Friday, November 20, 2009

LOVE BEING MOPPY

We had our first Grandparent's Night at Sammy's preschool on Thursday. Of course we had to share him with Jenny's parents - Grandma and Grandpa - but that was OK. Sammy came in with his new jeans and a big boy button-down oxford shirt and his hair slicked over. He was very handsome. A video was shown at the beginning and to be very honest, it was really poorly done. It certainly made me thankful for our WET (Worship Enhancement Team) at Parkway. Also it was a bit long - 20-25 mintues - for a preschool presentation. Then the kids got up on the stage to sing... and some of them needed some discipline that they obviously had never received. I kept thinking about Marqie at our preschool. She would have banged some heads together. However, Sammy sang his songs... did his motions... and did everything else he was told. And I'm not being biased because later when we met his teacher she told us how well-behaved he always is and how he listens and obeys and is such a huge delight. :-) Of course we already knew all those things but it's nice to hear from someone else. Sammy drew pictures of us and told his teacher things to write about us and we got bring them home. After cookies and juice we all headed for home.







This morning was one of those MOPS lesson days when you aren't sure how things are going to go. Our lesson title: My Family Tree is Suddenly a Forest. I know that's the way I felt when I got married... I'm the oldest and was the first of my siblings to get married. I only had 3 first cousins and 1 aunt and 1 uncle. Charlie, on the other hand, had 5 older sisters who were married (or had been) and 2 younger sisters, one of which was married. He had lots of aunts and uncles and tons of cousins. He probably didn't even know some of them. So our conversation today was about extended family and that always leads to in-laws and that often leads to trouble. I talked individually with each DGL about keeping it positive. I told the group as a whole that we weren't there to bash in-laws. I prayed that God would lead us to encouraging words and that healing would come, if necessary. And the morning went very well. Thank you, Jesus!!

Saturday morning will be our 2nd annual Blessing Brunch for our Sunday School teachers. It's my simple way of saying "thank you" to a wonderful group of men and women who are faithful every Sunday to teach our young ones. A couple of parents have sent words of encouragements about the teachers that I get to share with them. We don't talk about curriculum or discipline or training... we enjoy a delicious brunch, get to know one another a little better and share the blessings of sharing with children about God's love.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

FINALLY A NEW POST...

I've been so lax about this blog... it's been almost a month... and it's not like nothing has happened... which may be part of the reason... busy, busy!! Upward evaluations & draft, Fall Festival, Rubies Celebration Tea, Jason's birthday, dinner with the Stacks, Children's Ministers retreat, Grand Prix... plus the regular day to day stuff. Also made 2 funeral home visits - one for Carl Petty, a man who fought a valiant battle against cancer and the Lord took him home on October 29. He will always be remembered for his generosity and his love for our babies. Jeff Wells' mother passsed away about the same time. Jeff was our former youth minister.

It seems kind of late to go into any detail about the events since they are all way in the past... except for the Grand Prix... which was great fun as usual. There were some incredibly creative cars. Pictures will be on the church's website in a couple of weeks. My mind always goes to Don Anthony. He loved the Awana Grand Prix... and he loved the kids. He is still missed. :-(

I saw these questions from Kendra today and thought it would be a sort of mindless, fun thing to do while watching Lady Vols basketball.

1. What is your occupation right now? Children's minister

2. What color are your socks right now? navy blue

3. What are you listening to right now? Tennessee Lady Vols vs. Texas Tech basketball game

4. What was the last thing that you ate? Spaghetti, salad

5. What is your favorite cheese? Most any kind - probably prefer monterey jack or provel

6. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Malikas

7. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Kendra didn't really send it to me but I do like her very much.

8. How old are you today? 56

9. What is your favorite sport to watch on TV? College basketball

10.What is your favorite drink? Diet Pepsi or Grape Propel

11. Have you ever dyed your hair? Yep

12. Favorite food? Almost anything Mexican except jalapenos

13. What is the last movie you watched? Where the Wild Things Are (not a big fan)

14. Favorite day of the year? Not sure I have one. Any day with kids and grandkids is a favorite

15. How do you vent anger? depends on where I am - cry, slam a door, talk it out

16. What was your favorite toy as a child? my bike

17. What is your favorite season? Spring

18. Cherries or Blueberries? Bing cherries

19. Do you want your friends to e-mail you back? I always want my friends to email me back.

20. Living arrangements? home in West County with 1 husband and 1 grown kid (at the moment)

23. When was the last time you cried? When Malikas left St. Louis to go back to the Isle of Man

24. What is on the floor of your closet? shoes only; I recently cleaned it out.

25. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending to? not sending this; just putting it here

26. What did you do last night? Enjoyed a relaxing night at home

27. What are you most afraid of? Losing someone I love

28. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburger? Cheese!

29. Favorite dog breed? No favorite but something small

30. Favorite day of the week? Wednesday because of all the kids at Awana and Thursday because it's my day off and I can rest after all the kids at Awana.

31. How many countries have you lived in? 3

32. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds

33. What is your favorite flower? aster-mary, rose

34. What is your favorite color? blue

35. What is your favorite smell? fresh bread baking; baby right out of a bath

36. How long have you been with your partner? 36 years of marriage...

37. What is your middle name? Ann

38. What annoys you the most? People who drive like idiots with no regard for anyone else on the road.

39. Most interesting holiday you've ever had? Christmas during my 7th grade year

40. Favorite ice-cream? chocolate almond

41. Day or night? Night

Well, for anyone who bothers to read this, you now know me a little better.

It sure is nice to still have Sara around... even if she is a little bit crazy!!

Chris had a very successful hunting weekend...
Sammy & Lizzie got a big hug after singing Happy Birthday to their daddy.

Malikas has a new friend... a Manx cat - no tail, extra long legs. His name? Well... she and her husband, Chris, named him Timmy after the guy on NCIS because this cat managed to create a new file on Malikas' computer so she thought he must be a geek. I call him Probie... and so does Malikas.