February 26, 2011

On the bridge at Magnolia Springs	Wendell had a terrific sermon Sunday morning on "Truth & Grace"  He explained how that Jesus came not only preaching Truth, but also bringing with it the Grace needed for us to live by his Truth.  For lunch we had taco salad then took naps.  We took a nice long walk together then had a light supper of artichoke dip, pickles and carrots.  A nice relaxing evening at home with just us.  After the big weekend at Hartwell we felt the need to relax here at home.
Baby turtle on it's mother's back.	Monday started off the week like normal with Carolina and I heading off to school and work.  Ina Sue did the laundry and took care of the children.  This is the first evening of our week of revival meetings so I came home early and helped get the children ready and fed.  We raced to get to prayer meeting on time.  Our evangelist is Ron Shantz from Ontario.  He spoke tonight on "The Authority of Scripture".  A good sermon but not an area I have any doubts on.
Grandma at 70.	They had hut lunch at school on Tuesday so we didn't need to pack a lunch for Carolina Sue.  Oh, and today was my birthday.  I'm 39 years young today. :)  Ina Sue said that she was put out that we couldn't do anything special for my birthday.  I said honestly that I was able to spend much of the day with my 5 favorite people and that made celebration enough for me.  She did fix us a wonderful supper of German meatballs with saurkraut, mashed potatoes, and cooked carrots.  Afterward we went to prayer meeting and revivals.  Bro. Ron spoke tonight on "Remove Not the Ancient Landmarks".
Nevin putting out his sauce samples.	The weather is lovely right now.  After I left for work on Wednesday Ina Sue said that the younger children spent quite a bit of time today playing outside together.  Ina Sue made up a batch of bread and worked around the house.  I came home early to help get ready.  Ham & asparagus gravy over toast for supper.  The topic tonight was "Being and Encourager".  I was challenged.  I certainly have room to grow here.
Grandpa & Claudia	Another day at work for me on Thursday.  Ina Sue went through a bunch of pictures on the computer to pick out the ones she wanted for a scrapbook.  Digital cameras are such an improvement over film but it can be a challenge keeping the thousands of pictures organized and accessible.  After a quick supper in the evening we were off to church again.  Ron's topic tonight was on "Sin".  (In the words of Calvin Coolidge, Yes, he was against it...)  After the service we were invited to Danny Hege's for a surprise birthday party for Roslyn.  They had delicious food with an assortment of cake rolls, ice cream & other goodies.  A very nice time but it got pretty late for our children.  After we got home we got a late night phone call with the news that Ina Sue's very good friend Beverly Maldaner had a new baby girl.  We are very happy for her and her family of previously all boys.
Kent lines one up playing Amish Horseshoes.	I went in to work early on Friday in hopes of getting my work caught up.  Since I was not available to take Carolina Sue to school, Roslyn agreed to pick her up on her way in.  Ina Sue cleaned the house and made pies for tomorrow.  We had tostones and salad for supper then back to church again.  An encouraging sermon tonight on the topic "We are More than Conquerers".  After church I drove straight back to work for several hours while Ina Sue brought the children home and put them to bed.
We are proud of Grandpa & Grandma.	Saturday was a wonderful day.  We got everybody up, fed, dressed and packed in the car by 9:30 then drove over to Georgia to Magnolia Springs State Park.  We met the rest of my family there to celebrate my Mother's 70'th birthday.  It was a beautiful day and a gorgeous park.  We and the children both enjoyed watching the turtles and fish (and an alligator) there close to the Spring.  A sign right by the spring said that it puts out 9 million gallons of water a day.  The lake around the spring is crystal clear from the spring and it is easy to sea all the marine life swimming around.  For dinner Nevin brought a cooker of BarBQ and a whole ice chess full of sauces.  Since he is planning to begin manufacturing sauces and salad dressings he wanted to start getting some ideas on recipes.  So we were all supposed to try the different varieties and grade them.  We all enjoyed that!  Others of the family filled out the meal with salad, baked beans, pies and iced tea.  After dinner we lounged around, took walks, played games, and just generally had a great time.  We left around 6:30 and got back around 8:00.  The children were completely beat and we were not far behind.  Got everyone bathed while Ina Sue did some cooking for our carry-in meal tomorrow.