Today, as was yesterday, is a work day around the house.  Vacationing is great and I took loads of pics to prove it, but then you return home… :sigh:

Pics later, and a bit more thought in an entry I hope…   I read a site I don’t get to read as often, being on so much less… it reminded me to be grateful for a number of things.  Not the least of which is the health of our children.

We are truly blessed in the U.S., also in France, Great Britian, and many of the countries that are not struggling with wars in their borders, famine or lack of technology and medical help.  I’m most thankful…

One good pic…

from our water park visit yesterday…

Vanessa and I picked up my great-neice, Allie, which is Missy’s daughter.  We met Angie, Missy’s sister, who has 2 little cuties, Alexis and Seth.  We all went to the King’s Island waterpark.

Its called Crocodile Dundee’s Boomerang Bay… I think. I’ll check and link it so you can see what we were doing and had available.

To capture that moment, I waited… and waited……….. and waited along the only spot I could see the rafts coming and who was in them and then have a photo op moment a few feet past that place.  Then FINALLY I heard them… everyone yelled “1..2..3..Aunt Debbie”!  It was cute.  I got the shot and waited for them to come off the ride.  we went back to the big wave pool and got wetter and sunned and played.  It was a great day.  I just wish Shawn had been able to go with us but he was working.

OK, more after our Iowa/Tenn trip.  We leave tonight… traveling prayers appreciated.

I think after July is done… I’ll need a summer vacation!

I have had a blast this summer and enjoyed several short trips and having Steven and Vanessa here.  Sandra’s visit was short but nice too.  I wish she’d had more time though.  With our July 4th cookout, SCADS of birthdays within our blended family and just making the most of the season being out and about…I have taken buckets of photos and would like to share a lot of them.  I just doubt I’ll have the time to get them corrected for show any time soon.

I just had that passing icky feeling when I typed that, because I had the thought that once it’s nasty ole wintertime I’ll have plenty of time to sit and play with the photo programs that I have and maybe I can go ahead and post pics as I get them ‘fixed’.  :sigh:  I hate the thought of winter coming.  I thoroughly enjoy summer and the sunny (even hot) days.  :heavy sigh:

We had a great day yesterday, starting with going to visit a different church, Vineyard Community Church, near Tri-county.  Steven seemed to enjoy it and I found it friendly and light-hearted.  Shawn and I discussed it later and have come to a decision about where to go.  This has been some time in coming as we each wanted the other to be comfortable and to feel there was a place for each’s respective areas of ministry as well as something for us to begin as an area of ministry together.  We think we’ve got it, but I’ll get to that another day.

After church, we took Steven to the Greyhound bus terminal to head home to Florida.  I was not happy about this as I saw a number of unseemly types in the terminal.  Believe me, I prayed a lot and kept sending him text messages during his trip to make sure of how things were going.  He seemed to be be fine each time he replied and I would just say another prayer.  I know he’s nearly grown, but he’d never been that far from home alone.  He’s home safely though ( I just got a reply text message from his sister confirming this) and all went well.  :thank You Lord:

After the bus depot, we changed to swimming attire, picked up Nick and Natalie to take them with us, picked up the birthday cake and headed to Splash Moraine for a birthday party for Vanessa and time in the sun and water.  I can’t swim… yet… but Vanessa has plans to teach me… with the help of daddy of course (to hold me up as I learn ).  I must say, it sounds like a great time to me.

Another family, the McCanns, met us there and all had LOTS of fun.  I stuck pretty closely to my younger niece and nephew, Natalie and Nicholas.  They seemed to really enjoy the day too.  There is a lot there for all ages and levels of swimmers.

I was glad to see Shawn having some fun.  He is always a fun guy, but he spends soooooo much time working, I feel bad for him some days.  However, he seems to like to be busy and work.  So I won’t pester about it.  He’s certainly making headway around this old house. 

After the swimming, we took Nick and Natalie home and Vanessa went to the McCanns to have more time with her friend Meagan.

All in all, a super day!

Pics posted when (icky, nasty, brrrrrr Ole) winter keeps me from being outside making more memories such as these.

I read this in an email I received from the site where I go to send a nice e-greeting, DaySpring cards.  It’s worth a look and this article is one that speaks volumes.

In
celebration of DaySpring.com’s new Christian Music Collection E-Cards,
we have asked Dove award-winning singer/songwriter Nichole Nordeman to
share some thoughts on the ministry of encouraging words…

I doubt many people would argue about the power of the spoken word.

We
don’t need a master’s in psychology to know that our hearts leap at the
sound of affirming words. It’s just how God wired us. Any co-worker
with a new hairdo will agree. Any toddler who is potty training or
husband who just closed the “big deal” will nod emphatically as well.
We possess a tremendous ability to very simply “make someone’s day”
with heartfelt praise or to even alter the course of a life with the
power of our words.

Oprah,
Bill Gates, and Tiger Woods have all, at one point, attributed their
early success to the empowering encouragement of someone else. Perhaps
it was just a small phrase or statement, but one that was instrumental
in building up or perhaps even just holding up hope and belief for a
brief second. That can be all the time it takes to get someone to look
at the mirror differently.

Conversely,
it doesn’t take that same graduate degree to know that the power of
words can be unleashed as perhaps the most primitive of weapons. Most
of us would agree that whoever penned that little ditty about “sticks
and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” was
obviously never a fifth grader. Words can not only hurt, but they can
leave shrapnel in the soul long after the explosion hits and the smoke
clears. Next time you need a reminder about the power of the negative
word, dust off the book of James. It’s been said that the tongue is the
strongest muscle in the body. I think the spirit would agree.

So…
having taken a moment to consider the power and impact of both our
life-giving, affirming words as well as the life-robbing, destructive
power of the tongue… here’s one more thought to chew on, (pardon the
pun). What about the power of words never spoken? For me, I
can look back on my life and count too many times when I’d wished I’d
listened to my gut (and the Holy Spirit) and just had the courage to
open my mouth and let my heart spill out, regardless of the awkward
moment. You’ve heard the rather overused challenge to live each day as
it if were your last… but there is real wisdom there. Why wait to say
“I love you?” Why wait one more day to forgive? Or to ask for
forgiveness? There is a reason that Paul, in Ephesians 4, encourages us
not to let the sun go down on our anger. Perhaps because he knew, as a
hunted and persecuted man, that a sunrise the next morning was not
something to be assumed. He understood, better than anyone, the
importance of keeping his accounts short.

Say
it now. Go there. The tongue might be powerful, but so are clenched
teeth and a firmly set jaw. And silence can speak volumes we never
meant to say. Matthew 12:34 reminds us that what is in our hearts, will
come spilling out of our mouths. If your heart is full today, or even
broken, consider springing a leak and letting someone know. The relief
and healing that may follow will make you a believer in the power of
words, all over again.

Nichole Nordeman
Dove Award-Winning Singer/Songwriter

Provided by DaySpring Cards at this site: http://store.dayspring-store.com/cdninowosp.html

Incidentally, they have a wonderful assortment of  e-cards to use to brighten someone’s day.

I have my little Timothy today because… I CAN!   My daughter, Candis, started a new job today and the older two went to her friend’s house, but little guy is not well.  So Nanna to the rescue!!   The friend has 4 of her own, the youngest being only a few months old and a cranky baby, from what Candi told me.  Candi didn’t want to leave an ill and ill-tempered baby with her the very first day!  He is warm, even with the baby Motrin in him, but he’s still got a smile for his Nanna.
We kept him this weekend too on Saturday night and most of Sunday.
Here are a couple pics of this beautiful boy with the fam.
First is his bath in  Nanna’s kitchen sink.  The bath toys are expensive too!!! A lid from a cottage cheese bowl!

He’s wearing his Nanna bib  in the little walker seat.  I got it from friends where I worked before. He looks so cute.  I sure hate to see him feel so lousy.  His little throat is sore.  
I typed the previous earlier this morning, but since then, his mommy got him an appointment at the Children’s Medical Center where he goes.   Nanna took him and did NOT like the mean ole Dr. for making my lil sweetie cry! grrrrrr
He hasn’t got strep, but a virus that should run it’s course in the next day or so.  sigh
It’s no fun to see him not want to even drink anything.
OK, below are some amusing, but possibly, helpful tips.  I hope you get a snicker from reading them.

  AMAZINGLY SIMPLE HOME
REMEDIES

1. A mouse
trap, placed on top of your alarm clock,
will prevent you from rolling over
and going back

If it shouldn’t move and does, use the duct
tape.
Silly stuff, but I got it in an email from a well-meaning friend and thought I’d share.

I have had sooooo much happening
… I just have had no time to post pics or read sites or anything.  I’m certainly making the most of this summer.  It’s been a lot of fun, busy and I’m feeling the dread of it ending soon.  Anyone who really knows me is aware that I love summer and the warm weather and being out in it.  They area also aware that as the summer wanes, I start getting a bit broody about the fact that fall and then yucky ole winter will be sneaking up on me!   I suppose I still have a few good weeks left.  I’ll attempt to make the most of them and that may mean being away from the ‘virtual reality’ of Xanga most times.  Still, I’ll hope to not miss too many important things going on in the lives of my Xanga friends, but I’ll just ask that if you have a need or something is going on with you and yours (or a fellow Xangan), please email me so I can pray.  I can’t tell you how much I have appreciated the prayers of my friends on this site in the past.  I always hope to be able to do the same for others.
OK, well, enjoy your day and I’ll get back around here more often once there is less nice weather outdoors.
Hugs

This is one of the last pics taken today at the tour we took through Rock City in Chattanooga.  Speaks volumes!

I actually tried to post this Saturday night from the suite we stayed in while there, but Xanga didn’t cooperate so it’s getting edited to show up Monday from home.

I took a couple hundred shots total on Saturday and Sunday, so I’ll work on getting a few of the best sorted and ‘fixed’ for showing here.  We all four had a great time going to these places.  Talk with you soon…

hey there, hi there, ho there
I know… been a few days, but I’ve been busy… even out of state a while, so I’ll mostly post some pics of the stuff that’s been taking me away and had me outside from this machine.

Shawn and I went to get his younger daughter, Vanessa(miniqtpie13), 2 weekends ago in Chattanooga.  We decided though, since we really had no honeymoon, we’d leave the night before and enjoy our trip through KY and TN and spend the night in London, KY… so we could get up and see Lake Cumberland before driving on down to Chattanooga to meet his kids.  Then come back up, with Vanessa, to see some of his dad’s family in NC.  The bonus was that I made arrangements to stop and see my long-time friend, Candy and her husband John as we went through their area too.  We had a great visit there and with his family.  I felt so at home right away, it was such a blessing.  We’ve been emailing his cousin nearly daily and talking with them since we returned, by phone, to keep in touch.  I sure hope they will take us up on our offer to come visit some time.
So without further delay, here are some of the 198 pics I took on this 5-day trip.  Yeah, I said 198… I’ll not attempt to overload the site, I’ll give a shot or 2 from each place. K?

OK, we are both a little bit smarter now, after our stay here (A Holiday Inn Express).  

Vanessa, the animal lover, had a nice visit due to the Hurtig pets. I’ll post one pic of her with the lovable Jasmine.

This doggie is a real treat. Jasmine has a new ‘family member’ but we have no good pics of Bean to post.

We ate a scrumptious dinner with them, sat and talked our head’s off and then went to bed in the nice guest room and Vanessa got to sleep in their daughter, Celeste’s, room.  We rose early to have a good breakfast, take a few pics and get on the road to Miller’s Creek, NC.

Taking the scenic route, rather than the beaten path (reminds me of the Frost poem I love, The Road Not Taken) was well worth the time it took us to make our way. Just one pic of many to show you what we experienced as we drove (This is a view of Lake Cumberland).

We saw that view & then we went on to Candy & John’s.  After the evening there, Sunday we got up & dressed for church & headed to Miller’s creek.  We got to Shawn’s Uncle Dean’s a little past time to make it to church so we sat and talked with him until the family returned from service.  We had such a great visit and I felt so at home right away. As you can see, Vanessa found another friend .  Sadie was all about greeting us and making us feel welcome.  But then… so were all the relatives.  I was put at ease as the new Miller very early in the visit.  The pic at the patio table is Shawn’s Uncle Dean and Aunt Margaret, their daughter, Sandra and her son Ryan with us.  Vanessa, fellow shutterbug that she is, took the shot & is not in the pic.

We went to a couple of the sites in the area and had Wayyyyyyy tooooo much good country cookin’ and a good song service and dinner on the grounds and then Vanessa and I got to attend a ladies’ prayer meeting.  So we were kept entertained and enjoyed the stay too much to want to leave.  A highlight was the college campus where we saw a beautiful arboretum & got to feed the ducks and geese. 

At one point a goose was chasing, holding the tail of a duck. This went on for a couple minutes. LOTs of Quacking!  We quacked up, but that duck didn’t find it all that amusing, I’m sure.

I gotta stop.  This will call for another day’s posting to accomodate the great scenic shots I was able to take.  So I hope you enjoy these and I’ll begin working on another, with less type and more ooooing and ahhhhing pics. OK?

be blessed ya’ll

Gone Campin’