Labor Day

Today is Labor Day but I haven't labored very much! We had a very nice day. Ted called yesterday and then came to visit! He was alone, and while we missed the family, it was nice to just visit with him. I made pizza for supper. He stayed all night, and he and Jerry went out for breakfast. We ate our big meal today at noon, something unusual for us, but I wanted to fix a nice dinner for us while he was here. Jerry cooked steak on the grill and I baked potatoes, cooked corn on the cob, and sliced fresh tomatoes. We ate outside on the deck, it's a very beautiful day. Ted loves Mackinaw Island Fudge ice cream so that was our dessert. Then he headed for home and Jerry and I both laid down for a nap!

I've been dog sitting again with my favorite little Plaid. He's so obedient and sweet, he's a joy to have around! He hardly ever barks. Rob, Jessica, and Haleigh went to Covenant Hills for the weekend to visit friends, Tom & Angel, and would have taken him but Plaid would have had a hard time with their dog. So he's back at home now with his family. Tomorrow school starts, and I guess summer will quickly end soon.

Thank You, Lord, for special days. Thank You for Ted. Please be with him in a very real way. Guide him, help him to lean on You for strength. Please be with Rob & Jessica as they are so involved with raising money for their adoption. Guide them and strengthen their faith in You.

More pig roast pics

#1& 2 show the food lines. #3 is Jerry, Penn, and Bob. Paul is in the background. #4 is Lena, Mary, Judy, Barb, & Ken. #5 is Marilyn, Barb, & Tim. #6 is Barb & Joan. Thank You, Lord, for friends.

Pig Roast

The Saturday before Labor Day is pig roast day every year. It's a day we all look forward to. This year the weather was perfect, the attendance was down a little but we still had a very good day. I counted about 55 folks of all ages; the oldest 91 and youngest 2. Picture #1 is of Emily, Brandon, & Jeremy. #2 is Bob, Richard, Penn, Jerry, Harold, & Bob. #3 is Leah, Emily, Brandon, & Jeremy. #4 is Richard & Pat (son-in-law) minding the pork loins, Richard used to roast whole pigs but not any more. He says he's too old for all that work. To tell you the truth, I prefer these pork loins over the other. This meat is so good. #5 is Richard and Marilyn who generously have put on the pig roast every year for the past 24 years! #6 is the beautiful lake their cottage is on. I'll post more pictures on another blog. Lord, thank you for the good times, good food, good fellowship, good weather, and so much more!

Pictures

On Saturday we went to the pig roast we always go to on the Saturday before Labor Day. We had a good day, the weather was perfect and I took lots of pictures. Perhaps some of you have wondered why I haven't written anything since early Saturday morning. Well, I've been trying...I've spent lots of time trying to post pictures to show you and for some reason I'm having problems. So please be patient with me. I praise You, Heavenly Father, because you are a Caring God. Lord, you know my frustration with posting my pictures. Please help me to be persistant and not give up, in any area's in my life.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday, Cookie! Oh yes, it's your turn! Thanks for being my sister-in-law! I appreciate you, I just don't tell you that and I should. I hope Richard treats you well today! If I recall, I think I've been told that you and Richard celebrate your birthday's about half way between your's and his because they are quite close. Is that right? I'm not sure I agree with that arrangement, I mean...why not celebrate twice??? Oh well, one big celebration instead of two small celebrations sounds okay! Happy, happy birthday! Lord, thank you for Cookie. Thank you for giving her to me as a sister-in-law. Be with her in her nursing work, as a wife, mother, and grandmother.

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

Fearfully & Wonderfully Made - A Surgeon Looks at the Human and Spiritual Body

by Dr. Paul Brand & Philip Yancey Published by Zondervan.

I was asked about this book after I mentioned it in a blog so I thought I'd write a little more about it, in case someone else is interested in it. It's a fascinating book. Jerry and I just sit, for a few moments after reading, just soaking it in! Then we begin discussing what we've just read.

Men go abroad to wonder at the height of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of the river, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars; and they pass by themselves without wondering. St. Augustine

This is so true, we take our bodies for granted. I don't think I will ever again after reading this book. It helps to read it with Jerry because we discuss it together and ask questions, etc.

There is so much I want to write about it but I don't know where to begin or how to do it justice. It's quite deep but yet it's written in such an interesting way we want to keep reading. I said in a blog we can only read a section of each chapter at a time because we can't comprehend any more in a day. We simply marvel at what we've just learned!

For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:13 & 14

This and that

I watched the animal eating the apples (a few blogs back) so I have to tell you about it! It was a large black and white striped leopard...in my dream!!! I could hardly believe, when I woke up, that it had been a dream, it was so real! So I still don't really know what's eating them. :(
Jerry and I have been walking everyday this week. He's gone this morning to visit his friend, Lin, so I haven't decided if I'm going walking today or if I'll take a day off too!
After lunch I'm going to town to order our cable bundle! Then we'll buy a box so we'll have wireless Internet! I can't believe it! I'll let you know when it actually happens.
Jerry and I are still reading Fearfully and Wonderfully Made by Dr Paul Brand and Philip Yancey. It's deep but because we've gone through so much with Jerry, physically, it keeps us interested and reading. We can only read one short section at a time though because our minds can only digest so much at a time.
Lord, I praise You because You are the Creator! You created everything that has been created. I don't understand it but I believe it!

Wordless Wednesday!

Photo

This photo I have now posted is just after sun rise in Saskatchewan. I took it last summer when we were there for the month of July. It was the best July we've ever had! Lord, thank you for wonderful memories.

Monday

Here it is Monday. Is this week going to go as fast as last week?
We have an apple tree close to our deck in back that's covered with sour apples. Jerry brought a few in so I could take a picture of them. Something or someone got into the tree and ate a lot of apples or should I say ate lots of half apples! We don't think it was deer, they would eat the whole apple. I'm guessing a raccoon. I can see them being wasteful and eating just half, throwing it down and picking another one, then repeating the process.
I called Bill and wished him a happy birthday. I had a nice visit with both Bill and Vel.
Yesterday we had a nice phone visit with Tim, all the way from Malaysia!
Are we getting old or what?! Last evening Joan called and was surprised when I answered, she said she was just going to leave a message for us but then I answered. Where did she think we'd be? Where we intended to be but forgot!!! The Community Hymn Sing! I can't believe we forgot it. I even put it in the newsletter! We had gone for a ride in the afternoon in the MG and stopped at Betty's (Jerry's sister) to visit. Then we came home, went for ride with Tyler and Rob in Tyler's first car! Neither one of us thought of the hymn sing. I was so disappointed, I had even requested a solo by a beautiful singer and she was scheduled to sing! I'd better change the subject...I'm getting upset with myself again.
Jerry and I went for a walk this morning. We've got to get in shape for our trip to Malaysia next year! Lord, I praise You because You are In Control. Help us as we age. We're not really old yet. Keep us well and close to You.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday, Bill! Boy, the years just keep rolling by, don't they? But, you're not old yet. I'm the one who is turning old this year! Did you celebrate yesterday with family? I can just imagine Lisa, Doug, Justin, and hopefully Mother all at your house for dinner with a birthday cake for you! Is that what happened? Am I right, for once? Now today, is Vel taking you out? I know, my imagination is working over time! I just want you to have a nice birthday. You're not getting any younger, you know. Hey, it just came over our news that your town had a tornado touch down! Now that's a bit too much celebration. Luckily it also said no injuries and little damage. Have a happy, happy birthday, Bill. Lord, thank you for Bill. You know about his pain. Please touch him physically and spiritually.

Repeat Performance!

Picture #1 is a dahlia with a bee that I took last year! Picture #2 is a dahlia with a bee that I took today! Very similar yet different. I couldn't help comparing them. Lord, You are the Creator. You created the flowers, Dahlia's, and the bees. I praise You.

Dahlia Hill

We went for a ride in the MG this afternoon and stopped at Dahlia Hill. The flowers are beautiful. I took a few pictures. There are all colors, sizes, textures, etc. They are very unique. There were so many more I could have taken but didn't. I took one more and I'll show it in the next post. Thank You, for Dahlia's, Lord, they are so unique, pretty, colorful, beautiful.

Blogging

I guess blogging is contagious! Actually I wish everyone in the family had their own blog! Five of my grandchildren are now bloggers! Andrew, Annie, Haleigh, Kaleb, and Sydney! Some write often and some not so often. You can find most of them on my blog list, just click on their name and they'll come right up. Andrew and Katie, I can't seem to put yours on the list...yet. I love this! Lord, thank You for my grandchildren. Lord, thank You for technology. Thank You for loving us.

Pikes Peak

Have you eve been to Pikes Peak? Here we are with our family in 1964. We were visiting my parents. My dad drove us up to Pikes Peak, it was one scary ride! I was so relieved when we got to the top and then remembered, oh no, we have to go back down! We were a family of five at that time! Our children were l-r Teddy, Pammy, and Timmy was wrapped up in a blanket only about a month old. The color picture is of Pastor Dave & Leah. They went for their 25th anniversary. If you've ever been to Pikes Peak and had your picture taken, let me know! You can see it's changed a lot from when we were there.

Lord, thank you for good vacations. Thank you for camera's so we can keep old memories.

Reading

Jerry and I have finished reading Backyard Dwellers by David Kessler. It's an excellent book, we got much good from it. We're now reading Fearfully and Wonderfully Made by Dr. Paul Brand & Philip Yancey. We've just barely gotten into it and I don't know how far we'll go. I've had the book since 1988, Ted gave it to me for Christmas. So I've read it before although I'm not sure I completely finished it. I think it gets quite deep and that's why I'm not sure we'll read the whole book. The chapters are broken into sections so that helps. We can only digest so much at a time. Today we read just the first section of the first chapter. It's very interesting, talking about the teeny, tiny amoeba and how it lives it's life. It's exciting to read how God created life. In the beginning God created...Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life... Genesis 1:1; John 1:3 & 4a

Is it really Friday?

Where has this week gone? I can't believe it's Friday already! I've got to do some housecleaning today.
I'm helping Rob & Jessica with a silent auction on Sept. 13. This week I've gone to several businesses to ask for donations for the auction. It's kind of a scary thing to do but, hey, they can't do any worse than say NO! No one has said NO! I've gotten donations everywhere I've gone so far. PTL! Folks are very interested in the adoption and are very willing to help out. I have a couple more places to go to today. Next week I'll hit the streets again! Most businesses are giving gift certificates and that's okay. It's good for the auction and it's also good for the business because it'll get the people who buy the certificate into their business and, who knows, they might see something else they want to buy!
Last night I talked to Lorraine again for over an hour! I called her but because she has unlimited long distance she called me back and saved me some time on my calling card. We had a good visit. We always reminisce about our childhood. We always fill each other in on forgotten details. I'm always left with warm, fuzzy feelings!
We're looking into getting cable, which will give us cable TV, unlimited long distance phone, and Internet. But because I have a lap top computer it's complicated, and also because our TVs are old. Nothing is simple in this day and age.
My pastor is now a blogger! On my list of bloggers his is called Friday Thoughts. If you are interested just click on that and it will come up! Then you can add it to your favorites if you want.
Okay, it's time to get going for the day. I praise You, Heavenly Father, because You are Sovereign. Forgive me for taking You for granted. Thank You for Pastor Dave's blog. Thank You for the privelege of going to all these businesses to ask for donations. Help me to do my best. Help me to show a Christian spirit. Please guide Jerry and me as we look into getting cable. Give us wisdom. I love You, Lord.

Canoe Trip

Yesterday late afternoon my friend, Joan, called and asked if we'd like to go canoeing with them today! We haven't been canoeing in years! But we used to love it, so I was ready to go right then! Jerry wasn't quite so ready but he came around! We have such fond memories of canoeing down rivers with friends and family. So we set the alarm for 6:00 AM...it didn't go off! Jerry woke up at 6:15 on his own, thank goodness. We were to meet Penn and Joan at 8:15 at a town near where they were camping. Jump now to arriving at the river...we boarded a bus which took us up river where we got in canoes to go on a 2 1/2 hour canoe ride. (It took us 3 hours!)
It was a sunshiny morning, crisp cool air at 9:30, when we arrived. We got in our canoe and were just getting settled and ready to paddle down stream...ooohhh, nnnooo! Here we go!!! We found ourselves in the water! We had hit a very large rock partially covered with water! Over we went! Luckily I had put my camera and cell phone in a zip lock bag in my camera case which was hanging around my neck! (We're now drying everything in Jerry's wallet, dollar bills, cards, pictures, etc.) Of course we were both soaked! The canoe was half full of water and had to be tipped up to drain. I couldn't help so Penn got out of their canoe and helped Jerry, it was a difficult job. There were three other canoes but on one else helped. They just stared at us! I had a box of Cheez It's and a box of Wheat Thins, the crackers were okay because they were sealed in plastic bags, the boxes were ruined.
So, okay, we'll start again. There were lots of large rocks we had to watch out for and the river was very shallow so we often scraped bottom! It was hard to relax and enjoy the scenery because we were watching out for rocks. We didn't want to tip over again!
Finally about half way down the river we were able to relax and enjoy the ride. It turned out a very nice day, quiet, and very relaxing, just going down the river with mainly trees on both sides of the river. Sometimes we were with Penn & Joan and sometimes we were by ourselves, just relaxing and enjoying each other's companionship. Of course we were still soaking wet! The sun was trying to dry us off. I got warm enough I very carefully took off my long sleeved shirt. I say very carefully because I didn't want to rock the canoe! I was actually paranoid. I was afraid to reach for the bag of snacks and water bottles, I might rock the boat! I was afraid to get my camera out...I might rock the canoe and lose my camera! So no pictures of the beautiful scenery, or of our friends in their canoe! Actually, I did take a chance near the end of our ride. I got my camera out and quickly took a picture of them, but in my hurry, and with the sun shining in my face, I couldn't see, so I cut their heads off! It's a nice picture of two headless canoe ers! I won't post it!
We passed the other folks in their canoes, we didn't know them, and one of the women said to me, "I'll bet this is your last canoe ride!" I replied, "Well, I don't know." She really made me mad. Just because we tipped over as we were starting out, does that mean we should quit? I think not. What would life be if we quit every time we fell down? I believe in getting up and keeping on...
Lord, thank you for today. Thank you for friends. Thank you for the beauty of the trees, flowers, butterflies and birds, the river, the beautiful blue sky, the quietness. Thank you for keeping us safe, and for giving us the desire and strength to keep going. I love You, Lord.

Answering a question with a question!

Jerry hates it when I answer a question of his with another question! I do it often. I don't mean to irritate him, I just want to make sure my answer is right. We almost always go to Logan's for supper on either Monday or Tuesday evening. These are the nights of the specials, 2 meals for $13.99. Last week we didn't go. So this week we'll go again. He just asked me which day I want to go, today or tomorrow. I hesitated a second and said, "Well, which day do you want to go?" He looked away and slapped his knee. I knew right away what I'd done so I said, "Oh, why not go today?" So we're going. Thank You, Lord, for good resturants with specials. Help us to use our money wisely. Thank You for Jerry. I love him, please keep him healthy.

Let's have a visit!

I just want to visit this morning. I know it's going to be all one-sided...unless you, my readers, write comments!!!

I wrote a blog about making a mistake helping Sydney start her own blog. We did call her mom before we finalized it. Well, now I'm not sure it was a mistake. When she blurted out to Isabella, "No, I'm in Grandma's world now. I'm a blogger!" I thought, on no, what have I done? But now as I read her blogs I see that she's being able to write her thoughts and her emotions. That's a good thing. The bad part will be when she coaxes her dad to take her to the library so she check for comments and write a new blog! Other than that, I'm very proud of her. She asked me if it would be okay for her to end her blogs with a prayer the way I do. Yes, I'm very proud of her.

Last evening was small group meeting time. There were seven of us. Two brought dessert! We always have prayer, do a study and discussion on the pastor's sermons, take requests and pray again; that takes an hour or a little longer, then we have coffee, dessert and visit for as long as we want. We had a good discussion of the last two sermons from our pastor. Let me tell just about one thing. He gave us such a good word picture. Pastor Dave said if God was picking a team He'd pick me first, or you first! Then he told about how in grade school when his class played kick ball they would line up along the wall and the two captains would pick their teams. He was usually one of the last ones to be picked. We could all identify with this, but then he said, God would pick me or you first! Think about it! I don't understand how He could pick all of us first, but that doesn't matter, I don't have to understand. Just knowing He loves me enough to pick me first is so refreshing. And knowing that He loves you enough to pick you first tells me He's not partial. He loves us all...enough to die for us.

I got my feelings hurt the other day (I'm not going into detail here) but I had a hard time getting over it. I lost the joy. It's strange how some one's words and/or actions can turn a persons mood, outlook, actions, etc. I see now that I was looking only at myself. I was hurting but the person who caused the hurt wasn't suffering anything. That person wasn't even aware I was hurt. So what good did it do me to carry this hurt and resentment! I've given it to the Lord, my eyes are back on Him where they should have been all along. Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His Glory and Grace.