Computer Virus, 28 Hours with Grace & Easter

Well, not only have Andy and I recently fought off colds and viruses, we just had to doctor our computer for several viruses it had. Poor baby! Saturday night, I was on it, and all of a sudden it locked up and started blinking at me that there were viruses - I think about 11 of them. So we turned the computer off and unplugged the phone line to it. And we stayed off all day yesterday. It was like fasting! A friend from church came over today and cleaned it up and we are again virus-free.
Last Saturday, April 16th was a busy day. I had a Coffee Connection in the morning at the church. I made a casserole of baked oatmeal and a fruit salad to share. It was a pleasant morning visiting with other women and catching up on what's been happening in each other's lives.

I was home about 1/2 hour from the Coffee Connection, when I returned to the church to attend a baby shower for another friend. Andy and I had been involved with this young couple in mentoring them before their marriage so it is fun to watch them becoming parents to a new little one joining their family.

On Tuesday night, Dawn and I went to another friend's house to join a few other young women to learn about making green smoothies, growing sprouts and making kiefer. It was an interesting and informative evening and I was inspired to try some of the ideas that were given. The rest of the week, I used my afternoons after work to do errands to provide some of the equipment I will need to put these ideas into practice. Some time ago, my blender had broken, so I bought a new one in order to make the green smoothies. I also bought a sprout tray with seeds and started the seeds. They are already sprouting and I'm excited to put them on our salad in another day or so. I will be sure to post recipes of the green smoothies as I make them. I haven't made any yet because I also ordered 2 books with recipes which haven't arrived yet. Amazon says they've been shipped, so maybe tomorrow...

I had off work on Friday because of Good Friday. So I drove up to C & C's to get Grace and brought her back to our house to spend an overnight with Grammy and Poppop. She had a list of things she wanted to do with us and we were able to accomplish everything! One of the things she especially likes to do is play free cell on the computer with Andy. Here they are playing together:
Dawn & Kira joined us for lunch. You don't have to tell Kira to say cheese when she sees the camera. I think it's an automatic reflex to pose whenever she sees the camera pointing at her.
I asked Grace what she wanted me to make her for her special dinner, and her answer was bacon quiche. It turned out quite good. Of course, we had to have ice cream for dessert!All too soon, our time with Grace came to an end and it was time for her to go back home. She is such fun to have. She is a good sport with Andy's teasing and is good at teasing him back.We did not see any of our kids on Easter except Dawn, whom we saw at church. Amy and Christy spent the day with their in-laws. But Andy and I went out to eat with his Mom and Dad, his 2 brothers and their families. That was a nice, pleasant time with good food, and we didn't have to cook or clean up.

The Easter sermon was a wonderful reminder of what we enjoy because of the resurrection. Pastor's text was 1 Corinthians 15:58. [So because death has no sting or victory], stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:58)

Three statements Pastor said about the resurrection that I wrote down:
1. The resurrection is the declaration that the cross worked!
2. The resurrection is the receipt that the debt has been paid!
3. The resurrection guarantees that a new era has begun - a picture of what is coming (Romans 6:4: We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as CHRIST WAS RAISED FROM THE DEAD through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.)Another statement that really got me thinking is that there's a difference between death and dying. For instance, as Christians we know death is not to be feared. In fact, we even look forward to one day being with the Lord and not having to deal with this life any more. But the process of dying is another story. Who of us really looks forward to dying; dealing with cancer or some other disease or accident? Jesus faced the same thing. He knew he was going to die and rise again, but the process of the dying was an ordeal he struggled with, even sweating drops of blood in great agony because he knew how much he would suffer. Praise God, he endured and did not quit or give up, but the debt is paid in full!