Sun Fun

It's been a while since I last posted. The motorcycle drama has thankfully died down (at least for now while he saves his money) thanks to the purchase of a wii fit and a very competitive father / son duo. It is considered an early gift in honor of mine and Pete's anniversary coming up next week. Oh, I will most definitely have to post some photographs of my unbalanced guys doing the hula hoop. It is quite comical.

But for now I must share the latest happenings.

It has been a whirlwind of a week. One that included lots of eating out (which contributed to a little set back on the scales this morning), and lots of fun in the sun.

Last Tuesday we visited some friend of ours that live on one of Arkansas' beautiful lakes. We took the boat out and did a little tubing, swimming, and snorkeling.

Although I love water slides and an occasional dip in the pool, I wasn't raised too much around water. We managed to visit the ocean once when I was a kid, and would swim in hotel pools while on family vacations. My dad and brother would go on overnight fishing trips, but my mother has a fear of water so she and I would always find something more exciting to do instead of roughing it with the dudes at the camp.....

like shopping.

hmmmm.....camping, shopping, camping, shopping. There was never really any contest.

In the early years of our marriage, Pete was hard pressed to get me to do anything boat, lake, river or camping related, but hey, I've mellowed with age. I guess I'll try anything once....(well, maybe not anything).

I like it.

I like it a lot...especially the part when we take the boat out in the calm of the evening and just enjoy the peacefulness and serenity of God's creation.

and fish.


haha...yeah, we threw him back.

And the beauty of the sunset. It takes my breath away.

Another day we did one of my favorite things. We floated a river that is also near the lake. It takes us about 4 hours from point A to point B, but I find it very enjoyable and relaxing.....(minus the sunburn).


Friday of last week, Pete and I went to a water park in the big city. Little Ann was with a birthday group and we were invited to tag along. It is something we usually do every year at least once without any kids. I know...it sounds cruel, but I can't seem to get enough of those water slides, and I can really let my hair down and be a kid when I don't have to stress over my kids. I tend to do that, ya know.

I've been in the sun so much recently. I think I'm going to turn into one big freckle.

So tell me...what have you been up to this summer?

Ignorance is Bliss...The Rest of the Story

The movie is called "The Pursuit of Happyness". I haven't seen it in a long time, but if I recall correctly, this man and his son are homeless...sleeping in public restrooms and train stations or wherever else they can find for that matter. He's trying to make ends meet someway, somehow until he makes it big as a stock broker (or something to that affect).

I'm wondering if I somehow got lucky enough (sarcastically spoken) to have slept in the same train station as Will Smith.

You think I'm kidding, don't you.

Upon arriving in the city, we walked around places like this:

We got some of this:

and saw lots of these:

We shopped in some stores such as these:



And although the weather was misty and extremely foggy, we took a ferry boat out to an island to see this:

It was such a breathtaking sight even in the fog. After exiting the subway and coming up right into the middle of Central Park, evening was setting in. Pete wanted me to be able to savor the glitz of Times Square after the sun went down, but Little Ann and I weren't for sure our little feetsy's could take us very much further. It was then that we had the joy of riding in one of these:

all so we could see this:

but as bad as my feet and legs ached from the 100 miles we walked that day, I was happy to be back in Times Square because I got to eat here:

We began to walk the streets in one last attempt at souvenir shopping when we realized it was midnight. I had no idea of the time, but I knew I was feeling every bit of our day settling in my bones. We began our journey back to the train station where we would wait to board a train back to Trenton. This train would, once again, change over to get us back to Philadelphia where our poor little lonely van sat. By the time we finally boarded the first one, it was almost 1 am.

About 15 minutes into our trip back, there were signal problems so we sat idle for another solid hour. I tried to sleep, but there were numerous passengers on the train, and one man sitting close by that was not very happy about the delay and made sure everyone knew it.

Around 3 am, we arrived back in Trenton, NJ, where we were supposed to switch. As soon as we got there, we hurriedly located the little tv screen that told us of all the times for the train's arrivals and departures. I could feel the tears well up in my own tired eyes as I was consoling Little Ann. The train we would need to be on to get us back to Philly would not be leaving until 6 am.

Not good.

And so I rolled up the souvenir tee shirts into pillows, made a make shift bed while Little Ann opened an umbrella to block the light from our eyes...

and slept.

in the train station.

while Pete stood guard.

for hours.

And the moral of the story is.....

If you're from the South and you know nothing about trains...or train stations....or anything else about the city you should probably either do your research or stay home.

Because I'll be the first to tell you, when your stuck in a train station in the middle of the night, you're anything but happy.

A Story to Tell

I got up this morning thinking about what I was doing about this time one week ago. It wasn't exactly what I thought I'd be doing. I know you want to hear all about it, right?

As you know, a group of 3 couples and our kids ventured off to New Jersey to complete a mission project. The whole purpose of the trip was to work for God, but I didn't think God would mind if Pete took me on into New York City for a little play time before we headed back home, would He?

Thursday morning, our group split up...some heading home, others to stop in Tennessee and us to New York. I knew we were chancing it with the weather, but I didn't care. I told Pete even if I had to experience New York in the rain, it would be better than not experiencing it at all. Boy, was I in for a sur-prise.

We were ignorant. And when I say that, I mean Southerners just don't know much about getting around in the North. We drive everywhere we go. We don't have problems finding parking and it's mostly free. What I mean is, it's not a hassle to take my van when I venture out...but our Jersey friends said, it would be wise to leave our vehicle in Philadelphia and take the train into the city. That it would be much less stressful to get around by foot, or subway, or cab. I could handle that. I wasn't getting much exercise anyway. I could use a little walking. I've never ridden on the subway. Something about that sounded kind of city-girlish..unordinary for an Arkansas gal like me. And Little Ann was determined that she would, at some point in the day, whistle and wave for that taxi, just like she'd seen in the movies.

We left our hotel around 9 am, saying our goodbyes to our group and driving in rush hour traffic from New Jersey to Philadelphia. I think what should have taken 30 minutes took us about an hour. Even once we got into Philly, we had no clue where the train station was and drove around another 30 minutes for a place to park. We were suckers, but desperate and so we gave up $20 bucks for a spot that would ensure us the day.

The rain began to fall. It was busy and dreary and I began to question why I wanted so desperately to spend a day so far out of my element, but I did. After mistakenly going down into the subway station thinking that's where we were supposed to be, we were directed 2 blocks down to the train depot. Pete stood in line to purchase round trip tickets to New York only to be asked to hand over $237. He glanced over at me and I gave him this look like "are they nuts?". Get out of that line. We'll do something else.

It was Amtrack. Oops. Once again, wrong line.

By the time we were finally directed to the appropriate line, it was closing in on 11 am. Tickets in this line were for a train that would leave at 11:37 and change over in Trenton, New Jersey, but would get us to the station directly below Madison Square Gardens for only $93 round trip. Sold.

I only wish I would've know it was going to stop every five minutes and take us another 2 hours to get there.

At nearly 2:00, we exited the station and came up out of the ground onto the streets of the city that literally never sleeps.

I was frustrated at the amount of time we had wasted. We were all starving and a little grumpy, but we were in New York. New York people. I was in awe and ready to stomp some ground.

But I think I'll save all that ground stomping, subway riding, cab calling (oh! and believe me it gets better!) for another post. Come back and see me for .....as Paul Harvey says..."the rest of the story".

What I Have Discovered About New Jersey

I like it. At least the part we are in.

The town is very nice. A small, clean area with booming business and beautiful homes. How cool to actually have an attic and a basement. The people have been very friendly and most receptive.

We had a busy day today. I think we actually knocked on approximately 350 doors to get word out about the new church recently planted in this area. The guys did some needed maintenance around the building and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to their praise band practice tonight. Dinner at Applebee's was delish and the kids are having a great time. Something about being in a hotel with your bestest friends. Good times.

I am looking forward to what tomorrow brings....

Finishing Up..The Scenic Route

I've done so much yakking on my first, second, and third posts about our Mission Trip, that this time, I think I am going to just let you sit back, relax, and enjoy God's marvelous handiwork.

The only thing I do want to tell you is where you will be seeing sights from. The first pictures will be from Iron Mountain (located in the Black Hills of South Dakota). I also have some beautiful scenery from "Custer State Park". ENJOY!

Heading Home...The Scenic Route

If you are just stopping by, I encourage you to "catch up" by reading these posts first. Part 1 and Part 2 of our Mission Trip.

Now carry on...

If I had one wish for our trip, it would've been that we could have spent more time on the Reservation. It took me weeks in advance to prepare myself mentally for what I was called to do on this trip, and as I said yesterday, even when I was staring the opportunity square in the face, I was still a nervous wreck. BUT there was something so rewarding about it all. And I just simply did not get enough. Once I did it. Once I actually jumped right out on that limb, trusted God to give me the words, and thought about how He used me to be His vessel, did it become a reality. I wasn't satisfied leaving. I felt like I just simply did not do enough. I've since realized that there is a world filled with lost people and just because I have left the Reservation does not mean my job is complete. I am excited about seeking out opportunities to witness for Him in my own home town.

I had thought this post might actually wrap up my trip, but I'm just not sure. We did a lot of sight seeing on the way home and I have some beautiful pictures. I'm not sure I can pick just one or two.

Once we got on our way, a few miles up the road we encountered this absolutely breathtaking sight!!


This is what they refer to as the "Badlands" of South Dakota. Our pastor calls it a mini Grand Canyon. I was taken back by the beauty.

Although Rapid City was 2 hours out of our way, who could actually be that close and not take the opportunity to see Mount Rushmore? I was so excited. I live an extremely sheltered life and although we travel some, we seem to stay pretty close to home. I mean, I've ventured out as far as Florida several times, been to several towns in the big state of Texas, up to Branson, Missouri a few, and to visit relatives in Kentucky, (I'm sure I'm forgetting something), but never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I'd be seeing this!!!

Oh dear Presidents, how beautiful you look carved in this mountain of rock. I almost peed in my pants as I came around the curve and up the hill and saw you.

And Mr. Washington, please don't take offense to my photographing your profile. I totally understand how you might hate this...especially if you have a big nose. I should've asked if this was "your good side".

I still have a couple more stops to make on the scenic route home, so I will do you a favor and split them up into two posts again. I don't want to overload you...and I am getting rather sleepy tonight.

Happy Monday!

A Life Changer

Hello all. I am back home now as of about 1 am this morning. I must say, I have absolutely no regrets about my decision to go, and can only hope and pray that God will work in the hearts of the people in whom we planted the seeds.

I have been thinking and thinking about how I would begin my posts when I got in. Really and truly I had full intentions of giving you the play by play each night as I got back to my room, but it was such a draining week, I didn't have the energy to think. It just didn't happen...but now, here I am...giving you my full attention. I hope you enjoy the next few posts. They are going to be good!!

As I mentioned on Sunday, we had a pretty long day of driving. We set out on our adventure immediately after services on Sunday morning and drove all day.

This is our group. We had 3 married couples (one which is our pastor and wife), myself and a friend, 2 kiddos, and a guy that is new to God's ministry, (but arrived after our group shot).

The drive was comfortable and everything looked pretty much like Arkansas for some time, but I was glad to go a direction in Arkansas past towns that I had never been before like Fort Smith, Fayettville, Springdale, and Rogers area. I plan on heading back to that area in just a couple of weekends for a wedding in the Bentonville area. Wow, twice in two weeks!!

We passed from Arkansas into Missouri, all the way past Kansas City, into a town called St. Joseph, Missouri where we laid our heads down for the night. The hotel was pretty neat. I had never seen one quite like it. It was much like a lodge and the girls thought it was so cool.

Monday morning, we headed back out and before I realized it, we had crossed over into Iowa. Never been there and the countryside began to look a little different than Arkansas and Missouri. Not too much further and we passed by this...

I wish the picture would have been better, but you just had to kind of be ready and snap as quickly as you could!! Throughout the entire state of Nebraska, this is what we saw...

Everywhere we looked for miles and miles and miles there was corn. So much corn...and coal trains. Many, many coal trains. As we got closer to South Dakota much of the landscape turned to hills. Lots of hills. ....And Lelia, we did drive through Lincoln, and I so thought about you!!! What a nice town. It had so many endless possibilities for shopping!! lol.

We managed to arrive in Gordon, Nebraska where our hotel was early enough to go to the nearest grocery store to buy things for our Indian taco supper the following night. We also got to go visit the Reservation in hopes of encouraging some of the ladies to join us for Bible Study Tuesday morning. The scenery on the way to Pine Ridge was beautiful. As we were traveling, the sun began to set and the wind was blowing violently. A clue that a storm was setting in. As we drove, hail began to fall. Our first contact with the Native American children, was with the sweet wee ones that began putting ice in our hands as soon as we made our first stop.

Notice the grass blowing in the wind. As we drove onto the Reservation, one of the first things we saw was the site of the Massacre at Wounded Knee. On December 29, 1890 over 300 men, women and children were killed by the US 7th Calvary while being transferred to the Sioux Reservation at Pine Ridge. Just a few days before, Sitting Bull had been killed at Standing Rock. I am assuming he was killed because of all the intensity surrounding the gold in the Black Hills and the fact the US was trying to get it back from the tribe. Ok, so there's your history lesson for the day.

Before I continue, I wanted to share a few more statistics with you. I got my information off of Wikepedia, and some of this information is heart wrenching. After meeting these Oglala Lakota Sioux people and being on their Reservation, I had a hunch what Wikepedia would say. I wish I would have done more research before my trip so I would've known what to expect. I didn't though, and it was a shock.

I'm still trying to put it all together in my mind, but I think I have finally figured out (please somebody from this area smarter than me..correct me if I am wrong). I think I am safe in saying that Pine Ridge is a large area with the Reservation being made up of several small communities. Pine Ridge is the 8th largest Reservation in the US, but the poorest. The unemployment rate runs at 80% of the population. Adolescent suicide is about 4 times the national average here. Majority of the families have no electricity, water, telephone or sewer. The Oglala Lakota are said to have the lowest life expectancy with men at the age of 47 and women just barely into their 50's. Wow.

Wounded Knee is the community where we were. (More history here...The bones and heart of great Oglala Lakota leader, Crazy Horse are buried along the creek here.) I saw the depressed spirits of these overwhelmed single mothers of multiple children wondering how they were going to feed them. I saw the tears shed by those who have battled the alcohol gene for years. I saw the hungry people flock in the Community Center for probably the only meal they will get for the day, or even week, and I saw hearts that desperately needed Jesus, but I know it's going to take more than one time sharing the gospel with them. More than 50% of the population there at Wounded Knee is under the age of 18. It seems to me that this is absolutely the generation we need to be trying to reach for the Lord.

I have so much I want to share with you. I hope you wont get tired of hearing my story and seeing the beautiful pictures I took.

I shall return.....