Hello Again...

Hello. It has really been quite a while since I posted anything at all. Quick review (lucky for you, there will NOT be a test!).

Thanksgiving and Christmas were both good. Enjoyed seeing family, eating, sharing gifts, and some relaxing thrown in for good measure.

We spent the week after Thanksgiving in our favorite place...Disney World. There were no conferances to attend. Just a good old fashioned family vacation. Something magical happens when we go there. Have you seen the commercials on television for Orlando? The ones where the little girl and her mom are on Thunder Mountain Railroad, they go through a tunnel, and when they come out the other side, the mom is a little girl, too? (There is one with a little boy and the dad also.) Anyway, that is kind of like what happens when we go there. While taking care of all of the grown up details, like paying for things, driving, making and keeping reservations, etc. we transform into the fun-loving creatures we were created to be. We cram as much fun as we can into the days we are there. I love spending that kind of quality time with my daughter and husband!

Had another birthday...not a bad thing. The 30's have been and continue to be really cool.

Now Valentine's Day is almost upon us! Or as a friend of mine calls it, "Singles Awareness Day." I had never thought about it that way, but it is true. While I am blessed to have a wonderful Valentine, not all are so blessed. That thought saddens me, even though we are where we are by choices (sometimes ours, sometimes the choices of someone else).

Last weekend, Richard and I saw a great movie. I believe it is rated PG-13 for some language. Can't honestly tell you what it was, because that was not what I paid attention to. The movie is "The Bucket List." We actually saw it by accident. We went to the theater to see something else, but the times did not work out. I had heard Bucket List was great, but really had no idea what it was about. I won't give it away, and thus spoil it for anyone who has not yet seen it. I definitely recommend seeing it. You may consider writing your own Bucket List. (Mine is still in its infancy. If I get really brave, I may post it later.)

I will share this little piece of it. It is thought that ancient Egyptians believed when you die and go to heaven, you are asked two questions. Your answers to those questions determine whether you are admitted into heaven. The first question is, "Have you found joy in your life?" The second question is, "Has your life brought joy to others?" Very profound. I want to answer yes to both of those questions with all of my heart.

Then, on Sunday evening, we had a sermon about life and how short it is. Yet, it is a gift from God, not to be wasted. I realized I must really need to hear this.

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments that take our breath away." - Unknown

May you have a blessed day and be on the lookout for the moments that will take your breath away!

What an inspiration!

Lest I think my piddly inabilities amount to much of anything, here is a young man who is truly an inspiration. A very dear friend of mine sent me this link. You may be familiar with this young man, but I was not. He made quite an impression on me, so I thought I would share his story with you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qTiYA1WiY8
Have a blessed day!

Eh-va Holiday, a.k.a. My Alter Ego

What a frightening sight to behold, and just in time for
Halloween, too! This is Eh-va Holiday. She loves eh-va holiday, each and eh-va one of them. In case you cannot clearly see the entire onsom, I will describe it for you. There is a pin that says, "Happy Birthday," just about the most important holiday of all! A Valentine earring and pendant on the necklace. The socks say, "Kiss Me, I'm Irish." Easter T-shirt and pendant. Fourth of July skort. Halloween sweater and pendant. Thanksgiving pendant. A Christmas earring, pendant, and of course, a Santa hat. There was a "Tacky Party" for the ladies at church tonight, and this was just about the tackiest thing I could come up with. I really do love the holidays, so it worked out great.

The lesson was about being or feeling forgotten. Have you ever felt forgotten? This husband and wife were traveling together. When they stopped for gas, the lady went to the Ladies Room. When the man finished pumping his gas, he drove away. Upon exiting the Ladies Restroom, she discovered she had been left behind...forgotten. She used the pay phone to call the Rush Limbaugh Show. as she was sure he would be listening. She actually got through to Rush who instructed her husband to turn around and go get her. Sometimes we feel forgotten. There is one who will NEVER forget us. In fact, in Isaiah, there is a verse that talks about God holding us in the palm of his hand. What a comforting thought! We will never be truly for gotten.

Nothing really accomplished!

You know how sometimes you have a huge list of things that need to be done? You might even have a "plan" for getting them done? Like...oh, I don't know...painting the casings on the windows on the house that were scraped and primed SEVERAL weeks ago? But then you wake up, and working the plan is last thing you are interested in doing? Doesn't it feel great when you go ahead and do it anyway? Yeah, well, that is NOT what happened today. We were "supposed" to paint and just could not get in the mood. (I'm not sure who gets to say what we are "supposed" to do anyway! Maybe WE thought we were supposed to because it needed to be done.) Anyway...we did not paint. At first I was feeling a little guilty. Then I remembered life is too short to feel guilty about things like that. We had a rather relaxing day, and it was GREAT!

Hope all of you find a day to relax in the not-too-distant future!

Star Struck and Dynamite

Well, as my title implies, we love to sing. Here are some pictures of my quartet, Star Struck, and Richard's quartet, Dynamite. Three weekends ago, the Palo Duro Metro Chorus of Sweet Adelines International, had an annual show in Amarillo. Both of our quartets sang. Then, this last weekend, both of our quartets sang again on a show put on by the Singing Plainsmen of Lubbock and the Golden Spread Chorus of Amarillo (chapters of the Barbershop Harmony Society). The show was in Lubbock on Friday night and in Amarillo on Saturday night. Richard sings with the Golden Spread Chorus. We had a wonderful time! It is such a joy to share the gift of music with so many people.

There was another guest quartet on the shows this weekend, the Hum Dingers. These 4 guys are truly amazing. They can sing, they are funny, and they are great guys to be around. Chad, Kevin, Steve, and Drew sing at "the most popular vacation spot in Florida" (aka Disney World. They are part of the Dapper Dans that sing on Main Street in the Magic Kingdom.) The instruments they are playing in the pictures are called organ chimes. They play the C scale and cover 3 octaves. The Hum Dingers play these organ chimes WHILE they are singing some of their songs. WOW!

The girls in Star Struck are my very closest friends. Julie, on the far left, sings tenor. She owns and operates the Flower Gallery in Amarillo. She makes some of the most beautiful flower arrangements I have ever seen. Jennifer, 2nd to the left, sings bass. Jennifer is one of the smartest people I have ever known. She is a chemist and works for Celanese. I admire her ability to read the ingredients on a tube of lipstick and not only pronounce them, but actually know what they are and be able to draw the chemical compound for you (while I am happy just selecting my favorite shade! ha!) Kim, on the right, is a dental hygenist and a race car driver. She always laughs when I tell people she drives a race car. She is really very good at it, but doesn't have as much time for it now that she is singing. Kim is also a talented leader and organizer. We laugh that we are twin sisters born a few years apart. These ladies are my therapy group. We laugh together, cry together, lean on each other, and generally love each other. Thank you, Julie, Kim and Jennifer, for all you mean to me and all you are! I love you very much! You know we will ALWAYS have to be friends. You guys know too much!

Dynamite, Richard's quartet, is made up of four really great guys. Roy, left, sings bass. Stephen, 2nd from left, sings tenor. Richard, 3rd from left, sings lead. Mike, right, sings baritone. They have been together with this combination of men since May. They are working hard and sounding wonderful! Way to go, guys!

Well, this is just a small look at our quartets. Hopefully sometime, I will have a chance to send pictures of the choruses we sing in, but enough is enough for one night.

Pea Pickin'

This last Saturday, we had the AIM (Adventures in Missions) students who come to Sudan and worship with us for the whole weekend.

Friday night we went to the Homecoming football game (which Sudan won! Oh by the way, we bleed black and gold now!) and then to 5th Quarter. 5th Quarter is a supper for the junior high and high school students hosted by different congregations around town. This last weekend we had it at the church of Christ.

Saturday, we went out to a farm that belongs to some friends of ours, Keith and Julie Layton. We went and picked black eyed peas. We then went back to the Layton's home for lunch and pea shellin'. It was really a lot of fun. During the afternoon, we delivered sacks of peas to several of the widows in the congregation. Talk about living in the country! I had never even seen black eyed peas growing, much less picked and shelled them. We froze several bags and are looking forward to eating them for a while. This is a picture of Aleisha in the "pea patch," which she sang about most of the time we were out there. Very fun!

We cooked some yesterday, and I can tell you, they are NOTHING like what you get in a can! They are SOOOO much better! So, we had black eyed peas and corn bread. Yummy!

Speaking of living in the country...we also "put up" (in the freezer) about 16 quarts of fresh Kentucky green beans and some fresh corn on the cob. We will enjoy at least some kind of fresh vegetable through most of the winter. Julie asked me if I have ever canned anything before. I have not, but have some great recipes for it. She and I are going to try and get together sometime in the next couple of weeks and make some pickled okra, dill pickles, sweet pickles, and I don't know what else. She grows a wonderful garden every year and is so kind to share what she has!

YIKES!

OK...I totally admire my cousins and absolutely love reading their blogs. So, I thought I would give it a try. I guess we will see if this works!