Answers in Genesis Museum 2008

On April 26th, Dan, Charlene, son Stephen and I went to the AIG museum near Cincinnati. It has been opened just a year, so there is still ongoing construction on the premises. The landscaping is just beautiful on the nature trails with waterfalls, streams, a bog, gazebo, picnic area, and hanging bridge.

The tour itself starts in the lobby with dinosaurs and people and live turtles, frogs and birds in some of the displays. The display pieces are very realistic and some animals and people have moving parts such as heads and hands. It starts with stating that people look at the same evidence, such as dinosaur bones, and come up with different conclusions. Of course AIG takes the Biblical account of creation and does an excellent job of presenting God's point of view.

Some of the visual theaters had interesting presentations, especially the one with the angels Michael and Gabriel talking to a girl who is questioning how she got here. Very realistic regarding Noah's flood!

The displays are first-rate, the audio and visual aids are top-notch and the overall presentation is great. The motto of the museum is "prepare to believe." We saw many exellent exhibits of dinosaurs, how the earth was formed, and Noah's flood. This museum will strengthen your faith if you are already a child of God, and will really make you think about the claims in the Bible.

AQS Quilt Show,Paducah, KY

Watercolor Cross took 5th Place


Miniature fans--stunning quilt.

Stained Glass Horse Head

The life-size tiger was made with 1.5 inch squares.

Met an Internet Friend

Glenda Alvin and I have been corresponding via the internet since about 2000. We met during a Y2K exchange. She sends me a box of items every year and I send her some Japanese fabrics. It was great that we could finally meet. She and a friend come every year to Paducah and this time we arranged to meet on Thursday. The time was short as she had to return to Nashville at 6:00 pm, but it was good to put a face to a name.

Best of Show

This is a stunning quilt. Done completely by hand over a two-year period, by a lady from the Netherlands. The quilting in the center is about 2 cm apart and the corners are appliqued to look like lace.

Global Warming

There were so many quilts and vendors to see, it was not possible to do just in the two days we planned to be there. We went to as many places as possible and I just was amazed at the talent quilters have. Each quilt was beautiful, unique and skillfully done.

River Rose B&B in Illinois

This year I was able to fly to Indianapolis and visit friends. Charlene and I drove down to Elizabethtown, Illinois, and stayed in a B&B called the River Rose Inn. It's a 100 year-old- home right on the Ohio River in a town population 350. If you blink, you would miss the town almost. Such a quiet, beautiful setting. Each morning we watched the barges go up and down the Ohio with their cargoes. The birds twittered and flitted about while the squirrels scurried across the yard being chased by the blue jays. We sat under a huge magnolia with a gentle breeze wafting through the leaves.

Trip to Illinois and Kentucky

The Ohio River
Elizabethtown Court House
The oldest Illinois Baptist church with continuous services.

Our innkeeper, Sue, was a gracious host, a California transplant. Their four
bedroom inn was full every night and we met several wonderful couples. One morning at breakfast, all eight of us were at the table and discovered that we all were former military or military kids (Charlene and me), so the conversation was lively. B&B's are so much better than hotels for the price. You get to meet so many nice people.

The bugs are coming!

October 3, 2007

We have a tall dahlia plant out front. It has yet to produce flowers in three years. I hope it does so this year before it gets too cold. Last week we found several rather large caterpillars on it, just chomping away at the leaves. One was a really ugly brown and the others were a light green. Me thinks this will be a luna moth, but maybe not. Here's a little fella saying "hi" to all you folks out there!

A SAD DAY

Thursday, June 28, 2007

About noon today I was outside messing around in the garden after putting some kitchen scraps on the compost. With the container in hand, I went around to the path adjacent to our house and thought, "We need to find someone to watch our turtles while we are in Okinawa next week." We had two turtles named Therm, a larger one, and Spot, the smaller one. They were both in their black turtle container and left outside overnight. The previous night they were left there also.

However, as I approached the deck where the container was, I discovered Therm's shell upside down on the deck, outside the tank, and it was totally empty. Only the hind legs were left and parts of the shell were scattered about. Some cat must have gotten it. I said, "oh, no!" because it was my turtle.

Usually the girls tend to them every morning either feeding or cleaning the tank, but today they did not. It was a good thing, because they would have totally lost it. I was shaken at the thought myself. :-(

Knowing the girls would react very emotionally to this, I scooped up the shell with a dipper into the scrap container I was holding; got a shovel and went to the back slope and buried it under a tree.

Last July we buried Myrtle Turtle who was 5 years old and died an accidental death by being overheated. Teresa cried for hours over that one.

There was no sign of the little turtle named Spot. My guess is it was taken away because it was small. It could have been done by one of the crows, but I did not see any evidence of a crow about. My guess is the cat.

I told Henry about it. After lunch we told the kids and Sara was really sad because Spot was her turtle and she prayed all the time for it to grow and live a long time.

So when one is sad over a tragedy, the best thing to do is go shopping! So we girls went to the local mall and bought presents for a birthday party on Saturday.

THE TOADS HAVE ARRIVED

June 19, 2007. My sister sent a box enclosing these bubble-wrapped toads for my garden. They were designed by Sandy T. from my quilting list and it was at the Hobby Lobby that we saw them there in Colorado Springs. They make a nice welcoming addition to our front deck and church entrance. Perhaps they will be joined by some real frogs and toads very soon.

Trip to America, Week one

It started on April 23rd. We left around 11:00 am from our home to the airport with a van full of luggage. Noseh-san rode with us so she could take the van back. We left Kansai about 3:45 pm or so and headed east. It was a bumpy ride sometimes, but the captain told us before we landed that the 200 mph tail winds got us in about 90 minutes earlier than scheduled. So we had plenty of time to navigate the San Francisco airport before the next flight to Dulles in Virginia. We arrived there
sometime after 8:00 pm I think, rented a van and headed to Henry’s sister’s house in Mt. Airy, MD.

Uncle Rick and Aunt Carolyn were waiting patiently, so we all unloaded the stuff and then chatted for some time. Henry and his sister love to talk politics while the rest of us sorta went off to bed. Rick was stuck since he had to wait for Carolyn to help him. Their story is remarkable in itself and worth telling in another missive sometime. He is a quadriplegic from an accident in Vietnam.

The kids really took to their aunt and uncle, but Rick kept saying that they should be quiet because they make so much noise (not–he was just kidding). Henry and I took an early morning walk on Tuesday around the block, as it were, in the country and it was so beautiful. We saw horses, birds, and a couple of white-tailed deer in the woods by the stream. Henry got some wonderful movie shots of that area. Such wide, open spaces with lots of room to run if one had the inkling.

Wednesday, April 25 - 29; Missions Conference, Fairfax Baptist Temple, Virginia

Wednesday the 25th we headed toward Fairfax Baptist Temple in Northern Virginia for their annual Missions Conference. It was the first time in 17 years to be there, and their new facilities are just beautiful. There were eight other missionaries and families there. FBT treated each and every one of us like royalty. The conference was great, the preaching was spot on and the singing was so uplifting. So nice to hear God’s Word in your native tongue. On Thursday evening, Henry’s sister,
Mary, from Lakeland, Florida, had come up and joined us along with niece Kate and Mary Osborne, a family friend. It was good to meet them again.

On Friday evening, Woody and Deane Ferrell came up from North Carolina to see us. They are both in their 80's now and still serving the Lord as fervently as they can. Mrs. Ferrell led me to the Lord back in 1975, so it was especially poignant to see them again. We got lots of pictures.



Friday afternoon we were able to meet Mary again at the Osbornes over in Herndon, VA, for a few hours. That was a good visit catching up on family things. We tried to meet up with the Ferrells on Monday the following week, but just missed them. However, we shall see them in heaven if not here on earth again.

Sunday night at the conference’s end, all the missionaries and families on the platform. Then the church members proceed to come forward, each with a gift and just lavished each of us with all sorts of things. It was so awesome. Sara was able to spend Thursday and Friday in the academy with the third grade, so a bunch of these girls all came giggling up to the platform with a huge bag of gifts just for Sara. They had such fun giving it to her; you should have seen the looks on their faces.
Priceless. Sara said, “Is this all for me?” Then they had a group hug–so sweet. It was really a joyous conference–our cups run over.

Henry, Mary and Kate


Monday April 30th, week two

Henry preached in the Academy chapel and Joe gave his first testimony.
Somewhat of a surprise to us, but a good one just the same. Afterward as we passed the lunch room, Sara saw her new friends and went in to say goodbye. They all wanted her to stay with them! Then another group hug and we left.

We went to Clinton, MD, and our home church, Independent Baptist, and met Matt just as lunch was being served so we ate there. Saw many faces from yesteryear and it was good. Then we went over to Mrs. Greathouse’s home near the church where
she had invited us to stay for the week. She is such a gracious, Christian lady. She and Sue Phagan had made space for all of us. It was very enjoyable being there.

Tuesday we had met the Long Family, missionaries from our church to Nigeria, who were home on a short furlough with their three kids. It had been a number of years since we last met. We also saw the Gill family while there; Ken, Mary and Anna. They are considering not going back to Nigeria for various reasons.

Tuesday, May 1st.

We went to Mount Vernon, George Washington’s home, for a tour. That place
will instill such a deep sense of patriotism in you that it will make you cry (at least it did me). Anyway, George’s home has been well preserved and is well taken care off. A must see for anyone going to The DC area.

We then headed to Goldvein, VA, to visit my former roommate, Pam, and her family. They live way out in the boonies, but the people are catching up to them. Met her hubby for the first time and her daughters who are now young teens. Their home is beautiful, all done by Jay over the years. He runs a construction business and has tons of equipment on the property. They had a couple of ponies and two puppies which Sara thoroughly enjoyed. Overall, a very nice visit.

Wednesday May 2nd.


We went shopping down in Waldorf to many stores and got many items on
my list. I ended up shipping a box of stuff back to Japan because it would not fit in any of the suitcases and we still had two stops yet to go! So nice to have the choices available and at reasonable prices. Did not go overboard, mind you.

Thursday, May 3rd.

 After packing and mailing a box back to Japan, we stopped by Peggy Elgin's home and had a short visit. She had not seen the kids in 11 years and never met Sara, so it was a tearful time.

Thursday afternoon we went over to Virginia to stay with Pastor Eugene and Sharon Nichols in Leesburg, near the airport. We had a very early morning flight so they graciously said we could spend the night. Their home is also gorgeous–big now that all the kids are grown. The yard backs up to a school so there are no neighbors behind them.

First, we went to Purceville, VA, and visited the Web Fabrics shop and spent mucho $$. I wanted one of everything, but settled for some brights, food prints, Fossil Ferns (these are really beautiful), but forgot the wide backing I was going to get. The store is moving to a larger facility down the road so they were busy with inventory.

Friday, May 4th.

Matthew was to join us about midnight after he had cleaned up from the graduation at Independent. He did not get there. Henry did not sleep waiting for him to come. Matthew finally left MD about 5:00 am We left after 6:00 am on Friday to get to the airport and found out that Matthew had taken the wrong exit and was going down 95 instead of around 495, so he made a u-turn and got back on track. We told him to go directly to the airport and park in long-term parking. We got there about 6:45 or so and turned in the van we rented. Called Matt and he was taking the bus to the terminal, so it worked out fine. We met up with him at the elevator.

We also met Peter who had flown in on the red-eye from Los Angeles, so we had a mini-reunion in the waiting line. We also saw Pastor and Mrs. Calvert who were also going to Greenville on the same plane.

At Greenville we rented a 12 passenger van and loaded all the luggage and went to the college to find Stephen.

The Bob Jones University campus is a stately, old campus–celebrating its 80th year, so you get the feeling this place has been here a long time. We met Stephen and went to lunch at the IHOP. The banter between the boys on the way over was just like old times. I was getting choked up just to have my family back together again (sniff). In the restaurant they were all acting like they normally do. Henry had given Stephen a cell phone so he was figuring that thing out. Now the three boys
can call each other at no charge and hopefully, call home occasionally.

At 2:00 pm on campus was a performance of Henry IV by Shakespeare which was a really good production. I saw the second half of it. During the first half I met with Jim and Sharon Pitts, friends from our home church years ago. Now they are in VA. Their first and second sons are undergrads at BJU.

I also met Becky Mullenix (Hunt) who graduated with me from high school back in 1972! Her daughter was also graduating. I had met Rose in 2005 when I attended a Bible class with Stephen. She came over and introduced herself then. Looks just like her mom. We met during the play intermission. Come to find out that son Stephen had a girlfriend he never told us about! A pleasant surprise, but she was not there at the play.

Friday afternoon we all went over to the student center with the Mullenixes between play and concert and spent a couple of hours there. It was good to catch up with Becky and family. They are/were missionaries to the Mormons in the West and are now in Grand Junction, Colorado. Becky has MS and is in a wheelchair.

So, who is this girlfriend? We met her that evening at the 8:00 pm concert. Her name is Stephanie Jones and is a math major, also graduating. They had shared some advanced math classes. I may have seen her in the class I attended in 2005, but I don’t know for sure. Anyway, she is a very nice, pleasant girl and seems suited to Stephen. Now they did not say anything about anything and are just friends. After all, her mom only met Steve this past February, I found out Saturday. Stephanie is in the Army Reserves and goes for training this summer. After that she wants to get into grad school.

We checked into the hotel after 10:00 pm because of various things. Charlene Rider, who taught Shakespeare to our kids back in 2000, and her parents drove down from Indianapolis. It was really good to see her again and meet her folks. So the boys had one room, Teresa and Sara were with Charlene, and Henry and I had a room.