The Start of a Fun Trip

Two weeks ago, a friend of mine was looking for a ride for her daughter and another girl to PA for Passion 2012. I was so excited to be able to take them! Haven't been to PA since August 2011 and we really don't have any plans to go this year anymore. 

I let my sister Chris know that I had 2 empty seats, so she and her son Cody went along, too! :) It was nice to have a second driver!

The kids and I left Tuesday night, July 17 and drove to Chris' house in south GA. We spent the night there and then left her house at 4 AM the next morning.

{There was lots of moisture in the air that morning} :)

We drove to Albany, GA to pick up Karissa Peachey and Danita Hostetler. I was so glad Mark was along to help us load the cargo luggage bag and tie it down good!! The van would have been a little too full without it! 

We got to Dad's about 8:30 PM that night.....we had great travels! No traffic jams, accidents, or bad weather.....PTL!!

Thursday all my sisters came to Mom's to see us.

Lisa holding Gina's little girl, Kinza.

We just sat and chatted! :) My niece Amanda and her daughter Marcy are the whole way to the right.

I walked around and got some pictures of the nieces and nephews, too.

~Whitney, Tamara and Miranda~

The older boys....

Cody, Damian, Stephen, Jared, Zach and Danny

A group of the younger ones....

Addison, Koltin {"drinking" out of a toy baby bottle :) } Desirae and Emily

Older girls with the babies...

Tamara, Whitney holding Kinza, Anne, Miranda holding Kendall and Jodie

Karissa and Danita passing time till we had to head to camp.

And they are still visiting!! :)

My newest niece and nephew. This was the first time I met them!! :)

Kendall Burkholder (4 months old) and Kinza Bergey (6 months old)

Kinza showing off her rolling abilities....Kendall is thinking, "How'd you do that??" :)

Dad was home most of the day.....I wish this picture didn't get so blurry! 

This is so typical of Dad....always whistling...even while paying bills!  :)

We decided to take a "sisters" picture! :)

This was the best one I got.....someone has their eyes shut on ALL the rest!! :P

In order of age.....

Joanne, Chris, Lisa, Juanita, me, and Gina

This one was good too, but Slater got on the edge! :)

At 2 that afternoon, I took Karissa and Danita to Nottingham, PA, a 2 hour drive, to the girls camp. It was fun driving on familiar roads I don't see often and then through Lancaster and down into an area I'd never been in before. I was thankful for my trusty GPS....it got me where I was going every time. :)

As I was traveling down through, I realized that I would be right near the town where Dan's aunt and uncle live and work....they own Resource Rental and Sales near Quarryville. So, I called them and got directions to their store. Aunt Darlene gave us a little tour of the facilities.

I found out later that I was SO close to two of my childhood friends. I wish I had known then, because I haven't seen either of them in quite a few years!

BUT, after leaving Quarryville, the kids and I went and had supper with Marilyn Martin and her kids. It's always a great time!!

Tamara and Lauren playing Polly Pockets :)

After it got dark outside, the boys migrated inside and played baseball on the Xbox.

It was so different this year, having 3 young men, with changing voices and more grown up than last year....in heighth as well as actions! :) Good times!!

Watch for more pics later. We are watching the opening ceremony for the Olympics, so it's kind of hard to think what to type and actually do it, while listening to the show! :) Please pardon mistakes!! ;)

An Accomplishment

Over the past few years, I have pulled out my wedding dress from time to time, just to see if it would fit! I was determined that one day I would wear it again!! I don't remember for sure if I wore it on our first anniversary, but I KNOW that I haven't been able to wear it since then!

So, since last week was our anniversary, I decided to get it out and try it again! :) And.....it fit! :) Granted, my body is not quite the same shape it was back in 1996. Having babies will do that to you! ;) 

But, I am thrilled to reach this big goal in my life! :) 

{Dan thought I should do the hair puff too! ;) Haha...not sure I can pull that off anymore!}

And yes, I still have my bouquet although it is missing a few flowers and is looking a little worn. :)

I love this man! <3 He's such a sport for going along with this picture taking in the middle of a Sunday afternoon! :)

Props to Danny for taking the pictures! :)

So, now my next goal is to weigh LESS than I did when we got married, which I'm not sure how I will judge that, because I don't remember exactly what I weighed, although I have a good idea!

 Dan says that I wouldn't tell him how much I weighed when we got married, so he can't help me out there! ;)

I remember being embarrassed about how much I weighed, but what did I think....that he would love me less if he knew!?? :P So young, I was!

{I love seeing him come home every day. I am so blessed to have a faithful husband!!}

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This morning I woke up at 4 AM. My back was hurting and no position was comfortable, so after tossing and disturbing Dan's sleep for 30 minutes, I finally got out of bed and tried the recliner in the living room. That didn't help much, so I took an Excedrin Back and Body and tried again. {My muscles in my back are so tight!!} I just couldn't fall asleep, so I got up, grabbed my tablet with my "to-do" list for this week, listened to my daily Bible reading on my I-pod and folded a load of laundry left from Saturday! Then I packed Dan's lunch, made him coffee and took him breakfast. 

Yeh, by that time his alarm had went and he was up and getting ready for work.

I've been having a lot of trouble lately....either with falling asleep or waking during the night and not being able to go back to sleep. And I'm not caught up on sleep either! :P I don't know if this is just a part of getting older, or what the deal is?

**********************************

I am really excited that the kids and I have the opportunity to go see my family in PA this week, but I am going to miss my hubby so much!! :( I think he is kind of looking forward to having some alone time, though, so that makes it a little easier to leave him! He's says a guy needs about 1 week a year to himself, so I guess this is his week! :)

The guys serviced the van for me on Saturday, so it's ready for the trip. Danny checked all the fluid levels and the tire pressure, and they both washed it while I cleaned the inside!

So, today we tackle the rest of the list and hope to only leave the packing for tomorrow....we'll see how that goes! :)

16 Years

16 years ago today, I became Mrs. Dan Henry!! :)

This is a pic taken in May this year. :)

I'd say life has been good to us! I'm ready for another 16 years and I know they'll be even better than the first 16!! 

I made a video for Dan with our favorite song and pictures of our life along the way! Hope you enjoy it! :)

{making it full screen makes it easier to see, but it pixelates the pictures more! :P}

Anniversary Day-Away

This Friday, July 13, is our 16th Anniversary!! <3

Last weekend Danny was invited to some friends for a campout from Fri. night till Sunday, so we thought Sat. a perfect day for Dan and I to get away for an anniversary celebration. The only thing was to find a place for Tamara. It's times like this that I miss my family. It took me literally ALL week to find a place for her to stay!! :P And it's not because she's a bad kid or a lot of work!! People are just busy!

Thankfully, my friend Emily offered on Friday, so the date was on! :)

We had originally planned to go to Thomasville, GA because we have a certificate for a bowling alley there, but Sat. morning I did a  little research and discovered the bowling alley didn't open till 5 PM and Thomasville is an hour and a half from here. It just didn't fit well into our supper plans either, so we decided just to go to Tallahassee. BUT, we didn't want to just go shopping! We really were trying to spend as little $$ as possible and really didn't NEED anything!

Our first stop was Alfred Maclay Gardens State Park

$6 for parking

We had never been here before, but we are making plans to go back next spring when the azalea's are in bloom! :)

This was the entrance to the garden and this brick path went the whole way through it. You could also take side paths for more walking.

~Lake Hall~

Enjoying the peaceful lake and the sounds of nature....and each other's company! :)

 One of the "side path's"

Pretty spidery flowers!

This was a cute little garden, in the garden! :) You can't see the pink flowers {above} very well in this pic! :P

Just one of the huge live oak trees full of Spanish Moss!

Another tree that had a branch that grew down to the ground and was starting a new tree off of it!! :O Crazy!

Our next stop was Hobby Lobby....I was looking at dress and skirt patterns for Tamara. Didn't purchase anything, because I want to keep looking! I wasn't real thrilled with their pattern prices! 

Then we went to Eternal Grounds Coffee Shop! 

I had a $10 gift card and we spent $3 over that! 

Dan got a Iced Lemonade and a Pistachio muffin :)

I got a cinnamon roll and a Mocha Frappe'.

They have sofa's, games, magazines, and free wifi! We played our own version of Apples to Apples Bible edition. It was a lovely atmosphere and I hope to go back again!

Next, we went to the Museum of FL History.

The kids and I have been there twice on field trips, but this was Dan's first visit. They put in some new exhibits since we were last there, so that was neat!

Dan hanging out with Mr. Friar Monk Man! :)

When we got back out to the parking garage we discovered parking is Free on weekends! *score!!

For supper, we planned to use a gift card we had for Olive Garden. Well, about half way through the day, we realized that neither of us had grabbed it! ;) *sigh*

So, we decided to eat at Genghi's Grill. 

They bring you a small bowl and you go through a "buffet line" of raw meat, veggies, seasonings, etc. then take your bowl to the grill and they stir fry it....

I had just missed the big flames on the grill....they really like to put on a show! :)

And this is our meals when they brought them to our table....it doesn't look like much, but it is FILLING!!

The best part of mine was the cilantro I added! :)

An evening meal is $9.99 a person plus drinks. Lunch is $8.99.....or for $4 more, you can make it bottomless! We didn't do that....you'd have to have a huge appetite for that!!

It was a really good day! We didn't rush from one thing to the next, just took our time and had FUN!! I can hardly believe it's been 16 years already!! But I am so exited about our future. We are going through the book "Real Marriage" by Mark & Grace Driscoll in our small group and it is really helping us work through issues we have!! I can't wait to see how much better things can be since we are understanding each other's {and our own} quirks better! :)

And I'm also amazed that we are not alone in the struggles of marriage. I know, that sounds weird, but sometimes I just think other couples must have it all together! I'm discovering that is not often the case!!

I thank God for the journey He has placed Dan and I on from that first day we met in August, 1994 till now! 

Cheers to the next 16 years!! :)

Memory Lane..................

Dating Days

{At Fresh Start in IN on chorus tour}

Married, but before kids!

Dan, Danny (2) and Tamara (newborn-2001)

Our little family!

:)

Tropical Storm Debby

So Tropical Storm Debby stopped by for a brief visit!

The rain started on Sunday morning....we got 1.6" of rain and some wind. Our electric blinked off about 10 times before we left for church on Sunday and then about 5 minutes before we left the house, it went off completely! We wondered what we would find when we got to church, but there was electric there!

The 2nd and 4th Sunday's we have fellowship dinner, followed by an afternoon service from 12:45-1:45. Then at 2 we sing at one of two local nursing homes.

This past Sunday our family was on the schedule to share for the afternoon service. But when we got to church we found out that a couple who had just come home from a Nicarauga mission trip were prepared to share about their trip, so our program got postponed to this coming Sunday night! :)

Monday morning I went out to the garden to see if there was anything left to pick. My zucchini and cucumber plants are dying off and there was no fruit on either of them! My zipper peas did not fair well. Once they were about big enough to pick, they would shrivel up! :( I don't know what is wrong. The plants look lovely and had tons of peas on them! I'm bummed and hoping to find some somewhere at a produce stand!

While I was out at the garden, the clouds were rolling and the wind was whipping.

We grew our cucumbers on the back fence. Max helped himself to one that got a little big! ;) He seemed so proud of it too! He was trotting all around the back yard with it while I was out there! :) Crazy dog!

From all the wind we had been having, it blew the blooms from the crepe myrtle's down! :( It looks kind of neat to see the dog's pen covered in a carpet of pink petals, though! :)

Yeh, the blooms were down all over, including in the pool!! : /

Soon after I got back in the house, it started pouring and it rained and blew all day Monday! We got another 2" that day....so 3.6" isn't bad compared to the 15-25" they were predicting!! :O

Sometimes the house got so dark from all the clouds and rain....it was a lazy kind of day!

Tuesday morning the rain was gone, the clouds were gone....it was a brilliant blue sky morning.....for a few hours. I was going to hang out my wash, but by 9 AM it was raining again!! By late afternoon it has pretty much cleared out again and it's safe to say, the storm is gone! 

Last evening Dan and I ran again, after not running for a week. Well, he did last Thursday. A group of local people started a "Fun Run" every Thursday night in town. They have a route mapped out for different distances. I'd like to go some week soon! Last week I think they had 38 people show up! Dan and Danny have been going as often as they can and they would love for me to join them! :)

But this Thursday, I am going to the Women's prison near here to participate in their evening chapel service. I'm not sure if I'll be home in time to run!??

And speaking of that service. I need to decide for sure today what I am going to share about and prepare for it! The deciding part is almost harder than the sharing part! :P Any ideas??

Of animals and flowers

Our neighbors are in Nicarauga for a week on a mission trip. They asked Danny to feed their goats, chickens, geese and fish while they are gone. Yesterday, I decided to go with him.

The goats saw us coming and were waiting in anticipation for their feeding!

But Danny went to take care of the chickens first.

He brings home 3-4 eggs every day, which is quite nice! I love fresh eggs!!

The chickens watch and wait, till he is out of the pen, then.....

....Let's Eat!!

The goats were waiting by the gate till we got back over to their pen. :)

They are pretty goats!

As much as they like to keep a distance from you, once the food shows up, they are all over it! :)

Adding some new hay....it smelled so good! :)

The littler goats came over and ate here. I think the bullying of the big ones was too much! 

 Our crepe myrtles are just FULL of flowers. I think all the rain we had a few weeks ago must have been what they needed!!

The branches are just weighted down.

We put our pool up in a different spot this year because of having dogs in the back yard.
But, this is what you go out to every day! Thankfully, a few sweeps of the mesh skimmer cleans them right out! Kind of makes you feel like you are swimming with rose petals all around you! ;) Hahaa!

They add so much color to the outdoors! :)

**Thanks to my neighbor for loaning me his camera for a few days. I used it to photograph some items I wanted to list on Ebay, and then before I took it back to him yesterday, I took the opportunity for a few more snapshots... :) I'm praying that some day sooner than later I can figure out how to get a new camera! :)

Giveaway!!

I know this is probably not even worth my time, but it would be SO awesome to win! Especially since my camera is not working anymore! You don't know how much I MISS not having a camera. I am borrowing my neighbors right now, because I had things to sell on Ebay. But I can't keep mooching off of him! :P

So yeh, go check it out!!


http://www.groopdealz.com/index/giveaways