Tracy's Thoughts

Wedding Blessings

2010-04-19T13:53:00.005-04:00

This past Saturday I attended the wedding of a good friend, actually two good friends (Lisa Mufford and Jim Logul. In attending the wedding, I was a witness to the covenant made between a man and a woman before God.
As a witness, it is my responsibility to help Lisa & Jim keep the covenant they made to one another to keep their marriage as long as they both shall live. Too many times people who attend a wedding forget their responsibility. They figure if the couple runs into problems it is not their responsibility to help. How wrong that thinking is! We are to hold the couple accountable to their vows. Marriage is not a contract that can be broken. We are to come along side and pray for them, encourage them and even sometimes confront them. I believe if witnesses took their responsibility a bit more seriously then their would be less divorce and stronger marriages.
Well, the wedding ceremony was beautiful and I was glad I was able to attend. The reception was a simple affair. I was glad Scott & I had the opportunity to spend a little time with friends. After all was said and done it was a bit taxing on my leg. I was tired by the time Scott brought me home a couple hours later.
Yesterday I was able to witness my youngest brother, Daniel, get water baptized. What an amazing experience. He was one of 16 people who publicly proclaimed Jesus truly is Lord of their lives. The evening was full of much joy and tears. Tears of JOY!!!!!!!! Praise the Lord!
Until next time!
Blessings to you!~~~~

It's been awhile

2010-04-14T13:38:00.002-04:00

Yes, I know it has been a while since I have blogged. Life gets busy and I don't take the time to sit down and write. Well, now I have come to a bit of a stand still. My body decided I was not taking enough down time and put me down. Last week Monday I ended up in the hospital with cellulitus in my lower right leg. What started out as a fever in the early hours of the morning, ended up with me making an extended stay at Millard Fillmore Suburban hospital for a week.
I am home now on more extended leave until my doctor says it will be okay to resume working. So for now I am sitting in a recliner with my leg up and trying not to fall asleep. The leg is healing Praise the Lord! It just needs to not swell up when I am down on it for more than 2o minutes.
Life has been good! Scott & I have been dating/courting for 7 months this Saturday. We are very similar in our likes and dislikes. He encourages me just as much as I encourage him. I love spending time with him. I have met many of his friends and so far they like me. His family loves me just as much as my family loves him. I believe we compliment one another. :)
Right now he is excited that the Buffalo Sabres are in the playoffs. Tomorrow is the first game and you can be sure to find him in front of the TV watching the game. He loves anything to do with hockey. He especially likes cheering on the local players. He becomes very animated. I am glad I enjoy watching hockey. We watched a girl's game a couple weeks back and had the best time.
Well, right now I am a bit tired. I will sign off for now. I will try to write more often but I am not promising anything.
Until next time!
Blessings to you!~~~

Rain & Fire

2009-09-29T18:26:00.004-04:00

It once again has been a while since I have blogged anything. Life has been a bit busy but it has been good.
This past weekend I held my annual bonfire at my parent's home. I was hoping for a rain free Saturday night but the rain came along with 80 of my friends and family. Yes, you read that right, 80 people came out to the house on Saturday. I was thankful for the six tents I either owned or borrowed plus the fact that I live in a big house.
The evening(aside from the rain) consisted of lots of good food, two bonfires, laughter among friends, me having to change 2 times because I got soaked, dominoes, and just good fellowship. I was also able to meet the family of my boyfriend, Scott. What an evening! Everyone had a great time at least that is what I continue to hear.
Today I went to the dentist to get my wisdom tooth pulled. He loaded me up with Novocaine and pulled as best as he could to no avail. My tooth decided it did not want to come out. So now in November I will be going to an oral surgeon. Yeah Rah! At this point the novocaine is wearing off & I have taken ibeprophen to ease the pain in my jaw.
That is all for now! God is Good and He is still in control!
Blessings~~

Pool Party

2009-08-17T17:03:00.005-04:00

Last Sunday a good friend of mine hosted a pool party at her house. Between the hours of 12pm to 2pm it looked like we were not going to be able to go swimming. We had torrential downpours. Thankfully around 2:30 the rain stopped and the sun came out. God provided a perfect afternoon for friends to be in a pool.
Kim had about 20 people over to her house. Everyone got in the pool. Some of us were doing summer saults, hand stands, diving, water bombs, or just plain relaxing on a raft. The water cooled everyone off, especially because it ended up being a hot afternoon.
Another part of the afternoon included Mark Weber & some to the women giving us a singing performance. All who participated have wonderful voices, so it was nice to listen. There were some funny moments when I was trying to take candid photos but Mark would not be candid. He kept making sure he was in the photo. Oh, well! I tried to get candid shots!
Kim provided dinner for everyone with others bringing snacks or desserts to share. What a blessing it was to have good fellowship and food. Kim also invited a couple from her church to come and share the Word with us.
The whole afternoon was enjoyable. Thanks Kim for your hospitality!

Presque Isle 2009

2009-08-02T18:32:00.007-04:00

Yesterday, I traveled with friends to Presque Isle state park in Erie, PA. Considering it was the first really nice day of summer, it was a perfect day to hang out with friends on a beach. My day started out with a two hour tennis drill clinic at the Village Glen. I had a great time but boy was hot and tired when I finished. I was thankful that I could take a shower at a friend's house before I left for Presque Isle.
Jeff, Mark, Karla and I headed to PA around 10:45am. On the way we stopped at a Chick-Fil-A for lunch. Mark made us laugh with his antics about being one of Chick-Fil-A's number one fans. He made us all laugh with his photos and his purchase of 4 children's toys in that were cows with placard boards. Very Cute!
Well, when we finally got off the exit to Presque Isle it took us 45 minutes to drive 5 miles. There was some construction or an accident. It was very frustrating. We did finally arrive at the beach only to have a full parking lot. We did get in unload our belongings and then headed out to find a parking spot. It seemed like everyone and their neighbor decided it was a good day to head to the beach.
The afternoon consisted of relaxing on the sand, frolicking in the water, tubing off the back of a boat or jet skiing with a friend. Oh, yeah, there was also a lot of food, fun & fellowship. For me it was just fun to relax with friends. I had a couple great conversations with some new friends and old friends. I tried to take some photos to capture the day. Everyone who went seemed to have a great time.
The group stayed at the beach until right after sunset. The sunset was beautiful. God is such an Awesome God to bless us with such picturesque beauty.
Until next time!
Blessings to you~

Baby Showers & girlfriends

2009-07-28T18:04:00.004-04:00

This past Saturday found me, along with my sisters and mom, at my best friend's baby shower. Her sister & sister-in-law put together a beautiful shower for Wendy. About 25 friends and family came together to bless Wendy & Nate with gifts for the arrival of their new baby girl.
The first gift opened was from Wendy's grandma, who passed away a couple years ago. She had given Wendy's mom a quilt to give Wendy when she had her first baby. The gift brought tears to Wendy's eyes. It was a precious gift, which will be cherished for a long time.
After the shower we all got together to take a few photos. There was a lot of laughter in trying to get six women to look at a camera.
Once the shower was over some of the girls went over to Jenn's house for an afternoon of relaxation. We were supposed to lounge around in her pool. That did not happen due to rain & the pool being cold. We sat around and chatted hoping to get to Jackie's later in the evening to go hot tubbing. Once again our plans had to be changed because of the rain.
Over all it was nice to hang with girlfriends.
Until next time!
Blessings to you~~

Winter in July

2009-07-28T17:16:00.007-04:00

About a week ago, I went to a party at a new friend's home. She invited a large group of people out to enjoy the afternoon but only a handful came out for the afternoon/evening. The weather was chilly, not what was expected for a July evening.
Throughout the evening some of us played different games to keep us warm until the bonfire started. I played Bocce ball with a large group. Throwing a large ball at a small ball is an interesting experience. I came close to winning the point for my team a couple of times but in the end the other team had the better throwers.
I also tried to do cartwheels, hand stands and head stands. It has been a while. I did get up but let me tell you the next day I was very sore.
The evening ended with a nice bonfire and smores. Who could ask for anything better?
Well, until next time!
Blessings to you~~

Summer Life

2009-07-27T17:26:00.005-04:00

Over the past couple of weeks the weather has not been as hot as some people would like it to be but for me I have enjoyed my summer. For one thing, it has been nice on the days/evenings I have needed it to be. Secondly, cool nights mean great sleeping.
Well, a couple of weeks ago a good friend of my rented a cottage up in Barker, NY. The second day she was there she invited a bunch of her friends to join her for an afternoon of food, fun, fellowship and relaxation. It was a beautiful day. The cottage was right next to Lake Ontario.
During the afternoon different games were played. Some people played a washer game, while others played Ladder golf. Later in the afternoon, a few of the kids and me went into the water. It was a bit cold. It took a little while to get Samantha out in the water. Ryan went right in and Brittany came in reluctantly. Once out in the water we all had a great time.
Dinner consisted of hamburgers, hot dogs and sausages, plus many different dishes that people brought to share. I had a plate that I proceeded to dump (accidentally of course), so I had to prepare a second one.
After dinner a I played hackey sack with Bill, Mark, Tim, Tyler & John. This time I actually did better. By the end of the evening I was extremely sore. Ugh!
Overall the day was a lot of fun. It always is when you are hanging out with friends.
Until next Time
Blessings to you!

Time with Jesus

2009-06-28T15:00:00.003-04:00

I've just finished reading some of the blogs of a good friend. She has such a heart for the Lord that is shines through in her short blogs. I was blessed by the reminder that God is a Good God. He is a Jehovah Jireh, the God who provides. He is concerned about the little things in our life. He desires such a close intimate relationship with us that He is always gently calling our name.

The problem lies in the fact that sometimes we don't listen. We say we want to be close to Him, yet we shut our ears to hear His voice. We get side-tracked. Whether it be a good book, a talk with a friend, a good movie on TV or even doing a job for Him. We need to stop and see what is taking our attention from a Heavenly Father who loves us more than words can say.

In my own life, I've let expectations of others sidetrack me from seeing what He really wants for my life. Sometimes those unfulfilled expectations have caused tears. I do not want to put any expectations on my friends that would cause them to pull away from me. It is my desire to really be Jesus to those I come into contact. I find it challenging when the expectations get in the way. When I forget to spend time with Jesus, my life gets to focused on me. When my life is focused on me, I am miserable.

It is my hope that I truly can be more like Jesus, so that when others see me they see Him and not me. I truly want to be a reflection of His love.
Blessings to you,
Until next time~~

Choices

2009-06-07T18:39:00.003-04:00

Life is so full of choices. Choices in what to wear, what to eat, who to be friends with, where to go to church, what movies I should/shouldn't watch and so many more. Sometimes the choices are not easy to make and take much thought. Other times the choice is as simple as choosing vanilla over chocolate. I've had choices to make and they have not been easy.
Lately the choice I've been struggling with is, do I truly trust God for His Best in my life? That is an every day choice. Do I choose to live in His Presence or do I take control? I want to say that I always choose His Presence but that would not be true. There are times I take everything into my own hands. When I do that, life is good for a little bit but then it comes crashing down around me. In my head and heart I do want to be in His Presence always. The question then becomes what am I doing to be in His Presence always? Am I reading His Word? Am I talking with Him (not only at Him, but am I listening to Him)? Am I seeking wise counsel?
I know the answers should be Yes, but honestly I have not been as focused on Him as I should be. I am thankful that I can make a choice to change and make those answers a Yes.
Until next time!
Blessings to you~~

Dare

2009-05-10T19:46:00.001-04:00

"Dare"

Learning to live a life that is humble.
Unless you lean on Christ, you will stumble.
Christ will give you the strength on which to stand.
If only you will take His outstretched Hand.

Undivided devotion He asks of you.
So what is your choice, what will you do?
Open your heart to what He has to give.
No turning back, you've made the choice to live.

Bring your dreams to Him, place them in His care.
Remove any doubt, you have nothing to fear.
Understand His love for you is without end.
Now and forever, He is a Faithful Friend.

Dare to be the man He created you to be.
Always willing to get on bended knee.
Give Him your life, your all in all.
Even now, you will not stumble or fall.

Tracy L. Stone
May 9, 2009

Fearfully & Wonderfully

2009-04-21T08:00:00.002-04:00

"I will praise thee: for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works: and that my soul knoweth right well." Psalm 139:14

I can choose to praise God for how I am made or I can choose to complain about what I think are imperfections in my body. There are days when I feel not so beautiful and complain about being overweight or my complexion is not smooth. How does that make my Creator feel? It most likely saddens Him because He made me just who I am.
I have to remember feelings come and go. I also have choices about the food I put into my body. Overall I have to remember that my God loves me and He fashioned me to be who I am. I will choose to Praise Him because just like the Psalmist wrote, "I am fearfully and wonderfully made" from the top of my head to the tips of my toes.
Blessings to you!

A new day

2009-04-20T08:08:00.000-04:00

"This is the day that the Lord has made, I WILL rejoice and be glad in it."
I am so thankful that I have a brand new day to do the Lord's work. It is my prayer that He use me in ways that are beyond my imagination. I want to be willing to serve Him in any capacity. Writing that down scares me a little, but I have to remember He equips those He calls. He will be with me every step of the way.
Blessings!

Moments

2009-04-19T17:36:00.010-04:00

It has been a busy month for me. I've celebrated a friend's birthday, my sister's birthday, took in a Sabres Hockey game, played in a volleyball tournament, traveled to Ohio, played a little tennis and took a lot of photos.
Back at the end of March, I helped my friend, Kim, celebrate her birthday. It was a fun evening. Only the girls were invited and we did manicures and pedicures. I've never had a pedicure but it was a lot of fun. Kisha's mom, Andrea, (what a sweetheart) did my pedicure. Her and Kim, the birthday girl, did the pedicures. There was a lot of wet feet and tons of laughter.

Next on the calendar of events was the volleyball tournament. It was a fund raiser for a mission's trip to be taken at the end of September to Juarez, Mexico. Ten teams signed up at $150.00 each with all the proceeds going to the missions trip. The day started at 9am and lasted until 5pm with the winning team being unbeaten the whole day. It was a successful tournament and I only heard good reports from everyone who participated. They are looking forward to the next tournament.

The day after the volleyball tournament the family celebrated my youngest sister's 24th birthday. I can hardly believe she is 24. It just seems like yesterday I was going to see her & my mom in the hospital. She is a wonderful little sister and I am blessed by her presence in the family.

Taking my friends Jeff & Karin and my sister, Cassandra, to the Sabres game was a lot of fun. We all met at Jeff's house to head downtown to HSBC arena. The traffic close to the arena was horrendous. It took us over 15 minutes to go less than a mile to a parking ramp. Once we arrived we had a lot of fun watching the game. Going into the second period the score was 0-0 but the Detroit Red Wings decided it was time to score. After that it went down hill for the Sabres. They lost the game 4-1.

Now off to Ohio for Easter. It was a nice get away. I traveled with my two sisters on Friday evening and we stayed until Monday morning. During our time in Ohio we watched my two cousins play soccer. It was a beautiful sunny day but with a very bitter cold wind. I did not dress warm enough so I ended up being very cold for most of the day. Also the wind was so cutting it made my eyes water to seem like I was crying. Thankfully my cousin had sunglasses and it helped. In the afternoon, Cassandra & I went shopping and out to dinner with Amy & Janiel. Sunday morning, I went to church at Oasis of Life (my uncle is the pastor). It was good service. After church we headed over to my brother, Ryan's house for dinner and an egg hunt. The kids had a great time hunting for candy filled eggs.

This week has been busy with Lifelinks, Mosaic, Murj, Lockport Alliance church's coffeehouse and tennis.
I am grateful for the blessings God has given. He truly is Jehovah Jireh!
Blessings to you~~~

What A Weekend!

2009-03-24T17:03:00.006-04:00

This past weekend (starting on Thursday night) was packed with a lot of fun activities. I am glad this week is quiet for me. I've been able to eat at home two nights in a row. How I love Mom's cooking!
Well, Going back to Thursday night. MOSAIC held its annual Spring Break Out dinner with barbecue chicken, baked beans, salad & cole slaw. I can't say that I enjoyed the meal because I have had better. After dinner Kurt Coffed & his band played for 45 minutes promoting his new CD. The music was good and it is some we sing during praise & worship.
Friday was a long work day. I was glad to come home around 7:30pm and be able to rest for the evening. I played on the computer and sorted through my 30 scrapbooks. It was interesting to see all that has happened over the past 10 years.
Saturday found me up bright and early at 6am to be able to play tennis at 7am at the Village Glen. For two hours I get drilled on how to play a better game of tennis. It is worth it. I will be glad when the normal coach comes back. After tennis I headed out to South Buffalo to get my car's oil changed at my Uncle's Automobile shop. It is always an experience because several of his friends show up to help however when I am there all they do is give each other a hard time. This time I told my Uncle to let his friend, Max, know I would be there and would be expecting a doughnut. Well, I am happy to say Max brought me a jelly doughnut and hot tea. It was delicious. Once the oil change was done, I headed over to Sam's wholesale to get some Oatmeal Raisin cookies for a party I would be going to in the evening.
Once home I waited for my mom and sister-in-law to come home so I could take pictures of my new nephew, Ezekiel. They finally arrived home around 2:30 and I had 45 minutes to get the pictures I wanted. I also took a few of my youngest niece, Phoenix. What a riot!
At 4:15pm I left home to go out for the evening. I headed to my friend, Karin's for dinner and then over to the Lockport Alliance church to their monthly coffeehouse. This month the band "Paid In Full" was the feature band. They were great. The music was loud and the fellowship was sweet.
After the coffee house Ted invited the group to hang out at his house for a couple hours. When we got their he showed Kisha the Ipod and then the dancing started. What a blast. Thankfully the neighbors did not hear us because it was loud. Everyone had a great time dancing and laughing and just plain having fun! I finally left around 1:30am.
Well, Like I said it was a jammed packed few days.
Blessings!

A month Goes by

2009-03-20T20:16:00.002-04:00

I always think about blogging and then never sit down to gather all my thoughts to write. It really does take thought to sit down and let others know what you are thinking or the happenings in your life. For me there has been a lot going on in my life and in my thoughts. Some of which I don't know if I wanted to gather and put in written form. One of my friends is always concerned because he knows how I process and sometimes it has caused me not to sleep well. He has now come to the point of telling me to take the DVD out before I go to bed. (It is not a DVD in my player but in my head)
A couple weeks ago my dad fell and broke his ankle. He was trying to replace a light bulb outside. He proceeded to stand on a stool on the steps. Thankfully it was only his ankle that was broke. Last Friday he did go in for surgery to have a pin put in his ankle because after a weeks time the ankle was not healing as the doctor thought it should. He is teaching us all how to have servant's hearts and sometimes causing us to jump because he trips over tv trays in the dark. I thank all who have kept him in your prayers.
This past weekend I had a birthday party for a friend. I made homemade chicken enchilada's for dinner. I am not the world's best cook. Actually I am trying to learn this year. I am starting out with simple recipes. My sister has already had her say on a couple things I've not done properly. I just say I am learning. I think she finds humor in my learning. Well, anyways, the enchilada's were delicious and the party was a success. My friend was very blessed by the friends that came and showered her with gifts.
At the end of March my brother Ryan and sister-in-law, Tammi, gave birth to a healthy 10 pound 22 in little boy at home. My new nephew's name is Ezekiel. I am hoping they will be coming up this weekend so we can meet the little man.
My nieces are growing up. Phoenix (1) is just starting to walk. She is a little cutie pie. Dakota just turned 5 and Anna (3) is always looking for snacks. Just the other day Anna and Kota came looking for me. They asked Nana where Aunt Tracy was and she told them I was by the computer. They ran over to where I was sitting and said, "Can we have a snack?" I asked them what kind of snack they wanted and they both shouted "Sugar" You have to understand the sugar they were asking for is the Lick a sticks. It made me laugh and love them for their child like enthusiam.
Well, I think I am going to organize my scrapbooks and photos tonight and then head off to bed. I have to get up early tomorrow to play tennis and then get an oil change. Yeah!
Well, until next time. Hopefully sooner rather than later.
Blessings!!

Good intentions

2009-02-18T19:53:00.002-05:00

Tonight I am a bit tired. At work I was busy doing payroll and other stuff. Everyday is something new. After work we had a small party for one of the tellers who will be moving to Mississippi in the next couple of weeks. It was a surprise for her. Most of her coworkers contributed to get a gift card to JCPenney's since she will not have a lot of room in her car. It was a nice party.
Now I am home. I was going to scrapbook but instead got on the computer and was on Facebook for a little while. It is always interesting to see who is on and what they happen to be doing at anytime of the day. Now I am writing this blog. I don't have much to say because my mind is tired and I am not thought provoked right now. So maybe in a few days I will write more and have something interesting to say.
Until then,
Blessings to you~~

Random Thoughts

2009-02-17T18:31:00.003-05:00

I know I had thought I would be more consistent in my writing but I let other things get in the way. Plus it takes a lot of thought to put my thoughts down in written form.
January was a busy month for me. Last time I wrote I was telling you about Christmas. Now it is past Valentine's Day and a lot has happened.
Most up to date yesterday I went to see the movie "He's Just Not Into You." I would not recommend the movie. It did however give me a lot to think about. I found it sad that marriage is not sacred anymore. It is portrayed as a negative. Relationships consist more of who I can get into bed with the next time I am looking for someone. How sad! There are rules to the dating game that are so complex that nobody is interested in the truth. It truly is a game and the game is not much fun.
After the movie I went to dinner with a few friends. We tried a restaurant in Niagara Falls called Shorty's. I had the Ultimate Shorty's wrap with chicken. It was delicious. I should have just ordered the wrap and not the fries because by the time I was finished I was more than full. The food at the restaurant was inexpensive and delicious. I would recommend the restaurant.
Since the beginning of the year I have been playing tennis on Saturday mornings. It has been invigorating. The clinics have consisted of 7-10 players. We are drilled on different aspects of the game. This past weekend the coach had us all working on our slices. I am not very good at a slice but I am improving. After the two hours of tennis, I was whipped. I plan to head back this week for some more. Yeah!
The past month God has been speaking to me about different areas of my life that I need to work on namely Pride and control. In some ways, the two are intertwined. Pride believes "it's all about me" and control means "to have things my way or no way." God doesn't want me to be like that. It has been neat the ways He has used conversations, devotions or sermons to confirm the changes He wants to take place in my life. I am always excited when He uses 3 different ways to show me His plans. He is still working on those two areas and when I have more complete thoughts on the changes needed in my life, I will let you know.
Please pray that I will always have an open ear to what He wants me to hear. I just don't want to hear, I want to listen and apply the instruction He is giving me.
Thanks for listening!~
Blessings to you~~~

After Christmas (Yes, It's me part 2)

2009-01-26T18:44:00.002-05:00

The way these blogs are posted I want to make sure you realize that there is a blog before this one, so make sure you scroll down so you don't miss any of the events. LOL
I left off on Christmas day. On the Friday after Christmas I had to work until 5pm. I was going to play volleyball but received a text from my friend, Jenn, inviting me and a few others over to her house to play Wii Rock Band. I decided to go to her house instead of volleyball and asked if I could just stay the night (it is a long ride to her house.) When I arrived Mark, Jeff, Karin and Jenn were playing. Mark was singing and Karin was on the drums. It was interesting to watch them play. Karin took over the mike but was trying to sing all prim and proper (doesn't work with Rock Bank.) I got on the mike and mocked the song and actually did well. At one point, I was singing, Karin was on the drums and Jenn was on the guitar playing the song "29 fingers" by the Konks. What a hilarious song! We did great! We had Mark take photos of us and we all had a good laugh. The evening was a success with much music and laughter.
The next day I was going to go home but instead hung out with Jenn all day. She went to her weight watchers meeting and then we went shopping. She had never been to Kohl's so we stopped and were there for about hours. We found many great deals. Who can pass up a shirt for $2.00. I was trying on clothes I might have otherwise passed by. Jenn got a lot of good deals also. After Kohls we went to lunch at Panera Bread and then to Best Buy to find Wii games. We headed back home to be there in time for the gang to arrive around 4pm. We got to her house just before 4pm and I still had to take a shower. Ugh!
Mark, Jeff, Karin, Bill, Jenn and I were there for the party. We prepared spagetti for dinner and then got back on the Rock Band. We had a wonderful time. There were many good laughs. This time I did go home at the end of the evening.
I am so thankful for good times with good friends, even if at times it can be embarrassing. :)
Until next time!
Blesssings to you~~~

Yes, It's me!

2009-01-26T18:12:00.002-05:00

Yes, I am blogging again. Like I said in my last blog, I always have good intentions of writing down some thoughts but then get too caught up in other things. Plus blogging does take some thought and by the end of the day, I am tired and do not want to think anymore for the day.
So just the other night my friend Mark was commenting to me that I haven't blogged in a while and he misses it. My mom was sitting next to him and said she missed it as well. So this blog is for the two of you. I am thankful people read and find pleasure in my life and thoughts. I find it amusing but also a bit intimidating. Oh, well!
Since it has been a month since I last wrote, I will try to keep to the highlights of the past month. Christmas this year was better than I expected. I was under the impression that my family would not be celebrating until the Monday after Christmas which had me a bit bummed. However, that is not how it turned out. On Christmas Eve I had to work until 3pm. I was going to go to the 6pm service at the Chapel but was extremely tired from being up late the evening before for my family's annual open house and having to be at work early. Also it was raining and I was concerned that it would turn to freezing rain before I got home. So instead of going to church I played with my sisters and nieces on the Wii. My niece, Dakota, kicked my butt in the fishing game and my sister, Cassandra, kicked my butt in the cow racing. It did not matter because we had a great time.
On Christmas morning, I was able to sleep in and when I came downstairs my mom and dad gave me their Christmas gifts. I was not prepared for this because like I said I thought we were not celebrating until the following Monday. The rest of the day was relaxing. Some of my brothers and sister's exchanged gifts and we watched my nieces open a couple gifts. Have little one's around at Christmas is wonderful. They have so much excitement and it passes along to everyone in the room.
In the afternoon, my brother, Ryan, sister-in-law, Tammi and my nephews, Michael and Matthew arrived in town from Newark, Ohio. Then the festivities really began. Everyone gathered in our front room and we exchanged gifts. It was like a tornado came through the room. It was a wonderful experience to share Christmas with family and start new traditions.
I am glad any expectations I had where crushed and the actual happenings hold many great memories that cannot be erased.
Until next time!
Blessings to you

Lots of Happenings

2008-12-24T19:02:00.013-05:00

Since the beginning of December life has been busy. I always have good intentions of blogging and then get caught up in other stuff.
So let's see what I have been up to since December 3.
1) I got all my Christmas presents bought and wrapped by the 13th. Yeah! That was a great accomplishment.
2) I went Midnight bowling with the Murj group from the Chapel. What an evening it was! 25 singles came to the Transit lanes to bowl. It did not matter if you were good or not, just that you had an attitude to have a great time. Plus you needed to be awake, if you were not you were by the time the bowling started because of the loud music that was being played. A new friend of mine, Mike Soliman, challenged me. He was insistent upon the fact that he was going to bowl better than I was. Well, the first game I did beat him and then everything went down hill from there. It was a fun evening. I cannot believe I was bowling until 2am. It is too late for me. When I left the alleys there was about four inches of snow covering all the vehicles. It did not make traveling home easy. Ugh!
3) I saw the Living Singing Christmas Tree at the Chapel. The premise was based around the game of Life. It was a good performance. Not as good as I have previously seen, but good. It was nice to be with friends and to support friends who were either in the choir or part of the cast.
4) I started playing volleyball again on Wednesday nights at the First Trinity Lutheran Church in Amherst. It was good to be back. I have played okay for not having played in a couple of months. It was nice to be welcomed back and to know that I was missed. I hope to be able to play more often in the next couple of months.
5) I never got the x-ray results back from the doctor. He said if there was anything wrong the techs would have contacted him right away. I did have to get antibiotics for a cold. I was in bed at 7:30 every night for a week. The cold took all my energy. Thank God I am feeling a lot better. As for my chest, I just have to be careful about how I exercise.
6) Jeff's birthday: On Friday December 12, a group of got together to celebrate Jeff Chiacchia's 37th birthday. Patrick and I tried to get party hats for the party, but Jeff would have none of it. He said "He would feel silly and self concious in a party hat." We tried and tried. Patrick finally made one out of aluminum foil and placed it on his head as Jeff got his cake. He is smiling in the photo and I do not think he looks silly. What are we going to do with the boy? :-)
7) I went to my good friend, Kisha's, annual Christmas party. She had close to 40 people in attendance. There was good food and good fellowship. We also did an ornament exchange. I brought an ornament that I hoped would be one that got passed around. It did and I was excited about it. It was a cute little hedgehog. Everyone loved it! I even bought one for myself.
8) I went Christmas caroling with friends from MOSAIC. We went to a local nursing home and sang Christmas carols to the residents. What a blessing it was to walk the hallways and sing about the birth of Jesus! When we got back to the Chapel, we had hot cocoa and cookies.
9) Secret Santa with friends! Well, actually everyone else did Secret Santa, I did not because I had gifts for everyone. The gift exchange was a lot of fun to watch. The gifts that were exchanged were perfect for each individual. The giver was just as excited as the receiver. I was glad to be a part of it.
10) Party at Jackies: My friend, Jackie, invited a group of friends over to her house for dinner, movies and the opportunity to make a gingerbread house. Each person brought either a dinner item or an appetizer. There was a lot of good food. Some of us watched the movie Elf, while some of us created a gingerbread house. The whole evening was relaxing and just nice to be with people who love you.
11) Family Open house: Last night my family hosted their annual Christmas open house. There were a lot of people in the house. Some people I did not know, while others are really good friends. My mom prepared turkey, ham and roast beef, plus potatoes and a seven layer salad. Everyone else brought their favorite dish to pass. We had a lot of cheese and crackers! LOL
At about 9pm the Wii was turned on and the challenges began. There was a lot of smack talk between Bill and Kim about who was better at bowling. When all was said and done, Bill had to concede that Kim was the better bowler. Maybe next time Bill will win.
Well, I hope that has brought you up to date a little bit.
Until next time!
Blessings to you~~~

It's me again

2008-12-03T20:19:00.002-05:00

Yes, I am posting again. Tonight I want to get x-rays done of my right clavicle. My chest has been bothering me these past couple of weeks. I am not sure if it is related to my heart or just a pulled muscle. All I can say is that I do not like hurting. It is an awful feeling.
After the x-rays, my mom and I went to the mall and then to Walmart. She picked up a couple of Christmas gifts and I did some weekly shopping. I also picked up the new Narnia DVD Prince Caspian for $14.97. I was thrilled with the great deal on a new release. I had to call my sister, Cassandra, to ask her if she wanted the movie. I am glad I did because she did want the movie. I'm sure she would have had my head if I would not have called about the movie.
Well, I am going to go now. I need rest in order to recuperate from a cold that has tried to come on me. Today I was never without a kleenex.
Until next time,
Blessings to you~~

What can I say!

2008-12-02T19:42:00.001-05:00

Yes, I know it has been a while since I have posted anything. Sorry about that. It has been a tiring couple of weeks.
Today I went to the doctor because I have had some pains in my chest over the last couple of weeks. I am not sure if it is just muscles or something more. He gave me a script for an anti-inflammatory and is sending me for x-rays of my right clavicle. I am praying that it is only muscles. I wish it did not hurt so much.
Sunday I went to a Buffalo Bills game with some friends. It was a cold day and the Bill's lost a game that they should have won by all the stats. My sister, Cassandra, came with me and we did have a great time. However, I was glad to get home and finally be warm.
Saturday night, I went to a friends for dinner and had a great time playing Wii. What a neat video game system! Some of us bowled, did Dance, Dance Revolution and tennis. Even in video gaming I am much too competitive.
Right now I am tired and will be going up to my room to possibly watch a video and then go to bed. I know it is early but I am not feeling the greatest and my body is saying I need to rest. So off I go.
Until next time~
Blessings to you~

Sore Muscles

2008-11-16T18:15:00.002-05:00

Sore muscles is what you get when you go bowling, play tennis, throw & catch a football, play racquet ball, work with a personal trainer on weight machines and play volleyball all within a five day period of time. Yes, that was me last week. Then to top it all off on Wednesday I had my #1 wisdom tooth pulled. Talk about being sore. Thankfully as the week progressed the soreness diminished and I felt better only to start all over again yesterday morning with tennis.
Yes, it has been a while since I have written. Not that I haven't thought about it I have just gotten caught up in the everyday living of my life. Since my Mexico trip, I have gone to a couple house parties, played tennis, worked, gone Christmas shopping and wrapped presents. Plus now I am on facebook and that can be addicting at times. It is kind of funny what we let take our attention.
Last night I was able to go to dinner with some wonderful friends. We met at Panera Bread and were able to enjoy each other's company. I am so blessed by the friends that God has placed in my life. After dinner we headed over to a coffee house at the Lockport Alliance church to hear Orchard Drive. After the concert, a group of us headed over to Karin's house to play Settlers of Catan. I did not play but is is always interesting to watch the others play.
Today after church a group of friends went to brunch at Banchetti's to celebrate Charles' birthday. Karen set up a surprise party and he was surprised. Yeah!!! There were about 18 of his friends in attendance. What a party!
Now I am sore once again. After brunch I headed over to the gym to work out and play racket ball. My body wants to just go to sleep but I have stuff to do tonight.
Well, I am glad I was able to update you a little about the happenings in my life. Hope all is well.
Until next time!
Blessings to you~~~~

Mexico - Journal Entry #8

2008-11-03T17:54:00.005-05:00

On Saturday, some of the group traveled 3 hours north of Juarez, Mexico to Carlsbad, New Mexico to go on a little bit of a sight seeing trip. Since we were so close to Carlsbad, Ted thought it would be a nice side trip to end our week in Mexico. It took us about three and a half hours to get there. On the way there we stopped to take pictures of the Guadalupe Mountains.
When we arrived in Carlsbad, we got right into the caverns. It took us a little over an hour to walk all the way down to the bottom. I found it hard to believe I was over 700 feet underground. My brother, Jeff and I were the first of the group to make it back to the top. We took some time to look through the gift shop. I am glad we were able to see some of God's awesome creation.

Mexico - Journal entry #7

2008-11-03T17:45:00.005-05:00

Friday, October 10, 2008
Today was more of a relaxed day for most of us. I did not sleep well the night before so after breakfast I came back to the room and laid down for about a half an hour. When I got up, I helped Jim, Deone, Mike & Linda move misc. stuff from a back room of the dorm to the new dorm. I also helped clean out the tool supply room. That room was a bit of a chore.
After helping clean out the supply room, I tried to get some individual photos of the team members. Kerry Hise will be putting together a power point presentation of the trip. I hope it turns out nice.
We ate around noon. Shelly & Lisa prepared grilled cheese sandwiches. It was good. I still did not feel well, so I went back to the dorm and took a 2 hour nap. It felt good to rest but I felt like I was being lazy. At about 3pm I got up and helped Jim, Lisa and Nicole put tarps on some of the supplies that would be outside. Once we were finished there I walked outside the compound and talked with my brother, Jeff. He was shoveling dirt against the wall. After a little while I went over to where Charles was working with Gaspar, Martin, Jonathan, & John laying bricks on the new wall. Charles wanted to quit but Gaspar would not let him until 5pm. It was fun to watch the interaction Charles and Jonathan had with Gaspar and Martin. After a little while it got too hot for me to sit out in the sun. I went back to the dorm where I hung out with Gail, Lisa, Deb & Pam. We did some girl stuff and just had a great time.

Mexico - Journal Entry #6

2008-11-03T17:35:00.007-05:00

Thursday October 9, 2008
Today was a non-hardworking day. I was up early to help make breakfast with Jim Dean and my brother, Jeff. We made scrambled eggs, sausage, french toast (from two days before) & cereal. It was a lot of fun working with the two of them.
After breakfast the dispensia bags were brought out from the storage room to be put into the vans. We were expecting Garry to arrive with the translators around 9:45. Today was the day we would be going into the Colonia to distribute the dispensia bags that were filled with rice, beans and flour. Once Garry arrived with the translators, he gave us a brief orientation about what was expected of us when we went into the Colonia. He wanted to make sure we knew not to force anyone to accept Jesus just because we were giving them food. We were also told the translators were there to just translate. We were to try to be relational in our conversations. At around 10:45am we headed into the Colonia. The first house we stopped at we were able to give food to two sisters and a young infant. Before we left the one sister did accept Jesus as her personal savior. After the first house we divided into two teams. Each team taking one side of the street. Since it was the middle of the day we passed by many living areas where no one was home. My team, which consisted of Jeff, Ted, Joe (our translator) and myself only were able to get to a few houses. Our interpreter spent a lot of time with each family to make sure they knew who Jesus was and who He could be to them. I pray that God uses that time we had to draw each person closer to Him. Our van was the last back to the compound for lunch. After lunch we headed into the city of Juarez to go to the market place (where they sell a lot of souvenirs). it took us about an hour to get there. When we got there we only had an hour to shop, so I felt a bit rushed. The first shop we made purchase at was one where Ted frequents each year he comes to Mexico. It was interesting just walking through the market place. Each vendor was trying to sell their wares whether it was jewelry, blankets or other trinkets. At Ted's vendor, I bought several bracelets for friends back home. I did makes purchases at other shops and I even bartered for some of my purchases.
After the market experience, we headed to dinner at a local supermarket called S-mart. It had a small cash & carry restaurant at the front of the store. Garry picked out our food and we had a smorgasbord of food to choose from to eat. After dinner some of us went through the store and made some purchases. I bought candy to bring back to my coworkers.
We headed back to the Resplandor De Vida and all gathered in the dining hall to give Garry a testimony of how the week touched each of our lives. It was neat to hear how God ministered to each individual in a different way over the course of the week.

Mexico - Journal Entry #5

2008-11-03T17:23:00.008-05:00

Wednesday October 8, 2008
Today I got out of bed around 6:15am. I had kitchen duty with Deone and Kerry, who made it to the kitchen before I did and waited until I got there to start. Breakfast consisted of egg burritos, cereal & fruit. We decided to add a little bit of ham and bacon. Kerry did the cooking while I shredded the cheese and Deone prepared the scrambled eggs for the burritos. Breakfast was delicious and we were complimented on our cooking.
After breakfast Lisa, Nicole and I came back to the dorm to journal. My brother Jeff joined us and we ended up talking until it was time for the woman's meeting. What an amazing morning! There were more women today than on Monday, plus a lot more children. Cindy had prepared a lot of pancakes before everyone arrived but had to continue making them to get everyone fed. She did an awesome job. After the women ate, we sent the children outside with Lisa, Nicole, Jeff, Ted and Noel. Pam showed the women some exercises they could do to improve their health, while Lisa had the children entertained outside with chalk, coloring books and crayons, hoola hoops & jump ropes. Today was warmer than the previous two days, so it was a bit of a challenge to have the children outside in the sun. I helped Lisa for a little while before heading back inside to take photos of the women making their bead necklaces. I was able to help the women tie the necklaces. Thankfully God gave me strength to the them because my hand was still sore from the day before. After the craft, Pam got up and spoke from Matthew 6:19 about not storing up treasures on earth. She told a personal story to tie into the Bible teaching. Once Pam was finished Deb got up and gave her testimony. She gave an invitation for the women to accept Jesus into their lives. Five women accepted Jesus this day. Praise the Lord!!! There was a time of prayer for women who had prayer requests. It was an amazing morning to see God at work. After the meeting was over we had all the women head outside for a group photo.
Now we had to eat lunch and prepare for the children to come. Boy, did they come. Since the van broke down on Monday, a couple of the men drove the 3 vans and 2 trucks to the Colonia to get the children. We had close to 200 children for VBS. Rachel, our translator, tried to get the children to settle down, but to no avail. Finally, Pastor Nachos, came and he was able to settle them down. Lisa started the lesson on prayer with Gail & Tracy performing a skit about prayer. It was interesting to perform, because we had to pause to let the translators interpret in Spanish what we just said in English. After the lesson we had a craft for the children. They were making cross & bead necklaces to help them remember the "Our Father" prayer. As we were handing out the necklaces it became very chaotic. I had a headache and was not very patient with the children. After five minutes of the chaos, I had to leave. I came back to the dorm and rested. Later in the afternoon I came back to the commodore to help put together the dispensia bags . We put together 210 bags. Once the bags were completed, we headed back to the dorm. Lisa, Nicole & I started taking about an author we liked to read. Some of the guys, Jim, Ted, Jeff & Garry all stopped by the room to talk. It made our room a community room. It was a wonderful time of fellowship.
Later in the evening, Jim Dean gave the evening devotion using Ephesians 2:8-9 & Matthew 5:16 as his references. He encouraged us not only to be servants in Mexico but back in our church and community in Buffalo.

Mexico- Journal Entry #4

2008-11-03T08:07:00.005-05:00

Tuesday October 7, 2008
It was a full day. In the morning the ladies started separating the beans, rice and flour into 3 pound bags. We had two groups, one inside measuring the rice and beans and the other outside measuring the flour. Joaquin Sr helped the women outside. he would open the plastic bags and then tied them for us. We went through seven 100 pound bags of flour quickly. However, when we were all finished the bags were less than 3 lbs each. I took all the bags apart to make sure each bag did have 3lbs in it. What a process!
While we were measuring out the flour, Charles came over to let us know that Jonathan had stepped on a nail and he would need medical attention. He brought Jonathan back to the commodore. Gail brought out a bowl filled with water for him to soak his foot. I had neosporin and a medical kit that had antiseptic pads and bandages to clean out the cut. Thankfully the bleeding stopped. We called Garry, who was back in New Mexico, to find out when Jonathan had his last tetanus shot. Thankfully it was in the past two years.
Once we finished packaging up the bags of beans, rice and flour some of us went back to the dorms to rest before dinner. I was glad because I had hurt my thumb from reopening all the flour bags. Dinner consisted of stuffed peppers with either cheese or ground beef, spaghetti with a white sauce, salad and tortillas filled with cheese. Everything was delicious. I only had a half of a stuffed pepper because I wasn't sure if #1 if I would like it and #2 it was fried my stomach might not handle it. Thankfully my stomach was okay. Praise the Lord! After dinner a lot of us waited for the brownies that Noel was baking. The brownies took longer than expected so we all headed over to the dorm for our nightly devotion.
Dan, from the Lockport church, gave the devotion about living a selfless life. he used Galatians 5:15-16 as his reference. After the devotion, some of us gave testimonies of what God did in our lives that day. It is awesome to see how we all work together to get a job done. Just like a body has different parts and they each have their own function yet they all work together to accomplish a specific task.
When the testimonies were finally finished, we headed back to the commodore for ice cream and brownies. They were delicious and since I had been craving chocolate all day, the brownies satisfied the craving.

Mexico - Journal entry #3

2008-10-26T20:31:00.007-04:00

Monday October 6, 2008
Today was a day full of activity. We had a women's Bible study (VBS) at 10am. About 20 women, some with their children, came to the Bible study. Before the Bible study began, we served the women and their children breakfast. Cindy was in the kitchen making pancakes. After serving breakfast, Gail, Pam & Deb did a great job with the devotions, a craft and a lesson about diabetes. The women in attendance seemed to enjoy themselves.
Lisa & Nicole took the children outside to play, while the women were in the dining area with Gail, Pam & Deb. This was done to cause less of a distraction to the moms. I helped out where I could, but I also took photos of the activities happening both inside and outside. Some of the guys were working on the outer wall, while Kerry & Deone were power washing the floors on the inside of Dorm #1. It seemed like they were having a blast.
After the team's lunch, children from the Colonia came for VBS. We served them lunch and then Lisa gave a small devotion. We had so many children in attendance that we had to separate the boys from the girls for the craft. What an experience! We were thankful for Pastor Nachos & Rachel, who helped translate the lesson. It was a bit overwhelming and somewhat exhausting. When everything was done, Lisa, Nicole and I came back to the dorm to rest. Some of the guys were in the dorm putting together the shower stalls in the boy's (men's) bathroom. I am surprise that Lisa & Nicole were able to rest. I tried but it was too loud.
Hortencia & a couple other women prepared dinner for us. We had steak fajitas with cucumbers, cabbage, tomatoes & guacamole along with rice and corn. Everything was delicious. After dinner, we had devotions in the common room. Fran Keem lead the devotion titled "Continuous Improvement" (Hebrews 5:15-6:8) How we all have choices to make concerning our growth in Christ? There was some good discussion. After the devotion Charles, Jeff & I emptied all the garbage's throughout the dorms. What an experience.
When I got back to my room, I was able to discuss some scriptures with the other women in the room. It was a nice time to get to know the others a little bit better.

Friends & Thankfulness

2008-10-21T22:10:00.003-04:00

What a blessing it is to have friends who pour out into my life! I thank God.
Tonight I visited with a long time friend and God used her to speak life into my being. She encouraged me to continually seek God's face and trust Him and His Word. She has had her share of heartache but through it all she found joy in the only place she could find it, in her Heavenly Father! How AWESOME is that!!!!!
He is a Father who desires for His children to be filled with joy even amidst daily struggles. He desires good things for His children. He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek HIM. He will be found when we search for Him with all our heart. He loves me with an amazing love that nothing can compare to it.
I am thankful!!!
Blessings to you~~

Mexico - Journal entry #2

2008-10-21T21:30:00.007-04:00

10/6/08
Yesterday was an unusual Sunday for me. Instead of getting up early for church I got up early and prepared for the day. The group would not be leaving for church until about 12:15pm because service started at 1pm.
In the morning, I was able to write in my journal and have a good quiet time with the Lord (see previous blog). He spoke to my heart and that is what I desperately needed. I reread Jeremiah 29:11-14 and it ministered to my crying heart. I was in the community room doing my devotion sitting on the couch. Several people came by. I felt a little foolish because I had been crying but I should not have felt that way because it was only God speaking to me and I was listening.
After breakfast some of the women came together to prepare for the VBS. We sorted through beads and punched out foam stickers. The men were outside discussing the construction plans for the week. Lisa Mufford was thankful that we had taken the time to prepare in the morning.
Once we finished the VBS preparation we had a couple hours to relax. I started to read the book "Sunset" by Karen Kingsbury. It has been a story about God's faithfulness and redemption.
Around 12:15 everyone was seated in the vans and we headed to church. On the way to church we had to go through another military check point. It was a little nerve wrecking. Thankfully this time we did not have to pull over and get out of the van.
The trip to the church was interesting. There are junk yards just about every 100 feet. It makes one wonder where all the cars come from. At one point, we say several pigs waling along the road. Quite humorous if you ask me.
We arrived at the church around 1pm. We were instucted to give the response of "Amen" any time a church member spoke to us. The service started and there were a lot of praise & worship. It was nice because the words on the overhead were in both Spanish and English. The songs were all familiar to us, so it made worship more enjoyable. Whe the Pastor would speak, he did translate into English. It was a bit funny, because there were times when I didn't catch the fact that he was speaking in English.
During praise & worship a coupld of women got up to sing solos. The first woman sang "How Great Thou Art." Even in Spanish the song was beautiful. The woman had an amazing voice. The second woman sang a song I did not recognize. She sang to the Lord and in her willingness to sing, even when she was unsure of herself, it was beautiful. The worship lasted for about an hour. Once the music part of worship ended, the Pastor introduced Pastor Deone. Pastor Deone got up on the platform with Gary translating. He spoke about how God is Good and why he knows God is Good. The message was short and simple. When Pastor Deone finished, the Pastor got back up and let the congregation in more prayer and worship. He seemed determine to have the service last until 3pm. After the service ended they had a meal of forditas and rice. Plus some of the children were selling donuts and coffee. The dinner was good and very filling. Whe everyone finished we walked across the street to a bakery. It was not a normal bakery. (At least not like you would see in America). We walked right past the bakers who were preparing the different pastries. Some of the group bought the pastries at 5 for $1.00.
After the bakery we headed back home with a stop @ the ice cream place. I got a strawberry & cream dessert. Some of the others got ice cream conces or frozen fruit bars. Everything looked delicious.
We also stopped in the Colonia to invite the children to VBS. We did stop @ one home where the family had a ninfant that was malnourished. When we got back to Resplandor la Vida, Gary asked if we could help provide some basic necessities for the child and the family in general. Many of the group gave money and then went to the market with Gary to get food and supplies for the infant and family.
Some of us stayed back at the dorms and rested. We did prepare a dinner of Tuna fish and salad. Lisa & I ate and came back to the dorm because we were exhausted from the whole day. We talked about how I experienced the first day. It was nice talking with her. Nicole (our other roommate) came into the room & joined our conversation for a few minutes. We were all tired so went to bed before everyone else.
Until next time!
Blessings to you~~~

Mexico: Rest of Day 1

2008-10-21T06:58:00.003-04:00

I am going to try and finish the rest of day 1 in Mexico. I will be rewriting my journal entries. So please bear with me. Enjoy!
Once the tour of the dormitory was completed, the trailer and truck were emptied of luggage and food. With a lot of hands the work was quick.
Some of the group went for a walk down to a little shop at the end of the road to the Resplandor de Vida. I walked with Marie ( an older woman on the team). We got about halfway down the road and Marie turned around. I did finish heading to the street to catch up with the others. It was getting dark so we quickly headed back. Deb & I walked briskly and got back ahead of the others.
When we arrived back dinner was prepared. Hamburgers, salad and potato salad, Nothing Mexican Yet!
Right after dinner, Gary(head of Harvest Hands Ministries) gave us an orientation about what was expected & not expected of us while we were in Mexico. He explained some of the cultural differences we could expect and how as Christians we needed to present ourselves. After the orientation, everyone headed back to the dorms to get ready for bed. It had been a long day.
~~~~~~
What did I want to see God accomplish in my week in Mexico?

I want to see His Hand in my life. I want to see Him more clearly and see His heart for the people I am with and His Heart for me. I say I want His plans in my life yet I try to accomplish my own plans. I have tried to take things into my own hands and plans with little success.
How is He to accomplish anything in my life when I don't make Him the center? I have been making other things the center and because of that I have been on a little bit of a rollar coaster ride.
I desire so much & when I see others getting what I want I complain that it is not fair.
What is not fair is that I have not given God full reign of my heart. He desires all of me, not just part of me. I'm not being fair to Him. How is that fair? It is not! What am I going to do about giving Him all of my heart? Holding nothing back! When I don't give Him everything, it means I don't completely trust Him. However, when I trust I completely surrender my will to His Will.
Jeremiah 29:11-14 For I know that thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and go and pray to me and I will listen to you. And you will seek me and find me, when you search for me with all your heart. I will be found of you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity. "
God was speaking to the Israelites. They had lost sight of who God was meant to be in their life. Yet, God in his love, compassion, grace & mercy came to them with hope. Just like the Israelites I've lost some direction and hope. I've lost some peace. Yet just like the Israelites God calls out my name. His thoughts fro me are filled with peace and He wants me to have a future with Him. I need to call upon Him, Seek Him and pray to Him, not with just part of my heart but with my whole heart. He says when I do that I will find Him and not only will He be found but He will bring me out of the captivity that I have placed myself in.
Thanks for listening.
Until next time.
Blessings to you~~~

Mexico day 1 possibly day 2

2008-10-17T08:04:00.005-04:00

4am in not my desired wake up time, but when you need to be to the airport by 5am it is a good time to get up. Last Saturday my parents brought me to the Buffalo International Airport so I could meet up with the rest of the Mexico Mission team by 5am. It was the start of a long day but good day.
Most of the team arrived at the airport a little after 5am. We all got checked in and then had to wait to board the plain around 6:30am. While waiting we ate breakfast and talked about the our trip to Mexico. We could not believe the time had finally arrived. Yeah!
We got on the plane and were headed out. With stops in Chicago and Albuquerque we finally arrived in El Paso, TX. Garry Mathewson met us at the airport with a big van and a huge trailer to tote all our luggage. We stopped at Pizza Hut for lunch and then headed back to Garry and his wife, Terry's home to go over some orientation stuff for the week and pack up our food for the week. Both Terry and Garry are great people with a heart for the people of Mexico. While at their house we did get to take a group photo of all the people on the team (we had 16 from MOSAIC and 8 from another couple of churches) 24 people in all. By about5pm we were on our way into Mexico. Yeah!
Crossing the border was an experience. It was no trouble getting into the country however once we were into the county the Mexican military pulled us over to look through our vehicles to look for weapons and drugs. Let me tell you it was not a fun experience. Especially because they did not speak English and we did not speak Spanish. We had no drugs or weapons so they let us go on our way. It took about a half an hour to get to the place we would be staying "Resplandor La Vida."
Once we arrived we were given a tour of the grounds. A lot of work had been accomplished since some of our team members had been there the year before. They now had inside showers and beds (not mattresses on the floor). I found it wonderful to watch the members from the year before ooh and ahh over all the changes. I was glad I was a part of the team this year.
Well, I have to go to work now. So I will try to continue about more of the trip later.
Until then,
Blessings to you~

Finally another blog

2008-10-13T16:30:00.008-04:00

Yes, I know it has been a couple weeks since I have last written. I have been busy preparing for a bonfire and a trip to Mexico. I am home now and have a little bit of time so I will write a little bit. first I will write about the bonfire that I had at my parent's home on the 27th of September.
In the days leading up to the bonfire, I was extremely busy. The week before the fire, I cooked up 18 pounds of ground turkey for taco meat. I am thankful that I did it because the day before the bonfire I had to go out and get miscellaneous items, put up canopy tents, dig out the bonfire pit and set up picnic tables. What a crazy couple of days! It was all worth it though.
All week the weather reports kept changing for the weekend. It was my prayer that I would have nice weather, but the reports were continually calling for rain all day on Saturday (thus the tents).
Well, it started to rain the night before the bonfire and when I woke up I could hear the water on the ground when the cars went by on the street. I was not very excited. However about 10am the sun came out and I was ecstatic. The rest of the day there were threats of rain but it did not come until about 11:30pm. Praise the Lord!
The first people started to arrive around 3:30pm. Dinner would not be until about 5:30pm. As people started to arrive some played card games, hackey sack or just sat around and talked. It really was an informal evening of food and fellowship. I was thankful for the food that each individual prepared and brought to the event. There was never a shortage of food. Thank God! My mom said, "Each time I went out to the food tent there was more food." Everyone got there share and then some.
During the evening, some of the group played volleyball on our lit up court. I am glad we got use of the court. Others sat around the bonfire and talked. Some even started to sing.It seemed like everyone was having a great time.
Well, It was a lot of work, but the end result was that I had at least 85 people in attendance and everyone left with their stomachs full and a smile on their face.
Until next time~
Blessings to you~~

A New Day

2008-09-24T07:32:00.002-04:00

Last night was the first night of my lifelinks group at Dennis & Marty's house in North Buffalo. The plan for the night was to pick out a Bible study for the next 8 months. The evening started with everyone arriving with food for the potluck dinner we would be having. This year about 15 people came out to the house for fellowship. This was a lot more than last year. It was nice to see so many people wanting to be committed to growing together in their relationship with Jesus and with others.
We started off the evening with prayer. We lifted up the evening and asked God for His direction on what study He wanted us to learn from. We decided on a series based in Genesis by Ken Hamm. It should be good. After prayer we had dinner. Everyone brought a delicious meal to pass. It truly was a smorgasboard of foods. We all enjoyed one another's fellowship along with the delicious food we were able to partake of.
It was a good evening and I am looking forward to getting to know the new people to the group. We are planning to do some community outreach and also some fun times of fellowship. I'll keep you posted on what happens.
Until next time!
Blessings to you~

Mindset

2008-09-22T20:53:00.002-04:00

About the Mindset.
I have started this exercise program to be proactive about my health and well being. I have to remember that no matter what those around me see, God sees me as beautiful. When I start to see my goals come to pass, I have to make sure I am renewing my mind with the positive aspects of what is taking place with my body. I cannot let the old mindset of being fat and overweight "weigh" me down.
Thanks for listening!

Mindset & sore muscles

2008-09-22T20:30:00.003-04:00

Yes, once again I have not blogged in a few days. I think about it and then get side tracked with other activities going on in my life. I have been busy. Can you tell?
Let's see I think I left off last Wednesday morning. Well, Wednesday evening I drove out to Bally's Fitness center and signed a three year contract for membership. With the membership came two hours with a personal trainer (boy, would I need it). I have no idea how to work any of the machines in the building. Well, after the interview with Nate, one of the trainers, I was off to play tennis with Tim. I met him at the tennis courts on North Forest. When we arrived all three courts were being used. So we waited! After about 45 minutes a court became free, we almost had to "fight" off two young teenage boys. They arrived a little while after we did. I did find humor in the conversation of these two boys. Oh well, boys will be boys. Once Tim and I got on the court, we played for about 45 minutes. It felt good to have a racket in my hand. I felt a little out of sync but we had fun.
Thursday, I thought work was going to be hectic because I was the only platform manager at work. However, the day was calm and I was blessed by the prayer coverage of my friends. It turned out to be a great day. At MOSAIC we started 4 new electives. I will be taking the elective on Discipleship taught by Pastor Deone. I am looking forward to the next 8 or 9 weeks. After MOSIAC there was a meeting to go over some of the details about my upcoming missions trip. It is now less than 2 weeks away. I can hardly believe it. Once the meeting was over a group of us headed over to Buffalo Wild Wings for some food and more fellowship.
Friday was a long day at work. I was able to come home for two hours and took a short nap to rejuvenate. After work, I came home and cooked up 18 pounds of ground turkey for taco meat for my bonfire next Saturday. It took me and hour and a half and I was glad it is done.
Saturday I got up early and headed to a 2 hour tennis drill. I have not played at the Glen all summer and it was good to be back. Dave, the coach, was surprised to hear I had not been there all summer. I told him I did not come because he was not there and he laughed (in a good way).
After tennis I headed to Walmart to do some shopping for birthdays, bonfires and other stuff. I was in there about and hour and spent more than I wanted to. I am glad I had a list and tried to stay as close to the list as possible.
Saturday evening found me with five other women at our good friend, Wendy's home. She invited us all over for a girl's night. Her husband, Nate, was out of town and she wanted some company. We each brought a dish to pass that went along with spaghetti. Dinner was wonderful. After dinner we sat around and talked. Some of us headed over to the Lockport Lighthouse Cafe to listen to a band. Those who went said it was good.
Now here comes the part about mindset & sore muscles. Yesterday, I met with a personal trainer at Bally's fitness center. The first half an hour, Greg (the trainer) asked questions about why now?, what were my goals and what I needed to do to accomplish those goals. Well, the second half an hour Greg showed me 8 different exercises to help me tone my muscles and also lose some of the extra weight I've been carrying around far too long. It was a good workout. I felt like a wet noodle when it was all over. Today I was sore, but I headed back and felt like a fool. I did the exercises and felt good afterwards. Now I am not only sore but tired.
I guess I better close or this will end up being a book. I will try to write sooner.
Until next time~
Blessings to you~

Scapbooks & other Stuff

2008-09-17T07:56:00.002-04:00

This past Saturday I got together with a few friends to scrapbook. I have not done much scrapbooking over the past year, but that has not stopped me from taking pictures. So as you can imagine I am a bit behind in my books. Well, the five hours I spent scrapbooking on Saturday put a small dent in the pile of pictures I have on my desk.
It was nice spending the afternoon with my two sisters and my friends, Karen, Karin & Kisha. Everyone had a certain project they were working on. It is interesting to see how each person's creativity is expressed in their own books. Me, I think my pages are simple yet they get a person's attention. At least I hope they do :)
We started to clean up around 5pm to head over to our friend Brian's house. Earlier in the day others had gone over to help him to some work around his house. I heard they totally pulled apart the basement, painted the living room and did some work in the bathroom. By the time, Kisha, Karin and I arrived everyone was starting to clean up and dinner was being prepared. Brian was truly blessed that day. We also celebrated MaryBeth's and Laurie's 50th birthdays. They wanted to use their celebration to help Brian. What a blessing those two and the others were to Brian!
On Sunday morning I headed out to the Chapel at Crosspoint to listen to another great message from Pastor Jerry Gillis. He has started a series called Justice Served. You can always listen to the message at thechapel.com This weeks message was called "Wrong made Right" A great message.
After service Karin, Bill and I headed over to Tim Horton's to get some lunch. We always have a great time when we get together. After lunch I headed home to get some rest. I did take a nap, finished watching the Bill's beat Jacksonville and then I worked on my scrapbook again. I completed 7 pages. (20 pages over the whole weekend). Woohoo!!
Monday I started to get food together for my annual bonfire next week. I also had dinner at Moe's with my friend, Jeff. We had a nice time and I needed the time to settle down from a hectic day at work.
Well, now I am off to work. I hope you all have a blessed day. God is Good all the Time and I for one am thankful.
Until next time!
Blessings to you

Funerals & forgiveness

2008-09-12T20:28:00.003-04:00

Backyard football games, hockey on a makeshift snow rink, basketball in the spring and plain old fun that is how I will remember Charles L. Wood (Sr). He was a man I admired as a young teenage girl. He challenged me, encourage me and sometimes even made fun of me but not without an ever present smile.
Yesterday, I went to the viewing for Mr. Wood. I was not sure I would be able to go because the viewings were during my work time and I had a fund raiser at MOSAIC in the evening. My brother, Keith, on Wednesday night told me he had died but really didn't know any of the details aside from the viewing times. At work yesterday I asked to leave for about an hour and I am glad I did. I was blessed.
It has been about 10 years since I have seen Mr. Wood. I had dated (if you call it dating at 14) both of his sons, with Chip being the one I cared about the most. I was a little nervous about going to the viewing because of Chip yet I knew I needed to go. God knew it as well. I arrived and saw Mrs. Wood first and found out that the death was suddenly. He had just come in from running (I think he had a heart attack). She was both surprised and glad I was able to come. It had been such a long time. Next I saw Laurie, the daughter, she told me she was wondering if I was even still in the area and was also glad I was able to come. After Laurie was Jim, he just came over sobbing and gave me a great big hug. Then the awkward moment of seeing Chip after about 20 years. We looked at each other and then he said "Get over here" and we hugged. He was glad I came to support the family.
Chip made sure to tell me to look at the picture collages that were displayed of his dad because I was in a couple of the photos from when we played hockey in the backyard. We walked over to the photos and were able to talk for a little bit. While talking he leaned over and gave me another hug and asked me for forgiveness for him treating me unkindly many years ago. I was a bit shocked and overwhelmed and yes, I forgave him. It was the least I could do. I told him were were kids and I cared about him a lot. He knew that. Another thing he mentioned was that he believed like I do. He & his family started to attend church a little over a year ago. It has given him hope. I was so excited to hear it. Praise God!
When I left the funeral home, I was both sad and glad. Sad because Mr. Wood will be greatly missed and glad because there was reconciliation of a relationship after many years.
Thanks for listening/reading~
Until next time~
Blessings to you~

Racketball & friends

2008-09-10T21:02:00.002-04:00

Monday I awoke with sore muscles and a headache. Yet, I was looking forward to playing racketball later that evening with Christopher, Bill and Karin. I did not know how I was going to play especially because my legs were sore. Plus I was extremely tired.
At about 7:30 I made it to Bally's to meet Christopher & Bill. Karin was running a little late. The three of us headed over to the courts and began to play. I was a little nervous since it was only my third time playing and I heard Christopher plays a "mean" game of racketball. We started out playing "cutthroat". Each player was a team by themselves when they served the ball otherwise they were a doubles team. I did lose but I did get on the board with at least 5 points. Christopher beat both Bill and me. That is okay because it makes me strive harder to get better at the game.
Karin did finally arrive and we broke up into teams. Bill and Karin vs Christopher and Me. They were hard fought games. With four people on a court in an enclosed room it was hard to get out of each others way. We did finally get into the groove of things. There was a lot of hard hitting and laughter. I seemed to have the ball attracted to me especially off either Christopher's or Bill's serve. All I could do was laugh. I was glad to have the safety glasses even if they fogged up because I was so hot.
We played four games and after the games Bill showed me the weight machines. Very interesting! If I had someone to work with me I probably would join.
Well, I must close. It has been a long day.
Until next time~
Blessings to you~

Bills & chowder in the rain

2008-09-10T20:50:00.002-04:00

Sunday afternoon found me at my friend Jackie's for a Bill's chowder party. She invited many of our friends over to her house to watch the Buffalo Bill's home opener against the Seattle Seahawks. The game started at one but Jackie started making her chowder a whole lot earlier that morning. She had a huge and do I mean huge pot outside by her garage in which she made the chowder. Once several of the ingredients had been added to the pot, the chowder had to be continually stirred. Jackie, Karen, Charles, Martin and Sylvia all helped. I am sure there were others but I did not see them.
The chowder was ready about 2:30 just in time for half time. At half time the Bills were ahead. Always a good thing for the Bills. Outside it was raining and more people continued to arrive to enjoy the chowder, fellowship and the game.
I was outside for part of the game. Charles and I played a short handed version of KanJam(a game created right here in Buffalo). We had the best time. There was no shortness of laughter. There can not be when Charles is around. I did manage to get the frisbee into the slot.
Later after the game a bunch of the group came outside and played catch (football), soccer and frisbee. We then proceeded to play a game of one-hand/two hand touch football. The teams were made up of two girls and three guys. I was on a team with Johnny, Bill, John & Charity. The grass was slippery because of the rain and it was very humid outside. What a game! The rules seemed to change with each play (Charity was not too happy about that.) Karin was an impressive player by making some catches to get her team close to the endzone. However I broke up the touch down plays by intercepting the football at the one yard line (this happened 2x). The game ended with a score of 5-2. Everyone had a great time and we were all sweaty and tired.
The day ended with a bonfire behind Jackie's house. It was a wonderful day spend with friends. We had many good laughs and lot's of stories to tell about our day. Most of us, including myself, were not looking forward to going to work the next day.
Until next time~
Blessings to you~

Rest, Rudy & RV

2008-09-09T21:33:00.003-04:00

Saturday I was suppose to go out on Jim's boat but was too exhausted. I ended up taking a two and a half hour nap. I guess you could say my body needed the rest.
After resting I got in contact with my good friend, Bill. We were going to see if the races at Dunn Tire Raceway were going to be running. If they were I would be going to the races and if they were not we would come up with another alternative for the evening. As it turned out, the weather was not very cooperative to have the races run, so Bill invited a few of us over to his house to play games or watch movies. I promised him I would not bring any chick flicks for him to watch. (Can you imagine, he just laughed at me.)
Well, I called a few people and left many messages. As it turned out the only people in attendance were Bill, Jeff, Karin and me. When we arrived, Jeff ended up showing Bill a website where you could see different political cartoons or reruns from Saturday night live. I was not impressed, but to each his own. Once Karin arrived we ordered subs and watched the movie, Rudy. What an inspiring movie! It is one of Bill's favorite movies. I enjoyed it and may have to add it to my collection.
After the first movie, we were not sure if we wanted to play a game or watch another movie. Jeff was watching "Catch Me if You Can" on tv and was out voted to watch a different movie. We ended up watching "RV" with Robin Williams. A funny movie!
Once again it was a late evening but a fun evening. Thanks Bill for opening your home up so we could have a good time of fellowship.
Until Next Time~
Blessings to you~~

Peaches & Rain

2008-09-09T21:19:00.002-04:00

Last Friday after work I met up with Jeff and we drove together to go to Jenn's in Lewiston for Lewiston's annual Peach Festival. When we arrived several of our other friends were already there waiting to head up to downtown Lewiston for the festival. We decided it was a good idea to walk up to the festival with hopes that it would not rain.
We arrived on the festival grounds and it started to sprinkle within 10 minutes there was a steady rain. Jenn & I walked to the Peach shortcake tent to find enough table space for at least 10 people. The others were figuring out what they wanted to eat. Bill and Karin came back to the table first so Jenn & I were able to go get our dinner. I bought a chiken pita. It was delicious. For dessert we all got the famous peach shortcake. The peaches were fresh from the can and tasted as if they were fresh from the peach tree. We continued to stay under the tent as the rain continued to come down harder. Julie, Alex and Vince were supposed to meet up with us at 8pm but decided not to come up to Lewiston because of the rain.
About 8pm Jenn and Karin decided to walk in the rain back to Jenn's house. They did not get far because Nate & Wendy offered to drive them back to the house. Jenn & Karin collected a few keys to cars so they could move cars around in the driveway to get Jenn's car out of the garage. It took a little coercing for some people to give up their keys. Kind of funny if you ask me!
Well, Nate, Wendy, Karin, Jenn & I all drove back to the house. Karin and Jenn drove back with their cars to pick up the rest of the group. When we arrived back some of us just hung out upstairs and some went to the basement to play pingpong.
From what I heard Mark Weber was part of a good conversation trying to figure out what characteristics he was looking for in a woman. I did not hear the conversation just heard that it was interesting.
I was one of those who were in the basement. Bill and Jenn were "trash" talking each other on who was better at ping pong. The competition was intense. Jim was trying to stay neutral especially since the guys were outnumbered. We had some great laughs. Especially seeing Jenn beat Bill at ping pong with a huge pink ping pong ball. He complained that the color of the ball matched Jenn's shirt and it was distracting. Too bad, Bill, Jenn won fair and square.
The evening ended with everyone leaving around 12:30am. It was a fun evening and I was exhausted.
Until next time~
Blessings to you!

Labor Day @ the Park

2008-09-09T20:15:00.006-04:00

Last week Monday found me and several of my friends at the Clarence Town Park for the MOSAIC /Eastern Hills Wesleyan Singles Labor Day Picnic. The picnic started at 1pm and ended around 7pm. Over 100 singles came out to enjoy an afternoon of food, fun and fellowship. I was able to play tennis on one of the two courts at the park. Bill, John, Charles, Karen, Karin, Lisa and a few others came out to play as well. The sun was shining brightly so it was easy to get tired out quickly. I played with Bill, John, and Noel a very competitive doubles game. We played one game and decided it was too hot so we just rallied for a while. It was good to play since I have not played a whole lot this summer.
Nate, Wendy, Jeff, Karin, Bill and I all played a little bit of frisbee. We had a few good laughs. At around 4pm dinner was served. Once again we had hamburgers and hot dogs with a choice of 4 different salads. I am always impressed with those who are willing to serve others before themselves.
After dinner the singles sat around talking and laughing with one another. I had a good converstion with my friend, Phil. Around 5:30 many of the singles headed over to the baseball diamond for a friendly game of softball.
About 2o players lined up to be picked for teams. Jim and Bill were team captains. Then the games began. It was exciting to watch each player get up to bat with the intense desire to nail to ball to center field to get on base. A couple players took swings at the ball and swung so hard that they ended up on the ground. Each team played their best and had a great time. You could see the excitement on their faces.
Over all the day was wonderful. After the picnic a few of us headed over to Anderson's for some ice cream.
Until next time~
Blessings to you~

Atlanta visits Buffalo

2008-09-02T22:13:00.002-04:00

This past week an old friend from Oral Roberts was in the area training new representatives for his job. I was able to get together with him a couple of the nights that he was in the area. Tuesday night I met up with him and we went to Duff's to try out the chicken wings and Loganberry. Wednesday night he met me at the First Trinity Lutheran Church to play some volleyball. He actually played well for not having played in a few years. Thursday night he met me at MOSAIC(the singles ministry I attend) to meet a group of my friends. I was glad to be able to put faces to names of people I have mentioned to him over the years. It was also nice to show him some of my hang outs. He seemed to have an enjoyable time and it was nice to have him in my home town.
He is one of those friends that has made a lasting impression on my life. I am blessed that God saw fit to have us meet 15 years ago at Oral Roberts University. We have both grown over the years and it is neat to see where God has brought us. So Chris, if you read this you are a true friend and I am blessed.
Until next time!
Blessings to you~~

Racetracks & Rain

2008-09-02T21:15:00.005-04:00

On Sunday August 24, I met Bill, Jeff, Karin & Jim at Dunn Tire Raceway to watch the races. We met at the track around 1:45pm. The skies were starting to get a little cloudy so we were a little apprehensive about purchasing tickets. We bought the tickets and headed in. We sat in the first turn of the track so we could get a good view of the whole race. The first race started and our eyes were glued to the track. If Karin or I did not know something about the cars racing or why they did something all we had to do was ask Bill or Jim for the information.
The second race was 100 laps. At around the 85th lap it started to sprinkle. The question was whether or not the race would be completed. The race was completed and then then rain came. Boy, did the rain come. I had to race back to my car because I had may camera and I did not want it to get ruined. I made it back to the car and I was soaked. I sat in my car and waited for the others to come to their cars.
Once we were back to the cars, Jeff rode with me over to the Boston Hotel where we decided to go to dinner. It was a first for me. The food was good. We sat on the enclosed porch and watched as the storm came in. What a storm it was! The lightning was right across the street. I was glad we were under some sort of cover. Storms are better for me when others are around.
The day was fun and we now have rain checks to enjoy another race at another time. Possibly this weekend.
Until next time!
Blessings to you~~

Missions Fund Raiser

2008-09-02T20:25:00.006-04:00

On Saturday August 23, Jim Dean held a picnic at his home to help raise funds for the Mexico Missions trip he and 16 others (including me) will be going on. The day started out beautiful and continued to stay that way all day.
Jackie, Sylvia, Karen and Charles all arrived early to help Jim set up outside. He has a bigger yard than I knew about. It was big enough to hold a good size volleyball court and have room for people to sit around and chill. I arrived around 2pm when the picnic started. I brought lemon cookie bars for my contribution. Charles was into them immediately and proceeded to pass them out to all who were there. He enjoyed eat bite immensely. It made me laugh out loud.
Over the next few hours many more people came to enjoy the picnic and the company of others. We ate around 4:30pm. Some of the guys grilled the hamburgers and hot dogs. They did a fabulous job manning the grill. The ladies set up the food tables and dinner was served. Lots of good food.
After dinner some of the group played volleyball, some just continued to eat, some played Bocce ball and others just visited with one another. At the end of the evening, a bonfire pit was brought out and we all sat around the fire. Towards the end of the evening prayers were prayed for the missions team. It will be neat to see how God answers those prayers in the next month.
It was a great day and the people who came were generous with their donations. Praise the Lord.
Until next time!
Blessings to you ~~

Sets & Spikes

2008-08-27T23:20:00.001-04:00

It has been about 4 months since I have played volleyball at the First Trinity Lutheran Church on Niagara Falls Blvd. Tonight I was able to play. Before I arrived I was so tired from a long day at work. If if wasn't for my friend, Chris, wanting to come out and play, I may have canceled and gone to bed early.
The evening was enjoyable. I saw some old faces and met some new ones. I felt bad because my setting was not that strong. I was concerned about an injury to my left shoulder that I had gotten back in April. I did not want to re-injure the shoulder. The games were competitive. I played four games and out of the four my team lost 3 times. I was okay with it because we played hard and gave to other teams a run for their money.
Well now I am home and it is late. I have to head off to bed.
Until next time!
Blessings to you~~

Catching Up

2008-08-27T07:05:00.002-04:00

This past Sunday, Chris, an old friend from college arrived in town to do some training. Since he lives in Atlanta he doesn't make it to Buffalo all that often. Last night we were able to meet and have some good catch up time.
Since he was in Buffalo we thought it would be good for him to try things that you find in Buffalo. Chicken Wings are a Buffalo tradition so we decided to go to Duff's on the corner of Millersport & Sheridan (especially since I did not know how to get to the Anchor Bar). I had heard Duff's had great wings and we were not disappointed. We got one of the specials that came with fries and a pitcher of beverage. I notice Loganberry was on the menu so I suggested it to Chris. He was game. He asked what it tasted like and I was unsure how to answer. We even asked the waitress and she was unsure how to answer. She was kind enough and brought Chris a glass of loganberry to try before she brought us a large pitcher of it. He liked it. Yeah!!!
The wings were hot and juicy. Both of us do not like hot & spicy foods so we ordered the BBQ. By the time we were finished eating I think we used the whole container of napkins.
All in all we had a great time.
Until next time!
Blessings to you~~

Suites, Sweets and Baseball Bats

2008-08-20T07:45:00.006-04:00

On Monday August 18 Charles invited a group of us to share a suite at Dunn Tire Park for a Bison's game. Some of us car pooled and others just met at the stadium. The evening was cool and everyone had a great time.
Some of the highlights were:
Name that tune: A song would come on in between batters and Christopher, Charles, Karen and Sue would guess the title, group and year it came out. Then they would start singing it.
Sing that Tune: In the Getto- The woman in the suite next to ours would sing songs we requested.
Laughter at nothing= Anything little thing that took place got a laugh out of Charles.
Bisons won the game: This year the Bison's have not had a good season, so it was nice to see them win a game.
All in all the evening was a lot of fun.
Until next time!
Blessings to you~

Tennis & Swimming

2008-08-20T07:33:00.003-04:00

Sunday on the way to church, my friend, Jenn texted to invite a group of friends to her house for a pool party in the afternoon. I was thankful that I had placed my swimsuit in the bag in hopes of the call. I called her to set up a time and plans were in motion.
The morning service at the Chapel was good. I really need to listen to it again since I felt a little off kilter from lack of sleep. (Got home late the night before) After service I met up with Brad, Ted, Kathy, Alex and Julie in the Atrium. It is always fun to fellowship with friends. Tim called to ask why I canceled our tennis game. He reminded me that I need to follow through on my commitments. I was glad for his confrontation. I do not want to be one who is known for breaking commitments. I met up with him at the tennis courts and we played for about 45 minutes. I was glad we played. However, I did feel so out of practice.
After Tim & I played I headed up to Lewiston for the pool party. It ended up that Karin, Bill & I were the only ones who came over. Jeff had plans with his family and Mark Weber was busy with a ministry in downtown Buffalo. Well, the three of us ordered a pizza and we had a veggie tray and snacks. Umm Good!
After we ate we headed into the pool. (well not immediately after eating but soon after). The water was at a nice 76 degrees. A little shocking to the body at first entering but after moving around it was comfortable. The first thing we did was make a whirlpool in an oval pool. We were trying to rouse up the dirt on the bottom of the pool so that Wanda the Whale would do her job of cleaning the pool. After the whirlpool we decided to play a competitive game of water volleyball. Jenn had pick up a volleyball net inexpensively and put it on two posts. Jenn & Bill set up the volleyball net over the pool and the games began. Two against two volleyball is a little tough but we had a lot of fun and a good amount of laughs and teasing. Bill happened to be the deciding factor on each team he played on. (Yes, each of the girls had him for a partner at least for one game) The whole afternoon was a lot of fun.
Until next time!
Blessings to you~~

YOUR DREAMS

2008-08-19T22:52:00.005-04:00

Your Dreams

Bring your dreams to the Lord.
Release them in His Hands.
Empty your whole heart to Him,
Not only your current plans.

Delight yourself in the Lord.
Allow Him to guide your heart.
Never fear His direction,
'Cause He knows where you need to start.

Although at times this may seem hard.
Remember what He has promised.
Each time you place your trust in Him,
You will see your dreams accomplished.
12/1997 ~Tracy L. Stone

Ultimate Night of Destruction

2008-08-19T22:17:00.010-04:00

This past Saturday I met up with Jackie, Karen, Charles, Jeff, & Karin to head out to the America's fair for the second time in four days. We were going to spend the day walking around and then in the evening go to the grandstand to watch a Bus demolition derby and some other Crazy 8 car races.
We arrived at the fair around 12:30pm and headed over to the pig & goat barns to meet up with Vince. We then went into the Cow maternity ward and were able to see a jersey cow receive an ultrasound. The veterinarian who performed the ultrasound said he does 40,000 a year. I figured it out and it averages out to be 110 ultrasounds a day. How would you like a job where you got to stick your hand and arm up a cows butt all day long? I will stick with my job of working with figures.
After the cow barn some of us went through a candy tent where a lot of the old fashioned candy was sold. Charles was just like a kid in a candy store. 0h, wait! We were in a candy store :-)
We then did a little bit more walking around the fair with a stop at the main food vendors where people got french fries, chicken pitas, chicken on a stick and other fun food. The food was delicious. At least I thought it was good.
Vince & Charles found some pink cowboy hats that they insisted they try on. Very interesting! What do you think?
At one point we passed the hot tubs and Jeff insisted that Jackie buy one. Karin got into the conversation and then the sales rep also came over and told Jackie all the finer points of owning a hot tub. The salesman was good. Jackie is mulling it over. Check back next summer.
We walked through the Ag Center and then we went and watched the Peking Acrobats. The show was a little bit different than the one I saw on Wednesday. It was the first time for some of those with me. It is always neat to see the expressions of those who have never seen the show.
Around 5:30pm Christopher & Phil met up with us. We then grabbed something to eat before entering into the Grandstand to watch the derby. How crazy is it to watch at least 6 buses try to crush one another? It was crazy. We each had our favorites.
The derby was interesting and scary at times. The bus who won made the 2nd to last bus start on fire. The guys were ecstatic with joy while the girls were screaming for the driver to get out of the bus. All in all it was a good day.
Until next time!
Blessings to You~~

Fire @ the Phillips

2008-08-19T20:31:00.003-04:00

Friday evening after work found me visiting with Nate & Wendy Phillips at their home. The Saturday before while visiting with Kim, Nate mentioned it would be nice to have a bonfire at his house since he did not have many get togethers this summer. I said Friday sounds good and an event was created. However, I did have to organize it and it was to be a small gathering of friends.
Well, Friday came and I became a bit concerned when we had a massive downpour in Alden. I was wondering if Nate covered the wood. If not we would have a smokey fire. I need not have worried, the storm missed their area.
My sister, Cassandra and I arrived a few minutes before 7pm. Cassandra had made garlic biscuits and a good chew cookie. After 7 others began to arrive. Nate had the fire started by about 7:30 and we all made our way out to the bonfire area of the yard. Everyone brought either dessert, appetizer or chips. We had our fill of good food. Karin even brought ice cream sandwiches.
While sitting around the camp fire we just talked about current events in each of our lives. I may have fallen asleep for a little while. The day had been a long one. It was nice to be able to be comfortable with friends.
Around 11pm Mark Weber arrived after spending the day at the fair with his parents. He said he saw the entries my family had entered in the fair. He was excited for my sister, Amy. I was glad that he was impressed. (Mark I hope you are jumping for joy- you are mentioned a 2nd time in my blog)
At midnight Cassandra and I left. I was ready to fall asleep again. I was glad for the evening. Like I said before it was nice to hang with "old" friends and catch up on each others lives.
Until next time!
Blessings to you~~~

Passing Through

2008-08-19T20:27:00.002-04:00

I notice I have a lot of traffic from different countries and even the United States visiting my blog. If you do read the blog, please comment. I would love to know where you are from and if you found the blog interesting.
Thanks for looking!
Until next time!
Blessings to you~~~
Tracy

Birthday Celebration for a Pastor

2008-08-19T20:14:00.005-04:00

On Thursday August 14, 2008 Charity, Johnny & Rob put together a surprise birthday party for Pastor Deone (the Chapel singles pastor). Normally around this time of the year we have our annual chicken barbecue, almost knowing that Pastor Deone will not be in attendance. Charity, Johnny & Rob recruited Pat(Deone's wife) to help get him to the dinner. He had been in Virginia for a conference.
The chicken barbecue was delicious. Jim and Randy grilled the chicken while Jenny, Sylvia, Terry & Cindy all helped with the other dinner preparations. It was a nice evening of fellowship. After dinner the festivities began. We had some announcements about a missions trip fundraiser, divorce care and welcoming new people to the group. This all led into Sue getting up in the front to say she was blessed to know Pastor Deone for the past 15 years and was blessed to be able to celebrate his 50th birthday with him. At that point, Johnny, Charity, Rob, Ted & Mary Beth all came in with balloons and gifts for Pastor Deone. He was both surprised and blessed. Ted made him open a gift bag full of supplies for people getting old. Pastor Deone had a good laugh along withthe rest of us.
After the gift was opened cake and ice cream was served. It was a wonderful evening of fellowship.
Until next time!
Blessings to you~~~

Fair, Food & Fun in the Sun

2008-08-19T19:02:00.010-04:00

Last Wednesday (Yes, I know I am a bit behind in my blogging, please forgive me) I went to the America's Fair in Hamburg New York with my family. We were suppose to leave the house by 9am but did not get out of the driveway until about 9:20am. We stopped at a NAPA store for a belt for the lawn mower. Finally we were off to the fair.
We arrived at the fair around 10:30 and headed straight for the Creative Arts building where my sisters, sister-in-law and mom all entered crafts to be judged. My sister Amy and my sister-in-law, Sara had photos that were considered for the Tri-color award in photography division of creative arts. Hurray!!!! Cassandra took a second place award for both a painted egg and a crocheted doily she made. Mom took a few seconds in different categories. Seeing the entries of others I may enter some photographs next year and maybe a few pages of my scrapbook. I will have to be reminded of my intent.
After the Creative Arts building we headed to the concession stands. I ordered my yearly favorite, a chicken pita. Ummm Good!!! Cassandra and Amy got ribboned potatoes. After we got our food we were suppose to meet our parents over by the horse corrals to see horse jumping. We decided to eat first and then headed over to the corrals.
When we arrived at the corrals the horse jumping was in full swing or should I say in full jump. We watched the horse jumping for about and hour before heading over to see the Peking Chinese acrobats performance. Even though I have seen them many times over the past six years it is always amazing to see the show again. Each show is a little bit different. I am amazed at how agile the women and men performers seem to be. It takes a lot of work to do what they do.
After the Peking acrobats we saw a break dance performance. It was a lot of fun even if it was only a short performance.
After both of those shows we walked around a little bit in the Ag center to see the different products on display this year. Sometimes it is interesting other times I would rather be doing something else.
We got dinner another chicken pita and then we were off to see the Balloon man. He put on an interesting performance. I liked most of it, but there were times when he was speaking a little bit negatively to the young children he had up on stage.
Over all it was a great day. We left the fair around 8:30 pm. I was exhausted. It was nice to be able to take a day off from work and enjoy it with my family.
Until next Time!
Blessings to you~~

Family

2008-08-16T09:35:00.006-04:00

This past Monday night my brother, Ryan, my sister-in-law, Tammi, and my two nephews, Michael and Matthew came up from Ohio for a visit. Since I have not seen them since Easter it was nice to be able visit with them. My mom and sister, Cassandra prepared a delicious dinner and we were all able to eat outside and enjoy the nice weather we had on Monday night.
One thing that was nice about the evening was that all my family but my brother, Keith, were at the house. Would have been a great photo opportunity, but I missed it. :-(
After dinner the kids found our miniature playground. I guess it seems miniature to me because the slide, teeter totter, merri go round and kitchen sets are all too small for me to use. Matthew & Dakota (my niece) had a great time on the slide and teeter totter, while Michael had fun being swung around on the merri go round.
My brother, Jeff, decided to help move a pile of dirt over the back ledge by the pool. Dakota & Anna were able to help. They are great little helpers.
All in all it was a great evening. I am blessed to have such a great family.
Until next time!
Blessings to you~

Rain & Jousting

2008-08-13T08:37:00.012-04:00

This past Sunday after church I headed out to the Darien State Park with my sister, Cassandra and three friends Jeff, Karin & Jenn to enjoy a work picnic. The day started out not very promising with rain clouds in the sky. I did get to see a rainbow on my way to church. That was promising!
Around 12:45pm Jeff, Karin & Jenn arrived at my house so we could head over to the park. The rain decided it wanted to stick around. It did not damper our outing.
When we arrived my fellow coworkers were all under the shelter along with a huge round jousting inflatable. The caterers were cooking the chicken on a grill to get ready for lunch while some of the kids were jumping on the jousting arena. Around 1:30 the food was ready. We all enjoyed chef salad, baked beans, pink stuff, chicken and barbecue hamburgers. All the food was delicious.
After lunch the competition began. Tina & Katie got into the jousting arena and Tina kicked some butt. It was a lot of fun watching. I just could not watch so I did get in the arena and Tina went flying.
Everyone seemed to have a good time. It was especially great to see the fathers get into the arena and joust with their sons.
Well, until next time!
Blessings to you~

Splash!

2008-08-10T21:13:00.005-04:00

Yesterday I went with my two sisters, Cassandra and Amy to my girlfriend, Kim's house for a pool party. Kim put her invite out through Charity's list of events. If you didn't look close enough you might have missed the event. Well I saw it and I am glad I did because I had a great time.
I arrived later than I wanted to but I did not miss any of the highlights. Brad, Johnny & Charity were the first one at the house. Once I arrived and a couple others we ate subs from Wegman's plus other good foods.
After we ate (we didn't wait a half an hour) we decided it was good to go into the pool. Getting in was a challenge if you didn't want to submerge yourself right away. After a few minutes the water was comfortable. I actually tried diving off the diving board. I haven't done that in a couple years. I was not very graceful by any means. It didn't matter because I had a great time. Everyone but Nate got in the pool. I was good and only hit Jeff once with the noodle he gave me for my birthday. Brad did try to tip him off the float. After a while the wind picked up and I got cold. One by one the others got out to dry off and get warm. We even had hot cocoa in the middle of August.
Before I left a few of my friends started to play Settler's of Cattan. My sisters and I left and beat the storm that was brewing home. I was glad to be able to spend an afternoon with good friends.
Until next time!
Blessings to you!

Having a Ball!

2008-08-10T19:42:00.005-04:00

This past Thursday I encouraged my group of friends to head back to the Transit lanes for a couple hours of bowling. Who can beat 50Cents a game! I know I can't. This week the group consisted of Jim, Phil, Karin, Jackie, John, Christopher, Jeff, Bill & me. Once again I made it to the lanes first and was able to purchase the games (actually Christopher bought the games) before everyone arrived. Once everyone arrived the games began.
Jim, Karin & Bill were on one team, while Christopher, Phil & I were on the other team. We did have two extra games to bowl so we had team members name Any1 and Any2. When those games game into play we just practiced bowled. Bill would try out his spin, while Christopher would either give Phil a hard time or have me bowl to tire out my are(since I was bowling good that night).
It was a fun evening. Jim was up to his antics again of walking in front of the camera purposefully to mess up the photo. Thanks a lot Jim! All in all everyone had a great time. I even bowled better than last week. Getting enough sleep the night before helps out greatly.
Until next time!
Blessings to you!

Sunsets

2008-08-10T19:36:00.005-04:00

This year the clouds have been phenomenal. I have been able to take some photos while I am traveling plus when I am at home. Here are just a few. God is so AWESOME!

Bisons & Birthday Cake

2008-08-10T19:09:00.008-04:00

On Saturday August 2nd, I met up with friends at Jackie's house. We were going to a Buffalo Bison's game to celebrate Colleen's birthday. The thought was that we would save money by eating a head of time instead of having to purchase park food at exorbitant prices. What a delicious meal we ate. One of the gang (can't remember if it was Jim or Jackie) grilled the hot dogs and hamburgers plus we had a lot of vegetables(including corn on the cob.) After we ate we headed to Dunn Tire Park where we met up with Phil Dean (he had to work). When we got to our seats, it started to rain. Great! It looked like it was going to pass & it did but not before we saw a beautiful double rainbow. The game was delayed by about an hour & a half. The game finally started around 8:45 and it was exciting. The Bison's got ahead by 3 runs but lost the lead in the top of the 4th inning.
Other highlights of the evening at the park included,1) my coworker, Jesse, stopping by and giving us peanuts. 2) My friend, Jenn, mooching french fries from the guy behind us. We have affectionately called him the "French Fry Guy." We were going to try & get a picture with him but he left before we thought about it. Oh, well! 3) Throwing peanuts to try and aggravate each other.
After the game we headed back to Jackie's so we could celebrate Colleen's birthday. Jackie had a special chocolate cake for Colleen. We put candles in it so Colleen could blow them out. Plus after the cake we had presents for Colleen. Presents are always fun. She was blessed.
The whole evening was a success.
Until next time!
Blessings to you

At the Lanes

2008-08-10T18:57:00.007-04:00

I know it has been a little over a week since I have written, I apologize to those who are faithful to read my blog. It means a lot to me that you take the time to read. I've just not been in the blogging in mood. Well, since I have done a lot since the last blog, I figure I better get in the mood. Plus I have pictures to go along with the blogs. So you will most likely be reading a couple blogs. So here is the first of a couple.
On Thursday, July 31 a group of us headed over to Transit Lanes after MOSAIC to enjoy a couple games of bowling. I got to the lanes around 9pm and everyone else trickled in around 9:30. I was thankful that the management allowed me to pay for the games up front and let my friends pay for their shoes as they came. I was concerned that we would not get a lane. In actuality we had two lanes because we had eight people play.
What a fun evening! We have our experienced bowlers and the bowlers who come just for the fellowship and the laughs. We had a lot of laughs. I didn't play very well because I needed sleep. Both my sores evened out to 100. I was glad.
Here are a few photos from the evening.

Presque Isle

2008-08-01T21:31:00.009-04:00

This past weekend I went with a group of friends from MOSAIC down Erie, PA for a day at Presque Isle. What a day!
I met up with Jeff and Karin at Jeff's house around 8:30am. The three of us were going to drive together. Karin and I were both tired from being up late the night before. I for one was glad that Jeff was driving. We left Jeff's about 9:00 to head down to Hamburg to meet up with Julie, Alanna and Alex. We got there around 9:30 and were on the road by 10. It took us about two hours to travel to Presque Isle.
When we arrived at the park, it took us a little bit of time to find a parking spot. It had rained and being near a beach there were a lot of large puddles that took up parking spaces. We did finally grab a space that Mark W left when he brought the jet skis to the dock. We parked, got our stuff out of the car and headed to the beach. Kisha was manning the grill and some others were sunning. I was tired (especially since I had taken some Benadryl about two hours earlier) and I felt like I was going to fall over. I did end up laying down for about twenty minutes before Brad felt it necessary to put sand all over me. Thanks Brad!
Lunch was good with hot dogs, hamburgers, salads and baked beans. After lunch most everyone headed down to the water. The waves were coming in strong. It was fun to try and beat the wave. I know a couple times the waves beat me. Everyone in the water looked like they were having a great time.
Later in the afternoon a group of us went over to the sand volleyball courts to try and play. Sometimes it was a challenge because of the different levels of skill. We did have some good volleys and everyone had a great time. After volleball everyone was hungry again so we went back to the beach to prepare dinner and then get ready for the sunset.
What a sunset it was! Beautiful is not expressive enough.
The day ended with me riding back with Julie, Alanna and Alex. We stopped at a Chick-fil-A for a bite to eat. They have great chicken sandwiches and delicious shakes. Julie drove to her house and Alex and I left so he could bring me back to Jeff's so I could get my car. It was a long day.
I was glad I went.
Until next time
Blessings to you~~

A Servant's Heart

2008-07-30T06:43:00.002-04:00

A Servant's Heart

Dedicated to the One who called him by name.
Allows his life ever to be changed.
Realizing he must present a Servant' Heart.
Obedience to his Master in truth will he impart.
Not intimidated by the challenge he faces,
Will show Christ's love in far off places.
Holding in his heart words written in the Bible,
In deeds towards others he knows he is liable.
Service to the Lord is his heart's intent.
Ministering to others is where his time is spent.
Always wanting and willing to do his part,
Nothing will change his desire to have a
Servant's Heart.

Tracy L. Stone ~~1992

How often do I show a servant's heart? Yet, that is what the Lord asks of me. It is my daily prayer that I have the willingness to be a servant to those around me. Not to be a doormat, but to be a blessing and encouragement to each person I come into contact.
Until next time~
Blessings to you~~

Reflection from the past

2008-07-29T08:04:00.002-04:00

Just thought I'd share a poem I wrote several years ago. I hope it blesses.

Lord I come

Lord, I come to you for direction.
Please show me what to do.
Without your Guiding Hand,
I am left without a clue.

My Child, I come to you with guidance.
Take my outstretched hand.
Without you will falter.
Remember, I am in command.

Lord, I come with many questions.
Please show me what is right.
There is much confusion.
I am kept awake at night.

My child, I come to you with answers.
They are written in My Word.
There you will find solutions,
To the problems with seem absurd.

Lord, I come with my heart broken.
Please mend it strong and new.
When will my heart learn
To continually trust in You.

My Child, I come to you with My Love.
Please do not worry or fear.
When trouble comes to tempt you,
Remember I am always near.
~~~Tracy L. Stone 1991~~

Until next time~
Blessings to you~~

MOSAIC & Other stuff

2008-07-28T22:14:00.003-04:00

I know it has been a few days since I last blogged but I have been busy and not awake enough to write or I have been running a bit behind schedule in the morning to write before work.
The last few days have been full of activity. I will only give a brief run down until I can get more because once again I am extremely tired.
Thursday night I went to MOSAIC. Pastor Deone spoke on Shame -Misplaced Shame and Well-placed shame. It was a great message. I walked away challenged. After study a group of headed over to Applebee's on the Blvd for a bite to eat. I was able to have a great conversation with a new friend, Alex. He has been a blessing!
Friday I had an early day at work which meant I got to go in at 7:30 and leave at 5:30. After work I had to get fruit for my trip to Presque Isle the next day. I also met a good friend for dinner at Fuddrucker's. We had nice visit. Then I went to meet my cousin to give her more Pampered Chef orders. I did not get to bed until midnight and I had to be up early the next morning.
Saturday I traveled to Presque Isle (more in a later blog) and Sunday I went to a pool party at a friend's house in Lewiston. Tonight I have been editing photos and now I am ready for bed.
Until next time!!
Blessings to you~~

Rest

2008-07-24T07:35:00.002-04:00

Not much happening but I did get to bed early last night. I have been tired lately. It could be me staying up late and getting up early. Haha Anyways I was in bed by 9pm last night. Before I went to bed I did do some creative stuff. I am making some note cards with flower photos I have taken for Christmas presents. I have a lot to make so the earlier I start the better. Last night was corner rounding the matting for the photos. I did get some of the photos on the mats but not very many. It will be a project for another day.
Tonight is MOSAIC. I am looking forward to going. Pastor Deone has been teaching some great messages. Last week was about pride and the week before was about anxiety. I'm not sure what tonight will bring but I am sure it will be good.
Well, I have to go to work early again today. So I hope you all have a blessed day.
Until next time~
Blessings to you~~

Raspberry Lemonade

2008-07-23T07:42:00.002-04:00

Last night my mom and I hosted a Pampered Chef party here at the house. We had about 10 people show up for the enjoyment of Raspberry Lemonade Surprise and a great sandwich(which I do not remember the name). My cousin, Nikki, was the demonstrator. During the evening in order to demonstrate her products she asked for volunteers to do the work. Each volunteer got a round of applause and we had a great time.
As for other activities going on. Monday night I met up with two friends, one for dinner and the other to give a personal opinion on his painting endeavors. Well, dinner was at Moe's Southwestern Grill and it was good. Adam and I had a great conversation and a delicious meal. The restaurant was packed because it was kids eat free night. Adam wanted to go to another place but I said I had been looking forward to Moe's all day. So we stayed.
After dinner I headed over to Jeff's to see his painting project. He is painting his kitchen and entrance way. He needed someone else's opinion on how far he should paint. Hopefully I gave him some good advice.
Well, I have to go to work early today. So I hope you all have a great day.
Until next time!
Blessings to you~~

Asparagus & Bunny

2008-07-20T23:08:00.011-04:00

Last night I went to a great party given by Julie (a new friend to me.) She invited a number of singles from MOSAIC out to her home. The rain did not keep people away. I am glad for her. When I arrived her dad was grilling the hot dogs, hamburgers and sausages on the grill while her mom was inside making sure the hot food was getting hot. Jim, Mark W & Phil were playing catch while a few others were inside enjoying the coolness of the air conditioning.
I brought my cousin, Kara, with me to the party. After I arrived the rain started coming down a harder so most of us either stayed under the tent or went inside the house. Dinner was served not much later. Julie's daughter, Alanna, reminded us all that we forgot to pray. So we took care of that and let the party begin.
One of the highlights of the evening was the grilled asparagus that Jeff & Alex (who I just met) put together. They rummaged through Julie's refrigerator & cupboards for different spices, oils and dressings. I think they tried about 5 different varieties. First on the grill was walnut oil, salt & pepper, and Italian dressing. When those two varieties were done, they went fast. Next on the grill was Raspberry vinaigrette and Caesar dressing (separate). The Raspberry was not a favorite, but the Caesar went over great. The last bunch was a mixture of everything but the raspberry and another Caesar. I think Alex and Jeff will be bringing the asparagus to my bonfire in September. They are just asking everyone to bring a different spice. (should be interesting).
After dinner we celebrated Julie's birthday. Karin made a cake and Alanna helped her mom blow out the candles. Later in the evening Julie got to open presents. She received a great hat & bandanna from Karin, a couple books from Charity and a frame from me.
Alex, Kara, Jackie, Brittany, Tim & I played volleyball in the dark, rainy evening. I slipped on the grass once.
The whole evening was a success in my opinion. Everyone looked like they were having a great time even Mark who decided it would be fun to spray the whipped cream directly into his mouth.
Well, it is getting late. I just had to write because a lot of people are expecting to see the photos.
Until next Time~
Blessings to you~~

Family

2008-07-20T22:25:00.008-04:00

This past Thursday relatives started to arrive at the house for our 2nd annual Stone Family reunion. Thursday night brought my Aunt Lyn, Uncle Jerry, Cousin Janeil, and their family friend, Rose from Newark, Ohio. Friday night brought my Aunt Sherry from Tampa, Florida. Saturday brought my cousin Nikki and her three children Kara, Cameron and Culin, plus their cousin's (my cousin's once removed) Kayla, Lexi, and Zechariah.
Thursday night nothing special happened. Friday the family minus me (I had to work), my parents and my sister, Amy went to Niagara Falls to enjoy one of the seven wonders of the world, Niagara Falls. Later in the evening they all went to see WALLE at the Drive in Theatre in Lockport. I would have like to go to the movie but I got home from work to late. When I did come home I did get to enjoy a delicious dinner made by my uncle Jerry. He made some sort of cheesy chicken and spaghetti with homemade sauce. Umm Good!
Saturday morning I woke up my aunts to head out to JCPenney's. The store was having great sale. I did get a few outfits. Since I only had an hour (my sister, Cassandra, warned me I had to have everyone home by 11am) I never made it out of the woman's department. That is okay because I spent enough in that department.
When we got home the festivities began(well not quite at 11 because Nikki and the kids were a little late). My dad got the grill going to grill sausages and hamburgers. Cassandra had the bonfire pit going to roast corn on the cob. I had made macaroni salad the night before and mom made knox blocks (from jello) before we left for JCPenney's. We ate around noon and everyone got their fill.
Before lunch we had to guess how much candy was in 4 candy jars Cassandra had put together for the day. The person closest to guessing got the jar. Needless to say I did not win any of the jars.
After lunch I took pictures of the kids. I had been taking pictures of other stuff already during the day. But the kids know that I will have them pose for me. I am excited to say that the photos came out great.
Also after lunch we had a treasure hunt. Cassandra divided all the family up into four teams. Then gave us the first clue of 12. We had to find our next clue by figuring out the first one. If you found the treasure before you had all the clues you could not open it. Everyone had a great time with the treasure hunt. Cassandra had us back and forth across our property several times. I have never seen my dad run so much. It was neat to see each team work together to solve the clues. When all twelve clues were collected you got the treasure. It was a cooler fill with candy, stuffed animals and other fun stuff.
After the treasure hunt Cassandra made cotton candy with the kids while the adults sat around and talked. Plus we were trying to cool down from all the running during the treasure hunt.
It was a wonderful afternoon. I am looking forward to next years reunion. Hopefully more family will be able to join us.
Until next time~
Blessings to you

MOSAIC

2008-07-20T18:49:00.002-04:00

Thursday night found me at the Chapel at Crosspoint for a great dinner of Italian sausage and a good message about Pride from Pastor Deone. Last week we started meeting under the portico and it was nice to be outside rather than in the Crosspoint Theater.
This week we celebrated one of the couples 50th wedding anniversary. You may ask why a married couple is attending a singles group. I am not sure why but I would venture a guess that they enjoy Pastor Deone's messages. The neat thing about the anniversary was that it was also the husband's birthday. (He could not forget his annivesary) Well, anyways, MOSAIC had cake and ice cream in honour of the couple's anniversary.
After the message, most of my friends and I just hung out. A few of them ended up at Jackie's for a bonfire. I had already gone home to go to bed early (which did not happen).
Until next time.
Blessings to you~~~

Scrapbooking

2008-07-20T18:43:00.003-04:00

I have not written in a while but I have been busy. Wednesday night I was able to scrapbook with some wonderful friends. I am a year behind in my scrapbooks and my pictures pile seems to get higher and higher with each passing week. I was able to complete four pages of last year's family reunion. I still have about 20 more pictures from the reunion to put into the scrapbook.
Before the scrapbooking started one of women brought supplies for each of us to make a card. I made a birthday card for a friend whose birthday was on Saturday. I also now know how I will be making my Christmas cards this Christmas.
Until next time (which will be in a few minutes)
Blessings to you~~

From A to Z

2008-07-18T22:57:00.002-04:00

A is for age 37
B is for burger of choice. McDonalds cheeseburger.
C is for what car you drive. 2003 Ford Taurus. This is my second one and I was excited it had a CD Player.
D is for Dog's name. Cinnamon (rottweiler/collier mix) but she died about 2 years ago. My parents have two pembroke corgi's Tyler and Jasper
E is for essential item you use every day. Mary Kay toner
F is for favorite tv show at the moment Don't really watch TV
G is for Favorite game. Bejeweled 2 on king.com
H is for Hometown. Akron, New York
I is for instruments you play. use to play the recorder in school
J is for favorite juice. Cranberry
K is for who you'd like to kiss. Somebody special
L is for last restaurant you ate at. Applebee's almost every Thursday night
M is for your favorite Muppet. Animal
N is for number of piercings.Two
O is for overnight hospital stays.Three in the past six years
P is for people you were with today.Coworkers at the Alden State Bank and my family
Q is for what you do with your quiet time. Scrapbook, blog, play on the computer
R is for greatest Reward: Knowing Jesus
S is for status. Single
T is for time you woke up today. Real time or the several times I woke up during the night. 6:50am
U is for what you consider unique. Laughter of a child
V is for vegetable you love. Corn
W is for worst habit. procrastination
X is for number of x-rays you've had. a few
Y is for yummy food you ate today. Sour Cream coffee cake with blueberries
Z is for ? Zucchini

Sunny Days

2008-07-16T07:02:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was not all that exciting. Work was busy and I got home later than I wanted. I was glad my mom prepared dinner of chicken, mashed potatoes and green beans. I was able to sit with my family and enjoy the home-cooked meal.
Last night my dad and mom hosted a Bible Study called the Truth Project. I was not part of the discussion as I was on the computer ordering pictures, but I did hear a lot of the video and discussion. It sounds good. If anyone is interested in attending it is Tuesday nights @ 7pm, right here at the house.
I did get my pictures ordered and some for a friend. What a process! I am so thankful for the digital camera I get a few weeks ago. It has been fun working with the photos. However, I am not sure my family appreciates how much time I spend on the computer now.
One other thing, just wanted to say I appreciate all the comments. It is fun to see how many people read the blog and what your thoughts are.
Until next time~
Blessings to you~~

Excitement on the Lanes

2008-07-15T07:04:00.005-04:00

Last night I went bowling at the Transit Lanes with my nieces Dakota and Anna and my two sisters, Cassandra and Amy. What a Blast!
I arrived home around 5pm to the girls all waiting in the driveway. They were excited to be going out with Aunt Tracy, Aunt Cassie and Aunt Amy. While I changed into more comfortable clothes, Cassandra and Amy got Dakota and Anna situated in the car. Then we were off. First, I had to go to the chiropractor for an adjustment. I feel good by the way. Once the adjustment was over we headed to the lanes.
We had two lanes one for Dakota and Anna with bumpers and one for Cassie, Amy & me. The girls were excited. Dakota went first and got a few pins down. When Anna turn came up, she was so excited she couldn't contain her excitement. I was able to help her push the ball down the lane. When the ball left her hands, she would run back to my sisters and say "I did it, I did it!" It was the cutest thing.
It took us about two hours to complete 2 games. The girls were tired about halfway through the second game. Everyone had a great time, even Jeff who came to watch, (but was outside talking to his friend, Mark).
Until next time.
Blessings to you~~

Resurrection Ranch

2008-07-13T17:06:00.004-04:00

Last night I went out to Middleport, New York to hang out with a group of friends from MOSAIC. Johnny Ciavatta owns the property up there and invited everyone out for an evening of fun and fellowship. I met up with some friends. Actually on the way to Johnny's, Jeff and I met at one point. I ended up following him to the party.
While at the party, I was able to enjoy good conversation with Lynda, Karin, Julie and Kathy. Karin and I threw her football around for a little while. It was funny watching the two of us, I could not throw the ball straight. There were a couple times we thought I might hit Martin's motorcycle. It never happened thankfully.
Johnny and Charity put on a good party. Everyone of all ages seemed to have a good time. After 5pm it started to rain. The rain did not keep people away. The continued to come out for the fellowship. Tony & Marcie brought a chocolate fondue fountain with all sorts of different foods to dip in the chocolate. Ummm good!!!
It was a good evening and I am glad I attended.
Until next time!
Blessings to you~~

Thanksgiving

2008-07-10T17:41:00.002-04:00

"On that day David first delivered this psalm into the hand of Asaph and his brethren, to thank the LORD: Oh, give thanks to the LORD! Call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples! Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; Talk of all His wondrous works! Glory in His Holy name; Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the LORD! Seek the LORD and His strength; Seek His face evermore! Remember His marvelous works which He has done, His wonders, and the judgements of His mouth, O seed of Israel His servant, you children of Jacob, His chosen ones! 1 Chronicles 16:7-13 (Psalm 105:1-6)
Thanksgiving - Not just a holiday we celebrate once a year. It should be a daily public acknowledgment or celebration of divine goodness. In other words, we should daily be thanking God for His Goodness and His Presence in our lives.
The above verses express how we should give praise and thanksgiving back to God. How often do we get caught up in our worries and fears or trials of life that we forget all the good things the Lord has done? David encouraged the Israelites to not only give thanks to God but to tell others about the good works that God did in their lives. We are to "Sing to Him", "Glory in His name", "Rejoice in our hearts", and "Remember His marvelous works." When we take the focus off of ourselves and put our focus on God, we cannot help but to rejoice.
I encourage you, along with myself, to "GIVE THANKS & REJOICE"!

Little ones

2008-07-10T08:12:00.002-04:00

Last night I visited with a friend. We met at his sister's house so I could see his mom and little great niece. What a fun evening? Little Lilliana is about 16 months old and a little character. She loved to have her grandma, grandpa and uncle chase her around the yard. It was also fun watching her dance when she played her little Princess CD player. (It wasn't a real CD Player, but one made for little ones)
I was glad for the time I had to spend with a friend and his family. There were some interesting conversations. I pray God will use the conversations to draw each one of us closer to HIM.
I am off to work.
Blessings to you~~~

Tennis with a Friend

2008-07-08T22:17:00.003-04:00

Tonight I played tennis with my friend, Adam. I had a great time. He hasn't played in a while but that was okay because the people in the court next to us were very forgiving. We never really played a real game just rallied back and forth across the net. There were a few times I did make him run for the ball. He would say he won no matter what the score was because of a handicap. It didn't bother me because he was making me laugh. Laughter is always a good thing.
After tennis our friend Jeff joined us at the Clarence Center Coffee House for some fellowship. It was open mike night, so we ended up getting our order and sitting outside. The fellowship was nice.
It was a good night to play.
Until next time!
Blessings to you~~

Seeking the Rewarder

2008-07-08T17:14:00.003-04:00

"But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." Hebrew 11:6

Today I started a study about what it means to Seek after God. The above verse is the first one I came upon in my study. I wrote out some questions and answers. There is a lot of good stuff in the above verse. I hope my thoughts encourage you.

What does it mean to "please" God? It means to bring Him pleasure. We become a source of delight or joy to the Lord.

Why do I need faith in order to please God? I need to believe that God is who He says He Is. When I negate or don't have faith in God, it does not change His Character, it changes how effective He can be in my life. When I do have faith and believe in God, His character is revealed to me and then He changes my character. Plus now I am a source of delight to Him because I have communion with Him.

What does it mean "He is a Rewarder of those who diligently seek Him"? When I seek Him, He will be found and He will not let me walk away empty handed. He will fill me with His Presence. How AWESOME is that!!!

Do I believe that He is a Rewarder to me when I diligently seek Him? I DO!!! However I know I am not always diligent in my seeking.

Well, I hope these thoughts were encouraging. Until next time
Blessings to you~~

God is Good

2008-07-08T08:01:00.002-04:00

I am so thankful that God truly is GOOD! No matter how I am feeling He is my source of strength. I am glad I can trust HIM to do what He says He promises. There is no reason to fear or worry about what I think should happen.
Just a thought for this morning.
Blessings to you!

Home

2008-07-06T14:59:00.006-04:00

Here is the cottage I stayed at for the week of June 28th through July 5th. It was very spacious. Each of us had our own bed, except for Bill (he slept on the couch). I made it home yesterday afternoon at 2pm. It was a good drive home with John and Karen. We stopped at a rest area half way home and got ice cream (peanut butter cup waffle cone Umm Good!)
Yesterday I downloaded and uploaded all the pictures from the trip. I took about 300 photos. When I was going through pictures yesterday, I did delete a handful of them. All in all the photos came out great. I will try and upload a few here.
The vacation was wonderful. I did come home fully rested.
Until next time!
Blessings to you~~

1000 Islands day 5

2008-07-04T08:25:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was a quiet day around here. The rain and clouds did finally diminish around 6pm. The waters were calm. Nobody around here went into the water unless you count the kids in the cottage next to ours.

Johnny finally brought out his fishing pole. It took him all afternoon to get outside. He drove over to the marina to get some night crawlers in hopes that he would catch the catfish that lives close to our dock. After dinner (dinner was at 8pm) he did go outside and try to fish. When he came in, he said he did not catch anything but he did get a bite and that excited him. He might try again today. I'll let you know what happens.

I finished reading my book "Someday" by Karen Kingsbury. She is an excellent writer. She makes her stories come alive because she uses real life situations in her books. The book challenged me and also made me cry.

Other inside activities were reading, doing crossword puzzles and watching TV. Jim, Karen, Jackie and I did play a couple games of Phase 10. Karen won both games.

All in all it was good day.

Today the sun is shining and there is a little breeze in the air. We are going to have French toast for breakfast and then coerce Bill to swim across the Bay with us. Later this afternoon Jim's family will join us for the day and then in the evening we will find somewhere to watch the 4th of July fireworks.

Until next time.

Blessings to you~~~

Rain, Rain Go away

2008-07-03T08:26:00.002-04:00

It is about 8:30am here in the 1000 Islands and it has been raining since 6:00am. Not fun! Most of us had plans to swim to a nearby rock (okay, maybe it is about 300ft across the bay.) How can we swim to the rock when it is raining. Oh, well. I hope the weather clears up.

Right now Jackie, Karen and I are the only ones up and about. Well, I should say that Jim just walked into the kitchen. We are either on the internet or fixing breakfast. I did had oatmeal and yogurt for breakfast. It was delicious. I'm not sure what the others will be having besides tea and coffee.

Right now there are no plans for the day. I'm sure we will come up with something. Last night after dinner we played a competitive game of Phase 10. In every hand, Jackie and Johnny were the first two people to be skipped. Johnny had us laughing every time he got skipped. In the end, Jackie completed Phase 10 and won the game. Johnny came in a close 2nd but did not complete the phase. It was a lot of fun to spend an evening playing games with friends.

Until next time.

Blessings to you~~

Be Still

2008-07-03T08:13:00.003-04:00

"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted the earth." Psalm 46:10

How often do I let my activity draw me away from Jesus? How often to I become anxious about a situation in my life and think I have to be the one to fix the problem? In the above verse, God tells me to "Be still and know that He is God." When I am still and willing to let Him be God, He can accomplish amazing things in my life. Not to bring glory to me, but so that "He will be exalted among the nation, He will be exalted in the earth."

I am learning to be still. It is not always easy, but it is rewarding. I want to continue to know that He is God. I want Him to be exalted in every area of my life. I want to cease striving for what I think is best and surrender my expectations to God so that He will be glorified and the world will know that HE IS GOD.

Blessings to you~~

1000 Islands day 4

2008-07-02T18:12:00.002-04:00

I can hardly believe I have been on vacation for four days. It has been a relaxing vacation. One of the best vacations in a while. Today there were no plans so I was able to sleep in for a little while. Karen & Jackie prepared scrambled eggs and sausage for breakfast. Jim prepared the toast. It was all delicious.

After breakfast Jackie, Karen, Karin and I went down by the dock. I started reading a new book by Karen Kingsbury while I enjoyed the sun and breeze off the bay. Today was a little bit cooler because of the breeze. I didn't get to far into the book before it made me cry. I had to put it down to think about some of what the book was saying.

Jim's parents, sister, brother-in-law, niece and nephew came up from Watertown for a short visit today. They were here for lunch. Caleb coerced Jim into going swimming. Karen, Karin and I went in with them. The water was warm today. I should say it was cool at first and then got warmer as you swam around in it. The water was choppy so made swimming a little bit of a challenge.

John got in the water later in the day. He made us all laugh with his antics in the water.

The ladies are now preparing left overs for dinner. I should be helping so I am going to stop writing.

Until next time.

Blessings to you~~

1000 Islands day 3

2008-07-01T19:57:00.002-04:00

Today started out with me making pancakes for breakfast. The first couple of pancakes did not come out round. Jim and I had a discussion about why they were possibly not coming out round. It was entertaining.

After breakfast Karin, Karen & I went swimming in the bay. The water was calm. We also saw a hug catfish at the end of the dock. We wanted to wake John up so he could fish, but we were nice.

After lunch around 2:30 we left for Alex Bay. We decided to take the ferry to Boldt Castle. The ferry was quick and we toured the castle for about 2 hours. There is an amazing story surrounding the castle. I was impressed at how much renovation has taken place since I was there a couple years ago with my friends, Wendy and Kim.

When we arrived back at Alex Bay, we stopped for ice cream. I had a delicious cup of Peanut Butter cup ice cream. Umm Good!!!

When we got back to the cottage, Karen & Jackie prepared dinner of potatoes, carrots, asparagus, shrimp, steak and chicken patties. Jim actually grilled the steak and potatoes. It was a feast fit for a king.

Well, now we have just finished dinner and are possibly going to teach Karin how to play Killer Uno. It should be a fun evening.

Until next time.

Blessings to you~~~

1000 Islands day 2 part 2

2008-07-01T12:13:00.002-04:00

Yesterday afternoon the group of us did travel back into Alexandria Bay. It is a quaint little tourist town. We walked through most of the souvenir shops. I bought a Christmas ornament (Jackie gave me the idea) and some post cards to send back to friends in Buffalo. We stayed in Alex bay for about three hours with plans to go back today for a trip to Boldt Castle.

When we came back to the cottage, Karin and I went into the bay for an afternoon swim. I had Jim take pictures of us out on the water. The water was a bit choppy because of the wind. We had a great time out on the water. We tried to make an eight with the two noodles we had. Karen and Jim were laughing at us because we looked like two bobbing heads trying to keep a float. We tried to encourage them to come in the water but they had more fun watching the two of us try to beat the waves coming in.

John grilled pork chops for dinner, plus we had corn on the cob and two different pasta salads. It was a delicious dinner. Kudos to the chefs.

After dinner we all hung out in the living room. I was reading while the rest of the group tried to do crossword puzzles. They were trying to figure out of four letter word for long coat. The word was maxi. Yes, everyone got a good laugh from the word. That is the strangeness of cross word puzzles. After they finished the cross word puzzle they turned on the movie, Timeline. I went to my bedroom and talked with a friend back in Buffalo and was in bed by about 11pm.

Until next time.

Blessings to you!

1000 Islands - day 2 part 1

2008-06-30T13:02:00.002-04:00

How wonderful it is to not have to wake up and get ready for work. I did have a better night sleep last night. I woke up at 5:30am and read in Esther for a little while. God did some amazing events in the life of Esther. I did go back to bed and woke up to a text message from a friend at 7:30am. The text got me out of bed and I headed down to the water to enjoy the morning sunshine and quietness of the start of the day.
So far today we have just sat around. I have been reading a good book by Lori Wick. It is a Christian Romance book but the author has put some thought provoking tidbits in the story. I am always impressed when a writer can share Christ in their writing.
It is about lunch time. I think we will be headed into Alexandria Bay this afternoon to do some sight seeing and shopping. Should be fun!
Until next time!
Blessings to you!!

At the mention of His Name

2008-06-30T12:54:00.002-04:00

This morning when I was sitting on the dock down by the water, I was writing some thoughts down in my journal. It was about not being jealous or envious when a person's name was mentioned in my presence. As I wrote the Lord showed me some things about how I react to the name of Jesus. Do I react with excitement? Would a person know how much I love Jesus if they were to mention His Name in my presence? Do I cringe when they use His name in vain or do I just pass it off as not important?
I do not want to be nonchalant about my relationship with Jesus. He found me and made me His own. I am bought with a price. That price was His death on the cross. He died for my sins and I should be grateful. I am grateful but do others know. From now on, I want to be excited at the mention of HIS NAME. Jesus~~ there is no other name that could mean more to me.
Blessings to you!

Day one~ Thousand Islands

2008-06-29T21:23:00.002-04:00

After a almost decent night of sleep, I woke up to watch the Chapel service online with Karin, Karen and John. The service was great (aside from the computer screen freezing up every so often.) There was a guest speaker, Robert Stearns. He spoke from the book of Esther. It was nice to be able to discuss the sermon with everyone while it was going on. We had a few good laughs at the screen freezing up.

After the service we all ate breakfast and decided it would be a good idea to go swimming. I am thankful we picked up a couple of pool noodles at Walmart last night. It helps when you are in the water, since I could not touch the bottom. Karen had her mask, snorkel and fins. She was having a good time seeing stuff under water. We were in the water for about 45 minutes. The sun was shining and there was a nice breeze off the water to help dry our swimsuits. After a little while we did come in to make lunch and brought it back out to the dock.

The sun made me tired so I came back inside to take a good nap. It was nice to be able to relax and have nothing else to do. When I woke up, I did my nails (something I haven't done in a long time) and my friend, Jeff called to see how we were doing.

Jackie and Jim arrived around 6:30-7:00pm. We unloaded Jackie's car, put all the food away and then we all sat down for dinner. Karin baked chicken and we had fresh green beans with tuna salad and fruit. Delicious!!

About two hours earlier a major storm came through the area and while we were eating the sun came out and we were blessed with the sight of a beautiful rainbow. Actually a double rainbow

God is so Good!!

Well, it is late and I have to go.

Until next time

Blessings to you!

I have arrived

2008-06-29T21:04:00.002-04:00

Yesterday, Karin, Karen & John all met at my house to head out to the Thousand Islands. Everyone was concerned about how we were going to get all the luggage in the trunk of my car. I managed to get 6 suitcases, 1 tackle box, 1 cooler, a case of Pepsi, a loaf of bread, helmet and miscellaneous other items into the trunk of my car. Not sure how, but we did get the trunk closed without smashing the bread. Karen hooked up her bike rack to the trunk of my car and put her bike along with Jim's bike on the rack. She also bungeed John's fishing rod and net to the bikes. Let me say my car was loaded. Now I just had to get the people in my car.

John sat in the front seat with his laptop. Karin and Karen sat in the back seat with Karin's laptop and my camera. (I could not forget my camera that would not have been good.) I had my mom come outside to take a picture and pray with us and then we were on the road by 11am. (The estimated departure time. Yeah!!!)

I was told we needed to stop for coffee, so the at the first rest area there was a Tim Horton's. I pulled into the rest area and we had to wait about 40 minutes for our beverages. By noon we were back on the road.

The trip took us a little over four hours. The weather was not the greatest for driving in, but I managed to get everyone to 5 Bayview Drive in one piece. I had to drive in a lot of heavy rain. I was glad to be driving because I don't know how I would have been as a passenger. Everyone in the car was great about me driving. Yeah!!

We arrived at the cottage around 4pm. Margaret, the owner of the cottage, was waiting for our arrival at the house. She is a precious older woman. She pointed out some of the details of the cottage. It is an amazing cottage right on the water. There are five bedrooms, three bathrooms, living area, kitchen, dining room, sunroom, three car garage and front/back porch. We were all in awe of the cottage. It was not like anything we ever expected. I am thankful that I could be here and that we arrived safely.

Until next time, Blessings to you~

Ps, When I get home I will put pictures up.

Getting Ready

2008-06-27T23:30:00.002-04:00

This week has been busy. Tonight I am suppose to be packing for my trip to the Thousand Islands tomorrow. I am somewhat packed. I will be gone a week and am not sure just how much to pack, plus my car will be the one being used and I will have four people and all the luggage. Will it all fit? I am not sure. I guess tomorrow I will find out. Karin and I are having dilemmas on what to bring and what not to bring. I hope we don't forget anything. Well, I must go. It is late and I really do need my rest before tomorrow especially if I will be driving. Until next time.
Blessings to you!

Brad's Birthday

2008-06-27T23:11:00.007-04:00

On Sunday Brad Weaver's mom put together a 40th birthday party for Brad at her house out in Eden near 18 mile creek. I rode with Karin and Bill to the party. We arrive a couple hours after the party started, but Brad was kind enough to take us down to the waterfalls. How Beautiful!!! God truly is an amazing God to display His handiwork for all of us to see and appreciate.
During our walk we noticed the rumbling of thunder and the sky becoming a bit darker. Yet, Karin, Bill, Brad and I were able to enjoy the scenic beauty of Brad's mom's property. At one point Bill found a tree he could somewhat climb. However, there needed to be a warning sign because he almost fell off because the branch broke.
When we arrived back at the house, everyone was drying out from the first hike and just relaxing while waiting for dinner. Brad's brother prepared all the food. He made some of the best homemade macaroni and cheese I have ever tasted. Maybe it was all the butter in it. It was delicious. Some of the group pooled money together to get Brad a 4 cycle weed wacker for his birthday. Let me just say he was thrilled. He was like a kid in a candy store. The day ended with cake and ice cream. Plus a little bit of rain. Bill, Karin and I left around 8pm. By the time I arrived home I was exhausted and ready to go to bed. Now it is the end of another week and I am looking forward to a great vacation. Until next time. Blessings to you.

Jim's Birthday

2008-06-25T23:29:00.006-04:00

On Saturday afternoon I went to Hamlin Park in East Aurora for a surprise party for my friend, Jim McGee. His wife, Susan, got together a lot of the TNF Singles group from the Chapel. Most of the friends arrived around 3:30 with Jim arriving at around 4pm. We all asked Susan how she planned the party. She said she told Jim there was this thing in East Aurora that he just had to be at (since there is always things happening in East Aurora.) We all had a good laugh.

When Jim arrived he thought it strange that a woman he didn't know (at least that is what he thought was taking pictures of him as he walked toward the shelter where the party was taking place. Then he realized it was me and the look on his face was priceless.
George, Lance, Jim and Nate all had a great time eating their cake. It had been a long time since all the guys were together. George had really wanted to surprise Jim. It was great to see old friends together again.

Family

2008-06-25T21:50:00.005-04:00

When I got home with my new camera, I had my sister, Cassandra, read the directions on how to operate the camera. What a blessing she was to me on Saturday! While she was figuring out my camera I was writing out support letters.
I found out I had to charge the battery for two hours (thankfully I had two hours before I had to leave for a birthday party.) You better believe I got the battery in the charger on the wall. After two hours, right before I left for the birthday party I had to try my camera out. What better way to test my camera, than to take photos of my beautiful nieces, Dakota, Anna, and Phoenix. I had Anna & Dakota sit in the laundry basket. This shot is the best of three shots that I took. Phoenix is a little cutie pie. She is alert and smiling at 5months. I have to make sure I take more photos of her. Well, these are my nieces, I hope you enjoyed the photos. Blessings to you!

Camera

2008-06-25T21:42:00.003-04:00

This past weekend I was blessed. I was shopping in Walmart after playing tennis for two hours. I had a list of items I needed to purchase for the week. One of the items was film for a trip I will be taking at the end of the week to the Thousand Islands. I was in the photo department getting some reprints done and then I picked up the film I needed. As I was walking by the digital cameras, I noticed the display model of the camera I had been eyeing for the past month was gone. Then I lookied below to where the price tag was and much to my delight the camera was on clearance. The regular price was $550 and the clearance price was $350. I went right back to the film counter and asked the sales associate if they had any more of the cameras in stock. I was getting a little nervous especially after he said it might be the display model. Did I really want to spend that kind of money on a display. Not really! Anyways the associate came back with two cameras, I chose one and said tell me what I need to get started. So I got my digital camera much to my delight and the delight of a few of my friends. I was glad I waited to purchase because it saved me a couple hundred dollars. Praise the Lord!!
Needless to say I did not purchase the film I had earlier put in my cart. !! :)