Tomorrow . . . . . .

Tomorrow is a day that I have dreaded all summer long.

Tomorrow we will wake up early, load the cars, and drive two hours south.  

Tomorrow, we will take our beautiful daughter, Alex, to college.

Tomorrow afternoon we will drive home alone, just her dad and I.  Yes, there will be tears.

Tomorrow night she will sleep in her dorm room.  I wonder if she will rest.  Will she be excited, nervous, scared??

Tomorrow night before I go to bed, I will walk into her empty bedroom next to ours.  Yes, there will be more tears.

Tomorrow night I will go to bed and pray, just like I always do, for God to watch over both of my children and keep them safe.  I will pray for God to lead them and guide them in every aspect of their lives, and in every decision that they make.  I will pray for my children to resist the temptations of this world, and always keep their hearts close to Him.  But tomorrow night's prayer will be a little more emotional.  Because tomorrow night's prayer will require some extra faith on my part.

Tomorrow I would appreciate your prayers for our family as we experience one of the most natural, and yet unnatural events in life . . . dropping a child off at college.

Tomorrow, I will leave a piece of my heart in another town.

Tomorrow is almost here.

Beachin'

Well, after being gone what felt like FOR-EVER we are back from our trip.

Oh my goodness, I don't even know where to begin.

We had such a fantastic time.  I mean A FANTASTIC TIME!!!

Thank you all for praying for a safe trip for us.  I felt your prayers, I really did.  The hurricane stayed completely away from us, we had blue skies and sunshine, just perfect weather.

We did some snorkeling on Grand Turk.

What a beautiful island!

The Dominican Republic was gorgeous!

And the island of Curacao was just breathtaking.  

The beach in Aruba was just gorgeous.

Yep, that's me, with my friend the stingray.  Gibbs Cay, Turks & Caicos

As always, the pictures just don't do it justice.  I know you understand.  Pictures just can't capture the color of the water, the blue of the sky, the smell of the sea breezes.

To say we had a ball is a huge understatement.  I wish I could post all of the pictures I took and really go into detail about all the places we visited.  But it would take waaaay, too long, and you probably wouldn't want to read it anyway!! 

I will say that we had an amazing week of mother/daughter time.  I will also say that we were both ready to be home.  We missed home. 

You should also know that, as beautiful as the islands we visited area, there truly is no place like the good old United States of America.  Our country is blessed beyond what we deserve, and you only have to travel outside of the U.S. to see it.  Yes, this country has its problems, and if I were in charge I'd do an awfully lot of things differently, but we truly are the greatest nation on earth.

So as I pulled down my dusty gravel road, got out of the car and smelled the all too familiar aroma of turkey manure I smiled to myself and said under my breath . . . there's no place like home.

Catching Up and another Prayer Request

Wow, I can't believe it is already July 24th.  My mom had her second hip replacement surgery on Monday . . . we brought her home from the hospital yesterday.

She is doing absolutely FANTASTIC!!  Yes, she has some post surgery pain.  But she FEELS great, she has a good appetite, she is up walking around some. Just so blessed.  THANK YOU all for praying for my mom.  I know God answered our prayers and I have prayed for each of you and asked God to bless you for praying for her.

If you don't mind, please keep praying for complete healing, for the pain to subside, for her strength to continue to increase, and for no infection.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.  And thank you Jesus for answered prayer!!!

And now, onto my news about a trip I hinted about a few weeks ago.  My beautiful daughter and I are going on a cruise!!

Our ship sails from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida this Saturday afternoon.  And we cruise to Turks & Caicos, Dominican Republic, Curacao and Aruba!  We will return on Sunday, August 3rd.  

Again, I ask for prayers from you for a safe trip for me and Alex.  And, I hate to admit this, but I would appreciate your prayers for me as I really do not like to fly.  It makes me very nervous.  So please pray for God to just send His peace over me.  I have prayed and asked Him to take away my fear, and will appreciate your agreeing with me.

I will have lots of pictures to post when we return. 

Thank you again for your prayers.  We feel so blessed to be able to take this trip together.  As you know, Alex is heading to college in just a couple of weeks.  And the college she is attending is a couple of hours away.  I am so proud of her, but her moving out is really going to be hard on her dad and I.  So I will need even more prayers . . . needy aren't I???

But God is big, and I don't think He ever gets tired of hearing the prayers of His people.  Or of answering their prayers.  If we could only fathom just how much He loves us . . . . . . .

Have a very blessed day! 

Oh What A Beautiful Morning . . . . .

 Lamentations 3:22-23  "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.  They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness."

Thank you God that You are in control today. Nothing surprises You.  Nothing is too big for You.  Thank you that today, I belong to You and that You hold me in the palm of Your hand.  Thank You for the blessings in my life.  For all of my blessings come from You.  I love you Lord.  I praise You today.  Thank You for saving me.

Please Pray for My Mom

You might recall that my mom had her right hip replaced in April.  Well, she is having the left hip replaced on Monday, July 21st.

Her right hip, her "new" hip, is doing great and she is almost completely pain free.

But the left hip, the "old" hip, is really giving her fits.  Arthritis is wreaking havoc on the joint and she is really in a lot of pain. 

I would appreciate your prayers for a successful surgery, for a quick recovery, and for peace.  She is, of course, nervous about the surgery.  If you're like me, and like to pray for someone by name, know that her name is Donnavee.  I know that God will be in that operating room with her.  He is The Healer.

It is beautiful here in Missouri today.  Temperatures in the 70s, blue skies and low humidity.  Feels more like fall (my favorite) than summer.  This kind of weather is a rarity for the middle of July around these parts.  Thank the Lord for recent rainfall.  We've not had an abundance of rain, but we've had rain every time we've really needed it.

Oh, and something I haven't talked about lately . . . gas prices.  $3.39 per gallon around here.

Next week I'll be sharing some details about a trip my daughter and I are taking very soon.  Passports are required . . . .

Stay tuned, and please keep my mom in your prayers!! 

Change

Good Morning to you (or afternoon or evening depending on when you are taking the time to read this little blog of mine)!!!

Wow.  Can you believe today is the first day of July??  Another year half over.  I can't believe it myself.  Soon the days will get shorter, the temperatures will start dropping (which frankly is fine with me) and fall will be peeking around the corner.  Fall is my favorite time of year, hands down.  And yet, fall means winter is coming.  And winter in Missouri is no picnic.

Yesterday was my husband's 49th birthday.  We are the same age for 9 days.  And then.  And then.  My 50th birthday on July 9th.  Talk about something I can't believe.

I remember when 50 was old.  Seriously.  When I was in my 20s and 30s I really thought someone 50 was old.

I don't feel 50.  I don't feel old.  And those of you who ARE 50 and then some know what I mean.  I don't feel any older than when I was 25.  I really, really don't.

I somehow thought that by the time I was 50 my life would be slowing down.  It hasn't.  I still work full time and  as long as I work full time I will always be busy.  I used to think busy equaled good.  Now I'm not so sure.

But one thing I know, my life is changing.  My handsome son has bought a house and moved out.  I am so proud.  He has finished his first month at his big kid job.  He loves it.  I miss him.  I miss his messy room, and I miss his muddy boots on the floor.  People tell you when your kids are little that you will miss every second of it , and you think "NOT."  But you will.

Not that I'm counting, but we move our daughter to college in 45 days.  45 days until she no longer lives at home. 45 days until it's just back to me and my handsome husband.  45 days until our lives change forever.

Am I sad?? Are you kidding.  I cry just thinking about it.  I am so proud of her.  She will love college life.  She is ready.  I hear people say "I can't wait til' my kids get out of the house."  I have no comprehension of that.  If I could turn the clock back 15 years, I would do it in a heartbeat.  I would enjoy my kids more.  I would cherish every second more.  Because I would realize just how quickly the time would pass.  I guess that's why everyone loves their grandkids.  Because that's your second chance. 

I don't know if I am ready for all this change??  I don't know what I "do" next??  I've been a full-time mom for 21 years.  Now I am just mom from a distance. 

My microwave died last weekend.  The handle broke, so for safety reasons of course it won't turn on anymore.  My microwave oven was 27 years old.   Seriously.  I had had that microwave for over HALF OF MY LIFE.  I walk to the new microwave and I have to actually LOOK at it to figure out how to turn it on. That old microwave, I knew exactly what buttons to push.  But this one . . . really, I just want to heat up some water and a couple of tea bags for iced tea.  Three minutes and 20 seconds, then push start.  But wait?  This new microwave doesn't TAKE 3 minutes and 20 seconds to boil the water.  Change.

Life is so good.  I am so blessed.  And yet all this change is unsettling.  I keep waiting for things to get back to normal.  And then I realize the old normal is over.  Coming home to both kids, over.  My old microwave oven is gone.  I have to find a new normal.

I have less laundry to do.  I have more leftovers.

And I'm trying to figure out how I, ME, fits into all this change.  Because I know that I have to change too.  I can't keep wishing I could turn back the clock. That isn't going to happen.  I have to "embrace change."

How the heck do I do that???

Family Reunion 2014

Last weekend was the family reunion for my dad's side of our family.  You may recall, we have these reunions every two years.  Usually, every fourth year they are in Missouri 1998, (2004, 2008, 2012, 2016).  We were in Las Vegas in 2000, Biloxi, Mississippi, in 2002, San Francisco in 2006, Las Vegas in 2010, and last weekend we were in Estes Park, Colorado.

I had never been to Estes Park before, and I can tell you it is FANTASTIC!!  I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves beautiful mountains, cool temperatures and, NO HUMIDITY!!!

 While we were there, we also took a tour of the historic Stanley Hotel. I love ANY kind of history, so the tour was very interesting to me.  And just so you know, the movie "The Shining" WAS NOT FILMED AT THIS HOTEL!!!  Stephen King spent the night at this hotel, in Room 217, and got the inspiration for the book, but Stanley Kubrick's movie "The Shining" with Jack Nicholson was not filmed at all at this hotel.

The hotel is simply gorgeous.  And we got the history on the twin brothers, F.E. Stanley and F.O. Stanley, and how F.O. Stanley was diagnosed with tuberculosis and sent to the mountains to die.  But he thrived in the mountains near Estes Park. His health was restored and he actually built this building as a GUEST HOUSE so his wife could invite their friends to spend summers there.  The property wasn't used as a hotel until the 1930s.

If you ever get a chance to head to this part of Colorado, I would highly recommend Estes Park.  It is a neat little town with lots of shops, and a beautiful river walk area. 

We had a fantastic time!!  And we had about 80 people attend the reunion.


Blessings to each one of you!!