Friday Catch-up

Blogging time gets very limited while I'm with my family. There's just so many other things to do and I'd rather spend time with them! But, there's more of a lull at the moment than there may be for the next week, so I'd better take advantage of it.

Tuesday trip back up to Kansas went smoothly.

Tuesday afternoon, I went out with my mom to run some errands. The family's home church got a new pastor within the last two months. I met the Pastor's daughter for the very first time. I've never met her before in my life and I'm the only
member of the family she hadn't met. So what's the first thing she says? Not
"It's great to finally meet you!" She says first "So you're the one that's
bringing JM? I've heard so much about JM!" The joys of having a teen-age brother! :)

Wednesday, we again spent a good bit of the day visiting people and running around. Caught up for a few minutes with a number of people, including: my grandparents, a great aunt, an aunt and uncle, a cousin and her family, and just people around town.

Wednesday evening, I walked into church 5 minutes late with my sister. The entire service paused for about 30 seconds as everyone had to say "hi" and greet us. It is great to be missed and welcomed! :)

Thursday, the morning was dedicated to cleaning the house. The afternoon was spent in Wichita running a couple of errands, picking up JM from the airport, and catching a matinee showing of "Narnia."

Since this is the second time I've seen the Narnia movie and I never wrote a review the first time, I'll make a couple of comments now. They kept all of the main plot elements of the book, which I appreciated! The feel and look they gave Narnia matched my imagination for the most part, I really enjoyed that. There were a number of details where they varied from the book, primarily for keeping the plot moving and adding to the intensity of the movie. In general, I suppose I shouldn't complain about such changes, but they re-enforce my feeling that the book is better than the movie. To me, it seems that there are some pieces in the movie that can't be fully appreciated without knowing the book, such as Edmund's de-facing of the stone lion and the discovery of the stone family at the exit of the Beavers' tunnel. One of the things that I think could've strengthened the sacrifice message of the movie is to follow the book more closely and show Edmund about to killed with the stone knife--the same knife that is later used to kill Aslan.

Coming back into town Thursday evening, we stopped by the birthday party for the youth leader of the church. JM got a crash-start at meeting people in the church. Several more family and church activities are planned for the next few days. Nope, he won't remember everyone that he'll meet, but SC (and maybe others) have made sure that everyone is anticipating meeting him.

Friday. Dad usually feeds cows by himself, but this morning, Mom, JM, and I tagged along. We stopped by my great aunt's and my grandparents' homes (again, for me). We also took something of a tour of the area--noting and explaining points of interest (Hopewell Presbyterian Church where my grandparents and dad grew up) and even taking a drive around the Anthony lake.

In the afternoon, the family headed over to the church to get the announcement sheets together for Sunday and help store away the Christmas decorations. Us "kids" walked the mile back home from church. It was actually a bit longer, as we walked the long way, heading back on Main Street. Again, my sisters, brother, and I were mentioning ALL SORTS of trivia (mostly historical) about places, businesses, and people. We even dropped in on a few businesses to look around briefly and say "hi" to a few friends.

Well, it's nearly midnight. I'd best get to bed and get my sleep, especially if I'm going to see the new year in tomorrow night, then be up for 8:30 church breakfast, 9:30 Sunday school, and 10:45 service.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!