Catch Up!

Catching Up From the Last Post: Our May Activities Into Early June.....

(I put "small pics" in here but you can double-click any of them to get a much better view.)


I really didn't realize it has been over a month since my last blog entry. A couple of folks have let me know they miss my blog (my fan base consists of 2 or 3 at the most :) so I thought I'd better get back to it.


In mid-May, we went to visit Chip for a couple of days and had such a good time. He is doing great in the ministry there in the Huntsville area. He is so good to us, his parents, and is a loving and caring son.

The next week, our grandkids got out of school a week before they mom did, so we had the fun and joy of having them here with us for those intervening days. They keep us busy and entertained so it was all good. We went out to NAS three days in a row:


Monday, Memorial Day: to see every grave with an American flag on it. The grandkids hadn't been to my older sister's grave, so we visited it. Afterwards, we toured Ft. Barrancas which was very interesting. The kids really enjoyed it.


Tuesday: The tour the museum. Jaden loved getting in the Blue Angel plane!



Wednesday: To watch the Blue Angels Practice. Josh and Jaden got to get in the line-up to wave the flags as the pilots returned to earth. Patriotic Chill bumps!!


Amy and Brian both finished up their work on Friday, May 29, and we all took off for Disney World the next morning~~ arriving at Disney at 7:00 that evening. (Those kids don't let ANY grass grow under their feet. The MAIN reason for going south was because Jaden was asked to be the ring bearer for Amy's friend who was getting married in Winter Garden, FL. So, they planned a week of vacation at Disney and invited us along. We stayed in their travel trailer at DISNEY'S FORT WILDERNESS and had a blast!! The weather was good, the kids were great, the fun was right there at our disposal, and it was a fun, fun, fun 9 days with them on that trip.


On Friday of that week, Richard and I took a little side trip to Palm Harbor to visit my mom's only living sibling: Uncle Gene and his wife, my Aunt Louise. We hadn't seen them in probably 9 years. At 83 and 82 years old, they had aged and have some physical problems, but the love and family connection was strong. It was so good to see them~~ to visit in their home and take them out for a meal.


On Saturday morning, we pulled out of Ft. Wildnerness (had arrived the Saturday before!) to go to Winter Garden for the wedding. Jaden was just plain cute as the ring bearer. After the wedding and reception, we started our way back home at 5:00 p.m.... stopping over night in Lake City, FL before making arrival home on Sunday afternoon. Got in at 3:00, and we were all in church for the 6:00 p.m. service. It was good to be back in our church to worship with our friends there!

I blogged in May about the little garden that Richard had put in: tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash, canteloup, and watermelon. The tomatoes came on like gang-busters (some 160 on the vine were counted before we left on vacation) but nothing was ripe at that point. When we got home, there were some ripe (and delicious!!!) cherry tomatoes and the squash is coming on. This morning, Richard picked and brought in two perfect yellow summer squash. I will cook them for our dinner tonight~~ stewed with onions. YUMMY!

We have had a quiet week which we are enjoying as recuperate from the vacation. We did keep Josh and Jaden Tuesday afternoon while Amy and Belle ran some errands. We enjoyed a nice swim with them in their big pool.


Richard and I went to Denny's for dinner (I absolutely love their "senior" grilled talapia dinner) and then to Wal-Mart as we were out of just about everything.

Richard had his yearly physical yesterday. He is doing great except for his blood pressure and LDL cholesterol~~ both of which are just a tad high (despite medications). My yearly physical is next week. I bit the bullet and am making a big stab to lose weight: I returned to Weight Watchers on Monday night. I am praying and depending upon God to help me with this constant battle in my life. "I am weak, but He is strong!!"

We are so wonderfully blessed ~~ undeservedly so. We thank God for His salvation, for a great family, wonderful friends, and for living the abundant Christian life.

Josh's 4th Grade Parent Day Program

We had a fun time at Josh's 4th Grade Parent Day Program this morning. The kids were sharp and eager to exhibit some of what they have learned this year. We were proud of our Josh!

Isabella's Piano Recital ~~ May 2009

It is a joy to attend granddaughter Isabella's piano recital each May. She is always so lovely and plays a lovely piece. Here are a few pics of our enjoyable time at her recital recently:

The Swine Flu Strikes a Little Closer to my Heart....

There are 10 confirmed cases of Swine Flu in Madison County, AL where our son lives and is a student pastor in a big church. Chip has had a big "All-Nighter" on the youth calendar for this Friday night~~ something they have worked on for months. Well, this afternoon it has been canceled. I read Chip's letter to his teens and their parents on his ministry blog and found it to be informative as well as entertaining (don't miss the last line.) We don't have any cases in our state, but now that it has struck in Chip's very neck of the woods, it seems a bit more real to me!


CBSM Parents, Students, and Friends,

I regret to announce that the 2009 All-Nighter has been CANCELED. We will attempt to reschedule this event. Thank you all for your emails, responses, insights, etc. You may be asking, “Why are we shutting it down?” Well to be honest, this has come from the TOP. Both Pastor Zach and Mayor Finley of Madison have requested that we not host this event. I, of course, whole heartedly agree with them and support them.

Prominent city officials have closed schools and have requested for children and teenagers not to congregate together. We even had one of our own students jogging down Hughes Rd today with a buddy, and a policeman pulled over to tell them to “go home” because they don’t want kids congregating under any circumstances. As Christians, we take Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2 very seriously (which says to obey our government officials). We desire to be a church who models obedience to such situations as these.

Because of the news conferences, official city emails, and police involvements, I decided to call the Police Department just to see if they would pull over our charter buses filled wall-to-wall with sweaty, paintball splattered, panting teens who’ve been playing and staying up all night. Although the publicity on the news and in the paper would get CBSM’s name out there even more…! The PD connected me to the Mayor’s office, and the Mayor’s secretary requested that I write Mayor Finley an email. A few minutes after that, Mayor Finley called to ask me not to have this event. His reasoning was that the city and state doctors are requesting to have everyone separated to get control over this swine flu possibility, so that this sickness will not get out of control, and we can resume to our normal lives as quickly as possible. The city or state does not want even one person spreading this to the 100 who were going to attend who would then pass it along to their families…and then the potential of it spreading exponentially from there. I know this is crazy far-fetched, but the point is the consequences and not so much the chances.

So, we will look into rescheduling this event at a late date…as soon as possible. This does include NOT having a worship service tomorrow night! We will of course reimburse every single student, family, and parent who has paid $35, but if you would like for us to hold on to the $35 in case of rescheduling or keep it in a fund for the next student event with your student’s name on it…we will do so!

Please pray for us pastors as we are working hard to decide on the right thing to do about Sunday services. I appreciate all of you who have worked hard to make this event happen (special thanks to DAN MUNOZ!), to the many of you ready and willing to serve, to all you students who have worked hard to invite your friends, and to all the students willing to brave this crazy sickness…risking your very lives…for an extreme night of worship and fun! Sorry, teens! I love you and desperately did not want to cancel, but it is the best thing for our health and the health of our community. I’ll hopefully see you all on Sunday. But if for any reason at all you start inadvertently grunting, snorting, oinking, or growing a squiggly tail…don’t come to church!

Only by His grace,

Chip Dean

Pastor to Students

JADEN'S K4 CLASS HAD PARENTS' DAY THIS MORNING

Jaden's teacher gave us several invitations to attend her K4 class Parent Day, so we were there with bells on this morning! It was very impressive and lots of FUN to take a look into the K4 school day. Jaden was so glad his mommy and daddy were there, and I think it tickled him that Grandpa and Grandma were there as well. We enjoyed every minute of watching those sweet 4-year-old show us snippets of what they have learned this year. It looks like they are very well prepared for K5 come August.

Jaden's dad Brian has arrived so that is good!


Jaden turns to watch the door for his mommy to come.


She arrives and he is so excited to have both parents with him.


Letting Grandpa and Grandma know he is glad we are here, too.


Jaden's teachers are remarkable. It was a wonderful "Parent's Day" program.


Video of Jaden introducing himself to the guests at the program:

Chip Making Ministry Announcements

GOING GREEN!!!

For the first time in years, we have a little garden patch. There are the loveliest green tomato and pepper plants in our back yard. It will be a while before we see any tomatoes, but are already two little bell peppers in view. Our mouths water to think of the fresh tomato sandwiches we will enjoy this summer. Grandpa has had his side kick (4-year-old grandson Jaden) as a helper for two days this week so Granny was out there with the camera. Yep~~ we're going green: with lovely green things growing in our garden.


(Double-click on pic for a larger view!)

DOUBLE-CLICK ON PICS TO ENLARGE FOR A BETTER VIEW!

A Lovely Visit!

We were tickled to hear that Paul and Karen were coming through our area so invited them to come by for dinner and stay the night with us. They did!! It was a sweet time of fellowship and catching up as I hadn't seen Karen in 6 months. She is very excited about their upcoming cruise to Alaska and I am excited for her! I thank God for the precious privilege of their visit this week.

SPORTING AROUND

It's springtime which brings about another sports season with the grandkids starring as my favorite sportsters! Isabella is on the Track and Field team at her school and the boys are playing church little-league softball (or T-ball in Jaden's case.) It is a lot of fun to watch them.

Richard and I traveled about an hour out of town for Isabella's first track meet. It was a long 4 hours of sitting there for her 2 events (the one mile and the two mile) but we persevered and she was able to ride home with us. We even treated her to a yummy dinner at a local restaurant in that area.

Starring Isabella in track and field and Josh and Jaden in T-ball:


Belle running in one of her races



Belle (on the right) and her friend after their race:



Jaden running all out



Jaden is the boy in the back... he is catching up with his teammate as they run to the bases after a hit




Amy and Jaden


Josh running a base after getting a hit

Our grandkids' sports keep us on the move.... so to speak!