, but then a boy noticed me.  One of the bad boys in the school.  What is it about bad boys, that just draws me to them? The idea that I can save them?  But I'm the one that ended up lost.  I started slowly, with some beer, then some pot.  I started to skip school, go to the parties, and that's when I discovered the hard drugs.  At first, I wanted so desperately to fit in with this group, but then the only thing that mattered to me was the drugs.  The boy?  He stuck with me, but he was as addicted to it all as I was, and by the time I was 20, we were living together, on the streets.  Mom and Dad tried hard to help me, but it was too little, too late.  So after stealing money from mom's purse for my fix, they kicked me out.  I hopped on the back of my boyfriends bike, and never looked back.  I never finished school either.  Soon I was turning tricks to make money, and then I got pregnant.  The boy? He took off, and so there I was, alone, but with a life growing inside me. 

baby pink shawl

I managed to stay sober during my pregnancy, and every pregnancy after that, but between babies?  All that mattered was the drugs, so I continued to turn tricks for money.  But having babies made it possible for me to get a trailer and food stamps, so I figured having kids had it's perks.  Never did I give the children any attention, or even any thought.  Till one day they were all taken away from me.  And I let them go.  I knew that they were better off without me.  From there I sprialed down till I hit bottom. 
 

I turn my head and look at my daughter, and I am amazed at the beautiful woman she became.  No thanks to me, but thanks to Faith.

 

Thank you for joining me on this journey. And remember, every item I have shared as part of my story is available for purchase, just click on the links below the pictures. And come back next week as we talk to Faith again.
Be blessed,

Debbi

The Power of Love - Chapter 2

Welcome back to YankeeBurrowCreations Storytime.  Today we meet Hope in "The Power Of Love". When you're done reading, click on the picture links to see what cool handmade items I found to accompany my story, that are also available for purchase.

 

The Power of Love - Chapter 2





white flower hair clip

Hi.  My name is Hope.  It hasn't always been Hope, but that is the name my Mom and Dad gave me when they adopted me.  You see, I was born with a different name, Mara.  It means bitter and from the fragments of my life that I do remember, my childhood was bitter. I was one of many children born to a drug addict.  I remember going to bed hungry most nights, and men just coming and going into my mother's bedroom.  Sometimes the men would be nice and bring me treats, and sometimes the men would hit me and push me out the front door and then lock it.  When that happened I would huddle under the porch with my brothers and sisters and listen to the sounds of yelling, and crying, and laughing, coming from inside the house.  Yet, despite the way my life was, the day all of us children were taken away, was the scariest day of my life.



Hansel and Gretal's home

The woman from the police department took me away from my brothers and sisters and brought me to this house.  It was a beautiful house, with green grass, a swing hanging from the tree, and a man and woman standing on the front porch.  They told me that I would be living there now.  But no-one would tell me where my sisters and brothers went, or how long I would have to stay here.  I was so scared that I did not talk to anyone for weeks.  And I refused to eat any food offered to me, but after bedtime, in the dark, I would sneak into the kitchen and eat anything I could reach.  After several months there, I started to relax, and my old life started to fade away.  Yet, in all my life, the fear never really went away.






waiting room chairs

Now here I sit, almost 20 years later, still afraid, but hopeful, finally hopeful.  And waiting.  Waiting at the airport for my mom, Faith.  It's been just over 2 years since I left home.  Looking for who knows what.  All I knew is that something was missing.  I turn and look at the woman sitting next to me.  If I was nervous, she was a wreck.  Her name is Grace.  She's my birth mother.

 

Thank you for joining me on this journey. And remember, every item I have shared as part of my story is available for purchase, just click on the links below the pictures. And come back next week and meet Grace.


Be blessed,
Debbi
http://about.me/yankeeburrowcreations

Yankee Burrow Storytime - Remembering #5

Today I present to you the final chapter of our fictional story "Remembering".  You can find #1, #2, #3, and #4 here or at the above tab, "Yankee Burrow Storytime".

custom party supplies

First I run to the party supply place...crepe paper, paper plates, cards, games, everything you would need for a 10 year old's birthday party.  As I walk up and down the aisles I see a similar theme that we used for Alyse's 1st birthday, bright colored polka dots.  So I grabbed everything that even remotely had polka dots on them and threw them in my cart.  Next stop was the bakery....a cake, and cupcakes to share with the nursing staff.  Perfect.  Now back home...

family cabin

I grab our wedding album and scrapbook and rush back to Al.  I rush into his room, all out of breath, and smile when I see what the nurses did while I was gone.  Al was out of bed, freshly showered and shaved, sitting in the chair by the window.  My heart still melts whenever I see him, and the excitement inside me builds.  I put the scrapbooks on the table next to Al, and pull out the wedding pictures first.  "Remember this Al?  We were so young and so nervous.  But we never doubted that we were meant to spend our lives together."  I grab the scrapbook and show him the pictures of our cabin.  "You built this with your own two hands so we would have a place to escape together as a family when life got too stressful.  But even our cabin on the lake couldn't stop the flash backs, couldn't keep you from leaving me."  I reach out and grab his hand. " Look at me Al, look at me.  Today is our daughter's 10th birthday and we will celebrate it together, as a family, again."  Suddenly I feel it, Al's fingers wrapping themselves around my hand.  Subtly, but firmly.

I jump up and grab the bag of party supplies and get to work to make this sterile room into a party place.  And I finish just in time as my mother and my darling Alyse walks in the door.  At first Alyse hesitates, then she runs to her father.  As she hugs him I see a tear roll down his cheek.  The nurses join us as we sing to Alyse, and I can hear him...softly but clearly, Al says the words to the song.  He's back.  Finally, he's back.  I walk to him and reach out, and he takes my hand and he looks at me, really looks at me.  And the past 10 years just don't matter anymore.  Because Al is back.  From now on we will live...

word plates

I hope you have enjoyed reading this story as much as I have enjoyed writing it.  Let it be a lesson for all of us, love still triumphs.

Be blessed,
Debbi

Yankee Burrow Storytime - Remembering #4

Today I present to you installment #4 of "Remembering", a new feature here at Yankee Burrow Creations. You can find #1, #2, and #3 here or at the above tab, "Yankee Burrow Storytime".

I inched closer to the bed, it's been so long since we touched.  I missed the feel of his skin, the way his fingers would curl around mine when he held my hand.  So I put down the side of his bed, and sat next

honeysuckle shea butter

to him.  I picked up the body lotion from the night stand, picked up his arm, placed it over my lap, and started to rub in the lotion.  Up and down, I rubbed and rubbed.  After some time I noticed that my tears were mixing in with the lotion.  I have to stop....I have to pull myself away from this pit.  Getting up from the bed, I walk to the window and watch the people and the cars moving about, people with lives.  And family.  I look back at Al and I feel something that I haven't felt in a while.

Excitement.  Hope.  Love.

I have decided...today is THE DAY.  Al will wake up, and he will remember.  He will remember the good days and not the bad.  He will remember our life and not the war.  The doctors told me that there is no reason for Al's health.  But the PTSD and the flashbacks have caused him to draw into himself more and more as the years passed.  Every loud noise, every story on the news, every time he heard that another serviceman had died, and then the protests, complete strangers calling our service men murderers.  It was just too hard for him.  So he went away.  But all that is behind us now.

beaded cell phone case

I grab my purse and pull out my cell phone.  A few phone calls, and the rest of my week is work free.  Then a call to my mother.  She has been my rock and my support all these years, helping me raise our daughter.  It was hard for her after my dad died, but Alyse gave her purpose again.  And Alyse will do that for her dad.  Today, Alyse's 10th birthday, we will celebrate it here.  With Al.  After a few more phone calls, and a quick discussion with the nursing staff, I give Al a kiss on the cheek and promise him that I'll be back.  Soon.  And so will he....

To be continued....next Thursday at the

 Yankee Burrow Storytime.
Just click on the link below each picture to purchase these items for yourself.

Be blessed,

Debbi

Yankee Burrow Storytime - Remembering #3

Ok, I know I'm a few days late...but I've been up to my ears with tomatoes, cucumbers, canning, and pickling.  But I'm not complaining...they will taste great during the winter. 
So, today I present to you installment #3 of "Remembering", a new feature here at Yankee Burrow Creations. You can find #1and #2 here or at the above tab, "Yankee Burrow Storytime".

The morning traffic was horrible.  It's hard enough to make the long drive from our cabin to the city...but then I ran into a delay due to construction.

Autumn Under Construction

I hate sitting still, sitting still opens the floodgates of our past, memories I don't want to remember....

The Navy Chaplain takes my hand and eases me onto the sofa.  My other hand cradles the new life Al and I created.  Our little one is due any time now, and Al was just weeks away from the end of his enlistment.  And now...

But then I'm told, Al is one of the lucky ones.  Despite the direct hit, he was lucky.  His injuries are minor and he's coming home!

vintage am radio

I blink my eyes, and come back from the past.  The hospital is in front of me.  I find a parking spot easily, but I take my time entering.  For 10 years after coming home from the war, Al and I had the perfect life, but then things changed, he changed.  So today, like every day for the last 2 years, I enter his room,  and try to reach him.  I turn on the radio to the golden oldies station, tuck the lap blanket around his legs, and start talking.  The doctors tell me that the stories of our past are good, and can help him.  But they don't help me,  every day I feel more and more alone.  Still, I tell them to him, on the chance, the hope, that my prayers will be answered and

vicki handmade doll

today he'll respond.  I pick up the doll from the nightstand and hold it close to me and begin.  "Al, remember the day you came home from the war?  A cane and some bandages were the only evidence of your injuries.  You came towards me then stopped when you saw my condition.  You had just received the letter I sent to you months ago.  Gently you hugged me, and almost reverently you touched my belly.  You couldn't believe that you were here, in time for the birth.  And just in time too, my water broke in the taxicab on our way home.  So a quick detour to the hospital, and then...there she was.  Alyse.  Little Al.  Soft, fine blond hair, cute button nose, and all her toes and fingers.  Remember? You must have counted them a hundred times.  That was such a wonderful day."

Oh we were happy...despite the flashbacks...we were happy.  I lean back in the chair and close my eyes and let my tears wash away the years.

 

To be continued....next Thursday at the Yankee Burrow Storytime.
Just click on the link below each picture to purchase these items for yourself.

 

Be blessed,

Debbi

Yankee Burrow Storytime - Remembering #2

Today I present to you installment #2 of "Remembering", a new feature here at Yankee Burrow Creations.  You can find #1 here or at the above tab, "Yankee Burrow Storytime".

Now it's morning.  The sun is shining through the blinds of my bedroom window, and I drag myself out of bed.  I don't have time to mope around.  I only have a short time to get ready for my daily visit before I head off to work.  I throw open my closet door to find the perfect outfit.

circa 1960 shirt waist summer dress

Last night's dream has given me a strong desire to go back..back in time.  So I grabbed Al's favorite dress.  The one he got for me in New York City right before he shipped out.  Maybe if I wear it, today he'll wake up, today he'll remember.  Standing in front of the mirror, my mind floats back...

It was the summer of 1971, Al was home on a two week furlough, and we decided to spend his last two days in the city.  The days were joyful and the nights were bittersweet.  It was also when we began our family, but we didn't know it then.  If we had, it would have been even harder to let go when it was time.  But duty calls....and so Al walked aboard the USS Higbee and headed towards the war in Vietnam.

Vietnam war memorial print

 

In April of 1972, the Battle of Dong Hoi was a fierce fire fight between Navy ships trying to stop North Vietnamese troops and supplies from reaching the battle front in the Quang Tri Province.  I had followed the news reports, and worried when I heard about the direct bomb hit on the USS Higbee.  Only 4 men at most were wounded, and so with a shipful of thousands of men, I prayed for Al's safety.  But still...something inside of me broke.  The day I saw the Navy Chaplin walk up to my front door, I knew.  Al was one of the wounded.

 

 

To be continued....next Thursday at the Yankee Burrow Storytime.
Just click on the link below each picture to purchase these items for yourself.

 

Be blessed,

Debbi

It's Yankee Burrow Storytime - Remembering

full moon rising

Despite the late hour, I could not sleep.  So here I sit, on the front deck of the cabin and watch the reflection of the full moon sparkle on the water as it peeks through the clouds.  And I remember....

I don't want to remember, it hurts to remember, but still I remember...

I remember a time when I was happy, and my life was good.  A loving husband, a warm home, and a new baby, everything I was always told would make me feel complete.  And they were right, I was complete, and completely happy.

family wall art

I close my eyes, and the memories rush in.  There was a time, a long time ago, my mother would wait for me to get home from school.  Always interested in my day, always asking questions about my classes and my friends.  As a teen, I pitied her.  I thought, how sad, to not have your own life, but to be stuck at home, day after day, trying to find happiness through your children.  In all my 16 years of wisdom, I tried telling Mom that she needed to get a job, a career, a life.  Mom would just smile, pat my cheek, and tell me that loving and caring for me and my Dad was her career, one that she would never trade for anything the world had to offer her.

navy wedding cake topper

And then it happened...to me.  I first saw him on the campus of Stallings University.  He was all decked out in his navy uniform, handing out flyers for the local Navy Recruiting Office.  There is just something about a man in uniform.  He offered me a flyer, our eyes met and our fingers touched, my heart didn't stand a chance.  He asked me out for coffee, my mind screamed "no...run", but my heart just smiled and I agreed.  Coffee led to dinner, which led to weekends, which led to marriage.  Now I understood my mother, her smile, her contentment.  Then he was called to active duty.

I sigh, and shake myself.  Rising from the deck chair, I head back to bed, hoping, praying, for the dreams to stop.....

To be continued....next Thursday at the Yankee Burrow Storytime. 
Just click on the link below each picture to purchase these items for yourself.

Be blessed,

Debbi