Back in the Saddle

Okay, I know it's been quite sometime since I have blogged. We have been so swamped at work, but the later part of this week I feel like we have started to see some light at the end of the tunnel. Mainly, I got the dreaded "Annual Church Profile" done. It really wasn't too bad. Dreading it was much worse that actually doing it.
So I have been tagged. I'm going to reply to the tag to get started back up again. So here it goes...

5 things I was doing 10 years ago.
1. Working at the church
2. Had one daughter in college and one still in high school.
3. Asking my daughters to quit school, get a job at the Sonic, and have a baby so I could be a grandmother.
4. Not feeling very well, but not really knowing why.
5. I guess nothing else was too different from now.

5 things on my "To Do" list
1. Sort through things in my middle bedroom and get it put in order.
2. Try again to ride my bicycle that I have only ridden twice.
3. Finish my quilt I started several years ago.
4. Keep up with blogging.
5. Continue to spoil my grandchildren.

5 bad habits
1. Playing games on my computer for too long at a time.
2. Not throwing junk mail away as soon as I get it.
3. Staying up too late at night.
4. denying that I have bad habits
5. . . . .

5 places I've lived
1. Enid
2. Woodward
3. Shawnee (while in college)
4. Back to Woodward
5. In the same house our entire married life.

5 things I'm listening to right now
1. Frazier on TV
2. Whir of the ceiling fan
3. Larry "tinkering" in his computer/camera room
4. Cars going by outside occasionally
5. The voices in my head (just kidding)

5 jobs I've had:
1. Secretary at First Baptist Church
2. Transcriptionist at the Woodward Hospital
3. Receptionist/Transcriptionist for Drs. Chen and Chiou
4. Tupperware Manager
5. Oklahoma Natural Gas

5 words I hate:
1. anal (when talking about someone's personality - I really don't get it)
2. God's name taken in vain
3. diet
4. What? No diet coke?
5. "For English press #1. For Spanish press #2 . . ."

5 things I've eaten today:
1. Miniature Payday candybar for breakfast
2. Cup of macaroni and cheese for lunch (the kind you add water and make in the microwave - and it was pretty good by the way - a good thing to keep on hand at work when I don't want to leave for lunch.)
3. Oatmeal raisin cookie
4. Carl Jr. hamburger
5. Payday candybar

5 websites I visit daily:
1. My girls' blogs
2. Christian Book Distributers
3. Lifeway
4. Central National Bank of Alva
5. That's about it - and except for #1 they are not daily.

So there you have it . . . 45 things about me you may or may not have known. I don't think there's anyone left to tag, but if you haven't done it yet, I'll tag Becky, Annie and Ed.

Face Lift

Okay, I know what you all are thinking... If Janice had a facelift she needs to get a lawyer. But here are the before and after pictures of my face lift. Well, my house's face lift. We got new windows, but just on the front for now. We needed them so badly. The last time we took the storm windows off to clean them, Larry had to stick a toothpick in the screw hole to be able to put them back on the house. After saving up some more money I will get the ones in the back replaced, and then someday maybe the side ones. Anyway, I think it is quite an improvement.

Forgive Me!

Bloggers, forgive me for I have sinned. It has been nearly a month since my last blog.

I actually have several things to blog about, so I will get busy.

I had a birthday last week - the 16th anniversary of my 39th birthday. Hilary and Brent took us to eat Saturday night at JB's (yum). I snapped a cute picture of Rhett reading the menu. He is advanced, you know.

The Hubbards gave me a beautiful crystal tray that I had seen awhile back and fell in love with. The Davidsons and Larry both gave me a charm for my "Pandora Bracelet." They both actually gave me the same one, so I will exchange one of them.

I love my Pandora bracelet. My family loves it too because they always know something they can get me for birthday, Christmas,Mother's Day, etc., since I'm not very good at giving them hints about what I want. Larry got me the bracelet for Christmas last year. The kids and grandkids have all given me charms. Every bracelet is unique since you can add whatever charms you want.

I have kind of a "family theme" going for mine, though I do have other charms, too. If you can see from the picture - my birthstone is the red charm. Larry, Brent and Rhett all have August birthdays and their's is the green charm. Sydnie's is blue for her September birthday and Jeremy's is white for June. Hilary and Hollace both have October birthdays so their charm is pink.

I also have a little girl and a little boy representing Hollace and Rhett. I have a music note since I love music...and a couple other charms I have added.

If you don't have a Pandora bracelet, you should ask your family to start you one. Or if you need a gift for someone, it's a neat thing to start...kind of a new tradition.

Speaking of traditions - my next blog I will tell you what Hilary and I made recently, that hopefully will become a tradition for us. Then I will blog about my recent face-lift. But for now, I think I will go home after a long day's work!

P.S. I have tried to put a space between paragraphs over and over. I've tried about 6 times. I will now give up. If there's some of you reading this that is bugged by the fact that some have spaces and some don't, I apologize. It does bug me, but I'm giving in to it for now.

Singing at Glorietta

This past week I went with Singing ChurchWomen to Glorieta for a dedication service for the new Baptist Hymnal. It was a wonderful trip. Early Saturday morning 6 buses, 7 RV's and 82 cars began the trip. There were about 485 people in all who made the trip. Our first stop was in Amarillo. That evening we did a concert at the Palo Duro Canyon then got to watch the play "Texas." It was wonderful and I would highly recommend it. In fact, Larry and I will probably go back in the near future because he has never seen the play.

The next morning we divided up and did concerts in six different churches in Amarillo. My group sang at 2nd Baptist Church, and of course we had the best concert!

Then we traveled on to Santa Fe. Monday was a very busy day at Glorietta. It is so beautiful there and such a neat place. I really think we should get a group to go to Music Week in the next couple of years. It has been quite awhile since we have done that. The concert that night was so wonderful! We were in the choir loft for about 4 hours for the whole service and were very, very crowded and hot - but it was all worth it. The dedication service for the hymnal was great and then our concert was wonderful! The Holy Spirit really was there filling the place! We were hot, tired and exhausted and all felt WONDERFUL! And I think any of us would have turned right around and done the whole evening again. And the new hymnals are great. There are a lot more choruses in it, and some medleys and songs with key changes, etc. It is really nice and there is all the new technology things to go with it. It will be an asset to our worship. It is very likely the last printed Baptist Hymnal there will be.

Tuesday we got to spend the day in Santa Fe. It was neat - if you've never been there - and you like jewelry - I guess that's the place to go. Everywhere you went there were stores, booths, blankets, etc. filled with jewelry. And they expect you to bargain with them. I came home with no jewelry for myself, but lots of the women bought some really pretty things.

Wednesday morning we got on the buses to travel home. After Larry picked me up in Sayre, we got home around 8:00 that evening.

Larry bought me a new little camera that would fit in my purse to take with me. So I have a few pictures and will post a few. I wish I could have gotten a picture of the whole choir of about 350 women but I couldn't do that and be in the group at the same time. Also, pictures aren't allowed during the "Texas" play so I don't any pictures of it. You'll have to see it for yourself.

Palo Duro Canyon

Some of the singers in our

white shirts and red bandanas.

Our illustrious leader, Bill Green.

Glorietta as we are entering.

Glorietta Steeple

Julie and I at Glorietta.

No matter how we sounded,

we sure did sparkle!

Looking for Help!

The job listing is officially posted! Kay retired earlier this Spring, and Diana turned in her resignation a week or so ago. She and Danny are going to both run mail routes. She is going to work until 2:30 each day till the first of August I think. We can squeak by a while longer with Kay's job, but we gotta find someone to fill Diana's position. She writes the checks - and yes, I want to get paid. So if you know of someone looking for a job, send them our way. It's a great place to work!

Being Followed

Yesterday Hilary, Hollace and I drove over to Enid to visit my grandmother. My car is pretty noisy, especially if you're sitting in the back seat. Hollace had been quietly sitting in the backseat when she interrupted us saying "Mommy, I think a heliopter is following us!"

Maybe I need to get the noise checked out?!

Getting Ready for Falls Creek

Wow! I can't believe it, but I'm actually ready to go home, pretty much on time, on the Friday before Falls Creek. I have had lots of help this year. Yesterday Golda spent most of the day running the copies for the handbook. Today she and Diana put them together. Golda also did several other things for me. Sharon Kennedy sewed the bags that I make for the sponsors "goodie bags." Kay Eck helped by finding some mail buddies. That is something she has done for me the past few years, and she agreed to find people this year even though she is retired from work. THANKS to everyone who has made this year go pretty smoothly so far. There will be some things to do Sunday evening before they leave on Monday morning - some things that really can't be done until we know everyone who will be going for absolute sure!

Falls Creek, like so many other things we do, is a whole-church ministry. It takes everyone to make these things successful - from mail buddies and prayer-partners to Mike leading the group! Sunday church members will have the opportunity to pick up a "prayer bracelet" with a campers name on it that they can pray for all week.

P.S. Does anyone know how to set the correct time for when we post?

Falls Creek Time

This is the busiest time of the year for me - and probably the funnest at work. We are getting ready for Falls Creek. There is so much to do - Quiet Time Books, Prayer Magnets, Mail Buddies, Registration . . . As busy as I am with it I still love it. Mike and I have been getting ready for Falls Creek together for so long (15 years) that I pretty much know what he wants. He says our Falls Creek preparation is like a "well-oiled machine."

Please start praying now for the kids who will be going this year to Falls Creek. There are always some kids at camp that have no other church experience. And as you know, lives are changed at Falls Creek! I will be calling people to be "Mail Buddies" so if you read this and want to be a mail buddy this year, just give me a call and I'll put you on the list and it'll save me a phone call. And of course, if you want to help send a kid to Falls Creek, donations are always welcome. Mike would never, ever tell a kid no because of money!!

(The picture of me at my desk is an old one - before my hair turned white.)

Boring or Busy?

I don't know if it's because I'm boring or busy - but I haven't posted like some of you have. I told Hilary that I was going to say on my blog that if you want to see cute pictures just go to Hilary's blog. She does a great job taking pictures. And Larry does the "planned" pictures. So I don't do a lot of picture taking. I have been trying to grow some grass, so I guess I could take a picture of the grass growing. Should I do stills or a video of that? In case you think this is me watering the grass and I have a tan - it's not. I do most of the watering in the morning and the evening when the sun isn't shining down on me.

Look Alikes Span the Generations

I think Rhett looks alot like his grandpa!

And to make it even better - he was born on Larry's birthday and his middle name is Brown!

Don't you think they look alike?!

Tagged!

I've been tagged by Hilary. I like reading these so I guess I'll play along. Here's how to play: Post the rules on your blog and complete the following: 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions/collections, and 3 random, surprising facts about yourself. At the end of your post tag five people and let them know they are tagged by leaving them a comment on their blog- Have fun.


3 Joys - My grandchildren - Hollace and Rhett
My immediate family - Larry, Hilary, Sydnie, Brent and Jeremy
Good friends

3 Fears - Something will happen to someone I love.
Being an invalid
Weighing 300 pounds

3 Goals - Play the French Horn better
Go to a live Beth Moore event
Get new windows on my house

3 obsessions - Crossword Puzzles
Suduko puzzles
I collect Campbell Kid stuff.

3 Random Facts - I have a college degree in Home Economics
I was in an earthquake in Memphis, Tenn about 35 yrs ago.
When I was a kid I was the fastest girl runner in my class

I tag Becky, Annie, Ed, Hilary and Sydnie

I know these are some of the same ones Hilary tagged, but these are the only blogs I know about.

P.S. I need help on knowing how to put other people's blogs on my blog so I can just click on them.

Vacation Bible School Time

The children's area at church is being transformed to "Bible School Land." Years ago when I taught Bible School I put Christmas Tree lights on the doorway and called them "Bible School Lights." That's basically the decorating that was done for the week. Then other people started using lights, then other things, and on and on. Now you can go down the hall during Bible School and feel like you're at a real luau, or in the wilderness, or in outer space. The creativity, energy and willingness of those decorating the rooms amaze me!

When I was a little girl Bible School lasted TWO WEEKS! And we had an open house at the end of the school. I remember making a jewelry box by pasting pasta on a cigar box and spray painting it gold. I also remember making a picture of a rooster using different kinds of beans. I'm not sure what they could have possibly had to do with the Bible story, but it was fun and it has made me remember Bible School.

Look Alikes

We discovered these pictures with similar poses awhile back and were amazed at how much Hollace looks like her mother. So I entered them in a "Mom and Me Look Alike" contest. . . AND THEY WON! Can you tell who is who?

Something New, Something Old

It has been fun reading Hilary and Sydnie's blogs, so I decided I'd join in the fun and start one. As for something old - the girls are both at our house today CLEANING OUT THE GARAGE! I told them that if it wasn't something they would want someday they could sell it in a garage sale! It's amazing how many things we "collect" after thirty years in the same house! Jeremy is spending the day painting our bedroom! It's wonderful being here at work knowing those things are going on at our house!