Once Upon A Memory...

The theme for Homecoming this year at East Texas Baptist University was "Once upon A Memory". I loved the idea of this theme because I am always flooded with memories when I return to "The Hill". Being on the Alumni Council has also allowed me to hear about generational memories from a wide variety of Tiger Alums. And the neat thing is that we continue to make memories still. I agreed to help some of my buddies, Michael and Jordan, who are current students, with their float for the homecoming parade. All entries had to be about a fairytale and the one my friends chose was Little Red Riding Hood.

We gathered ideas and supplies Thursday evening and began construction around 10:00 that night. The harsh reality that college kids can stay up really late and I am no longer a college kid began to sink in. Construction required cutting plywood with an electric saw. I was worried we would make too much noise and awaken the babies that live across the street, so we hauled the wood indoors and made the necessary cuts inside our sun room. Then the cut sheets were then noisily fastened together with a power screwdriver. We set a watchman outside the door to make sure the sounds weren't too loud. Several more wee hours were spent painting the plywood "cottage", distressing the tin roof, and attaching a chimney stack that would actually have smoke rising from it.


I had already planned to take a personal day from school on Friday to gear up for the busy weekend; little did I know that I would spend the whole day creating costumes and props. The float boys returned to my house at 10:00 am and set to work. Windows were cut and framed, then the door was painted and mounted with a handle. I worked on making a wolf mask and a hooded cape for "Red". I also pressed curtains for the windows and found baskets for the window boxes.


I left them to their work as I went to the campus to enjoy the Friday night festivities. When I returned (about 11:00), the float boys were busy making finishing touches and loading Grandma's cottage and garden into the float trailer.


As we sat waiting for the parade to pass on Saturday morning, I could hardly wait to see the finished product. It was a lot of work and required a lot of creative energy, but it was so much fun.


When we arrived home Saturday afternoon, Esther was thrilled to find that the boys had placed the cottage in our yard for her to use as a playhouse....


and we got to keep the wolf mask, too.

The Autumnal Feast

"Fur and whisker,
tooth and claw,

All who enter by our door.
Nuts and herbs,
leaves and fruits,
Berries, tubers,
plants and roots,
Silver fish whose life
we take
Only for a meal to make."


We celebrated the arrive of Autumn with a hearty Redwall Feast.
We began reading the book during the dark days of the hurricane
and are slowly following the tale several evenings a week.
October is a celebratory month at the Stutes' house.
Jadan's birthday is on the 6th and the Redwall instigator,
Grant, has his birthday on the 8th.
Weldon and my anniversary follows on the 12th.
So, we had a combined feast in honor of all.
The preparations for the meal came out of the Redwall cookbook,
so we were very authentic.

Esther wrote out the menu while I cooked.

Our feast included:


Hare's Pawspring Vegetable Soup

(tomato based soup with carrots, green beans and cabbage)



Vegetable Casserole A La Foremole

(potatoes, turnips, rutabagas and carrots - very "earthy" taste)



Autumn Oat Favourites

(oats, raisins and coconut cookies)



Spiced Gatehouse Teabread

(a hearty sweet bread with tea steeped raisins and cranberries)



October Ale

(sparking grape goodness)


A good time was had by all creating and eating the unique recipes found
from inside the halls of Redwall Abbey.

The Union of Our Spirits

Twelve years ago,
Weldon and I committed our lives to one another as husband and wife.
Our sacred union took place at the beautiful Scottsville chapel.
To reminisce and celebrate,
we spent a quiet morning revisiting the chapel yard,
looking at the hauntingly beautiful statuary
and listening to the birds sing in the cool October breeze.
I was reminded again of how perfectly fitting this setting was
for these two old souls to unite.

The union of your spirits, here, has caused Him to remain
For whenever two or more of you are gathered in His name

There is Love.

Friday Funny

This week, I have been teaching my students songs for our Veterans' Day program. My kindergarten classes are learning "God Bless America". They were all so very proud and excited to tell me that they already knew all the words to the song. I, in turn, also acted proud and excited for them and asked them to sing it for me. They did a wonderful job (there is not much cuter than 5-year-olds singing).

Next came one of my favorite parts of teaching songs to little people - explaining what the words to the song mean.

God Bless America,
Land that I love;
Stand beside her,
And guide her...........

"Who's 'her'?", I asked. Puzzled faces and furrowed brows were their reply.
"It's the girl in the song", someone finally concluded.
"What girl?", I quizzed.
"The one in America."

Hm.

After telling them that "her" was actually referring to the country itself, we continued.

Through the night
With a Light
From above.


(They love this part because it rhymes. "Night" and "light" are always highly accented.)


From the mountains,
To the prairies..........

"What in the world is a 'prairie'?", I dared to question again.
Silence, with the exception of grinding brain gears.
"Oh, oh, I know!!", one little person exclaimed.
"Alright, what is a prairie?", I said.
"It's a little person who prays", she said with a high degree of satisfaction.
Trying my best to hide my amusement, I replied,
"I think you're thinking of a 'fairy', but that was a very good guess".

They loved discovering that"prairies" are the flat-lands where cowboys ride horses.

To the oceans
white with foam.........


I stopped with a quizzical look.
They looked back at me as if to say, "Oh, no, what will it be this time?".
"Foam", I repeated. "Foam?"
Again, they were lost in thought, searching through their 5 year old vocabularies.
"Foam is like play-doh!"..... "No, it's paper, fluffy paper!"......"Is it bubbles?"
Hooray, we have a winner!! Bubbles!! The moving of the waves makes bubbles, or foam.
"Why don't we just sing 'bubbles' instead of foam?", a seemingly innocent one asked.
"Because it wouldn't sound right to sing 'To the oceans white with bubbles!" , I sang as they erupted into giggles.


God Bless America
My Home Sweet Home.


"Alright boys and girls, let's stand up and sing through this again, now that we know what we're singing about............."


And so they sang:


God Bless America,
Land that I love;
Stand beside her,
And guide her
Through the night
With a Light
From above.
From the mountains,
To the prairies
To the oceans
White with BUBBLES (I kid you not)
God Bless America
My Home Sweet Home.


Kids crack me up.

Jadan Alan

Happy Birthday to you, my sweet Jadan Boy!

Jadan means "God has Heard".

Alan means "Handsome".

The Blessing of Pets

Our morning routine was a little odd this morning. We headed out to school with backpacks, lunchboxes, a longhaired Chihuahua and a Russian Blue cat.

Soon after arriving at school, we were joined by a procession of animals, everything from dogs and cats to hamsters and turtles, as today was Blessing of Pets day. Every October, the Episcopal Church celebrates the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi by having a special service to bless the animals. This custom is conducted in remembrance of St. Francis of Assisi’s love for all creatures. The Blessing of Pets usually goes like this:

“Blessed are you, Lord God, maker of all living creatures. You called forth fish in the sea, birds in the air and animals on the land. You inspired St. Francis to call all of them his brothers and sisters. We ask you to bless this pet. By the power of your love, enable it to live according to your plan. May we always praise you for all your beauty in creation. Blessed are you, Lord our God, in all your creatures! Amen.”

I’ll be honest, the first time we did a school-wide blessing of animals, I thought it was absurd, although not as chaotic as one might assume.

Our service began:

“I was glad when they said unto me, ‘Let us go into the house of the Lord’. The Lord is in His Holy Temple; let all the earth keep silence before Him.”

And, lo and behold, not a single bark, whimper or meow was heard.

I led the opening hymn, fully expecting Mr. Biggs, who was quietly abiding in his doggie traveling bag on my arm, to “sing” right along with me…he loves to harmonize, but he refrained.

As our chaplain spoke and read the prayers, I glanced around the gym full of children holding stuffed animals to represent their beloved pets and dozens of parents who braved bringing the beloved pets to be blessed “in person”. It was then that the feeling of absurdity faded into understanding. Caring for God’s creations is a blessing and stewardship is a sacred act. God is glorified through His Creation and our furry friends are a small but meaningful part.

My pets are faithful companions; my little friends. I strive to be the person my dog thinks I am. Mr. Biggs always greets me like my presence has absolutely made his day; his tail can’t wag fast enough to express his excitement. Being with me is his top priority and he is overcome with joy when I call his name. He senses when I’m sad or not feeling well and quietly snuggles beside me in silent support. He brings me joy with his unconditional affection and his funny fuzzy face.

Gandolf, the orphan kitten, has quickly found his place in the Stutes home. He is happiest when his people are gathered in one place, so as soon as one of us is up in the morning, he takes it upon himself to wake the rest of us up with his caterwauling. He exudes patience as he is “cared for” by Esther. He endures weekly baths, playing dress-up, stroller rides, endless manhandling and smothering affection. This kind of longsuffering is very unusual for a feline, but he has the steady disposition of a saint. He also has a mischievous playful side of which poor Mr. Biggs is most often the target. They rough and tumble, but each party takes care not to overly exert themselves or their sparing partner. They, too, have become friends (even over “party lines”).

I have discovered insightful life lessons just from my watching my pets. Mine have shown me living examples of showing love, expressing joy, and extending patience. They have also given me lessons in true friendship: be happy to see me, snuggle with me when I’m sad, don’t poop on my carpet, and be patient with me. I often wish I could live and love with such abandon!

Thank you Lord, for allowing me to enjoy some of Your creatures as my special companions. Thank you for the subtle lessons from unexpected places that Your Spirit uses to teach me about how to comfort, encourage and unconditionally love others. Thank you for the joy that comes from stewardship of Your creation. Thank you for creating a world that “is good” and full of wonder, and for filling it with beautiful things that bring glory to You.