A VERY SPECIAL DAY - JULY 18, 2009

Today our third grandson was born!

His name is CODY.

When Ben called Cody was only less than an hour (4:55 PM) old

so he didn't have the weight or height yet.

Cody was eating well and doing fine.

CONGRATULATIONS to

Ben and Ainsley.

LOW BLOOD PRESSURE

I do not know which pill did it, but

Alan's blood pressure was down this morning.

He has been having these readings for a couple of days.

182/90

176/97

191/105

184/95

178/104

Yesterday, the doctor gave him some other meds.

This morning his pressure was

134/82

While eating breakfast, his head hung over his cereal bowl

like he was about to fall in and go to sleep.

He then crawled out to get into the car to go to work.

I think this is going to be a rough day for him!

EARLY MORNING APPOINTMENT

We had an early morning appointment with the doctor.

Alan's blood pressure was up.

The doctor said that the reason that it was high

was not from the blood pressure medicine.

He gave him some other meds to go with the pill

he is now taking.

He is treating him for allergies.

The gastroenterologist is treating him for acid reflux.

They think that one of those is the reason for his coughing.

~~~~~~~~

I have been running errands all day.
It is 3:15 and I am just now getting home.
I stopped and bought some more corn on the cob.
We have plenty corn in the freezer, but
there is something good about eating it off the cob.
(Heather used to call it, corn on the bone.)

WEDNESDAY WAITING DAY

• Waiting for the arrival of our new grandson,
• Waiting for Alan to reinstall programs on my computer,
• Waiting to get back on my computer,
• Waiting so I can get my email,
• Waiting so I can post using paragraphs,
• Waiting so I can post in pictures,
• Waiting so I can get on Facebook,
• Waiting for Alan's blood pressure to go down,
• Waiting for his procedure, and
• Waiting, waiting, waiting.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alan has been going through a series of tests.

The tests are saying that he is losing blood somewhere.

He is anemic.

We went to a gastroenterology doctor today.

She will be doing the Endoscopy and Colonoscopy.

He is coughing, coughing, coughing.

His blood pressure is very high.

I made him go to bed when we got home.

I was afraid of a stroke.

It is still high after resting.

I made an appointment for in the morning with the family doctor.

Please pray for him.

A GREAT SUMMER RECIPE

As many of you know, I am gluten intolerent so this recipe

is a dish I really enjoy!

I got the recipe from a lady who had been a missionary

to Italy. She brought it to a carry-in dinner at church

back in the '70's.

She called it Zucchini from Italy.

I call my version of it

ZUCCHINI PIZZA.

Cut in half and scoop out centers of 6 small zucchini into

a bowl. Boil the zucchini boats for 5 minutes.

To the zucchini pulp, add the following:

3 Tbls. Hellman's mayonnaise

2 Tbls. Parmesan

1/2 cup mushrooms

4 slices boiled ham, chopped

1 egg, beaten

1 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

1/2 t. Oregano

Mix it all together.

Drizzle 3 Tbls. Olive Oil over Zucchini boats.

Fill the boats with the mixture.

Sprinkle boats with mozzerella cheese and more parmesan.

Bake 375 degrees for 30 minutes

(I added Pepperoni to the top. The Cheese, mushrooms,

ham and pepperoni makes me think I am eating Pizza.)

I always eat waaaaay tooo much!

MONDAY, MORE COMPUTER PROBLEMS, & MORE CORNHOLE

Last night we had some couples over after church

for ice cream, cake, pizza, and Cornhole.

While Alan was getting the pizza, I played

Cornhole in his place. I had never played before,

but I did put two beanbags in the hole.

I am convinced that it happened by chance.

FABULOUS, FABULOUS SUNDAY

Today Alan and I went to church.

We greet in the foyer every Sunday.

We have people greeting at the doors,

but we usually are found somewhere in the foyer

for the purpose of greeting people again.

We do not go to morning adult classes because

people come in at all times of the morning.

As the worship service began, I was making my way

towards the auditorium when I spotted my friend,

Betty, coming in the side door.

I was so SURPRISED and happy to see her and her husband.

They enjoyed the service with us this morning.

The choir has been on break for the summer, but

came back this morning to sing. They sang very well

this morning! They sang a favorite of mine,

"For Such a Time as This!"

That song always makes me cry for some reason.

The pastor is still preaching from Ecclesiastes, and

his message this morning was timely, significant,

and practical. We appreciate Dr. Bob and his wife, Doris,

so much! They have been such a blessing!

Dr. Bob's message was

"The Futility of Narcissistic Living."

Alan and I handed a bulletin to a man this morning

and when he saw the title of the message, he

came back to us and asked us what Narcissistic meant.

Alan told him, but Dr. Bob explained it during his sermon.

Narcissistic living is living for the pleasures of life in

satisfying all your desires rather than for pleasing God.

Solomon found out that living to please ourselves is futile.

The admonition was

"If any man will come after me,

let him deny himself,

take up his cross, and follow me.

For whosoever will save his life

shall lose it:

and whosoever will lose his life

for my sake shall find it."

Matthew 16:24

I hope that you were blessed like we were this morning.

We absolutely love the church people,

we love the worship service, we love our pastors,

and we love the Word of God which is preached here.

I was so blessed to talk to three different people whom I

have never talked to before this morning. I met them

in the foyer and they told me about their journey in life

and the part that this church has played in bringing

them along in Christ. I am fascinated with the stories

of people's lives and their testimonies.

It was a FABULOUS SUNDAY!

IT'S SUNDAY

Glen made the first hole in one!

We had an ice cream party last night

with our neighbors.

We played Cornhole.

Victor pitched a high one.

Kim pitched a low one.



Carol held Katie.

~~~~~~~

I had baked a yellow cake for the gathering.

It only had 15 minutes left to be in the oven.

I asked Alan if he would take it out when the bell rang.

"Sure, no problem!" was his answer.

I ran across the street to inform some of the

neighbors of the time of the party.

When I got back, the timer was buzzing and

Alan was no where in sight!! YIKES!

I don't know which is worse,
my dreams or real life! Ha! Ha!

~~~~~~

EARLY SATURDAY MORNING

4:30 came early this morning.

I had had a bad dream which woke me up in consternation.

Here was the dream.

I opened one of my kitchen cupboards, and

there were three packages of chicken,

two packages of pork chops

and a roast.

Sometime in the past week after coming home from

the grocery, I had put all the meat in the cupboard

instead of the freezer. YIKES!

I awoke REALLY disgusted with myself.

I had to throw everything out in the garbage!

What a waste!

~~~~~~~

Through the dark I made my way downstairs to

check the cupboard. I turned on the light.

Yes, it had been just a bad dream!

I got my Bible and read at the table until Alan came down

for his breakfast. I made bacon and eggs for him.

He has a men's meeting at church this morning so

he will be leaving shortly.

~~~~~~~~~

Alan has been coughing for several months.

He went back to the doctor a couple of weeks ago.

The doctor gave him a regiment of meds to take.

Nothing seemed to help.

The nurse called with some concerns about his bloodwork.

The doctor sent him for a chest x-ray on Thursday.

More tests are being ordered.

Please pray that the Lord will heal his body and

restore his strength to him.

There is an 80% chance of rain here.

Maybe I will not have to water the plants today.

Have a wonderful day!

WAITING PATIENTLY

We are waiting patiently for Ben to call.

Our third grandson is due to arrive any day now.

His due date is July 15.

We wonder what this is little guy will be like.

Our first grandson is handsome Wyatt.

He is blonde, kind, and diplomatic.

Then Dylan came and he is very expressionable,

verbal, and cute as pie.

We are waiting to find out the name of the third cowboy.

We wonder. . . . . . .

~~~~~~~

They love living in Virginia Beach.

While the rest of us are relaxing on our patios in the evenings,

Wyatt and Dylan are sitting on the beach.

No Fair!

CORNHOLE

A HUGE box just came by UPS!

CORNHOLE!

YUP!

Anybody up for a game?

A BEAUTIFUL POEM BY JOHN STUMBO

IN A PERFECT WORLD

In a perfect world

we would have enjoyed this sunset together.

In a perfect world my pleasure of watching it

would not have been robbed by the absence of you.

In a perfect world we would always be together

and every day would close with you safely in my arms.

In a perfect world, I’d have no competition for your heart,

nor you for mine.

We’d think each other brilliant and funny,

even if everyone else thought we were just foolish or silly

it would only make us laugh louder at ourselves and love each other more.

In a perfect world, you would always understand me, and I you.

We wouldn’t get that fearful or pained look in response.

But in understanding each other we’d better understand ourselves

for to know you would be to know me, for we would be one.

In a perfect world….....

The sun has now fully set and early evening gray begins to fill the skies.

But as she set I noticed that it wasn’t the sun itself that was so beautiful.

I don’t want to speak ill of her – she is truly glorious.

But the beauty of the sunset was provided by the clouds.

Mysterious.

Imperceptibly but undeniably shifting.

Clouds that could bring rain or be silently dismissed by an evening breeze.

Clouds that I would not have thought of making

if I had created my perfect world.

Our relationship isn’t perfect.

We have our share of clouds.

But perhaps, if we get the right angle together,

We could see that they actually add the true beauty to our lives.

Like this passing day, our lives will eventually be put to rest as well.

Had we had cloudless—“perfect”—skies,

they would not have been nearly as beautiful.

In this imperfect world, we will make a sunset together.

In this imperfect world, we will hold each other still.

In this imperfect world,

we will not fear the clouds but create a beauty

that will linger long after our sun has set.

JPS

Depoe Bay, Oregon

October 24, 2008

John Stumbo wrote this poem to his wife the week he was

spending time alone on the Oregon coast. This was the

week he was writing his dissertation.

It was that week that he became ill.

You can read his story on his blog.

He is on a long journey of recovery.

Even though he is weak and has resigned his position

as lead pastor of his church,

he still ministers to us from his blog.

REPORTING ON MY COMPUTER

I am so sorry that I cannot post from my own computer tonight.

It keeps crashing. Alan needs to reinstall my programs.

He is working late so I don't know if he will be

able to fix it tonight or not.

A new baby (girl) has arrived in our neighborhood.

She came home from the hospital this morning.

I have a cake and a gift ready to be delivered.

The missionary couple whom Alan has been helping with

their power point presentation had their baby.

So I have little boy outfits ready to be delivered to him.

It has been another beautiful day with little humidity.

I walked around the block twice with a neighbor.

I am building up my endurance.

I hope that the sun is shining where you live

and that you are enjoying beautiful weather.

THIS IS NO CORN

This has been a very productive day.

I finished putting away 42 quarts of corn!

I also froze 6 quarts of green beans!

Now I need to wash down the kitchen!

Just kidding!

Here is the BIG news!

My computer is home!

It will soon be up and running.

Tomorrow we will have PICTURES!

AN INTERESTING DAY

I had worked so hard yesterday by getting my hair done,

washing six loads of clothes and

cleaning 100 ears of corn for the freezer,

and I told Alan

if I could get out of bed in the morning,

I would go get 100 more ears of corn to put up.

Well, I got up just fine,

went to Roots for green beans.

Then, I went to the place I got the corn yesterday.

The five elementary school children who were taking

care of selling the produce told me that their mother

was still in the field gathering corn. They said she would

be back in five minutes.

I waited!

I waited for an hour!

Those kids entertained me the entire time.

Of course, I exclaimed after everything they showed me

that they were the most talented and smartest children

I had ever seen.

For instance, the four year old drew me a picture.

I could tell right off that this child was gifted just by

looking at his drawing. Of course, I had to tell him so.

He went into the house and brought out a guitar.

This little guy played the guitar and sang,

"In the Sweet Bye and Bye."

This kid was only FOUR YEARS OLD!

I was blown away.

The other children LOVED my attention.

They were riding unicycles for me so they could

hear me exclaim how talented they were.

One little girl let her hair down from a top knot

and just stood there waiting for me to notice how

beautiful she was.

I absolutely LOVED those little kids.

The mother never did come.

Finally, the father came out and told me that he

would deliver the 10 dozen ears of corn that I wanted.

Around 1:30 the doorbell rang and it was Mr. Keyes

with the corn. I asked him if he would like to have

a turkey that was in my freezer for his family.

He smiled!

He has fourteen hungry mouths to feed!

I tipped him with a turkey!

MONDAY'S WORK

Today on the way home from the beauty shop,

I picked up 100 ears of corn. I husked them,

brushed, boiled, blanched and cut off the cob.

From the 100 ears I got 20 quarts of corn.

As I was doing the corn I remembered the days

when we put up lots of corn. There were two times

in particular I remembered it being a family affair.

Alan's mother and dad were visiting us when we lived

in Lititz. They helped us put up 30 dozen.

Then I remembered the year we lived at Sugar Grove.

Alan's dad had passed away and his mother moved to be near us.

She wasn't well at all but she came one day to help.

She seemed so happy to be able to be a part of the family

in doing what she had always done herself.

Putting up corn also reminded me of the first time I met

my friend, Betty. When we moved to Pennsylvania in 1982,

Betty invited us to dinner.

She and her mother-in-law had put up 36 dozens ears of corn and

had made corn pies. We had never eaten corn pie so we were

delighted to taste a food that was so popular here in PA.

We LOVED it!

Here is a recipe I found on the internet:

CORN PIE
Printed from COOKS.COM
2 (9 inch) pie crusts

Uncooked corn to fill pie crust

3 eggs, beaten

3 tbsp. flour

1 1/3 c. milk

2 tbsp. butter

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

2 tbsp. sugar
Beat eggs. Add flour, sugar, salt, pepper, and milk. Fill pie crust with corn. Pour mixture over corn. Dot with butter. Cover pie with second crust. Bake at 350 degree for 1 hour or until browned. Serve with butter and milk. Serves 4 to 6.

This doesn't seem like the recipe Betty used. But, this is a corn pie.

SUNDAY MEDITATION

THE BLOOD OF CHRIST

Hebrews 9:14

"how much more the blood of Christ,

who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself

without spot to God,

cleanse your conscience from

dead works to serve the living God?"

A footnote in my new Bible says:

"Christ's death on the cross was perfect and complete.

There is no sin or offense so great that His sacrifice

cannot make you clean and holy.

There is no condition so vile that His holy sacrifice

cannot purify you."

Go to church today, worship God, and be an encourager to others!

FOURTH OF JULY 2009

Today was the most beautiful Fourth of July

that I can remember. The weather was PERFECT!

We enjoyed this day by just doing what we wanted to do.

I went shopping again and bought two gorgeous tops.

They were so cheap!

I bought Alan two more tie racks for his ties.

He hung them in our bedroom beside the other two.

Now we have wall to wall ties!

We ate on all the left overs and ate on the patio.

We did a little work in the yard.

Hope you had a very relaxing holiday!

~~~~~~

You that have followed the John Stumbo Stories might

be interested in seeing this new video and announcement.

We continue to pray for John.

FRIDAY EATING DAY

I spent the morning shopping.

The mall stores are having HUGE sales.

I went to the mall TWO TIMES!

I bought Alan ties and shirts.

I bought Chad shirts.

I bought two baby gifts.

I bought myselft four shirts.

Then when we went back tonight to exchange some things,

I bought three more blouses.

That should be enough for a while.

Since Chad has to work tomorrow,

we decided to celebrate Independence Day today.

We grilled chicken, hotdogs, and hamburgers.

Now we have enough food for the entire weekend.

My computer is still in the shop.

So, no flags, firecrackers, or balloons this year!

Tomorrow is another day.

Perhaps they will call!!!!!

THURSDAY COOKING DAY

I like to plan ahead.

I cooked all day.

I made cole slaw.

I made a layer salad.

I made a frozen dessert.

I cut up melons.

I cooked a big pot of green beans, ham, and potatoes.

I shucked all the ears of corn and bagged them.

I made Tochterman Tea. YUM!

MAKING CUPCAKES

Here I am on Alan's computer.

I do not feel so at home here.

I cannot access my pictures.

I found this posting place accidentally.

BUT, at least I can say something now!

I am baking cupcakes for our church's picnic tonight.

I would invite you to come, but you have to sign up for this one.

The pastors are frying the hamburgers and hotdogs.

The weather forecast is for RAIN!

It may be an inside picnic!

I have been spending my days calling people from church

to see if they would be interested in greeting at the main doors.

It has been a good way for me to get to know all these people.

This morning I talked to a lady who was so sweet.

I want to have them over so we can get to know them better.

Now I must go make cole slaw!

There are more picnics coming up this weekend.

Have a great day!

COMPUTER IS GETTING UPDATED

We are taking my computer in for some work
this evening, but to a different place this time.

I don't know if I will be able to post from Alan's computer
or not, but If I am not posting, you will know why.

I will be back soon!

SUNDAY SUMMARY

(Under the largest flag I have ever seen)

I haven't been in an adult class on Sunday for many weeks
because Alan and I greet at the front doors. However,
I went to a class on Sunday where our friend, Fred Mackey,
was teaching. He always has us riveted to our seats.
He is a great story teller and has a very humorous style.
He makes the Word of God very interesting and practical.
I LOVED it!

Then in Worship service, we were presented with a sampling
of the music for the concert at 4 PM and 7 PM.

Our wonderful pastor spoke on
"The Lord's Sovereign Control."

Here are a few thoughts I jotted down.

Point #1 - All of life's activities and events are under God's control.

God birthed America!
Ben Franklin said,
"I have lived, Sir, a long time and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth -- that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid?

Point #2 - God has a timetable.
God has blessed America!
~We have been an economic leader.
~We have been a global super power.
~ We have had freedoms.......
~We have had a democratic republic.

Point #3 - We have a responsibility to seek God's wisdom.
We are at the place of a perfect cultural storm.
~Righteousness exalts a nation.
~A call to repentance.
~Seek the Lord.

He gave a perfect sermon for Patriotic Sunday.

Patriotic Concert:
We attended the 4 PM Presentation.

We sat in the very back pew because Alan was coughing and
I wanted to take pictures. I turned around and to my
surprise was someone who reads my blog from Lititz!
They came and sat with us. It was so good to see them again!

The concert was a typical Sight and Sound Presentation.
You are NEVER sorry that you went!

It was a very inspiring program with the
costuming, dramatization, choreography,
music and talent!
IT WAS JUST THE BEST!

After it was over I turned to our friends and said,
"Now, all we need is some Apple Pie!"
It was so American and Inspiring!

PATRIOTIC CONCERT

(Grace Baptist of Lancaster, photo by Dan Jerchau)

TONIGHT,
Sunday, June 28
at 4 PM and 7 PM,
Ric Zimmerman will be directing
this exciting free concert,
“God Bless America Again.”
A group of performers and producers who
have worked at Sight and Sound Theaters will be
joining our large ensemble for an unforgettable night!

They told us to come to the 4 PM concert
because we will want to see it again at 7 PM!

SEE YOU THERE!

MISSIONARY VISITORS

A wonderful young couple, Jim and Heidi Mohney,
from our church have felt the call of God
on their lives to be missionaries for Wycliffe. Wycliffe is a
mission that translates the Bible into other languages.
They will be working for JAARS,
which provides technical support for Wycliffe.
Jim is a machinist, and he will be making
special parts for an airplane called the Helio Courier,
which transport missionaries and supplies into remote areas.
It has the capability of landing on a short air strip.

Jim and Heidi came over tonight for Alan to help them put together
a power point presentation. They will be going to churches to
present their work so they will need some visuals.

We ordered pizza for supper and had a brainstorming
session, then we put together what they wanted to say
about their work. Jim brought along his lap top in order
to transfer some pictures to Alan's computer for the presentation.

Jim and Heidi have a little boy who is 2 years old,
and they are expecting another child July 10.
The doctors say that they will induce the baby if it
hasn't come by next Friday because it is getting really big.
They do not know whether it will be a boy or a girl.
Whatever, Heidi is READY to be delivered!

I DREAMED A DREAM

I so love the melody of the song Susan Boyle sang
and rocked the world. I was so enthralled by her voice
that I missed hearing the words.
So, I searched for the words and even though they are not so great,
I had to smile at the last line. It read:
"Now life has killed the dream I dreamed."
Now, isn't that just the truth?

A note in my Blackaby Bible says,
"This life in a sinful world brings heartache and pain.
Yet a day is coming when God will bring our suffering to an end.
He will eliminate any reason for tears.
He will care for us and give us everlasting joy in His presence."

Isaiah 25:9 says:
"And it will be said in that day:
Behold, this is our God;
We have waited for Him, and he will save us.
This is the Lord;
We have waited for Him;
We will be glad and rejoice in His salvation."

SIX PLUS TWO DINNER

I don't know if you remember a few months ago about my
telling you about the Six Plus Two Dinners our church
had organized, but I posted about the first one at my house.
Then, I had two surgeries and that put a halt on the dinners
until I got better. We three couples were to meet and eat together
again, and last Tuesday night was the night. This time Lynette
had the meal, and she invited Chad, Dave and Amy.
That made a total of 9 people.

Our dear friends, the Littles, are on the left and Lynette, our hostess, is in the blue.
I am so sorry that I cut off her husband. He was the life of
the party. There is never a dull moment when Dan is around.
HE IS SO FUN!

Alan is on the left, then our son, Chad, and Dave.
Amy came and went so she wasn't at the table at this
particular time. She was getting ready to go to
Creation the next day.

I wanted to show you a few pictures of Lynette's beautiful home.
She is a very talented decorator and she loves the Williamsburg
style of decorating. Everything was lovely!

And those pictures were JUST from her dining room!
Now for a couple from her living room.

Not only does Lynette has exquisite taste in decorating,
she is an excellent cook! Everything she served was so
YUMMY and beautifully presented.

We all had a wonderful time!
Dan and Lynette were a wonderful host and hostess.
After our evening with them, we felt exhilarated!

FRAMING OF THE FAMILY

This is the Family Photo Frame I have been working on
for the past few days. It is approximately 3' long and 2 1/2 ' wide.
We bought it at Kirklands on our Fortieth Wedding Anniversary.

I gathered the photos, changed them to black and white photos,
lightened them, cropped them, resized them, and cut them to fit the frames.
I can change them up whenever I want, and will need to
make way for the new little grandson who is due next month.
It would be good if Grandma and Grandpa would have a new
picture made soon. This picture is ten years old if not older.

A WILLIAMSBURG GARDEN

Last night we were at our friends' house for dinner.
I will show you the pictures of that dinner tomorrow, but
first I want to show you pictures of their gardens.
They have a little pond with very large fish in it.
You can see the HUGE white pump circulating the water.
I am not sure that the picture does it justice.
It was such a cool relaxing place.
It gave the feeling of serenity.

Beside the fish pond was a garden swing.
I missed getting the top that had a grape vine
beautifully draped across the tree limb.
There was also a rope on which children could swing.

Lynette is a very gifted gardener.
She had many vignettes and so much to look at.

The garden shed took my eye.
The rocking chair is so cute!
Everywhere I looked said "relax."

The pergola is a serene place to sit and watch the animals
or read a book. On top of it was a nest of baby robins.

Her picket fence is definitely a Williamsburg trademark.
Lynette was telling me that one time she made a sunflower house
for her grandchildren. She said that she planted sunflowers
on three sides of a square. After they grew tall, she took all
the heads and tied them together. This made a shelter with
an opening on one side. It was great!

Lynette grew up on a farm here in Lancaster.
I am sure there is some history here about the plow.

When I saw this arrangement, I knew that I had found the
answer to my boxes and boxes of bud vases!
Isn't this the cutest thing you have ever seen?

MYSTERY SOLVED:
Dan pulled the bushes away from this birdhouse so we
could see what a crazy Woodpecker had done.
He said that the bird had enlarged the hole.
Then he looked a little closer.
LO AND BEHOLD,
there was a baby 'possum in the hole!!!!!
We all were so surprised!
How did he get in there?
Dan and Lynette were shocked!
We had a great laugh together.

We all had such a wonderful evening with these
people who attend our church. Our next
dinner will be in July at the home of the Littles.

THE GRAPE ARBOR

Alan has always dreamed of having a grape arbor.
When we found this house, I think he was convinced that this
was to be our house because of the grape arbor under the white pines.

Because of the abundance of rain this year, these grapes have done
wonderfully well. Not only is the foliage bigger, but there
are large amount of grapes hanging in clusters.

We must keep our eyes on the vines because of the beetles.
They can destroy them in one night.

This picture was taken earlier but from this shot,
you can see the length of the arbor.

It is a beautiful sunny day today.
This is a first for a long time.

BACK TO ANNIVERSARY PICTURES

I wanted to tell you where we spent our actual anniversary.
Willow Valley is a conference center where people come from other
states to spend the weekend.
They have two restaurants; the family restaurant and
Palm Court. We ate at Palm Court.
They have a Sunday Brunch that is fantastic!

We arrived at 10:00 AM and ate through till 12:30.
It was so relaxing and the atmosphere so soothing.
We ate in this corner.

The serving tables were around palm trees.

This is a picture of Alan's first plate.

This is my first plate!
Salad and corn on the cob! WooHoo!

Not many people were there until about 11:30.
We almost had the place to ourselves.

A man played classical guitar the entire time.
The one song that I really liked was
"I Dreamed a Dream."

The fruit table was my favorite.

This is the dessert table. I could not partake of this table.

If I could have eaten anything from the dessert table,
it would have been the carrot cake.

I ate crab legs for the first time in my life.
They were good but only when dipped in hot butter.

This meal was a little above budget for us, but
one time in forty years is not exactly splurging!
If I were rich, I would eat here every Sunday.
We certainly did enjoy our meal and being with each other.
We had a wonderful day!

After our meal Alan wanted to buy me something.
I have been wanting a large picture frame in
which to put family pictures. We went to
Kirklands and got a pretty one that will hold
twelve pictures. I am working on finding pictures,
editing them, printing them out and cutting them to fit.
I will show it to you when I get it finished.

FATHER'S DAY

We have had an extremely busy weekend.
Alan had a Men's Breakfast to attend yesterday.
He said that the comedian who was their entertainment
was the best he had ever seen. He said that the food was good too!

We greeted at the main doors again today at church.
We met a lot of new people, and we enjoyed that.
The pastor's Father's Day message was
"How to be Manly."
It was very encouraging to men, and I heard a lot of good
feed back about it after church.

This evening we had two couples over for supper.
I served ham loaf, meat loaf, scalloped potatoes,
green beans, melon, potato salad, layer salad,
rolls, and coconut cake.
Just as I opened the lid of the layer salad, I gasped!
It just then hit me! I put the wrong layer on top.
Why didn't I realize it before? I had the peas on top!
YIKES!
I didn't say anything, and it tasted fine so I guess it didn't matter.

Because it was Father's Day, I bought the three fathers
a gift. I gave it to them after the meal.
It really made their day!
It was a book, and the title was
"Dad's Book of Answers."
On every page was one sentence that your dad would have said.
For example on one page it said,
"Call your mother more often; she worries."

I had already bought Alan a bunch of shirts and ties earlier
in the week, and he wore a new one to church. Chad gave
his dad a gift card.
I think that Alan had a very good day.

WRAPPING UP CAPE MAY TOUR

In order to see Cape May we could either take the trolley
or ride in a horse drawn carriages. By the looks on the faces
of the people in this carriage,
I think they were loving their tour.

Many carriages were waiting to take people through the town.

Our tour bus drove us near the mall and parked a couple of blocks away.
We walked to Washington Mall.

Washington Street was closed to traffic so we could walk
from one side of the street to the other.
We were on our own for supper so Alan and I stopped at
this place for something to eat.
Here I am sitting and jubilantly waiting for the only thing I could eat
that was on their menu - fries!

On our way out of town I took these pictures from the tour bus.
I like the stone wall. There is a house in our town with a wall
just like this one. Someone did a lot of hard work.

This is another window shot.

We took a different route on our way home.
We did not go back across the bay
on the ferry on our way home.
We went the northern route across the
DELAWARE MEMORIAL BRIDGE!
What a site!
I have never seen such a beautiful bridge!
It was dark so I did not get pictures.
There were lights on the bridge and a sign with a message.
It said that if you feared driving across the bridge,
there was a number to call, and they would come
and drive you across. How thoughtful of them!
It was the most beautiful crossing I have ever seen!

We stopped at an ice cream shop on our way home.
The ice cream was good, but it was a little pricey!

I don't think that the price bothered these people.
They came out of there with banana splits
a mile long!

This is the last post about Cape May.
We had a very enjoyable time.
We are thinking of taking another Bob Neff Tour soon!

TOURING CAPE MAY

Our bus rolled off the ferry and onto Cape May.
The driver drove just a few blocks to the
Emlen Physick Museum pictured below.
Half of us boarded the trolley for the
trip around town to look at the
Victorian homes.

I took pictures of many of the homes but I will only post a few.

The one architectural feature I liked was the

Gingerbread and white picket fences.

The hotel pictured below was once a very dark Victorian color.
Someone bought it and painted the whole structure white
and added the brightly colored awnings.
The back of this building goes around the corner. It is
probably the biggest building in town.

The typical Victorian house is normally painted with dark
foreboding colors. But for the sake of business, they
have painted some in bright colors. I especially liked
this yellow one with the blue shutters.

The guides said that the houses that are built there now
are required to be built higher in case of a flood.
They mentioned that so many times that it was as though
they are expecting a tsunami or something.

After the trolley tour we were taken back to the
Emlen Physick Museum. No photography was allowed
inside the building. I wanted to say,
"DON'T YOU KNOW I AM A BLOGGER!"

THE REST OF THE STORY

My computer is fixed so now I am back to Bloggyville.
The good thing about being gone is that I got a lot of cleaning done.

Here is a picture of the Bob Neff Tour Bus that we took to
Cape May for our Fortieth Anniversary celebration.

We rode the bus to Lewes, Delaware to the Delaware Bay.
We had a forty-five minute wait for the Ferry to arrive.


Then the bus driver drove the big bus right onto the ferry.
After he parked the bus on the ferry, we got out of the bus
and went up on the deck for ice cream.

Our bus followed the cars onto the ferry.

This is the ferry coming in to be unloaded and to pick us up.

The ferry had three decks. The cars and buses and
moving vans parked on the bottom deck.

We stood on the second deck and looked down on the
cars and our bus.

This was our view as we sat eating ice cream.

After eating ice cream we walked upstairs to the top deck and
visited with friends. Walking on the ferry was fun. We felt
like we were drunk so we didn't walk too much.

Using the restroom was a fiasco!

It was a seventy-five minute ride on the ferry across the bay.
The captain told us that we picked the right day.
It was a beautiful day and the weather was sunny.
It had been stormy the day before.

I hope to post more pictures tomorrow of Cape May.

A GOD APPOINTMENT

This morning I was to walk with my friend.

She is back from her vacation.

She called to tell me that she is not feeling well

and instead of walking today, she is on her way to the doctors.

I walked alone and it was a wonderfully cool walk.

I was stopped by a neighbor boy who is such a nice guy.

He is out of work but is doing jobs for the neighbors.

We were discussing the fact that it is hard to find a job

in today's economy. I told him that the whole country

is on a downward spiral and our hope has to be in God,

not in our jobs. About that time a car stopped and a man

asked this boy if he could put up his spouting for him.

This boy said that he would. As the man was pulling

his car off to the side in order to get out some money

for the screws, I said, "I think that God is giving you

more work!" The boy raised his eyebrows in surprise.

He said, "Could I come over to talk to you? I have some

green tea. I will bring it over and we will talk."

Pray for me that when he comes,

I will speak what God wants him to hear.

TAKING CARE OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD

I try to walk every day in our neighborhood in order to

build myself back up. I haven't been able to keep up with

my neighbors in walking because they walk too fast,

so Iwas out there hoofing it this morning. I was able to

walk around twice so I am getting there.

I stopped to talk to the people whose house caught

fire a year or so ago. They were telling me how hard

it was to rebuild, but also how they changed some

things that they didn't like about the old house.

I told them that I just thank God that they make it

out of that burning house in time and that they are

still our neighbors. He thanked me.

One of my neighbors is gone for a few days so I am

keeping an eye on her house and getting her mail.

My next door neighbor was planting flowers.

As I passed by I saw little Jack busying himself at

a sand table. I didn't say anything because I know

his mommy was trying to get a little work done

while he was occupied. Little Jack knocked at the

door last night and came in for a race car.

Every time he comes he gets one. I have to keep

well stocked in race cars.

Another neighbor is having some remodeling done.

I must sneak over there to see what is going on.

These neighbors keep me busy!

(I am sorry that this computer posts my writings in

one big paragraph. I never post it that way. It has

a mind of its own.)

TAKEN FROM MY MORNING STUDY

I have not been doing anything blog worthy lately.

I have been cleaning so rather than list all the

things I have been cleaning which can get

pretty boring to read after a while,

I thought I would blog what I

have been reading.

Here are some

thoughts.

God does not ask us to form a deeper resolve to put away

our sin. He wants us to seek Him with our whole heart so

we will not sin. Our efforts are not primarily toward

holiness, but toward Him. He will sanctify us.

Do you continue to strive after holiness to no avail,

or has your relationship with holy God transformed

your sinful life?

THIS HAS TAKEN ME A WHOLE LIFETIME TO

UNDERSTAND.

A SUNDAY WITHOUT PICTURES

My computer is still at the shop so all I have are stories.

This was missions Sunday so some missionaries spoke.

We were expecially intrigued by a young girl who spent

six months in Haiti. Her name is
Brittany, and I had gotten to know her because
she had been in my Bible study group last fall.

She felt that the Lord was leading her into missions

and the door opened for her to go to Haiti.

She was there to help with the
babies who were in the orphanage.

She said that the first few days she

was there, she cried and was scared to death. The night

noises frightened her.

She claimed a Bible verse that the Lord had given her,

and she said it to herself every day.

The Lord helped her adjust and she loved her work

with the babies.

She is home now and is planning to get her nursing degree

and go back to Haiti or wherever the Lord wants to use her.

I had to stay after church for a womens ministry meeting that

lasted till nearly three o'clock. Then we returned to church

for the six o'clock missions meeting where we listened to

more missionaries tell their story.

Our youth group is going to go on a missions trip to Quebec.

Quebec is a very dark country. It is considered an

unevangelized field. Because of the language barrier

our teens are learning mimes to perform.

They performed a mime for us tonight, and it was

one of the best I have ever seen. The gospel was clear.

Matt Donaldson, our youth pastor, is doing a terrific

job with the youth.

Afterwards, the youth served us ice cream.

It was a wonderful Sunday.

Two more high points of the weekend were

phone calls from Ben and from Heather.

Ben had been to Memphis doing some consulting work,

and Heather just finished a free-lance project.

It always completes our weekend when we have heard

from Ben, Ainsley, Wyatt, Dylan and Heather.

JUST ANOTHER SATURDAY

I am still here without email,

without my computer,

without all your URLs,

without my friend who is on vacation,

without one of our cars,

but not without Handsome

which reminds me of a funny story while I was in the hospital.

One day Dr. Scott was making his morning rounds and

happened to be in my room checking on me when my phone rang.

I told him that I would tell the caller to call back.

He said, "No, go ahead and talk to the caller. I will wait."

Dr. Scott turned around and talked to the nurse.

Whenever Alan calls me on the phone he always says,

"Hello, Beautiful!"

I always say, "Hi, Handsome!"

I told Alan that the doctor was there.

He asked if I wanted anything from home that he could bring in.

I told him that I didn't need anything, and he said he would be

coming right in to see me.

After I hung up the phone

Dr. Scott said, "Now when Handsome gets in here,

I want him to take you for a walk in the hallway."

I laughed because I didn't think he was listening to my phone

conversation because he was talking to the nurse.

Seeing how awful, awful I looked and how sick I was,

that phone conversation must have made an impression

on him. I bet he laughed to himself and probably related

the whole story to his wife that night.

The next day when Dr. Scott came for a visit
he walked in and by all the flowers that were on the stand.
He said, "My, did Handsome send you all these flowers?"

I laughed and said, "NOooooooo!"