November Tea: November 25, 2012  Apple Soup with Cheddar Crackers with Carrot Cream sandwiches, flower cucumbers and fresh from the garden carrot sticks.

October 18, 2012  Fall Tea - pumpkin scones and apple hand pies served with PG Tips black tea and Falling Leaves tea.

We gathered to celebrate our aunt who passed away January 14, 2012. We shared old photos of her and shared our memories.  A memorial service would be held in the spring of 2012. 

"I like a nice cup of tea in the morning, just to start the day.....and I like a nice cup of tea with my tea."  This is a portion of a poem received from our cousin Nellie in England.  Our aunt certainly enjoyed having tea. In Memory of Aunt Gladys.

MESSAGE: But Then What?

Foundation and Excerpts for my messages are from "The Daily Study Bible Series, Revised" by William Barclay

Luke 1:26-38   Sunday before Christmas  Title, "But Then What."

"Delta Dawn, what's that flower you have on
Could it be a faded rose from days gone by?
And did I hear you say he was a-meetin' you here today,
To take you to that mansion in the sky."

(Written by Alexander Harvey in 1971, sung by Bette Midler and then by Tanya Tucker.)

Delta Dawn is waiting....waiting for someone special. She wasn't about to miss him if he came to get her today - a promise made to her long ago.  She'd been so ready, for such a long time, but then what?  We've been getting prepared for Christmas for four weeks now.  And we're ready for the most part - but ready for what?  We're getting ready to celebrate the King's birth, our Savior, who came unto us; we're ready for a family get-together, an exchange of gifts and abundance of food, but then what?

The shepherds weren't ready to hear the praises of the angels.  They were minding their own business, and suddenly, like a

Tea Parties

January 2012
Pearl Tea


We celebrated the white of winter with pearls. 

Christmas Child by Janice Lewis Clark

Christmas is for children, and my childhood's long behind.
I have responsibilities that weigh upon my mind.
That lovely snow's a hazard; all the shopping is a chore;
Too much to do: there isn't time to let my spirit soar.

And yet, the Christmas carols strike a chord within my heart.
The scents of pine and candles make a flood of memories start.
All year I do my duty, seldom falter or complain,
But, oh, when Christmas comes, I yearn to be a child again.

I want to see the magic through the glitter and the glare.
I want to hear the angels singing in the frosty air.
I want to hear the story for the first time yet again,
How Jesus came from heaven to bring peace on earth to men.

I want to feel the wonder and the promise of His birth;
I want to know the simple joy He brought for all the earth.
Tomorrow I'll resume my place, a grown-up to the core,
But please, Lord, now it's Christmas, let me be a child once more.

                                                  Written December 1999
                                                  By Janice Lewis Clark

Ms. Clark puts the sights, sounds, scents and stories up front where they belong. This poem is a great reminder. 

My childhood Christmases were spent with both sets of grandparents - maternal on Christmas Eve, and paternal on Christmas Day or soon after.   How fortunate we were to have both sets of grandparents in our home town. We had my mother's parents to ourselves, as in our elementary age years, we were the only grandchildren who lived here.  All the rest of our cousins, aunts and uncles on that side of the family got to experience Gram and Grandpa coming to visit and staying over night.

Each year we would memorize our "piece" for the Sunday School Christmas program, which once was held on Christmas many years in the past.  My mother enjoys retelling