Beautiful Morning for Breakfast on the Deck

We made my mom's Great Aunt Alma's waffle 
recipe this morning.

We used delicious Hillsdale maple syrup, 
a gift from Aunt Cheryl and Uncle Dwight.

Beautiful morning to enjoy food, 
fellowship and good coffee on the deck.

The golfers were out as well.  
You can see them in the top right of this picture.

I persuaded my mom to let me take her picture to prove she was eating with us as well.  We took a walk after breakfast, and now I'm packing up getting ready to head home.  
What a wonderful time it has been!

Special Visit with Sara

I added my blog address to face book because I didn't know if anyone was reading. . . besides my mom, cousins and aunts.  I received so many encouraging messages, that I have been inspired to increase my entries.  Once I return home and get back into the swing of things of school, I will make this more along the lines of teaching, acting, communication, productions... you know, all the things I love to do.  However, for a few more days I want to relish in summer fun with family and friends.

This week has continued to be relaxing.  I've come to the office with my parents for three of the five days.  I've worked on speech and drama classes.  I'm teaching junior high speech for the first time, so I'm developing all new lessons.  Should be fun!

On Tuesday my parents loaned me their car and I drove to Raleigh for a visit with my dear cousin and friend, Sara.  We had a delightful afternoon catching up, reminiscing, and laughing.  It is so wonderful that Sara and Dave live only about an hour away from my parents.  They have a lovely home and three adorable children.   We have decided that we will make this an annual event since we hadn't gotten together for three years.  I just wished I lived closer to more of my cousins.  Since I don't have sisters, my "girl cousins" are my sisters. 

All the World's a Stage

I have slightly altered the name of my blog to be "All the World's a Stage" which is directly quoted from William Shakespeare's As You Like It.  I am preparing my new courses for the year.  In drama class we will be quoting and using this famous quote in one of our first class periods.  Although some would argue that Shakespeare's meaning is deterministic, I like to teach the quote from a Biblical worldview.  We are on a stage and just as an actor has an audience, so also a hurting world is watching. 

How will we perform and will we finish well?

Because I love acting and Shakespeare, I enjoy discussing and pondering upon this thought.  As a Christian drama director/teacher it is my desire for students to use the "stage" that God gives them to glorify Him.  This has and will continue to be my mission as I continue to train servant performers

"...that in all things He might have the preeminence." Col. 1:18b

All the world's a stage,

And all the men and women merely players:

They have their exits and their entrances;

And one man in his time plays many parts,

His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,

Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms.

And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel

And shining morning face, creeping like snail

Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,

Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad

Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then a soldier,

Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard,

Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,

Seeking the bubble reputation

Even in the cannon's mouth. And then the justice,

In fair round belly with good capon lined,

With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,

Full of wise saws and modern instances;

And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts

Into the lean and slipper'd pantaloon,

With spectacles on nose and pouch on side,

His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide

For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,

Turning again toward childish treble, pipes

And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,

That ends this strange eventful history,

Is second childishness and mere oblivion,

Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

Fun Times in NC

Well, I have been in North Carolina for a week now. I have looked forward to this trip all summer. Brian had to stay home and work, but he was very supportive of me spending this time with my family. I like this picture of my dad because he has had a rough couple of weeks. He had surgery on July 15 to remove a tumor from his bladder. All went well until it was discovered through much pain that he was experiencing that he had a perforation in his bladder. When I arrived last Tuesday he was still pretty weak. It has been encouraging to see him gain his strength throughout the week and even be able to get out for the morning service on Sunday. He wore his Father's Day tie that Brian picked out especially for him.

Another highlight was that Kirk was here when I arrived. When I found out he was spending his vacation in NC, I scheduled my trip to overlap with his. He arrived the day Pop had his surgery and was such a help through the whole ordeal. I'm glad he was here because he has more experience with medical matters than me. We had fun relaxing and fellowshipping for a few days with him.

Kirk and Mom were the action team for Pop's medical care. Mom came to get me at the airport and Kirk stayed with the patient at home.

On Wednesday we had a lovely family dinner and I made the infamous stromboli as requested by everyone. I found out many family and friends love that dish as well. My cousin Sara made it the same night we did! More pictures and adventures to follow. . .

Wonderful Summer Days

Time to update the blog. I have been enjoying these summer weeks so much. Of course, it always takes a little time to recover from the incredibly busy school year. Then Brian and I took a vacation to Savannah, Georgia and spent some time on Tybee Island as well. What a refreshing time of rest and relaxation. Over the last few weeks I've enjoyed working on projects at home--mostly cleaning, cleaning out and organizing.

Brian has also taken several Fridays off and so we have enjoyed vacationing around Chattanooga. His sister Cindy and family have been here from Texas. We had a big cookout at our house last week and celebrate the 4th by going to the fireworks downtown.

I will leave on the 20th for North Carolina to spend time with my family. Kirk will be visiting at that time as well. We always have a great time together.

Inservice will begin at Berean on August 4. This will be the first year we have a fall break. Although I'm looking forward to a break in the midst of a busy fall, it does require us to start earlier than we ever have. This year I'll have a full schedule teaching Algebra I, Algebra II, Geometry, English 11/12, Speech, Drama and Jr. High speech. Whew! It makes me tired just typing the list.

However, I love my ministry and the Lord always enables me to get it all done.

For fun I have been spending much time at our fitness center, the Rush, trying to get in better shape. Whew! It is tough, but it feels so good after making it through a tough workout. Brian and I also spend much time relaxing at our favorite coffee shops in town -- Remembrandts, Starbucks and Stone Cup. We even found a neat one in Savannah that we frequented several times a day called the Gallery Espresso. The picture of Brian relaxing in this coffee shop is very typical of him.

Next week I'll be working in our church's vacation Bible school as a team leader. I have also started teaching another quarter of my college speech class. This quarter I have 20 students which is a big group. Please pray that I'll be a shining testimony for the Lord. I shared on the first night as I was telling about myself that the most important decision I ever made was accepting Jesus Christ as my personal Savior. It is about all I can say about my faith publicly in class, however now I'm able to show them Jesus through the joy He gives me. I am so thankful for this opportunity.

Hope you are having a good summer. I'll try to post more updates now that I can take pictures with my phone!!:)