Shopping, Ladies Meeting, and One Year of Loss

How much do you love me, mom?
"I LOVE YOU A WHOLE WORLD FULL, KRISTI!"
Isn't she sweeeet?


Ten of us went on a shopping trip/ladies conference this weekend. We had such a good time. There was a lot of laughing, tears, and learning on this trip. I needed it so much and so glad I went!

There was a lot of shopping too. I only went shopping twice. And the first time I wasn't really into it. Just kind of window shopping. But I did kind of get into the second trip. First stop was Old Navy and let's just say Hannah and I are stocked up on flip flops for next summer. Every color they had.

The ladies meeting was this morning (Saturday.) We went to hear Mrs. Kyla Rowland. I had never seen or heard her, but had an image in my head of her. She was nothing like my image. LOL She was tall, a lot younger than what I had thought, VERY SOUTHERN, absolutely hilarious, and she was a really good speaker.

I hope we get to hear her again some day.

~~~~~

Had a session with a sweet family Thursday morning. I don't know about them, but I had so much fun with them. They are funny, funny people! And their little boy is a RIOT! Let me just say he is every bit his two years old, also. LOL

The blue dress shirt he's wearing in the picture below is his daddy's. The plan is for him to have his picture taken every year on his birthday in that shirt until he grows into it or grows out of it. Sweet idea. His daddy is a preacher and that's his pocket Bible he's holding.

Had a great time!

~~~~~

Today is the one year anniversary of my dad meeting His Lord. I mentioned it on facebook and this was one of the replies written. They were all precious to me, and I appreciated them all so much, but because of the friendship we have with this person and because of what they meant to my dad, it was so sweet, I had to share it. I hope they don't mind:

Can you imagine what his first year in heaven was like?

Perhaps it was just as a moment ago when death's river was crossed and he saw the celestial city. Perhaps he is still standing there just beholding it all, since this is the land where time shall be no more. Perhaps he just considered, in this land that is fairer than day, I can't wait for Poopsie and the family to get here.

Heaven's perspective is one we don't fully know. But, the moment when his faith became sight must have been amazing.

He could never have imagined what joy God's presence would bring. He now knows, "eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath entered into the heart of man the things God hath prepared for those who love him."

The body he now has, feels no pain. The strength he stands with surpasses all he last knew here. Just a moment ago he closed his eyes on this side of eternity's veil. He's had a moment to blink and the year on this side of the veil passed.

My father's death, 20 years ago, taught me the only loss in death is for the living who remain.

My sister, I mourn your Dad's absence. I miss his influence as he was a grandfather to my son. Yet, I now look for his fingerprint at church when I am there. I see Larry Birt's finger prints on Justin playing in the orchestra. I see it when Justin tips his head back and the trumpet rises at an angle and he blows with gusto. I see your Dad's fingerprints when the boys from his class walk by my row and I think they'll always have the privilege to say,"Brother Birt was my SS teacher when I was a boy." The world is a better place because of your Dad. I am a better man having known your father.

Today, I will listen to this song many times over and know my friend, "Pop Birt" to my son, Poopsie's husband, and Kristi's dad is finally home.

Finally Home
When alarmed by the fury of the restless sea,
Towering waves before you roll,
At the end of doubt and peril is eternity,
Though fear and conflict seize your soul

Just think of stepping on shore, and finding it heaven
Of touching a hand, and finding it God's
Of breathing new air, and finding it celestial
Of waking up in Glory, and finding it "Home"

When surrounded by the blackness of the darkest night,
Oh how lonely death can be,
At the end this long tunnel is a shinning light,
For death is swallowed-up in Victory, (Victory!)

Just think of stepping on shore, and finding it heaven
Of touching a hand, and finding it God's
Of breathing new air, and finding it celestial
Of waking up in Glory, and finding it "Home"
Finally Home!
...by Don Wyrtzen

See Ya Later!

Here's a few of my favorite shots from the wedding last weekend. Brother Ronn and Mrs. Gayle were so happy. Mrs. Amy and her sister in law, Laura, did a fantastic job on the reception decorations.


These were the favors that were passed out. Brother Ronn and Mrs. Gayle love their coffee. So inside each small, brown bag, was a pack of coffee. On the front of their bag was a picture from their engagement shoot we like to call "Carolina Gothic" and it says "A Perfect Blend." Very cute idea.



The rest of these are the ones that just make me smile.
Here you see Abby peeking around Aunt Amy just before coming down the isle.

The cutie pie ring bearer with the flower girls as the adults smile and think how cute they are.

Brother Mark making a joke and causing Mrs. Gayle to lean back in laughter.

The grandsons of the bride looking, oh so innocent, after making her break in laughter.

A stubborn Abby, whose last several pictures were the exact same pose.

Sweet....just makes me smile. :)

Loving on Papa.

The ever crazy grandsons. Jordan just would not behave!

She got him, folks!

The lovely cake.

The happy, dancing *other* Gail.

Not a fan of slicing through that cake....

No, they didn't shove it in each other's face. And I'm so glad. But they did have an interesting time feeding each other. O_o

Sitting on the makeshift front porch.

Birdseed? What? No way. Let's kill 'em with silly string. That's way more fun.

Mrs. Gayle told him to lift her veil for a kiss. haha

What a fun wedding!! I do believe the bride and groom had a very good day. I haven't tried sharing a link from KLM's facebook page, but you should be able to CLICK HERE to see more pics.

~~~~~~~~~~

After I finish this post I'll be packing my bags to leave for a ladies conference. We always have a great time on these trips and I'm really looking forward to it. It's my understanding that we have a pretty good crowd going this time. I'm glad.

Justin got a job working second shift at a place just five minutes from our house. The Lord sent that to him just in time. Right now it is temporary, but could open up permanently for him in June. We're praying about that. He's still putting in his applications and resumes in at fire stations. He would really love it if something would open up right here at the department he volunteers for. But the Lord knows his heart and his desires. So he's just waiting patiently for something to open.

We had a teacher's workday today. More like a teacher's playday. Hannah, Harrison, and I went to pick up some picture orders, had lunch out, and did some fun shopping for spring and Easter. We had a good time. I loved spending that time with them. They are two great kids, if I do say so myself!

And thus concludes this post. Gonna go pack now. Hope everyone has a good weekend. See ya later!

Still Partyin'!

This past weekend the ladies from our church had a scheduled trip to Mrs. Ava's house in the mountains. We always have a great time while we're there and this time was no different. I was glad that mom was able to go. She really needed the change of scenery and what a scenery it was! It was so peaceful, mom slept pretty much the entire time we were there. How, with all the laughter, I'll never know.


We shared a lot of laughs and very interesting stories. Some I'll never forget. haha



We had way too many sweets in the house. No, really, we did. But Mrs. Janet's grilled chicken and pasta was delicious too!


If it weren't for this lady, it would be total chaos on any trip!

There is NOTHING like the beauty of God's earth. We saw the changing of leaves and families of deer.

I was really disappointed to find I had no single shots of my buddies, Dana and Mander. Or myself, for that matter. Whatever we talked about must have been good enough to keep my mind off taking pictures of us. LOL

At least we got this group shot! I sure do love these ladies!!

Monday night, "The two Gayles" planned a belated surprise birthday dinner for my mom at Olive Garden. The look of surprise on her face was priceless! "The two Gayles" crowned her, placed a feather boa around her neck, and pinned a beautiful corsage on her.

Several friends were able to be there. Joann, mom's co-laborer in Sunday School, is a gorgeous girl. But man, can she make some scary faces!

There were several pranks played. Two by Rebecca. She hid Joann's food when Joann went to the bathroom and then hid her purse at the other end of the table.

She wasn't the only one playing pranks. We were trying to get our server's attention but he was so busy we couldn't get it. So Jeannie decided to call Olive Garden, ask for Brian, and tell him what we needed. It was hilarious! He had a rough time with us, but he was a GREAT sport!

"The two Gayles" had mom a birthday cake with butter cream icing.

When we first got to Olive Garden I told the girls not to say anything. That when Brian asked if we wanted wine I'd answer for us. Sure enough, here he came with a bottle of white wine and asked if we would like some. I whispered to him, "Honey, we're with an AA group tonight." "Oh, ok, I'm sorry..." he said, as he hid the bottle behind him. We just died laughing.

We gave him such a hard time, Jeannie said we should write him a poem. So I grabbed a pen and one of the children's coloring papers and this is what I wrote:

We've really had fun with our server Brian,

No better service, not even at Ryan's

The AA girls can make him turn red,

He probably thinks we all need meds

He even answers private phone calls,

from the crazy, beautiful AA Dolls

So thanks for your smiles and your temperament too,

on top of your tip, this poems for you!

Fill Up My Cup....

We had a great time on the ladies trip and the Lord sure did dump it all over me, just like I prayed He would.

We heard from Kay Chandler, Geraldine Ragan, and Barbara Schultz. They were great!

The theme verse was "O taste and see that the Lord is good..." The decorations was all coffee and coffee cups. Now, I do not do coffee. I don't like the taste or the smell. Especially coffee breath. ICK! LOL But I sure did enjoy how everyone else enjoyed it. We had a good time of fun and fellowship!!

I have several pictures, but I'm not even going to think about uploading them here until Monday or Tuesday.

We had a great time in the Lord this morning and I'm looking forward to tonight.

God is good.........all the time!

With My Hands Open

I'm leaving for a ladies trip tomorrow. I'm looking forward to the fellowship, but I have to say that I'm really looking forward to the Spiritual uplifting part too!

Lately, and especially the last week or so, I feel that everything is knotted up inside of me and is going to burst right out of my chest. I know I'm overly sensitive right now. It's been difficult to control it and I don't know why. Well, I have a few theories, but you know...

I know I don't have to go away to find what He has for me, but I know I need this trip with my Sisters and I know they'll cry with me if I need to. LOL

So as I go on this trip I'm praying the Lord does something for me. I know He will. I'm going with my hands and arms open to receive whatever it is He has for me there. I'm hoping that He will not only fill my hands, but dump it all over me.

WOW! What a great trip! Hannah and I left Thursday with the ladies from our church and were reunited with Bruce and the boys Saturday night. We had a wonderful time visiting with Brother Mark and Mrs. Amy and their church ladies. We visited an Amish community in Ohio, and Hannah and I, along with Moriah, got to take a buggy ride in an Amish buggy. That was a lot of fun.

Hannah started getting sick on Thursday with a lot of congestion settling in her chest. She was miserable Friday night, but I think she still managed to have a good time. I took her to the doctor today. They did a breathing treatment on her and said to continue with the Mucinex she started on the trip and also prescribed an inhaler for her.

Brother Mark was our youth Pastor and now he is pastoring a church in West Virginia. His wife, Mrs. Amy, was our tour guide through Amish country. I can not tell you how wonderful it was to see them again. I really wish they were still here, but I know the Lord has them where HE wants them. But I do love them and miss their entire family so much!

Anyway, I did a picture video of our trip. The music in the background doesn't exactly go with the theme of the video, but all of the songs are being sung by Mrs. Amy. I hope you enjoy her music. That's another thing we miss down here...her beautiful piano playing and singing! I am so thankful for ipods!!! :D

Click here for the video.

Got Gas?

This pump doesn't even have a place for the price of gas to go over 99 cents. Where can we find more of these??

I took this picture on my ladies trip a couple weeks ago. Since that trip, we've seen gas drop almost a dollar. We're averaging here between $2.64 and $2.45. What are you averaging where you live?

Ladies Trip

About thirteen to fifteen of us left Friday morning and headed up to Boone for a little shopping, R&R, and the Wooly Worm Festival.
Mrs. Tammy was driving our van. THANKS, TAMMY!


I was the quiet, more reserved van with Kellie......


Mrs. Freida, and Mrs. Mott.


Our first stop was not too far up the road. Apparently, severaly ladies in our group had been to this little shop called Redbone Willie's. I had never even heard of it. They did not allow cameras in the store and we knew why. They had some great craft ideas in the store, but I was not impressed with their prices....at all. I liked their stuff, but couldn't really see what all the hoopla was about. lol


This was an awesome tire swing hanging on the porch of the shop. Isn't that neat? At least three women asked if Bruce would make them one. Bruce COULD make them one, but I wouldn't hold my breath that he actually WILL make them one. LOL


Mander just couldn't resist.........


The weather was less than perfect when we started out, but thankfully it cleared up as the day progressed.


Kellie just had to get out for boiled peanuts. I won't tell you what she's laughing at. Let's just say I yelled out something embarrassing to her.


Mrs. Janet giving her Vogue pose.


Pretty trees


Mrs. Ava's driveway


We made it to the house about 1:30, I think. That's Mrs. Vondie at the bottom of the first set of steps. She looks like she's going to do something sneaky. She probably was.


We had done a little shopping at an outlet mall before going to Mrs. Ava's. So after we carried in all of luggage, some of us sat down to gaze at our goodies.


And some of us started fixing lunch.


The view from Mrs. Ava's deck.



Vondie and Kalyn were still carrying in things. Kalyn is Mander's sister and it was so wonderful having her with us. But she was so sick with bronchitis and you could tell she was not feeling well. I think that despite having bronchitis she still had a good time. We were all glad she was able to go.


Mott and Christy....mother and daughter.


Kelly


Missy


Lunch time! Mrs. Janet had grilled chicken before we left on our trip. She also made tri-colored pasta and had chicken salad and crackers. That was our lunch, along with the fantastic desserts that a couple of the ladies brought.


After lunch, Janet took those of us staying at the motel to check in. Then we found a mall and did a little more shopping while waiting for April and Mrs. Ava to make it in. We met up with them at the Sagebrush where we had supper.



And of course after supper there was a HUGE debate on the van over Christy voting for Obama. She had my blood pressure worked up with such liberal talk that I was ready to throw her off the van and truly do physical harm. Only to find out that for the last five minutes, she had been pulling my strings and keeping a very straight face the entire time.
Missy was getting a good laugh out of this debate.


We made it back to the house where we chatted for a bit and got ready for bed.


And then we were blessed with Tar-Tar and Wong. Two Chinese girls, new to America starting their spa business. Tar-Tar was giving Mrs. Janet a massage.


And then Tar-Tar and Wong gave everyone manicures and pedicures. But not me....Wong doesn't like me, so I didn't get any of my nails done. :(

After our skit and devotions, Mrs. Janet took those of us staying at the motel back to the motel. I roomed with Mander and Kalyn and next door to us was Freida and Mott. We probably could have all stayed there at the house, but it was a bit crowded. Mander and I stayed up and talked until 4:00 am. And we were both awake at 7:30. I don't get to talk to her as much as I used to when I kept the girls, so it was great. She's such a sweetheart! Love you, Mander!

Saturday morning Mrs. Janet picked us up and brought us back to the house where she had fixed biscuits and sausage gravy and eggs. That was a good jump start to our day. Mrs. Ava took a group of us to the Wooly Worm festival, which by the way, is like going to a Southern Ladies show. Five of us did not go. Mrs. Janet, Mander, Kalyn, Pam, and myself, decided to stay back where it was warm and rest. We were enjoying the quietness and were very upset when the group came back WAY earlier than they we expected them to because they got too cold outside. But that's OK. I woke up when they got back and ate lunch with them. We had a repeat of chicken and pasta. Mmmm! Good thinkin' on that menu, Mrs. Janet!

And to Beverly and Krystin, you were the only reason I hated I missed the Wooly Worm. I was shocked to hear y'all were there and sad to hear I missed seeing you.

We gathered our luggage, loaded up, straightened the house, and made our way back down the mountain. But not before stopping at the Mast General Store. We ALWAYS stop at the Mast General Store. This time the store was PACKED. No doubt due to people in for the Wooly Worm festival.

This post office is still operating, which I thought was neat.

There was a bluegrass group playing in the middle of the store.

And they were giving away apple cider. We were all chilly so the hot cider was just what we needed!

More pretty trees

Supper was at the Olive Garden. My choice would have been a steak house, but I'm afraid majority rules. And wouldn't you know the unending pasta bowls special was over? LOL

We had a wonderful time with a lot of laughs....as usual.

I was so tired Saturday night I couldn't hold my eyes open while trying to tell Bruce stories from the weekend. I slept like a ROCK!