I've been on a xanga hiatus this summer, I think.  Either I've been busy, or the things I've done haven't seemed blog-worthy, perhaps?

We had an enjoyable weekend.  My brother Nelson and family visited because Aunt Mary and Uncle Ray from Sarasota have been here all week. They are homeward bound after having been travelling in their motor home since July 9. 

Several points from Sunday's sermon have made me do a lot of thinking:

1,  Is it better to please man or God?

2.  If God is pleased with what you are doing...keep doing it!  If He is not pleased...STOP!  How can you tell the difference?  When God is pleased, there is fruit around!!

3.  Only a moving vehicle (person, church, organization, etc.) can be steered.  Thus it is not possible to steer something that is sitting still. 

4.  God has made a tremendous investment in my life--what is his return on his investment?

Taken at face value, it seems like these are "no-brainers"!  But when I think about each one, and how it applies to me, they take on a significance that make me really do some serious reflecting. 

Vacation has come and gone...

Florida was delightful as ever!  The Siesta beach has long been one of my most favorite places to be!! 

We managed to get there each day we were in Sarasota.  One evening we had dinner on the waterfront at the Salty Dog.  Here is our group (James, Aunt Mary B, Aunt Betty and Uncle Bert H, and Sarah).    Then by Thursday we left for Kissimmee for the Tropical Palms Resort where our family reunion was held over the following weekend.  The cabins there were the cutest little 1 and 2 bedroom units, they were fully and very nicely furnished! 

We had a great time visiting with Dad's family again.  All of his siblings were there, and about half of the next generation (my group), but only 5 of the 30 (I think) great grandchildren.    Here is Sara M, Barbara & John B, Lonnie M, Steve & Sherry B, Betty H, Dad (standing), Richard B.  In the foreground is the back of Angie M and the side of Connie M.

One evening we went to a go-cart race track.  I didn't drive but tried to get some pictures instead.  However, the spectator stands were too far away from the track to get any decent pictures.  So I photographed the pond of alligators who were hanging out waiting for someone to buy them some $2 food pellets.  The gators were all about 5' long. 

While in Sarasota, we stopped in and met Katie Troyer, a fellow xangan.  It was so enjoyable visiting with her.  It turned out she knew many of James' relatives and even some people back here in this part of VA. 

Eline, our exchange student from Holland, left for home on Tuesday, the 17th.  I think we have a little empty nest syndrome to adjust to.  We miss her and hope she's having a good time readjusting to life back there with her family and friends.  Here we are with her at the airport just before she boarded. 

And since it's always a surprise to see what sort of critters one may encounter on our road, here is the mom and kids that were walking along one evening last week.  I managed to get within 9-10 feet of them, but I was apparently too nervous at that close range to get the camera focused properly, so the best one was this.  (James told me that I was definitely within shooting (her to me!) range at that close distance.  So I guess I was lucky I didn't make her nervous enough to spray me! 

I will be taking Mom to Richmond in the morning for another injection in her back.  We need to be there by 8:00 a.m, so with the 75 minute normal drive, plus some cushion time for rush hour, we'll be on the road early. 

 Where has time gone?  

We put together another video scavenger hunt for the youth on Friday night.  It was the second one they've done and they seemed to have a hoot doing it.  They divided up into teams and set off with a list of stunts and a video camera to record themselves doing silly things.  Each team had identical lists but not required to to them in any particular order.  Some of the events were:  eat an ant (bonus points if a girl did this--and every team had at least one girl that was brave enough (two of the girls didn't even opt for ordinary ants, they went for the big, half inch long ones!)), find a police officer willing to sing the theme from the "Cops" TV show, "Bad Boys, Bad Boys, Whatcha gonna do when they come for you...?", find a junk car and "sell" it to the other team members, kiss an animal (other than your own personal pet), guy team members had to go into a store and "shop" for a purse, girl team members had to "shop" for a fishing rod, frantically search for a missing contact lens in a public place, and then finally there were two good deeds to they had to perform.  They had to buy a box of cookies and deliver it to the front desk at the hospital, and buy a get well balloon and card and deliver it to a shut-in or someone in the hospital or nursing home.  Then everyone returned to watch the videos, vote on the winner and eat snacks. 

Sunday we went went to James River State Park for a picnic and hike.  They also have canoes, kayaks, and tubes to rent and float the river, which we will definitely do the next time!  One of the critters we saw is below.  The river view is from an observation point looking up the Tye River before it dumps into the James (in the foreground obscured by trees.

About 2 miles from home, we saw little puppies standing in the road, so we stopped.  Their little tails were wagging and they seemed really happy to see people.  We immediately realized they been dumped off, and began picking them up and loading them on the back floor of the car.  We found 14 puppies--3 separate litters--that some cold hearted person had dropped off on a wooded section of the dirt road near our house.  Few cars pass that way, there are no nearby homes, and the puppies would have most likely starved to death.   Here they are sleeping in the tub we put them into when we got home.  The animal control officer came and picked them up this morning.  They will become northern dogs.  He said a town in one of the New England states will take as many "mutts" as they can get, because the local ordinance requires all pets to be neutered, and breeders charge outrageous fees for pure bred animals, so these animals will be neutered and become pets for families who don't want an expensive one.

This is essentially Eline's (our exchange student) last week with us.  She is leaving on Sunday for her class's senior trip--a cruise to the Bahamas.  She returns the following Saturday, and her plane for Holland leaves on Tuesday.  So it's been a lot of "Lasts"....last youth event, last volleyball game, last family outing, last week at school, last Sunday at church, etc.  She is looking forward to seeing her family and friends again, but says she likes it so much here that she will miss it a lot.  We will miss her too.