Who's Sending Me Flowers?

When I saw the flower delivery truck pull into my driveway, my first thought was who would be sending me pretty flowers?  My husband used to surprise me with flowers often, but once we got married, he realized I'd rather not spend our money on flowers that only last about a week.  Plus, Spunky Doodle, our cat used to chew on the leaves all the time and then throw up.  I didn't really think they were from him, but would have never been able to guess who they were from.  Want to take a guess?  They were from Sarah at Chewy!  Here is what the card said:

Losing such a big part of your family is never easy.  We're thinking of you in this difficult time.

                              Sending you love, Sarah and Your Chewy Family 

Spunky Doodle

It was a very nice gesture but even more of a surprise since we didn't have any pet death recently.  Spunky Doodle had to be put down almost two years ago, September of 2021.  I don't know why they thought we recently lost a pet.  It had my name and address on it, so it wasn't just delivered to the wrong place.  But, thank you, Chewy anyway!  It was a nice surprise.  

Bear

Bear, our current cat, just sniffed at them a little bit and then walked away and left them alone.  I had them on the dining room table to get some morning sun while we were at church on Sunday, and then moved them up to my den for afternoon sun and closed the door just in case Bear jumped up on the table.  He generally doesn't go in there unless I am in there though.  He's such a good cat!

Other similar posts you might like:

Spunky Doodle Crosses Rainbow Bridge at 17

Why We Don't Have Flowers on Our Table

God in the Thunderstorm

source:  google.com/free lightning images

 I was awaken this morning by thunder and lightning which always reminds me of God's power!  Then for my devotions this morning, I read Psalm 29 which is about God in the thunderstorm.  It talks about how powerful God is and why He should be praised.  I want to share it with you:

1 Praise the Lord; you angels.  Praise the Lord's glory and power.  2 Praise the Lord for the glory of his name.  Worship the Lord because he is holy.  3 The Lord's voice is heard over the sea.  The glorious God thunders.  The Lord thunders over the great ocean.  4 The Lord's voice is powerful.  The Lord's voice is majestic.  5 The Lord's voice breaks the trees.  The Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.  6 He makes the land of Lebanon dance like a calf.  7 The Lord's voice makes the lightning flash. 8 The Lord's voice shakes the desert.  The Lord shakes the Desert of Kadesh.  9 The Lord's voice shakes the oaks.  The leaves fall off the trees.  In his Temple everyone says, "Glory to God!" 10 The Lord controls the flood.  The Lord will be King forever. 11 The Lord gives strength to his people.  The Lord blesses his people with peace.   (Int'l Children's Bible)

I honestly do not know how anyone could read this and not praise the Lord.  We have such an awesome, amazing, wonderful and powerful God.  But He wants to be more than just a God out there.  He wants a relationship with us so He sent Jesus into the world to reconcile us to God himself.  I hope you know Him!  The next time you hear thunder or see lighting, think of God's greatness and power and love for you!

Cornhole--Not My Game!

Although I am not good at Cornhole, I went ahead and signed up with Lucille in the Cornhole tournament at the church picnic Saturday because she wanted to play and needed a partner.  At least it was something to do.  I sort of knew her from the Sr. Center so knew she wasn't very good either.  I was doing pretty good when we were practicing before the tournament started; but then I couldn't seem to even keep any on the board!  Neither of us could even get one in the hole.  I figured we wouldn't win, but didn't think we would get shut out 21-0 which is exactly what happened.  We were the first team eliminated.  Our game went very quickly!  The food was delicious and I would have played volleyball but not enough wanted to play.

Getting Ready for Fantasy Football

Bear wanting some attention while I try to read.

I started reading my Fantasy Football magazines this morning and taking notes on what players I want to draft by position in order.  I try to stay away from picking players from teams in the Browns division because it's hard for me to root for them, but I will make an exception for JaMar Chase.  If I have an opportunity to take him, I will if there's no other player available I want that is as good (in my mind).  Last year I had Mark Andrews on Baltimore, but he turned out to be kind of a bust for me.  I wanted Travis Kelce, but he got picked by someone else earlier than I thought he would!  This happened several times when my next pick got picked before my turn came around.  

I am determined to get at least two elite players this year.  The QB's always get picked really early in the league I'm in so last year I wound up with Russell Wilson who turned out to be a big bust.  He wasn't terrible, but there were quite a few better than him.  I dumped him pretty early for Gino Smith.  I must remember to pick my QB earlier this year!

There are so many really good players, it's hard to decide who my first pick will be!

Day 5 of Kids Summer Shake Up 2023 at Parma Heights Baptist

small group devotions

Today was the last day of Summer Shake Up for this year.  Last night we had a big storm so the grass was all soaked as well as it being much cooler, only 69 degrees at the start, but thank God is wasn't raining!  We did some minor modifications such as playing kids vs. the leaders in a kickball game instead of the water games we originally had planned, and moving our devotional groups to the blacktop at the edge of the parking lot instead of on the grass.  The kids won the kickball game, but being fair to the leaders, we ran out of time before they all got to kick.  I forgot to get a picture of kickball because I was playing!

We were pleased to surpass our goal of $1500 for bedding for the Chain of Love orphanage in Brazil with over $1800!  The verse of the day was I am the vine, and you are the branches.  If a person remains in Me and I remain in him, then he produces much fruit.  But without Me he can do nothing. (John 15:5 Int'l Children's Bible)

game in back parking lot

Our second activity was playing grab the chicken where teams stand across from each other and number off.  One or numbers are called and those numbered kids run to the middle to try to grab the chicken and get back across their line without getting tagged.  Everyone got a turn.  

I only had to make one first-aid trip and one restroom trip today.  At the end, all the kids received a New Testament and a fanny pack.  Those with perfect attendance got to pick a couple snacks to go too.  They were very particular about what to pick.  There was plenty for the leaders to get some too.  I took the peanut butter crackers and Chips Ahoy.

It was a good week!

Day 4 of Kids Summer Shake Up 2023 at Parma Heights Baptist

Thursday we were down to 38 children in the 5th/6th group.  Our first activity today was making a bike plate.  This serves as a souvenir from Summer Shake Up.  They used markers to decorate their plates any way they wanted.  The plates were made ahead of time using a 3D printer.  There were a lot of very pretty ones!

In the skit today, the family on the road trip went to the Grand Canyon and followed "One Way" signs along a narrow path which was related to getting to heaven only through faith in Jesus which gets us on that narrow way that leads to life.  In the skit, the family wound up at a cross where the grandson presented the gospel and his aunt and grandparents trusted in Jesus as their Savior.  Today's verses were:  Jesus answered, I am the Way.  And I am the truth, and the life.  The only way to the Father is through Me,--John 14:6  and Enter through the narrow gate.  The road that leads to hell is a very easy road.  And the gate to hell is very wide.  Many people enter through that gate.  But the gate that opens the way to true life is very small.  And the road to true life is very hard.  Only a few people find that road. Matthew 7:13-14 (Int'l Children's Bible)

The kids got it rocking really well!

Our second activity was the obstacle course which made most of the kids very happy--they love the slip and slide and the water balloons!  In my earlier post from Tuesday, I forgot to show a picture of the bounce house that is also part of it so I'm showing that today.

That wraps up Thursday with only Friday left to go.  Donations for the Chain of Love orphanage in Brazil are coming in good.  

Day 3 of Kids Summer Shake Up 2023 at Parma Heights Baptist

The double white line is the finish line--
team on right had to start over

Other team had to start over too!

In the 5/6th grade group on Wednesday we reached 40 kids.  Today is a dry day for our activities.  Our first activity was a hula hoop jump relay in the back parking lot.  We had four teams with ten on each and the idea was for the whole team to cross the finish line without stepping outside of a hula hoop.  They could have up to two in one hoop.  This was a great game for teamwork because they had to work together.  The first person had like 5 hula hoops and put down one at a time in front of them and stepped into it, followed by other team members.  If anyone stepped outside of the hoop, the whole team had to go back and start over.  They played two rounds and the winner of each played against each other for the championship.  It was a close race!  

Sharks and Minnows

For the leftover time they played sharks and minnows with the workers being the sharks to start it off.  The kids had to try getting across to the finish line without being tagged by a shark.

The skit focused on Psalm 23 and was about our road trip travelers running out of gas.  The theme for the day was Jesus is the Good Shepherd and we are his sheep.  Also, John 10:9 where Jesus says, "I am the door.  The person who enters through Me will be saved.  He will be able to come in and go out and find pasture."  

Our second activity was back in the woods again, only instead of playing Capture the Squirrel, they played helpers tag.  Most of the mud from Monday was dried up.  This time the ones doing the chasing wore yellow pennies which made them easy to spot.  I was having so much fun watching that I forgot to take a picture!  By the time I remembered, it was too late.  The kids loved chasing each other in the woods!

5th & 6th graders waiting with leaders to be picked up

At the end of each day, leaders bring their small groups back to the tent where they checked in at so parents can pick them up at noon.  The children give their name tags back to their leader when their parent comes to get them and the leader checks them out.  Each grade has their own tent.  

I was a busy runner today making two restroom trips, returning some extra snacks, trying to find the group that was missing a couple socks left by the slip-n-slide, and one trip to first aid at the very end.  Only two days left.  Be sure and check out the posts of the first two days if you missed them:  Day 1, Day 2.   

Day 2 of Kids Summer Shake Up 2023 at Parma Heights Baptist

Opening Rally with kids sitting with leaders by grade

Every day starts with some singing with all the grades and their leaders in the pavilion.  They also review the verse of the week all together.  Our first activity today was the obstacle course which the kids loved!  It not only included different obstacles to do, but also a fun water balloon fight against another group.  If the kids didn't get wet enough with that, there was also a slip-n-slide they could enjoy.  Here are just few pictures of some of the obstacles:

tunnel

hurdles, tunnel, hay bale climb

Water balloon fight

Taking jumps together

Bouncy Ball Ride

Slip-n-Slide Threesome

Most went 1 at a time on slip-n-slide

Heading to pavilion after
obstacle course for skit 

After the first activity, we all return to the pavilion for a skit that somehow relates to the lesson of the day and is usually pretty funny.  I really enjoy the skits.  They are made up by the skit crew and they do not follow a script.  They do a great job!  Today's was that the grandpa got all tangled up in his sheet when sleeping and sort of looked like Lazarus when Jesus raised him from the dead.  When groups move from place to place, the director leads with a flag raised that has the grade on it and each leader walks with their small group of kids holding up their group color flag.  Below are a couple pictures of the skit:

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Day 1 of Kids Summer Shake UP 2023 at Parma Heights Baptist Church

This year I am helping in grades 5 & 6 as a runner (aka gopher).  The first day we had about 33 in this group and split them up into 7 smaller groups with 4-7 kids in each.  Some groups had one leader and others more than one that stayed with their small group the entire morning.  After the opening rally in the pavilion, our first activity was capture the squirrel (similar to capture the flag). The kids got to run around in the woods which most of them seemed to like.  One girl slipped and got her shorts all muddy so I took her inside to call her mom to bring another pair.  She missed the skit, but got back to her group in time for the snacks and devotional.  Today's lesson was Jesus is the bread of life and the feeding of the 5,000.  

Our second activity was crafts where small groups worked together to build a city scape using cardboard rolls, boxes, crepe paper, bottles, and some other miscellaneous items.  The kids really got into this and worked well together.  Here are some of the things they created:

Pink Group getting started

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Two Wasted Stressful Days of Jury Duty!

Terrible Mail

My husband got the notice in the mail about three weeks ago to report for jury duty downtown at the Court of Common Pleas.  He of course did not want to go, so we prayed that God would arrange things so he would not have to report.  He called Friday to see if he had to go on Monday, and we were delighted that he didn't; however, they said to call again on Monday to see if he had to go on Tuesday.  This alone is anxiety producing and stressful!  Unfortunately, it turned out that he did have to go.  Since he is not familiar with downtown, we both went down on the bus together and I showed him the way.  

We met up with a girl who was there on Monday so she showed him which elevators to use and how to get to the jury room area.  All day was very boring since he never got called.  He brought a book along to read (The Writing Retreat) and a lunch.  He had almost two hours for lunch!  A lady who lives a few streets away from us recognized him from walking our dog down her street quite often and offered him a ride down the next morning with her husband.  We thought that was very nice of her!    

I was stressed out too waiting for his call to give him directions to the bus stop. It was a beautiful day and I couldn't leave the house because he had our only cell phone that we share so I had to stay by our home phone. They finally let them go around 3:00 and he called me for directions to the bus stop because it was different from the one we got off at coming down.  They gave him a bus pass to get home which was nice!  I went to meet him at the bus stop with our dog, Roxy, but the bus got there earlier than I expected so met him part way.  I felt bad I wasn't there to greet him when he got off.

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Got A Surprise Package

We got a package from Amazon but didn't order anything.  The name on the box didn't even sound like a name.  It was something like joke oooooo but with our address.  Usually an Amazon delivery truck comes down our street every day so we didn't open it and decided to give it to the driver when the next one came by.  It sat our dining room table for at least 3 days before my husband saw an Amazon truck come and went out with it.  The driver told us we might as well just keep it because even if he took it back, they still wouldn't be able to deliver it to the right person since there was no way of knowing the right address. 

We opened and inside was a toy I never heard of.  It's a Got 2 Glow Fairy Pet Finder!  There are some instructions on the back side of it but very small print and difficult to read through the plastic bag that it is in.  Too bad it wasn't something we could have actually used!  I'm going to give it to a little neighbor girl who walks by our house with her dad all the time.  The funny thing is, they haven't been by in a while, probably due to the bad air quality days we had recently and the high temperatures.  We'll keep a look out.

Have you ever heard or had any experience with this toy?  I even looked at a YouTube video showing someone talking about it, but they didn't seem to quite know what to do with it either!  

Pickleball Noise Makes Neighbors Angry

I love playing pickleball but if I lived so close to the pickleball courts that I could hear the ball, maybe the noise would make me nuts too, especially if people are playing real early or real late at night.  Fortunately, we live two blocks away from our closest courts so the noise does not reach us.  Apparently though, lots of people are bothered by this pickleball noise as the sport grows in popularity and more courts are being made in neighborhoods.  According the an article my husband found, Shattered Nerves, Sleepless Nights, Pickleball Noise is Driving Everyone Nuts, some people even are moving because of it!    

Below is just a short video of my husband playing so you can hear the sound the ball makes.  

 

So, what do you think?  Too noisy?

Related post: Our Neighborhood Mystery is Solved

My Husband's Favorite Reads In June

My husband had read three books in June that he loved!  One was based on a true story and the other two are both by Sally Hepworth.  Below are his reviews on these favorites:

Three Sisters by Heather Morris is based on a true story.  Three sisters make a pact to always stay together and be there for each other, but when two of them are sent to a concentration camp by the Nazis, that pact is put to the test.  Will they survive to see their sister again?  This book is really good!  The parts about the concentration camp are very powerful!  I loved all the three sisters and liked the very good ending!  

 

The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth, Gabe and Pippa's house is near a cliff where people sometimes go to end their lives.  Gabe has a way of talking people off that cliff.  However, one day with Pippa watching, a woman and Gabe talk until the woman is falling off that cliff!  To Pippa, it looks like Gabe pushed her, but she doesn't really believe it!  Could he have?  Sally Hepworth is always good, but this book is fantastic!  The characters are really good and I thought I knew how it would end, but I was wrong!  LOVED THIS ONE!  

In The Mother's Promise by Sally Hepworth, Alice is a single mother who has a 15-yr.-old daughter, Zoe.  When Alice gets sick with Cancer, she is told that she needs a support person to help her and drive her around.  Unfortunately, she has no one except Zoe to count on.  Kate, a nurse, and Sonja, a social worker come to her aid, but they are dealing with their own problems.  This book is really good!  All the characters seem real.  I especially loved the parts with Zoe!  This is Sally's best book yet!  I LOVED IT!  

      Unfortunately, for me, I didn't read any books in June that is was thrilled with so hopefully, maybe I'll do better in July.  You can see all our book reviews at Grab A Book from Our Stack.

  Related posts you might enjoy:

O   Our Favorite Books We Read in 2021

Looking Back at Our Favorite Reads in 2016