GES 2010

I think I've finally had enough sleep to think clearly and write about our conference from last week. This is probably the twelfth GES conference we've attended. We started going to them when Graham retired in 1998. Depending on where I am in life and what my vocation happens to be, these conferences for me are either outstanding or run of the mill. This one was somewhere in between. I am always looking to learn, or at least be reinforced in my thinking. In the last several years, though, the speakers have just not motivated me a lot. Maybe it's just me.

Anyway, we were again meeting at the Riley Conference Center on the campus of Southwestern Baptist Seminary in Ft. Worth. The weather was lovely this year and I enjoyed walking the campus streets and taking a few shots of the revered buildings. Some of my Baptist preacher friends will certainly recognize the Student Center (in the third picture) and Bernard Hall (in the last). Guests who were not able to stay in the Riley Center had rooms in Bernard Hall, just across the street. It seems the SWBS is celebrating 100 years.

Doug White got right to business on Monday, setting up our display and all our wares. The theme of the conference was the Epistle to the Hebrews so we edited our SS lessons on Hebrews into a commentary and priced it for a "conference special." Samples and CD's of our other curricula, as well as gospel tracts, were available to conferees. Graham is looking good at the table before the sessions begin.

Doug did a fantastic job of manning the table and visiting with passersby. There were many pastors, teachers, and students who looked with interest at our products.

Jo Schweizer came with us as has been her enjoyment for many of those twelve years. She asked Doug to hold those tracts for her eventual purchase. Jo is a learner and student of the Word and is an inspiration to "lay-people" to get involved with conferences such as this one.

I took my new "mini" laptop computer for a test drive. It's intended purpose is for downloading pictures on our travels, but I gave it a whirl taking notes during the sessions. It is certainly an improvement over hand writing, but will still take a little getting used to. Everything is small!

Tuesday afternoon was Graham's allotted time to present his paper, arguing against the "Incarnational Sonship of Jesus Christ." His topic is quite controversial and scholars are evenly split over interpretation. However, several men in his lecture complimented him afterward for his clarity in his argument.

Waiting to start, Graham visits briefly with his brother, Pat and friend, Joe Cowan. Since retiring, Pat has been coming to these conferences and gaining much knowledge from them. He brings members of his church each time.

Time out for a phone call before we begin. In the back of the room are Mike Pratt (pastor of Communion Chapel) and our friend Jo Schweizer.

Tuesday night is Banquet night! Tables are set and a delicious meal is served by seminary students. It's always a pleasure to visit with our grace friends. Charles and Nita Lowery have been sitting at our table for many years.

Many of the sessions and workshops that I attended were centered on the warning passages in Hebrews. From a grace point of view, I am challenged to finish my Christian walk "well." Having started this journey in Bible Study Fellowship, then attending Bible College, fulfilling a vocation in church work, and now facilitating a ladies' Bible study, I don't want to let my guard down and become complacent. There is always more to learn, personal growing to do, and lives to touch. I have the assurance that I am secure in Christ, but I want to be found faithful at the end of my life. May it be.

Treasure's Good Report

Treasure had her regular checkup today with Dr. Earl. Before he took her back for the ultrasound, I mentioned to him that there was a "bump" on her back near her spine and asked him to look at it. When he felt it he decided to do a needle biopsy while he had her in the back exam room, and then took her back while I waited.

He was smiling big when they came back and said he looked at four angles, then compared the measurement from today with seven previous results, and her tumor is not growing at all! And the "bump" on her back turned out to be a blocked sweat gland and he released the pressure there and it is no more! What a trooper! What a dog!

If she didn't have that cancer she would be a very healthy 12 and 1/2 year old terrier. Her skin is healthy and her coat is full and soft. She's eating well, sleeping well, and, well... she's just doing well! He will see her just before we leave for France in May, but feels there is no reason to be concerned about leaving her for two weeks. He knows her sitter. In fact, she has his home number and his cell, and he would want her to call him if she needed anything.

My heart is now at ease. Thank you, Lord.

Cousins!

My brother, Bill, is three and a half years older than me. Even at the age of 64 he still refers to me as his "baby sister." In spite of the closeness of our ages, he was ahead of me in the marriage and baby department. In fact, he had six grandchildren before I ever had my first grandson!

Because of that disparity, our subsequent generations look more like stair steps than peers. For instance, his daughter is nine years older than my daughter. And she got into the marriage and baby stage way before mine did. Her youngest child is ten years older than Meredith's oldest!

Lest you are beginning to get bored, let me explain that all that family trivia explains why our families, until now, have not really gotten to know each other... unless you factor in the physical distance between Texas and Florida, or between Texas and Pennsylvania! Reunions just didn't happen until a few years ago. Just before moving back to Pennsylvania, the Kelly family took a road trip to all the home towns of pertinent Wallace relatives... and a relationship was begun!

I hope a tradition has begun as well. You see, last fall, oldest daughter Kate found herself needing refuge while waiting to return back home after a brief visit with her grandmother. We opened our home and our hearts to Bill's lovely granddaughter and sent her home with lots of memories, pictures and a bag full of Mexican souvenirs! So this spring, middle daughter Bekah followed suit and spent her spring break with us, exploring San Antonio and the Hill Country, and going home with lots of memories, pictures and a bag full of Mexican souvenirs! Now we just wait for the tradition to continue, as there are two more Kellys to graduate from high school!

Here are highlights from Bekah's visit, in an album I will just call "Cousins."

Graham and LaRue enjoying a terrific break with Bekah.

Adrian colors while Bekah decides on her last Mexican meal.

Adrian loves his cousin, Bekah!

Getting ready to stroll through the Pearl Farmer's Market. Note that snazzy cowboy hat!

Tickle, tickle!

Adrian shows Bekah Andrew's new toy.

Andrew gives Bekah his smile of approval!

Good job, Adrian!

Strolling on a new and pretty extension of the River Walk.

Happy, full tummies following tacos at La Margarita!

Bekah and her hands full of Moza boys!

Here we have great Auntie Dear, second cousins Meredith and Bekah, and third cousins to Bekah, Adrian and Andrew -

My daughter, grand-niece, and grandsons...

Bill's niece, granddaughter and grand nephews!

Stair steps, I tell you!

Downtown with Bekah

Today is our last day for any real sightseeing. It has been misty all day. That's good and bad. The sun is not out blinding and blistering our tender skin - that's good! We don't have to squint when we have our picture taken - that's good, too. A lot of what we did was indoors - also good. From the top of the Tower we could not see forever - that's bad. It never really rained on us - just an occasional mist - that's really good. So I think the "goods" outweighed the "bad," and we had a really good time!

Here are pictures from today that I posted on Facebook.

We're going to take it easy from here until the airport. We'll fix up a nice salad tonight with the rotisserie chicken leftover from Monday night. Bekah has some packing to do, and hopefully Adrian will come see her later and play a little. And then tomorrow we'll see that she gets her luggage checked and makes it through security as we wave a final goodbye. We have loved getting to know Daughter number 2 of the Kelly family. My brother has told me for over twenty years that he has the sweetest grandchildren in the world. If I can just add my two, then I'll agree wholeheartedly. And if this becomes a tradition, then we look forward to having another Kelly girl in the next year or two!

Monday and Tuesday

I'm combining our Monday and Tuesday activities, mainly because I forgot to take my camera with us yesterday, and I did remember it today, but there just wasn't much to photograph! And because I put these photos in backward, I'll start with today!

After the cooking demonstration at the Pearl Market on Saturday, Bekah visited with the chef, who told her she could buy his special champagne dressing at his restaurant in Boerne. So that was number one destination for today. The restaurant, which is right on Main Street, has a very narrow storefront. What you see in the picture is just how wide it is. But as you walk in past the bar, the dining area opens out to windows on the side. It's lovely and very upscale. We made our purchases and then met Graham, Meredith and the boys to do a little window shopping before grabbing a bite of lunch at a Mexican restaurant.

Adrian was pretty sure he didn't want to touch that bull, even though it was just a metal sculpture. He made sure cousin Bekah didn't get him too close.
After lunch we all headed back home for a siesta. Boerne wasn't near as interesting as Fredericksburg, though we did make a stop at the bakery on our way out of town. Graham made a call to his brother Pat and we agreed to drive back out (past Boerne) to his house to eat a salad picked fresh from his garden.


Pat gave us a quick "sniff and tell" test of his veggies and herbs. Bekah got all but one correctly! The two of them puttered around in his kitchen and managed to pull together a salad, some cooked greens and broccoli, and some fish! We concluded that a bachelor's kitchen is not the easiest place to cook a meal!

After dinner Pat showed us all around his garden, which includes lots of veggies, herbs, fruit trees, cacti, wild flowers and various other trees and flowering shrubs. He knows the name of every plant on his property!

Soon it was time to go back home. And after looking at these group pictures, I realize that I'm the shortest person in every one of them! Where did all these tall people come from?

Graham caught this lovely picture of Bekah at Pat's while we waited for the fish to cook.

Now, back up to Monday, and here we are at La Margarita's for, umm, let's see... for Mexican food! At least Bekah has sampled something different at every Mexican restaurant we've taken her to. And perhaps she's picked up a recipe or two. She sure has won the heart of one little boy.

And of course, the mandatory purchase of pralines at Mi Tierra! I took this picture with my cell phone and, as we were waiting for Meredith to get her order, Bekah texted Kate that she had her pralines in the bag! This technology is mind-boggling at times! I even emailed the pictures from my phone to my computer!

We have been doing most of our sightseeing and shopping in the mornings and then resting the rest of the day away. So last night I suggested we might go see a movie. Bekah and Graham decided on "Clash of the Titans" and we washed our dishes and got out to the theater in time for the 7:00 show. We had great seats in a nearly empty theater and enjoyed a good movie. I kept thinking to myself that my mother would have loved the movie. She was so enamored with the stars and constellations that she taught the school children who visited the planetarium at the museum in Wichita Falls. And the mythology in the movie would have brought her much pleasure.

It's hard to believe that tomorrow is Bekah's last day to explore San Antonio. We're going to make it to the River Walk, come rain or shine. I'll have my camera with me, so come back for a report with lots of pictures.

He is Risen! Christ is Risen, Indeed!

Happy Easter! This has always been my favorite of the Christian holidays. And now that we have two little grand-boys to celebrate with, Easter is that much more fun. Today, in addition to Adrian's surrogate grand-family, Bekah was with us and helped Meredith put together a delicious fajita lunch. She's definitely taking some "side effects" of Texas home with her.

After our lunch, the Easter eggs were placed around the back yard and Uncle Murphy was on hand to give Adrian some tips on how to find them.

This is where you put the eggs when you find them.

It's even better to find two at a time!

Hold these, Bekah, I see another one!

And now, I'll just pour them on the ground and count them!

Meanwhile, back in the kitchen, this little bunny is showing off some decorated cupcakes. We didn't get around to eating them, though, because the carrot cake was just too good.

This is Andrew's first Easter, and he sure seems interested in his card. After Mimi and Dah got the little musical seahorse out of the box, he enjoyed the softness of that too.

Adrian shows Bekah where to push to make pretty music come from its tummy.

The afternoon is winding down and Andrew and his Daddy are about ready for a nap. In fact, we were all ready to doze off and dream about our wonderful resurrection Sunday. Thank you Auntie Jo... thank you, Mimi... thank you, Dah... thank you Uncle Ferfee... thank you Bekah... thank you Papa... thank you Ludee... thank you Mommy and Daddy... and thank you Adrian and Andrew for a perfectly marvelous day!

Day 4 - Pearl Market

Can this possibly be Day 4? It's hard to believe that we are half way through Bekah's spring break. It seems like we've done a lot, but there is still so much more to see and do. Easter Sunday will be a nice respite before the hit the road again on Monday.

Meanwhile, here are pictures from this morning's outing to the Pearl Market and the cooking demonstration. It was great fun, even educational, and we enjoyed being with Meredith and her boys.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=61213&id=1198367294&l=ed9a45bdb3

A result of this morning's demonstration, we have included a side trip up to Boerne on Tuesday to visit the Cypress Grille, the restaurant of the chef we learned from. Bekah wants to capture a prize from there - a champagne dressing that has a "secret" ingredient. Boerne has some nice little shops and bakeries too. But first comes Monday and the Mexican Market, the Riverwalk, and lunch downtown. Oh yes, there's much more to come!

Day Three - Fredericksburg

Rather than upload thirty-six photos onto the blog, here is a link to the Facebook album I just posted. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=61112&id=1198367294&l=b88e1a18d1

We had a wonderful day that started around 9:30. Fredericksburg is about an hour out of San Antonio and the drive is very pleasant. There were some very dark clouds in front of us, and we encountered a few raindrops along the way, but we forged ahead fully believing the rain would go away from us. Sure enough, as the Texas dry line moved through at noon, it brought the temps down a bit and chased away the clouds!

We just gave Bekah instructions to stop in any of the shops that interested her, which she gladly did. We found all kinds of Texas treasures - and also lots of Texas trash! But it's so much fun looking at everything. We worked up an appetite and crossed Main street for a wonderful German restaurant. Bekah had a delicious Jager schnitzel and Graham and I split a plate of brats and potato salad. Yum yum.

After a brief stop at the Wildseed Farm, and not finding fields of bluebonnets and poppies, we did a little more shopping and then pointed the car back toward home. We're resting now and will go to Good Friday service at our Baptist church this evening. I think we had a very profitable day, as all three of us came home with bags in hand!

More tomorrow.

Bekah, Day 2

**MORNING UPDATE**

As promised, here are pictures from dinner. We had "Chicken a la Bekah", tender chicken breast in a creamy mushroom wine sauce, steamed rice and a tossed salad. She got the Wilson/Moza seal of approval!

We didn't exactly hit the ground running today. Thursday is my Ladies' Bible study and it meets from 11:00 to 2:00. So we effectively checkmated a whole day of sightseeing. However, Bekah came to Bible study with me and enjoyed meeting my ladies and getting nonplussed with the history lesson in Daniel! As soon as we could leave, we set out for North Star Mall for a picture with the Texas Boots. You know, everything is bigger in Texas, don't you? Well, here's proof!

We had to take three pictures just to get the perspective of the size of these boots, especially in relation to Bekah. Even though she's a tall girl, she couldn't quite fit into these boots!

In order to get close enough to see who this pretty girl is, we lost the top of the boots!

Ta-da! I think she's enjoying Texas!

Bekah is cooking tonight. We made a quick stop at the grocery store and I promised to stand by the sink and clean up after her! Can't get any better than that. I'll post pictures of dinner later.