Resting From Traveling

Sometimes the best vacation is the one you take after you take a vacation. We ended up staying an extra day in Portland because we couldn't get a flight out on standby. So we ended up paying for tickets on America West. We were so tired yesterday we didn't get dressed all day, nor did we go to church last night. I washed most of the day and then my dryer went out. So today I took the last load to the laundromat - where I fell getting my dry clothes out. The floor was wet and I had on sandals and down I went. I feel fine now but I bet I will be sore tomorrow.
We went to the Old Spaghetti Factory while in Portland. This restaurant used to be downtown and was the orginal Spaghetti Factory, now it is in a new location alongside the Willamette River. I took these pictures. This was before the heat wave set in - I think it was only in the 80's. By Sunday it was 102. So much for the cool northwest. It was beautiful however.

Connected at Cascade

Hi guys,
We are having a blast here at Cascade College - formerly Columbia. We went to dinner tonight with some of the graduating high school class of 1981. Right now we are connected through the college and we are so tired we can hardly stay awake - so I will write more later.

At the Airport

We didn't get out on the flight we wanted at 2:45, so we have been at the Atlanta airport since about 11:30. The next flight for Portland leaves at 6:10 and hopefully we will get on the flight. Thank goodness for Wi-fi at the airport. It does cost $7.95 a day, but I guess it is worth it. We had hoped to get to Portland in time for church tonight, but we won't be doing that. We will be able to worship in Vancouver on Sunday and we are anxious to see some of our friends from that congregation.

Leavin on a Jet Plane

My bags are packed and I'm ready to go...

We leave tomorrow for Portland by way of Atlanta. Sometimes that's what you have to do when you fly standby. There are seats available this way. We will spend the night in Atlanta and then arrive in Portland on Wed. We are going for the 50th Celebration of Columbia Christian College, now Cascade. I am taking my computer so I don't have to stop blogging. My husband graduated from there in 1975 at the age of 34. I taught at the high school for three years and he taught there for six years. We miss the people from that area but we don't miss the weather, although I am really looking forward to 70 degree weather since it's been 107 here.

Online Giving

ONLINE GIVING AVAILABLE

Online giving is now available and is as easy as 1-2-3. Simply set up a web account with just a few keystrokes, designate the amount of your gift, and provide your bank account information for a one-time, weekly, or monthly, gift. Your giving history for the past year will also be available for you to view. Do you prefer contributing by cash or check? No problem, this is simply a method now available to answer the requests from those who like to do all their banking on line. If you have questions about how it all works, there is a page of frequently asked questions on the GIVING page to answer these for you.

I copied the above from the North Atlanta Church of Christ website. I can't figure out how to make a link for you so you will have to go to their website-http://nacofc.org/ to read more. I actually think it is a great idea and emailed our elders with this info. What do you think?

After the Party

My husband's birthday party was lots of fun, but I didn't really get any good pictures. However we ended up leaving on Sunday and taking my GA family to San Diego. They had planned to fly to Los Angeles, but couldn't get a flight out, so we decided to take them to SD and they took a train to Los Angeles for the rest of their vacation. While we were there we went to Sea World and took a tour of Petco Park - the baseball stadium of the SD Padres. We got to go on the field, sit in the dugout, visit the press box and see where the rich folks sit - in suites. We stayed in San Diego two days and it was so nice and cool. I actually got sunburned at Sea World, but it was great weather. Enjoy the pictures.

Grandkids

I know many of you who read this post are not at this stage yet, but let me tell you it is wonderful to be a grandma - or grandpa. Right now my grandson from GA is sitting on my husband's lap in the big recliner, along with our 6 lb. Poodle, Murphy, watching Freaky Friday on the Disney channel. My husband is talking to our other son from CA who is on his way over after spending the last several days driving from El Centro, CA to Los Angeles, to Bakersfield, to Las Vegas, to St George, Utah, back to Vegas, to Yuma, AZ for a job he was doing. He is bringing his family, along with two more grandsons. They are just now leaving El Centro and will be here in another 6 hours. Everyone is here - and coming - to celebrate my husband's 65th birthday. We are going to see the new Disney movie, CARS, tomorrow afternoon and then tomorrow night we are having a party at Peter Piper Pizza with our family and friends from church. If you are in Tucson tomorrow, come join us. I'll be sure to let you know how our party goes - maybe even some pictures.

Retirement Part Three

I realize that I am one of the oldest bloggers of all the bloggers I regularly read and sometimes feel that I am a little out of place. However, it hasn't kept me from reading - or blogging. I am energized by younger people and even though I don't mind growing older I don't want to be part of the Senior Saints, Citizens, or whatever we are called.

With that said my posts on retirement are probably not of much interest to you younger folk, but it is my life. When I was teaching I knew people who should of retired but were afraid because they didn't have a life outside of school. I also knew teachers who retired and died within a year of retirement.

At first it wasn't strange because I was used to being out of school in the summers, so it just seemed like summer vacation-plus we moved to a new state, so there was the excitement of being in a new place. One day I woke up and thought "is this all there is?" Fortuneately that didn't last long. I waited a year before I did any substitue teaching and then it wasn't much. I started the school year this year working one or two days a week, but I quit after a couple of months. My husband had surgery on his eyes and we were making a lot of doctor visits. Once he was better I just didn't have the desire to sub. I actually never was completely off the sub list, just listed as not available. This spring I got a letter inquiring about my interest in next year. The letter stated even if I wasn't sure turn it in as Yes, so I did. We'll see when school starts.

So what do I enjoy? I love waking up when I want to. I love the time I have for Bible Study and I love singing with my chorus of Sweet Adelines - and no, they are not all old. Our youngest member is 13 and we have all ages.I love our church and the fact that I can actually go to Ladie's class, which I have never been able to do, because most classes stop in the summer. I am not quite sure why that is. I really, really love being able to travel. Oh and did I forget that I love my computer - it is an Apple iBook and I can actually lay in bed, watch TV and blog. BTW, retirement comes sooner than you expect, so be sure that you are prepared.

Sunday - A Day of Rest

I don't know about you but doesn't the Bible say you are supposed to rest on Sunday afternoon. I've noticed most people don't post on Sunday, so I assume you are all at church in the AM, resting in the afternoon and back at church in PM. We don't have evening services now that we have LIFE groups on Sunday night. We were leading one on Sunday nite and Monday afternoon. Last month we decided to move our Monday afternoon group to Sunday afternoon. Bad idea. We are meeting today - in a few minutes and then going back to Monday afternoon. I missed my Sunday afternoon nap - and I tried to get it during LIFE group last week. People coming, gotta quit.

Van Ryn Family story

If you have not already found this blog on the story of the mix-up of the two girls, please go there immediately. This is an amazing story of faith. lauravanryn.blogspot.com. You will have to type this in. I have not figured out how to link this