April 26 - “GFD Field Day”

I had a quick little neighborly task to do yesterday morning. Brennan needed a ride to work. That worked out really well for me. He works at Moody Gardens, and my next stop was to the fire station at the airport - just minutes away. 

It was what the fire department affectionately calls “Field Day.”  It’s the opportunity to go through the physical agility test for the department. Just a run-through so they would know what to expect in a few weeks at “the real thing.”  Genius. And an activity that is too good to pass up if you are interested in joining the department. 

There were quite a few applicants on hand. Like 30 or 40 maybe. They were all shapes and sizes too. Several of them introduced themselves to me. One asked if he could chat for a minute or two. Seems he read about me and “all the things you do” on the FD website. (Hmm. Guess I need to check out that website). He just became a Christian in November, and was so excited about it. He wanted to know if I was a pastor on the island so he could come visit my church. He’s very happy where he’s going now, though. 

My heart went out to one applicant in particular, though. Lexie, the daughter of some friends of ours (and of one of the current fire fighters) was giving it a shot. She’s not old enough to be considered yet, but she still wanted to try her hand at the challenge. 

Now understand, Lexie is short and thin and cute as a button. Surprisingly, though she is wiry and deceptively strong. She did an amazing job. The only event that gave her great pause was hauling the fully charged fire hose. She powered through it, though, and then finished the stair climb really fast. Oh, did I fail to mention? Lexie is just a junior in high school. Impressive, girl! I’m proud of you, Lex. 

After some lunch we headed up into Texas. Ezra had a piano recital, and Noa was in a drama skit in conjunction with their homeschool co-op. Ezra played the theme from Star Wars. Nailed it. Noa was in a multi-skit format play. She actually had three or four different roles. She was definitely the most dramatic of them all (and the best projectionist). Of course. Proud of you two!

From there we went to Nathan’s house. He and Cailyn threw a surprise 40th birthday party for April. That certainly checked off our need for food. Nathan cooked fajitas. He’s good at what he does. 

‭‭Romans‬ ‭3‬:‭23‬-‭24‬ says, For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. They are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

Father, thank you for watching over those “kids” going through the GFD Field Day wringer. That’s a tough course. Amen. 

April 25 - “All fungus-y”

I got enlisted yesterday. The Master of the Garden (Or would that be Mistress? I’m a little rusty on my fairy tale terminology) Chris, nonverbally convinced me to join her in the backyard flowerbeds. We had to rip out all the dead stuff from around her lilies. It was causing the rest of the plants to get all fungus-y.

It went pretty well. We only stopped once when I called to get some information about another transatlantic cruise (yep, guess we are gluttons for punishment). Sounds pretty exciting. 

Oh, there was one other time that gave us pause. I may or may not have accidentally pulled up something I wasn’t supposed to. In my defense, it looked the same as everything else in there. But all is well. We rummaged through the trash cans of debris and actually found the four bulbs I so callously (albeit accidentally) ripped from the soil. Chris said she would find just the right spot for them. 

Last night we made a foray into Texas. Two reasons.  But wait. On the way to the first one, Josh called. His whole family (except Zak and Lindsay, of course), was on their way to Caleb’s state track meet. He runs in the 4X400 meter relay. And two weeks ago he started doing pole vault. This will be his first competition in that event. Go Caleb!

Now … first we had to go to Kohl’s. Chris had to return an item she ordered online. After a few tries to communicate with the computer, they finally got that taken care of. But before we left, we had to stop at the purses section, and lo and behold, they were on sale. Yep. Congrats on the new purse, Chris! Understand here … this was not really an impulse purchase. She’s been looking for one for quite some time. Hers is falling apart. So, again … congrats, and welcome to the family!

Next we went to the karate kick-each-other-in-the-head night. Well, they call it sparring, and they do kick and smack each other all over their bodies. This time it was Ezra, Josiah and Noa. Of course they all did awesome. Especially Ezra this time. He smoked his opponent in both fights. Way to go, Vaughan’s!

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭5‬:‭18‬ says, Everything is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation

Father, thanks for you for protecting our sparring kiddos last night. Amen. 

April 24 - “Adding the ‘the’”

Hey! We were back on the track yesterday. Yes, I added the “the” to clarify. I just meant we walked again. Two miles. Back at it. 

We almost bought a table. Not for inside, though. We’ve been looking for one to put up on the deck. We have the umbrella. Just need the table and chairs. Chris found exactly what we need at Walmart.com. But it was out of stock. Of course. They had a set that included the umbrella, but $80 for an umbrella when we already have one? Kinda steep. We decided to wait. 

We took a chunk of time to get some work done around the house. Chris started her weekly cleaning for home group. I went outside and sprayed around the house perimeter for ants. We’ve been seeing some in our bathroom (as well as an occasional other similar critter). Got ’em. 

In the afternoon we watched some TV (and may or may not have dozed off just a little bit). And of course, we looked up some more stuff regarding a possible Northern Lights trip. Oh, and we presented a wrinkle to the Winkles. More on that when more info is forthcoming.

‭‭Zechariah‬ ‭14‬:‭9‬ a says, On that day Yahweh will become King over all the earth — Yahweh alone, and His name alone.

Father, we can do without those ants in the house. Please? Amen. 

April 23 - “Signature and seal of approval”

Chris finished up her research for time Northern Lights trip. Sent it all to the Winkles for their perusal. We also emailed the Arlington travel agent to get some more info about the transatlantic cruise from England to New York. That’s the one that stops in Norway and Iceland. We’ll see. 

Since the anticipated rain never arrived, we jumped in the car to get some errands run. First stop was the bank. I got some questions answered about the changes they are making to our account. Then I was finally able to close out Sam’s estate account. I think that era of our life is finally closed as well. 

Next we stopped by the post office. Had to get a very important  legal document in the mail. Zak and Lindsay’s marriage license with my signature and seal of approval. Check. 

Next on the list was Home Depot - truly Chris’ domain. Well, by that I mean we stayed in the garden department. She wanted to grab sone mulch that was on sale. Done.  Check. 

Finally … Walmart. Yep. Needed bananas. And of course some other things mysteriously appeared in the basket as well. No surprise there. Bananas … check. 

‭‭John‬ ‭3‬:‭17‬ says, For God did not send His Son into the world that He might condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

Father, watch over Zak and Lindsay as they enjoy their time together. Give them a safe trip home. Amen. 

April 22 - “Where to next?”

Chris did as something quite frightening yesterday. She invited me into her IPM - Intensive Planning Mode. That’s a scary head place to be, by the way. She has officially begun planning for an Aurora Borealis trip to Fairbanks, Alaska. Her research indicated that late September would be the optimal time to go. So all manner of lodging and excursions were in play. 

But then she stumbled across a transatlantic cruise starting in England and ending in New York with stops in Norway and Iceland. Norway and Iceland … should be able to see the lights there, right?

And while stumbling, why not check out the Australia/New Zealand cruise adventure? No Northern Lights there, but … Australia and New Zealand? There is an excursion there where you can snuggle with a koala bear. I’m in. 

But when? And what about the lights? And will the Winkles be up for joining us? Too many questions. Too much to process … aaarrrgh!

We had a pleasant surprise a little after lunch. Nathan stopped by to say hi. He had a lunch date in town, so he came by on his way home. Always good to see him and hear of his most recent exploits (although he wanted to hear about ours as well). 

‭‭Romans‬ ‭1‬:‭17‬ says, For in it God’s righteousness is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith.

Father, thank you for Nathan’s heart of ministry. Bless him. Amen. 

April 21 - “Drifted”

We drifted just a little outside yesterday. We didn’t do a walk,because it was kind of chilly and the wind was really blowing. Instead we moved around some plants and put a few of them on the front porch. Still waiting to see what the grass does after the Weed and Feed treatment …

So … it was kind of a gloomy day outside. As a result, for the most part, we stayed in. Like … all day. Chris did laundry. That’s her usual Monday anyway. She also researched things to do out of Fairbanks, Alaska. That’s where we hope to go with the Winkles to see the Northern Lights. That one may be happening as soon as November, if Chris and KayLynn can get everything together by then. 

We are also looking at doing a road trip or two before then. First one would be the Minnesota/North Dakota trip that will round out our visits to the last two of the fifty states. Then we may jump in and follow Micah back to school in Virginia. There are a few more East Coast things we could check off our list. 

Let’s go!

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭16‬:‭24‬ says, Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.”

Father, thanks for slow days. Makes us appreciate and look forward to the go days. Amen. 

April 20 - “And then there was … home”

Once again we were the first ones of our little group to show up at breakfast. We scarfed down our cheese omelet and cinnamon roll while we waited. Everybody else finally arrived (Even Josiah, with 15 minutes to spare). 

We also began the goodbye sessions. Everybody left at different times, but all were eventually headed to our respective homes. 

We had to make a quick stop about an hour into our trip. Yep. Buc-ees. We realized that we probably didn’t have enough gas to get home. And for the first time in many stops, they actually had egg, cheese and sausage biscuits. It was only a little after 11, but I couldn’t stand to pass them up. Guess what we had for lunch?

Then it was back on the road again. Next stop? Well … technically we had quite a few “next stops” if you count Houston traffic. But we finally pulled into our driveway at about 2:15. Not a bad time. 

We found out when we got home that we weren’t the only one involved in wild and crazy celebrations. Seems Freddy got invited to a doggie birthday bash. Yep. Birthday hats. Doggie treat birthday cake. Frolicking with the Geran’s canines. The pictures look like she had a great time. Happy birthday, Rocky. 

‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭1‬:‭7‬ says, For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power, love, a in nd sound judgment.

Father, thanks for our weekend with our kiddos. It was really fun. Amen.