EASTER IN THE CLUBHOUSE

After leaving the Easter service at Lithia Park this morning, Debra and I returned home and set up the clubhouse for a family gathering.

 

One of the advantages of living in our neighborhood is access to the clubhouse.  It is especially convenient since most of the houses are small.  The clubhouse is available to any resident, as long as it's left clean when the party's over.

 

Today we had a crowd of fourteen, we played games, we ate, we went for a few walks around the neighborhood, the kids hunted for Easter eggs, we cleaned the clubhouse, and everybody went home.

 

When Debra and I first arrived at the clubhouse, we heard what sounded like a flying lawnmower in the sky.  It was a one-person motorized hang glider, shown in the lower left of this photo.

 

I managed to record an 18-second video of the aircraft flying over the clubhouse.  Click the "play" tab below:

 

Alexia watches Ashley and Rylie play ping pong while Gordon and Tom compete at the pool table.

Gordon goes for the 8-ball as Skeeter watches.

Tom, who claims he is not very good at playing pool but who does not exactly tell the truth when he makes such a claim, attempts to sink the 8-ball.

The pot luck food line.

The crowd of 14 included, from left to right, Ruth, Becky, Skeeter, Debra, Makiah, me, Alexia, Josie, Gordon, Ashley, Rylie, Baylee, Ashley and Tom.

While the crowd rested full stomachs on soft chairs, Makiah entertained us with a piano/vocal solo.

Alexia did the same.

Debra and Baylee spend some quality grandmother/granddaughter time together.

Skeeter and I took the girls and Koda for a walk while Easter eggs were being hidden in the clubhouse.

I carried Alexia either to give her a fun ride or to keep her from running away.  I just can't remember which of those reasons it was.

Baylee hunting for Easter eggs.

Rylie checking out potential Easter egg hiding places.

Makiah opens a plastic egg to find a small portrait of George Washington printed on some green paper.

Alexia discovers a brightly colored Easter egg camouflaged against a white post.

The party ends and the cleanup begins with Gordon pushing a vacuum cleaner.

Skeeter helps with the trash.

Ruth washes the dishes.

The entire cleanup operation took only about 15 minutes, Makiah jumped into a photo with Tom and Ruth, and everybody went home.

EASTER IN THE PARK

After last year's failed attempt at having an outdoor Easter service at Lithia Park in Ashland, this year's attempt was a huge success. 

 

The weather was warm and sunny, the music was uplifting, the crowd was enthusiastic, and the message about the resurrection of Christ was challenging.

 

Debra and I take our seats near the band shell in the park.

The service began with lively music, starting with a bagpipe performance of Amazing Grace.

Pastor Mark Anderson concluded the event with a message about the resurrection and with a challenge to the audience to at least "consider" what Christ had to say about eternal life. Based on the historic evidence for the resurrection, many in the crowd took that challenge.

RYLIE'S BAPTISM

One evening I was babysitting an eighteen-month-old little girl and, while she was sleeping in her crib, I was sitting in her living room in front of the TV watching the movie, Ali, starring Will Smith.

 

That little girl was Baylee and the reason I was babysitting was because her parents, her other grandparents, and a few additional relatives were at the hospital waiting for her sister, Rylie, to be born.

 

That was nearly twelve years ago.

 

Tonight the newborn got baptized at her church, Community Bible Church, in Central Point. The same group that first met Rylie in the hospital in 2002 also showed up to watch her as she publicly declared her devotion to Jesus Christ.  A few others were added to that group tonight.

 



 

Rylie ready to be baptized.

Before she was immersed, Rylie spoke to the entire audience and shared her commitment to Christ.

Just before going down into the water.

Coming back up, symbolic of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.

Rylie's crowd, from left to right, included me, Debra, Rylie, Josie, Alexia, Ashley, Makiah, Baylee, Gordon, Miranda, Tom, Ruth, Ashley and Becky.

MAKIAH TIME

Today Makiah got to spend some quality time with Papa and Nana.  Mostly Nana.  Debra picked her up from her home this morning and took her to the mall while I worked on a water system in the yard.

 

After the mall trip, both of them arrived at our house where Makiah rode her bicycle around the neightborhood while Debra and I kept up on foot.  Koda joined us for the neighborhood stroll.

 

 

Debra places a sweater on Koda in preparation for a brisk walk on a cold day.

Makiah protects herself from any potential head injuries before she starts riding her bike.

With Makiah in the lead, Debra and Koda follow.

Our stroll through the neighborhood eventually took us to the community clubhouse.

At the clubhouse, Makiah entertained us with the song, Gray Squirrels.



After leaving the clubhouse, we returned home where Makiah consumed her popcorn and where I managed to get into at least one of these pictures.

 

To view a 39-second clip of Makiah's piano performance of Gray Squirrels, click the play tab below:

WHEN YOU HAVE A BIRTHDAY ON APRIL FOOL’S DAY AND WHEN YOU HAVE A JOB AT THE SAME TIME



I’m not saying that all of my co-workers conspired against me today. 

But I am saying this:

While setting up a treatment room for one of our patients this afternoon, one of our nurses, Theresa, walked into the room to show me some order for the patient we were getting ready to treat.  The order had nothing to do with my job.  Theresa was wasting my time.  After she showed me the order, she left the room, but accidentally bumped into me on the way out.

But it wasn’t an accidental bump.

While bumping into me, she managed to tape a strip of toilet paper to my back at the level of my belt.  I didn’t think anything of it, but half the staff was in the hall when I walked out of the treatment room.  And they all had dopey grins on their faces.

What I didn’t know at the time was that the prank was designed to make it look like I had just emptied my posterior orifice and had failed to flush the toilet paper down the toilet.  It was made to look like I got the last strip of toilet paper stuck in my pants before leaving the restroom.

Of course, nobody bothered to tell me about the image I was presenting as I walked around the department and diligently worked to save lives. My co-workers were more than willing to just let me wander around looking like I needed a lesson on how to complete a wipe job.

Not only that, but Olivia took a picture of me from behind, without my knowledge or permission, and then emailed the picture to everybody on the staff with the message line reading “Happy Birthday, Bruce!”

That’s the risk you face when you have a birthday on April Fool’s Day and have a job at the same time.