Random 5 Friday

My Random Five Friday

1.

Ain’t it funny how time slips away? That is already happening with 2014. February will be upon us tomorrow, Groundhog Day to follow, and a short period of winter before Spring. Then, before you can say Jack Robinson,

Google says there really was no Jack Robinson!
I guess if there was, he was too quick
for anybody to pin down what that
saying is all about!!!

I will be turning that “magical age” of 65! Who ever knew? It was only 50 years ago that the Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show. Watching them at that young age, I certainly never dreamed that I would be considered a senior citizen.

 

2.

Medicare enrollment! I received my Medicare card in the mail and have enrolled in a Medicare supplemental insurance. Things are certainly moving along.

3.

Yesterday’s visit to the doctor for a general visit resulted in her commenting that “you are so healthy you are boring!” That is great news and I can live with that! (Pun intended!)

4.

Beginning to think about our upcoming vacation in the Spring. Any suggestions would be welcome of exciting things (no zipline adventures or anything like that, please) to do in Charleston, South Carolina, Savanna, Georgia, and then other places between Savanna and West Palm Beach. We will be spending about ten to twelve days going down the coastline of Georgia and Florida.

5.

And finally, speaking of aging, I came home yesterday from the doctor's office all proud of myself for being in such great shape at my age and, what do you think happened? I did a little vacuuming, got up on the stepladder to clean light fixtures, cooked dinner, and did a little laundry ... and somewhere during all that activity, I threw my back out. 

So, now I'm a wee bit down!

Linking to:

A Rural Journal Random 5 Friday 

Stop Whining!!!

Well, today has been quite a day!

Our plans for the day after church were to have lunch, attend an aquaponics meeting (one of us less willing than the other), and then have Kate and Jack over to spend the night - our usual Sunday night slumber party. During lunch, our son called to tell us that Jack had fallen off the backyard play fort and busted his lip really bad and Amy had taken him to the ER. So Jason (who happened to be at the fire station today) went to tend Amy and Jack and I drove over to bring Kate home with me.

I figured Kate would have been pretty upset about Jack's accident and she was. But Amy told me that she immediately told Mommy she was praying to ask Jesus to heal Jack. Sweet.

Kate and I made a stop at Mickey D's on our way home to feed her some lunch and let her play a little. As luck would have it, there was another 5 year old girl there named Isabella Hope. She and Kate had a great time playing together.

Sweet girls

While taking a break to eat their chicken McNuggets, Kate was writing a little note to Isabella on the napkin. She walked over to their booth, held up the note and pointed to her message.

Awwwww, gee, they all smiled. That is so sweet!

Isabella's Mom and sister thought that was pretty adorable.

 

Now, for about 15 minutes Isabella's Mom had been trying

to get the girls out of there, but Isabella would cry and Mom would give in.

So finally, she tells them "we're leaving."

Isabella did her crying thing again and while she cried,

Kate began to write another note. I suspected it was a note of comfort.

She finished the note, walked over to Isabella, and held up her note pointing to the words.

Isabella's Mom and sister burst out laughing.

Huh???

 

Here's Kate's note:

 

Stop Whining!!!!
(Okay - so Kate is only 5 and still spelling with phonics)

 

 

I thought this was hilarious!!

 

 

P.S. We are waiting to hear how Jack is doing. He is still at the hospital.

 

 

 



Wanderlust!

 

Wanderlust:

"A strong, innate impulse or desire to travel."

 

Please don't get the impression that I "lust" for travel! Truth is that is the word that comes to mind when I think about how the travel bug bit us many years ago.

The pic below for Throwback Thursday is from the trip that began a bit of wanderlust for us back in 1988. When we were married in 1987, the circumstances in life at that time did not allow for a real honeymoon and the issues of life and family around us just kind of absorbed all newlywed stuff right after our "I do's" were spoken.

But the following year, DH and I attended a tenant party for the office building where I was employed with a law firm. It was a beach party theme in November and the door prize was a free cruise to the Bahamas. Well, of course we put our name in the pot for that prize, but then left the party before the drawing, never giving it another thought.

Later that night though, I received a call from our office manager with the news that I had won! My name had been drawn and I. Was. Not. There!!!! But one of the attorneys I worked for (bless his little pea-pickin' heart) stepped up to the plate and claimed it for me. (I am guessing he may have used a few of those slick attorney skills to make excuses for my not being present for the drawing!)

A free cruise!! Totally! Airfare and all! We wasted no time in taking them up on that offer and were on our way to the Bahamas within a couple of weeks. Upon boarding ship, we were informed that we had been upgraded from a tiny little room on the lower part of the ship to a "bigger small" room with a porthole! A tiny room with a small view, but never mind about that, we were just thrilled to be on the boat and enjoyed every minute of this new adventure!

After that trip, we decided we kind of liked this traveling business and took off every year for other parts of the world. We have been a lot of places and seen a lot of things since then. How thankful I am that we were able to do it while we still had the good health and energy for it!

 

 

 

I Have A Dream

"I have a dream that one day little black boys and girls

will be holding hands with little white boys and girls."

-Martin Luther King

 

I'm blessed to see that part of Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream alive in our church.

Jesus Loves the Little Children

all the children of the world.

 

 

A Day Out with Ladies of Grace

YES!!  Gotta get just one last post in about Christmas:

 

(1) 'cause it's gonna be February before you know it

(2) and I want to brag about my church!

 

The sun was shining brightly on the frozen ice in early December, but the roads were finally driveable. That was a big relief, because it was time for the Ladies of Grace Christmas brunch.

Each Tuesday from September to December, we have had an in-depth teaching on a different character from the Bible, learning lessons from their mistakes. The lessons are never ending as most all of them had some hang-up, dysfunction, weakness or strength.

But on brunch day, our gathering was all about fun and food and the annual gift exchange ... you know the routine. Bring a gift, select a gift, and then wait try to hide it if it's something you really, really want! If the contents of the package you chose was something fun, pretty or cool, someone else is bound to sneak over when it's their turn to choose and steal it from you. Steal!! Do you think that's a naughty thing to do at a Bible study brunch? Nah, I don't think so either. (Unless they are trying to take mine, that is.)

 

We also had a contest for the best decorated table. Every table was a winner, but table #3 (mine and Ginger's) tied with table #4 for the prize.

Our table #3

Table #4

Aren't the chair covers cute?

The prize for best decorated table!

Here are pics of just a few of our Tuesday morning ladies.

Our leader, Lisa on the left.

Don't we have some beautiful Ladies of Grace?

These pics reflect one of my very favorite things about our church:

It is a multicultural church - Everybody is welcome.

"How wonderful, how beautiful,

when brothers and sisters get along!" (Psalm 133:1-3 The Message)

Each week, no matter what service I attend,

I see a glimpse of what Heaven will look like one day.

All of us gathered together to worship, from every tribe, every nation.

 

And lastly, because a lot of our time on brunch day

centered around gifts and "stealing,"

I was thinking about the best gift ever

when God gave His Son for us.

 

Ain't nobody can ever steal that away!

"Thank God for His indescribable gift."

Playing Catch-up

Math isn't really my "thang" as they say, but I was thinking about accounting and balancing out in relation to some of the moments lived out over the past few months. There were a few that weren't very pleasant, but when I compare the income of joy with the emotional losses incurred these past couple of months, we have still come out in the black. That may not be the best analogy, but its meaning is clear to me.

 

 

 My sister, Roberta, and her daughter, Robyn,

came for a visit to attend a wedding,
which was held outdoors on a
very chilly night in late October!
(I did my share of shivering for those
young ladies in their strapless dresses!)

Although the original plan DH and I had for Thanksgiving did not happen, we didn't let that get us down. My sweet sister invited us to her home where we enjoyed a fabulous meal and the good company of her family. We stuffed ourselves and the fellowship with them was just what was needed.

The fast track that usually happens during the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas was slowed down by an ice storm at the first of December.  It was somewhat of a relief to be able to sit cozily inside and just read, relax, rest.

DH and I took Kate and Jack to see Santa at the Mall. After waiting in line for some time we finally got to hand them over to Santa. The photographer took four snaps of them and Jack's "deer in the headlights" expression never changed once. Looking at this, you would never know this is a wide-eyed smiling boy all the rest of the time.

Brady and Noah saw Santa in their part of Texas

Our plan for Christmas was to go to Tulsa for a long anticipated bridal shower for my nephew and his fiancé.

 

The shower promised to be a fabulous party with all his old friends from the area and, following that, we would all travel to Branson, Missouri for a few days to join in the Old Town Christmas celebration together.

What's wrong with this picture?
My DH and me are not in it!!

BUMMER!!!

 



Two days before these exciting events were to take place, I came down with the nasty, nasty crud! It was upsetting because the doctor said it was viral, would give me nothing for it and told me it would just have to run its course! Phooey!! With heavy congestion, no voice, and sounding as though I would cough up my lungs at any minute, we decided to stay home and spare my brother's family and all their guests!

By Christmas Day, we were at least able to attend Christmas Eve Service. Jason was doing his service with the Fire Department, but Amy and her Mom, along with Kate and Jack joined us.

 

Dinner at Chili's after church



Kate "the little elf" helping Mommy wrap presents

Here are a few pics from the really BIG day!!

Thank you note from Santa to kids for the snack they left him

Getting ready to open all the gifts on Christmas morning

Kate was excited to receive the long-awaited for Teddy Bear

Uncle Charlie demonstrated the tunnel

Kate painted most of the afternoon

We had all the trimmings to go along with the beautiful turkey that

Jason had cooked in his new infrared cooker!

(No need for a pic here!)



 

Happy Birthday cupcakes for Jesus
 

A few days after Christmas, we headed south to
have Christmas with Sara's family.

Noah and Nonnie being silly with selfie!

The boys love their Palin dog
(and so do I)

Fun in the tent

Sweet pic of DH with daughter Sara and grandson Noah

He loved his Green Machine

See-saws have changed over the years

2014 brought changes -
including the parting of Noah from his "Mimi"

Sweet Brady
So responsible for a 7 year old
Smartest boy in class
Skilled in sports

We spent 3 days with them and surprise, surprise, surprise,

got to bring the boys back home with us to celebrate New Year's Eve.

 

Fun with paper airplanes

 

 

2013 did end on an exciting note for us.

All four grandkids spent New Year's Eve with us.

Resting up before the evening's festivities

 

We partied hard!

 

Flew paper airplanes, chowed down on pizza, played,
jumped on the trampoline and danced the night away!

 

Happy New Year a little late, but better late than never!