Wonderful Wednesday, for lack of a better title

Don and I took another walk this morning, but this time we walked around the Dell Diamond stadium.These baseballs and bats have a name.  They are bollards.Our RV park across the parking lot.

For lunch, son-in-law, Khalil, took us to Louie Mueller (pronounced Miller) BBQ in Taylor, Texas about fifteen minutes away.  Not much to look at, huh?Inside Louie Mueller's BBQ.

Fancy it isn't.  But the BBQ was delicious.We all came home with our stomachs full and our clothes smelling of mesquite smoke.  Khalil said, actually, anything would taste good where the smell of mesquite wood smoke is wafting in the air.  Think about it.

Windows in the dining area, facing west, are from floor to ceiling.The second entry in my interesting churches collection.  What makes this one interesting?  The big red Texas pick-up truck in front.

Well, for RV'ers looking for a new RV, what could be better than an RV show coming to you?  Not much.  Too bad we're not in the market for a new RV, but it will be fun to watch them set it up and then, of course we will look around Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  Early this afternoon, the RV's begin to roll in.We walked across the street to the picnic area under the trees along the side of Dell Diamond parking lot. Don is watching the RV's coming and bemoaning the fact that he should have told them he would hire out to pull RV's from the dealership to the parking lot.Here's a new Cardinal with a new design and color for a fifth wheel.I'm going to check out this Class C when the show starts. Leslie and the kids came over when she got off work.  They had fun playing and we had fun watching them.Emma, letting the dry leaves blow out of her hands."Watch me, Papa Doppey!"Can you read this two and half year old body language.  Do you think he knows he's only two and a half?  To him, he's indestructible.  He doesn't have a clue that if he ran out in front of a car, that he would be hurt very badly or worse.  He only knows that he's a big boy and doesn't need to hold anyone's hand when crossing the street and we're having a tough time teaching him these facts.  He's not red-headed for nothing.  And he's a champion at changing the subject when he gets in trouble, making it very hard to keep a straight face. He's ALL boy.

Funny story:  I had to walk Camden and Emma across the street to the Q so they could go to the bathroom.  Parked next to us is a motor-coach and the owner was sitting in his folding chair watching the RV show being organized.  When we came out of the Q, Camden promptly announced to the stranger, "I went potty!!"  The gentlemen just smiled and "tipped his hat" to Camden.  What a cutie.

Who do you think Emma is pretending to be in this picture and what is she doing?  Isn't childhood imagination a wonderful thing?

Leslie and Khalil are having a nightmarish time with the folks who have leased there home in Waco.  Prayers are appreciated.  A fraternity brother/real estate attorney has offered to take their case for free.  As Khalil said, "God is good, all the time."

We are so blessed.

And again I say REJOICE!

It's time to go to Waco to see dear friends.

Before we even got in the truck, my phone rang and it was Dorie Bardell from Casa Grande, AZ.  She has recently had knee replacement surgery.  About a week ago, Dorie called me with a dilemma of where she was going to stay when she got out of the hospital, so I suggested that she call Julie, another friend who attends our church services at Sunscape RV Resort, but doesn't live there; she lives in CG, proper.  Dorie thought that was a great idea, so she called Julie and now Dorie is staying at Julie and Dave's until her knee heals enough for her to go home to Sunscape.  Anyway, back to the phone call. Dorie was in immense pain, to the point of tears, so I prayed with her.  Then she began to tell me what a blessing it has been to be with Julie.  She also told me about the nurse that came yesterday.  The nurse is the wife of the pastor of the Picacho First Baptist Church, the church that the Sunscape church people gave enough money to so all fifteen of their youth group could attend church camp this past summer.  Lisa, that's the nurse's name, told Dorie that her son and her son's best friend both gave their lives to the Lord at camp and made decisions to follow Jesus and His plan for their lives.  Dorie said they were all crying and rejoicing.  Lisa also said that they couldn't wait to come over to Sunscape to share their camp experiences with us and show pictures, too.  What a blessing!!  Also, thank you for continued prayers for Dorie as her knee heals and blessings for Julie and Dave for caring for her.

While we were rejoicing, Dennis Maloney, general director of CRM, called.  He was giddy about a report of a CRM tag someone had placed on KOMA, a Norman, OK radio station, during the last OU football game.  He said the spot spoke of CRM and the free medical clinics that CRM has helped to get started.  Now, the mystery is... who this put on the radio???  Dennis figured Don had it done, but he didn't.  When we figure it out, I'll let you know. 

Dennis said there was also a report of a non-believer who went to the free clinic in Branson, Missouri and said, "That was the best service and the best I have ever been treated, anywhere."  And the best part is that we know he heard the gospel while he was there and he still had wonderful things to say about the clinic!!  Praise the Lord!

This sure has been a day that has been easy to rejoice in!

Now for a few pictures of our day, random, the way I do them best.

Don't you just love old houses like this.  This one has been converted to the Magnolia Inn in Cameron, Texas.

Right out of a story book:

The sun did shine today and the blue sky was brilliant.

Wink and Dovie, the sweet couple we visited today.  We met them at Cracker Barrel in Waco and then drove out to their house to visit for awhile.  They told us about the wonderful time they had on an Alaska cruise about a month ago, with their two daughters.Wink loved telling us about their cruise. (He worked for Don at the 7-Up bottling and distribution center in Waco for over ten years.  Oh, the stories they could tell... on each other.)

On our way back to the Q, we drove by Lake Belton.I don't remember ever seeing a wild flower like this in Texas.  Don and I named it the "Lone Texas Star."The "Lone Texas Stars" grow on a single stem about 8"-12" tall.Lake Belton through a dead tree.Evidence of recent rains in this area.

I think this is my favorite photo capture for today. Hawk in flight.And this picture is for grandson, Logan.Our trip home also took us through Killeen and Fort Hood, Texas.Stephanie, this is Jasper Street in Killeen where your mom and dad lived when you were born.  By the way, Killeen looks nothing like it did in 1972.

The San Gabriel River.

I wonder how Harold's doing these days? (The sign hanging from the porch roof says "Harold's").  I think this structure needs to be in the Old Settlers' Village where we're parked.I have a new target for my lens.... interesting church buildings.  This one is in Georgetown, Texas and you can see the top of the bell tower from miles away.Lampasses River.  Love seeing this much water in the Texas rivers.        

We got back to the Q in time for Don to put a new splitter switch on the TV so we can watch local channels when we want to.  Tonight.... the Biggest Loser starts with Abby Day Rike being a "star."  The end of the first show and her team of two is in first place!!!  Abby went to school with my girls from elementary all the way through high school.  What happened to her two years ago is something out of a horror movie.  She is truly an inspiration.  

>>Whatever it is, it's rare and it's inspirational.<<

We are so blessed.

Party Time

It has been raining all day!  Yeah!

However, Emma's birthday party was today and it was to be a swim party at Dell Diamond, but it was moved inside because of the rain.  So... Leslie had to improvise with games and she did a great job.  Here, the kids are making paper flowers.

Emma's cake was inline with the swim party theme. After several games and birthday cake, Emma opened gifts. While Khalil took the guys on a tour of the stadium, the moms helped Leslie clean up.

It was a great birthday party!

Grandparents' Day and Hippos

Today is Grandparents' Day at Emma's school.  She invited us two days ago and was very excited to see us when we arrived.  She's the one with her arms stretched out toward us.

As her class goes, single file, to the lunch room, you can pick her out.  She's the tiny one in the brown blouse, in front of the girl in the pink.

 

We were happy to see this poster hanging on the wall in Emma's school.

And here is where a school official told me that, due to privacy issues, I couldn't take pictures inside the school.  What?  Ok, so I put my camera away and we went into the lunchroom to have lunch with our Emma, where, to my surprise parents and grandparents everywhere were taking pictures of their sweet little ones.  I complied and left my camera in my purse, but I am having a hard time dealing with the fact that we did not get our picture made with Emma on Grandparents' Day.  I know, LaVon, get over it.

Tonight, we went over to Hutto, Texas for dinner at The Texan Cafe.

Can you tell that Emma had blueberry pie for dessert?

This is the store window for All Things Hippo, the mascot of the Hutto schools.  Go thundering Hutto Hippos!  Funny, isn't it?  Don't you wonder where they got this hippo skull?

This hippo is decorated with dragonflies and admired by Camden.

The kids loved all the hippos on display on Main Street.  This one is life-sized. Poor guy is missing an ear, no doubt lost when a child was trying to "ride" him.

And yet another hippo, more their size.

Friday was a good day, other than Camden falling our of his chair at the Texan Cafe and getting a bump on the back of his head.  But he's tough.

We are so blessed.

Texas ....

Well, it is Wednesday already.  We are having a relaxing time in Texas... Round Rock, to be exact.  We arrived last Thursday afternoon.  The next four days, we attended the final games of the Round Rock Express, which the Expess won the the last three of the four games.  Sunday evening's game went 15 innings and concluded with a fireworks extravaganza.

Friday night, we met Blakely, who is the girlfriend of one of the players.  Blakely has a website:  Cooking for Bimbos (she's blonde).  Check it out, it's really cute.  We sat behind Blakely each night at the game.  She's really cute, too.

Sunday, we went to church with Leslie and the kids and really enjoyed the worship and sermon.  Poor Khalil had to work as he is the Director of Stadium Operations at Dell Diamond and had lots to do in preparation for Fan Appreciation Day at the game that night.  He loves his job, but is very happy for a break.

We were over to their apartment last night for hamburgers and visiting.  Today, we picked Leslie up at work and had lunch at the Main Street Grille.  I had a very savory (best I've ever had) broccoli cheese soup and a salad; Leslie had a yummy tomato basil soup and salad; Don had the prime rib dip sanwich with horseradish sauce and cajun fries.  I left my purse there and did not realize it until we started home and I saw a store in old downtown with a nice sign that said, "QUINN" and I was going to take a picture of the sign for Snookie and .... where's my purse????  Fortunately, Main Street Grille is in old downtown, so Don made the block and I retrieved my purse... camera saved.  Thank you, Lord.

At 6:00 AM, Don went to a Men's Bible Study over at the Dell Diamond in one of the conference areas.  He said there was 75 men who showed up!  That's wonderful.  Leslie and Khalil's pastor is leading the study for anyone in the community who wants to attend.

I have purchased more picture storage for the blog and hopefully will be able to post pictures soon.

We are also looking forward to seeing Mel and Vi (Quail Run friends) on our way to AZ later on this month.  We haven't seen them since we left Quail Run two years ago and we are very excited to meet up with them again.

Sunday is Here!

I am still trying to figure out what we will do for a blog.  Leslie suggested we pay monthly for a blog with unlimited picture capacity.  We'll see.

We are enjoying our time in Texas with Leslie and family.  Excited about going to church with them this morning.  They LOVE their church here.

Here's one of the devotionals I read this morning and I love it.  I pray you are encouraged by it, as well.


September 6, 2009



Prelude Of Praise


READ: Psalm 150

I will sing praise to Your name forever, that I may daily perform my vows. —Psalm 61:8

We enter a concert hall, find our seats, and listen with anticipation as the members of the orchestra tune their instruments. The sound is discordant, not melodic. But the tuning is simply a prelude to the symphony.C. S. Lewis suggested that’s how it is with our devotional practices and even our worship services. Sometimes they sound discordant, but God hears our prayers and praises with fatherly delight. We are really preparing for participation in the glorious symphony of heaven. Now we are making a minuscule contribution to the harmonies of angelic and redeemed hosts. But our adoration, though feeble, pleases the heart of the Divine Listener more than the finest rendition of earth’s greatest orchestra.


Are we eagerly awaiting our participation in heaven’s symphony of praise? Are we joyfully participating in the adoration that delights the heart of God? Or do we regard devotion as more of a discipline than a delight?

Our attitudes will be transformed when w e realize that praise delights God’s heart. Praise helps us to tune our lives to heavenly harmonies.


Praise is an indispensable preparation for the worship that will be our eternal joy. “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord” (Ps. 150:6). —Vernon Grounds


Joyfully, heartily resounding,


Let every instrument and voice


Peal out the praise of grace abounding,


Calling the whole world to rejoice. —Routley


The heart filled with praise brings pleasure to God.