A Good Friend

Today I went out for tea with Kathleen. This has become over the past months a weekly habit. We always have such good conversation, covering every topic you can imagine. I started this habit as ministry, you know one of those things Pastor's wives do. In a short amount of time I discovered that our meetings really ministered to me. I have had very few relationships like this in my life and I am so enjoying this one. We have become friends. We have discovered that 2 and 1/2 hrs goes very quickly. I am thankful for this new relationship in my life.

Memorial Day Visit

Here we are enjoying our grandson Jonathan. We were so happy to see him and his parents for the holiday. Our visit included the Memorial Day service at the cemetery. I feel it is always good to pause on this day and remember all those who have lived before us, especially those who have fought for our freedom. I of course thought of my mom and wished I was closer to her grave so I could make it pretty. This day life is full and good for me, but I know that is not the same for everyone. Just last night Becky heard that a friend of hers lost her entire home in a tornado. In 60 years I have learned that life is such a mixture of good and bad but Jesus is always with us and for that I am always thankful.

Memorial Day Visit

Becky, Chaun and Jonathan came for a Memorial Day visit. Here is a nice family picture. Jonathan is looking at me as I am trying to get him to smile. He did smile, but didn't look at the camera. He really laughed at his little flag.

Jonathan comes for a visit

Chaun and Becky and Jonathan came for a visit on Memorial Day. You can see by the picture who was the most important on this visit. Jonathan delighted us all with his smiles, his jabber and his new trick - walking. Here is a big smile. I will have more pictures when I get this adding picture thing figured out.

A Good Book

I do so much enjoy reading. I find it relaxing at the end of a day to read a novel. I do try however to also read some non-fiction. Right now I am reading a chapter or so a day out of the book entitled "Contrarians's Guide To Knowing God" by Larry Osborne. I have read most of this book before, but it always makes me think. I like that. This morning I read about faith.The following statement challenged me. "The Greek word translated as "faith" in our Bibles has nothing to do with a powerful imagination, eradicating doubt, or any other form of mind over matter. It has nothing to do with feelings or mental imagery. It has to do with obedience. Faith at its greatest-trusting God enough to obey, even when we're sure it won't work out in the short run. God is pleased with obedience, even when we expect the worst. What brings God's favor and power is our willingness to obey and act upon whatever tiny bit of faith we have." This is a book I would recommend. The other good thing is that you can read a chapter at a time and stop after each one.

Ready for a game of mini-golf

More of Luke's visit

Looking good all dressed up

Luke's visit

Luke is here for his visit. We are having lots of fun. Of course we have read many books and he even read me one. We have had lots of talks and done some really fun things. Here he is with Grandpa in his workshop. He gave Luke some nails and some boards and let him pound. Luke made airplanes. A big one, a small one and a middle sized one. He had lots of fun.

A visit to Willmar

Friday Larry and I headed our car to Willmar. It is time for Luke's visit. we decided to go the entire way and help Dave and Anita with some moving preparations. Dad did alot of outside work on the house and yard. Anita and I went through tubs of clothing for a rummage sale. We returned home on Saturday with Luke. We are looking forward to his visit.

Mother's Day

Here I am on mother's day. The day started out really nice with Larry giving me a flower and a gift from my girls. It is hard to tell in the picture but the gift was a black plant holder. We had a very nice church service. After that Larry and I changed clothes and headed for Ponca State Park. We grabbed a hamburger on the way. It was a beautiful afternoon. We did a couple of errands in Sioux City and then spent the rest of the day at the Park driving and walking around. Late afternoon we ate a picnic lunch that we had packed. On the way home we stopped at "Cold Stone Creamery" for ice cream. It was a wonderful day. I also heard from each of our children (the blessing of cell phones) and that was perhaps the best gift of all. I love you each one.

Project Completed

Larry has been working all winter on a new bench planter for our patio. He finished it just in time to put pots of plants in in for Mother's Day. I love it. It cheers me to look out my sliding glass doors and see it.

God's wonderful provision

Monday marked one year that Aaron and Erika Willey have been at the Meriden church as youth pastor and wife. Larry and I are soooo thankful for them and their ministry at the church. They have been a great help and encouragement to us. This picture was taken at the Pizza Hut (I've discovered a true blogger takes the camera everywhere) as we went out to pizza together to celebrate. Not only were these kids an answer to our churches prayers but Erika ended up being an answer to my prayers. Shortly after their moving here I found myself in need of an assistant teacher. Erika applied for and got the job. Now we work together. This is what I continue to discover as I walk with the Lord--He loves to give his children wonderful surprises. Not only did He meet my needs with this arrangement but he also met Aaron and Erika's need as well. We have a great time together. Praise the Lord.

Friday Night

Friday night Dad and I went out to eat and at the same time some friends entered the restaurant also. So we ate together and had a wonderful time. After supper and getting a few groceries we rented a movie and headed home. It was a rainy, damp night, so a movie sounded good. We always have a hard time knowing what is good to watch and this time we ended up with "Snow Walker". It was fairly good. Has anyone heard of it. Anyway we had a nice cozy night. Earlier in the day I had felt discouraged by events of the day and the pagan feeling of the world. I was thankful to end the day on such a positive note. I was reminded that this world is not my home and sometimes it is just plain uncomfortable. It made me think how wonderful it will be to be eternally home in heaven.

Robin

Only 7 days of school left for me. I am both excited and sad. It is always sad to tell a family of little children good-bye knowing that we will never be together again. They have each one become precious to me. It is also always exciting to know that I will have nearly 3 months of freedom from a daily job. I do know however from experience that in just a few short days I will be bored. :) I want to introduce you to Robin. She is a little special needs girls that I have become very attached to this year. Robin is a victim of her mother's drug abuse and has many, many behavior problems. She is living in a foster home and has given me additional gray hair this year. She has however probably taught me more than any other child I have ever had. She has loved me as much as she has challenged me. She has forced me to new levels of patience and made me think outside of the box. She has made me laugh and scream, but at the end of the day when she climbs on the bus and hollers "I love you Sandy" I know I have the best job in all the world.