Sunday, January 22, 2012

Very Late

Made the mistake of turning my laptop on at 11 p.m. and here it is 2:15 a.m. after spending time checking emails, facebook, the Centurion Forum and a couple of favorite blogs.

My Christmas decorations are still up - mainly because I haven't gone to my storage place to get the needed empty containers to put everything in. Tomorrow - I promise tomorrow after church I'll go and get them and start! Really!

This morning I went to a training session for Freedom Readers - a reading/mentoring program in my area for school children and I love it!!! Every week the child gets to pick and take home a book of their own. Once a week for an 1 1/2 hours - how simple can that be? Everyone that has been doing this was so enthusiastic - had so many creative ideas for engaging the children. I love reading to children and getting them "hooked" on a story!

Okay - stopping now - have to be at church at 9:30 a.m. for the first service and then the second service I am a volunteer with the 3-5 yr. olds - everytime my turn rolls around I whine and grumble to myself and then when I acutally get there I love it - and I know the young moms need a break - they do not need to be working in the nursery - they need to be in the "big church" getting fed. I really do believe that things are really skewed wrong - the older women should be helping with the children so the moms are getting fed and strengthened. Climbing down off my soapbox and going to bed. Thanks for listening.

P.S I am sick of all the political phone calls here in SC!!!!!

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Thoughts About the New Year

Today is January 18th and I am really just starting the new year now. All my daughters came for Christmas with their families and dogs and we all had a good time. Then the week after we received word that a dear friend, Arlene Schroer, died. There is no easy way to write that - my daughter Lauren, her husband, Jonathan, the five yr. old and the two yr old twins and the yellow Lab and myself all drove down to Melbourne, Fla. for the funeral and just to be with the family. I know being there helped me more than I am sure we helped the family.

Then this last week another friend, Mark McDandle, died of a heart attack. He was an award winning surfer. He was very special person and this was a real shock to our church and community. Saturday there was a "paddle-out" with about 100 surfers participating. This past weekend was the Your Next Step Retreat with wonderful speakers that encouraged and I would say inspired but really the word "challenge" would be a lot better.

So - my Christmas decorations are still up - I have to go to the storage place and get all the containers to put all the stuff back in. I have been putting the stuff on the dining room table.

I just finished a really good book, Surprised By Oxford by Carolyn Weber. Loved the book.