Zoo Trip with Christ Church

Christ Church sponsored a FREE Zoo Trip for parents and kids in our community today.  We rented a bus and headed to the Madison Henry Vilas Zoo.  It was a fun outing, with perfect weather!

Most of our group before we headed out ....




 

Who has a balloon?!

We had an icebreaker, fun game, as we traveled there ... balloons are always a hit with kids (and adults!)...


The Madison Zoo is a great free zoo with lots of interactive things for kids to see and try out, as well as the zoo animals.

Giraffe getting fresh leaves.

A somewhat deranged ostrich

Some of the zoo animals were funny, some a bit edgy..*L*

Josh and Jeff



Gramma MADE me stand here
for this photo!  *lol*









Lots of photo places for us to play in!

fun, fun, fun!

And if you think it was easy
getting into this... it wasn't!

I think the bear wanted to eat us!*L*

looking for a tender morsel to devour!

A fun day!  Thanks Christ Church!

Scenes from a Friday ....

Cafe latte

Dad reading  jokes from Readers Digest

Looooong day here ...  up at 6:00 a.m. to leave before 7:00 to pick up Mom and Dad.  Headed to Milwaukee hospital (hour away) where Mom was having a surgical procedure.  Mom had told me to get her early because she needed to be there before 9:00 a.m. .... but once there, the nurse asked if Mom realized her surgery wasn't scheduled until 11:30, to which she affirmed she knew that, but just wanted to be early incase they needed to do other stuff first.  So, we sat around a lot before hand. 

I am not a coffee drinker, however, I did manage to drink a couple of these latte's today.  Dad read from an old Reader's Digest and shared some of the many jokes there.  Sandy, Erica and Jerry joined Dad (and myself), in waiting, praying, and talking with Mom before, and then afterward, in recovery.  The cookies I made yesterday were a big hit with Dad, he scarfed down three of them pretty fast while Mom was changing clothes before her procedure, and then two more while she was in surgery...along with a couple of latte's himself (which he had never had before and found them pretty good with the cookies.).  I should have brought more cookies, Sandy and Erica both liked them as well!  I was able to get some work done on the laptop I brought along before the surgeon came in to give us info .....

The doctor said the surgery went well as far as being able to get to the places they needed to go inside and find out some things.  Mom has two blockages, one in her pancreatic duct, the other in her bile duct.  A stent was put in both to allow it to function more like they are suppose to.  Some ducts are very large (double what they should be), and they did some biopsies, the results of which, will not be available to Mom until Tues. or Wed.  There are some questionable areas and we'll know more once the biopsy results are back.

So by 3:30,  Mom was doing well, they released her and we headed home.  Dad was going to fix her some soup and mashed potatoes, and they were, I'm sure, both going to either nap, or go to bed early.
Prayers are appreciated and we are thankful for them.

I made a fast grocery stop after dropping off Dad and Mom, and waited for grandsons Josh and Jeff to arrive for an overnight.

Our street, and house in the background

This greeted me as I came down our street ...  Isn't it nice for the City to leave these nice concrete and plastic drainage pipes as lawn ornaments for us? *lol* 

Hmmm, what could I make with THESE?!

They didn't dig up our driveway yet, I imagine they'll be doing that bright and early on Monday morning.    Wouldn't they be surprised to see some kind of art project I had made with these things?  Ha!!

 

Hope there were no spiders inside!

Too heavy to actually move them, but they are certainly a draw for inquisitive grandsons who want to crawl into them!  

Later the boys were asking Grampa what all those rolled up scrolls were and why he had a table in the middle of the living room?  Grampa had fun telling them about the blueprints and how to read one (he was working on estimates for a couple of jobs).  Josh was pretty interested in it all.. who knows?  He may be a budding architect AND an artist down the road?! 


After a late supper, some snacks we were all ready for some sleep.  Tomorrow's the Zoo Trip with others from Church ...  should be a nice day for it!

... words are sometimes not all that can be said at certain times ... family, to me, is one of the most wonderful blessings I (we) have ... and just based on the numbers of my immediate family, I am blessed beyond measure. ... but, sometimes, a change of things is also a blessed thing. ... I (we) are looking forward to grandsons Josh and Jeff being here, and the Zoo Trip tomorrow with Christ Episcopal Church group ... a fun time for us all, and reminder of living life as it comes our way in ALL ways... and yet still keeping close in my heart and prayers my Mom, and Dad, and all.


Prayers, especially for Mom tonight:
Watch over Mom and Dad, dear God, body and soul. Stay beside us all through the night. Protect us from harm. Banish our fears. Send us dreams that are sweet, fill our heart with Your peace, set our mind at ease. And, at first light, please, restore us to new life, in Jesus Name I pray. Amen.

A dreary, rainy, stormy morning ... good for baking!

I was up early this morning, before 5:15 a.m., usually by that time it's getting light outside, but today we had storms rolling in, by 6 a.m. it was a little light out, but by 6:40 a.m. it was pitch black again with heavy rains and dark clouds.... since I had a lot of overripe bananas, I decided to bake some cookies... my gramma's delicious chocolate / banana / raisin and nut cookies!  These are soooo moist and delicious from using mashed bananas in the batter, and were my favorite cookies as a child!

I know my Dad loves them too, ever since he was a young boy and she had made them for him too. 
I'll bring some along with me when I pick up Mom and Dad early Friday morning to head to a hospital in Milwaukee where my Mom has to go for some tests or some kind of procedure.  Mom had tests at a local hospital here yesterday and they found some things that aren't so good, so they are sending her to another hospital in Milwaukee.  Some of my sisters are also meeting us there to sit with Dad and wait for results from whatever Mom has to have done.  These cookies will be good "comfort" food for Dad and all of us.  (And yes, if you are a pray-er, prayers for my Mom are very much appreciated!)

Cookie dough, pre-baking

The cookie ingredients were mixed together by 7:00 a.m., and spooned onto the baking sheets.  Granted, from the photo, they look kind of like something else..*L*  

Someone snitched part of one!

Then they were baked in no time... and before they were even cooled, someone decided to try part of one!  *looks at my husband suspiciously!* *lol* 

I took some to work and shared, and saved a plate of them for the guys who are part of the street remodel crew who are completely redoing the street in front of our house in the next few weeks and months.  They are going down our long driveway, digging it all up, and putting in some big pipes for drainage to another property where some overflow tank is buried, or something?  Anyway, we'll be all dug up for weeks!  My cookies will be a bribe for them to hurry and do a good job of it!  *lol*   A friend suggested that I may want to rethink giving them cookies to try to make them hurry, they just might stay around longer to get MORE cookies! Ha!   Guess the rain has kept the workers away today, so they will have to wait till tomorrow when I get home from the hospital, hopefully with some good news on Mom.

New ECVA Call to Artists - Mary, Mother of our Tribe...

The Episcopal Church and Visual Arts (ECVA) has a new call for entries out!  Mary, Mother of our Tribe.

But when all is said and done, Mary, who, exactly, are you?

Let the search for Mary continue. Let her appear and re-appear, an apparition of the arts, an endless epiphany of our own deep longing. Let us discover and re-discover her, the elusive woman who by her most human act gave birth to the most transcendent truth.
Let us honor the Mother of our Tribe as the source of what we cannot control but on which we ultimately always depend, a love as unconditional as it is enduring.

Artists who are members of The Artists Registry @ ECVA may submit up to three images to be considered for this exhibition. Deadline is November 1, 2012.

You may become a member of The Artists Registry for FREE, check it out at the ECVA link above, as well as more info on this call there too.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

REMINDER OF THE OTHER ONGOING CALL AT ECVA TOO

Art We're Doing This Summer. This is a Call for something a little different...

Members of the Artists Registry @ ECVA, send an image of the art you've created this summer and the Editor will choose among the entries to post on the Art Blog at Episcopal Café.

Send an e-mail to editor@ecva.org with your name and "Art We're Doing This Summer" in the subject line. With the e-mail, attach your image in jpeg format, sized so that it is at least 600 pixels wide at a resolution of 72 pixels-per-inch. Include the title and media of the art. If the image is posted on the Art Blog, your name, the title of your art, the media, and a link to your profile page at The Artists Registry will be included.

This Call will run from June 21, through September 21, 2012.

Dinners Lately....

Dinners on Tuesday and and tonight have been yummmy!  Eating lots of veggies lately - LOVE summer harvests from gardens!   Stuffed hot peppers (with sausage, cream cheese, minced onions and parmesan) ...these peppers were HOT!  My fingers still burned this morning from gutting them out before stuffing them.  (Someday I'll learn to wear plastic gloves before doing it!)

And tonite we had roasted brussel sprouts, mushrooms and bacon, along with DEEEELICIOUS corn on the cob! YUUUMMMM!

I think Julia Child must have been influencing me from the grave lately... since today would have been her 100th birthday!

Baking Cakes.... mass quantities of cakes...

Strawberry, blueberry & peach cakes -BEFORE

Baked cakes - AFTER

Late last night, after a short nap, I finally got around to baking nine cakes for today's Bake Sale ... they turned out pretty yummy, and sold well!


We were going to head to the Family reunion later this morning, but John forgot he had promised to be part of a Booster Club golf outing.  I caught up on all the bookkeeping work I had neglected during this last week ... a LOT accomplished!  PTL!

Jesus is My Life Savior - 5 Day Club - Days 4 & 5



Parachute Game

We have had a wonderful and blessed week with the kids, teens, and the adults who helped in so many ways for our 5 Day Club at Christ Church. Here are photos from the last two days, we hope to be able to offer another 5 Day Club next summer.




  

Josh, Jake, TJ and Jeff




Caterpillar sandwiches with Mac N Cheese





Day 4 our memory verse from scripture was:  "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12.




 


Lessons about blind Bartimaeus, who was miraculously healed by Jesus, with games, songs, prayers & more were enjoyed by all!

More of the Trust Walk

Trust Walk went inside and outside.





 

 



Reading the scripture passage

 Day 5 Memory verse was "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  No one can come to the Father except through Me."  John 14:6.




Cute Noah's Ark Lunch for the kids!



Great group of kids and teens!



Snowball Prayer Game.





5 Day Club - Jesus is My Life Savior - Days 1-2-3

Learning songs & motions

5 Day Club for kids (4 - 12 yrs) is being held at Christ Church this week.  The teen's that are leading it are doing a GREAT job of it!  The kids all seem to be having a good time, and are having fun learning Bible stories and verses, singing songs, playing games, offering prayers, learning about missionaries and eating mass quantities of lunch too!

  We provide the space, chaperones to help with the kids, lunch and after lunch games and activities.  So, it's been keeping me busy doing that and getting things together for it from 9:30 - 1:30, then after that trying to catch up on the work I usually do then at Church.  But what a fun and blessed time it is!

And it's nice that our 3 grandsons can attend too!  All the kids are so fun to be with too... wonderful group!

Here are a few photos from the last three days ... two more to go! Fun-Fun-Fun!

Parachute games were a hit!








Pledge to God's Holy Word (Bible)

  



Grilled pepperoni pizza cheese sandwiches,

dipping sauce, fruit, chips.. yum!




Fun Group!






Game to learn the Bible Verse






Outside Game



Sponge Tag!

Sponge tag tired some out!



Drip..Drip...Drop!



Memory Verse Game

Choosing a treasure...





Wrapping up the Lazarus's

Wrapping Game

Lazarus wrap



 









Celebrating Daughter-in-law, Janel's, Birthday!



John, Janel, Jeff, Jake, Kasey, Josh & John



John & Janel



We have a wonderful DIL!  Janel's birthday was actually on July 31st, but we arranged to celebrate it tonite by going out for dinner at Chili's.  Had  fun, great dinners, and good time celebrating Janel's special day!

Singing Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday Janel!!  We love you! xoxox



The boys were eager to devour the cake
and ice cream before we even finished
singing Happy Birthday! *lol*







Eerily Creepy and Captivating ...

This was a photo I took last week.  The sun was coming through my windows at an odd angle making the design of the curtains show up on the wall, with my cane collection (and tiny Tim), and the boars head.

I like the kind of effect it created ....