Church

I finally visited a church today. I discovered at 8:15 the service began at 8:45 and found myself walking to the church by 8:35. I use this churches parking lot most days on my way to the greenway so it was time I stopped in and sat with God. Here are a few observations from the morning:

1. After a woman visiting people sat down she said, "I'd better get settled in and ready for God."

2. A man next to me had his Iphone in his bible during the sermon. He must have been looking up an unfamiliar word. I'm sure there's an app for that right?!

3. On my way out I shook the preacher's hand and he commented on my name. "How biblical and there's Mary and Martha too." To which I responded, "I know. My grandmother's name is Mary and my mom's name is Martha." He then asked if we had anyone named  Lazareth in the family. What a jokester.

A Visit

The first weekend in November Ann, Lauren, Rachel, Brenna, and Amanda drove across the state to see me! They arrived Friday evening and we laughed until they left Sunday morning. It warmed my heart to hear chatter and laughter in my house. It was too quiet when they left. Hopefully they will come back!

(Amanda is missing...she was still inside the store when we took this)

Sunday

Sunday I ate my way across town. I enjoyed breakfast with Maggie and her family before heading out the adventure. After dropping off Pattie at her sisters' house for the day, I met some of the old book club/running girls and husbands for lunch. Once again I tasted the yummy goodness that only PaPa's and Beer can serve. As lunch finished I found myself with 2 hours to spare. I decided to have a little date with the parkway. As I turned right I had no plan. I just drove until I found the perfect overlook. I snapped a few pictures and then just sat.
After a little talk with God I headed to meet some of my old teaching friends for food...again. I opted for chocolate pecan pie and a cup of coffee. We chatted and laughed just like we were standing in the halls of "The Creek". After saying goodbye for a good 30 minutes I was off to pick up Pattie and head down the mountain to my parents house for the evening.
Lucky for me it was dark and I wasn't able to see what I was leaving behind. Although there were no tears shed it was harder saying goodbye this time than my last visit in September.

Tazapawlooza...Round 3

Headed up the mountain Friday evening to spend the night with my dear friend Maggie and her family. It was lovely waking up Saturday and Sunday mornings to three cute children! I spent all day Saturday at the 3rd annual Tazapawlooza. There was running, mountain biking, horseshoes, obstacle course, hatchet throwing, closest to the pin (in the dark) and Rock em sock em. We ran out of time for the bb gun contest but still enjoyed a full day of festivities! I tied for 3rd this year and had another round of rock em sock em where I lost by a point. This year we were asked to bring donations for St. Jude's Hospital and $300 were collected! I enjoyed my day and have a shirt to prove it.

Proud

My brother wakes by 5:30 each day (or maybe it's closer to 5), works downstairs in the office, greets his family when they awake, spends time with them, goes off to a full day of work, comes home to spend quality time with his family, then works after the kids are in bed until after 10 each night. He has worked his butt off even more the past several months (and past 10 years) trying to get grants in, work on conferences where he would present, and get his program the accredidation they deserve. The following link is to an article that you should check out. I'm proud of my big brother and hope someday to find  a man as caring and dedicated as he is.
http://utnews.utoledo.edu/index.php/10_31_2012/newly-accredited-ut-program-has-most-representatives-at-athletic-training-conference?fb_action_ids=10100421267628392&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=288381481237582