Stacey's Week in San Antonio

We started out our week by visiting a little town called Gruene (pronounced "Green"), which is an OLD Texas western town. They have the oldest dance hall around which is still in use. People like Hank Williams got their start there along with many others who have their pictures posted on the walls of the building. They still use it today and many movies are filmed there. They also have lots of little shops for the many tourists that visit.

On Tuesday, Stacey and I went to San Marcus, which is a shoppers "Paradise"! They have miles and miles of outlet type shops and restaurants. We did our share of shopping and had lunch at a restaurant which had a stray kitten that waited for food as people came out the door. We, of course, shared the remainder of my tuna from my tuna melt.

Wednesday, we went to visit Larry's plant, where we got to wear lovely gowns and hairnets and tasted chips hot off the line!

On Thanksgiving Eve we visited the River Walk and walked down to the River City Mall. San Antonio is a beautiful city and the people don't seem like "city" people...more like small town folks.

Early Christmas Present!

Today my Christmas officially begins! I know Thanksgiving is not even here yet, but Stacey arrived today so I wanted the whole house decorated for her! She arrived late due to problems with her connecting flight which caused her to be two and a half hours later than expected. She was starving after her delayed flight, so Larry barbequed steak and we had her favorite meal...yummm! Tomorrow we start showing her around San Antonio right after church. I've been looking so forward to this week, and now it's finally here...

Food and Friends "Extraordinaire"!

We had an unbelievable evening tonight when we joined all our friends from our Life Group at the beautiful home of Dan and Joan Beasley for a six course meal prepared by "Chef Dan"! Dan's daily job is with the military, but tonight he impressed everyone with his culinary skills. We enjoyed such fine delicacies as "Scallop Provencial, Autumn Pumpkin Butternut Squash Soup, Stuffed Roasted Salmon in a Croissant and Profiteroles" among other delights!





Not only was the food a delight, but the atmosphere as we ate out by the pool was incredible. Joan collects dishes, most of which she has purchased in Germany during their travels. The tables were set beautifully and the weather cooperated by being better than we had anticipated.

Joan and Dan were outstanding hosts for the evening and all of us were so blessed to be included in this celebration of all God's gifts that He grants to us!

Trick or Treat Day

Well, I didn't really know what to expect this year on Halloween because of all the changes this past year. I knew it was going to be different being away from my kids and being in a new school. Actually, it was a pretty good day, in spite of some things that were VERY different! This district doesn't celebrate Halloween because of complaints of families who oppose it. For another thing, Texas doesn't allow candy to be given to students in public schools at all. Tonight we were watching the national news and there was a segment which focused on this very thing. They were discussing the controversy this is creating among parents. It did make it difficult considering all the teachers brought candy and gifts for each other!


Trick or Treating in our neighborhood took place all evening, rather than just for a couple of hours like in Illinois. The kids started coming about 6:30 and we just had a few more at a little before 9pm. It's been fun though because I know all the kids who come to our house from school.

The one thing that was the same was our traditional dinner of Halloween stew and biscuits...at least Larry was happy about that!

Fallerizing!

I don't think the word "fallerizing" exists in the English language, however that's what Larry's been doing this weekend! Up north we always winterized the house in November, but since we aren't anticipating a true "winter" down here in Texas, we're preparing the gardens for fall. Larry's car is in the shop repairing the damage that occured in the accident a couple of weeks ago, so he has his "dream truck" for a couple of weeks. Yesterday, he trimmed all the trees and bushes and hauled everything to the dump. Today he went and picked up mulch for the flower beds and next week we hope to get some new fall flowers. The weather here has been beautiful...in the 70's most days. If this is what winter is like, I think I'm going to like it!

Less than two months till Christmas!

Oak Hills Church does a shoebox ministry that is different from "Operation Christmas Child", but it was really neat. Each of the Sunday School classes meet outside the sanctuary at the beginning of the service. They show a short video about the ministry, and then the children file in holding their gifts and hand them to pastors in the front of the church. Then they sing a song in Spanish that we have been practicing in Sunday School for the last month. Max comes up and prays for the children who will receive the gifts and then we file out as the congregation sings. It was a really special time and you could see the joy and compassion on each child's face as brought their gifts in.





When we returned to the classrooms, we made cards for the families. The gifts will be taken down to Mexico by our Children's Ministries staff and given to needy children in the area where we have missionaries serving.

Reagan Football Game

Tonight Larry and I went out to get something to eat and he mentioned a local football game that was going on tonight. I said "Oh, that's the one everybody at school was talking about". So on the spur of the moment we decided to go and see what all the excitement was about. Wow...were we impressed! First when we got there and found out it was $7.50 a person to get in, I was about to go back home, but then I found out I got in for free because I teach in this district. That was kinda cool, but then we went in and realized it was more like a college game than what we were expecting. My favorite part of course was half time...the band was amazing! I couldn't believe the number of people involved...they looked professional!











As we were leaving, I couldn't resist taking a picture of the band's transport vehicle...kind of different from what we were used to in Rockton/Roscoe! The one thing that was the same were the kids...we sat in the band parent's section right next to the band and I watched the kids. Teenagers are the same wherever they live!

Cute Picture

We saw this when we were driving up in the Hill Country and I just had to take a picture. This couple was driving down the road with a little boxer in their cart. He had a little vest on that matched theirs, and he looked so content in his little seat, watching the world go by!

Another Adventure

Today was our last day with Aunt Edna and Uncle Dave, but it was a day of wonderful memories. Since I had to teach Sunday School this morning, they went out to breakfast and we met for the second service. After church, we went up to Gruene (pronounced "Green"), where they were having a Fall Festival. We went out to a late lunch at the "Gristmill", where we enjoyed both the food and the time together.

After we returned this evening from Gruene, we went down to the Riverwalk, where we met Kristi Meck, who was down here visiting her brother. It was an unexpected surprise, but a good one as it's always good to see our friends from up north!

Revisiting the Past

Yesterday day we decided to drive up to Austin and explore that area. We started at Lyndon B. Johnson's presidential library and ended up spending the day revisiting his life. The entire area is devoted to him, since he grew up there in the Hill Country. We went to lunch at a little place out in the country called "The Nutty Brown Cafe", which was neat because it was very "Texas", complete with guitars used by the people who had performed there and a parrot that wasn't very friendly!

Aunt Edna and Uncle Dave

Well, we've had a busy week! Aunt Edna and Uncle Dave arrived REALLY late on Monday night, after a long delay in Houston, but we are glad to have them here. Although Larry and I have not been able to take time off from our jobs, we have been able to spend time together in the evenings. We went to church on Wednesday, and have been playing an ongoing game of train dominoes. Yesterday was Larry's 51st birthday, and it was so special to have his aunt and uncle here for that. Now that Saturday is here, we hope to do some more exploring of our Texas home!

29th Anniversary

Today was our 29th anniversary and we spent most of the weekend celebrating. It began on Friday evening when Larry called to say he wanted to take me out to a restaurant he had discovered. When he hadn't arrived home by 7pm, I started to get worried. He did finally call to tell me his car had been hit by a pick-up truck while he was sitting in traffic. Although he wasn't hurt, his car was pretty banged up...great start to the weekend! Anyway, he made a few phone calls (insurance, etc.) and then we did go out for dinner at La Hacienda. It turned out to be a wonderful restaurant...we sat out on their huge patio listening to guitar music and eating a wonderful sampler platter...the Mexican food was fabulous! A great way to wind down after a stressfull day.


The next morning we drove up to the Hill Country to explore, but not before Larry gave me a gift I absolutely love. It's from the James Avery studio...a sterling silver bracelet with a Bible verse on it..."I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."

Tonight we had dinner with friends from Life
Group at their house. It was a weekend to remember!