Awards Day at NSA

Since this is the triplets first year in high school and their first non home school year, they have not been given  awards like this before. 

Each one is very different from the others in most things. Two of the things they do share is their faith and their quick wit. Those are the things I celebrate and for which I would like to issue them awards.

As I wrote on the layout itself, we are so proud of all three of them. They are triplets, but each one is different. They all have different areas of study. Ashley is in Visual Arts, Mason in Music and Aussie in Literary Arts. Like all of us each one has his/her own strengths. On this Awards Day, all three received recognition in different subjects. 

This reminds me of what Rick Warren said in his Daily Hope on Tuesday, this week.

He started with this verse from the Old Testament:

“Before I shaped you in the womb, I knew all about you. Before you saw the light of day, I had holy plans for you” (Jeremiah 1:5a The Message).

If you want to live a life of purpose and meaning, maximize the strengths God has given you. Find ways to do more of what you do well and less of what you don’t. 

One reason for this is because God created you to be unique, and he wired you for a unique purpose. The Bible says, “Before I shaped you in the womb, I knew all about you. Before you saw the light of day, I had holy plans for you”(Jeremiah 1:5a The Message).

No matter what, you can rest in the truth that God has holy plans for you. He shaped you in advance for those plans. God’s plans for your life didn’t start the moment you were born. Those plans started before your birth, when the Bible says he shaped you in your mother’s womb.

But here’s the best part. The way God shaped you reveals how he wants to use you. In other words, if you want to know what you’re supposed to do with your life, you’ve got to look intently and deeply at how God wired you.

Your SHAPE — the spiritual gifts, heart, abilities, personality, and experiences God gave you — reveals your purpose. Set aside some time to discover your purpose, based on how God shaped you.

New Hairdo

Ava got a new hairdo to  go with her pretty dress. A lovely little dress calls for a girly layout. The kit I used here was just perfect. It is Scrapgirl's Spring Whimsey by Cindy Rohrbough. She does well with the truly feminine accents and papers.

Not so cute is her great grandmother, that would be me. I also got a new hairdo. 

My friend, Sali, hearing that I really want my hair to grow longer, but didn't like the bushiness in it right then, told me I should let her cut it in layers. Well, as you can see, I did it. It is not as full, thankfully; but it can be more unruly with waves doing their own things. 

It has been a long day for this older lady.  About 10 AM I started a little trip down to Bellville, OH to meet 7 other  girls from my high school class.  We seemed to get quite a bit of attention at Der 

Dutchman, with one older lady telling us it was so good to see us all together enjoying ourselves. Another lady came to our table and offered to take  a picture. She ended up taking pictures with four different phones...I take that back. One of us gave her a c a m e r a. Yes, an antique. The lady was a little less familiar with that and had to be told where to look to see what was in the picture.

It was a delightful drive, I generally don't need  to go over 10 miles at a time any more, but  I do enjoy driving. It was quite fun, until a little warning light came up on my dash...I was almost out of gas. I had no idea how much I had left and thought I might run out any minute. I panicked and called Ron, since I had turned off the expressway to find a gas station and was out in the middle of NOWHERE! He  asked me how many more miles I could go. I didn't know. Well, it seems that all these years I was unaware that on my dashboard panel, one of those numbers tells me just how many more miles I can go before getting gas. At the time, it said 10 miles. So I got back on the exway and headed home. I was able to get off at my regular exit and get gas. It said I still had 2 gallons. I'm telling you, it was great getting that tank filled. Next time, if it ever happens again...I will not panic. I'll know what to do. And I will remember to ask Seri to find the nearest gas station and thank you for guiding me home. Love that technology!

Feel the Vibe

Since many of you may be viewing on small screens, I'm copying the text from the layout itself:

Greg and Aussie were walking around down- town, Nashville. Aussie loves the ‘big’ city and would love to live right in the middle of all the action. He feels the energy and the vibe! They are standing on the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge with the Life and Casualty tower in the background. Naturally (?) he has his Rubik’s cube along. I guess that is in case he runs across a competition.

I  told Aussie that if he really wants a penthouse there, or anywhere any time soon, perhaps we 

should start a Go Fund ME page. Of course with his ability to make things happen, maybe I should 

just stand back and watch. Meanwhile I’m reading the Wall Street Journal. I have some things I’d 

like as well.

                                                              May 22, 2017

While I am the grandmother and completely joking, I think he is quite serious. We'll just wait and see.

In the mean time, I'm praying that our country comes to its senses and pulls together to make America great again. I really don't think that is possible without God, so I'm praying for his protection as well.

Surgery

We are very proud of Caleb. He has been strong and very brave through this.  The top layout shows him waiting to go into surgery. The second one has him after the operation a couple of hours later. lt didn't take long before he awoke with no memory of what had happened. After one night in the hospital, he was ready to go home. The recovery is the hardest part, but he continues to keep a good attitude and is doing well. Caleb has a way to go before he can get back to his sports, but he is well on his way.  Thank you, God.

Cows and Pigs

Yesterday was filled with fun. Amish Country remains one of my favorite places. Such a wonderful place to have nearby. Even though it is off our beaten track, it is just a short distance to enjoy seeing the Amish way of life and all of the shops and eating places they've made so famous, attracting many visitors each year.

We had two places in mind where we would like to eat lunch...we would choose on the way. However, we were in for a BIG surprise. They were both closed. It was Ascension Day, something we were not aware the Amish held sacred. 

Since our little trip was delayed yesterday morning, we were all quite hungry. We, at least I, felt a little panic. Would we need to go back home, at least to Canton to eat? Would we die on the way? (I like to exaggerate occasionally.) Well, it seems that enough places are owned and operated by none Amish or those who were willing to work on the holiday.

We found a place to which we would like to return some day. It was a little bakery/ restaurant, small, but quite good. And the waitresses were very sweet and seemed to enjoy the fact that we were having a lot of fun. They laughed with us and made the four of us feel welcome.

Of course we browsed through some shops. One was so large, it just kept going on and on. We 'girls' could shop until we drop, as we used to say in the old days, before internet shopping.  For the most part, we didn't leave too very much money down there today. I, myself,  came home with only a few small items. But it was a relaxing day. We look forward to doing it again...We'll try not choose a holy day next time.

Oh, and this is an inside joke with no meaning except to us. I must write it, because it gave us so many chuckles.  Cows and pigs differ.

A Good Day

It's been a long day, but a really good one. The major reason for that is, our cool 7 year old grandson, Caleb, had surgery and it went really well. I had been a little anxious about it for a while, even though I trust that with Christ as our savior, we win in the end.  Even with that promise, we know that not every detail will go as we want it to go.  

To keep myself calm during his operation, I chose to run errands instead of wringing my hands and praying loudly for everyone involved. 

The big chore for the day was a visit to Sam's Club, where the clerk announced as I checked out that due to a special program, I had saved over $9.00. But in my realistic mode, I reminded him that I had to spend over $170 to save $9. It doesn't sound like big savings to me. If that were all I'd save by shopping Sam's,  I would have to shop closer to home.

Before dinner, our little Maggie went along with us to check out some damage to a ladies house. She is a widow who had asked for help from a men's group to which my husband belongs. That bunch of men, as the Bible instructs, helps the widows of our area. It is a good work and I'm happy he is still able to do his part.

After that, we had lunch at one of Ron's favorites, Boston Market.  

I had started to write more, but realized it was getting more boring by the minute and you all have more important things to do. You have been saved  by that thought.

Praying Caleb and his family will have a comfortable and safe night. And I pray that for you as well.

And Gail, as my editor, you may find some big errors  tonight, because I am already falling asleep as I type.

Water Lilies

Now that I have taken time to look at this layout, I wish I had added some more interest to it. But this is the way it appeared in my last book, so it is too late to change it now.  Well maybe not TOO late, but it is too late tonight if I want to put this on the blog before I fall asleep.

Ava was at her maternal grandmother's house, playing in her little pond with the water lilies.

Though I am in no hurry for this little darling to grow up. I'm hoping she will grow well through the different stages to life. I'm praying that, unlike many children these days, she will have a healthy attitude about work and play. I'd like to see her have a good attitude about her self and grow to love others as she loves herself. I'd like to see her have wings, so that some day at the appropriate time, she will be able to fly off by herself and be a responsible being. I pray she will respect authority.

The Bible tells us in I Corinthians 13:11, "When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me."

Let's pray for our children  daily that they grow into adults who will be able to take care of themselves.