Thoughtful

 

My friend Sharon was at my house this week-end. I had my table set with my Christmas dishes.  She told me she has the same dishes. She also buys a dated plate every year. A fun thing about her doing this is at their Christmas dinner each family member uses the plate with the year they were born. Tonight Sharon came over again and this time had a beautiful gift bag which she gave me.  Inside was a beautiful dated Christmas plate.  It didn't have just any date, but the year that our daughter, Amy, went home to the Lord!

 

The plate is so pretty and so meaningful to us...

a very special gift from a thoughtful, sweet friend!

 

 

 

A gift from a friend

I received my first Christmas present today! UPS delivered lots of boxes and I thought they were all gifts I had ordered for others. One return address didn't look familiar and I didn't remember ordering from this company. The reason was... a friend sent me a Christmas gift! This friend is a gift to me all year long! I will always think of her when I use this pretty mug.

Thank you Jenny....

I love my new mug!

 

She continues to touch lives...

 

This is one of my favorite pictures of my daughter Amy. 

It was taken in Honduras in 1998, just weeks before she went home to the Lord. She loved children, so it seems so natural to see her with these little ones. I love the smiles on all their faces! I thank the Lord for the opportunity He gave her to go to Honduras.  She is still touching lives there with a scholarship we give each year in her memory. This year we are so thrilled to have enough money to present two scholarships of $1,000 each to two graduates of Ruach International Christian Academy in Comayagua, Honduras. This graduation and presentation will take place Sunday evening. This year they have arranged it so that we that cannot be there can watch it live. I can hardly wait to see the surprised faces when the names of the scholarship winners are announced!

 

Life of thanksgiving

November... the month we celebrate Thanksgiving. I love that this month causes us to think about all that the Lord does for us.  This morning I am thinking about all the other days.  Do I remember to thank Him?  I want my life to be a life of thanksgiving. I want my life to make a difference in other's lives so they can rejoice and give thanks to God.

I want to celebrate the greatness of God everyday.

Psalm 95:1-6 - O Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. For the LORD is a great God, And a great King above all gods, In whose hand are the depths of the earth; The peaks of the mountains are His also. The sea is His, for it was He who made it; And His hands formed the dry land. Come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.

 

Psalm 28:7 -The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart exults, And with my song I shall thank Him.

1 Chronicles 16:8 - Oh give thanks to the LORD, call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples.



Let us remember that, as much has been given us, much will be expected from us, and that true homage comes from the heart as well as from the lips, and shows itself in deeds. ~ Theodore Roosevelt, 1901

Let's have a heart of thanksgiving every day!

Colossians 3:15 - And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.

 

Scholarship time...

Each year we give a scholarship in memory of our daughter Amy. Jim will be traveling to Honduras this month to make the presentation to a senior in Ruach International Christian Academy. To know we are blessing a young person that might not be able to attend college without this help is so wonderful. We could never thank our friends and family enough for helping make this happen. We are so glad we have been able to keep in touch with some of the students that have received scholarships!

 

My sister, Stephanie and Jim presenting last year's scholarship

Amy Elizabeth Pack Memorial Scholarship

 Last year we presented a $1,000 scholarship to Pedro Paul Luna Aguilar from Ruach International Christian Academy. He is currently attending college in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

We love hearing back from the students that have been presented this scholarship and see their dream for an education coming true. For example, two years ago we presented two scholarships which went to Gerson Acosta and Johany Acosta. Today they are both in medical school in Tegucigalpa.  Another young man named Carlos is also a med student in Tegucigalpa.  Celestino Garcia is a senior at ORU this year and was just selected as the $20,000 Whole Person Scholarship Winner from ORU. This scholarship program has been established to recognize those students who are well-rounded and dream of furthering their education.

We are excited to be able to present another scholarship this year to a graduating senior from Ruach International Christian Academy. Jim will be attending this graduation and presenting the scholarship.

Helping another young person fulfill their dream is a blessing to us, as is keeping Amy’s life story and testimony alive!

 

 

Friends and Family

Jim had a meeting in Minneapolis and because it was so close to our friends Sally and Ron's house I went with him.

It is wonderful to be with long time friends that you feel so comfortable with. We laughed together, cried together, and talked and talked.  One day Ron walked in the room and reminded us how many words women had and he was sure were were using all of them. We were making up for all the days, months, years we are not together.

 As we sat by the fire visiting that first morning we looked outside and saw snowflakes!

 

 

 

 

When we were on the plane flying home I could not help but think of this verse as we looked out the window. 

 

 The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Psalm 19:1

 

 

 

 

 While we were gone, Colette and Ashlynn's school had the children dress as their favorite book character and bring that book to school. I am so glad both mothers sent me pictures of the girls!

Colette dressed as Kaya, one of the American Girl dolls.

She carried the book that was her story.

 

 

Ashlynn was Angelina Ballerina.  Angelina is a is a ballerina that is a mouse!

Ashlynn made the cutest little mouse.  

 

 

I am thankful for the opportunity to visit our friends

and thankful to come back home to family! 

Ronald McDonald House

A group of ladies from our church went to Ft. Worth to the Ronald McDonald House to serve lunch to the families. None of us had ever been there but all of us were excited about the day.
Ronald McDonald House provides a supportive home-away-from-home for families of children receiving medical treatment in area hospitals. It is their desire that families are able to rest and relax while being able to be close to their children. Their vision is to never turn a family away. 
We were so impressed with the beautiful kitchen as well as the other areas.  The kitchen had everything we needed to prepare our meal. The staff were all so welcoming and helpful to us.

 

Our menu was Taco Soup, Tortilla Chips, Sour Cream, Cheese, Fruit Salad, Brownies, Iced Tea, and Lemonade

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was a blessing to serve these families. We had a chance to talk to and encourage a few.

 

 

We were very glad that Jim wanted to join us. 

 

 On the way home we talked about how we wanted to do it again.  So in November we will return and again fix lunch for the families!

 

"I used to think you had to be special for God to use you,

 but now I know you simply need to say yes."

~Bob Goff

from Love Does

 

 

 

 

 

Birthdays and a Talent Show

 

Sunday, we had a  birthday celebration for our daughter, our son-in-law and our nephew. The night was spent eating favorite foods, opening silly cards, gifts, lots of laughter and a requested birthday desert for each one. I am so very thankful for our family that loves and laughs together. 

 

 

 

 

 

Monday we attended a talent show where 7 yr. old Colette read two funny poems. She was very poised as she read. You could tell by the laughter the audience enjoyed both of them.

 

 

 

 

Look forward to this all year!

We went on our yearly family vacation the end of September.  I look forward to this get-away all year. This year I had a special visit from a sweet friend I had lost touch with. We were stationed together in the Army for two years with Carol and Gene and after some years, lost touch with them. I had tried to find them without success but with Facebook and a mutual friend she contacted me. We were very sad to learn of her husband's death just months ago. I was thrilled that we would only be an hour away from her our first night.  She and I had a wonderful visit and plan to stay in touch.  

 

Jim and I woke early one morning. 

We watched the sun rise and took a walk.

 

 

 

Lots of fun on the beach!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner fun with family

Having a lunchable meant she always had something she liked to eat

 

We ate at one of our favorite restaurants...Cozmos

 

 

 

 

 

At McGuire's people sign dollars and staple them to the wall!

 

 

 

Everyone looked forward to the nights Stacy and Ashlynn made cookies for us 

 

 

 We made lots of memories and had a wonderful week!