VBS and pondering thoughts

Last week the girls and many of their friends attended a Vacation Bible School at First Baptist Church in a neighboring town. It was fantastic. The girls woke up each day ready to roll, and most days happy if I had planned an activity for the afternoon. By Friday we were all whipped and ready for a restful weekend.

One of my conversations (completely out of the blue),in the car with Stephanie was very interesting.

It went something like this.

"So, Mom, are you saying that even in the times of the Egyptians, God knew I would be born in Ocala, on a certain day, be named Stephanie and look like I look?"

"Yes, He did. Isn't that amazing."

"But, that is more than my mind can imagine!!!!"

"I know, that is what is so cool about God, He has ideas and thoughts that are so above what our mind can think, it is hard to even consider it all."

"Yeah, I wonder how he thought to make the tree...how He figured out how it could make oxygen for us to breathe."

Then Olivia chimed in, "And He did not make the roads or the signs, but he made the brain of the person who figured out how to make those things."

Well, I guess they got it...for now, there will be much more to come....Tell me about a time when God's ways were so above yours, it left you in awe.

Happy 10th Anniversary

What does a girl want when she has the best man in the world already? Nothing. That is why it was hard to plan a big hurrah for our tenth. So, we spent the weekend taking care of our sick daughter and out for a good old fashioned date. This is why I feel loved by him.

He is my balance. That might not sound so romantic, but if you know me, you know that is just superb. He is always in my corner. At times he lets me know that my corner is not the place to be, but he is going to support me and love me regardless. He is just what my heavenly Father would have for me, and plus he checked off the prerequisites on my list, (made way back in college) of my husband wish list.

It went something like this...
1. Loves the Lord, with all of his heart. Serves Him with gladness.
2. Is funny, and makes me laugh.
3. Has musical abilities, can play the piano or guitar.
4. Loves me for me, and wants only the best for me, always.
5. Will be a responsible and dependable father.

That is it folks. That list spells out Steve. And I do like to kiss him in the rain. And he is tall like an angel. Taylor knows. (If I have totally confused you, you are not a Taylor Swift fan.) He is mine. I love him.

One of the greatest parts of our date was the card Stephanie wrote to us and told us to open at the restaurant. I have to share it with you. It was so great. It made both of us realize how blessed we are to have this marriage and family.

In case you cannot read it, this is what it says...I can't believe you and dad have been maried for 10 years. I thank you for falling in love(LOL). I hope you and dad have had a good 10 years living loveing and laughing. Happy Anniversary! Love: Stephanie and Olivia

What a riot. I love the LOL part...what?

Links worth your time

Here's one worth reading. Perspective people. Grace.

Here's something worth doing. Free. Gotta go.

Here's somewhere worth going. The girls are LOVING VBS.

Here's an artist worth your time. Her current one is the best.

Just wanted to share.

A little bit of everything

Towards the end of the week, we all ended up down at the beach for a sandcastle building contest. This one did not win, but my girls helped out and had a blast.

This is a picture that I wanted you to see a miracle in action. I had prayed and prayed about the beach and safety. The day I was on duty, this is how calm the water was....super calm. And it was clear. I could see my feet even when we were out to our necks. I am telling you I let everyone know that God had done this for ME! For those of you who do not remember, last year we had sharks turn up on my beach duty day....see why I prayed?

The ducks showed up twice daily to be fed at our back door. They seemed to be health conscious because they liked cheerios better than white bread.

Olivia almost always chose the hot tubs over the pools and definitely over the beach. She thought it was so great that one of the days she had three Popsicles, cause her dad and I were not checking with each other.

Oh yes ma'am, I have a few more fans of Mah jong after this week.

Stephanie made some fans of the game Pictureka over the week too!

Olivia and Steph pooled their money and bought a new house for their Littlest Pet Shop animals.

Two talented ballerinas.

Gorgeous.

Beautiful.

We picked our first tomato before leaving for the youth retreat. We all shared it.

These borrowed mattresses came in handy for watching tv and for sleeping on the floor in the condo. It was a wonderful time this year in St. Augustine...we love all those teenagers.

Spoiled

I am skipping right over the event of Saturday, which was the recital for both girls. It was wonderful and LONG. The girls were beautiful. I loved getting a little wave from Olivia when she was way up front on stage and I was mid way up the auditorium watching them. Stephanie was right on point, and is always looking out for others. Their Dad bought them a boquet of flowers, and they both were giddy.

Okay, so I did not skip over it, but pics will come later.

We are in St. Augustine at our annual youth retreat, with a condo of teenage girls. We feel so blessed to be a part of the leadership, and it is fun yet stretching for the girlies, but they really do love it too. What am I spoiled about? Well, this cable system does not have DVR capabilities. I love to pause live TV. I really really do not like commercials. So, I will survive, I was just exposing one of my pet peeves in life.

The sushi from Wal-mart is almost worth the trip to St. Augustine. Yes, I said Wal-Mart. Today I stood there while the chef made mine to order. Oh, I shared it with about eight others, and made fans of them all.

Pictures coming soon.

Passing it on

Last night we (the girls and I) went to my long time friend's home to spend the night. It was to be a GIRL'S night where her two (5 and 3) had their first sleepover. All sleeping in one room, talking til all hours of the night, eating a bunch of junk, swimming, movies, make-up, hair-dos and dolls. What more could a girl ask for? Sushi? Yes, we had that too.

Sorry, no pics, but at eleven o'clock, Melis and I were ready to call it a night, and her five year old was the last one to give it up. They apparently they got enough sleep, because they were up running around the house at 7:00 a.m. These are budding friendships, with bright futures.

Kid's Church

The girls love the children's pastor at our church. Ron and Sheryl Sellers are one of those blessings from God that one only hopes for when raising kids. I have known them since I was 12, and they seem to be drinking from the fountain of youth. Must be from working with kids. They served in India as missionaries for years, and have returned to be faithful in leading the children of our church into being servants of the King. I adore the passion in the girls hearts for what they are learning each week.

Someday soon I am going to eat some of that Indian cooking that Ms. Sheryl knows how to cook, and I will be sure to share the recipe.

Happy Birthday Grandpa

My Grandpa, Roy.

The food spread was magnificent.

This is the cover of his book that we had printed on his cake.

Ms. Punch server.

Papa and his girls.

Roy and his "Girls".

Today was our big celebration. It was a grand success. Family came from hours away, and friends were everywhere. My grandpa was surrounded by love and friendship. I was so proud to call him mine. He was a little nervous at the size of the party, but at close to 100 people, we pulled it off without a glitch. The food was plentiful, the punch was delightful, and the cake was yummy and huge.

My Grandpa lives in a retirement community where he daily sees friends, eats a meal with them and usually has some form of entertainment or fellowship. He has lived there for almost eight years and really enjoys the camaraderie with others who have lived an adventurous life. He as a male is outnumbered by females about 4 to 1, so he is well taken care of, and kept on schedule for events and outings. His friends showed up today and were more than excited to extend their well wishes. They gave a rousing rendition of the Happy Birthday song.

One of the coolest parts to the party was having his book, Roamer, finished and printed. On each table we had put an excerpt of the book so that everyone could read portions of it. It was a big success. The crowd loved reading about his life. In the end his hesitancy in promoting the book at his party was overshadowed with pride of his accomplishments.

I love him dearly. He is a constant in my life. He loves me and his great grand girls with a steadfast love. My siblings are loved and supported too, because we are his. He is the kind of grandpa that you just want to squeeze, he is just so cute. He wanted to be in on all the details, and that alone was fun. He has given me some great qualities by his example, and I was proud to host his 90th party.

Saturday with Dad

Friday night the girls helped get some last minute jobs done for the big 90th Birthday celebration we will be having on Sunday, June 7th. The gift boxes were filled with little reminders of Grandpa.

Olivia in a box....she said it was comfortable. Hmm...

Sidewalk chalk turns to sidewalk paint or body paint if you live here... they just can't help it.

All tuckered out and already off in dream land... A day with Dad usually includes a trip to some store, a movie or two, some park time depending on the weather, a board game or three, and junk food... life is fun and wears you out!

Bendaroos

The countless forms you can make...is only limited by your imagination.

This is not colored spaghetti....it is 500 bendaroos.

They can even decorate a guitar or a camper...wax covered string. Bendaroos. I apparently had gotten too much sun, because I spent way too much money on a must have or a "as seen on tv" item. Next might be the titan veggie peeler or maybe even the extreme juicer...but it will not be those green baggies that make lettuce stay fresh for 16 more days. Have a good day.