Homecoming was yesterday

We had a good time. This is the first time that I haven't been asked to work in the kitchen. That was ok, and yes, I did try to help a little bit.
I did have a chance to talk with Rose and Diana. I don't get to sit down and talk with them. The last time I actually got to sit with Rose is when we went to a ladies' retreat about 5 years ago. She drove and we talked. This is the first time I actually got to speak more with Diana except how are you, how is your grandson and give her a handshake and a hug.

We get so caught up in our own lives that we don't get to spend time with others. We think well if I spend time with my family and we spend time with God then we are about ok. Well, what about our fellow Christians and our friends? Do we actually spend enough time with them? If we were in our friends' places, would we be able to call ourselves a good friend? I know I am not the best but I try.

Anyway, that was my deep thought for the day. The food was as always excellent. I make macaroni and cheese with bacon on top (I saw the Pizza hut pasta commercial and made my own) and I made fettucine alfredo with broccoli and chicken (but I used the egg noodled) and I made mini cupcakes with lemon flavored icing.

We didn't have Junior Church as the children sat in "big church". Every once in a while it is good for the children to do that especially on a special day like Homecoming or when we have singers or missionaries or the children's home.

They were really good. Macayla and Madison sat with me and they sat really still until about 10 minutes before the service was over (About 1 1/2 hrs) The rest of the children did well also. I was really proud of them. Especially since two of the eight children had never been in a church service at all. (Well, one had but he was a baby, he's now 3).

The preacher was good. I enjoyed his sermon. His daughter and her husband are new members of our church.

I can't wait until next year.

Need I say more!

That's My Dog
Spanky-doodle, doodle bug, Stinky or just plain Spanky

This was with Santa

This is his Old Navy Polo Shirt


... and Happy Hallowe'en.

David (Grace's Friend)

Well, I have to tell you a little about David. David is from a GOOD Christian home (would there be any other). His family is very active in their church. The youngest child, Zach works the sound system at their church. David is the oldest. You can tell that most of his best friends(not in any particular order) are his Sunday School teacher, Youth Pastor and his Pastor and his family.His birthday was on August 31st and his dad, Brian was on the 30th so his mom had a big birthday party for both on them on Saturday evening. David was so excited for his birthday party and he was so happy that his best friends showed up.


Tracy sings solos in their church, plays the piano and the organ (not at the same time) for the services when needed. She is the President this year of the Peacemakers, which is what their church (Peace Baptist in Wilmington, NC) calls their women's missionary program sort of like our SWIM (Smyrna Women in Missions) used to be. She also sings in the choir. Tracy feels the same as I do: The person you are at home is the same person the world sees. God knows who you are and he sees what happens behind closed doors. While we were waiting for the party to start, Tracy and I had a wonderful conversation and learned a lot about each other. And I am proud to call her friend. While, we were talking, I was telling her that Grace sang and (if you can call it that) her signature song is "Little is Much". Well, that is the song Tracy sings around her house.


Grace met David at Crown. David did not return to Crown. He kept in touch with Grace for 1 1/2 years until we went to see him Labor day weekend. That is right, they did not see each other for 1 1/2 years. The only conversation between the 2 of them was the thousands of text messages and phone calls to each other. (Thank you God for Verizon to Verizon free texts and calls or both families would have an extra mortgage!) Their idea of a date is to pick a movie from the many we have and watch it on their computers 800 miles away from each other. David has watched The Notebook as well as Alvin and the Chipmunks with her.

David is a very considerate of everyone and he is a very meek man, this is very different for Grace because she is very talkative. David also helps Grace study for school. David will not call her when she has to study and will not contact her during the times she is in class (either by phone or by text). He totally understands the importance of school and that Grace needs to focus and finish.
David and Grace talk on the phone until they fall asleep. They have daily devotions and pray before they fall asleep and when he calls to wake her up every morning.

Grace also has a different outlook on school. She is studying more and she is more confident about school. She is even making 100's in some of her pop quizzes!

Part of this is because of David in her life and the fact she doesn't share a dorm room with 4 to 5 other girls and she can go to sleep at a decent hour now. But, ALL credit goes to God, first. Thank God for answered prayers.

You Belong in 1965

You are a free spirit with a huge heart. Love, peace, and happiness rule - oh, and drugs too.

What Year Do You Belong In?

Well, I wouldn't say too much of a free spirit. I do have a huge heart and wear it on my sleeve. God rules but that leads to Love, peace, and happiness. The drug thing, I don't agree with.

We're back!

We had a wonderful and safe trip to Wilmington, NC. I met David and his family. They are really nice people and I really enjoyed our visit. We got there about 11:30on Friday night. The motel room was not very clean. I am so glad that I took the Lysol, Dow Bathroom Cleaner and paper towels. I cleaned the bathroom before we got to go to sleep... We drove almost 12 hours and then had to walk up stairs and then clean the bathroom before I could even use the bathroom. We also took showers with Grace's flip-flops on. But we were blessed to have air conditioning, a refrigerator and a microwave to use if we needed it. I also did really well trying to follow my diet. We had 12 hours to go up there and it took 12 hours to get home and it was great to be able to talk with Grace for that long. We laughed at everything...mostly my driving. It was dark when we went downtown Wilmington and when you are downtown, there are many statues and a fountain in the middle of the street. Grace told me to watch out for the fountain and the light was red. I stopped for the red light to later find out that I had stopped in the middle of the intersection. Well, at least I didn't get a ticket for running a red light. I actually drove most of the time which is a shock to Grace and to my cousin Margie. My theory on driving is some people are drivers and others are passengers. I consider myself a passenger. Well, not this time. I actually drove 8 hours on Friday and 10 hours on Monday. I had to stop driving around Gainesville, FL because the taillights looked like everyone had their brakes on and were running together. So, I turned the driving over to Grace and she finished the last 2 hours of the trip. This was the first trip my car has been on. It was interesting to find out that I got 34 miles per gallon on the trip. But I set the cruise control and didn't use the gas pedal or brake that much. That is probably why I got such great gas mileage.
Anyway, I was glad to take off on Tuesday. Grace got up and went to class. I went back to bed and slept until 10:30. I picked up Spanky from the kennel. He was mad at me and has been laying next to me all evening.