Back to work

We're back from Ohio. What a Monday... Reminds me of that song by the Bangles "Just Another Manic Monday...." I didn't get the chance to upload any pictures of the weekend conference we attended. Actually, I only took 2 pictures. And the stories that would have to accompany the pictures wouldn't make much sense. Kind of those "you had to be there" stories... The conference was entitled "Change the World" and focused on thinking outside of the box for ways to LIVE our mission as Christ-followers. Church is not about how to get more people into the seats, but how to get more people out of their seats...serving others and sharing God's love. I've got lots of new ideas to process about what I can do differently in my life. And I'm so grateful for the freedom we have to "think outside of the box." We're in the minority here, living in this country, with the luxuries that we have. And speaking of freedom, our cemetery hosted the "Freedom Riders" today at a funeral of a retired serviceman. You'll note the American flags in the picture below... each flag was held by one of the Military Veteran motorcycle riders that surrounded the family at the funeral. The service featured full military honors, including the 21 gun salute, presentation of the flag, and taps playing in the background. After a quick google search, I learned lots about Taps, the haunting melody that has only 24 notes. I had no idea there were words to the song, but here is the first verse. Day is done, gone the sun, From the lake, from the hills, From the sky. All is well, safely rest, God is nigh. That's really beautiful. I can't seem to get the song out of my head.

And we're off again...

We'll be leaving tomorrow for Tipp City, Ohio. Destination is Ginghamsburg Church - a large "teaching church" that has inspired and trained many people in our own congregation in Mabank. One of my favorite weekly podcasts is the pastor of this church, Mike Slaughter. He is unconventional, especially compared to my Baptist upbringing... and it's quite refreshing. (No offense, mom and dad!) Rick and I attended the same conference last year, and are excited to be returning to the "Change the World" Conference for a second time. Check it out at: http://ginghamsburg.org/changetheworld A year ago at this conference, God began working in our lives to to cut back on the frivolous lifestyle we were living. Our focus is changing to be more of a servant mindset, as Christ lived the example for us all. This is the place where God started working on us to eliminate debt in our life and simplify our lifestyle. (At the time, we didn't know it would involve selling our house so that we could live mortgage free in a 100+ year old farmhouse.) And so we head back to Ginghamsburg - fully expecting to learn some new things and return with new ideas that we can implement in our own church. We'll get to know some other church members and fellow servants on this trip, and I can't wait to see what God has in store for us! I'll upload some pictures of the conference while I'm gone with my handy-dandy remote upload method! TTFN! or for those NON Winnie the Pooh fans, that's Ta-Ta-For-Now....

A Sunday Outing

My three men today on our outing! Rick, Collin and I drove up to Dallas after church this morning. Taylor drove down from Denton and we met up at Humperdinks.... The perfect venue for watching the Cowboy game together. Except that it wasn't the perfect game. 'Da Boys aside, My Boys still had a good time. The picture above was taken just after a riveting discussion about the way nachos should be made. We had differing opinions, didn't we, Collin? After lunch we rolled (yes, we were that full) over to the NorthPark Mall area. Taylor and Collin went their direction and Rick and I headed to Barnes & Noble. Quite possibly one of my most favorite places in the whole world. I love being surrounded by so many books, and being able to randomly pick up a few and peruse them as I sip an overpriced latte (truly, a guilty pleasure.) I found a couple of books that looked good. Namely: Dewey: The Small town Libray Cat Who Touched the World It's true! http://spencerlibrary.com/deweybio.htm /Read the description below and tell me you wouldn't want to read about this cool kitty! Dewey's story starts in the worst possible way. Only a few weeks old, on the coldest night of the year, he was stuffed into the returned book slot at the Spencer Public Library. He was found the next morning by Library Director Vicki Myron, a single mother who had survived the loss of her family farm, a breast cancer scare, and an alcoholic husband. Dewey won her heart, and the hearts of the staff, by pulling himself up and hobbling on frostbitten feet to nudge each of them in a gesture of thanks and love. For the next nineteen years, he never stopped charming the people of Spencer with his enthusiasm, warmth, humility (for a cat) and, above all, his sixth sense about who needed him the most. Suspense and Sensibility A lighthearted mystery novel featuring newlyweds Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy...intriguing for any Jane Austen fan. True to my upbringing, I'm too cheap to buy books. Would much rather borrow or check out from the Library. Guess I'll have to add the above titles to my wish list at the Library. It's the end of the weekend, and I'm not ready for it to end. The purple bracelet is still on my wrist signifying that in my heart, I'm still on vacation. I think work is WAY over-rated. Alas, all good things have to come to an end, and I think we're going to snip the bracelets off tonight. But not before we planned another trip. We are in the middle of making plans for a trip to a quaint little fishing cabin. No matter that it's a quarter-mile from the office. It's still a get-a-way.

And a picture of Me

Here is a picture of me sending the previous blog.

Sent from my iPhone >

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#6 Anniversary - Can you believe it?

This is a mobile posting... I am so in love with my husband. He is everything I dreamed of when I feared Prince Charming was only a myth. Here is a picture of Rick at The Grape on Greenville Ave loving me over our anniversary dinner.

Lord's Acre

It's been almost a week since my last post... what happened to the time? Our weekend was dedicated to celebrating Lord's Acre at our church. This is an exciting annual event that includes a silent auction, live auction, kid's activities, BBQ lunch, country store, and many other fun things. The proceeds from it are given to our Youth and Children's program at church. Each year, we raise close to $30,000 to fund the Mission Trips and activities that our Youth and Children participate in. This year, we hit close to $35,000! Forgive the red hue on the picture below, but the glow of the tent really makes it hard to get a good picture. The House of Hope in Honduras, our trips to the homeless on the streets of Fort Worth, and various mission trips all year long benefit from this event. A professional auctioneer runs the live auction... and boy, does it go fast! We have a team that sits at the front behind the auctioneer to record the winning bid number and price. I work on that team, and Rick's role was to help display the items as the auction proceeded. So that's what we've been up to. In other news: 1. Still in post-vacation depression. It's so hard to get back into the swing of things when you have such a wonderful vacation. We're still wearing our "All-Inclusive" bracelets from the beach in Cozumel... Just can't bear to cut them off. I know it's silly, but when I remove it, I'll have to admit that vacation really is OVER. I think it will have to be in the midst of supportive friends to ease in the transition. :) Here's a picture of my bracelet! 2. House did not sell to the couple that was so interested. They decided to build instead of buy. I wonder if they realize just how "motivated" the sellers really are? I must admit that I'm fighting some anxious feelings regarding this. It's one thing to say: "God, you are in control, and when it's time to move, You'll take care of the details." It's another thing to say it and not doubt. I mean, I do believe... but sometimes I find myself wondering why He doesn't hurry up? There's a scripture that says: "Lord, I believe. Help me in my unbelief." That's me today. And yesterday. And probably tomorrow. 3. Dick Kannwischer is doing better. Thanks for praying for him. I don't know that they have discovered the reason he fainted, but the broken ribs are on their way to healing. He is still in pain... so keep praying for pain management. I'm in a hurry to make it to Wednesday night Youth Group, so I'll post this without proofing it. Forgive any typo's...

Better Late than Never

This week Rick and I have been drowning in paperwork. What you don't see in this picture is: 1. The Clock - it should say about 12:30. (AM, that is.) 2. The Pizza Box - midnight snack... practically inhaled... there are crumbs visible. 3. The Dog - Yes, Roxie perched herself on the table to oversee the mania. 4. Me - Because Rick is much cuter to look! :-) The reason for the late night? Dogwood Estate Water Company is a little bit late filing the official paperwork to transfer ownership into Rick's name. Technically, it should have happened 2 years ago, but who wants to do things by the rules? It's much more fun procrastinating. So, this was the week. I'm not sure what spurred us to complete it... but it was just time to do so. I retired shortly after taking this picture, and Rick worked on well after midnight. You wouldn't believe the detailed finances that have to be reported and projected for this application. It's insane. Especially since I highly doubt the numbers are going to be looked at very closely. But it's gotta be done. Since we were spending the night in the Farm House (our future home) adjacent to our offices, I left Rick to finish it up. I headed next door to settle in. Well, not really. First was the cricket/roach patrol, sweeping up the remains from the last extermination attempt. (See blog on July 22.) Next was hunting down that darn beep from one of the smoke detectors. Of course, I had to find a ladder before I could kill the beep. Honey, when you read this, we need a new battery in the detector over Collin's future room. Before too long I got spooked and had to call Rick to investigate the strange truck spinning its wheels behind the fence. He came promptly over to verify that it was a Red Dot Truck (certainly authorized to be back there...) Although you gotta wonder why they were trying to pull out a stuck trailer at this time of night. It was after midnight. Eventually, Rick locked up the office and reported that the Application was DONE! At least his part was. I've still got to tidy up some details before getting it off to Austin. But I'm thrilled we are this much closer to completing it. It will be a huge load off our list once it's completed and accepted.

Please pray for Dick

Pictured above: Dick and Mama Gale Kannwischer, my brother Craig and wife Carolyn, Mom and Dad Dick and Mama Gale are Carolyn's awesome parents. They live in Waco. Mama Gale's gift of hospitality is famous, especially around Holiday time. And Dick is always ready for a "pun showdown" with anyone willing to take him on. Be prepared to learn a thing or two around these folks, because they are brilliant, witty and warm. Please pray for Dick as he recovers from a car accident. He has 5 broken ribs, along with a good deal of pain. There are some unknown answers today as to the reason he blacked out while driving... so please focus your prayers on that concern. We love these folks as family... well, I guess that's because they are.

Vacation is over...

Here's a video of my new favorite place. It may take a minute to load...

Vacation was truly perfect. We accomplished what we set out to do, which was absolutely nothing. And yet, we were so busy. But busy doing nothing is better than busy doing something... at least in my book it is!

Below are some pictures...

Nachi Cocum - private, all inclusive beach in Cozumel

Enjoying time with our good friends, Tim and Tiffany

Lobster & Shrimp - Rick ordered 3 plates for dinner one night!

Hole in One... those don't come around often. Especially on a moving vessel!

And the best part...

Enjoying life with my most favorite person in the world!

Heading home from Houston

We're back.

We are passing Sam heading north.

I'd rather be going south.

About to stop and eat... Can't believe we are hungry!