Tea Time at Mrs. B’s

The mere chink of cups and saucers tunes the mind to happy repose.  ~George Gissing

I love the time I get together with my Mom and sisters.  We have good discussions, share ideas and laugh a lot!  We often do that over a cup of coffee at family get-togethers.  But at least twice a year when my sister JoEllen is home, we make a point of getting together for a “tea party”! 

Today we went to a new tea place, Mrs. B’s Tea Parlor!  It was very nice! You can read about Mrs. B’s at http://www.mrsbsteaparlor.com/About_Us.html. 

Robin, Jo and Mom

Sisters…Sherry, Jo and Robin.  (BTW, youngest to oldest!)

Our tea table

Our tea goodies

Mom, Sherry, Jo and Robin

A Loving Recipe for a Perfect Cup of Tea

One willing friend who loves to sit and share,

One grateful heart to have a friend that cares,

One beautiful garden to show us God is near,

Many wonderful memories of times shared throughout the years,,,

Lots of smiles and laughter to brighten up our days,

Many prayers that we prayed for one another along the way!

from Mrs. B’s

 

Cute Cards

I made some thank you cards for my helpers in VBS.  I used my cricut machine and the Create a Critter Cartridge.  I think they came out really cute!

I thought this beaver was really cute.  Did I say that already?

And how about these snails?  Cute?

And this cute birdie was a Birthday card for my nephew’s wife, Krista!

I would not consider this to be a cute card.  But I really like it.  I made it at a class I took at Archivers.  It was a class using a lot of stamping techniques.  I am not the best at rubber stamping but I am learning.  I sent this one to Andrea.

Ben’s Birthday

Today is Ben, our son-in-laws birthday!  We feel very blessed and grateful to have Ben in our family.  Ben is a great fit for Andrea and he’s proving to be a great Daddy too.  One of his best points is that he doesn’t mind if his mother-in law comes for visits! 

This is a mile-stone Birthday Ben!  Now that you are 25 and married, you get to move into a cheaper car insurance bracket!  Not that you will probably notice that there in New York!

You’re a good fit with our family

 

 

Ben has blessed our family with his patience, flexibility and sense of humor!  He is a hard worker both in providing for his family and in his study habits, while in school and now in the ministry.  He has a competitive streak…be careful if you play Monopoly or Parcheesi with him.  He is musical…did you know he plays the piano?  He loves people and has a wonderful heart to serve the Lord, know His word and see others come to know Jesus Christ personally.  We love you Ben and wish you a Happy, Happy Birthday!  May this next year of life find you becoming more Christ-like and abundantly experiencing His blessings as you continue serving Him!

A New Toy

Last Friday I raced home from VBS so I could get Wally to the airport.  He flew into Ontario, CA, and took a limo about an hour away to Hemet, CA.  (By the way, the limo was cheaper than sharing the shuttle van with all the extra stops along the way!)

Now why would he do this?  Well, to buy a new vehicle!  The two wheeled kind!  Wally bought a Honda Pacific Coast!

Last night we rode it to church. It wasn't too bad! The bike is quiet and doesn’t vibrate or put off a lot of heat. I have a back rest and comfy foot pedals! And there is even a trunk where I put my purse and Bible and skirt. However, I didn’t enjoy riding on the highway.  Coming home we took quite a few side roads and went through Cherry Creek State Park.  It was a beautiful night and we had the Irish Tenors playing!  Can you believe this bike has a hook up for my iPod? 

I think it looks like an overgrown scooter! Can you believe it is 20 years old?

Vacation Bible School

 

Wow! Last week we had Vacation Bible School at my church.  What a week!  I think we do a really well VBS. Each year the theme changes but the program runs  the same. We begin with all the kids gathered together for our opening.  This time includes a penny parade and  an ongoing skit for the week. Then the different age groups divide out for a morning of Bible teaching, crafts, games, music, snack and the missionary story! 

Let me tell you, the penny parade is really something!  It is a big competition between the boys and the girls to bring the most pennies, which are weighed on a scale each day.  So its all about the weight! Dollars and quarters are all exchanged for penny rolls each morning. The pennies are then given to one of our missionaries.  Sadly for us girls, the boys have won two years in a row.  This year the penny offering brought a record 975.00!  It will be sent to our missionary Helen Burman who runs an orphanage in Zambia, Africa.

 

I taught the first through third graders.  We have been blessed this week with a high attendance of 67 children in our department and a low of 60!  It was a very full week!  I had a crew of helpers.  Friday our overall attendance was 187 kids!!  What a great week God gave us.

 

 

My great helpers for the week… Mrs.Thompson, Jacob Petterle, Selena Anderson, Samantha Baker, Kyle Clayton.  Two were missing, Bryan Southall and Mrs. Fick.

This week I am almost recovered!  :)

Fourth of July…on the Eighth of July

As a blogger, I’m not exactly timely. I get my ideas in a timely time, but getting the technical bits together take me awhile.  So, here is my not very timely Fourth of July post. 

Our church always has a Fourth of July picnic.  This year as the 4th fell on a Sunday, we had the picnic after church.  It was held at the home of one our members…a very beautiful home and grounds.  They smoked a pig and a brisket…delicious! 

Here are tables set up on the deck

A view from the yard.  After eating we sang patriotic songs and then Pastor gave us a Patriotic challenge

Pastor Musgrave and some of the Anderson brothers accompanied our singing on their brass instruments

Lloyd leading the singing and Steve on the keyboard

Brother Scott and Steve Goedecke-always time to kick back

Mom and Dad joined us for our picnic

Wally and me

You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness.  You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism.

~Erma Bombeck

Wally and I spent our weekend working in the yard.  Since we were gone for two weeks in the spring, there was a lot of clearing and weeding we had not done.  It was a lot of work, but its the kind that you enjoy and that makes you feel very tired but very good when you are done.

Part of the finished product…There were a lot of overgrown flag iris along this fence.  The daylily was not even visible.  So we took out a lot of the iris (more needs to come out yet)  and we brought in some dirt to fill in the uneven ground.  Then we topped it off with bark.  It looks very nice.

This may not be picturesque, but it looks great to me.  This area had been overtaken by grass.  I finally got it all out.

Just a pretty clematis and kitty

We did work hard but we also rested.  We sat in the swing and finally got the hammock hung up and enjoyed that too.

 

 

 

 

 

Our self portrait on the swing, except you couldn’t see us in the swing.  Not too bad though, huh?

A real swinger! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KENNY

Twenty-five years ago today our son Kenny was born at 2:15 pm in Kendallville, Indiana!  What a wonderful gift God brought into our lives. I had fun last night looking at his baby book and remembering. 

      

                   

A precious little boy grew up to be a fine young man…We have enjoyed (mostly) watching Kenny mature and become responsible and independent.  He loves the Lord! Even though he lives miles away and we miss him, it is such a blessing because we know he is serving the Lord with the gifts and talents he has been given.  Kenny works with the youth and music at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Newland, NC. 

         

God has also brought a special young lady into Kenny’s life, Becky

(Maybe Becky will make your Birthday Peanut Butter Pies this year!)

Happy, Happy Birthday Kenny!

…being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;           

                         Philippians 1:6                                

We love you very much Kenny!

Down the Garden Path

This week I got back to my “walking” which I had neglected even before the big road trip.  (whew, am I sore!)  It has been wonderful to walk each morning as the American Linden trees that fill our neighborhood are in bloom.  Their fragrance is so sweet! 

It made me think, “hmm what kind of fragrance am I giving off?”  On Monday I think I was just down right stinky.  I was discouraged that so quickly after the Lord’s Day I was struggling with some thoughts and attitudes that I knew were just plain ugly and selfish!  I could not seem to shake them.  Then in my Bible reading I read this…Proverbs 18:1, “A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; he rages against all wise judgment.”  I had to admit, I spend a lot of time on my own…and I kind of like it.  I often determine what I accomplish by, “I don’t feel like doing that today” or "I do want to do this” and then get irked if something else gets in the way. I am ashamed at the conversations I have in my mind with other people that just make me look good or right.  It really is just selfishness!

I’m not sure what the correct Biblical interpretation of the second part of that verse would be. I do not walk around in a rage as though I am angry.  But I do battle with my thoughts!  “Wise judgment” just struck me as being God’s Word or obedience to Him. In bringing my thoughts into alignment with what would please God I engage in the battle!  It is the hardest thing I do, because my thoughts control my actions.

I am so glad God brought that verse across my path. It is always good to put things into the perspective of His Word.  It’s still been a tough week, mind-wise, but recognizing the battle helps me turn to the Lord to be victorious in the battle.  Today is Thursday and I don’t think I’m quite as stinky as I was on Monday!

No, these are not trees and they have no fragrance.  They have nothing to do with what I just wrote… I just thought I’d share a patch of my Rocky Mountain Blue Columbines!

More pretty flowers…and a very pretty granddaughter! Andrea and I took several pictures of Elaine in the backyard the day they returned to New York

The sun was very bright and hard for Elaine to look at us.  But she is still sweet!