Happy Birthday Gary

Gary narrowly escapes the neighborhood "bully"! Whew...that was close!!

The four of us - Merlea, Danny, Gary, and me. Love those cowboy threads...and check out the cinderella dress I'm wearing!

Merlea, Gary, and me.

Today is my brother's birthday. He's 54...and it's so hard to think of him being that old! I'm 52, and that's a bit hard to fathom as well. I remember when we were wee ones, running around. And growing up in the 60's...going through our early 20's in the 70's. Raising our families in the 80's. I don't know what happened to the 90's! And...suddenly...we find ourselves in the elder population. Not old, mind you...but definately closer to being "old" than "young".

Anyway...Happy birthday Gary. Hope you had a wonderful day!

You little sister

Fidalgo Bay Coffee Tour/Part 3

So...here's the warehouse that holds coffee beans from all over the world. It also holds all the equipment needed to get those green-ish beans to the great tasting coffee we end up drinking!

When you order your Fidalgo Bay Coffee, it comes right off of this shelf and is shipped out daily. They are mostly wholesale right now and sell their coffee to restaurants, hotels, casinos...etc...But you can order it online or just stop by the place here in Burlington to buy some.

It looks simple from the outside, but the quality is excellent! It's a small company, but is growing and expanding quickly!
You think they would give me a job??? ha!

And...here's one of their ads on YouTube

Fidalgo Bay Coffee Tour/Part 2

This is a big roaster. They put the coffee beans in this barrel and roast them at a high temperature for about 15 (?) minutes. As you can imagine, it smells really good...Just like being in a Starbucks. Uhh...no...from now on I will say 'It smells like Fidalgo Bay Coffee'!

After the beans are roasted, they empty out into this place. There they spin around and are sorted as they cool. Usually by this time, the beans are all sorted out. But...occasionally they find a rock or something interesting like that. There's a tray beneath this area that the rock falls into and is then discarded.

This jar shows some of the interesting things that are found (though rarely) in the coffee beans. They are almost always sorted out prior to roasting!

This machine packages the coffee beans or coffee grounds into the bags for distribution. It is programed to put a pre-determined measure into the bag.

Each bag has a little valve inside the bag. This allows any gases that build up to be released. Otherwise, the bag would explode! I sure didn't know that....did you?

Fidalgo Bay Coffee Tour/Part 1

This is the Fidalgo Bay Coffee company's logo. Looks really nice, doesn't it? Our "Daytimers" group at church took a tour here in Burlington to learn a little bit more about what happens before that good coffee gets to our breakfast tables.

There were 9 of us that went on the tour. It was really interesting. Though I'm drinking more coffee lately, I haven't been a big coffee drinker in the past.

Those huge bags in the background are about 150 lbs each. They come from all over the world, and are full of coffee beans.

This is what the beans look like when they get them...kind of a green color. They have to be processed so that green-ish shell is removed. It's really light, like what is around a peanut when you open it up, but a little heavier.

A Nice Weekend

Because of the long weekend, I got to spend a little time with Angie, Aminah, Gabe, and Zoe. Elyjah stayed home with daddy (I don't have more room in my car!) We all had a good time.My grandchildren are growing up so fast!

Aminah and Gabe

Aminah and Gabe seemed to find something they wanted without too much difficulty. Shopping with 3 children isn't the easiest thing in the world to do!

Zoe Gone Wild

We went shopping at Target. I think Zoe really enjoyed herself. Guess you're never too young to enjoy shopping!

Angie and Nik's New Place

Angie and Nik are finally moved into their new place. It's a cute little place in the Lake Kathleen area.

I really like all the wood...it looks really warm inside. And I love the way they made this doorway...the way it's curved.

Toys, toys everywhere. One can see that these kids are not deprived! Well, I guess it just looks like a lot more in a small place! They really like their new house...and so do I!

Regarding Tornadoes and Storms

I'm sure you all have heard about all the storms and tornadoes that have been bombarding parts of the south...especially the Alabama and Tennessee areas. John is down in Henderson, Tennessee for the Freed-Hardeman lectureship this week. I just want to let you all know that John, Daniel and Jared are all safe. The storms seemed to be hitting very close to where they were, but they were blessed and are all safe.

Let's continue to pray for all the other's that were not as fortunate, as there were many deaths reported and extensive damage.

Ponderings about Death

Tonight one of the elders spoke to the congregation about death. Over the last week, he had two of his relatives to die. One of them was his uncle. He said the last time he spoke to his uncle, he talked to him about death and dying. His uncle knew that his time to die was very near...but he said that he was ready to die.

There is so much we don't know about death. What happens to us when we die? We know that the moment of death occurs when our soul leaves our body...but where exactly does our soul go? 2 Corinthians 5:8 says that when we are absent from the body we are present with the Lord. But, in what capacity? Do we know where we are? Are we literally in the presence of our Lord? Or are we in a state of sleeping...of waiting until the end of the world as we know it? Are we aware of the passing of time? Are we aware of the presence of others among us?

This is but the beginning of questions...of things we would like to know. Some things we just don't have an answer for in the Bible. Why has God chosen not to reveal these things to us? I think about Corrie Ten Boom, of when she was a little girl and she wondered some of these same things. Her father asked her to carry his heavy suitcase. Corrie tried to carry it, but she was too small, and the suitcase was much too heavy. Her father told her that some knowledge is just too heavy for children to carry.

In the same way, when the time comes for us to die, God will give us what we need...He will be there to help us and we will know what to do. So, death is nothing to fear if we are an obedient child of God. It is something we should look forward to.