Fall has begun

Would you believe we did not travel out of state during the month of September??  But our Colorado kids did come to be with us!  

Tenley does NOT like men, and that includes Papa, unfortunately.  At first, any way.  When he'd get close, this was her reaction.

But she got to the place where she didn't back away from him.

She would not hold his hand though.

Would you pray for Baby Sister?  There are some concerns about this little one's arrival and health.

My 2 granddaughters are learning to drive this fall!

Larry Hatteburg came to speak at Life Enrichment on the college campus in town.  We really enjoy his show "Hatteburg's People" on PBS!  When I heard he was coming, I HAD to go!  His show is how I found out about the doll museum in Towanda as he interviewed Barbara.  He was surprised she was still operating.  She is 86 and still fixing those dolls!

Our small group, CLG (Community Life Group) began meeting again after a little break.  We were missing the Loewens, who were babysitting.

Fall means Bible studies are back in session!  My "older women's" Bible study is pictured below.  We learn so much from each other!!  We are studying 1st & 2nd Peter by David Jeremiah.

My friend Sarah has come alongside to help me teach the young moms!  She is definintely an answer to prayer!   We also are doing the same study!

I am helping with little Awana Cubbies again this year.  I love teaching those little children about Jesus!!

 A "Chia pet" came to visit!

Our friends celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary!!

Allen's siblings came to our house for a Graber get-together.  We sure do enjoy laughing - a lot!!

We finished decorating for the melodrama we were going to have at our church.

The play was finally held at our church.  It was a hit!

September is coming to an end along with cooler weather.  There was a nip in the air this morning and I wore a sweater to Bible study!  There are travel plans in place for October!  And people coming to stay at our home.  

Of course, we can plan but it is the Lord who directs those plans.  We never know what the next day will bring.

"We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps."  Proverbs 16:9

Summer has ended!

It is Fall!  It was cold and rainy the first day of fall (Sept 22) with a high temperature of 61 degrees.  Last Monday, it was over 100 and today it is 91. I do appreciate cooler days and am ready for that.  Before beginning fall activities, the end of summer kept us busy!

This summer, once a week, my friend Tarenda invited several ladies over to paint, just for the fun of it!  We experimented with various kinds of art work.

We went to see the purple martins roost before their annual migration to Brazil. They gather in Wichita every August. This year it was a little disappointing with fewer birds than we've ever seen.  Usually they say around 10,000 gather before the migration, but not this year.

See those babies from our bird house?  Sooo cute!  They had to practice their wings so they'd be ready to fly over the Gulf of Mexico!  Wonder if they will return to our bird house next spring?  

My friend Ruth and I went to see Barbara, the doll lady, at her doll museum and hospital in Towanda.  Ruth saw a doll and gasped "That looks like the doll I had to leave behind when we had to evacuate from our compound in the Congo when I was a little girl!"  Barbara immediately gifted Ruth the doll!!

And then she told me I could have this baby!!  Isn't this doll sweet?  So is Barbara!!  How very kind of her!

When we came to America, my mother gave my dolls away to the kindergarten that my parents operated.  Tiny Tears was my "baby" and I was sooo sad to leave her behind, but my mother thought I was too old for dolls.  The truth is, I'm sure those kindergarten children did enjoy her!  (But I don't believe I'm too old for dolls!) 

One lady on the Dolls of the '50's, '60's, 70's FaceBook page heard my story and sent me her mother's Tiny Tears doll as they were cleaning out her mother's place!!!  I was floored at her kindness!  I don't think people understand unless you are a "doll" person how much dolls mean to you!

Ruth and I met again for one last time before she moved from Wichita.

I will miss my walking/shopping friend!

Ruth was one of my first friends in Newton and my Bible study leader back in the 1980's.  Would you pray that her husband, who is a Brazilian, can come to America?  Ruth married him when she was a single missionary to Brazil.  She came to America a couple of years ago when her sisters became ill.  She and Paulo decided that they would like to be here in America now.  But there are many roadblocks in his coming to join her.  The paper work for legal immigrants is not easy.

A new neighbor, Francesca, moved a few doors down and we have begun walking around our pond together in the evenings, along with her dog, Bongo.  I also began taking swim aerobics (sorry, no picture of that!!).

A friend from church wrote a melodrama that our church will perform this coming week and several weeks ago, she asked me and a couple others to design the set and get props.  We met every Tuesday and also in between to paint.

A few other friends also stepped in to help us.

It is all ready!!

Our friends, Loren and Lynn, had told us about Yoder Days and we decided to all go celebrate!  It began with a sausage and pancake feed.

There was a parade.

Pooper scoopers followed those horses!

Candy was thrown to all the children (and some adults caught some too)!

Our home church participated!

We had ice-cream and pie and talked with several Mennonite folks while eating.  What an enjoyable time talking with our Anabaptist "family"!  

Speaking of Anabaptists, I worked and completed my mother's genealogy.  

Summer is over now.  Fall activities have begun and that will be another post!