Isle sur la Sorgue....

I was cleaning off the kitchen table (wonder how long that will last) and ran across a post card I received from a lovely couple who were vacationing in France. At first I was shocked to see a post card from France since I knew my poor sister Ruth had not been able to go on her long awaited trip due to the flu. I was so pleasantly surprised to see who it was from.When I look at this picture it reminds me of their lovely wedding in Winston-Salem. What a coincidence it was dated 9/17/09 - the date my sister was supposed to fly to France! I met this beautiful young woman back in 1983 when I went to work for her Mom. She was the oldest of three children and I've always loved keeping up with what she is doing. This is a family that loves to travel and it has always made me happy to hear about their many adventures!

Weddings and good friends......

What a really nice weekend! Was so hoping the weather would hold warm and sunny for this weekend but it is not to be. Got to wear my new black sweater for cold weather a lot sooner than I anticipated! The trip up was good even though I was hoping to get away a little earlier. Then I got there and decided to pop into the great Goodwill close to Little D's house! Got a few things and got to their house after dark in the rain safely - praying all the way! Wasn't too bad as the after work traffic had thinned out. Keith got there a little later and we could all breath a nice sigh that we all made it safely. Leah made a pot of Stew and it was yummy. So much fun catching up with everyone. The next morning was fun with Little D fixing me a yummy omelet(ignore the woman with the knife - he has that affect on some people). Keith wrote to his BS and Fran got a foot massage from her lovely daughterand of course the kids did what they do best these days - they competed on their little video thingamajigs. Can you tell how hi-tech I am?Everyone got ready for the wedding and got there right at 4pm - still cold and little rainy and we were following the GPS. Roseanne was waiting in the lobby to tell us they were holding the wedding up for us!!!! Then we were seated on the front way (behind the bridesmaids) with Roseanne and her family. What a honor! Everyone was beautiful but I'll have to say Roseanne's shoes outdid everybody's there! She was as beautiful as the bride who was radiant.I know her eyes are closed in this one but I just love this picture for some reason. The wedding talk was one of the best I have ever heard and believe me - I have heard a lot of wedding talks. Maybe it was because it was because of who was getting married. That could have something to do with it. The reception was in a local hotel and the grooms family decorated everything beautifully. It was so funny because we all headed for the hot coffee as soon as we arrived. Wish I had room for all the pictures - will put up a few of my favorites including this one of Little D with Roseanne's oldest son who is recovering from his accident a little bit each day.Of course his beautiful bride makes every room light up with her lovely smile. When I think of Roseanne's daughter-in-laws - I can't imagine she could have gotten better ones if she had hand picked them herself. Of course I feel the same way about my beautiful daughter-in-law Leah.She was also beautiful and I love this picture of Little D and Katy but hate it cut Page's head off. The music was good for dancing and everyone seemed to have a wonderful time. I hope the bride and groom have good memories of their special day forever. We had a nice turnout from the friends in Durham who were all happy to celebrate this special occasion also. I was surprised I could get in line to have my picture made with dear Keithsince he is such a hot commodity these days. He has always been sought after by so many friends but now that he has enjoyed the privilege of attending MTS - all the women really want to have their pictures taken with him (he's going to kill me for that). It was so nice that Roseanne's brother came from California - it made me very happy for her.I told him how happy I was he was able to change things around and be able to come. He really wanted to be with her for this and to show his support to her for all she and her family have been going through but now the sun is shining again and everything is feeling more right with the world. I wish I could put all the pictures here but I'm sure if anyone is reading this, they have already cut the computer off by now! The ride home on Sunday was really nice - warm sun, cool air - my time of year! Came the back way all the way and it was beautiful. One day I'm going to travel the way Keith went but it has to be a very pretty day for that.

Busy, busy, busy.....

It has been a busy, non-stop kind of week so far! Three great days in service - even today which was a dark rainy day! Gail came over Monday after service and fixed my dress I'm wearing to the wedding.She also took 3 blouses home to alter - hope they fit better when she is finished. I've come to the conclusion she can fix anyting. I got to work this afternoon with a good old friend. Eileen came to the KH at 2:30pm and we had her study in the car. It was a great study. Got a busy day tomorrow - will be leaving for VA on Friday and wedding on Saturday. Really looking forward to spending some time with family staying downstairs this weekend. Never get to see them and always enjoy being with them so much. So happy to be feeling better!!!

Bridal Luncheon and Good-byes.....

Drove up to Virginia Friday afternoon, unloaded the car including Miya, arranged all the flowers I brought from home and got back in the car with Leah for grocery shopping. We finished at a new WalMart that was HUGE! Little D had fixed me a wonderful omelet when we got back home - yum! The luncheon for Lauren (here with little Rose)went well on Saturday -everyone seemed to like what we had and it was nice just being together. Big D stayed to eat with the "girls" and then took Page 2 with him to visit Leah's brother. After everyone left, we settled in and relaxed. It was nice to see so many of the friends on Sunday. Little D and I drove separately to get there on time and Page2 commented at the WT study twice! After eating lunch, I packed the car, said good-bye to everyone including Miya and headed home. It was a really nice drive - bright sunshine, trees changing colors, cool breeze, radio cranked up and taking my time. Got home, unloaded the car, changed clothes, upped my make-up a little and headed back out to a going away party for a couplewho are moving to Panama to serve where the need is great! They are both wonderful individuals and as a couple - even better. I know they will live a great adventure.It was so nice to be with so many old friends. Even though I was exhausted from the weekend and the long drive home, once they cranked up the music - I had to dance! It was so much fun and brought back memories of dancing for hours with the friends. How can people not move when the music plays?The dancing started with a new "group" or "line" dance I had never done before but got the hang of pretty good. Of course that was followed by the famous Electric Slide which still works for me. I got to dance my old way with a handful of people who know how. Of course I had to get a picture of just a few of my favorite people who were there also.I am looking forward to dancing at the wedding next week now that I know I've still "got it"! Of course I'm not sure if anyone watching me thinks I've "got it" but hey - let me have my delusions. I wish I could put all the pictures up here - so many good ones of loved ones but no more room. I know J and J will love Panama and will have many wonderful experiences to share with us.

Full and Satisfied......

That was the only thing I could think of to say about how I feel about the last 3 days! Pioneer Meeting on Friday and Circuit Assembly Saturday and Sunday. Little D, Leah and Page2 were here when I got home Friday night. We were all happy to see each other and spent awhile getting caught up, got Page2 bathed and in bed, went through the LPN's I was giving Little D to go with the nice system I gave him. Hated to see it all go but I'm getting serious about de-cluttering and the reality is that he will get more use out of it than me. :-( Leah and I got up early (after about 4 hours sleep) and got everything ready for me to get us to the Circuit Assembly. During lunch we got to see one of our new arrivals - little Charli!She is starting to look more like her Mom which is nice since her little boy looks exactly like his Daddy! He even got his Dad's height! Page2 was with us on Saturday and everyone was so excited to see her. She was excited to see her friend too.We sat with the beautiful Katarina, Brand and their two beautiful children and all were very well behaved I might add. It was so nice to see so many old friends and to have Eileen ride with me and Roseanne both days. Keith gave a talk on Saturday and I was bowled over!He did such a good job and I was holding my breath for him for no reason because he nailed it! His gestures, inflection, everything was wonderful. I was so proud I thought I would burst and have to admit I cried a tiny bit! We stopped in High Point on Saturday to see Pat and Kris and they both seem to be doing well which made all of us happy. Pat still has a ways to go with therapy but is definitely making good progress and seems to feel pretty good which made me happy.I LOVE this picture of him and Page - two of my favorite people! Of course once he told Page about their little corn snake, she had to see it. I almost had to drag her away. She was so excited because she watched him feed a baby mouse to the tiny little snake! Boy is she her Mom and Dad's daughter or what? The best part about leaving High Point is we didn't have to drive past Krispy Kreme on the way! I tried not to look at it when we came in and Roseanne said, it's okay, the HOT sign isn't on! Whew - narrow escape!

Pioneer Meeting....

I prepared a small lunch to go, picked up the other three sisters who were riding with me and off we went to Salisbury with a clear blue sky, puffy white clouds and a nice cool breeze. What a wonderful afternoon! The first excitement came when I discovered my spiritual Mom was present and we got to sit with each other!She has been in full time service since 1964. I met her when she started studying with my older sister around that time and then she studied with me starting in August of 1966 - 8 months after my marriage. I was excited to hear her youngest son and his wife started regular pioneering this month! So many dear friends to see in such a short period of time. Gail and this lovely long-time pioneer who serves in my sister's congregation show with their smiles how happy they are to meet again under these circumstances!The program was filled with fantastic experiences being shared by many. One of our pioneer elders and a pioneer sister from our congregation had a parts so the East was well represented. They both did us proud! Keith was excited because he found an old friend of Cat's!They were both happy to see each other still going strong in the full-time service after all these years! It made me and Keith feel so warm seeing how happy they both were. And of course how could we leave out this dear brother who has been so instrumental in the roll of spiritual mentor to Roseanne's oldest son! He and his wife are both beautiful! He could encourage a rock to go into full-time service!We decided as a group to stop and eat together on the way home - we wanted to keep the excitement going a little while longer. Gail and Keith couldn't join us as they are staying over for the Circuit Assembly tomorrow and have to be there really early! We also had the pleasure of Lin being with us.She pioneered in the East for a long time but she and her dear hubby are seving in the Spanish congregation now. It was such a delight to be with her to catch up a little! It was good to see her recovering so well after her auto accident. I keep trying to figure out how she keeps looking younger and I keep looking older!!! What's up with that? Her dear hubby keeps my Old Ava (my Avalon) running. He knows I plan to drive her into the new system!

Sugar, Blood Pressure and Kidney Stones.......

When I received my report on the blood panel the doctor ordered from last week, I became a little bit concerned. He wants me to come back for a fasting test to rule out diabetes and already had me coming in today to re-check my blood pressure.When I got the results, it truly was a wake-up call. I've been so self-destructive lately - especially with my over-eating and this is what it took to make me say enough. I went by a friends before I went to have my BP checked and had my blood sugar checked. Sugar was 107 which isn't bad but they like it to be under 100 for fasting. Then I had my BPchecked which was still a little high (the lower number was higher than it's ever been - in both arms). The positive news is I had lost 3 pounds since last Tuesday. Hello? Wow - that was amazing. I may have hit on something here. I also scheduled the fasting test for next Thursday - this week was impossible - and will have my BP and weight checked then again. Hope the numbers are much better. Page called to say she has kidney stones!!!She had to be taken to the ER and they loaded her up with drugs and sent her home with a strainer! My first inclination - as a Mama - was to fly down right away but she insisted not. From everything I know of them, the pain is horrific when passing them.I know her two BFF and Bentley will be there if anything happens but I'm still worried. This is when I feel helpless. Here I have the annual pioneer meeting tomorrow in Salisbury and then the 2 day Circuit Assembly in Salisbury Saturday and Sunday. I'm just going to wait and see what happens. Got to get ready for pioneer meeting tomorrow - first time we have had it in Salisbury! So much encouragement.