Being In Service to Others

I have been involved with creating and sustaining a free clinic for the little town I live in. We celebrated our one year anniversary last week! We have two clinics -- one cares for adults and the other cares for our pediatric population.

It took a lot of hands and hearts to see this dream come to fruition. And it takes lots of hands and hearts to keep it going. Fortunately, we have been blessed with an abundance of each.

Three doctors found us and asked to be a part of our team. These people could make money for what they are doing, but that's not where their hearts are. They are great people, and they give excellent medical care to our patients. Same for the nurses. They are all volunteers that are willing to be flexible, willing to be at either clinic, and able to perform their tasks with skill and ease.

It's an honor to be in service with this group of people.

"Whatever you do to the least of my brethren you do to me." Matthew 25:40

Low in the Grave He Lay

These are my favorite Easter grandbabies.

This is my favorite Easter hymn.

Low in the grave he lay,

Jesus my Savior,

waiting the coming day,

Jesus my Lord!

Up from the grave he arose;

with a mighty triumph o'er his foes;

he arose a victor from the dark domain,

and he lives forever, with his saints to reign.

He arose! He arose!

Hallelujah! Christ arose!

Vainly they watch his bed,

Jesus my Savior,

vainly they seal the dead,

Jesus my Lord!

Up from the grave he arose;

with a mighty triumph o'er his foes;

he arose a victor from the dark domain,

and he lives forever, with his saints to reign.

He arose! He arose!

Hallelujah! Christ arose!

Death cannot keep its prey,

Jesus my Savior;

he tore the bars away,

Jesus my Lord!

Up from the grave he arose;

with a mighty triumph o'er his foes;

he arose a victor from the dark domain,

and he lives forever, with his saints to reign.

He arose! He arose!

Hallelujah! Christ arose!

Looking Forward

There are several things I'm really looking forward to.

First. I'm taking a quick trip to our cabin in the mountains. We've owned it for about a year, and we started a little remodel project in the basement. It's hard for me to tell what's going on with emailed photos so I'm ready to get a first hand look at the progress.

Second. My cousin is coming to town. Yea! It's been too long, and I'm excited to see her. She's really coming to help out her son and daughter-in-law while they have a busy period at work. Her three grandbabies are anxious to see their Mimi, too. I know because I saw them the other day.

Third. Another trip - late April. This one is to visit my baby in DC. There is some disappointment here that my BFF can't make this trip with me as we had originally planned. But she'll clear out some time soon and be ready to go next time. In the mean time, I'll just enjoy the sights and sounds of our nation's capitol -- and my daughter, of course.

Fourth. Another trip. Zipping up to Illinois for my nephew's high school graduationin June. Then a little drive over to Indiana to continue the celebration. This graduate is impressive -- a National Merit kind of guy. And the sky's the limit for him. Literally. He is about to attend Purdue to study astronaut stuff. And there are big astronaut boots to follow there. Some guy named Neil Armstrong is an alumni!

Fifth. One more trip! It won't be until August, but the whole family will gather in Washington State to celebrate another nephew's wedding. Everyone loves his fiancee, and everyone loves to get together for a good time. This is only the second wedding of this group of cousins, and the previous wedding was seven years ago. Here's to ending the wedding drought.

Family vacation home. Family visit. Trip to see family. Trip to see family. Trip to see family. I'm seeing a pattern here.

A Day With My Sweetie

I had a wonderful day today. My sweetie only had to go in to work for a couple of hours this morning, and then we spent the whole day together.

We started with lunch out. We went to a Thai place. Did you know that today is the Thai New Year? We didn't either, but we were glad to celebrate with the restaurant workers -- the only other people in the restaurant! We were a little leery, but the lunch was great. So was dessert -- green tapioca in coconut milk. Who knew?

Next was a little shopping. New tennis shoes for hubby. New washer and dryer we used as a bribe to get our daughter to have another baby. (I don't think that is why she had another baby, but we did offer the bribe. Today was our day to make good on it.)

Then it was time to eat again. He planned this dinner just for me, too. Pappadeaux. Sit at the bar. One martini and a dozen oysters on the half shell. Each! Loved it.

Came home and took a stroll around the neighborhood. Now we're about ready to hit the sack.

He is a great catch!

Postcards Are Fun!

Another fun activity suggested in The Happy Book is postcard swapping. The website www.postcrossing.com is the go-to place to join in the fun. The idea is simple -- you send a postcard to someone, and someone sends a postcard to you. The website supplies the addresses, you supply the postcard, and the post office does the rest.

I signed up for this adventure about 3 weeks ago. Since then, 7 people have received postcards from me, and my postcards have travelled a distance of 10,748 miles. Pretty fun, huh? Well, the flip side is fun, too. I have received postcards from 3 people, and those postcards have travelled a distance of 18,714 miles! That is some serious travel. I'll share my postcards with you.

This is the first postcard I received. It is from Becky in Washington State. The postcard shows the incoming tide at Second Beach at Olympic National Park on the Washington Coast. This is the setting for the Twilight books.

My next postcard was from Brihannah in Adelaide, Australia. Her postcard shows scenes from Kangaroo Island in South Australia. Clockwise: Cape Willoughby Lighthouse, Snug Cove, Seals, Penguins, Remarkable Rocks, Kangaroos, Admirals Arch.

Lastly, I received a postcard from Clothilde in Taiwan. She picked up the postcard while visiting the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Taiwan. It shows a beautiful peony from the museum gardens.

So, don't you agree? Postcards are fun!

Photo Favorites

My spring break Photo Scavenger Hunt (as suggested in The Happy Book) was a success, and those that participated had a fun time. Here are the photo favorites:

The overall "winner" was from the hunt for a Circle. My contest; my photo wins! This really does make me happy! FYI, the belly button belongs to baby Clara!

Now for the other fan favorites ~

Crazy:

Z:

Green:

Spiral:

and last, but not least ~

Dinner:

Maybe we'll bring the cameras out again this summer for another hunt. But I've decided what my next Happy event will be. A Cupcake Crawl! This will be an afternoon of visiting the best cupcake bakeries our metroplex has to offer. Yum!

Wanna come?

A Bunch of Wild Animals

Yesterday was a perfect day for animal watching. The sun was shining, the breeze was cool, and the animals were out in full force. As we drove through the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center, it was interesting to watch the animals. Most were content to blend into the background or relax in the sunshine. Some would stand in the road waiting for us to drive up and throw food to them. Some would walk up to the car for their snacks. But the giraffes just poked their heads through the windows and ate right out of our hands!

The animals we saw were largely the deer and antelope type, but we also saw zebras, ostriches, emus, giraffes, cheetahs, and rhinoceroses. And since it is Springtime, there were baby animals out running and sunning. There are two baby giraffes right now -- one born in late January and the other born in early February. To celebrate their births, there is a contest to name them! Go to fossilrim.org to check it out.

I loved spending this day with my grandbabies. It's a joy for me to watch them live their lives and have new adventures. They are brave, yet cautious. They see humor, and they are humorous.

I am one lucky Gram.