What I'm Loving Wednesday

It is very late in the day but I want to get a new post in before I completely miss Wednesday all together.  So, I'm joining What I'm Loving Wednesday for a few of my Wednesday loves.

Loving Time with Ava GraceOn my birthday Ava Grace and Kit took me to American Girl in Dallas for lunch.  We had a great time, and Kit loved her pink lemonade.

 

 Afterward, we went in to the Galleria where Ava Grace introduced Kit to the ice skating rink.

 

We went to the Fall Festival at Prestonwood Baptist Church along with thousands of others.

 Ava Grace was Bat Woman personified!

Even a Bat Woman can snuggle with her pretty mommy, ride horses, race baby doll strollers against a perceived enemy, and escape the bad guys in the huge inflatable slide.

Thank you Ava Grace for helping me have such a great time with you and your family.

  

Loving That the Knight Family is Finally Together!

James and Jolie received a happy welcome from their sisters and grandparents when they arrived at DFW.  I got to meet them and get sweet snuggles from precious little Jolie this past weekend.  They are adapting so beautifully to this enormous change in their life.  But who wouldn't with all the love and attention that they are getting in this family.

  

Loving That the Election is Over

but

Not necessarily loving the results.

Loving that God tells us our sense of security and hope must not rest in things going our way, but in depending on HIM alone.

Loving that He will help me accept His will for this moment in time.

Loving that I can trust Him in every situation whether it is according to my design or not.

Loving that He loves me enough to teach me truths in difficult times.

I'm joining Potpourri Friday 2805 again this week.  My blog content may not exactly fit all the criteria for this particular blog, but the title seems to lend a lot of lee-way for interpretation.  Therefore, my Friday Potpourri is an outing Hubby and I took this week.

Norton Art Gallery

We have lived in Shreveport for over 10 years and I am embarrassed to admit I have not been inside this wonderful art gallery until this week.  I have spent a lot of time on the grounds, but never went inside.  Shame on me!

Background

  In the early 1930s, Richard W. Norton (1886–1940) became one of the discoverers of the Rodessa Oil Field in north Louisiana. Over time, Mr Norton's wife and son began to amass a significant collection of fine art. In 1946, to honor Mr. Norton and for the benefit of the community, Richard W. Norton, Jr. (1919–1974) and his mother, Mrs Richard W. Norton (1886–1975) created the R. W. Norton Art Foundation. In turn, the Foundation eventually established the R. W. Norton Art Gallery, basing its initial collection upon donations from the acquisitions of the Nortons. Today, due to the on-going efforts of the Board of Control, the Foundation's work and the Gallery's offerings continue to expand, grow, and contribute to their community. (copied)

Collections

There is an amazing collection of fine art including Sculpture and Tapestry, Paintings, Decorative Arts, not to mention the Rare and Antiquarian Books.  There is even an extensive Doll collection dressed in authentic clothing from various periods in Louisiana History.

These are just a few of my favorite items:
 Sculpture

American Sculpture from the Remington, Charles Russell Collections, and others

 

 

 "The Thinker" by Auguste Rodin 

 "The Thinker" is without doubt the most famous sculpture in the world and the sculpture with which Rodin most identified himself.  This is one of 9 in existence of this size.

Monet painting

Paintings
 I can get lost in the expanse of this painting 

The wife of R. W. Norton Jr, who had a major impact on the continuation of this amazing collection and the Norton Foundation.

Decorative Arts

 18th Century Silver - several by Paul Revere

Porcelain

 

Josiah Wedgewood

And perhaps one of the favorite items is this famous pose of Marilyn Monroe

 In addition to all the amazing objects of priceless art, the Norton is set amidst forty beautifully landscaped acres, including azalea gardens complete with more than 15,000 plants including several hundred native azaleas and camellias.

A gently winding walking path leads visitors through the grounds which includes a small bridge over a stream, a pond, benches within the azalea beds, and outdoor sculptures. 

 Not to mention towering Pines and majestic Oaks!

Wednesday Hodgepodge - Beer, Busrides, God's Blessings

It has been a while since I joined up with Joyce for Wednesday Hodgepodge.  My time for blogging as I enjoy doing, has been slowed down as of late, and I do miss keeping up with my blogger friends.  So, even though it is later in the day than I would like, I am at last spending time with you.

 

 1. So, do you like beer?
NO!  I was brought up in a very conservative Christian home where my father was a Baptist pastor and we lived in South Central Louisiana - the edge of Acadiana.  Beer was a staple in most every home I went into but never a temptation.  Once, a friend asked me if I wanted to sip some beer left in a can from which her father had drunk.  I decided to smell it first, and immediately knew if something that smelled that bad had to be tasted, it would not be by me.

2. What's your least favorite repetitive task? Cleaning the bathroom.  I know, it is a daily must, but not one I enjoy and would much rather delegate to someone else.  Too bad I'm the last resort in my house.

3. When was the last time you rode a bus? Where was it headed? Many years ago Hubby and I took the Senior Adults in our church on a trip up the eastern coast line.  It was such a memorable trip and to this day holds so many precious memories.  Many of these people have now died which makes the time spent with them even more special.

The most memorable bus trip I took though was almost 48 years ago, was when I went to New Orleans to meet my husband-to-be on a blind date.  Wow, what a trip!

4. What song from your childhood or from your own children's childhood could make a parent's nerves stand on end?

I have to agree with Lea at Ci Ci's Corner on this one.  "Ten Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed" would do me in every time.

5. The US Presidential election cycle is drawing to a close (can I get an AMEN??), and the third and final debate was held last night...what was the last thing you 'debated about'?
It is not an actual debate but rather trying to decide whether it is the best thing to do or not. Neither of us really has a side or stronger point of view one way or the other.  Can we just call it confusion?  Anyway, I love our little back porch which opens out onto our patio and flower beds.  We have doors that open on both ends of the porch - one into our bedroom and the other into the side entry.  Anyway, I love to keep these doors open to enjoy the fresh air, the sound of the wind chimes and the water fountain.  Of course, in this Louisiana weather, I am limited to when I can do that without air conditioning the outside.  So, do we enclose the porch with windows that can be opened so I can enjoy it year round or do we just keep it open and enjoy it when we can?  A quandary!  Suggestions welcomed!

6. Can a person make too much money? How much is too much?
This is a very thought provoking question, Joyce.  A friend once said, "I don't want a lot of money - just enough to buy what I need and to save a little."  We have laughed about that remark, and wondered how much would it take to buy what we "need" and save a little.

I think a lot of it depends on what a person does with their money.  Jesus rebuked the man who wanted to just build more barns in order to keep what he kept reproducing.  So, in this case, he did make too much because he used it selfishly.  Then, there are those who make little and are still selfish and hoard their little amount.  So I think it boils down to what is a person actually worth?  Is his/her worth based on what they can make for others, or is it based on what they do for others?  In this day and time our worth is so closely tied to what we are paid.  So, is there ever enough?

7. Pop-soda-coke-something else...what's it called where you live?
Always "Coke."

8. Insert your own random thought here
We have been immersed for the past few months in the lives of some friends who were called by God to adopt not one but two children from Uganda.  Theirs is an amazing story and you can read it at O-Holly Knight.  We have seen God's Hand in every step.  There have been delays that have almost taken Holly to the brink of despair only to see God's miracle-working power.  This week has been a culmination of all the months of pleading and begging and answers to thousands of prayers from people all over the world.

God's perfect timing in all of this has made it possible for Holly to get the passports and visas in time to board a plane back to Texas at the very same time as a group from her church, Prestonwood Baptist Church, who has been ministering in another part of Uganda.  She will be with long-time friends after 8 weeks away and have help with these two precious babies for the international flight.  Is our God good or what?
 

Do Words Matter?

Lately, I have been thinking about the importance of words.  These last few weeks we have seen the importance of words in the Presidential and Vice Presidential debates.

We've heard true, false, rude and kind words.

Our family has been following very closely the happenings of friends who are in Uganda seeking to get guardianship of two precious little ones.  Words of anguish have been interspersed with pleas for prayer and then joyous words of rejoicing when these prayers were answered.  Today, after several days of begging God to do what was a humanly impossible act, came these beautiful words:

WE WILL HAVE OUR PASSPORTS ON MONDAY!!!!

EVERYTHING HAS BEEN SIGNED.

THANK YOU JESUS

 It's not all over for them until they are on that plane heading back to Texas, but for today, these were beautiful words and we look forward to meeting James and Jolie.

 

"IT'S OFFICIAL!  I AM A TEXAS A&M AGGIE!!!!!"

These were the more than welcome words from our oldest granddaughter yesterday.  She has worked hard to achieve this goal and we could not be more proud of her accomplishments.

 

Some of the sweetest words I hear every day are, "Have I told you today that I love you?"  When I reply, "Not that I can remember," Hubby always says those precious words, "I love you!"

Yes, words do matter!

Without a doubt, the most precious and important words spoken are in the Bible:

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?  But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things persent, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:35-39

Now you share "words that matter" with someone.

Indiana Trip Continued

Indiana Trip Continued!

I want to share a bit more of our trip to visit our family in Indiana.

A night at Amish Acres in Nappanee, IN.

The Round Barn Theater is the most awesome attraction at Amish Acres.  Built of wood in 1911, it’s probably one of the most unusual theaters you will ever be in.  It is actually ROUND! And it has such an interesting history.

After the barn was purchased from an Amish farm a few short decades ago, 100 Amish carpenters in Nappanee and beyond were hired to take apart the old round barn.  Each piece was numbered, moved to its new home at Amish Acres, and reassembled in order to house a permanent memorial to Joseph Stein and a theatrical hub in the small Indiana town of Nappanee.

A view upward of the completely wooden ceiling.  An awesome sight!

The Amish Acres Historic Farm and Heritage Resort has celebrated 40 years of historic interpretation.  It opened to the public in 1970 to preserve and interpret the Amish lifestyle to the outside world while respecting the integrity and privacy of these plain people.

The center point of Amish Acres is the historic 80-acre farm that was homesteaded by the first Amish family to settle in Indiana and is the only Amish farm in America listed in the The National Register of Historic Places.  Pretty amazing, isn't it?

This century old barn restaurant where the famous Thresher's Dinner, a family style feast of Amish country favorites, is served daily, sits slightly to the left and behind the theater.

 We have had the pleasure of attending other productions at the Round Barn Theater, but none any better than the "Sisters of Swing - The Story of the Andrew Sisters." Sisters of Swing

I just have to tell you that had I not known these precious girls were not actually the Andrew Sisters (of course an impossibility) and were not lip-syncing, I would not have believed it.  They were fabulous!  Even my two granddaughters enjoyed the story and the music.

 Before we went out to dinner prior to the play, we had a Mary Kay make-up session.  How fun for me and the girls.

 The after!  Aren't they just beautiful?

 Another highlight of our trip was making a trip to Kalamazoo, Michigan where our grandson has made a verbal commitment to play football at Western Michigan University in 2013.

Yes, and now I can honestly say, "I've been to Kalamazoo and back!" 

I see one of these in my future!

 You know these Midwestern girls are tough when they play soccer in freezing cold temps with winds over 30 mph and in a driving rain.  But the grandparents from the South are not quite so tough, but we loved every minute of it.

Thank you Day Family for another great visit.