Harvest Party 2013

This year we had our Harvest Party at Catlin Elementary again. Only this year, the school sent home 300 invitations with all their students and put up posters and signs around the school! We also put out invitations at the day care, CPC and Lynn’s Burgers downtown. And, to top it all off, we got on the local radio station somehow??? :o)

Needless to say, we were a little concerned about how many families we would have come out. Unfortunately, we were quite short on the number of helpers that were volunteering! Details were coming together, prayers were said and God came through just as always!

We had plenty of help, set up in plenty of time (despite the after-school program being in the gym the first hour), LOTS of pizza (all our helpers got to take one home) and lots of fun was had by all!

The weather was warm for trick or treating, and many people didn’t stay long. But we had 64 families (about 210 people) come and enjoy our food, games, story and fun! Now we pray that God will be given the glory and do the work He wants to do!

Cider Pressing

This year’s cider press almost didn’t happen. The Cummings’ storage unit was broken into and someone stole all the metal parts off of their beautiful cider press. :o(  But their parents bought them in a new one that arrived just in time for Joel’s birthday cider pressing party!

This year, we also gleaned and bought a whole bunch of apples and were able to borrow two more presses which really speeded the whole process along… It also made it much harder for us doing the straining and bottling to keep up!

But we did make over 100 gallons of beautiful delicious cider that we will enjoy all year long!

Visiting Dixie – Day 7

This was our last day in Dixie. And I have to say I was sad to leave. We stopped at Mast General Store in downtown Asheville, NC, built in the mid-1940’s, to buy souvenirs.

On the way back to the airport in Charlotte, we went to visit the Chatlos Memorial Chapel at The Cove at the Billy Graham Training Center. It was a beautiful church in a gorgeous setting!

 

First we looked around a bit in the basement at all the pictures and displays about the life and ministry of Billy Graham…

Then we got a quick private tour of the chapel itself…

The verse by the stairs up to the sanctuary.

The pews came from the Royal London Society for the Blind.

All the ironwork was done by local craftsman.

   The pulpit also came from England and Ruth Graham had the other pieces commissioned to match by a local artisan.

Ruth also had a small prayer room built just below the steeple with a view of the sanctuary…

 

After leaving The Cove, we made it to the airport with plenty of time to wait for our flight that was delayed thanks to tropical storm Karen bringing horrible weather to the NE! Not the greatest way to spend our 21st anniversary but at least we were together!

Thanks for the fantastic trip, Landry Academy! I can’t wait to go back next year!!!