Returning to normal

Dennis went for his final post-op visit today and was released for work.  He came home, grabbed his lunch and then headed out for his first day on the job in 2 months!

It has been nice having him around and getting some things done that we normally don't have time for.  He finished the gun that he was making for Stephen.  It turned out beautifully!

We were able to do some traveling...seeing new sites and visiting friends and family.

We also FINALLY got lighting in our living room!  We took down the ceiling fans (which we never use, since they give Dennis headaches) and put up light fixtures.  It is wonderful to have adequate lighting now!

We had hoped to get our dining room table refinished.  Unfortunately when Dennis got it sanded down he discovered that the veneer was too thin to refinish.  After much deliberation we decided to top it with formica, which we have on order.  Hopefully Dennis will be able to get it applied and in working order before our upcoming meeting.  I really think I'll like it.  The formica is a granite design with a hint of rose color in it.

The closing on the girls' house has been postponed a few weeks.  Right now it is set for the Friday our meeting starts!  We are hoping they will rush things through so we can get them moved before then.  We may have to plan our Saturday morning activities to include moving them from the apartment to the house!

All in all, it has been a great time of refreshing and productivity!  Makes us look forward to retirement even more!

 Ps 116:7 Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the LORD hath dealt bountifully with thee.

Love this quote!

We were having a discussion yesterday morning about how people tend to judge others at a glance, without knowing any of the facts.  Dora told us about a new sign that she had and I had to share it:

I want to live in a world where a chicken can cross the road without its motives being questioned.

 Joh 7:24 Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.

To Arkansas and back

It has been so nice being able to do some traveling while Dennis has been off work!  We left last Friday morning and drove up to spend the weekend with Ricky.  It was great to be able to spend some time with him.  Even though I know he is where he needs to be, I really miss that "boy"!
Saturday morning, we met up with a group from the Alma congregation for a late breakfast at the Cracker Barrel.  I do believe that was the best breakfast I've ever had!  The food was delicious and the service was exceptional.  We always enjoy being able to visit with all the young families up there, too.  They are such a warm and loving group!

 After our leisurely brunch, the three of us drove to Mount Magazine.  We hiked the north rim, which was about a 4-4 1/2 mile route.  The scenery was gorgeous and the weather was perfect...warm but with a cool breeze blowing.  When we returned to the visitor center, it was just about time for a presentation on the bears in the park.  That provided a perfect opportunity to rest up a bit and learn a little more about the park and its inhabitants.  It was very interesting and entertaining!

Mike and Megan were babysitting all the kids that evening, so we decided to crash their little "party".  We ordered pizza for supper and spent the evening visiting, fishing, sitting around the fire and just enjoying all the activity.  Those kids just love one another and play so well together!  They are all sweet and well-behaved children.  I particularly enjoyed playing "grandma" to little Miss Lucy.  She is such a sweet, loveable baby!

 We enjoyed two wonderful assemblies at Alma on the Lord's Day.  We ate lunch with the group and then did a little shopping between services.  Josh and Brittney showed up at evening services (he had spent the weekend in Clarksville...proposing and planning a wedding!), so we all got to extend our congratulations and visit with the happy couple.  Then we all went to Braums for supper/ice cream.  We really enjoy our fellowship with all the sweet families at the Alma congregation!

Monday we got up and drove to Benton to spend a couple of nights with Dennis' mom.  The first order of business (after eating a scrumptious lunch that Maxine had prepared) was to find a walk-in clinic.  I had awaken with a pretty bad urinary tract infection and needed some relief.  I was so thankful that we were able to get right in to see the NP and get my prescriptions.  I didn't feel very well the rest of the trip, but I was MUCH better than I would have been without any medication!

Warren and Linda and Ben's family came over Monday night to visit awhile.  Those girls of Ben and Laura's are growing up so fast!  We don't get to see them nearly as often as we'd like.  The next evening, Warren and Linda invited us over to their house for supper.  Charles and Belinda's family and Linda's parents also came.  We enjoyed another wonderful feast and visit with all of them.  Ben's family showed up after supper (although Ben had to leave shortly thereafter on an emergency run).  It was good spending time with all the family!

We left Wednesday morning and headed home.  We had a great trip, but it sure felt nice to get back home and sleep in our own bed.  I guess that will be our last trip before Dennis heads back to work in about a week.  It has been great while it has lasted!

Eph 2:19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;

Spring cleaning and Texas history

I believe spring has sprung!  I got around to mowing last week for the first time this year.  It normally takes me about 45 minutes to an hour to do all the yard plus the alley.  It took over an hour and a half to get it done this time!  The grass isn't really growing yet, but the weeds are terrible.  The alley was grown up as high as my knees.  I'm really needing to do some serious yard work.  I didn't do any trimming last year since I was out of commission due to my surgery during the springtime and then the summer was SO hot and dry.  So it is a real mess now.  Maybe Dennis will be able to help me with it before he has to go back to work.

We had a very nice crowd at services Sunday.  Chris K's family were down for the weekend and were at Highway that morning.  It was so nice to FINALLY meet Shelley in person!  We've been visiting on facebook for years now and "sharing" each other's sons.  I'm thinking we'll have many more opportunities to visit with Chris living here now.

I spent most of the day Monday doing some reorganizing and cleaning.  Took down ALL of our books and pictures and knickknacks from our bookshelves and rearranged everything.  Dennis has been busy working on Stephen's muzzleloader that he is building.  It is shaping up quite nicely.  He's almost ready to start staining the stock.  It will be a beautiful work of art when he completes it!

Dennis and I have been doing some historical touring lately.  Saturday we drove to FW and went through the Civil War Museum located off loop 820 in White Settlement.  It was a very interesting and well managed facility, exploring the Civil War through a uniquely Texas perspective.  Today we decided to take a historical tour of our area.  We have driven by the ghost town of Thurber many times while driving west on I-20, so we decided to go check it out first.  We went through the W. K. Gordon Museum and learned about a part of Texas history of which we were both ignorant.  After a hearty lunch at the Smokestack restaurant, we drove to Ranger to try to learn more about the oil boom which took place in the early 1900's.  Unfortunately their museum was closed when we arrived.  We next tried to go to the museum in Eastland but found it closed, too.  So we headed north to Breckenridge and visited their local historical museum.  The drive was beautiful.  The trees are beginning to leaf out in that lovely light spring green that contrasts nicely with the dark green cedars scattered throughout the hillsides.  There were several wild plum thickets and pear trees blooming...showing off their lovely white foliage...with an occasional redbud tree and its splash of color.  We enjoyed our day of sightseeing and even learned a few things along the way!