Ladies Bible Fellowship

Yesterday resumed the Ladies Bible Fellowship. (We take the summer off.) It was SO refreshing to be around the ladies and to have a time of fellowship. For those who aren't familiar with it, every month we ladies get together for a time of devotions, food, and fellowship. Each month there is a theme with the decorations and food and last night's was "Back To School". YIKES! I still can't believe we are already into that. :-) The devotion was such an encouragement to my heart! She spoke about An Unchanging God in a Changing World. Oh how true it is that things in our lives are constantly changing and morphing. But the Lord still remains the same. And He wants to do a work in us through those changes in our lives. We just have to allow him to shape and mold us with His potter's hands as he shows us things in our lives.

Another part of the Ladies Bible Fellowship is the Secret Prayer Sister. Every month, those who wish to participate put their names in a basket and in turn pick another lady to pray for. The key is "secret". teehee. The three rules are 1: Make it a point to pray for that lady every single day. 2: Contact her throughout the month to let her know you are praying for her. (While keeping it a secret.) This can be done through gifts and/or a card. 3: Reveal yourself at the end of the month. Some of the ladies chose to do it over the summer, myself included. It was such a blessing to hear that the lady I had been praying for had her request answered that she had put on the little sheet! Praise the Lord! Also, the person who happened to be praying for me was my dear friend Carolyn. Boy, did she have her work cut out for her! :-) It is a wonderful thing to know that someone is fervently praying for you.

Carolyn really spoiled me this summer with her gifts! There is actually a funny story behind one. On the plane on the way to LTIA we were seated next to each other. I was looking through one of those magazines that they always have on planes and I saw this really cool pitcher! I though "hey I might get it one day." so I wrote down the website. Well....Carolyn gave it to me as an SPS gift! I was so surprised!! It's really neat! It has a tube down the middle that you can put fruit in to give your drink a fruity flavor. Nifty huh?! She also gave me a Pampered Chef cook book that I really wanted. I made a recipe today (Pumpkin Whoopie Pies) and they were fantastic! Thank you Carolyn not only for the wonderful gifts, but being such a great friend and praying for me. Love you!

Meet My Four New Friends!

A couple of months ago we had a cat adopt us at the Holly Farm. She befriended us and we gave her a name and a bed. Fiona is her name. Not too long ago we noticed she was getting quite ...large. Were we feeding her too much? Nope...she's getting bigger! Alas, we realized she was "with kitten"! This past Sunday she had her kitties, and they are SO cute! Four to be exact. Let me introduce you.....

This is Carhartt...

And Deuteronomy...."Dude" for short.

Cashmere....

And Puma!

A Birthday Surprise!

Last Sunday we celebrated Linnea's birthday....well.....sort of. Sunday night we all went out to a new Chinese and Mongolian Buffet and it was great! The food was good, but I think my favorite part was that they played classical piano music in the background. Big thumbs up from Alyssa!! We then went to my house for a girls sleepover. (By we, I mean Linnea, Anna, Kali, Maggie and myself) The sleepover included watching Enchanted and an intensive search for the fruit snacks (which were sneakily hidden by my little brother). Who knew fruit snacks were so valuable?!

Secretly, we were planning a party for Linnea the next day...but she had no i-clue. It was great! There were SOO many hints but she never caught on. Which made it so much more fun! As we girls made our way into town for some Whidbey Coffee and a stop at the bank I realized that we still had about 20 minutes before people would be arriving at my house! I quickly searched through my small brain files for an idea of what to do. Well, Walmart is always a good plan B. So off we drove to walmart....to get tissues....sorry excuse I know, but what would YOU have done?! So we got tissues...then of course I HAD to go find more fruit snacks! I frantically looked at my watch...ten minutes still to waste! Let's see...."Ah HA! I see Cranberry Sierra Mist over there!" So off we went to check out the beloved soft drink.

Baaarely making it back to my house at the appointed time I realized people still weren't there...so as Kali and I casually exchanged knowing glances in the front seat we decided a little trip to the church playground would be fun! So here was Plan C in full action! It involved Monkey Bars, some swings, and a tire swing. Many more details were laid out of course to keep her from noticing the car creeping up the hill with people walking behind it...but that's a whole 'nother story.

We had a fabulous time playing games and watching Joel grill. Memories were established and I hope it was a wonderful 18th birthday for a wonderful friend.

The Group!

The Birthday Girl

The Grill Man

Anna, Me, Linnea
The Three Amigos

"Found the Fruit Snacks!"

Kali and I doing our best at eating without manners.

Linnea, Maggie and Deborah mocking me with their straight backs....*sigh

Kali and I

Happy Birthday, Linnea!

Birthday #2! Ok so today really IS Linnea's birthday! lol. Linnea has been a wonderful friend to me in so many ways. She keeps me optimistic when I feel more like a pessimist, she stays at my side as I nearly die falling off a cliff, and she....always drinks my sweet tea. LOL (Linnea LOVES our sweet tea and always heads straight for the fridge every time she comes over.)

We've had so many fun memories together over the past couple of years, it really would be hard to name them all. A few of my favorites are: Taking night walks on Shaw (especially the one with the "stars in the water"), going camping on Shaw (when Linnea built this massive fire that I was sure would burn down the entire island), sleeping out on the trampoline at night to watch the stars, and peeling wallpaper to make fun "graffiti" on her wall! Those are just a FEW of the fun memories. Good times....I look forward to many more of those.....Happy 18th Birthday Linnea!

At the hotel in Victoria

At Pelindaba Lavender Farm

Hat picture at LL Bean in Maine

Happy Birthday, Mom!

So now the time has come...last day of her thirtieth decade...Yes you read right..she's 40! Tonight we celebrated my mom's 40th birthday (even though it's not til tomorrow) and we had a great time! Several families from church came over and my mom cooked up some real good Seafood Gumbo. MMM!!!!

Mom has been SUCH a good mother in so many ways. There have been many times where she's been in the "single parent" shoes while my dad was away on deployment with the NAVY. Through years of that she's always been right there with us ready to jump in on any fun that might be in view or to give wise council when needed. After many hours of chatting on my bed over the years, I can truly say that my mom is my friend. Happy Birthday, Mom! I love you!

The cake I made for my mom...

Have you been with Jesus?

I am reading in Acts in my devotions right now and it's been really great to read about the first church. A couple of years ago, Pastor Bobby Mitchell (the pastor of MidCoast Baptist Church in Maine) preached through the entire book, taking 2-3 years! (Part of the time was after we moved away) A lot of it is coming back to me as I read Acts now and I am certainly appreciative of the verse-by-verse explanation.

Today in my devotions, one of the verses that stuck out to me was Ch. 4 vs 13. And it reads, "Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled: and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus." For a little context, Peter and John had been preaching in the temple, and as a result MANY were saved. Vs 4 says "Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand." That's pretty amazing to me!

What struck me as interesting was that they realized Peter and John had been with Jesus after they saw their boldness. This verse really spoke to me. Am I being bold enough that people can tell I have been with Jesus? Just something to think about...

Is it Fall?

The first day of fall this year is September 22.  Does it mean it's fall when the temperature remains at a steady low-60, the ground is scattered with fallen leaves, the trees are turning lovely fall colors, Bible Institute is starting, and I am craving Pumpkin Pie?  Because, in my opinion, that about sums up the season!  I think that the calender MUST be wrong and fall has come early this year.  I can't say I mind!

Tonight I was looking through some old cds of pictures and I thought I would share a few.  It seems like just yesterday that these pictures were taken, but wow! How time has flown!  I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

            Hower Family (Minus Josh) at Glacier Bay in Iceland

Mom and Dad

Chris and Becca

Hower Kids 2004 (Have we changed at all?!?!)

Chris and Becca (Oh how I miss Autumn in Maine)