Dates

I have a new book  - - - a spiral-bound calendar for 2010 - 2011.  It was purchased in May  - - BEFORE school was even out.  That seems a bit rude to remind students that a new school year is about to begin when they haven't even finished the current one!

I like this style calendar and usually get the one that is about the size of a paperback book but this year I went for the larger one so there would be more room to write notes to myself.  Generally I get one with plain pages but when I saw this one with the beach scenes, I thought it would be fun to look at during the year.  The tabbed sections for each month were a bonus, too.

In addition to putting some dates in my new book today, I have been preparing meat for the freezer.

Many of you know that during these hot months, there will be frequent sales.  If you store food in the vacuum-sealed bags, it extends the shelf (freezer) life of it - - - - without any freezer burn or loss of flavor.  One secret I have learned is to put the food in the bag and then partially freeze it before sealing it completely.  It is less messy and you don't have to deal with cleaning excess liquid out of the tray.

We are soooooo thankful to be able to live and work inside air-conditioned buildings.  However, Bill felt the need to get outside in the heat yesterday.

Remember when I told you he was a volunteer at The Honors Course?    Well, he gets to play there one day this next month.  But he has not played golf very much in the last couple of years because it hurts his hands and and sometimes his hips where he has arthritis.  So to bring him up to speed and get some practice as well as some pointers, he met with a coach from Lee University yesterday.  Bill really misses playing his sports.  He was always active in leagues that included bowling, softball, basketball, and golf - - - and those four reasons contributed to his arthritis.  I asked him if he would do all those things on a regular basis again knowing that they wore out his joints.  He said he would because he enjoyed the sports that much.  He has not given up activity though.  He walks at least two miles every day.

 . . . so until next week, Hasta la vista!

Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money."  Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. . . . . Hebrews 3:13 - 14b

Happy Father's Day!

Both sets of our parents have passed away which makes us - - - as my mom used to say - - - the top layer of the family now.  Father's Day the last few years is to celebrate my sweet husband since our fathers are gone from this earth.

Today we were blessed to have both daughters and our son-in-law here for a delicious lunch.  They spent the afternoon with us.

Bill has been dad now for 31 years.  He has been a great one - - - - always working hard - - - - whether around the house . . . . 

or at his job, he does a job well and sticks with it to the finish.  Those jobs have been our reason for living in 4 different states - - - - many, many hours from our parents.   However, Bill travels well . . . . .

 

and 99.9% of the time has a great personality.  He has never raised his voice at me or our daughters.    As many of you know, he has a great wit and making puns is second nature to him.  I guess you could say he has a way with words as evidenced by helping his team win the spelling bee fund-raiser three years in a row.

And even though it doesn't fall under the category of father, I am so thankful that after working all week with only one day off, he faithfully goes to help me in the church library EVERY Sunday morning.

 He is a great husband and father and we are blessed beyond words to have him in our lives.

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.   Matthew 5:16

Pick Up Sticks

No, I'm not talking about the fun kids' game - - - - unless you call trying to put nature in order some kind of a game.  When you live in a house that has this many trees in the yard  . . . . . 

and they are this tall . . . . 

You can expect to pick up a few of this before you mow the yard.

Actually we only added the top 1/4 to the pile tonight.  The rest has been accumulating this month from other storms and tree-trimming.  I love that wheelbarrow.  We bought it at Sears a few years ago.  It is all hard thick plastic - - including the wheels so it doesn't rust and the wheels don't go flat.  With a heavy load, it is not as easy to move as the traditional wheelbarrow but generally it does the job quite nicely.

Bill and I did yardwork tonight.  We did mowing and weed-eating in the front and the left side yard.

But we still have the right side to tackle.  It has gotten out of control with all this rain.  However, I prefer rain over drought any day.

This bush is just up and right of this area - - next to our driveway.  We have no clue what it is.  We call it a Bee Bush because it certainly attracts them.

Our reward for our work was the supper I had started earlier in the day in the crockpot.  It was Italian Chicken-Rice Dinner.  Our side dishes were cucumbers from our daughter's garden and  . . .

DELICIOUS pickled beets made by a friend from their personal garden produce!  Thank you, Friend for the wonderful addition to our dinner!

Then the trees of the forest will sing, they will sing for joy before the Lord.   I Chronicles 16:33a  NIV

1 Multiplies to 3

My life really doesn't revolve around my next meal - - but I do enjoy what I eat . . . and I like it when we have a leisurely weekend and I can cook a couple of things.  This weekend my goal was to eat lighter because I needed to drop at least a pound I have recently gained.   That generally means more vegetables and usually a salad - - which we all love.  So on Friday, I cut and chopped for more than a few minutes so we would have produce for three meals.  The first was Tacos.

We actually used the Whole grain shells this time but I have since disposed of the box.  They have 50 calories less per shell plus more fiber.  We could taste a difference but they were good.

For lunch today we used that produce in a lovely tossed salad to which we added deli-sliced meat and fruit.

It was YUM-cious!!!  Actually it is one of our favorite salads. - - - - and I know some of you would think that we couldn't have possibly been hungry again this evening but we have gotten into that habit - - - so I took these - - - 

 - - - and threw in the rest of the raw vegetables (carrots, colored peppers, lots of cucumbers, sweet onions,) and added canned corn and black beans (both drained and rinsed).  We have found we prefer the Balsamic & Basil Vinaigrette over an Italian dressing.  It has a milder taste.  The Weight Watchers magazine said to add more vegetables and decrease the pasta - - which is a no-brainer - - but a pasta lover likes me needs reminding.  This salad was the perfect answer.  (Let it sit a couple of hours in the refrigerator before eating.  The flavor is better.)

Speaking of fresh vegetables, my daughter and son-in-law have planted their first garden.  You can view it here.

And there is not much else to report this week.  It has been busy at work due to Vacation Bible School.  They had a combined children & adult total of over 800 people.  One great thing they do at our church is have all the classes on a rotation.  The lead teacher is basically the "tour guide" in that she takes them to crafts, snacks, rec, Bible story, and missionary stories.  All classes begin together in the sanctuary for music and some fun activities - - - like racing to pass a balloon or ball through the pews.  The offering taken each day is a girls against the boys competition with the "losing team's captain" (one of the ministers on staff) either taking a whipped cream pie in the face - - - or this year that person had to kiss a pig!  It was actually more unsettling for the pig due to the noise of the students.  The money does not usually go back to our church to cover any VBS costs but rather is used to help missionaries.

We just had one team return from a trip to Ethiopia where some of our church family has adopted children from the orphanages.  If you get a minute, read about their side trips to the Leper Colony and the dump  - - the only home some children know.  It will really make you thankful for what you have - - and also make you wonder, "Why was I so blessed to be born in the U.S. and not in a country with problems of poverty, war, drought, etc. etc.?"

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this:  to look after orphans and widows in their distress . . . . James 1:27a

Fun Activities

My sister is the one who loves to do crossword puzzles but my interest was piqued this week when I was reminded that these were fun challenges.  These two books were on display at Lifeway.  When I opened them up and saw that the Biblical clues had Scripture references, I thought, "This will be fun and I will review and learn things at the same time."  What I did not notice was there were some filler words that did not have references but thanks to Dictionary.com, I now know that garlic mayonnaise is Aioli.  Did you know that before you read this?  Another thing really "cool" about these books (besides being a bit easy) is that they devote at least one puzzle to each book of the Bible so for those of us who are rusty in minor prophet knowledge, some information will be gained again.

At work, we have over 300 children who are gaining some Bible knowledge, too,because we are in the midst of our summer reading program.  It is exciting to see young people thrilled about coming to the library.  Christian kid's lit is fun to read for adults, too.  Theology is presented is easy to understand terms and generally in an entertaining story.

My husband has had fun this week.  He has been a volunteer at The Honors Course in Ooltewah, TN for the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) for Men's golf.      As a side note - - we have been married for almost 34 years.  He has LOVED watching and playing different sports all those years - - - - and I could care less about either activity.  Even with my limited knowledge or interest in sports, I do know that this was a very big treat for him to be a participant.  He said on the amateur level this tournament is to golf what the World Series is to baseball or the Super Bowl is to football.  Even with the rain delays and super humid weather, he has had a wonderful time this week.

And me - - - give me a climate-controlled home and I will cook for those out in the weather - - - which is what I have done.  It is about ready to serve - - - delicious eye of round roast beef (sale-priced) and home-canned green beans from a friend.  mmm - - MMM!

Brothers, I urge you to bear with my word of exhortation, for I have written you only a short letter.  Hebrews 3:22 NIV