We love Spring Break too

We love Spring Break as much as kids do too! We love to have the grandchildren come and visit.Sydney, Harrison, and Alex came for a few days and we had bunches of fun.
These kids love their dress up shows. I noticed that Harrison's dress up top looked a little too familiar. He had grabbed that one hanging from my "regular" clothes because he thought "it looked like a cowboy top". So much for that top appealing to my regular wardrobe now :)
I love these little clowns :)
Sydney, Harrison, and Alex had a great time going with us to visit our friends, The Conways.
Their back yard has been constructed solely to entertain their grandkids and they graciously invited us to bring ours over one morning.


They have real chickens and a rooster too.
In fact, one chicken layed an egg while we were there!
Harrison was elated that he got to keep the egg. I think us girls knew all along, it would never make it all the way home...and it did not :(
He got over it real quick because there was just so many things there to distract him that Mr. Conway has spent years making.

The fish pond (lots of coy fish) with a waterfall flowing above it was Alex's favorite.
Sydney loved the Olympic rings made out of wagon wheel rims.
Harrison had fun swinging from this tire animal swing made from a ski rope.
Let's just say they all had a "ball" on this morning of their spring break.

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Of course, we made an additonal visit/walk that afternoon to see Tess and "Lady". Come to find out on this horse visit, after meeting their owner who is a student at UAB, that "Lady" is really named "Cherokee".

It was the first time for the kids to see Tess outside the fence railing and to meet her owner and see her ride Tess around the neighborhood as we walked back home.
Have I ever told you how much I love Spring Break?!

Potluckers

My Potluck group met together this last weekend in Montgomery where we all have been brought up and went to school and church together. It has been a long time since we actually met in our childhood home town because we mostly have been traveling once a year to meet on vacations at the lake or at the beach.
We all enjoyed eatting at Montgomery's Jubilee seafood restaurant. Nancy joined us later at the table coming from her annual rodeo visit.

Her parents were "the rodeo" during our day and it is in her blood to make an appearance there. Each one of us can tell a story about our fun times at the rodeo with the Wilson family. Sure hope some of our other fun stories told at the table this night were not too loud for others eatting there! As usual Sarah had us in stitches with her tales
Ree's mother had sent over a huge box of fresh camillias from her yard.


Martha put them all over her parents' house and we all felt so special with the southern touches added to our weekend gathering. Every bedroom and bathroom also had a "touch" of our roots to remind us of the many things we love about our lifelong friends.
Sunday morning everyone except Miriam went to First United Methodist Church together where we all grew up. The old familiar faces who are still members there made us feel so welcomed. Sitting in the pew worshipping together in our midage stage was quite a memory we will cherish.
The highlight of the weekend was going to lunch with Dr. & Mrs. Paul Duffey, who was our pastor during our youth and performed each one of our weddings in the 70's. He has watched us grow up and having this meal with them was the weekend's icing on the cake!

a rare moment

I took this picture one day this week as I was driving by. Rarely have I seen one of these horses lying down. I thought it might mean that Lady was sick but hopefully she was just having a rare moment to lay down. Lot of ladies have those moments. I might have one of them myself today.

Lolli loves little people

and this little guylives where I will soon be going and looks like he belongs in part of my heart (and certainly in my family of lollipop lovers). Actually he does own part of my heart. I am already in love with the children in Nicaragua.
Over the last 2 months, my time has been given largely towards the planning and organizing of a VBS for 400 children in Nicaragua. The trip will take place in April and the Bible School theme we will present is Proverbs 6:6
Why, you might say, did we pick this particular Bible verse? We were given the challenge of focusing on helping these 400 children to become future leaders in their community with godly character traits. We also were told that our team would be just one link in the chain of many many Bible Schools that have come to them these last few years. The fruits of the spirit, honesty, etc. and all the common VBS themes have already been presented to these kids.
With the help of my friend Madge,
and her endless search of free websites that were already translated in spanish, (her father used to quote this verse to her as a child too) and a few little ants hanging out in my kitchen, the birth of this verse came to life for our VBS plans!
Who knew a pair of pants and a hula hoop and little bitty ants could be a part of a Vacation Bible School?!
Stay tuned in and visit our team blog ( http://aumcmissiontrip2010.blogspot.com/) to follow this fun and crazy ant theme of ours.

Sharing a little "happy" with you today

Today I received a little, well, really and truly a big, "happy" in my email

I just had to share with you :)

I am the church, you are the church, we are the church together

Remember back at Christmas time when I posted a picture of this sweet lady:

Over the last 2 months, our friendship has bonded and there is nothing sweeter than a friendship that comes out of nowhere to remind you of God's love through the most unlikey circumstance in your life. I call them surprises and I love that part of life!
Mrs. Mary and I are sharing our loves in life as we get to know each other and I found out that she loves to sing old hymns. Since she is unable to get out to church, I have prayed for ways to bring the church to her.
Today my precious friend, Martha, and I joined Mrs Mary for an old fashioned hymn sing together. Martha played an old out of tune organ that someone gave Mrs Mary years ago and the 3 of us sang our hearts out. I can't carry a tune in a bucket but as the song goes, I am the church, you are the church, we are the church together. I love church on Friday mornings like today.

Senior Night on the Plains

For 6 years Jack and I have devoted our winter seasons to the Auburn Basketball Men's home games. It's a part of who we are and it started way back when Lee was playing ball. Winter is just basketball to us so when Lee moved up to his college days and quit playing for a team and we moved to Auburn, it was the one thing we knew we wanted to do while living in a college town. We have enjoyed being with friends at the games and consider it a luxury to live here and be a part of the AU community.
Last night was Senior Night and the very last game to be played in Beard Eaves Memorial Coliseum. Both have significant meanings to me 1)as I vividly remember being one of those mothers walking her son out to center court on Senior night in 1999. A proud and sentimental moment for a parent when they realize this is it, a real turning point in all our lives. 2)and I vividly remember running my daily miles getting some "college weight gain" off around that coliseum in the 1970's and attending many events here as a college student.

It will be good to have a new facility in a lot of ways but the old one holds so many memories for all of us that attended Auburn. We can never go back to those things that were but we can always hold them as special parts of our lives.

The place was packed last night and the students were having so much fun.

War Eagle fellow fans and thanks Auburn players for a fantastic final win in the Beard Eves Memorial Coliseum!