February 29 - “A new twin friend”

We did our two miler yesterday. And before we ever got started, one of our neighbors who was on a walk of her own stopped us to talk. She shared that her mom is literally on her deathbed. Probably a matter of just days. She asked me if I thought Mom needed some sort of last rites. I pointed out that last rites was more of a Catholic tradition. Mom was Episcopalian, and not very religious one way or another. Kind of sad, actually. I encouraged her to do what she could to see that Mom had made her peace with God and given her life to Jesus. When we parted ways, Chris gave her a warm hug. We’ll be praying for her. 

In the afternoon we had to make a Walmart shopping run. Just some general grocery stuff. Bananas, of course. Numerous other random things on Chris’ list. Oh, and we had to pick up a few prescriptions for Sam. 

Randall’s was also on the list. Two reasons to go there. We needed gas in the car for our trip to San Antonio tomorrow. But the main reason? Blue Bell on sale, of course. At the gas pump, a guy saw my “Limited edition 1953” hat and asked if that applied to me. I assured him it did, and with a big grin he added, “That’s me, too. 70 years old?”  Yep, 70 indeed, my new twin friend. 

Daniel‬ ‭12‬:‭3‬ ‭ says, And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.

Father, please be with our neighbor as she walks with her mom through her last moments. Thank you for her great spirit. Amen. 

February 28 - “Goodbye to the weird eye headache-inducing one”

Chris had the early morning physical therapy appointment. 8:15. Had to be there at 8. She said it was just her and the Seawall Walking Club out that early. 

When she got back she helped me put together a stretching/exercise plan for back recovery patients. Not sure why I was never sent to physical therapy myself. But I guess my access to internet exercise plans is the same as their’s would be. 

I also got started on two other projects. One is just a new puzzle. We finished that weird eye headache-inducing one. Thanks, Sandy. The new one is a National Parks scene from the Great Smoky Mountains. 

The second project will take a while. I started pulling together income tax stuff. This will be the first time we are strictly Social Security old dudes, so I have no idea how much of my records will be needed. No matter. We have a good preparer. I’ll just trust her. 

More laptop difficulty. Even Chris agrees that the time has come. Guess we now have to make time for a trip to Best Buy. Why not just order it on line?  Well … I’m old school. I really like to see it and touch it in person so I know for sure what I’m getting. 

Last night Cailyn’s soccer team played against perennial powerhouse Friendswood. They gave it their best shot, and the Sweeper even scored again this week, but the good guys fell just short, 2-1. Proud of you, girls!

‭‭Jude‬ ‭1‬:‭20‬-‭21‬ ‭ says, But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.

Father, help me be careful with this new exercise plan. And be with our tax lady. Amen. 

February 27 - “Outside”

I joined in the walk parade once again yesterday. Chris and I made it a whole two miles. Actually felt kinda good. And afterwards we cleaned out a flowerbed in the front yard. And later in the afternoon Chris mowed the backyard. She stopped me from doing it. Apparently, it’s on the list of things I can’t do for at least six months after surgery. Sigh. Must be getting close to Spring. 

Last night we took it easy. Topped off the day with a Baylor basketball game. And the Bears didn’t disappoint. They beat TCU. Woohoo! Waco can breathe a sigh of relief. 

Psalm‬ ‭56‬:‭3‬-‭4‬ ‭says, When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?

Father, thank you for the gorgeous weather so Chris could get her fix of working in the yard. Amen. 

February 26 - “Happy Birthday, Kel”

After church yesterday we had some house guests. Kel and his family came over to celebrate his birthday. Even Jachin drove down from college to be here. Of course the food might or might not have had something to do with his presence. 

Kel’s meaning choice would have been a trip to Gringo’s restaurant. As the family has grown physically, however, and requires more and more food, Christina came up with a trip to Nana and DadDad’s. She put together a Mexican food lunch that rivaled any meal I’ve ever had at Gringo’s. Tamales. Queso dip. Tortilla soup. Homemade guacamole. Oh, and birthday cake , of course. We provided the Blue Bell ice cream. Quire the feast, to be sure. 

Happy birthday, Kel. 

Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭31‬ says, What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Father, thanks for the years we have been able to watch Kel grow and learn life. Amen. 

February 25 - “Quite a lady”

We went back up into Texas again yesterday. This time it was a more somber occasion, however. We attended the funeral of Pat Fox. We got to know her several years ago in a few different ways. She was the aunt of two of our Seasiders, Cory and Cody Anderson. She also taught at Seaside Christian Academy back before we had to close the school. 

She was a lady rather small in stature (but she coached basketball!), with one of those outwardly always calm demeanors. But I guarantee you, she proved that she could handle herself in pretty much any situation. Maybe that was the result of her years of experience teaching. Or maybe it was honed in the years she spent relating to a certain brother of hers who was certainly a “challenging” sibling, to say the least! Just kidding, Mike. I know she loved Mike, though, and he was a better man because of his sister. And I’m sure she made a difference in the lives of the children she taught and the family she was a part of. 

And of course, the most important thing about her life? She knew Jesus. Enough said. 

1 John‬ ‭3‬:‭1‬ says, See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

Father, please be with Pat’s family as they walk through this tough time. Give them one of your special hugs. Amen. 

February 24 - “Sweeper goal??”

Chris got her walk in yesterday. She even added some stairs and her physical therapy exercises. That woman is an exercise beast, to be sure. And a fine-looking one, to be sure. 

Sam and I did some more work on the jigsaw puzzle. Freddy had a bath. She smells a little nicer now. Freddy, I mean. Sam always smells nice. 

Last night we took off for what we thought was a long ride to Angleton to watch Cailyn play soccer. Fortunately, I texted Nathan before we left the island to verify game time and location. The time was the same. However, it was now a home game. No hour plus drive to Angleton. Instead it was just a 30 minute jaunt to Santa Fe. 

The girls played a great game. Our sweeper even scored a goal, so it was not your usual match. Cailyn made some outstanding passes from her center midfielder position. She also had several pretty strong shots on goal that were saved by their goalie. Proud grandparents, of course. The good guys ended up losing 2-1, but they played their hearts out. Nice game, girls. 

John‬ ‭1‬:‭12‬ ‭ says, But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God

Father, help those girls rebound emotionally from this tough loss. Help them to see the positives. Amen. 

February 23 - “Another long day”

Sam had the long day of doc appointments this time. She and Chris left around 9, I think. Didn’t get back until after 2. They even took a sack lunch with them. I heated up some leftover lasagna. Yum for me. They had homemade chicken salad. Yum for them, too, I guess. 

While they were gone, I worked some more on the jigsaw puzzle. And I confess. I may or may not have watched a movie or two. Not much else went on around the neighborhood this balmy Spring afternoon. Better than all the police action we heard about while we were at the basketball tournament last week. I’ll take the peace and quiet, thank you. 

1 Peter‬ ‭2‬:‭9‬-‭10‬ ‭ says, But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Father, please be with Sam as she walks through this latest round of treatments. Amen. 

February 22 - “Put it in there”

Sam had an appointment up in Texas yesterday. She and Chris made that journey. I stayed home and tried to fit a piece or two into the jigsaw puzzle. Success there. Three more pieces down. 

After lunch I had a doc appointment. Well, as it turned out it was a baby doc appointment. Not pediatrician. Resident. First year. But it was fine. All he had to do was ask questions and type answers. It was the infamous Medicare Wellness Exam. Has nothing to do with Medicare or wellness. And there was certainly no exam involved. The highlight of the visit came when the attending physician on duty stuck her head in. Lo and behold, it was Chris’ regular PCP. The one she sees at a totally different clinic. They hugged like it was old home week. Never had a physician hug me at an appointment. 

From there we went to get some groceries. Walmart first, of course. But it was our subsequent jaunt to Randall’s that proved most interesting. Chris had a prescription ready for pickup. So we dutifully took our place in line. Along with 15 or 20 others. It was kind of comical, actually. We started chatting with the couple in front of us. I introduced us to them. And once the niceties had been exchanged, the husband suggested to his wife that she set her heavy purse in our empty basket. Of course we said, “Sure! Put it in there!”, and she did just that. Gotta love lines in a Texas store. 

Our other target for Randall’s was ice cream. Yep. Blue Bell was on sale. Just $5.99, limit two. We even found the last two of the kind Chris really likes. Butter Crunch. Tastes like a butterfinger candy bar. Good stuff. 

Zechariah‬ ‭14‬:‭9‬ says, And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be one and his name one.

Father, thank you for long lines of Texans and Blue Bell ice cream. Amen. 

February 21 - “From Bleak to Sleek”

Chris jumped back in on her walk and workout. She’s still amazing. I concentrated on breathing and blowing my nose. Yuk. 

Chris had physical therapy in the late afternoon. I went with her this time. Not to join in or anything. We just planned to go straight from there to Cailyn’s soccer game. Which was actually in Galveston st the newly renovated football field. And since we left the clinic right in the midst of supper time, we popped into the Whataburger right around the corner from the hospital. 

That left us plenty of time to make it to the game. And what a nail biter this one was. Santa Fe was losing 2-1, time was running out. Things looked bleaker and bleaker. Until … with but eleven seconds left … Santa Fe made a run. Closer and closer to the goal. A shot. Blocked. But it bounded back to … Cailyn. Without stopping to think, she booted one toward the goal. And scored! Very sleek. The game ended in a 2-2 tie. But from the excitement on the field, they might as well have tallied the winner against the Houston … er … I forgot the name of the Houston pro women’s soccer team. But anyway … the girls were happy. Oh. So were DadDad and Nana. 

Hebrews‬ ‭13‬:‭16‬ says, Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

Father, thank you that Cailyn got to experience the thrill of a last-second score. Amen. 

February 20 - “Tree pollen”

I didn’t go on the walk yesterday. I have been having some issues with allergies. Coughing. Sneezing. Runny nose. That time of year. Tree pollen counts have been over the roof. Hope that’s all it is. 

Sam and I spent about an hour or so working together on the crazy jigsaw puzzle. I started from the middle out. She’s moving from a corner in. It’s a really tough one.

Last night we all tried to relax a little. We watched a few TV shows we had recorded. Then we finished up the night by watching the second half of the number 2 University of Houston vs. number 6 Iowa State basketball game. Pretty exciting stuff. They held Houston to just 28  points in the first half. Houston held on to win though. 

John‬ ‭1‬:‭29‬ says, The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!“

Father, thank you for a pretty uneventful day. Those are nice every now and then. Amen. 

February 19 - “Ontario!”

Well, it appears that our laptop is definitely on its last leg. I couldn’t get it to connect to the printer. Things print from my phone OK, just not when I send it from the laptop. Soooo … there’s one more expense to add to our list. Wonder how long it will take to scratch and crawl its way to the top. 

We had some visitors in church yesterday. A couple from Wyoming. A young man from Estonia (yep. He came the farthest just to go to church at Seaside).  But the other collection of visitors was pretty interesting as well. 

Seven or eight young men drove up in one of those big people mover vans. They all had on a white button-up shirt. Of course we invited them to stay for dinner on the grounds. Come to find out, they were a Mennonite mission group on way home to Ontario. They had been doing some tornado disaster relief work and were on their way home. Sounded like they really enjoyed the service. It was dinner on the grounds week, so they agreed to join us. Their favorite part of the meal?  It was also the biggest difference between Canadian meals and Texas meals. Ready? Meat. Texas has lots of meat. In Canada, about half the meal is salad. Of the other half, half is potatoes. They loved the Texas meat. Chicken. Ribs. Sloppy Jo’s. Sliders. Any kind of meat. Welcome to Texas, guys. 

‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭3‬:‭18‬ ‭ says, For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit

Father, please take care of those guys when they head back to Canada. Amen. 

February 18 - “Accosted”

We arrived home around 9:30 p.m. or so. Chris drove the first leg during what little daylight was left, then on into the early hours of darkness. She was determined to make it to Buc-ees, our traditional middle point. After a bathroom and food break, I took over driving and got us home. The Holy Spirit was truly watching over us. 

The late night didn’t stop early rising, though. I had one bout with a hamstring cramp, then around 4:30 I felt a tiny little scratching on my arm. It was Freddy pawing at my arm to get me to move over so she could snuggle in between us. Didn’t really blame her though. It got down to 49 degrees here. Guess she was cold.  

I was the one who was tapped to get into the cold first. Chris had a prescription ready to be picked up at Randall’s. She asked me to get it, and of course I am willing to do anything she asks of me. 

It was easy enough to get the prescription. No problem there at all. But …

As I approached the interior foyer of the store, I was mercilessly accosted. By whom, you may ask?  I was veritably attacked, helplessly overwhelmed by … sweetness … adorableness… cuteness. 

Yep. Girl Scout cookies sales are in full swing, and they were throwing their best at me as I entered. I assured them I would respond - no doubt affirmatively - when I completed my transactions within. And in a word (or two) … I did. Thin Mints and Lemon Snaps. Yessssss.

John‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬ says, For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Father, thank you for our safe trip home. And take care of this cute little Girl Scouts out there. Amen. 

February 17 - “Champions!”

OK. Caleb’s JV team was entered in the Division 2 Varsity tournament. Zak’s varsity team was in the Division 1 tournament. 

In a nutshell, here are the basketball game results:

In the Thursday preliminaries, Zak’s team won 1 and lost 1. Caleb’s team won both. 

In the bracket games on Friday: 

Caleb game 1 - Victory - 53-4 (that’s not a typo. The other team only scored 4 points).  

Zak game 1 - Victory - 54-33

Caleb game 2 - 52-35 Victory - moved to championship game. 

Zak game 2 (didn’t get score) - Lost. Moved to 3-4th place game. 

Caleb game 3 - 46-31- Champions of Division 2! Undefeated their entire season thus far. They advance to the state championship tournament in two weeks in San Antonio. 

Zak game 3 - 52-29. Good guys win!  Third place in Regionals, Division 1. Advance to state tournament as well. 

Sometime in there we managed to sneak a Whataburger. Chris and Christi made the run before the championship game. Thursday our lunch had been a protein bar. But Thursday night we enjoyed a nice meal at Saltgrass with Josh and Christi and the kids as well as with Christi’s mom and dad, Linda and Bob. 

The hotel was just OK. It was clean and the bed was pretty comfortable. That’s good enough for basketball tournament fare. 

March 1-2 State Tournament, here we come!

PS … Happy birthday, Coach Josh!

Galatians‬ ‭2‬:‭20‬ says, I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Father, thank you for protecting these guys and girls that played this weekend. Keep them healthy as they get ready for the next step. Amen. 

February 16 - “Basketball!”

You can all be proud of Chris. We had a goal for departure of 6 a.m.  We actually pulled away from the house at 6:15. Pretty good time for us. 

And because it was so early and the sun wasn’t up yet, I had the assignment of driving the first leg. So I guess you can share a little of the being proud for me. Oh.  I forgot to mention. We were going to Zak and Caleb’s big basketball tournament up in Texas. 

So how did the driver do? As long as it was dark, I was golden. But the minute the sun was fully up and shining (sometime after the downtown Houston traffic slowdown), I started getting sleepy. I made it to Buc-ees, though. Mission accomplished. 

We arrived in time to see most of Zak’s second game, which was a real bonus, especially since the good guys won. Then Caleb played, basically back to back games. And voila!  Good guys won both. The Vaughan boys showed themselves to be quite the basketball players, too. Nice job, guys. They both play at 8 a.m. today and again if they win that one. Go Texas Wind!

Ephesians‬ ‭5‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ says, Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Father, please keep these guys and girls safe as they finish up this tournament. And please watch over us on the way home. Amen.