Back on This Blog But Still Out of Town

Good Morning from Capshaw, Alabama , which is located in the greater Huntsville area. We had one day at home after our 2-1/2 week trip to Alaska and then took off to come up here to visit Chip and help in their Vacation Bible School this week. Our 9-year-old grandson, Josh, is with us as he is our only elementary-age grandchild and therefore able to attend VBS.

We arrived on Saturday at 4:00 and that evening went to dinner with Chip at PF Chang ~~ a fabulous restaurant. On Sunday (Father's Day), we had a wonderful church service which began with Chip baptizing 8 new converts. We had never witnessed Chip performing a baptism so that was a huge blessing for his dad and me. We had a lovely Father's Day lunch and a nice relaxing afternoon. Capshaw didn't have church on Sunday night but we were invited over to the Smith home. When we were last here on what was Mother's Day weekend, a dear lady in the church passed away. Pastor Zach and Chip were there in the home with the family when Sandy passed. The Smiths have 2 teenagers and Chip has been a real help and encouragement to them during this month since their mother's passing. Anyway, we were invited over and went to watch some of the NBA game with George and his family. What a dear Godly man and 3 precious kids who miss their wife and mama. The little Smith guy is Josh's age. It was great that Josh could make a friend and know a friendly face on Monday morning at VBS. And that's exactly what happened~~~ Michael and Josh hooked up and enjoy the Monday VBS session.

After Bible School and then lunch at "Dip and Dog," which is a new deli and ice-cream shop very near Chip's house, the 3 of us returned to Chip's house. He had a noon to 7:00 p.m. outing with his teenagers. On his way back home on Monday evening, he brought pizza home for our dinner. We enjoyed some fellowship with him and then all went to bed.

Tuesday morning....... we came to the church an hour before VBS to start so that I could get online (first time since last Saturday morning!). I hope to have time today to upload some more of our Alaskan Trip pics. I have been posting them here as well as on my www.northtoalaskaandbackagain.com/ blog. I do hope to have time to work on those today if we can hang out here at Chip's church after VBS.

Gotta get ready for VBS. Richard is doing the audio/visuals for Chip's class of 5th and 6th graders and today I am serving their refreshments. FUN!!!!!!!!

Have a wonderfully blessed day!

HOME FROM OUR TRIP!

We had never been gone from home for 2-1/2 weeks before, and it is good to be home tonight! I will be back to writing some "Susan's Stuff" ~~ enjoying God's blessing of Richard's retirement, our family, and our friends. We look forward to seeing what God has in store for this season of our lives. Feel free to take a peek every now and again to see what is going on from my perspective.

Blessings,
Susan

We Are Having a Great Time in Alaska!

The trip is fantastic... If you want to read our journaling along the way, the URL for that blog is northtoalaskaandbackagain.blogspot.com. ~~Susan

PACKED UP AND READY TO GO!!!

We are 99% packed and 100% excited to be taking off in the morning. Brian, Amy, and the kids are going to drive us to the airport at 7:30 on Sunday morning. It surely will be hard to say good-bye to them, but we know the 2 weeks will fly by and we'll be back home before we know it.

We have a blog in the works that we hope to be able to keep up and journal our trip as we go. The URL for that one is http://northtoalaskaandbackagain.blogspot.com/. We'd be honored to have some "air-chair travelers" along with us. Feel free to bookmark that blog and check back. And please, please, please PRAY for us ~~ and we'll be praying for our family and friends everywhere.

North to Alaska!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PRINCIPAL AMY

Amy ~~ our 32-year-old daughter. Wife, mother of four, and principal of hundreds. What a joy it has been to watch Amy's life unfold and to see her excel in both spectrums of her life. After teaching for 9 or 10 years, she was promoted to principal of grades 4-6 a year ago and just today completed her first year as in that position. I'm sure there were many struggles along the way because that is the nature of a new job, but I never heard her say one negative thing about her job. I did hear her say countless times how much she was enjoying it.

The Grandkids came home with their yearbooks a few days ago. When I finally got to thumb through one, I was struck by Amy's lovely "portrait" near the front of the book. My little girl ~~ all grown up ~~ a professional woman, but more importantly, a Godly woman.

I post her picture tonight in thanksgiving to God that He blessed her first year as principal. She has to work next week (to close out everything for the summer) and then will have 6 weeks off~~ 2 with Brian and their kids and then 4 as mommy-of-the-day while Brian works at his equally fascinating job this summer. I know Amy will enjoy setting aside her professional hat and wearing her favorite hat~~ that of full-time wife and mother for a few weeks.

Get the loose ends tied up next week, Amy, and come home to 6 weeks of family fun and blessing. May God richly bless you and yours, my Darling Daughter.

Love,
Mother

The Sweetest Yawn ~ In Utero

Psalm 139:14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
Psalm 127:3 Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
Psalm 139:13 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.

There is a dear couple back in our hometown: Jim and Suzanne. They were both in our College/Career Sunday School class. At some point in time much later down the road, they started dating, got married, and soon had a sweet baby boy. It is with joy that we have learned just this week that they are expecting baby #2.....and it's a girl this time!!! Jim and Suzanne had this sonogram made of their sweet baby. In it, she yawns as big as you please. Grandma Judy shared it with me yesterday, and I just had to ask if I could post the video on my blog. I was given permission to share. I find it fascinating and a beautiful glimpse of this precious baby in utero. (And to think that the abortionists MURDER many babies at this very age!!!!)

YESTERDAY and TODAY

MEMORIES OF YESTERDAY: We had a terrific day with Jaden on Wednesday. He is such a big boy, and we love him dearly. He had a lot of playtime all morning: first with Grandpa outside where I found them having a big time:



We took Jaden for an early lunch at McDonald's (Jaden's request) and had so much fun watching him play with other children in the big indoor playplace. He ate a good lunch and played his heart out. I so much enjoyed sitting there watching him and enjoying the moment with Richard. I told Jaden that we had spent many-a-Wednesday-lunchtime alone and wasn't it nice to have Grandpa with us. Jaden agreed wholeheartedly. Proof:

After McDonald's, we came home. Jaden got a good bath and slept for nearly 3 hours. When he woke up, it was time to get teeth brushed and dressed for dinner and church with his family.



TODAY'S DOINGS: After all of my angst about Wednesday being our last "regular day" to keep Jaden (with school getting out today and his precious Mommy home with the kids for the summer and then his going to kindergarten in August)~~ we are picking up all four of the kids when they get out of school at 1:00 today. YIPPEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We will have a FUN afternoon for them around here with swimming, biking, playing, sleeping, etc. I pray they have a wonderful summer full of God's best blessings.

Late this morning, Richard and I are going out for brunch and then our last shopping spree for our last-minute things for the trip. We fly out on Sunday morning! I want to have all of the packing done and everything ready by Friday night so we are relaxed on Saturday. It's a great day in the cul-de-sac!!

The kids just came out of their house on their way to their last morning of school. Josh was all dressed up because he is playing his trumpet in this morning's assembly at 9:15. Grandpa and I didn't know about that so we have to "hoof it" to get showered, dressed, and out the door to go see our Grandson play. Here is this morning's video made on the last day of school. You will have to forgive them for being sooooooooooooooooooo excited..........



Grandpa Richard and I went to the 9:15 assembly to see Josh play in the band. We were so far back and I haven't even viewed the video but will load it here for posterity. His head is right in front of the microphone stand:



And then this afternoon at 1:00, I picked up the kids from school. Their last day. I made a couple of vidoes of Jaden. I knew the older three wouldn't appreciate my photography work in front of their friends as they all waited on their rides. The first video is of Jaden in the "reading room" waiting on me to pick him up:




And a sweet picture of Jaden with his afternoon teacher. Jaden calls her "Miss Norse" but it is really pronounced "Norris." My last picture of the last day of school for our Grandkids..........

Our Last Wednesday..... I had to shed a tear.

I have had the precious privilege of having a LOT of face-time with our 4th grandchild. Regarding our older three Grandkids, Jarrett was adopted from Ukraine at age 10, Isabella was adopted from Ukraine at age 6, and Josh was adopted from Ukraine at age 2. Six months after Isabella and Josh were adopted in 2001, we moved here to be near Brian, Amy, and the kids. I was blessed to be able to spend a lot of that first summer with them and bonded with Belle and Josh deeply during that time. And then when we moved down that December, Grandpa Richard and I lived with them for 6 months. That was the REAL bonding time. Belle was in 1st grade and Josh attended nursery school. We were busy with the building of our house and didn't keep him at home with us every day. As I look back, I regret that we didn't keep him at home with us more, BUT the socialization with the other little kids his age helped him immensely with the English language, etc. Grandpa and I picked up Isabella and Josh from school a lot of days and had them in the afternoons until Brian and Amy got home from work. We did have a lot of good face-time with them for which I thank the Lord.

Jarrett was adopted at age 10 and we have had summers and school-vacation times to spend with him. There certainly were not those younger years to bond with him. I have to say though that today he definitely gravitates toward his Grandpa Richard. They have a close relationship for which I am thankful.

Jaden was born in November 2004. Amy had 12 glorious weeks of maternity leave to be with her baby. When she returned to work after her leave, I had the previous privilege of keeping Jaden every school-day for the next 2-1/2 years. What a blessing to be here and able to do that for Brian and Amy and for Jaden. My heart has memories stored up that will go to Heaven with me, I hope!! This past August when Jaden was about to turn 3, I determined that he needed more stimulation in the area of academics, playtime, socialization, etc. and recommended to Brian and Amy that he go to Nursery School instead of Grandma School. I agonized over that decision when it was being prayed over and certainly agonized over it the first day of Jaden leaving to go to Nursery School. I bawled for half the day. Amy and Brian had told me from the "get-go" that I could keep Jaden anytime that I wanted to. I let him get settled into nursery school for a couple of weeks and then decided that I would like to dedicate my WEDNESDAYS to having Jaden, so that is what I did this school year. I looked forward to my Wednesday with Jaden each and every week. He is a smart, fun-loving kid and we have had lots of great times together~~~ many of which are blogged on this very site.

Today is my FOREVER last day to be able to keep Jaden on WEDNESDAY. I had to have a little cry at breakfast over that very fact. Our 4th grandchild is growing up so fast and will be in K4 come August. He won't be able to "miss school" to stay with Grandma at either his whim or my own. He will be a real "school boy" and he is excited that his class will be at "Mommy's big school."

Jaden..... I pray that you have stored up some memories of your time spent at Grandma's house for these past 3-1/2 years. I hope you are old enough to be able to remember some of the fun times and recall them in the years to come. I certainly know that I will never forget them..... even if they become locked up in my memory should I ever suffer a brain disorder, surely they will remain in my heart forever and I will know and remember.

I hope today is your BEST WEDNESDAY ever. Your Grandpa is retired and is enjoying his 2nd Wednesday with you. You guys are outside enjoying this lovely late-spring morning ~~ doing guy stuff. You have requested to go to McDonald's for lunch and we will do that. That was a fun part of many of our Wednesdays together. And per our routine, you will get your bath and take a nice afternoon nap. When you wake up, we will take you to Mommy at "Mommy's School" for you to have Wednesday evening dinner with your family and then go to church with them.

Oh Jaden, I cry now as I realize this is our last time to have our Wednesday together. Of course, I will be here to keep you should you become sick and can't attend school on a Wednesday, but I mean "OUR" regular Wednesday together. I will miss you, Jadie-Boy. I love you. But God loves you even more and has a wonderful plan for your life. When you start your school years with K4 in August, I pray that you will learn everything they teach you at your Christian School ~~ about God and His Son Jesus Christ, the excellent academics, how to be a good citizen ~~ and that you will always obey God's Word and love Him with your whole heart. Happy Wednesday to us!!!!

~~Love, Grandma

Hobby and Faith ~~ A weird connection

I have a strange "hobby" ~~ I follow about 10 "caringbridge" sites for folks I don't know but read them and pray for the people involved. Most of the ones I follow are of children who have cancer. And then there is the site I follow of a couple in North Carolina. The wife had CF and was about to go on the list for a double-lung transplant and they night before they were to leave to go to Duke, it was discovered that she was pregnant!! She gave birth to a precious one pound baby girl at 27 weeks. A couple of months after the birth of her baby, the mother received her double-lung transplant. The mother and baby are both released from the hospital but have had to remain in the area so that they both can be monitored. It is hoped that they will be able to be released to go back to their home in the Outer Banks in a couple of weeks. What a story!! The URL is http://cfhusband.blogspot.com/ if anyone wants to check it out. It is an amazing story of a precious Christian couple.

Back to the reason for my post when I OUGHT to be PACKING for our trip...... I received a caringbridge notification of a post on a "case" I am following. This one is for a man from the Tuscaloosa area who worked for Alabama Power Company for a number of years and of whom I learned about through a prayer request for him on my prayer chain. Steve has battled cancer and continues to share on his caringbridge site. My antennae shot up with part of his post this morning and I felt the need to share it with you. We have this strange thing going on in America that all religious are okay. Just so you believe, and if you sincerely believe what you believe, it is okay to believe it and you will go to Heaven when you die. An "all roads lead to God" sort of philosophy. That is hogwash. In John 14:6, our Lord Jesus Himself said: "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." As a Christian I cannot give credence to the notion that any other "Savior" or "god" or "man" will lead anyone to heaven. Apart from salvation based on our Lord Jesus dying on the cross for our sins, all of mankind is doomed for hell. 'JESUS SAVES! CHRIST ALONE."

In Steve's post today, he related meeting up with a Christian from a Muslim country. It perked up my ears because it is evident how America is caving in to that particular culture and mindset. We who are Christians are the "salt and light." We had better stand up and speak up for what we know to be the truth. And we had better be prepared to die for it. From Steve:

I had a sleep study done Sunday night, and it was another one of those moments that God put together. The technician was a very soft spoken man. He could tell I was from around here, due to acsent, but he also wasn't from around here. He escaped from Ethiopia 8 years ago.

I said escaped because his words were "we had to leave the country." You see he made the mistake of being a Christian. He told me the same thing happening in Sudan is happening in his country. the Muslims are taking over and if your not a Muslim you have 2 choices, convert or die. His words, not mine.

Even with facing death he told me Christians are meeting under trees, in old buildings, anywhere they can to hear God's word. Here in the United States, people wont even get out of bed, to drive, and attend any number of churches. He said in ethiopia they can't build enough churches; you see, the Muslims burn them down.

So, believe what you want about them being a friendly religion, who some people have hijacked the faith; talk to someone who is from there; Muslims are on a mission to conquer the world; one nation at a time. Before you think it can't happen here; check out Minnesota where a Muslim was elected, and took the oath on a Koran, not a bible.

My heart was gripped at the truth in what Steve related ~~ about my own spiritual laziness during this time of an extreme spiritual battle being waged every day. His post woke me up and has caused me to take stock regarding the importance of Christ in my life and knowing that there are people all around who are believing every lie of the Devil which has thrown our country into chaos. It's time to re-group, suit up in our spiritual armor and to get back out there on the battlefield. It's "do or die" time and in some cases, "do and die" for martyred Christians around the world. How long before that will take place right here in our land?

We Pulled Off a SURPRISE Retirement Party for Richard!

Ps 37:23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.














Amy told me a few weeks back that she wanted to throw a retirement party for her Dad. As we talked about it, we decided to host it at our house as this last week of school is so very busy for her. We decided to make it a surprise and led her dad to think that it was a going-away party for friends who are leaving in June. He had to be given a reason for the party for we would be making food and setting up tables to host about 20 people in our home!! I made the guest list and told Richard all of the couples who would be coming. He didn't know that Brian, Amy, and the kids would be here for the party so that is how we surprised him. (NOTE: Chip wanted to be here but of course, Sundays are his big day of ministry. At over 300 miles away, he just wasn't able to buzz on down after church. We spent 5 days with Chip right after Richard's retirement and he "feted" his dad's retirement during that time.)

After all of the guests (6 couples from church: James & Ann, Jerry & Peggy, John & Jeanette, Dan & Dorothy, John & Regina, Ed & Arda ) arrived on Sunday night after church, I called Amy to ask if I could "borrow" something and if she could bring it over. Well, she and her whole family walked in and that's when Jaden handed the invitation to Grandpa and said, "Here Grandpa, read this!"

URL of video of Richard reading the invitation AT the party that you can copy and paste into your favorite browser: http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=3b93043a744af0c259c5

We had a good meal with Chipped Ham Bar-B-Que sandwiches (Brian's mother's recipe that Amy recommended), potato chips, a veggie tray, and a mixed fruit bowl.

After we ate, we had a "Congratulations, Richard" cake with coffee or punch. Here is the URL for the video of the group singing and of Richard and the grandkids waiting to blow out the candle: http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=63c71afd2721bf306c53

Everyone gave Richard some retirement exhortations using words starting with the letters R-E-T-I-R-E-M-E-N-T and that was fun. Richard opened the cards from our friends and then it was time to wind down as ALL OF THOSE WORKING PEOPLE had to get home to bed and be ready for the Monday morning alarm. We didn't set ours. :) Here are some pics of our fun evening: