God Bless America!

We were excited as we caught an early train and were off
on our adventure to enjoy the Tea Party Express in Boston!

After arriving at North Station, we walked to the State House
which overlooks the Boston Common!

As you can see, we enjoyed a picture perfect April Day!
Honestly, it could not have been better! We were guided
to the Tea Party Express buses and staging area by all
of the many satellite trucks and press corps.

Then we spotted the buses! Of course, we knew that
you might need proof that we actually were at the tea
party, so we snapped a picture or two.

The Tea Party movement is simple to explain. It's all about
a return to smaller government, following our Constitution,
fiscal responsibility and a representative government.

The people who attended today are hard working people,
who love this country. It was such an uplifting event filled with
lots of patriotic songs and speeches about how much God has
blessed this country. Don't lose heart! Believe! Get involved!
Educate yourself , support your candidates and vote in November!

The patriots attending  these rallies are fed up!
No one likes being ignored and we've experienced
a lot of  that over the last year or so!

The crowd was huge and it was amazing  how many
young conservatives joined  in the fun and how much they
embraced this movement and what it represents.

Sarah Palin fired up the crowd with a great speech.

Charlie signed the Tea Party Express wall even
though it was a challenge to find any space to sign
your name.

Then it was my turn!

As we left, we had the chance to meet these patriots.
There was no angry mob anywhere to be found. 

And I did manage to get a "Don't Tread On Me" flag.

Then we hit the Freedom Trail! I hope that you enjoy
some of Boston's favorite historic sites. We sure did!

 Quincy Market!

What a view for those who look up!

Check out The Customs House!

This spectacular ceiling is several stories over the lobby . This
building is now a time share run by the Marriott Hotel chain.
Charlie is quite interested in exchanging our Florida spot and
having a chance to spend a few days in the center of so much
history!

We had never seen this memorable Holocost Memorial!
Each glass tower is covered with numbers representing a life lost !

 Have you met Paul Revere?

Or visited the Old North Church?

Boston is such an interesting and beautiful city. I've
always loved that every where you look you can see
historic buildings living beside the ultra modern.

My brother-in-law David and a long time friend Bob shared the day!

Our day of sightseeing eventually drew to a close and we
returned for our train ride back home. It was a long but
rewarding day. It was a day spent reflecting about those
who came before who sacrificed so much so that
we could enjoy so very much. We are blessed to live in
this great nation.

Sally

Sunday Morning!

It started like most Sundays! Laurie, Dara and I
met in the kitchen. But this Sunday was a bit
different because we were preparing for yet
another part of the transition process.

Laurie was handling the muffin preparation. No, she didn't bake!

Dara already had the coffee preparation
well under control. She loves God and shows
it by her faithful service in the kitchen, working
the camera in filming our service and at the
Interfaith Hospitality Network. Dara delights
in  telling everyone that I was her teacher when
she was in middle school.

What a thrill to have Terry and Melinda reunited
to lead us in Praise & Worship again! The Holy
Spirit was present in our sanctuary this morning.
I am going to really miss Terry's extraordinary
talent at the piano and her beautiful alto voice.
That is her way of worshiping God and you can
tell when you are a part of it.We are delighted
to have Melinda back Praising God through song!

After service, we adjourned across the street
to meet with Pastor Dave and Tatiana for
coffee and conversation. Mindy, Mike and
Kim stopped by and helped Laurie get everything
set up!

It was exciting to walk into a full school cafeteria.

Pastor Dave shared his vision for our church if he
becomes our Sr. Pastor and he answered all
of the questions that came his way. He shared
his heart and now we need to be in prayer , for
guidance and direction as we prepare for the
annual business meeting scheduled for the end
of April.

Transition

We are a church family in transition! Our Sr.Pastor
 & his wife are moving to PA, our Visitation Pastor
has stepped down and we are preparing to vote
for a new Senior Pastor!

The next few weeks will be full and busy!

Last night, the Women's Ministry enjoyed an
Appreciation dinner for the Leadership Team.
Some of us had transitioned out last fall and
others began serving. It was a time of celebration!
It also was a special time to 'love on' Terry a bit
before she and Pastor Mark move. She is a
real friend to the women of our church and will
be missed.

Let me make a few introductions!
Charline Crocker (L)  is the Leader the WM's! Alice
Stacy (R) heads up the Prayer Shawl Ministry!

Kara Sanders (L) heads up a ministry for Single Mom's.
Denise Jacob (R) teaches a WM's Bible study.

Carol Pacetti (L) is Charline's Assistant.
Jeanne Gaudet (R) is the former WM's
Leader.

Vi Shank (L)serves as a co-teacher WM's Bible
study and serves on the Prayer Shawl Ministry!
Our Sr.Pastor Mark Boucher's wife, Terry has
served for the last several years as our Advisor.

Melinda Salliby (L), Pastors' Secretary, will serve
as the new WM's Advisor!  Welcome Melinda!
Rita Trainque (R) serves as Secretary/Treasurer!

I (L) stepped down as Assistant to the WM's leader
after 4 years , but I continue to publish the e-mail
Prayer Chain. Marguerite Blomquist (R) handles
the Card Ministry for Birthdays, Anniversaries,
Sympathy and other special occasions.

These are very special women who love one
another and faithfully serve God and the women
of the church.

Praise & Worship Our Style

Tonight, we enjoyed the debut of our very own
worship team! Check them out!

Mike showed off his skills with the harmonica,
while Kim played guitar! I didn't know that we
have so much talent in our team.

Melinda loved leading us in song! Her talent is well
known to us all! It's great hearing her sing again!

Mindy and I did our best to keep up!  We'll certainly
do this again. It was wonderful knowing that , to God,
we made a sweet, sweet sound!

Our Neighbor's House

Meet our neighbor Mark! He has lived in his house, directly
across the street from us , his entire life.

He's a whiz with computers but not so much when
it comes to yard work. Since he has come to our
rescue every time we've had  a computer problem
or question for years now, Charlie and I wanted
to do something really special to say "Thank You".

It became clear that there was something that
we could do for him that he couldn't do for
himself. Charlie and his brother David filled
Mark in concerning the plan and got an enthusiastic
thumbs up!

Meet some of the team of volunteers!

Harvey's the senior man at age 86!

I absolutely love his truck! What do you think? Not
the red one! The antique green machine!

You've met my husband Charlie in past blog postings!

 His brother David arrived in style!

 

The mission was a massive yard clearing!
Mark's yard was getting smaller and smaller while
vines, dead tree limbs, dead trees and so much more
encroached on his usable yard.

The team of 5 men has already dedicated 3 full days
cutting, clearing and burning . The job is huge and
they are likely to have an additional 3 or 4 days
more work. I hope that you'll come back in a few
days to check out the final results of Mark's very
own 'extreme yard makeover'.

Sally

Friday Night at Friendly's

After attending a wonderful Good Friday service at
church, our  home team got together for our weekly
meeting! Mike missed a fun sweet treat!

Laurie's watching the police cruisers fly by!

Could Jay be thinking? "Oh that camera again!"

Kristi, we missed you!  These next photos are in your honor!

Bella's Set Free

Early this past Winter, just before the weather turned nasty,
Charlie and I rescued stray kittens Peanut and Bella! 

Peanut very quickly moved in with  us and she's become
a member of our family!

Bella's a feral cat so she presented a different challenge.
After having both kittens neutered,we didn't want her to
be out in the wild after having her belly fur shaved. 
Charlie and I kept her inside warm and safe through
the Winter. We had hoped to find her a good home,
perhaps on a farm or somewhere further away from
a main road but that never worked out.

This afternoon our temperatures reached the mid 60's
and a beautiful stretch of Spring weather is in our
forecast, so today was a perfect day to bring her
home to set her free.

She doesn't look very happy! I was wondering what she was
thinking about. She's probably hoping that this isn't just a
tease!

Once she realized that a simple step outside that carrier
meant freedom, she ran over the stone wall and into
the woods so fast that it was a real blur!
We're hoping to see her again at meal time!