Weekend

Saturday afternoon we drove over to Ted’s, a three hour drive. We took Haleigh with us so she could have fun with her cousins and the rest of the family. Then yesterday Pam and Gene and Matthew also drove to Ted’s from the opposite direction but also a three hour drive! Yesterday was Pam’s birthday so we all wanted to help her celebrate and we did. We didn’t do anything spectacular but we were all together and that was good.
I’m always on the lookout for nature as we travel. Well, on this weekend I saw the usual: deer, turkeys, an eagle!... and hawks. Hawks aren’t unusual but I saw something I’ve never seen before. I’m even wondering if they were really hawks. You’ve all seen a hawk up in a tree or on a post, always alone, watching for some food to come along. Well, yesterday I saw two hawks sitting in a tree side-by-side! Now, that was strange! Maybe they weren’t hawks...but then... what were they? Well, I’ll never know...
Sunday morning we went to Ted’s church. It’s a mega church, thousands of members and attendees. We’ve been there maybe five times altogether and we love going there! The music is inspiring, the building, which is new is phenomenal. The stage is huge. A choir was behind an orchestra, which was in a pit that came to the surface and then went back down when they were finished playing! The drummer was in a completely glassed in box just for him! We could hear him but he wasn't too loud! Two large screens showed what was going on on the stage so everyone could see. We were in the balcony and could see fine. An assistant pastor preached and he was as good as if he was the senior pastor. It was a very worshipful service. The foyer of the building is huge, probably as big or bigger than our sanctuary! When we entered we noticed a grand piano sitting out in the foyer. Well, after our service a man played beautiful hymns on the piano between services! Two of our granddaughters got separated from us when we were going down the stairs from the balcony. We waited and watched for them for a while and then I finally went to the welcome center to report two missing girls. While I standing there a woman came up with Haleigh and Sydney. They had the sense to tell a man they were lost and he took them to a woman who brought them to the welcome center! They were as glad to see me as I was to see them! There is a bonus to this story! Because we were there longer than normal we got to hear the man playing the piano! I love piano music and he was sooooo good! Going to this church was a highlight of our weekend.

This is the first time we’ve seen Pam and Gene since their trip to Malaysia and so Pam brought gifts to us! Sydney and Isabella each received a white long sleeved shirt with embroidery on the front. Very nice. Haleigh was given a nice bracelet. Jerry got a clear glass paper weight with the Lord’s Supper inside. It’s very unique. He put it in the window so the sun shines through it. It’s very nice. They gave me...you almost guessed it! Three middle eastern wise men! They couldn’t find a complete nativity set but did find the magi. They are very nice. I’m very happy with them. Now I have three sets of just wise men! A tall white ceramic set, a small Mexican set, and now a middle east set. So you can see this was a very good day! Thank you, Lord, for family, for good times, for birthday celebrations, for safe driving, for good weather! Thank you, Lord.