I started writing this post a couple of days ago and
then got very side-tracked as I took a trip down memory lane in re-reading all
my blog postings since I began this blog in 2007. Wow…..so much has happened in our lives –
mostly all good things, but there have been some very sad and tough days as
well (of course, I didn’t blog about most
of those tough days).
As this is the season of Thanksgiving, I am so
very grateful for the many, many blessings that God has given to me
and my family and so thankful for His sustaining
grace and comfort during those difficult days.
Oh, thank you, Lord Jesus!
It seems the Fall is always a very busy time for
us. But I do love this time of year,
with the changing of the seasons, the beautiful colors (that seem to be more vibrant than ever this year), and all the
traveling we are privileged to do.
I
really like this Fall collage I made of the granddaughters J: (If you double-click on any of the pictures, you will be able to enlarge it)
Another cute pic of the girls taken a month or so ago:
Our first Fall outing was to the Pastor’s Oasis in
Branson, Missouri. We are so
appreciative of our church sending us every year! We stay in one of the prettiest
hotels, Chateau on the Lake, and enjoy an inspiring and fun program by the
DiscipleGuide Ministries, plus lots of free time to shop, rest, go to a show,
etc. It’s always a “breath of fresh air” for us! Such a beautiful view outside our hotel window:
Always good to spend time with friends....Toya Aultman and Mary Mooney
Also enjoyed time with Aaron and Jenae Polok (and the Mooneys)
Eating a delicious breakfast at Billy Gail's....
Our ladies Bible study finished up another great
study, “When Godly People Do Ungodly
Things.” It was a very timely
reminder to us that we live in such a depraved world and Satan is alive and
active in seducing us. So thankful for
the ladies who participated. The morning
group met at my home and the evening group met at Tina LaTurner’s – thanks,
Tina!
Mom, Holly (my
cousin) and I made a visit to Arkansas and Texas during October. We first traveled to Conway, AR to Rob and
Kaye’s home. We enjoyed spending a little time with Adrienne and her family during the afternoon and then joining the Antioch Home Group that meets in Kaye and Rob's home that night. Kaye then joined us as we traveled on to Bev
and Don’s home in Tyler, Texas the next day.
It was a great weekend visiting with the Ferrell family. It was our first time to meet little Alex,
Shannan and Mike’s youngest.
It was wonderful to spend time with Bev's daughters and all the grandchildren (as well as my brother-in-law, Don's extended family)!
Before heading to church Sunday morning (Kaye is taking the picture)
Thanks for hosting us, Bev (and Kaye too while in Arkansas)
We didn’t get to see the girls on Halloween but am
thankful for these cute pictures of them:
LADY BUG
FANCY NANCY
Trick or Treating at J.J.'s and E's:
Wearing E's wig....
Good fall picture of Andy's family....
This was the year for electing a President. We were sure praying about that, desiring
that the newly-elected President would be one that stands for the principals of
God’s Word. Consequently, we were
disappointed at the outcome. We must
make a greater effort to pray for President Obama that God would work in his
heart to turn to Him and that God WILL
bring revival to America!!
We once again returned to Branson the first of November
for the annual Senior Adult Conference.
Another fine event hosted by DiscipleGuide. It’s always refreshing, encouraging and a lot
of fun and we traveled with such a great group of folks! It was nice that Mom joined our FBC group this year, too.
Our daughter-in-law, Carman had originally planned
to have a garage sale the first November and had asked me to come stay with the
girls on Friday and Saturday to help her out.
So Jeff and I had made plans to do so.
However, time didn’t allow Carm and Andy to get the sale organized but they
wanted us to come down anyway and so we gladly went down just for the day and had such a fun
time! I had taken a gift bag for each of
the girls as their Halloween gift.
The weather in November has just been delightful!! While Andy & Carman took Ellie to the
doctor for her six month check-up, we took Laine to the Promenade Mall for some
playtime and then walked down to Build-A-Bear….where she picked out her first
bear and named her “Pumpkin.”
Doing sweet things to the heart she would place within her bear...rubbing her cheek here (also kissed it, etc.)
Aunt Ray Ray, Baby Mac and Uncle Jonathan came to the kids to visit for a while after we got home from the Mall. We anxiously await the news next month if Baby Mac is a boy or a girl. Looking so forward to meeting our third grandchild!
Yes, I do have my Christmas decorating done. I love the fruit of the hard work in getting
it all up and having it up for several weeks to enjoy.
What a fun time….getting to attend Laine’s first ballet
recital this past week!! And she did so, so
good! It doesn’t seem possible that she
is old enough to do this…..she is growing up too fast! It was neat to return to the church (where the recital was held) that I
worked at when we lived in NWA and to see some of the folks that I had worked
with while there. The first picture was taken during rehearsal and the rest are during the recital. They did their ballet to the song, "Away in a Manger." So sweet!
With a proud Mom and Dad at the reception afterwards
It’s our kids’ turn to do Thanksgiving with their
spouses’ families, so they won’t be coming to Kansas. We have been blessed to be invited by several
church families to join them for Thanksgiving (thank you, everyone!). We accepted the first invitation and so had
to decline the other sweet invites. Mom
will be coming down to spend the day with us as well.
Jeff and I will once again return to Branson before
2012 is over. We have been greatly
blessed with wonderful accommodations for 6 days to celebrate 40 years of
marriage. That doesn’t seem possible
either – Wow! We plan to attend some
Christmas shows while there and just enjoy celebrating our lives together. Here is another fun collage down through
those 40 years. The picture on the left
was early in 1972 (before marriage) when
I attended a fraternity banquet at Washburn University where Jeff was attending…..it
was the night the Jeff “pinned” me J
(a fraternity tradition to let a girl
know you are serious about her...yes that dress is so ugly, but at the time, it was very fashionable - ha!). The
middle picture was taken at our 25th Wedding Anniversary in 1997 and
the picture on the right was taken on our way to our 40th High
School class reunion in 2011. Yep – a lot
of life and aging in between those years!
We are praying for you, dear friends, that God will richly bless
your Thanksgiving as well as all your Christmas activities and that you
will feel His presence in the midst of it all and remember to have a thankful heart!
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