Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Wake-up Call

Last Friday I awoke with that yuckky "pink-eye".
Ended up at the Dr.'s office and of course they just had to weigh me and check my blood pressure. Knew I had gained back ...grieves me to say, a lot of the weight I had lost...not all of it but more than I wanted to really know! I hadn't even gotten down to my goal weight which now I need to still lose at least 45 to 50 pounds! Yikes! Then my bood pressure was a bit high and I've never had that before.
All that was quite enough for me! Friday I began eating healthier again and I am on that treadmill every day and the weight is coming off.
I do believe that I have REALLY learned my lesson!
So here I am...in for the long haul...off of the pastas, the potatoes-"bye-bye McDonald's french fries", the breads and sweets-no more McDonald's hot apple pies,( darn that new McDonald's up the street! okay, NOT their fault)...
the starches and even limiting diet sodas greatly! I am drinking more water too and liking it better every time I drink it.
I CAN DO THIS! Just very thankful for the wake-up call!

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Church Moving Week!

Today we begin to move our church into our new building!
We are SO excited!
We're moving into a newer facility twice the size of our old one and the layout is perfect!
Our other building has been a blessing and we couldn't have had better landlords but it is TIME to move on!
We've been working hard for weeks now, removing carpet, scraping glue off the floors, priming walls, redoing sheetrock, painting, etc.
We won't be totally finished until around September but we can make it work just fine without the new carpet which is coming! Our new colors are all earth tones...beautiful!
Have a kitchen and a bistro area where we will now have our coffee station.
We're blessed with huge classrooms, storage, an accounting office, and a church office for our Pastors! AND a nice big sanctuary!
Yippee!!! We're "Moving Forward" for the glory of our Father God!
Well, I'm off to help pack up and move!

Monday, June 27, 2011

His coming again

For weeks I've been reading and studying in the Thessalonian books of the New Testament.
There has been one particular scripture that has gripped me; keeps drawing me back...
It speaks of the return of the Lord Jesus with His "mighty angels in flaming fire".
"For those who do not know God and do not obey the Gospel of Jesus"..."they shall suffer the punishment of eternal destruction and exclusion from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His might,..." 2Thess. 1:9 RSV
Other translations say "separated from the presence of the Lord and from His glorious might", Good News...
NAS..."These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,"
I can't think of anything worse than forever being separated from the Father God, the Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit! Everytime I read this, it grieves me.
The "last days" are unfolding before us, probably quicker than we realize. Verse 3 of the 2nd chapter of 2 Thessalonians speaks of things that will happen first...the "apostasy"-"falling away from the faith". We are seeing and hearing this now. Many denominations of "the Church" have abandoned belief of the Bible, picking and choosing what parts they want to obey and believe, " throwing away" parts with which they don't agree.
I know people who have been hurt by "believers", misled by "believers", mistreated by them and have abandoned their faith in God. If you are alive and breathing, you will, at some time, be hurt by someone, even someone who truly loves God.
BUT, what it all "boils down to" is your own personal relationship with Him. Look at His character, especially in the New Testament in the Person of Jesus Christ...the "express image of God...". The New Testament shows us the better covenant...the one we now have with the Father God. You can't go so much by what someone has told you, you've got to "discover" Him for yourself. You can't go by how you've been treated, even by "believers".
It all comes down to...you and Him. What will you do with Him?

Saturday, June 25, 2011

George Washington's Rules of Civility & Decent Behaviour

in Company and Conversation
George Washington wrote this sometime before the age of sixteen.
Original spelling is unchanged.
We received this book because we support the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.
What a treasure!
1st "Every Action done in Company, ought to be with Some Sign of Respect, to those that are Present."
82d "Undertake not what you cannot perform but be carefull to keep your promise."

Friday, June 24, 2011

Fixed?

Sure hope so! When I changed my template on my blog...(this looks a bit more "summery"),
no one could leave comments. After seeking help, I think I found the answer from another Blogger.
It may work now!

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

My Father

This is my father, Bill Durham. Where do I even begin to tell you about him?
My first memories of him were as a very little girl. He was always an attentive loving father...to all three of us girls. There's a picture of him sitting with me at my little table and chairs having "tea"
and I think I was in a red riding hood outfit.
I remember him teaching us the Lord's Prayer and praying with us sometimes at night when we were small.
Money was tight and our parents were resourceful. He refurbished a swingset for us. He rode bikes with us. He played with us. He was always there for us...and yes , he corrected us when we needed it.
He played his ukulele, made up crazy songs and we danced madly! He taught us to dance...our feet on his feet when we were little.
We always felt greatly loved, greatly protected, and greatly forgiven when we messed up.
He supported us and even allowed us to make our own decisions when he knew we were posssibly headed in the wrong direction.
I remember when I was a senior in high school and I got a speeding ticket, (still not quite sure about that one for I was going up hill in a VW Bug). He was disappointed in me. I sort of lost my temper and began crying and sulked off to my room. He appeared at my door and told me that he thought that I had really grown up but he realized I was still "wet behind the ears". I cried even harder as he closed my door. Had a Keyette Club meeting that night and was supposed to drive and pick up a friend. They let me drive even though I really didn't want to that night. I had learned my lesson.
Oh, yeah, when we were younger he paid us a quarter to scratch his back and we did it for hours or so it seemed! And we loved it!
Bless his heart, he could never come home from work and change out of his business suit without an audience of his three girls. We talked his ears off! Every night suppertime was a treat as he told jokes and we all laughed. He would sometimes answer the phone "Joe's Pool Hall, Joe's not here, Archie speaking" and our friends would hang up and try to call again. You really never knew what was going to come out of his mouth.
He mesmerized us with stories of his adventures growing up...sneaking out of the house when he was NOT of driving age and driving off in his Dad's car, ending up in a cornfield and getting to his aunt's house in the wee hours of the morning and she got up and helped him! (We've told him NEVER to share that one with our Grands!)
Memories keep coming to me as I write them! He watched the Beatles performing on the ED Sullivan show with me and went out the next day and bought me the "45" of "I Want to Hold Your Hand."
When they took me to Greensboro College it was a bit hard on all of us. He had told me they wouldn't hang around and when it came time to leave, he was the one who had a harder time leaving.
He wrote me countless letters when I was at GC. Some of them I still have. He would send me money when I needed it.
We watched golf on TV when he wasn't out playing himself. We "knew" many of the "old" golfers... Sam Snead, Dave Marr, Miller Barber, Arnold and Jack, Chi Chi, Lee, etc.
He taught each of us to play golf with the "baby blue" golf clubs he bought for us.
I remember him counting off, over and over when I dropped a 65' putt, only to tee up and hit my next shot right in the lake!
Oh my gosh, I could go on and on.
I've always said we had an amazing childhood and we did! We knew so much love! Our parents always had time for us.
Some years back, I wrote him a letter for I couldn't tell him to his face all that was in my heart that day. I knew I would cry...and I did when I wrote it.
I wrote it to tell him that because he was the kind of father he had been, it was always so easy for me to see God as a loving, kind, gracious, merciful Father.
We still have a close relationship to this day...all three of us to our dad.
We see each other often and speak with each other a few times a week by phone.
I always call him with my "bird" questions for he's quite an authority. I think that's where I get my special love for birds and all creation.
If I could have selected a father for myself, it would have been him!
Happy Father's day...everyday, Daddy.
You are loved so dearly!

Monday, June 20, 2011

Marvelous Monday!

Marvelous? Why marvelous?
Because I don't have to go anywhere, don't have to really do anything...well maybe a load of laundry...and I can enjoy the peace and quiet of the morning!
I wrote on my calendar for today...hibernate! And that's pretty much what I intend to do!

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Happy Birthday Camden!




Last night we celebrated Camden's 8th birthday! (He officially turns 8 Monday.) It WAS a celebration and wonderful family time with the great-grandparents as well as the rest of our family!
It has been "Grand" days and nights lately and they have made me realize how truly blessed we are to have them! Such special love!
Happy Birthday Camden! We love you!

Friday, June 17, 2011

What's in my Bose?


What's in my Bose?

Welcome to Charlotte, Adam! He's in town tonight at the Fillmore but heard it's sold out.
This is playing in my CD player and was in my car until I got it out so I could put it in to clean today!
Owl City's new CD, "All Things Bright and Beautiful" came out this week and I had to have it!
April and her crew got me hooked on Owl City when Adam Young's first CD came out.
It's just a fun, feel-good, off-the-wall, happy style and I love it!

Thursday, June 16, 2011

The wonderful, colorful world of play dough

I truly believe play dough is a miracle "toy"! It can occupy children for hours!
I always try to have it on hand and realized that I had very little left "in stock" so I made a quick
trip to Target after I left the Treasures. Headed over to April's to get her and then to Anna's.
I was keeping Anna's four while she and Aunt April went to get their hair done.
We came in with play dough and everyone went wild, especially Kellan, who kept saying "open this"...over and over.
We "played" with play dough for an hour and a half. I made a snail, a fish, a snake. Duncan had me making everything on the mat that came with our "stuff"!
I only stopped when I saw that Kellan was rubbing his eyes..."happy nappy time". I scooped him up and proceeded to sing the song I had made up for our children all those years ago!
After getting him settled I came downstairs to find Emma cleaning up. The others pitched in at my insistance and then we quietly headed upstairs to see Emma play Leggo Star Wars.
I must admit I was quite impressed with her gaming skills!
While watching her, Kylie brought in her Rapunzel doll. Oh my! She looked like she had stuck her finger in an outlet and her hair had exploded. We laughed as we tried to decide if I could actually fix it. After quite awhile...much brushing and braiding and pony tail holders, she declared my endeavors a success and was very happy with the outcome!
Meanwhile Emma kept fighting storm troopers, sand people, etc.
Came across old Ben Kanobi ( probably misspelled that one!) who needed to jump from one ledge to another over poisonous water. Her attempt failed twice as he sank beneath that water but she had earned him extra lives so she looked at me and said that she would try again and she made it. I told her how well she did and that she was playing so much better than I ever could and her words...."you can say that again!". Out of the mouths of the "grands"! :)
Our beautiful daughters arrived back with their new "DOs" and April and I jumped in my xB and took off!
It was a wonderful day...very long but very wonderful!

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

those squirrels!

The other day when the kids were here, Kylie was in the backyard while the rest of us were in the side yard.
She came to me and said that she had seen a squirrel and he had come up to her and let her pet him.
Confound those squirrels! Trying to get to me through the "Grands"!

Sunday, June 12, 2011

The Visit

Had to blog this!
Anna and Dan came over to borrow something they needed and they stayed a while to visit.
The kids were playing inside with Leggos, cars, Mr. Potato Head, dolls, etc. and then wanted to go outside.
I was the only one at first to brave the heat with them (Anna later followed) and we played on the swingset, played with sticks, the balls, the wagons, fed the birds and then we came inside as we were turning red in the face and beginning to "glisten".
Hunger overtook us and Papa and Dan went to McDonald's. We all gathered around the leafless
table which made for close quarters but so much fun. We were all eating, talking, laughing and then Duncan, who was beside me, turned and looked at me and proceeded to sing, "I'm sorry I broke your heart, Mother!" I about fell out of my chair! I was laughing so hard I began to cry...Emma too and then we were all cracking up! It was so random! Just out of the "clear blue"!
And then the rest of our supper got "funnier and funnier"!
A merry heart doeth good!
Great way to end the day!
Grandchildren are the greatest!

An amazing action-packed, fun-filled, working hard...

"what a weekend", weekend!
There was never a dull moment! Though it was a hot one temperature-wise we had RAIN! And
Had Makenna, Elliott and Camden over for a cookout and sleepover Friday night! They were great! So enjoyable except Mike who slept with the guys on the sleep sofa got beat up by a very active sleeper-Elliott! Camden filled me in Saturday morning about the sleeping adventure and one thing about Saturday morning, we had to WAKE them up! That was a first!
Then off to the Grill to meet April and Lee. Had our breakfast on the patio...such a nice cool morning and Brittany's parents showed up and joined us. That was a treat!
We unloaded our car of blankets and pillows and stuffed animals and headed home to change and get to our new church building to work.
I cleaned all the fluorescent covers outside on the sidewalk, washing them down with Dawn and rinsing them and standing them against to the building to dry. Trying to conserve water I would hold the hose to stop the water flow until I needed it but I lost my grip and sprayed myself in the face and ended up drenched! I squished the rest of the day whenever I would walk.
Then I painted until I ran out of paint! Whew! We were tired, hot and "glistenny" and had to run home to shower, dress and meet friends for dinner.
I was so glad to get home and change into my pjs and sit in front of the fan! Ahhh!
Slept in a bit since we didn't have to be at church so early and then after a great service and meeting some new people, Mike and I headed to La Strada for lunch and to pick up my Golden Italian Dressing. The owner ordered me some! He's so nice! Then to Target, Starbucks and home.
Yippee! So GOOD to be home!
And Anna, Dan and the kids are coming over in a bit!
Perfect ending to a perfect day! Family...especially Grandchildren! What absolute blessings they are!

Friday, June 10, 2011

The Granggie VS The Rodent Squirrels

The squirrels and I have an ongoing battle. Maybe I'm just being too nice.
My weapon of choice is vaseline and a paper towel!
Since the "rodent-enemy" has destroyed 2 squirrel proof birdfeeders, my battleground has diminished to three feeders now, of which I can only really "defend" one....the one above that you can see!
I am trying to keep the pole greased and it's working!
Just minutes ago I was at the kitchen sink only to see the furry thing scurry up the pole. I grabbed my ammunition and headed out and of course he scurried when he saw me coming armed to the hilt! I greased the pole and went inside. Minutes later I saw him bounce over, sniffing, and then he attacked. And you know what happened....he slid all the way down!
I was triumphant once again!

Thursday, June 9, 2011

A day in June

"And what is so rare as a day in June?
Then, if ever, come perfect days;
Then Heaven tries earth if it be in tune,
And over it softly her warm ear lays;
Whether we look or whether we listen,
We hear life murmur or see it glisten;
Every clod feels stir of might,
An instinct within it that reaches and towers,
And groping blindly above it for light,
Climbs to a soul in grass and flowers."
James Russell Lowell 1848

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

A Lovely Afternoon




It was an "Alice Jules" afternoon! We sipped on Chilly Alices and chatted in the cozy nook at Alice Jules. It was Anna's first time going and we had to commemorate the occasion with a picture and an Alice Jules coffee cup.




Upon our arrival we saw that this week was early closing...2 pm and we didn't get there until 1:30 but the girl working let us stay while she was cleaning and closing which was such a special blessing for us!




Then we went to the antique store next door and enjoyed "ooing and ahhing" over all the treasures.




Just a special time for us girls!




Tuesday, June 7, 2011

The Scruffy Cardinal

This morning I had the special treat of observing a young male cardinal. He had not entered into his physical beauty as yet but he caught my eye.
He wasn't very agile and had a bit of a challenge going from limb to limb of our crape myrtle while inching his way to the bird feeder. He made it to the feeder but his calculations were off a bit and his body was smack up against it and he couldn't get to the seed. He awkwardly backed ever so slightly and reached down for a seed. Upon getting his reward he flew to a branch to eat and then his next attempt was right on!
I enjoyed watching him...so unsteady at first but he never gave up. He was learning to be who God made him to be. He wasn't comparing himself to the chickadee whom seemed to do everything with ease. (It looked like he almost knocked the chickadee off as he tried to make it to the same branch but the chickadee wasn't even phased...just rolled with the "punches"! )

A good lesson for us I think! Just learn to be who God made us to be. We can't compare ourselves with anyone else. We all have gifts and talents. We all have worth. That's how He made us!
Sure we have to "grow" into our wings and learn to "fly" but He has put all that within us.
We just need to let it out and... fly!

Monday, June 6, 2011

Summer Beauty













Another Dance Recital under our Belts!

Twas a whirlwind weekend with several opportunities for FRUSTRATION!
Friday night began the "fun". Less than an hour before book club we discovered we had no water! Mike suggested I call and cancel but everyone was already on the way. It worked out and I was able to turn our breaker on and off and managed water for the extra pot of Gevalia Raspberry Danish Decaf coffee...oh my! So yummy! oh yea and an occasional "flush"!

Plumber Max arrived early Saturday morning but found nothing...hmmm...oh well, then off to the Grill where we met Bill and Brittany and "grand-to-be" for breakfast. Wonderful visit!

Home to rest an hour and half and then on to April's to pick up our ballerina Makenna, April, Camden , Anna, Emma and Kylie and off to Wingate University.
Upon entering we met some friends who informed us that the recital lasted THREE hours.
Okay, NOT what I wanted to hear. Once underway with the Pre-program, we settled in to watch the dancers and then after a quick break we were transported to Kansas and then "over the rainbow", landing in Oz! The sets , dances and costumes were wonderful but somehow the first act was a bit too long. And then there was the lady in front of me, (w/3 kids in 1 seat), who was oblivious to the fact that there were people behind her that were trying to see. Oh my...my insides were churning and I so badly wanted to say something but I don't think she could have understood me. I prayed under my breath, fighting off the feelings of just wanting to scream. She left, dragging 2 or 3 kids with her only to return and then hold up her camera taking a video, blocking the middle of the stage for my view and her son blocking Emma's. (Emma did get on my lap so she could see.) And then the lady took several "flash" photos after we were all told at the beginning NOT to do that. (I learned in all this that RUDE people are something for which I have NO patience.)
She finally left and I could actually see very well. The frustration left with her!

We survived and Makenna danced divinely as the "yellow brick road". Onto TCBY! Delicious! Took everyone back to their home/van and then we headed to Lowe's! (remember I said we go to Lowe's practically every Saturday, usually after the Grill). Then we were hungry and went to La Strada's. We ended up eating close to 8 pm...where had the day gone?
Whew! I was wiped! Relaxed on the porch a bit and then a lovely shower and our comfy bed! Ahh! Was glad when the day ended!

In doing my blog just now I was talking with Mike about Saturday. Sharing a bit about the lady in front of me, he said she probably had never seen anything like it and was just caught up in the moment. Hmm.... now I'm trying to determine whether I should have been a bit more understanding. I'm undecided! :)

"OUCH"!

"Procrastination is attitude's natural assassin. There is nothing so fatiguing as an uncompleted task."

William James

Friday, June 3, 2011

"How A Lightning Bug Took Me back In Time!"

Last night Mike and I sat on the porch reading, enjoying the coolness of the evening, watching dusk turn to darkness. I glanced up from my book to see a "firefly" as some would say but I grew up calling them lightning bugs.
All of a sudden I was once again a child on Woodruff Place in Charlotte, near the now historical Wesley Heights district. I was running in our neighbors' yard catching lightning bugs. The Keenans lived next door to us; an older couple without children of their own who just happened to enjoy my sisters and me! Theirs was a magical yard...a small forest behind their garage where countless violets grew and we spent many hours dreaming and playing in that "forest"! Daylight would turn to summer darkness and "children" voices would begin calling out, "ain't no bears out tonight, Grandma killed them all last night" and suddenly someone who was the bear came out chasing us! Remember that game?
After running barefoot through the dewy grass and inevitably stepping on a snail or two, we were more than ready for a bath and our "babydoll" PJs!
Oh those were the days!

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

YIPPEE!!!!!!!!!

#9 is coming!
Our son and his wife, Bill and Brittany, are expecting their first child
and we are thrilled!

June



"It is the month of June,

The month of leaves and roses,

When pleasant sights salute the eyes,

And pleasant scents the noses."


Nathaniel Parker Willis (1806-1867)