Soccer is over

The soccer season is over. And as promised a picture. We played our last 2 games in 30 degree weather. Chilly! We did win our division, but lost in the playoffs. We played a team that was in the highest (meaning they were better players) division. So, it wasn't surprising that we lost. We gave a good fight, but in the end they were just better... A lot better.

This is a picture from the first cold night. The game was at 8:30 pm and so it looks dark and cold and it was. It might have been in the 20's. This is my friend Rosanne. She is the one that told me about the team! Yeah for Rosanne! I was sad to peel the layers off at the start of the game. The hardest piece of clothing to part with was my hat at game time. Anyway, here we are.

Updates

I haven't written in a while and now it will be even more sporadic as our computer at home has just died. Sad, sad day. All my fun pictures I was going to post were on that thing. What a love/hate relationship is going on now between the computer and myself. When I see it, I want to give it a drop kick, but then I remember we can still salvage some stuff from it so I release the urge.

Here are some updates:

1. For all of you out there that have been concerned about my black sweater. I have found one. Target came through for me in the clutch.

2. Auburn lost the game that ADB and I went to at Ole Miss. Not a huge surprise since they haven't had a winner season this year. Nonetheless, it was fun to see the Grove and Ole Miss and all the tailgating that goes on. It is huge here in the south. Also, before the game, there were parachuters that landed on the field (amazing) as well as 2 jets that flew over the field (also amazing). I had pictures but they are under lock down on the dead computer.

3. We were so excited for all the trick or treaters that we would have this year living in a neighborhood. So, I went out and bought all this candy...well I bought 3 bags which is a drastic increase in candy that we have ever had to buy. Living in NY, we only had like 3 people even come to our door. In preparation for the big night, I asked my neighbor how many people would actually come and the number of bags I needed to buy. I didn't want to be that house that ran out of candy. No one would ever come to our house again. She said I needed more. So, off to the store I went to buy more. Needless to say, we didn't have very many trick or treaters. We had way more than in NY, but we had lots of candy left over. Good to know for next year. Also, that same day, ADB wanted to get a chiminea. So, we got one. We put it together and had a little fire going to all that passed by. It was a little chilly that night. One little boy came up to the chiminea, got some candy and commented on how cool the chiminea was then said to ADB, "I respect this house." Not exactly sure what that means, but hey at least he respects it. We got a good little laugh out of that one.

4. We waited an hour and 15 minutes to early vote for the election. This was something totally new to us. After living in a small town in upstate New York for seven years, we have never had to wait in line for an election or even consider early voting. In fact, I don't know if it was even an option. So, in line we waited to vote before Nov. 4th so we wouldn't have to wait in an even longer line that day.

5. My soccer team lost its first game last night. At game time, it was low thirties. That's cold for Memphis. I was a bit chilly. Feeling in my toes was only gained after 20 minutes of playing. So, my conclusion is that we don't do well in the cold...and the other team passed extremely well. Playoffs are next week...we shall see how we do.

Now I am in Colorado visiting my sister. Her husband in out of town for business, so I'm here to help with the two kids. They are 4 and 20 months. Thus, the computer access as well.

October went by fast!!

Well this update is way overdue!!

October has been a busy month for us. Let me catch you up on the happenings of our household!

October has been visitor month. We have been blessed to have so many visitors stay at our humble abode. We LOVE to have people stay with us! I mean we do have 2 extra bedrooms. One has a queen bed in it and the other has a bunk bed. So, we could possibly open up as a bed and breakfast, but I don't think I'm ready to start the breakfast thing yet. :)

We had ADB's Mom stay the first weekend. We went to a Fall Crafts Fair. Lots of crafts. The neatest thing we saw (ADB's favorite) was this guy who makes 1700 style furniture. He had a chair that has an attached little desk with candle holder. Cutest thing ever and really comfortable. We were so tempted to buy one, but some drawbacks were he has a 2 year waiting list and the chair costs about $800. So needless to say, we just walked away with a pamphlet and no chair. While she was here, ADB decided to trim some branches off a tree in our backyard. He used this tree or pole chainsaw. I can't remember what I was doing while all this excitement was going on, but ADB's Mom was there to watch and call emergency services if they were needed. He did great and no phone calls were made. Yeah for safety!! Here he is with his machine and Bailey.

We also had a friend come from Ohio. He worked on Guest Services with ADB at camp. While he was here, he helped ADB cut up all the big branches into little firewood and throw out a bunch of the small stuff/brush. We are hoping to get one of those cool outside chimney things. We just need to tear down our shed in the back first. Anybody want to come visit and help us do that??? The next week, a friend from New York came to visit. It was so great to see them both.

Then, we had a brief drop in from another friend from New York as well. He flew in for some business, but then had to get going so we only spent some time in the afternoon with him. Here is a little photo:
Did you notice we are wearing shorts?? The weather is amazing. It is 60's (maybe a low 70) in the day and gets down to 40 during the night.

The next weekend, I ran in a 5k race for breast cancer. I think this was the most people I have ever ran in a race with before. There were so many people. I don't think I got to the start line until a minute after the race actually begin. Then for the first mile we were running around other runners and walkers trying not to trip anyone accidentally along the way. It was a fun time. I went with four other girls and we had a blast. I wish I had some pictures, but they are experiencing some computer problems, so no photos as of yet.

My soccer team is still undefeated and we are winning our division. Our last game, we had a potential fist fight break out. Never a dull moment with our team. I think we have gone one game without a card of some type.

Tomorrow, ADB and I are heading out to Ole Miss for the Auburn/Ole Miss football game. My first SEC football game!! Lets go tigers!! WAR EAGLE! I'll try to post some pictures soon!

Soccer Update

We are still undefeated!! No goals scored by yours truly, but I have had some shots...nothing to write home about except one of them did hit the goal post. Disappointing that one didn't go in. For a real run down of the games, you can talk with ADB...my faithful spectator from the sidelines. He's great at describing my shot that hit the post...he adds the comments that were made from the bench. No pictures yet, but maybe one day I'll have ADB snap a shot.

Little Black Sweater

Well, I have some sad news to report. My little black sweater will be entering sweater forever land. I don't know about you, but my little black sweater is a must for my wardrobe. You know the ever reliable piece of clothing. It goes with everything for all of the seasons. Don't leave home without if kind of clothing (very much so for me since I'm cold all the time). I was in a grocery store one time and of course freezing in there so I pulled out my handy black sweater from my bag and put it on. My friend was like where did you get that from? I said from my bag (still don't carry a purse, just my rugged mountain bag with heavy duty bottom - which I have a funny story about and am thankful for the durable waterproof bottom - I'll have to tell that story at a later date). Anyway, she thought it was so handy and so called it my little purse sweater. She was making fun of course as do most people who find out I carry a sweater everywhere I go, but it has been a life saver for me and it goes with everything...

The sad news is I found a hole in the elbow the other day. It already had holes in both cuffs, but I was able to cover those up without too many people noticing... a hole in the elbow is a bit more noticable. I didn't realize it until the other day when I felt a little breeze come across my elbow. In shock, I felt the elbow and found the disappointing hole. How did this happen? That really isn't that hard of a question since I wear it pretty much everyday.

So, on the hunt I go for the perfect black sweater. I'll be in mourning for a bit, and have to find a substitute for the time being, but never fear...the purse sweater will be back and it will be black!!

First Game

We won!! Yeah! Our record is 3-0. I missed the first 2 games because of two reasons, 1. I signed up late and didn't know the first game happened until it was already over 2. I didn't get my picture in on time. Didn't really know that was a major thing until they told me I couldn't play. Anyway, all that to say, I'm in and playing. What excitement and fun!

I was a bit nervous when I stepped into my cleats I hadn't worn in quite a while. Good thing they still fit. I played the whole game (you have to have 4 girls on the field at all times - and we only had 4 girls there). I was hoping for a sub at several points in the game.

A few things I noticed:
1. I'm not as fast as I used to be. Am I getting older?

2. It takes a bit for the men to pass a newcomer the ball. Not that I'm blaming them (they don't know me or my skills), but passing is a key element in soccer. I'm sure they didn't want to pass the ball to me and then me end of losing it, but there is always that risk in soccer.

3. Running several times a week for a half hour is not good conditioning for playing a soccer game. I am so sore!! The night after I played, I awoke at 2:30am and was wide awake. I mean not a bit of tiredness in me. Since my body was in pain, I decided to stretch and drink some gatorade. I'm sure there were electrolytes that weren't replenished. This is when I'm thankful for a dog. I didn't want to wake up ADB, so I went to the living room and of course Bailey comes in too. What a great companion!! So, there I am stretching and drinking Gatorade with my puppy at my side. I did eventually head back to bed. ADB didn't even know I had left when I asked him in the morning. Guess I was super quiet.

4. I need some new shinguards. My old ones are pretty nasty, but they will do for a few more games.

5. I need to add some elements to my workout so I'm not so sore next week. My husband's office mate and some other people run some sprints in the morning at a track. I'm going to try to join them next week.

I'll keep you posted on how we are doing! I'm hoping that next week I won't be so sore. It's been a while since my muscles have cried out like this.

Back in the Saddle or should I say cleats!

After almost a decade (well maybe it hasn't been that long) of having my cleats rest in a box in Virginia, they have made the trip to Memphis. That's right...I am now a member of a coed soccer team here in Memphis. A little scary to be on a coed team (men can be a bit intense at times on the field, but then again I've met some women that can be intense as well). I am pretty excited to be playing competitive soccer again. It's pretty intense...not one of those maybe I'll wear shin guard leagues, you definitely want to have those guards in place with socks pulled up.

A friend of mine was a member of a team last year and asked me if I wanted to join this year. It was almost a no brainer question...I did have to think a little bit about it being coed. After searching my house up and down looking for my cleats (which I could have sworn were here in Memphis), I made the call to my Mom to see if they were in my room at home. I guess I really thought I would never put on those cleats again which would explain why I didn't pack them and bring them to Memphis. Oh, but my competitive spirit just isn't dead yet.

I'll keep you posted on how the team is doing and how I'm fairing out there on the pitch (as they say in soccer).

Where does the time go???

I can't believe it is August 18th. What happened to the days. As I think back, I can't really remember what went on in July. I do remember it was hot and I mean hot. I was even sweating and as most of you know I don't really get hot in fact I spend most of my time being cold. But let's not dwell on what I can't remember and move on to what happened at the end of July, beginning of August!

The last weekend in July, ADB's Dad and his wife came to visit. It was really hot when they were here and so we didn't really venture out that much. I mean over 100 degrees. We did venture out one day to the zoo. Memphis does have a pretty good zoo. It is known for it's pandas, which I wasn't really impressed with since they just sat hunched over eating bamboo. They looked lethargic, but I might be too if I was kept in zoo. Anyway, did I mention it was hot. Well it was and so here we are walking around the zoo sweating. Maybe not the smartest idea we have ever had, but it was fun. Here are some of my highlights at the zoo.

THE GORILLA:
He was so funny. Just sat there saying this is my territory. This beast looked so strong. He has some serious muscles. The zoo keeper was out and about at the gorilla area and we found out that he had beaten one of the female gorillas (there are two of them) and so they separated them until he can be civilized around them. If I was that female, I don't think I would want to see the male gorilla again.

THE POLAR BEARS:

They were my favorite. Polar bears are really big. Their paws are huge. They have this pool they swim in where we can see underneath as they swim. For such a huge animal, they sure do swim fluidly. Their front paws do all the work, while the back paws just tuck under the body. I might have to try this the next time I'm in the water although I don't think it will work the same. I think I could have sat watched them swim all day.


ADB's Dad left on Monday. On Thursday, we flew to Virginia to see my family. My sister from Colorado was there as well. We had a fun time with my two nephews. They are pretty active and so you have to be ready for them. I think our favorite time with them was giving them rides in the wheelbarrow. ADB would grab one handle and I would take the other and then we would race down the lawn. Good exercise. I don't have photos yet, but I will hopefully post some soon.

We came back on Sunday and then on Monday headed out for a staff retreat. When we came back on Wednesday we were beat!

The hardest thing about our travels was leaving Bailey. He is such a sweet dog. He was so good while we were gone. Our neighbor watched him. I think I can brag about our dog because ABD and I have had no part in training him to be such a good dog. He came to us already trained. He waits at the door until you tell him he can come in and every night when we go to bed, he gets in his bed in the other room without us telling him. I could go on, but I won't. I thought I would post another picture. I hope to get an action shot of his favorite past time...fetching the stick. He loves it and would do it all day long.


Last but not least. I'm so excited about the Olympics, but wished I lived in California or at least that time zone so I could watch it all. We have stayed up so late yelling at the TV for people to swim faster, work harder, get to balls, not fall in gymnastics, etc. It's fun. Every time the theme song goes on, I sing along. GO USA!!

First Fruit

Wow! It's been a bit since I've posted anything on my blog. We've had a bit of trouble reconnecting our internet here at the house, but hopefully we have it all set now. Since my last post, we have officially moved into our house. It was slow moving there for a bit. We would move a little each day and then you just have to decide tonight is the night we are sleeping in the house. That meant making the last push cleaning out the refrigerator, cleaning the current house we were in and cleaning the bathroom of the house we were moving into and doing all the last minute things. It was a late night, but we are in!!!

I thought you all would enjoy some before and after pictures. Here is the before and after of the family room and kitchen:


Before and after of the kitchen:


This summer I've decided to try my hand at growing tomatoes. Growing up, we had a garden and it was great to have fresh vegetables. Before I planted a garden, I thought I would try growing tomatoes in buckets to see how they would do. So, I planted my three little plants, watered them, talked to them and behold...fruit.



I planted 2 cherry tomatoes and then one big tomato plant. The cherry tomatoes have been the first to be ripe. I was really excited when the first tomato was ready to be picked. I wanted an extra day just to be sure that it was ripe and ready. The next morning I went out to pick the tomato. I was getting ready for this big celebration. The first fruit. I thought it was a big deal. Well, I went down to the plants and couldn't find the ripe one. What happened?? I immediately thought ADB was playing a joke on me. He thinks I'm a little obsessed with the tomatoes anyway and so he would do this as a joke. So, I ran in to find the culprit. I was a little upset at this point. After accusing him of stealing all the joy out the first tomato by picking it, he simply said he didn't do it. What?? Well then who did?? I went back out to see if it had fallen on the ground or if I just simply missed it. Well, I couldn't find it anywhere. I asked Bailey if he took the tomato, but that wasn't much consolation as dogs don't talk. But Bailey is really a good dog and doesn't even go near the tomatoes so I knew it wasn't him. It may have been a squirrel or chipmunk. I seriously considered putting up cameras to monitor the tomatoes. I mean I don't want it to happen again and I want to catch the culprit. They must pay!! Needless to say, no cameras were put up and I just had to come to grips with the fact that I wasn't going to know who did it. Here is a picture of the first tomato before it was stolen.
I have had other tomatoes ripen and they haven't been stolen. So, it still is mystery what happened to that little guy.

Here are the big tomatoes on the vine. They are coming along quite well.

I'll keep you posted if I figure anything out with the little tomato.

Bailey

On Sunday, we got a dog!! He is a black lab as you can see from the photos. He is somewhere around 7 years old. We got him from a friend of ours who bought Bailey for his brother, but after a series (several series and seven years later) of events he has now come to live with us! Yeah!!

Bailey is a great dog. He is pretty low key and obedient. Not a high maintenance dog at all. We can leave him at home inside and not worry that things are going to be torn to shreds when we come back. He sits and stays. Pretty impressive. Down is a foreign word to him. When you throw the ball, he will sit and stay when you throw it and wait for you to say get it before he moves. We're going on tour soon.

Here's a little story and then we'll get to the pictures. On Monday morning, I thought I would go for a run with Bailey. Kind of see where he is endurance wise. Well, he did great for the first half mile. I thought this is going to be great. A new running partner. Then, he kind of slowed down for the rest of that mile. Mile 2 came and I could tell that Bailey was not going to run anymore, so I thought we will just speed walk for the rest. The next two miles were a little difficult. I was coercing Bailey to keep up. Needless to say, I don't think Bailey will be the new running partner. We need to do some training first...



Not a super great picture. But he is cute!


He always does this cross the leg thing when he lays down. Not sure why, but we think it is funny. He is so black...at night when we let him outside, we can't even see him. We just listen for the jingle of his collar.

Flying across the Mississippi

This post is a little overdue seeing that these pictures are from the end of May. ADB's Aunt, Uncle and cousin came to visit us at the end of May. His cousin has his pilot's license and so they flew down from Ohio in this plane. ADB and I had the opportunity to go up in the plane with him. We went up for a ride when they came to visit in the Adirondacks. It was great to be able to go up again. This time we flew over the Mighty Mississippi.

Here is a picture of ADB and I in the plane. ADB is in the front seat and I'm in the back.

While in the air, we get to wear these fun headsets. Don't worry ADB isn't doing anything to fly the plane. He justs sits in the front seat.

There she is...the Mighty Mississippi. The tugboats are down there pushing some cargo. This is actually in Mississippi. We weren't able to fly over the downtown Memphis area of the Mississippi.

The sunset.
It was a fun trip in the air.

OHIO

This past weekend, we traveled to OHIO to attend ADB's cousin's wedding and to bring back some furniture that his family was giving us. What a trip!! We also got to see a Dayton Dragon baseball game. Not sure what league they are in, but those chosen from the Dragons get to play for the Cincinnati Reds. I don't have the baseball lingo, but I hope you get what I mean. The Dragons lost, but we did get to see a home run and some stolen bases (unfortunately it was the other team that was stealing the bases.)

The wedding was great and as always good to see family. Here is a picture of ADB and I before the wedding. This picture is mainly for my mom who couldn't believe that I bought a dress that was pink. Okay, it isn't all pink, but for those of you that know me...pink has not been in my wardrobe. Lately it has been making some appearances, such as the dress below. I really liked the pink bow.

This is ADB's brother. What a great photo!!

This is the trailer we hauled back to Memphis. Men hard at work securing our valuables. Only to have it undone a few miles down the road to pick up another piece...a 7 foot bookcase. Thanks family for the furniture. Can't wait to get it all tidy and set up in our house.


That was the weekend. Quick with a lot of driving! But saw some pretty countryside in Kentucky.

Pictures of the House

Here are some more pictures of the house.




The front of the house.


The Kitchen and the Family Room/den. This is one of our favorite parts of the house.

Screen porch and back yard area. Screen porch is another bonus for us!


Those are pretty much the highlights!! We haven't moved in yet as we are having the hardwood floors redone and are going to do some painting!


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A Home!

We just closed today on our first home!! Exciting and a blessing! It all started two months ago. I went up to New York to help out with a Mother/Daughter Retreat. When I came back, ADB told me we had an appointment at a house the next morning. He had already looked at it and talked with the owner over the weekend and was pretty much set on buying it, but one little thing...I hadn't seen it yet. So, the next day, I went to see it and loved it. I'm not sure yet if I want to go out of town again...not sure what we may be buying next.

Then was the long two month wait for us to close. Today finally came and we are now the proud owners! After we finished signing our names five hundred times, we went and bought a lawn mower. I don't have a picture but I'm sure I'll put one up soon. ADB loves it! Now what you've been waiting for...the picture of the house.


This picture was taken in early April. I will need to take a new picture with all the flowers and leaves on the trees and the green grass. It makes a difference. I'll also take some pictures of the back yard and maybe one of the inside. I'll post those soon, so stay posted!!

Parents in Memphis

My parents came to visit Memphis last weekend. It was great to have them here! A highlight of the weekend was taking them to the Memphis in May BBQ Cooking Contest. Since Memphis is known for its BBQ, I knew this was the place we needed to be. It was definitely an interesting time. We saw a lot of sights and also were able to eat some BBQ from a booth. You can't taste people's BBQ unless you has a pass to their booth. Well, we had a pass to the Hog Wild booth. My parents were able to taste some authentic Memphis BBQ. Here are some pics:


In front of the sign. The Mighty Mississippi is on the left.


My mom and I in front of a huge BBQ. It kind of looks like a big apple. We had just had a sample of some pork loin. So good, we made our own on the grill the following night.

Some other highlights from their visit:

1. Chipping in the backyard. Yes that is with a sand wedge and you have to try to get it into the bucket. ADB was the only one to get it in the bucket. I came close, but no cigar. We did this a lot.
2. Playing pool.
3. Playing the Wii. (Thanks Rob and Tiff)
4. Eating waffles with my new waffle maker.

Kayaks

When we left New York, I wondered if we would use our kayaks in the near future. Our move to the south was looking bleak with places to kayak. The Mighty Mississippi was a scary option as I think that river is the grossest thing I've ever seen and I think that if any water from that river ever touched my skin it would eat my skin. So...I was learning to be content with the idea of riding in these huge water ditches they have in Tennessee. Not sure of the exact name, but when it rains (and it has been raining a lot here) they fill with water run off. There is one really close to our house and it had just enough water for the kayak to float, but not much more.

Well...here's the good news. There is a lake nearby (2 hours away). A pretty big lake. Our neighbor has a house on the lake. We went there this weekend and took our kayaks. After traveling through hazardous weather. There was a tornado warning in the area we were traveling through. The only reason we knew this was because of a radio interruption (you know the one with the long buzz) that came on and told us. I didn't know we were moving into tornado country!!

Anyway, we took our kayaks or rather our neighbor took them in his truck. So, on Saturday, there we were paddling along in our kayaks. We love those things. So relaxing! We did the usual and toured the coastline looking at houses. I will try to post a picture soon. We only took a couple pictures of the lake. It is pretty though. Just wanted to let you all know we were in our kayaks.

P.S. (can you do p.s. on a blog) An ice cream truck just passed our house. I didn't think those things still existed. Guess they do in our neighborhood!!

Remember

I am a forgetful person. That is why I make lists. I actually like to make lists so I can see my progress and check things off. Love that check mark! I also get frustrated when I am talking with someone and then forget what I was about to say. Where do those thoughts go?? It's not like I had to remember my thought for a long time. Just a few seconds. I try so hard to jog my memory with what I was just thinking about, but to no avail...that thought is just lost.

This past Sunday the pastor of the church we are attending was speaking on II Tim 2:8-13. We are going through II Tim and it has been great and challenging. One of those get off your rump and get to it chapters. We studied guarding and entrusting and enduring. I could go on, but that is not what this post is about.

In verse 13, it says, "Remember Jesus Christ..." Small statement, but has a lot of punch to it. Remember Jesus!! Remember the Gospel!! Why do we need to remember?? Because we forget so often what Jesus has done. We forget who He is. We forget His purpose, His life, His love, His mercy, His death, His resurrection...and on and on. We get so enthralled with our own lives that we forget to look at Jesus. This really hit me. I think recently I have been forgetting to remember Jesus. I get sucked into the woe is me thoughts and forget. The Christian life is not an easy ride life. The pastor said several times this statement..."Nothing worthwhile is ever easy." This is so true.

So, when I get these woe is me thoughts, I need to remember Jesus. Look to Him. Remember the gospel. What great things He has done for me. Take the curveballs of life and glorify Christ with them. It could even be the everyday things of life and glorify Christ. Remember the many blessings God has already given me. Remember the many times He has been faithful. Rejoice and be thankful. There was a pastor on the radio that once said, "Would I still be thankful if the only thing Jesus did for me was die on the Cross?" Immediately I was like, yes of course. But then I really started thinking. Would I? I want to be.

The pastor also spoke about setting up Stones of Remembrance around your home. Little things that remind you of Christ. Things that point to show you how the Lord has blessed you. Things that remind you that He is faithful and how he has brought you through the tough times. They did this in the Old Testament to remember how God brought them through the Red Sea. I thought this was such a good idea. It could be pictures of people the Lord has used to shape you into a godly person, symbols of things the Lord has brought you through, etc. The purpose being to remind you and then when people ask about the picture or object to then tell them of the Christ. Remembering Jesus all the time. I want to be more intentional about setting up Stones of Remembrance. Things that will point me to Christ when I forget.

Remember Jesus Christ!

A Visit

ADB's Mom came to visit us from Ohio last weekend. Here are some pictures of the weekend.

On the night she arrived, ADB did some famous grilling. We had kabobs for dinner. Shrimp, chicken and beef. Men love meat. Our neighbor joined us for dinner. This picture is a little fuzzy...it's not your computer. Good ole Drake helping out.

This is a picture of the ever famous Beale St. in Memphis. Beale St. is where a lot of the Blues artists get their start. This is where I saw the Elvis Impersonator a while back.

They were having a Corvette show the day we went down to Beale St. I don't think I have ever seen so many Corvettes. If that is your thing, you would have been in heaven.

One evening we ate at Corky's Restaurant. Memphis is known for their BBQ. Corky's is one of the best BBQ places in town. The traditional appetizer is a sausage plate: sausage, cheese, BBQ sauce on a saltine cracker. It's good!

A visit to Memphis would not be the same without a trip to see the Bison. The wildlife of Memphis.

This is a quick summary, but we had a great time!

Where Have I Been???

What a slacker I have been!! It has been almost a month since I've posted anything. Well, let me catch you up on the rest of March and beginning of April.

At the end of March, my lovely friends from New York flew me up to help with a Mother/Daughter Retreat. What a blessing that was for me!! It was so good to see them and be apart of the weekend. The theme for the weekend was True Beauty with the theme verse being from Psalm 34:5, "Those who look to Him are radiant." The weekend was full of fun and even included the Island of Beauty Pageant. For more on the pageant, click here. On a more serious note, the weekend challenged me to love the Lord more! In one of the sessions, the speaker really brought home the fact that if we love God, we will obey His commandments. The emphasis wasn't on obeying, but on loving. Many times when we hear this taught or preached the emphasis is on obeying the Lord. The focus then becomes on obeying and trying to obey and doing, doing, doing. All of this is in our own strength which is often why we fail at obeying. Her emphasis was on loving. If we love the Lord, then we will naturally obey Him from the overflow of our love for Him. It just made sense. Where is our focus?? On Jesus as it should be and not on the things we are doing or not doing. It really challenged me to pray for a deeper and greater love for the Lord. Fill me with your love so that I obey out of love and not just because I am told do such and such. This really made me clearly see where I can be legalistic in our faith. Are we doing it just to obey or is it because we just love the Lord so much we can't wait to do what He is telling us? Impactful.

After the retreat, I headed home. The next weekend ADB left for a golf tournament. They left on Thursday and came back on Sunday. It was a weekend filled with golf with 16 other men. I think he was in his dream world for a bit. Although his team didn't win (boo hoo), he did hit the longest drive and he even won a prize. You go babe! The prize...Coffee!! What a fitting prize for ADB (he loves coffee).

Then on Tuesday, we had our Banquet for the ministry we work for. ADB and I were in charge of the set up and organization. There were about 450 people there...a big event. So Monday and Tuesday were spent getting ready and doing last minute things for the banquet. Crazy!! In the end, it was a great banquet...now to start planning for next year. Well, not really.

I wish I had a picture to post because it is spring down here in the south. All the trees are flowering, things are turning green. I just love this time of year. Maybe I will take a picture soon and post it so I can share this spring cheer.

5 Years!!

On March 1st, ADB and I celebrated our 5th year wedding anniversary! Has it been five years already!?! To celebrate, ADB and I decided to vacation in Sedona, Arizona. Well, actually, ADB planned the trip as a surprise, but couldn't keep the secret and so told me where we were going. I was so excited. I have never been to Arizona or seen the Grand Canyon!

Sedona is in the northern part of Arizona about 2 hours north of Phoenix. Beautiful landscape. It is known as the Red Rock Country. Amazing! We spent most of our time hiking the different trails to the Red Rocks and up the Red Rocks. Here are some photos:

This one is called Bell Rock. We hiked 3/4 of the way to the top. After a certain point, we couldn't find a trail and didn't want to risk our lives free climbing.

At the top (or what we called the top) of Bell Rock. Aren't the rocks in the background amazing. They just jet up from the ground in these huge formations.

This is the view from on top of Cathedral Rock. We hiked around the bottom of the one right. It was called Courthouse Butte.

Another view the other way.

One day, we drove to the Grand Canyon. It was about a 2 hour drive. The drive was amazing. You drive about 10 miles north of Sedona (where it was about 70 degrees) and you start to see all these pine trees and snow. Yup, we were driving up in elevation. We went from 4000 ft. in Sedona to 8000 ft. We drove through Flagstaff, AZ where people go skiing. It had about a 100 inch base when we went through.

The Grand Canyon was mesmerizing. Such depth and width. If we ever go back again, we want to hike down to the bottom. With the binoculars, you could see paths and even a ranch at the bottom called Phantom Ranch. We even were able to see the Colorado River. Yeah for binoculars.

Right off the trail at the top of the Grand Canyon there were some elk just resting in the snow. Three of them to be specific. My dream was to see a moose, but the elk will have to do. Those things were huge. Yes, that is snow at the Grand Canyon. ADB and I were talking on our way back to Sedona about what a shock it would be to walk up to the Grand Canyon as an early explorer. Or, what if after walking or riding my horse a ways, they stopped a few yards short of the Grand Canyon and decided to turn around. You can't really see it unless you are near the edge. I hope that didn't happen to any of the early explorers because if it did it would be such a bummer. There was extreme greatness within just a few more feet.

We aren't really known for taking a lot of pictures, but on this trip we took over a hundred. So needless to say, there are lots more I could share, but I hope I gave you a good glimpse. If you ever get the chance....go to Sedona!! ADB and I thought about moving there and driving the pink Jeeps that go all over the red rock country (these jeeps are made to go where I don't think any automobile has ever gone before), but pinks not our color.

Snow?

This is what we woke up to on Saturday morning. SNOW! We didn't think they really got snow in Memphis, but we were wrong. Anyway, it was pretty and reminded me of the North. Needless to say, by noon a good bit of it was melting. We hear snow doesn't last that long and so if you want to build a snowman, you can't wait.





The cherry blossoms didn't really know what to think.

Another Tapawingo

When I first came to know my little place of joy aka "Tapawingo". I thought to myself, what an unusual name. I'm sure they must have made this up. After working there for some summers, I found out that there are several places named Tapawingo. A restaurant and yes even other camps, not to mention another girls camp. So, this threw off my idea that they made up this name. As I continue to venture through this great thing called life, I continue to find places called Tapawingo. Just the other day, ADB came home from a men's breakfast with a flyer for a men's retreat. As I perused this flyer (because I want to know all the fun things they will do) I saw the name "Tapawingo". I thought, "How can men and Tapawingo ever be associated together? This is strictly a men's thing he is going to." (A little background here, the Tapawingo I know is an all girls camp. I worked there for many years.) Then I saw it...Tapawingo Golf. What?? A golf course named after my (okay, I know it isn't mine, but it is very dear to me) little precious island. How can this be?? So, I looked online to verify that it was really called Tapawingo. Much to my dismay, there it was. You can check it out yourself. Tapawingo National Golf Club. It is in St. Louis, MO. www.tapawingogolf.com

I guess for some men (including my husband) a golf course could be a place of joy. Tapawingo means place of joy. Well, if he does go on the retreat, I want him to visit this Tapawingo (I'm sure he will jump at the opportunity to place golf) and tell me if it compares to the little island where fond memories do linger. So, my dear Tapawingo sisters, yet another Tapawingo....add it to the list.

Your Unique Design

When ADB and I moved, we were required to take this gifting test by "Your Unique Design". It is not your normal spiritual gift test, instead it focuses on personality traits. This test (or a similar version of this test) was used by NASA in the selection of astronauts because it was so accurate in assessing people. NASA needed to know compatibility of team members and how people were likely to react under stress. That information is to just give some validity to the test.

We all know that we have been "fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalm 139). The Lord has designed us to perform meaningful tasks of service to Him and to others. God has a plan for us. This test helps you to understand your unique design and how the Lord has gifted you. I wish ADB and I would have taken this prior to our marriage. It helps us to understand how we process information, what motivates us, the way we view the world and how we relate to others. Huge things in marriage I have found.

There are 6 different personality parts (that is the term they use for them). I will explain them to you since their titles don't really give you much. These will be brief explanations as each category has such depth. We all have certain percentages of them in our makeup, but certain ones are dominate.

Achiever: An achiever is logical, responsible, organized, have attention to detail and relatively task oriented people. They crunch information without emotion. Achievers view their world through thoughts. They would use a thinking first lens. Deal with the facts and figures. They would have this process, "I want to know the details and I use logic to solve problems." When they agree to do a task, they are faithful to complete it regardless of how long it will take.

Catalyzer: A catalyzer is persuasive, charming, love new things, and love it when a lot is going on. They are risk takers. Catalyzers call others to action. Catalyzers need a lot of action. They love challenge and opportunity. Catalyzers would view their world through action. They would say things like, "What can we do right now?" and "Strike while the iron is hot." They make things happen.

Dreamer: Dreamers are reflective and have a vivid imagination. They don't do well with systems. They need solitude, mainly for time to reflect. They need directives in order to perform a task, but once given direction get the task done. Dreamers like their own space and an easy pace. They are the ones that don't like to rock the boat. They view the world through their reflections.

Energizer: An energizer is playful, spontaneous, love last minute things, and expressive. Energizers don't like rules and have a kind of rebellious energy, a go against the grain. They love a playful contact and self expression. Energizers view their world through reactions. They would say things like, "I either like something or hate it." They love fun and to have fun. Energizers cry, laugh, sigh and jump for joy.

Harmonizer: A harmonizer is compassionate, sensitive and is great relationally. They are warm and nurturing and affectionate. They view their world through emotions. They would say something like, "I care about feelings and my emotions are important to me. They are how I connect and how I know things." They are feeling oriented, meaning they feel an emotion and they know how you feel.

Persister: Persisters are dedicated, conscientious and observant. They have a high value of truth (right and wrong). Experience issues from a black and white point of view. There are few gray areas. They don't compromise. Persisters view their world through opinions. They would say things like, "My values are very important to me." They have strong convictions. They make decisions based on truth and righteousness rather than on what is popular or convenient.

So, now that you know all of these, I hope that has given you insight into maybe who you would be and who others are. It is so important in life to remember that not everyone views things and processes things like you. It was such an eye opener to me. It helps you to look at the needs of others and not just yourself.

I also found that this test will help you to decide where you will best be used. If you are a harmonizer, you might want to choose something that deals with people. Achievers will do well with organization of events, etc. I know they used this for our current jobs to see if we would fit well with our positions. It is good to know you are where you will thrive.

Here is what I scored (not really surprising to me): 100% Achiever and 100% Persister.

ADB is a 100% Harmonizer and 100% Achiever

I could go on and on about how useful this information is, but will just leave it. If you want to do the test yourself then go for it. There is a $35 charge and I think the web address is www.youruniquedesign.com

Amazing!

This photo was taken in Memphis, just further south from where we live. All I can say is "WOW!". Somehow I don't think sitting in a bathtub with a mattress over me will keep me safe if that is heading my way.

As a few of us were marveling at God's Power in this picture, one of our friends remarked that it shows a picture of sin and its destruction since we live in a fallen world. This tornado did do some destruction as it went through. I didn't really think of it that way until he mentioned it. But it definitely shows that as well. The good news is there won't be any destruction from tornadoes in heaven!!

Neat Quote

"Find the things that stir your affections for Christ and saturate your life in them. Find the things that rob you of that affection and walk away from them. That's the Christian life as easy as I can explain it for you."

Matt Chandler

Tornadoes and Drake

After looking at the title, many of you are asking yourself, "Who is Drake?" Well, Drake is our neighbor's dog. The same neighbor who we rent our house from and hang out with all the time. Drake has been and continues to be our overnight guest. Our neighbor is an avid duck hunter and we have kept Drake overnight so he can hunt at a place in Arkansas. Drake is a 14 year old lab and really doesn't do a whole lot. He is the easiest dog to keep since he doesn't do anything. He just follows me around the house wherever I go, even if I leave the room for one minute. He is a pretty noisy sleeper. He sleeps on the floor at the foot of our bed and has some wild dreams. I wonder what he is chasing. We are keeping Drake while our neighbor is skiing in Colorado for a couple of days. We love Drake!! Here is a little photo:


Isn't he cute?? This is the face he gives me when I'm in the kitchen and he wants something to eat.

You may be asking how Drake and tornadoes go together, well hold on here comes the story...

Yesterday we knew there would be some thunderstorms. It was 70 degrees and a cold front was moving in. I've been in some pretty bad thunderstorms and so wasn't really nervous. I just went about my day. My biggest concern was trying to get a run in before the storms arrived. ADB and I had just changed to go running and stepped out the front door when we saw lightening. There went that. Back inside we go. We had our screen door of the sliding glass door open. It was such a warm day especially in February. It has a little dog door on it. Drake hadn't been using it and we would yell at him if he even got near it.

So, there we are at our little abode. Andy is on the phone and I'm doing some stuff for this other part time job I have. The storm is building a bit now and there is rain and wind along with the thunder and lightening. We call Drake just to make sure he is okay. I mean the lightening was pretty fierce. No Drake. What are you kidding? Where is Drake? Now Drake has a history of straying off, but that is only when he is outside without a leash. Then it dawns on us...the dog door. We contemplate for a minute. What do we do? Drake's not our dog, but what if something happens to him? What will we tell our neighbor? So, ADB decides to do a little search around the homes around us. I wasn't sure about this...risking his life for a dog. My options...dog or husband. I mean I love dogs, but not more than my husband. The good news is after a few minutes Drake and ADB come in the door. Yeah, all is well.

Then, all of a sudden we start to hear what sounded like the Speculator fire siren. We do have a fire/emergency station down the road from us and so we hear the sirens all the time...(not to mention the train whistle that blows as well). But this one was a little different and it kept going and didn't stop. I asked Andy what it was and he said...a tornado siren. I started to get nervous and tried to remember what they told us in grade school about what to do during tornadoes. All I could remember was from Wilderness First Aid training at Tapawingo. Go to the nearest ditch and lay on the ground with your hands over your head. This sounded a little absurd since we were in a house. So, instead of doing what we should have (go in the closet and put pillows and blankets over us or get in the bathtub and put a mattress over us) we just looked out the window a lot to see what everyone else was doing and ate dinner. We probably should have gone into some inner rooom of the house, but instead sat in front of our sliding glass door (which was now shut in case Drake tried to escape again and because of the wind) and watched it all.

We were in awe. Probably not the smartest thing, but I've never been in a tornado path before. The siren kept going off. What a scary sound. We hadn't turned on the TV yet to see what was going on. It really didn't cross our mind to check on TV. We thought everything would be shut down anyway with the tornado siren going off. After the first wave of storms went throught, we turned on the TV to see what to expect next. Another band of storms was coming through. The siren went off again around 9:30pm. I was more scared at the night storm because you can't see anything except for the amazing lightening. These big storms always remind me of the Lord and his power. To think at a word the Lord could calm the storm. Amazing.

The guy on the TV even quoted some scripture in Nahum about storms. How the Lord is in control over the storms. I didn't think you were able to do that. I guess things are different here in the South. We didn't experience any damage, but areas around us were hit pretty hard. A mall was damaged pretty bad near us. There was a tornado that did hit down in Memphis, but not in our area of town. We got lots of rain, thunder and lightening and wind.

So we are fine. Another event where we say "Welcome to Memphis!"