Christmas Cards

It's neat to see my personalized, hand made cards come to L.I.F.E.

After stamping the original image and then brushing the side of the card with some ink to give it the old and antique look, next it is time to paint the flowers, holly berries, leaves and blue bird.

After painting (water-coloring) the stamped image, I would glue the card to the color card stock.

Next, to embellish the card with 1 small diamond/pearl to go on the center of the branch.

Then a bow to tie on the top.

Then brads to hold the bow down.  I used the traditional colors of

 red and green

  ribbons, accented with some brads.

In total, I made several hundred of these decorated Christmas cards.  It is very therapeutic for me to stamp.  It allows me to concentrate and be creative and escape from my busy schedule and life.  

I would average about 6-8 cards per hour.

I feel good that all my Christmas cards have been made.  Now to dwell on and think about the 'reason for the season'

Only in Texas

 

You haven't lived until you have eaten Texas-shaped chips!

 I'm in H E A V E N!

Exploring Surfside and the Beach

Sunrise in Surfside

Exploring Quintana State Park

During WWII, the gun mounds at the base of the shipping canal, which are now within the County Park, were erected to protect Dow's Magnesium plant.  Guns were placed atop the mounds to protect the defense plant from aircraft, warships and submarines.

Then we enjoyed an afternoon of bicycling along the Oyster Creek Trail in Lake Jackson.

Good thing I downloaded my photos onto my computer, because the next day while we were out cycling, I misplaced my camera.  We went back to our picnic area to see if it was still there.  It was nowhere to be found.  I have my phone number on the camera, so hopefully someone will call us, otherwise I hope the camera is a blessing to someone else just as much as it has been for me.

White Rock Lake

I did it.  

Glenn purchased a new bicycle for me at a garage sale the day before, so to "break it in", Glenn and I rode our bikes around White Rock Lake.

As a teenager, I would ride around the lake with Prissy, Lisa, Donna and Pat.

  I think we'll do it again!  

Thanks Glenn for the nice Sunday afternoon bike ride.

Happy 125th Birthday!!

Over the weekend, Glenn and I celebrated the  
125th Birthday of Camino Global,
 formerly CAM International and Central American Mission.

 It was cool to see old photos from "way back" and to think what a
 great heritage 
 that Camino Global (Central America Mission / CAM International) has.

We enjoyed dinner with Phil and Bobbie, plus my parents along with Gary and Julie.

 It was fun reconnecting with old friends from Bolivia - Natalie and Linda!

 Steve Green was the special music.  Loved it.

Mom and Dad meeting the current president of Camino Global, Douglas Livingston.

For God So Loved the World

 Her name is Juana.

 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 3:16

Bicimetro - Brand New Service

We tell folks that it is unsafe to ride the public transportation here.  

It just is. 

 You could get robbed, your phone stolen, or even the bus drivers have been killed.  
It is just that simple.

However, Glenn and I purposely rode the Guatemala City bus on Sunday afternoon.  This is a brand new bus service designed to pick up passengers with their bikes. There is an armed guard riding on the bus.  The route goes from the upscale community off Las Americas (Zone 13/14) to Zone 1 and back.  

The buses are colorful!

The bikes are stored inside of the bus compared to being strapped on the front.

The route goes by a local market.

Glenn, BUSted!

Good Morning, Guatemala!

The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy.

Psalms 65:8

Flooding - When it Rains, it Pours

It's rainy season here in Guatemala.  We're coming down to the home stretch when the dry season arrives.  For the past few days, it has been raining 24 - 7.

Yesterday, the sun came out!  Yeah.  When we drove to the store, we came to the normal "turn in the road", where the road had fallen off a number of years ago, making it go down from a 4 lane road to a 2 lane road.

Now that road is in danger again. With the constant rain that Guatemala City has been enduring, there are numerous mudslides and road closures.

The police decided to close the road.  There are 2 main roads that serve our community.  With this one main road being closed down, the only other road will be over-saturated with more cars.  Ugh!

HB to me

HB to me!

My friends... who are they and how do I know them?
It is interesting when I reflect on the list of those of you who took the time to write personal Birthday greetings to me. Besides being my friends, you have blessed me from any of the following contexts:

White Rock and North Lake Elementary School
Lake Highlands High School
Moody Bible Institute
John Brown University Parent Council
missionaries and friends from Bolivia
missionaries and friends from Guatemala

churches we have attended together
childhood , HS or college friends of Glenn
relatives  and neighbors
prayer warriors and supporters

Thank you to all of you who sent me your Birthday Greetings.  I am blessed to have you as a part of my life.  Y'all rock my socks off.

How did I spend my day?
Yesterday, I celebrated my 59th birthday.  It started out with breakfast at IHOP, then I had a skype call with my grandkids, followed by a nap, enjoyed the movie "The Bridge of Spies" with Tom Hanks at the VIP Oakland Mall with an unexpected cancellation of dinner plans followed by an evening of reading all of my FaceBook wall postings and watching Chicago Cubs baseball.

Thank Y'all!

Bucket List

Check 2 more items off of my bucket list.

Corn Maze

I would say I can't completely mark this off of my bucket list.  There was a 10 year old boy who was running all around, annoying everyone and gave us the wrong information.  We believed him, otherwise it would have been an even more fun experience.  I think I will have to try another Corn Maze to feel that this experience is complete.

I asked for a map of the 2 acre corn maze. Nope, didn't have one.  I asked for a diagram of the corn maze.  Nope, didn't have one.  I love following maps, but this was challenging with no map.  Glenn and I made a team effort and accomplished the maze.  It was Fun!  It was a Beautiful day.

The Corn Maze was at Hall's Pumpkin Farm and Corn Maze.  Check out the web-site.  If you are in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, you should check it out. It is very family friendly.  Open until Oct 31st.  We even got the Senior Discount.

Dallas Cowboy's Football Stadium

We got to go inside of the AT&T stadium, otherwise known as Dallas Cowboys' home field. 

 It's been 20 years since we had been to a game, but just to go see the beautiful stadium was a real treat.

To read more about our adventure at the Stadium, click here.

So, I got to knock 2 things off of my Bucket List in the past 3 weeks. 

 I wonder what the next item will be that I can check off of my bucket list?