Retirement

Last Sunday I was recognized by one of our co-pastors for my fifteen years of service as our church library director.  Also, it was the public announcement of my retirement - - - at the end of this week!!!   I am so excited - - because I will be babysitting our grandson full-time in January while his mom teaches.

Transitioning the leadership at work while continuing to serve the public has kept us very busy.  That means blogging has taking a back seat to the rest of life.  Hopefully I will be able to post more frequently very, very soon!

Our other pastor honored me with this Scripture at our library workers' appreciation dinner last month.   . . . . Well done, thou good and faithful servant  . . . . Matthew 25:21

God has blessed me in an overwhelming way.  All I have done is try to hear HIS voice, work hard to accomplish HIS direction, and treat others the way I would like to be treated.  It has amazed me to see what HE can accomplish through a willing servant.  My praise and thankfulness to HIM overflows.

Winners

Congratulations to

SEAGOS SAGA

BUTTERCUP

A CORGI IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

I will mail your books no later than Tuesday!

There are no pics tonight because it said my photo space is full - - - - so I have been deleting old blogs and old pics on Picasa - - - because I have the pics on my computer and have saved a lot of my blogs on Word - - - and printed them - - - - so why keep the stuff on the internet?!!!  Plus I don't want to pay for storage.

 It said it can take up to 24 hours for them to delete - - - so maybe next time you will have pictures?!!!

Give-Away

Since it is this time of year ALREADY - - - I thought I would like to give a couple of blog friends a gift - - - not decorations though.

It is this book.  I will choose at least two names either Thanksgiving Day or Friday to receive a copy of this book.  If you want your name in the "dish", please let me know in the comments.

Speaking of comments, you might not hear much of any from me until Christmas vacation.  Your blogs are getting read but no comments have been left by me.

I have five more (partial) weeks to work until I am retired.  Plus, we are privileged to have Benjamin here a couple of days a week to babysit!  He is so very precious and good-natured.

 When I get a few free minutes, it is spent typing information for the library manual that will be left for the new director.  She is very smart and God has given her some GREAT ideas - - so she does NOT have to do anything the way I did it in the past.  However, if she has any questions about what I did, she will have access to "my brain on paper"!  It's an exciting time for both of us!

Don't you see that children are God's best gift?  Psalm 127:3

Leaf Me Alone

Remember when you were a kid and did leaf rubbings?  Or you sealed them between sheets of wax paper with crayon shavings?   And you got to jump in piles of leaves and bury yourself underneath them and smell the scent that is Autumn?  I don't even remember it bothering my sinuses when "buried alive".

But then we grew up and the leaves became work.

The roof needs clearing (and this is only one section).  The decks and stairs stay covered.  They have to be cleared before the rain.  (This was last weekend - a week ago.)

Hooray for Super Husband and his trusty sidekick, Windy!  As you can see, Bill does a great job eradicating the roof of tree gifts. I try not to worry about him up there - - - high off the ground.  He is very careful - - has not fallen yet - - - and we both pray he never will.

He has - - what you could call - - - job security cuz there are still more to descend!

However, the pansies are happy with the leaves.  It gives them a nice blanket for the winter temperatures.  Time will tell how they fare this year.  I gave each of them good potting soil when transplanting them.  Don't you love their brilliant pop of color against the leaves?

. . . . As the leaf falls from the vine. . . .   Isaiah 34:4            
Future blog - - - hopefully within a week, I plan a give-away - - - - 

and at some point - - more pictures of Benjamin with the camera.  I have some with my phone - - but they are only okay.   He is sooooo precious and I have enjoyed the half weeks of babysitting immensely!!!!

Change in the Air

We took a little drive to the WHITEWATER CENTER today to see the fall colors.  Even though this isn't the best picture, you can see the change is patchy.  Some leaves are gone.  Some are brilliant colors and some are still green.

The leaves change every year but life at our house has been the same for a few years.  However, that is about to change!!!  Beginning this week, I started watching our grandson, Benjamin for half a week.  Below he is in the middle of a smile for Pop Pop, who came home for lunch.

From now until Christmas, he will be at our house each Thursday and Friday.  In January, Benjamin will be here from Monday - Friday because I am RETIRING!!!  I have loved, loved, loved being our church's library director but many things have influenced my decision - - - one is getting the opportunity to be with our grandson.  Also, I will be 62 in January.

A lot of time has been spent in prayer about this decision but once God's voice was clear about which direction to take, I have been very excited to begin this new phase of our lives.  We will get to take walks together as well as play with his toys.  Benjamin loves his "crinkle elephant".  The feet are teethers and the slender body has crinkle paper inside the fabric.  Benjamin will grin at Elephant and then hug and chew on him.

So I will try not to make every post about him - - - but he will be present in many!  I will tell you about other things in our lives - - things like my husband being in Knoxville yesterday for the football game.  (This picture was actually taken on Sept 15 of this year.)

Here is a picture of me taken today.  It is a decent one of me - - despite a shadow on the side of my face - - and the glasses reflecting the light.  I have PhotoShop but have not had time to learn it yet.  I love the flowers.  My internet search said they are Fleabane Daisies, also call the Dainty Daisy.  According to Amazon, they are drought tolerant and deer resistant.  The name is derived from the belief that the dried flowers repel fleas.  Anybody know if that is true?

Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these  Matthew 6:28b-29

Friday, October 12

The good news  - - you don't have to remember how to do math to know what time it is if you know how to read a regular clock.  This is in one of the classrooms where our older daughter and some of her friends tutor.  I visited her at work on Friday.

Their math lab was renovated and expanded this summer to accommodate and better showcase their math redesign that received the

National Bellwether Award in 2009.

This is another view of the same lab - - - 88 computers!

Cleveland State Community College has some pretty landscaping, too.

Picnic tables can be found between parking lots and buildings.

This bridge is between parking lots.  I like Pampas Grass plumes - - - but don't touch the grass.  You can cut your finger - - - I wonder how I know that?!!!

More bridges.  These were found on just a short stretch of our Greenway 

 that I walked on Friday.

 

The entire area is well-lighted.

And if you don't want to walk - - you can play a while.

My mouth shall shew forth thy righteousness and thy salvation all the day; for I know not the numbers thereof.  Psalm 71:15

October, Week 1

Once again it was time for the monthly cooking demonstration at the church.  The theme was casseroles.  That doesn't lend itself well to decorating so the display table was decorated for football.

The colors at UTK are orange which is a wonderful color for this time of year.   Fabric overlay and two different kinds of flowers make for a festive table.

Do any of you have the display stand that allows you to weave ribbon around the rim?  The stand is wonderful for many things - - pies, cakes, cookies, - - - or a potted plant!

The placemat was felt made to look like a football field.  The plate is a disposable that was painted - - and notice the ribbon on the plastic utensils matches the display stand.  This was the only table decorated.  The 100+ participants sat at plain, narrow conference tables.  That works well to allow more space and easier cleanup.

The highlight of my week was on Friday when I got to babysit Benjamin by myself for three hours!  He is so precious!   He got to play on the blanket - - - - go outside - - and of course some of the usual stuff like drink a bottle.

My biggest concern was if he would go to sleep for me or be upset because I was not his mommy.  However, my daughter has him on a great schedule and on a wonderful routine.  When he is tired, full stomach, and dry bottom, if you swaddle him, he immediately goes to sleep - - - even when you don't swaddle correctly!

The only other activity scheduled for this weekend was another baby shower for a precious friend's daughter.  I did not use this second card but had another one for her.  As usual, we had a very good time together.

How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!  Psalm 139:17

Circle of Life

A couple of weeks ago, there was a senior adult banquet at the church.  These are held once a month during the school year.  As you have seen in the past, usually there are a few flowers on the tables for decorations.

The above pic is a cart of individual small vases.  Not all the ribbon was yellow.  Some of them were brown with white polka dots.

Speaking of senior adults, a funeral was held for a mom of one of our co-workers on Friday.

The next morning found me at a baby shower for the daughter of a friend.  Look at the card I bought from a 4-H friend.  She makes them.  The envelope and card are from cardstock and decorated with scrapbooking paper.  She does many different seasonal designs.  We sell them for her in our church library.

 

Isn't the table beautiful?  The overlay is pink gingham.  The fruit salad in that bowl was scrumptious.  Actually it was all yummy.

After the celebration of new life to be born in January, it was time to say farewell again to another senior citizen - - so I made another trip to the funeral home to pay my respects to the widow of a man who contributed a lot to our community and our country.

Then - - -time for fun with friends who invited us and another couple over for a delicious dinner during halftime of the UTK game.  They are huge fans of this school.  The husband of the host home bought these sandals for his wife.  She likes them a lot because she is very short.  The shoes are comfortable and give her added height in the kitchen.

This morning took us back to young life again.  Benjamin's baby dedication was today.  We worship in Southern Baptist Churches.  Basically the service is a commitment by the parents and the church to nurture the child in the ways of the Lord through Biblical teaching.  Benjamin slept in his Pop Pop's (my husband) arms during all the singing and greeting.  He woke up just before it was time to go forward with his parents.  He was so cute - - - looking out at everyone.  He seemed to enjoy seeing the congregation from a new perspective.

Our other daughter invited ten of us over for lunch to celebrate the occasion.  (For those who are counting, three of us were at a separate table.)  So sorry that I did not take a photos of the food because it was DELICIOUS!

And that is the story of my busier than originally planned weekend - - - the two baby events were the only things on the calendar at the beginning of the week - - but God coordinated it all together.  It's a blessing to be able to participate in the celebrations - - from the beginning of life to the home-going of HIS saints.

4 "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. 6 "And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.    Deuteronomy 6

 

Food Fellowships

This was taken a week and a half ago outside a "superstore".  On that Saturday, my husband was in Knoxville at the VOLS football game against Florida.  I was on my way to an extended family reunion with my younger daughter's in-laws.  We had a great day with delicious food and fellowship!

Bill's birthday was two days later on Monday - - but on Sunday, we went with our older daughter to Outback for a lunch celebration.  (Notice Bill still looks a bit tired from getting home after midnight the night before.  However he still got up early and did his volunteer job at the church library with me!)  We did not coordinate our outfits ahead of time.   He is still asleep (for about 20 more minutes) when I leave to open the library on Sunday morning.   Neither of us knew what the other had chosen until he walked in the door of the library at 9:30 a.m.
 

Outback has recently been offering BOGO coupons in the paper.  I don't know if that's a sign of needing to boost business - - - or it's a reward for their good sales.  We aren't complaining.  Their food is always delicious!

This Saturday found us at Covenant Presbyterian for the wedding of a friend.  Don't you love the ceiling over the pulpit/choir area?

The reception food was abundant, beautiful, and delicious.  One thing many liked was the mini wienies wrapped in bacon, then rolled in brown sugar AND chili powder. (Not pictured.)

Of course the bride was beautiful but we mostly had eyes for our precious grandson who is now two months old.  He looked quite handsome in his sweater vest thanks to his mom's wardrobe coordination.  She has many pictures of him on her blog.  She will probably have pictures this week, too, of Bill's joint birthday celebration with Joshua at Josh's Mamaw's.

As you know by now, our church does many food ministry events.  These are not limited to church members but groups from the community can have our staff cater their functions at our facility.  When our church was built, it was with the vision of being versatile.

Don't you love the simplicity and elegance of these settings?

Groups are served on these beautiful plates that have Scripture on them.  It is a subtle way of sharing God's Word with those in attendance.  I don't know how many different verses we have but here are a few.

By You I have been upheld from birth; You are He who took me out of my mother's womb. My praise shall be continually of You.  Psalm 71:6