On the Road Again!!

Hi
The Reunion is almost over. Just Sunday service tomorrow and then we head north to Tn. and eventually Mi. The guys won the Sluff tournament but by only a few points so we got lots of recognition, too. We took a class in Genealogy and one in CPR.. We even got to practice on the ' dummies. The Banquet tonight was Fabulous!! chicken cordon-blue, fantastic salad and turtle cheesecake!!! Then we finished with a sing-a-long and a talent show... It has been great fun but are anxious to head to Tn. and our daughter Kathi's... I may not be able to blog for a few days as we will be on the road.. Carole

Sower's Auction!!!

Wow!!! What a fun time!! Tonight was the Auction. We spent way too much money for things we do not need but as I wrote before, it all goes to the ministry... We bought a box of candy bars ( who is going to eat them?? ) scales ( What?? We already have a pair so why do we need 2?? ) 2 nights at a Resort near Orlando ( have to be used in 2008 ) 2 coffee mugs with Sower logos ( I won't even tell you that price ) a white jacket for me with Sower logo on the back... (Where will I wear that? )... But we had a lot of laughs and good clean fun with our Christian friends... Some of you that are retired should seriously think about joining a group like Sowers........... let us know if you would like an application.. There is no number of work projects you have to do.. but the more- the merrier... Tomorrow is our last full day of the Reunion... Pray for Tim as he delivers the morning Devotion... Carole

Sower's Reunion

Hi

What a fun time we are having! Renewing old friendships and meeting new ones. There are 80 people here at the Reunion and we know 50... We have a lot of activities to choose from and so far we have had Devotions ( Tim leads tomorrow ) prayer circle ( Tim leads one. ) sluff ( a card game that Sowers love and play a lot. We are having a tournament for 3 days.. We are down to 2 teams left and one team is mine and one team is Tim's.. SO tomorrow is the final game.. VERY NERVE RACKING!!!! Either way... one of us wins!!!! This is Sowers 25th Anniversary so big cake and ice cream... Tonight is an Auction.. That is always a lot of fun. First we donate our stuff ( we want to get rid of to make more room in our RV ) then we pay RIDICULOUS prices for something we don't need to bring it back into our RV.. They pay 30-40.00 for a small basket of apples... or 25.00 for a pie.. ALL the money goes back into the ministry...We also attended a session on operating a G.P.S. system.. A map gadget you may have in your car... Tomorrow we are attending a session on Geology ( Tim has always been interested in tracking his IRISH background. ) The weather is good but expect a storm by Sunday so we plan to leave after church service. Tim has been asked to help serve Communion...We came home for a few minutes to take a nap and check email and blogs... This afternoon is a presentation on " Mercy Ship" ministry ( They send huge ships to other parts of the world and give medical treatment to people in 3rd world countries.. The ships are set up like hospitals.. even operating rooms. Some have tons of food to give away to the hungry... That is one of the Sower's project and is in the area.. Hope you are also having a GREAT day... Carole

Some of you have asked me what Sowers is and what do we do. S.o.w.e.r.s stand for " Servants on Wheels Ever Ready".. We are a group of about 3000 couples now ( though some have died or retired ... actually only about 800 active ). We Serve and Encourage Christian Ministries to fulfill the Commandments of Jesus Christ... We provide volunteer help to selected non-profit Christian ministries, i.e., " projects " which include churches, schools, missionary retreat centers and training facilities, homes for abused children, and recovery homes for adults. They provide us with full hook up for our RV.. We typically start on the first Monday of the month and work 6 hours/day Monday through Thursday. We are allowed to stay " for free " for the week in between projects to ' sight see' or just rest and relax... The guys usually work on maintenance or new buildings and the women do mailings,tutoring, kitchen help, sewing, painting, sorting, data, cleaning, landscaping, etc... anything you can think of.. we have probably done it. We get a catalog every month and it list all the projects in the USA so we just sign up for where we want to work.. We start every work day with a 1/2 hour Devotion... we have lots of together time, restaurants, games, trips, prayer, church ,etc. All that we accomplish on the project.... the Praise and Honor go to GOD!!! We have been in SOWERS 7 years now and have worked with over 200 couples from all over USA and 18 states plus Mexico ( Even Alaska and Hawaii )...A GREAT way to Serve Our Savior in Retirement.. Carole

Spring is Coming!!!

I am sending this to my family and friends who are longing for warmer weather and spring.... It will be here before you know it and soon you will want the a.c. on...... It is warm here in Texas ... about 75 !!!! Today is our first day of "time off " from the project and we have 4 days before the Sower Reunion begins. Tim is one of the Chaplin so he is involved in having Saturday's Devotion and also a " prayer circle".. We plan to leave the Reunion early after the Sunday morning service and head for our daughter Kathi's in Tennessee. Our next Sower Project is southeast of Nashville at LightHouse.. I think our " sightseeing " trips in Texas are over unless we decide to go down to Nacogdoches .. That is the oldest town in Texas... Enjoy reading all your blogs and reading your comments.. Carole

The Azalea Trail

We toured about 8 miles of beautiful homes and immaculate lawns loaded with Azalea bushes. This was a very typical home. It was so lovely but hard to capture on pictures.
This was a typical home on street after street. It reminded us of an old English town.
There were pretty girls dressed up for photo shoots. They just waved at us and smiled.... Aren't the homes lovely?? There were only a few on each street that were not landscaped such.. Tab and Kathi ... you would have loved all the beautiful back drops for photos.
Most of the yards had Azaleas and shrubs but this home had red tulips everywhere... Next week-end they let you tour some of the homes, have live music and wine but charges $40.00 each.. WOW!!!! Glad we went this week end... So as you can see-- we have no SNOW!!!Carole

Azalea and Rose Gardens in Tyler, Texas

Today we took a tour of the Azalea's Gardens and Rose Gardens of Tyler, Texas.. It was a beautiful day.. temperatures o f 74... I'm not sure of the flowering tree but the base is pansies.
Tim was standing by the camellias . Most of the roses were NOT in bloom yet...
The Azaleas were in full bloom and so lovely!!
I'm not real sure what these flowers are as they had so many different ones.