Found an Old Letter

I wrote this letter to Amanda in 1995.
She was about a year old, and I was around 27 years old.

I recently found it and gave it to her.

Clint's New Toys

Bethany and Jeremy

As part of his gift to her for her birthday,
Jeremy took Bethany to the Ice Cream Museum in Chicago.

A Reason to Rejoice!

I shared an anonymous prayer request on the blog for this situation when the worst of it was happening. One of my friends who confided in me about abuse issues in her marriage who eventually divorced (physically by him and verbally/emotionally bya group of people (a church) has been dating a wonderful man for a year or so now. 

They slipped off together and got married today! 

I am so very happy for you, Lynda! 

I have not stopped smiling or thanking the Lord since I found out!

Home Canned Pie Pumpkin

From the pumpkins Mack gave us,
we have 14-quart jars of home-canned pie pumpkins.

I did not grow much of a garden this year, because I was away from home so much. God sent me some produce to put away for my family anyway.

How I left them/How she found them

I have a feeling Orange knocked some off. He does that. :-)

Storm Prep for Ophelia

Emily, Hannah, and I lifted Amanda's mower in case Amanda had flooding from Ophelia. I didn't think she would, but I also don't take chances with high-dollar items whether mine or someone else's. This mower is brand new. You can see the owner's manual still hanging on it. We prepped four houses for the storm in one morning. We were very busy! The boat landings near us flooded into the roads, but that was the worst of it. We were never stuck at home. Amanda was because she left her fancy hybrid car at another home.

Angel Windows

The Angel Windows Trail is in the Daniel Boone National Forest in the Red River Gorge Geological Area.

begin to do something now

 "Let each one of us, if we have done nothing for Christ,
begin to do something now."
-Charles Spurgeon

Worth more than gold to me

I do not cry easily or frequently, but this made me cry.

What an honor it is to know that Clint and I were able to minister to this beautiful soul in her last weeks.

I do not share things we do like this often. This time I am because...

To be honest, I did not think the few items we sent Mary Ann were much of a gift. Her daughter had confided in me about her very aggressive cancer, so I wanted to reach out to Mary Ann to give her love and support. I wondered about the appropriateness of the gifts and if I should even send the gifts and card at all.

I almost didn't send them.

I almost missed out on blessing this precious woman.

Her daughter told us she kept the blanket with her until she was no longer here.

She died with the blanket I almost didn't send.

I am so thankful God nudged me to go ahead and "do the thing." Isn't He good to us?

The Lord took that little bit and made it "enough" to show His love and our love to Mary Ann. I am thankful to Him for working it out the way He did. I am also humbled He would work to let us know how much she liked the gifts and the card. 

Being the woman she was, she sent us a card in return, but this picture is priceless to my heart. It is the encouragement I so need right now at this time in my life. God is so very good to us!

I have printed out the picture to keep in my home to remind myself to ignore my insecurities and hesitations and reach out to people more with God's love for them.

Don't just think about reaching out or doing something nice for someone, put actions to your thoughts. You might not know it matters, but it does. 

Mary Ann showed love and grace everywhere she went. She was a Proverbs 14:1 wise woman who knew how to forgive and keep her family together through many hurts, disappointments, ups, and downs. She built up her family and made them strong with God's love and grace. What an example she leaves for us to follow! What a legacy of faith and love she has left behind! 

It brings great comfort and joy to my heart to know I will see her in eternity. Have I told you how good God is?

There isn't anything special or good about Wendy, but the God who saved her is overwhelming with His love. You don't want to miss out on the relationship you can have with Him.

Thank you to those who were praying with us for her. Please pray for the comfort of her family. My love to all!

Sky Bridge

You can walk onto the arch, pass over it, go down and view it from underneath.

That's as wide as it is! There is a decent drop on either side.

The Sky Bridge Trail is in the Daniel Boone National Forest in the Red River Gorge Geological Area. There are signs warning about the risk of falling along the trail. This is a beautiful area. I'd like to sit and watch the sunrise and sunset from this arch.

Double A instead of AAA this time.

I took this picture trying to make sure I had the right keys to take to Caleb. He locked himself and his girlfriend out of his car, so he asked me to find his spare set of keys in his truck. Then Clint and I took them to him at Home Depot. Double A instead of Triple A (sbell) this time.

Princess Arch

"Mom, we found a bear cave with furniture and pretended we were dinner."

The hike to Princess Arch is in the Daniel Boone National Forest in the Red River Gorge Geological area. I highly recommend doing the hike. When wet, the rocks can be very slippery, so wear good hiking boots. There are signs along the trail warning about the risks of falling. Not only can you walk across the arch, but you can get under it and walk down both sides of it where you will find caves and other interesting rock features. It is a very beautiful area. If I go back, I will take lunch, do the hike in the morning, and take my time exploring the area.

80 Quarts Butternut and Snacks

just a few of the seeds before I added seasoning

After the work was done, we put up 80 quarts of butternut squash which will probably last us two to three years. I held some of the butternut and other squashes/pumpkins/gourds back to roast in the oven. 

I like to slice the butternuts in half from top to bottom, open the halves, sprinkle salt and pepper, and add a little butter. Then, I roast them in the oven until they are tender.

We also saved the seeds from all of the pumpkins and butternut squash. I saved a few for planting. The rest, we will eat. Not only are they edible, they are nutritional. They will make nice healthy snacks.

The thin peelings from where we peeled the butternut were dehydrated for winter chicken feed. The pulp was given to our hogs and ducks. I love it when there is nothing wasted.

Hannah, Joshua, Emily

Busch Gardens

Sam's Club, You Can Do Better Than This

I ordered 16 of the Butterfield Farms Roast Beef from Sam's Club to keep on hand for hiking/camping, etc. They are sold in packages of four. They shipped 14 (!!!!) of them inside one box that arrived busted open. The other two were sent in a separate box. LOL!

Then, some of the top cans were busted and the beef was spread all over the box. It had been warm, so the smell was atrocious! Ugh! The whole house stunk. I cleaned off the cans that were still sealed. Many of them were dented which is not good either.

We called Sams. They told us we had to send the opened cans back to them. Clint requested a mailer. They said they would have their boss call us back. No one called. That was about ten days ago.

Then we called again to follow up. They told us we had the product too long to make a complaint, so tough luck. We explained we HAD called within their timeframe (which we had only just heard about during the previous call) but they failed to call us. They said someone would call us back. How does Costco and BJs treat their customers when there is an issue like this? I am thinking about changing memberships.

It's been another five days without hearing from them like the promised.

I hope to avoid this situation in the future by making orders of two at a time until I get the quantity I need.

Cans are being made thinner and thinner. I have read numerous people complaining that pop-top lids like this are failing during air pressure changes.

I figured I'd share and try to at least save someone from losses if possible.

#SamsClub #BJs #Costco

Inside the Creation Museum 2

For size comparison, Hannah's hand is a the top of the frame.

Fools Despise

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;

Fools despise wisdom and instruction. 

Proverbs 1:7

A hot and tired Joshua made a friend

The heat index on this day was 103. Joshua was hot and tired from a long day at work. When he came home, he came to see me where I was working outside. As Joshua made his way to me, a tree frog jumped on his arm and then onto his forehead. Joshua announced himself with "Mom, I have made a friend."

I think she likes Caleb :-)

Inside the Creation Museum

Adam names the animals.

the gift of Eve

"This is a result of running around naked and taking baths together," I said out loud in the museum.
People laughed.
Well, most of them. :-)

Cain standing over the corpse of Abel.

I believe this was a depiction of Noah.

Inside the Ark Encounter 3

Friend of a Friend Missing

HE HAS BEEN FOUND SAFE!

https://www.wavy.com/news/local-news/james-city-county/jcc-police-seek-publics-assistance-with-locating-a-missing-man/

Click the link for a picture of him.

I do not personally know this man, but I am friends with a friend of his. 

"JAMES CITY COUNTY, Va. (WAVY) — James City County police are asking for the public’s hlep tin find a missing Hampton man they consider to be in danger.

Police say Trevor Gruchow was reported missing at Busch Gardens on Sunday around 9:30 p.m.

The 52-year-old man was last seen in the area of Busch Gardens’ England parking lot and is believed to have not left the area by vehicle. He does not have access to any communication devices, police say.

Gruchow is 5 foot 10 inches tall and weighs 220 pounds. He has short black/gray hair and brown eyes. At the time of his disappearance he was wearing green camouflage athletic shorts, a maroon “Vans” T-shirt, green checkered shoes and a braided bracelet on his left ankle. Additionally, he has a Polynesian tribal tattoo on his right calf.

Anyone with information about Mr. Gruchow’s whereabouts should contact 911 or dispatch immediately at 757-566-0112."

Amanda's Fridge

From years of helping Clint, Amanda knew how to do her own diagnostics, but she had to leave for work. She asked for help so we went to troubleshoot the compressor on her refrigerator. Clint put a meter on the compressor and saw it was fine. When Amanda finally was able to look at it later, she found burn marks on her floor and wall which led her to the problem. When she pulled the fridge out to clean and pushed it back, a wire must have been pinched. She spliced that back together, and her fridge is working again. The skills her Daddy taught her keep paying off.

While Clint checked the compressor, I washed the few dishes in the sink, bathed Twinkie, stared into her reef tank, admired her many plants, and played with Twinkie (tiny chihuahua), Orange (cat), and the shy little kitten she just rescued from the road.

Inside the Ark Encounter 2