Sunday, November 2, 2008

October 2008

Out our front door this afternoon. We are so blessed to live in such a beautiful place!
The pilgrims have been put out and so we are officially looking forward to Thanksgiving!

The bar.
Okay, look closely. There's a skeleton of a dead lizzard hanging in this tree. How did we find this you may ask? Well, it happens to be hanging in a very sweet blooming bush. Bob and I were smelling this great fragrance every time we went outside, so we ventured over to it and breath in the sweet aroma and this is what we found. If I had a better camera, you could see that is was only a skeleton. You could see right through it! This is one of the biggest trees on campus. It's HUGE! I can't imagine how old it is. Just some of the great trees on campus right now. This one is in front of the President's building. Taken today 11/2/08 after having lunch on campus at Southern Wesleyan. It was a beautiful day - about 75 degrees and look at that blue sky!
Yesterday we drove up to Brevard to meet Dave and Brenda Blackburn, our good friends. They live in the most gorgeous place. They've taken us sight seeing several times already and this was our first fall tour of the mountains. It certainly wasn't anthing but spectacular! This is at a place called "Ceasars Head". You could see for miles. It was magnificient! This was called "Pretty Place". A lookout Jono Blackburn has been trying to get us to go to for a while now. We finally made it. My sweetie of 30 years now! I couldn't imagine doing anything better - than everything with this guy! Brenda and Dave Blackburn. Our dear friends. Every time we see each other - Brenda and I get so excited. Because when they left FWC in Tuscaloosa more than a year ago - we were so sad. They were our hang out buddies on staff. We had no idea that a year later God would allow us to live only 1 hour apart! There's nothing like a great girlfriend! Brenda's awesome! She has the best laugh! She made a delicious lunch before we had to go home. The entrance to "Pretty Place". It is an outdoor tabernacle and this is your view. The words read " I Will Life Mine Eyes Unto The Hills".
This is the steeple at FWC in Central. The church is located right next door to the chapel where our offices are. The blue sky has been spectacular lately and the fall colors on campus are vibrant right now. You might notice the wreath above my head. They decorated the chapel for a Christmas card picture and so we thought we'd get the first shot since it wasn't even Halloween when we took this. The night of the dedication of the chapel, we took this. This is the 9 ft. Steinway in the chapel. Actually, this is Bob playing the 9 ft. Steinway in the chapel.One of the benefits of traveling is that you have the opportunity to be reunited with friends. We traveled to High Point, NC in October and had the blessing of seeing James, Jeannine and Brianne Woody. They also have a son, Travis, (who is adorable and is Devin's age), but did not go to lunch with us and missed the picture taking. I first met James and Jeannine when I became the district director of a young adult ensemble in 1980. We immediately connected with them. They were fun loving, love the Lord, loved music and we just fit and nitched together. Their daughter, Brianne is on the far right. When she was born, upon her homecoming, I took her to the piano, held her in my lap, played and sang to her. James and Jeannine have been dear friends for a long time. Being with them was like time had stood still - except the kids are all grown now. James later sang in a trio with Bob and me. Now that we aren't so terribly far away, we hope to have some good visits together. Here we are with Lee Denny and Michael Wooten. Lee is the daughter of Tim and Cheri Denny. Our families traveled together in the early 90's as a trio called "One Heart". Lee was 4 yrs. old when we started singing together. Now she is 22 yrs. old. Again, another beautiful girl all grown up. We had taken a picture of Cheri and Logan (now 19 yrs. old), but it didn't turn out. So sad. Hopefully, we can get one again. This is just rehearsal time at Fist Wesleyan Church in High Point, NC. University Singers sang here on October 19th. We had a GREAT time! This group is just fabulous. All these kids are OUR KIDS and we love them dearly. Each one unique and each one very gifted! There are two seniors in this group and I can't believe I will lose them after 1 semester and 1 yr. together.Although they look so professional when they sing - when they travel - they look like a pile of puppies.This is the aircraft we flew to Tuscaloosa on September 24th of this year. Dr. Spittal and his wife Donna were along on the trip. We went to host a fundraising event for the Newton Hobson Chapel and Fine Arts Center. So hard to believe something so small can be so powerful and smooth at the same time!Here we are the 4 of us posing. The Spittals are fantastic people and we had a GREAT time on the flight. The only shot I got inside the plane. Sorry. But, Bob is happy and enjoying himself! It was also his birthday so he felt very special! Devin, Michael Wooten and Jono Blackburn. Michael is part of University Singers, but is also a new adopted son. And then Jono Blackburn Kerstetter is on the far right. He and Devin are going to be rooming together next semester. They met when they were about 5 years old when we first moved to Alabama.