Catching Up... The Grays Visit

It's almost hard to know where to start, as we were away for our camp meeting the last two weeks of June, and then made a trip back to Indiana over July 4th weekend. One of the highlights of this past month was the Sunday after Jen and Wes were married. We had several members of the Gray family at church on Sunday. Dan had asked Sylvan to give his life story.

It is a very moving account of a prodigal son who found his way back to Father's house. It certainly is a "faith booster" too. His parents pleaded over his soul, and God was faithful!

We felt so privileged to have Bro. & Sis. Eugene Gray in our home for Sunday dinner once again. And Sylvan was a hoot! We just had a blast with them! Sis. Gray fell in love with our dog, Buddy. She's quite an animal lover. Sylvan was fighting with Clayton over the last few pieces of sugar cream pie. And finally said he was taking home the last piece- and he did! Ha! Well, it wasn't quite that bad, especially since it was his and he was actually sharing with the others... We gave pies to the fathers for Father's Day and he just happened to get my sugar cream pie. He must love sugar cream pie, so it worked out very well.

Here are a few pics from that special day. The first is another memory to add to our hearts.

Just proving, Amber isn't too old to still receive one of Bro. Gray's dollar bills. (As Conf. Pres., when he would come to visit, the kids would always receive a dollar or two from him.)

Wes & Jen's Wedding

Yesterday was the wedding of Wesley Gray and Jen Hartkopf. The wedding was very special. Jen has found a guy who will love her forever, and we're so proud of them! I'd like to have placed captions with them, but I know it would take me awhile to do that. Maybe I can add more photos when I return from a two week trip we're taking. We're heading out of state today, but I wanted to get these uploaded before we left. We're leaving for 2 weeks for Indiana... Youth Camp and Camp Meeting.

Back at home/Retreat Part 2

Monday dawned bright and clear, but it wasn't long before the reality check set in... Doesn't that seem to be the way it happens sometimes after being gone for vacation or a few days away? Clogged sinks, unpacking, mounds of laundry, and a "not so well" husband (he's been having problems with his legs due to the diabetes). The pieces in my neat little package were definitely wiggling, but it's OK. I'm not complaining. As much as I enjoyed myself at the retreat, I was very excited and ready to see my family after being gone for three days!

Sarah Fry touched on this subject of life in the real world the first night of the retreat. She said, "God has created cycles and seasons and He doesn't intend for everything to be perfect." And... "when we think we have it all together, we may be leaving God out of the picture."

I admit, I'm one who likes to have my ducks all in a row.... but since that doesn't happen very often, I guess I might as well find some enjoyment in the chaos! Ha!

On Sat. afternoon of the retreat, Valerie Quesenberry spoke on the topic "Touching My Sister- Connecting Through Technology". She had so many neat thoughts on the subject. The one I liked the best was: Bloggers have a higher education than average. :+) We may not have thought of it in this light before, but blogging is the back fence of the 21st century. Even though, blogging and e-mail will never replace face to face relationships, these are ways to be connected. There's no doubt about it, women need connection! I can relate, because I have certainly enjoyed catching up with old friends and some of my distant family via the bloggerworld. Along the way, I'll probably be "dropping" some of the new blogging words Valerie left with us, but for now I'd better take her advice and..... "Keep it short". (I think I already failed on that one.)

More photos:
Photo 1: First Night Sharing and Prayer Time

Photo 2: Session Speaker: Valerie Quesenberry

Photo 2: A snapshot of Melissa Gresham receiving a hug from Ruth Dotson.

Photo 4: Lorena Glick and Me

My Sister's World!!! Weekend Retreat 2008

I just returned home from a Women of Worth retreat in Marengo, OH. I went with two area pastor's wives. I'm really glad it worked out for me to be able to go. The theme was so fitting... My Sister's World! I came away feeling a much stronger sense of connection to my sisters in Christ! I left there knowing, more than ever, that it's OK to be "me"- to be real! I have a renewed vision for making the most out of those imperfect situations which happen in my life. I want to host CeLeBrAtIoNs! as often as possible for the strengths of my sisters. I'm pumped!!! Can't you tell? It happens everytime I go to retreat!
Yeah, I know, tomorrow's Monday and probably sooner, rather than later, the rubber will be meeting my road, at full speed ahead... All of this will be easier said than done! But we have been equipped with some awesome challenges and inspiring concepts, and I really hope to "take heed to the things which I have heard, lest at any time I let them slip". They are too good to let them slip away!
I will probably be blogging more about this throughout the week, but for now, here are some pics.

Photo 1: Beautiful Multipurpose Facility at the Heartland Retreat Center.

Photo 2: This Mother/Daughter Duo was outstanding as the speakers for the convention. They are Sheila Wolfe and Sarah Fry.

Photo 3: We enjoyed a concert by the Keeling family on Sat. night. I love to hear Randy's testimony. I'm glad he shared it again.

Photo 4: Here I am with one of my most favorite people in the whole wide world, Barb Brock (former missionary to Papua New Guinea... Barb spoke on Sat. about "Communicating With (Our Sisters) By Phone/Mail"

Just an Update...

I have about 5 minutes. Just thought I'd update my blog. Lately, my family has experienced quite a shake up in our schedules. We're finding out what it's like to have a working teenager in our home. It is fun and crazy all at the same time! Add to the mix the fact that this week she's to take her second and final segment of driver's ed. We were trying to find time this week just to have her fitted with a dress for a wedding she's to be in next month, and we had one small time slot this evening. Thankfully, it all worked out and that is now done.
I am to start working the morning shift at Joanns next week. I'm looking forward to that. I have worked second shift for over two years, so this will be different. We're trying to work in a lot of other things, and yet the need for taking time for each other is something I cherish as high priority. Some things can wait, you know!
I really enjoyed Mother's Day. Our service was a special one.
I missed my Mom, and thought of her alot. I did enjoy talking with her on the phone. She had my grandparents to her place for dinner. I told her I would have fixed dinner for her, had we been together. I think I feel more blessed with each passing year for such a caring, loving Mother of character.
Amber prepared most of our dinner. It was SO delicious!
The dessert of Low Fat Cheese Danish was awesome!
I sat with my coffee and savored every bite!
AND I didn't feel guilty after it was all over. Ha!
See recipe below.

My Mother's Day gift this year might seem kind of peculiar, but I'm so thrilled over it!! Dan and Amber went in together and got me a tennis racquet. Amber has been expressing an interest in tennis playing. She never had played before. They gave me the gift last Thurs. We live really close to a park with a nice court, so we went out and played Fri. and Sat. It was a blast!! It was wonderful to spend one on one time with Amber- especially in the midst of her busy schedule lately. I played tennis alot in my teens. Needless, to say, I would be embarrased for most ANYONE to see me play now. But maybe some practice will help. It was so much FUN!

Here's the recipe. Maybe someone else will enjoy it too.

Cheese Danish
3 Tbls. Sugar, 3 tsp. Cinnamon
5 (6 or 7") flour tortillas
Non Stick Cooking Spray
1 c. cold skim milk
1 pkg. (4 oz.)Vanilla Fat Free/Sugar Free instant pudding
1 (8 oz.) light cream cheese (softened)
2 cups thawed Cool Whip (Lite)
1 square Baker's semi-sweet choc. (1 oz.)

Combine sugar and cinnamon. Spray tortilla shells lightly with cooking spray. Sprinkle both sides of each tortilla shell with sugar and cinnamon mixture. Cut each tortilla into 4 wedges. Stand round edge of tortilla in bottom of muffin cup (muffin cup pan). Bake 5-10 min. at 350* until barely golden. Cool in pan. (This should cause tortillas to form somewhat of a cupped form.) I placed a photo below.
Pour milk into large bowl. Add pudding mix. Beat at low speed with mixer for 2 min. Beat in cream cheese at med. speed until smooth. Gently stir in whipped topping. Refrigerate until chilled- at least one hour. When ready to serve, fill each shell with 3 Tbls. pudding mixture. Microwave choc. on high for 1 min. Drizzle choc. over desserts.

Fat: 3.5 grams (which means you can have TWO! ;-)
Calories: 90
20 servings

Homesick for Southern Indiana

Hey everyone!
We were visiting in the hospital recently and an older gentleman from our congregation, who is from West Virginia, had been talking to a relative on the phone. His relative told him of how he had been mushroom hunting. Wow!!! Some wonderful memories flooded my mind!! I LOVE to hunt and eat freshly grown mushrooms!!! But we're now city people. We really do love the city. However, I haven't seen a corn field in months, that I can remember. I remember going mushroom hunting with my dad in those southern Indiana woods. He was great at finding mushrooms. He has a lot of patience for it. Matter of fact, he went hunting with some friends a few days ago. He was walking behind the others and he was finding the ones they were passing up! :-) Well, it wasn't enough, at the hospital, to hear about someone finding a mess of 'em. My sister told me yesterday about the new blog of one of her best friends. I sauntered on over, via bloggerland, and wa lah! She had been mushroom hunting, and had a picture of the ones she had found!!! They were BEAUTIFUL!! Talk about mouth-watering envy!!! :-) Not really, at least I got to see a picture of one. Marsha's post is very worth the read!!! I loved it!

Feeling All Warm And Fuzzy

The next day and a half around here are going to be quite rare. Dan is taking the kids to Ohio so that Amber can do a Stanford Achievement Test at the Lima Pilgrim School, which happens to be near his parents. So they will be staying with his parents during this time. I'm staying home to work. I'm also hoping to paint Clayton's room. It's been a light blue for 9 yrs. and we're quite ready for a change. Why am I feeling all warm and fuzzy??? Certainly not because I will be alone! But, last night, Clayton's male "protective" instincts must have been kicking in, as out of the blue in such a caring voice he asked, "Are you sure you're going to be ok while we're gone?" That just made my day!!

Going Bananas!

I never buy more than one bunch of bananas. But yesterday at Aldis they had their bananas for .22 per pound. They looked great. So I got two large bunches for just over $1.00. So, of course, that called for banana pudding! Yummy!! Clayton had fun helping me make it.

Miracles and Praise!!!

Well, as of May 2nd this blog will be 6 months old. I have enjoyed posting details of exciting events, some achievements of my kids, and even some discouraging happenings (See "The Disappearing Act" OR "It's All My Fault" posts).
This post might be a bit different, but I wanted to publicly extol Jesus Christ for 2 major miracles which have taken place within this past week! These miracles aren't within our family, but have to do with people near and dear to us. The first one I won't go into detail about, but it is MAJOR and God came through above and beyond what we would have asked or thought!! It seemed to be years in the making. We just sat back in awe!!! There is no way for anyone to explain it away!
The second one was concerning a man from our church, Jim Purcell. (I previously mentioned him in one of my posts.) He fell several weeks ago and has had severe injuries from the fall. He had bleeding on the brain and his right side became paralyzed. I was there when the Dr. told us that he would not regain movement in his right leg (maybe in his arm, but not his leg). Jim has been in a rehab center. Today, when Dan talked to him, Jim told Dan that he had moved his previously paralyzed leg 6 inches. This was wonderful news!!!
While I'm at it... I'm very grateful, too, that my Dad wasn't seriously injured this past Wednesday afternoon. He was trying to get a heavy washing machine down a flight of stairs by himself and it started to slip away from him. It went down and he went with it!! It could have been a very terrible situation. He cut his arm and hurt his shin a bit, but otherwise he's fine!
I love the line, "Miracles still happen where there is childlike trust." I know that I have fallen below "Exhibit A, probably even B and/or C" in the "trusting department" at times, but there's nothing like a miracle to boost the "belief system" once again! May a simple love and faith in Jesus be seen in us! It's ALL about HIM!!!

Tagged by "Tamra"

1. What I was doing 10 years ago: Living in Bicknell, IN at our 2nd pastorate. We also enjoyed living near family at that time. I lived about 30 min. from my parents and my sister's family. Amber was around the age of starting kindergarten, in which she attended Trinity Holiness Academy in Washington, IN. Clayton wasn't developing eyelids yet. :-)

2) 5 Things To Do Today:

• Visiting with Dan... We've had 3 people from our congregation in 3 different hospitals this week.
• Shop for some greeting cards.
• Watch IHC Service tonight. This week, our mid-week church service is canceled due to our annual business meeting this Friday night.
• Relax... I worked a double shift at Joanns on Mon. We're having a big sale this week. Last night I didn't get out of work until 11:15 p.m. So I'm kind of looking forward to some relaxation tonight.
• And hopefully relax some more.... :-)

3) Snacks I enjoy:
Tortilla Chips and Dip
I love desserts

4) Things I would do if I was a billionaire:
Wow!! Of course, give the tithe to my local church. Pray to God to help me to have the wisdom to spend or invest it wisely.

5) Bad habits I have:
Overanalyzing everything.
Stopping at Taco Bell on the way home from work some nights.
Taking things and putting them away before family members are done using them.


6) 5 places I have lived:
Petersburg, IN
Ft. Wayne, IN
Summitville, IN
Bicknell, IN
Rochester Hills, MI

7) 5 Jobs I've held:
Cashier at True Value Hardware Store(in high school)
Private Care Taker for elderly
Assistant to 2nd Grade Teacher at Bedford Stone City Christian Academy
Worked for a short time at Lincoln Life Insurance (Ft. Wayne)
Joann Fabric and Crafts

The Best Part of Waking Up...

Is opening the carton of eggs to find a wonderful Scripture verse. :-)

Has anyone noticed the rise of food prices in recent weeks? I normally always shop at Meijer. It's close and I feel they do have good sale prices. But I have been doing some of my shopping at Aldi's the last few weeks and have found that I'm getting a lot more for my money. Of course, the only draw back is there are several things they either don't have or certain off-brands which we just don't like. I have found that their 10 lb. bag of potatoes for $1.99 makes for some excellent tasting potatoes. Their eggs are cheaper at $1.59. Plus you get the little Scripture verse inscribed on the carton, which is really neat way to start the day!

A Recipe Scrapbook

The ladies from our church have submitted scrapbook pages for a Recipe Scrapbook we're presenting to Jennifer Hartkopf at her bridal shower tomorrow. I'm really excited about it! There are so many great recipes and it will give her some memories to keep with her down through her new life as she takes up housekeeping. We used an 8x8 book, which is a great size. I'm not an avid scrapper, but had fun putting my pages together. The other thing is, when everyone gets involved in something like this, I think it makes it all the more special. The ladies have done a fantastic job!

Our Boy Turns 9!!!

Happy Birthday, Clayton!! We look forward to spending a wonderful Sunday celebrating your special day!
Recently, I finally organized my digital photos. It's great to be able to go right to the certain files and choose which pics I want!

Here are 9 of my favorite "Clayton" snapshots for my family to enjoy. Everyone else may view if they wish.
DISCLAIMER: I know just enough about html and blogging to get me into trouble, thus all the blank spaces between my pics. After trying to figure it out for about 20 min., I guess it will just have to do...


At a wedding in Summer '06

(Thought I'd better post this
one before I post the next
one, lest someone would
wonder about my parental
skills concerning cleanliness
and hygiene detail. Ha!
He cleans up "purty good".










How could I deprive
this boy of SOOOO
much fun? Ha!
He had a blast playing
in this mudhole last
fall.

Just after last year's
b-day dinner of pizza.
We had a sport's theme
for last year's party.

Up north on vacation,
fishing with Mam and Pap.

A guitar, Clayton's gift
for his 4th b-day.
(Aren't those the cutest
toes you've ever seen!! Ha!)

Clayton with his dog,
Chow. A b-day
present for his 3rd
b-day.








At Family
Buggy
Restaurant,
sitting
with the Big
Bear.









About 6 mo. old.

Before you were
conceived I wanted you.
Before you were born
I loved you.
Before you were here
an hour I would die for you.
This is the miracle of love!!!
~Maureen Hawkins

Bronner's Founder Passes Away

This post is for my Michigan friends, but for those who may not know, Michigan is home to the WORLD'S largest Christmas Store. Bronners Christmas Store is located in Frankenmuth, MI. Frankenmuth is a tourist's town with lots of attractions. Our family has been there several times. Even our nation's first lady, Laura Bush, has visited Bronners in recent years. Bronner's Christmas Store is a blast!! Just to see the outside decorations and little white "Silent Night" chapel is worth the trip. There are approximately 100,000 lights which illuminate the grounds every evening. There are also, 24 outdoor life-size nativity figures on display. Bronners is always advertised with the word Christ in capital letters, i.e. Bronner's CHRISTmas Wonderland.

This morning, I was saddened to learn that Wally Bronner, founder of Bronners, had passed away of inoperable cancer. What was SO commendable about Mr. Bronner was that he strove to keep the focus of the store on the Nativity and Christmas tradition. I believe, in turn, God blessed his business abundantly. Over two million guests come to Bronners annually.

Here are a couple of his quotes:
"Our rule is that everything we do will focus on — or at least not detract from — the Christ whose birth we are celebrating.”

“You want to know the truth?” he asked a Detroit Free Press reporter in 2004. “The truth is no decorations are needed at all at Christmas. What’s really needed at Christmas is that we decorate our hearts.

Here is the web address for further Bronner Trivia:
http://www.bronners.com/triviasheet.html

A photo of us, taken about 5 years ago, in front of the Bronner's Nativity.

The Gyroscope

My sister and her children were here this week spending a couple of days with us. I had bought the boys Gyroscopes at Cracker Barrel. We were just about ready to go to bed whenever they started getting crazy with them. Ha! Lesson learned: Never give two boys new gyroscopes at 10:30 at night. Ha! No, really, I was glad I did, because they had so much fun with them. Kind of hard to get them settled in to bed, but that's ok. We made some memories! Since we live 9 hours apart, we don't get to see each other very often. We had such a blast! The kids went ice skating too. Since it was a school day for the public school kids, they had the big rink mostly to themselves.

Easter Sunday

It's been a great day! I didn't realize Amber and Clayton's outfits would even halfway match. I had bought Clayton's shirt and tie at Christmas time. Amber bought her skirt a few weeks ago when she was down in IN visiting her good friend, Amber Petty. Anyhow, it worked out well.

Tonight, Amber and Jennifer brought an evening of sacred music to us. They had practiced hours upon hours for this. They provided piano duets, piano/organ duets, vocal duets, etc. They also had a really BIG surprise!! Apparently Jennifer's aunt, Linda Walker, had shared an invitation with their former piano teacher. As the service was about to start, in walked Mrs. Sue Schlabach, whom Jennifer and Amber love and respect alot! Mrs. Schlabach taught Jennifer for about 9 yrs. and Amber for approximately 7 yrs. So she has had a big part in their musical interests and abilities. She's a fabulous teacher and a wonderful Christian lady. She is the organist for the Detroit First Church of the Nazarene. We miss her and it was great to see her again!