The "Dog Days of Summer"

This is the time of year when things start to slow down a little in the office. Teachers and students are off for summer break. People are coming and going on their vacations or out on mission trips. So while its quiet and the phones aren't ringing as much, we would like to share with you some of the staff and their "Doggies". These are faithful and loving companions and after a while dogs begin to look like their owners (or is that the other way around?). So here are the entries:

These two lovely dogs belong to Ron and Nancy. They love to go hunting and run through the dahlias. They also love to ride in the back seat of the Subaru and pick up Nancy from work. One of these is on anti-anxiety drugs. Can you guess which one?

This is an entry from Cherianne. Actually she doesn't like pugs but sent this picture to cleanse her memory from a bad college experience. You'll have to ask Cherianne for details.

Now here is a little cutie that was submitted by Kerry. He doesn't own a dog but thought this one was cute and wanted it to be included. I think if Kerry had a dog, it would look just like this.

This one belongs to one of our Buildings & Grounds guys, Daron. She is a very sweet little dog until you move the wrong way and then she bites your head off! Isn't she cute?

Have you seen this puppy?

Santa Barbara, California, USA

Sam is a 14-year-old pedigreed Chinese crested and a three-time champ in the World's Ugliest Dog Contest. He is the dog of Susie Lockheed's dreams, a toad that will turn into a prince.

Sam is totally hairless. He has blackheads all over his skin, along with brown warts and moles.

His right eye appears reddish-purple from cataracts. His left eye is milky white.

Sam is one of four hairless dogs that hang out on the couch in Susie Lockheed's Santa Barbara home, where she operates a beauty salon. Susie gets allergies from furry animals--not from Sam. Now she can cuddle without worries. She can scratch fleshy, thin, potato-chip ears and run her fingers through the small patches of white hair on his head.

During the past few years, Sam has gone blind and suffered illness. He has also helped Susie survive treatment for thyroid cancer.

After drinking a radioactive iodine treatment, Lockheed had to stay at home for five days, and her entire room had to be covered in plastic--even the telephone. Friends had to leave food by her door because of the radiation. But she wasn't alone--Sam stayed with her. The two enjoyed lounging and watching television. Sam never left her except to visit the side yard through his doggy door. The two have been inseparable ever since. Now Sam cries when Lockheed isn't around.

People are made for dogs!
(Note: this last entry was an article not written by me (Linda) but was too funny to leave out. Now that's one ugly dog!)

SUMMERTIME FAMILY CAMPING

Camping with the family is always something I (Linda) look forward to in the summertime. Especially when we take our home with us like the RV in the picture. There is always lots of food, fun and fire (campfires that is) to make for a relaxing time. On this trip we went north about 100 miles up in Washington state to American Heritage RV Park. The place was great. It was like a blast from the past. Very quaint and clean. The park hosts were very friendly. And we were in a beautiful woodsy setting. Here Mike and his sister, Terri, are enjoying their morning coffee.

There are a lot of conversations around the campfire. In this picture Mom is talking about "World Peace" to her granddaughter, Amy, and her great-grandson, Crew. They live in Kirkland, WA and came down to camp with us. Crew and his older brother, Dominic, had a great time and were great little campers. We were able to visit some animals in a little barnyard out by the edge of camp. And they even had a old-fashioned "Hay Ride" that traveled all around the campground pulled by an antique tractor.

Good memories were had by all! I'm hungry for smores! When's the next trip?

My Alaskan Vacation

Bud and I left May 25th to Homer Alaska to visit our son Ben, his wife Allison and our new and first grandson, Hudson. He was born February 11th. We rented a cabin this year to give our new little family a little more room for their little one. We found a great place to stay halfway between where Ben and Allison live and where they work. So they would drop Hudson off on their way to work and we would spoil him rotton until they came to pick him up. What FUN!

This is our view from our cabin. On the last night at 12:30am(it was still light out!) a moose walked in front of the cabin and swam across the pond! How cool and Alaskan is that!

Bud and I went fishing a couple times. Brought home 50 pounds of halibut and king salmon. And left half of the fish there. What a trip!

One day we went to Halibut Cove on Ben's boat. (Bud built the boat last year) Halibut Cove is beautiful. We went there for a la-dee-da dinner.

The real reason we went however is to meet our new "Bundle of Joy" Hudson James Stuart. Is he the cutest little boy ever? Of course he is.

We did get a picture of three handsome generations of Stuart men. George (grandpa, also known as Bud...Benjamin also known as Dad and Hudson James, the cutest of the three)

Couldn't end this post without a picture of my granddaughters! Here are two of them. Aberdeen, driving her Jeep on her fourth birthday with her sister Meriwether. Annie is watching from a safe distance in her grandpapa's arms.

A Fun Day at the Office

In the first few hours of our day we have so many friends and staff that pass by our desk that we thought we would introduce you to a few.


First of all I'd like you to meet Cherianne. She is our secretary to Men's Ministry. She's a great part of our team.

Then we have Linda who has the voice of a canary and the privilege of directing Children's Ministry.








As people come by they stop to ask questions, check in with us and sometimes just smile for a great pose. Thanks Bev and Marva!

They stop just to visit with each other or sometimes look over the counter to see what candy we have to offer.

But whatever the reason, they stop and that's what we love about our job. We get to see a lot of people every day and we love it! Rakel just came from a women's appreciation luncheon put on by Women's ministry.

Sometimes they just need to stop and pick up the phone to answer a quick call.

This is Tari. She is secretary to Children's Ministry. (And a member of the N0 Friends Dinner Club.) She is sooo cute and funny. She makes us laugh a lot.

And this is Steve. He is part of the hardest working team on campus. He is one of the men in our Buildings & Grounds Department. They all work so hard taking care of our campus. Cleaning, repairing, and landscaping are all done through this department. Thanks guys and gals for all your hard work!

I'd like you to meet Rita. She is Alan's secretary. (That's a BIG job right there!) She is so sweet and very busy. Congratulations on your new puppy, Hunter!

Here's another one of our maintenance guys. But Bobby is a little shy so we almost didn't get his picture. Got ya!

And what do I say about our Kristin. We love her so much. The Lord has called her to serve in Slovenia and it is so exciting!!!! She has served on the GO Team while here at GSCC and what a heart for the ministry.

And WOW this all happened before NooN! We'll keep you posted. . . . get it!

Bye for now!

Deep Thoughts by Donna #4

Have you ever noticed how we measure our life by events? Not really day or time, but what happened on a day or during a time in our life. Well, I have filled my bucket with life events in the last few months! Our first grandson, Hudson James Stuart, was born in February, in Homer Alaska. I turned 53 in March, and celebrated 34 years of Marriage in April. Wow, biggies. How about you? What life events come to mind every year for you? It is good to have past things to remember so that you can see where you are at. Deep huh! Let me know, what events are important for you? Oh yeah, another huge event that happens every year...............April 15th.....TAX DAY!

NEWS FLASH! VITATOPS ARE THE BEST!

The votes are finally in and a great discovery has been made. This morning I taste tested a product from Vitalicious called VitaTops. And I am quite surprised. They're great! And the best part is they are full of good ingredients. They are made from whole wheat and are only 100 low-fat calories per top. My friend, Tabs, pops one in the toaster for breakfast and has a smile on her face every morning when she gets to the office. It's a great way to start the day.

They come in a lot of different flavors and you can go to their website to check out all the different products at www.vitalicious.com . And let me tell you they are Mmmm-Mmmm good! Thanks Tabs for sharing the muffin info. Enjoy Everyone!

IT'S NOT A BIRTHDAY PARTY WITHOUT DONNA!

"Why such a long face?" you might be saying to yourself. I'm glad you asked.

Every month, in the middle of the month, on a Wednesday all the secretaries get together and order lunch in to celebrate the birthdays for the month.

There is a little sandwich shop called "Paris Cafe" in Sandy and they have great food. So we say we are going to Paris for lunch if anyone wants anything. And this month is Donna's birthday on the 19th! I was hoping to take some party pictures, but Donna was out sick yesterday. Oh well, she's back today! But that's why the sad picture.

There will be a big celebration on the 19th. More pictures to come!

Deep Thoughts by Donna #3

What's your personality type?
Have you noticed in the last decade (for you older folk like me) that we have a plethura of tests to tell us what we are like? We have tests for team building, tests to tell us our perfect job, tests that tell us where we should live, even tests to tell us what animal or color we are most like. You can even get on line and find some one with 957 things (important things!) in common with you for your perfect mate in life. Now don't get me wrong....I love taking those tests. I am an ENFP for all you Meiers/Briggs fans! I think I am the color green and I would love to be like the leopard if I have any choice in the matter.

However, I believe I have a simple test that is fool proof. No, I don't mean any fool can take it! You have in fact been taking the test your whole life...really, I am not kidding. You want to know what it is? do ya? I have observed there are two kinds of people. Just two. Those who use the table of contents in a magazine or books and those who don't. Are you the one ,who, after going through a magazine the first time does the following: "Oh I found this great recipe, it's right here.........oh where is it, I know I saw it on the right hand page. Just a minute...." as you leaf through the whole magazine looking for that picture that you know you saw. Or, are you the one who says " Oh I found this great recipe, let me look it up. Here it is page 27 in the 'one skillet dinners' section". That's it...two types. Both needed...both different....both wonderful.

My challenge to you is...discover who you really are. A browser or a searcher. If you are a browser, try looking at the table of contents first...you will add hours to your day and actually have time to fix that great recipe. If you are a searcher, try casually browsing through the magazine, take your time. You may find an even better recipe for dinner!!!!

Some of our Favorite Friends that stop by. . .

As you have already read, one of our important jobs is to keep the candy dishes full. However, we have special treats hidden for special friends. And two of our special friends come on Tuesdays. Around 3:00pm we have Shauna and Jennifer drop in. They are sisters and are very sweet. In fact while they're here they get even sweeter because of the piece of candy they get.

We also catch up on how school is going. What things or projects they are working on. We share what we are doing over the holidays and what vacations we may be anticipating.

We are so glad we have friends like these two girls. They make us smile and brighten our day.

Deep Thoughts by Donna #2

I have tried so hard not to go crazy about my grandkids. I remember listening ( or trying to look like I was) to women who were very sincere about the amazing things their little ones did, but I was in the middle of my children 24/7 and did not quite get the "delight" in their stories.

However, (you knew this was coming) last night, Bud and I babysat our 3 grand-daughters while mom and dad went to a movie. Our middle girl, Meriwether, is 18 months old. Her face lights up when she smiles and it is contagious! Meri, however, has had several doctor visits because she is slow in speech and has weak muscle tone. She didn't crawl until a year old and walking has been quite a lesson in patience for all of us.

Well, last week, she would stand up in the middle of the room by herself and we would all applaud! Then she would stand up and see if any one was watching. If not, she would applaud for herself and we would laugh and her face would light up with delight. Last night, she walked across our living room!!! Eight maybe even 10 steps! WE HAD A PARTY! Her big sister hugged her, grandma and granpapa clapped and cheered. She might as well have won the gold medal in a marathan for the joy we had in her effort. She would walk a few steps, almost fall, and catch her balance, and then walk a couple more steps until she crossed the huge distance between her and the distant horizan.

As she was struggling to walk, I thought how much I am like her. Trying so hard to go forward in my life. Loosing my balance, all most falling, and then getting my bearings again to continue. And how the Lord delights in my efforts! He knows the struggle it is to keep going. He also knows it is time for me to try. He has given me His love, protection, and instruction to be able to keep going. He knows I can do it, it is a matter of me knowing I can do it. And then I hear His laughter, joy, applause as I take those small steps towards what He already knows. My Future.

Joe's In The House!

Looks scary huh? Don't be afraid. JOE IS IN THE HOUSE. Well he's coming in and boy do we look forward to it every Tuesday. For those who work here, you know we're talking about the donuts in his hand and not the man in the picture. Joe's Donuts is a donut shop up in Sandy that makes the best donuts ever and Scott Stuart treats the office once a week with a delicious assortment.

It's especially appreciated during these cold winter months and a great break in the morning for the staff to see each other and maybe catch up on a conversation or two. We Redheads also find others who might come through the door i.e. the UPS man, FedEX man, or any other guest we see that may want to partake.

The staff favorite of course is the maplebar. According to our blind study test perhaps the old fashioned donut comes in second place, with the sprinkled donut coming in third.

And for those who say they are watching their waist, they take a white, plastic knife cutting their favorite donut in half. And after consuming that one they come back for the other half. WHAT'S UP WITH THAT! Of course this gentleman seems to be surveying all 24.

Which one will he choose? Looks like another "CrossFit" hour is in his future.

The best thing about Joe's Donuts is you always know when it's Tuesday!

Does The Right Hand Know What The Left Hand Is Doing?

Most of you may not have noticed but I (Linda) am right-handed and Donna is left-handed. Now this is not a problem. But we are also different in other ways. Kinda like "Oscar and Felix" in The Odd Couple. I'm neat, Donna's kinda messy. One of us is a natural redhead and one of us isn't. (Of course now only our hairdresser knows for sure!) I'm a "city girl" and Donna's a "country girl".

Yet with all those opposites, we have the most fun together. And there is one thing we have very much in common: our love for the Lord! That is exactly the same!

And thats what we all need to remember with our brothers and sisters in Christ. . . that no matter what our differences, we have the most important thing in common!

Hope you have a nice day!

Deep Thoughts by Donna

Hello everyone! OK. so I know the title is funny in itself. As if I have ever had a deep thought. But I do wonder a lot. Wondering by Donna just doesn't have the same punch!
Here is my thought. In fact, let's call it a survey to get everyone involved! Come on Team, let's participate!!!

I have a theory that families determine how many children they would like to have dependant on where they were in their family. For example: I know a man that was the youngest of six children, and he knew he would absolutely have 6 children. (thankfully his wife agreed) I also know many who were the second or third child and end up having that many children. What do you think? Or do you care. Just a thought, deep that is.

A Rainy Thursday at the Office

Hi from the Redheads. . .

As we sit at our desks we have this beautiful view of an asphalt parking lot and beyond is a country hillside. Much like the picture above. Ha-ha! Actually the picture above is the Sienna, Italy countryside in Tuscany area. I (Linda) was there a couple of years ago! But enough about that. This is about our office.

Our office is the hubb of this place. People always coming and going. Stopping for information or just stopping to catch up on the latest news. We think its the "Grand Central" of communication and we love our job. We run a switchboard of 23 incoming lines (and at times most of them are lite at once) and over 100 extensions that covers the many departments on our campus. Keeping everyone connected is definately a full-time job. When we are not answering the phones, we are greeting people that come through the front door, helping people get to the correct meeting rooms, or doing various office tasks that help the secretaries. Never a dull moment.

You might be wondering why our blog site is called the Redheads. This was a name fondly referring to us because. . . well of course our red hair. And we look like sisters (in fact we are twins, just separated at birth for six months) and have such jovial personalities that Stu our boss called us "The Redheads" and it has stuck ever since.

So there you have it! We'll keep you posted!