Happy Birthday Todd Williams!

Saturday was Todd William's birthday.

And since it was also his reserve drill weekend, he joined us for our Saturday evening activity like he does every month.

Yvonne fixed his favorite meal: meatloaf, potatoes, and salad for dinner and chocolate cupcakes and ice cream for dessert.

Then we played Settlers of Caanan (a different version of the Settlers of Catan game).

Can you tell who won the game? Josh Ellinor is getting really good at these games. He's very competitive and catches on to new games in a hurry!

Then Todd opened his present: we got him the "Do You Believe" DVD.

Just as Todd and Josh left for the evening and we had closed the door the doorbell rang. I went and answered it and Todd was there. His car broke down in our driveway! Good thing it didn't happen later half way down the road! I drove him to Naval Station where he was staying.

Sunday afternoon Josh Ellinor and Cristian Fabela came over for dinner.

Yvonne made chicken fajitas and salad for dinner. Dessert was a little chocolate cake she made from the left over cake batter from Todd's birthday cupcakes, and ice cream.

Yvonne sliced this cake into about eight pieces. It was only about six inches across so the pieces were smaller than the cupcakes we had last night!

 

I think Cristian enjoyed the cake!

After dinner we watched the movie "Time Changers" which is set in the year 1890 and Bible Professor Russell Carlisle has written a new manuscript. His book is about to receive an unanimous endorsement from the board members at Grace Bible Seminary until his colleague, Dr. Norris Anderson, has a difficulty with something. Dr. Anderson believes what Carlisle has written could greatly affect future generations. Using a secret time machine, Anderson sends Carlisle over 100 years into the future, offering him a glimpse of where his beliefs will lead.

While the others watched the movie I went to Naval Station and picked Todd up to bring him back to the house. He's going to spend the night so we can take his car to the shop tomorrow morning.

After the movie we all decided to play Settlers of Catan. Cristian had never played it before so we taught him how to play. He caught on real quick!

It turned out to be a battle to the finish between Josh and me. But can you guess who won???

After the game I took Cristian back to the base. Todd and Yvonne watched "Blindside" while I posted the story and pictures of our weekend. Now it's time for me to go join them!

Another great weekend!!!!!!

When Winning Isn't Much Fun...

We had a nice weekend! I went up to the Newport News Shipyard and picked Andrew up for our activities. We even had him spend the night since he was coming back for church Sunday morning anyway (and I didn't want to take him home at 9:00 and turn around again and pick him in the morning). the weather was gorgeous so the ride to Newport News and back was really beautiful!

Yvonne mad sandwich wraps for dinner and vegetable straws (they are sort of a chip). For dessert? My Mississippi Mud Pie Ice Cream Cake that was left from my birthday party the night before!

Then we played Settler's of Catan again. We actually played two games! Yvonne won the first game.

I won the second game. But I have to admit, winning isn't not much fun when when you have an unsportsmanlike meltdown during the game. I had so many rolls go against me during the game that I got really frustrated! I had to turn resource cards back in because I had more than seven in my hand, twice in a row (you understand the significance of that if you play Settlers). Usually I can just tell myself "It's only a game!" But Saturday I got so upset I actually threw the box we were rolling the dice in across the table and knocked over some of the pieces on the board. As soon as I did that I was so embarrassed! I've never lost it like that in a game before. And then to make matters worse, I won! That was really anticlimactic. That's the reason for the sad look on my face even though I'm getting the Saturday night game trophy, and the reason for the title of this blog post.

OK, that was Saturday.

Sunday we all got up, went to Sunday school and church, then came back to the house for dinner. Tuna casserole was on the menu. We discovered John doesn't like tuna. Ooops. He even tried a little bit, but it just wasn't his thing.

For dessert we had Raspberry Creme - made with vanilla ice cream, raspberry jello, frozen raspberries, and whipped cream. When I asked John if he liked raspberries he said, "Oh yea!"

He really liked the whipped cream too! He kept adding more, and adding more, and ... well you get the idea!

After dinner we watched the sequel to "The Perfect Stranger" called "Another Perfect Stranger" 

The film starts ten years after Nikki Cominsky, Sarah's mother, underwent a life changing experience during dinner with Jesus, and now its her daughter Sarah's turn to discover the spiritual dimension in her own life. Jesus returns for a face to face conversation with Sarah on a plane and in an airport during a layover on a trip from Michigan to Portland.

Finally, we shared prayer requests and had prayer together.

We drove Andrew back to Newport News and decided that since we were so close, we'd go on to drop in on Sarah and our grandson...after all, it was Fathers Day!

Micah Dudley (2002-2007) Returns Home!!

Andrew Raffety and Joshua Ellinor joined us Saturday night for our activities. Yvonne was fixing dinner and the rest of us were in the living room talking when the doorbell rang. We wondered who it could be because we weren't expecting anyone else to come over.

I went to the door and to my surprise there was Micah standing at the door. We hadn't seen him (except on Facebook) since 2007! As I stood there with my mouth hanging open Micah said, "Is this an active duty only party, or can a reservist join in too?" After inviting him in I called Yvonne. She was just as surprised as I was! As she gave him a big hug he said, "Hi Ma!"

It was so awesome to see him again!

Yvonne made fish sticks supper...a recipe she got from the internet and watermelon. Then we had ice cream sandwiches for dessert.

Our game for the night was RISK! The game of world domination.Andrew and Josh had this non-aggression pact between each other. So you might be able to guess who they went after all night! I felt like saying "Why's everybody always pickin on me???" But they were having fun and that's what counts!

Early in the game I took Yvonne out. Then Josh took Micah out of the game. And then Andrew took me out. The final battle was between Andrew and Josh. Josh won!

It was a fun game. But it was really fun to look up and see Micah sitting across the table again!

Then today (Sunday) Micah joined us for lunch again after attending worship at Churchland Assembly of God where he reconnected with some other friends he knew when he was here.

Today Yvonne made fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, and home made white bread for dinner. Dessert was her signature apple crisp. We probably all gained five pounds today!

After dinner we just sat and talked in the living room, reminiscing about old times. Then we got to talking about some scripture passages about staying focused on Jesus especially in the trials we go through.

We shared prayer requests around the room, took turns praying for each other, and then before we knew it, the afternoon was over.

We drove Josh back to Oceana Naval Air Station with a short detour through the Dairy Queen drive through for chocolate dipped cones with chocolate ice cream!

Great weekend!

Prayer Walking - or Driving on Oceana Naval Air Station Dam Neck Annex

This afternoon was gorgeous! The weather was sunny and warm. It was just a beautiful day here in Virginia Beach.

This is really special because we've had a lot of damp, cold, rainy, and just plain gloomy days lately.

I needed to get a new plastic pad for under the chair in my office at home. So I decided to go to Office Max and get one. I had to stop at Dairy Queen and get my chocolate dipped ice ream cone with chocolate ice cream on the way.

I selected one of the Office Max stores from my GPS and punched it in. Little did I know it was going to take me to the store way out past Princess Anne Hospital! But that was OK because I was enjoying the drive and the weather and the company of my wife.

After we bought the floor mat we decided to go to Dam Neck and drive around the base simply to pray and intercede for the young sailors going to school there.

We drove up and down the streets and around the barracks praying that God would break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. That He would give us favor with the sailors on Dam Neck and make connections for us with some of them. We prayed that God would help us reach them for Jesus Christ. And we prayed for the Coffee House ministry going on there under the direction of the chapel.

After our prayer time we went to the beach and sat watching the sun set behind us. It was so calm and peaceful by the water. It was a really enjoyable evening!

Military Ministry At The Wagner's June 4-5, 2016

John Otriz was the only one that came over on Saturday evening this week. Andrew Raffety flew to Texas to visit a friend for a few days leave, and Joshua Ellinor was out looking for a car! Christian Fabella had other plans for Saturday.

We had a good time! Watched "Ice Age" while we ate fish sticks and Potatoes O'Brien for dinner and then had Italian Ice for dessert. John said the fish sticks were the same as he ate when he was little. It was even the same brand!

Then we played Settlers of Catan. This was a really slow game! None of us got the rolls of the dice we needed and none of us got resource cards for a long time.

But during the game we got a special treat! Our neighbors from across the street came over with a plate of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies! What a blessing that was!

John Ortiz presenting the game winner's trophy to Yvonne!

Yvonne won the game! I was so surprised. No one even thought she was in the lead. I think she tricked us! She had the longest road and one victory point with a development card.

Sunday after church Josh Ellinor, John Ortiz, and Cristian Fabella joined us for lunch! Yvonne made Lasagna and home made rustic Italian bread for dinner. Then a Salzberger Nockerl for dessert.

After dinner we watched "The Perfect Stranger" with Jefferson Moore and Pamela Brumley.

A lawyer named Nikki gets a dinner invitation on the night her husband is going to a ball game with his friends. She believes that the invitation is really from her husband who feels bad about leaving her alone on a Friday night, so she accepts. When she arrives at the restaurant she finds instead someone she has never seen before. A man, well dressed, who claims to be Jesus Christ. The conversation they have is really interesting and thought provoking!