To My Dad
You are a father
Who is loving and kind
And often you know
What I have on my mind :)
You are someone who listens,
Suggests, and defends.
You're there when I need you,
And I can count on you as my friend.
You are always supportive
In all that we do.
I am ever so grateful
To have a Dad like you.
Dad, God has truly blessed my life in many ways, and one blessing that I treasure is having you as my Dad. I love you ~Julie ps- love the Elvis hair ;)
Today my family and I returned from a little vacation at a campground located a couple of hours away from us. My grandparents own a trailer at this campground, and since they were not going to be there this week, we were able to stay there. We left yesterday, spent the night, and just arrived home about an hour ago. So it was a mini vacation, but we enjoyed being able to spend time together away from the house. This is Eric's favorite place to go. :) There was hardly anyone there this time, which was so nice! I only saw a small group of retired folks who were all camping out together...camping in their HUGE RVs. :) It must be nice. :) I took this picture as we were driving into the campground.
One of our favorite things to do at the campground is to ride around on the golf cart. :) Ah...life's simple pleasures. :) Seriously it's fun! The whole time we were down there, Philip and I took turns driving the golf cart around. I even let Eric steer...once. :) Screeeeech! Pretty much everyone owns and drives a golf cart at this place. We have a tradition that we do every time we go there...we always pile on the golf cart (yes our whole family fits :), drive to the camp store and get ice cream, and then we drive around and look at how all of the trailers are decorated. People get quite creative with their nautical decorations. :)
Another family tradition that we have is to head on over to the little drugstore in town for a carbonated limeade. :) This drugstore is so neat because it has an old-timey soda fountain. There are three counters that are shaped like horseshoes, and everyone sits around them while they eat. I was sitting right by the lime squeezer. It was neat to watch, but needless to say, my arm was juiced on. :) Those limeades were so goooood! Eric was feeling adventurous this time and ordered a Coke float with...chocolate icecream. :) Ummm...sticking with the limeade! After the drugstore, we looked through our favorite consignment shop and walked the streets of the historic town.
At the end of the day yesterday, the boys and I lowered the paddle boat off of the bank for a ride. There is a small river that runs in between two strips of campers that is for people who want to take their paddle boats for a spin. Eric is usually the captain (he steers)...which is sometimes not a good thing because down the river there is a huge fountain...that he sometimes feels the urge to go right under. :) Philip and I have to take control when we near the fountain. We didn't get wet...until I splashed Eric with water...then it was all over from there. :) Hey, what are sisters for?
Who is a Jack Russell? This little man joined us for a little vacation of his own...away from our cats. :) He was a wonderful camper! He didn't even get sick during the car rides...whew. On the way home, I was thinking about all of the many nicknames we have for Buddy. It's almost ridiculous. :)
Bud, Pie (the marking on his head looks like a slice of pie :), Sweet Pie, Pie Boy, Poe, Po Boy, Shrimp Po Boy (I think that's a sandwich?), Biscuit, Little Man, Man, Good Man, Bad Man, Poor Pie, Little Pie, Jack, Budlothian, Little Jack, Sweet Jack, Bad Jack, Fat Jack, Poor Baby, Little Baby, Sweet Biscuit, Jack Russell, Peanut Buttah Bah...I'm stopping. :) Poor Buddy!
Mom and Dad took this picture as they were walking along the boat docks. Papa has a boat, but we didn't go on it this time. It actually stormed terribly yesterday evening! Storms are not very good when you're staying in a small camper. :) Thankfully, the Lord protected us during it. A really bad storm came over us at 4:30am and woke us all up. So we have all pretty much been awake since then. :) I don't think I slept at all last night. ;) I slept on the couch bed with Buddy snoring underneath me. :) Poor Pie. We were going to spend the night again tonight, but there were going to be more storms this evening...so we decided to come home after all.
Today before we left, Mom and I drove around the town and looked in some of the shops. I took this picture as we were driving by. This is my favorite plantation house down there. If you click on the picture, you'll probably be able to see the house a little better. I just love how they planted trees on both sides of the drive back then. That's actually my favorite part of this plantation. :)
After spending some time in the sun this afternoon (and catching some very mild sunburn :), we headed back home to our kitties. :) We had a wonderful time at the campground, and I hope we get a chance to go back a lot this summer. For now though...I'm getting sleepy! Why is it that you're always a lot more tired after vacationing? ;0)
Today I would like to wish a very happy birthday to my youngest brother Eric! Well, he isn't very young anymore I suppose...he is now 13! Where has the time gone to? I remember a little munchkin sitting in his highchair with spaghetti sauce all in his hair and the time when he rode his first bike. :) I never thought he would grow up so quickly!
Happy 13th birthday Eric! Over the past couple of years, I have seen you grow into such a godly young man, and your heart for the Lord is evident and shines brightly in the eyes of your family and those around you. May you continue to remain steadfast in your Christian walk as you mature into a mighty young man for Christ. It is my prayer that you will continue to be a shining light in a dark world as you seek to further the Kingdom of our Lord for His glory alone! Now that you're thoroughly embarrassed...HAPPY BIRTHDAY! :)
Today, while Mom, Eric, Philip, and I were visiting Nan and Aunt Rhonda, I was surprised with early birthday presents! Yay! Aunt Rhonda gave me a beautiful twirly skirt along with a pair of gardening shoes! Thank you so much Aunt! I'm going to be wearing the skirt tomorrow. :)
Nan knew that I loved to embroider, so she surprised me with a quilted carrying case for sewing supplies (I needed this terribly...especially for taking sewing projects with me on the road. I had always stuffed my supplies in a Wal-Mart bag, and of course everything would always fall out! That's just how it goes. :). When I opened the case, I found a box of assorted embroidery threads, a nifty hoop, and some lovely white pillowcases! I love embroidering pillowcases! She said that they were to be embroidered for my hope chest...how fun! She also gave me some cute black sandals! Thank you so much Nan, Bernie, Aunt, Uncle, and the kids for such thoughtful gifts.
I'm so excited about tomorrow! Dad, Mom, the boys, and I are heading off to my favorite park (full of beautiful gardens!) for a birthday picnic tomorrow afternoon. I will definitely be taking the camera and will be back with lots of pictures. :) See you then!
I hope everyone has had a blessed Resurrection Sunday! What a wonderful day to reflect on the great sacrifice that was made on our behalf. When we as sinners deserved eternal punishment, our Lord Jesus Christ took our place on the cross and suffered a painful death so that we may have the eternal life that we are not worthy enough to enjoy! Thank you Lord Jesus for laying aside your crown to suffer for our sakes, rising again in glory, and for promising to be with us always!
This weekend was a busy one! Yesterday, I was invited to go with my grandparents to their vacationing trailer in a campground a couple of hours away. They needed some help sprucing up the place before the campground officially opens tomorrow and they start staying there on the weekends. They have quite a few pine trees surrounding their trailer...and that means they have tons of pine needles and pine cones on the ground! We spent a good part of the day raking up the yard, cutting grass, and cleaning up the inside. I really enjoyed spending time with them on our little road trip. :) My papa is an early riser...so we left for the trailer at 7:00am! Yuck! We ate breakfast at a little country diner on the way, fixing up the trailer, driving around looking at real estate, and then made our long journey back home at around 2:00pm. After getting home, I helped the family clean up since we had church at our house today. I slept well last night. :)
Today, we had a wonderful time of fellowship! After everyone had left this afternoon, Dad, Mom, Philip, Eric, and I took a country drive out to our old family farmhouse. We were able to dig up a couple of plants to grow here in our yard from the farm, and walk around in the peaceful country. Of course, I brought along the camera! :) Here are some pictures from our afternoon...
Mom is back from Georgia! She arrived home safely yesterday with Nan and Aunt Rhonda. We really missed her...even though she was only gone for four days. :) Buddy was so excited when she walked in the door!
This morning, Mom and I were invited to my cousin Sarah's school for "History Lives" day with Nan, Emily, and Aunt Rhonda! Kids from Sarah's grade (3rd) all gathered together in their school gym wearing costumes as they portrayed important men and women from history. Each kid stood in a hoola hoop and had a paper star "button" taped to their hand, and the parents and other students from the school could come up, press the "button", and hear a short biography of whoever their famous person was. It was such a neat concept!
Sarah chose to be Beatrix Potter, the very well-known children's author! I loved her costume! She looked like she had just walked right out of the Edwardian era! Sarah gave a wonderful and very detailed description of Beatrix Potter's life, and she didn't even need note cards to look at as she gave her speech! I don't think I could've done that. :) Great job Sarah!
We walked around and met many other "famous people" such as Pocahontas, Besty Ross, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Orville Wright, Louisa May Alcott, and Stonewall Jackson. All of the kids had great costumes, and there were so many of them to look at! Aunt Rhonda said that there were about 75 kid's there from Sarah's grade. Sarah, I really enjoyed getting to come to see you at your school today! You did so well!!! :)
Who likes a good book sale? I know I do! Especially when all of the books are $1. :) Today Mom, Philip, Eric, and I drove into town to ride with Nan, Aunt Rhonda, and Cousin Emily to our local library's "Friends of the Library" book sale.
There wasn't a huge selection like we thought there was going to be, but we still enjoyed ourselves! Nan said that last year, there was way more to choose from. It was mostly fiction books, romance novels, movies, and things like that. I did find two books that looked interesting: a cookbook by Julia Child and a book about crafts made with nature (potpourri, dried flowers, corn husk dolls :), etc...). I had always heard that Julia Child's recipes are a little complicated, but I thought I'd go ahead and buy it for 1$. Well, I can't pronounce half of the dishes in the cookbook such as consomme brunos and petits cherins. :) I think these are French dishes. Hey, I'm always open to try new things!
After the book sale at the library, we had some lunch and drove on over to a nearby Goodwill thrift store to look. I browsed their book section for more cookbooks, sewing, or gardening books but didn't really find anything until Mom spotted a little stack of cookbooks and sewing booklets from the 1970's. Mom and I picked out a dessert cookbook, an "old fashioned family" cookbook, and a cookbook full of soup recipes. There are some interesting recipes in these books! For instance: Greek lemon soup, peanut butter soup, cottage cheese soup, tongue soup, milk coffee jelly, bread and butter pudding...YUCK! Is anyone else feeling a little sick?? I don't think I'll be making anything odd like these recipes anytime soon. :) I also found a little booklet of sampler and antique needlework patterns. This picture on the right is from the book along with some others, and I love how they include the patterns! I just thought they looked so old fashioned. :) I love anything old fashioned!
Well anyway, that was our day today! I hope everyone is having a wonderful beginning of the week!
Happy Valentine's Day everyone, although the day is almost over now! This morning started out a little roughly with no power due to a light dusting of snow and lots of ice. Despite having no water, no way of cooking, and no heat...we managed to survive until about 1:00pm when the power came on again. :) Whew! It's funny how we get so dependent on things. Well, water I guess is a necessity. :) Anyway, I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day with the people you love the most!
Every Valentine's Day, my family has a special dinner together as a tradition. This year, we tried something a little different. :) Dad and Mom both had the kitchen all to themselves for their special romantic dinner, and I took the boys up to my room to eat. Mom and I removed the inserts in our kitchen table to make it just the right size for two. I was in charge of decorating Mom and Dad's table! I pulled out all of their wedding pictures and lit as many candles as I could find! It was really fun! While I was setting out their pictures, I was constantly reminded of how special my parents are to me. :) They have been and continue to be an example to me of a biblical marriage, and I'm trying to learn all that I can from them to carry in to my own marriage one day if that's what the Lord has planned for me.
This afternoon, Mom made her first-ever coconut cream meringue pie...Dad's favorite! I had to take a picture of it because it was perfect for her first try. :)
On the menu for our special dinner:
I was the annoying picture-taking sister! Yes, that is Aunt B. on the television screen. :) The boys and I had our own special dinner to ourselves where we watched many episodes of Andy Griffith while eating!I enjoyed special time with my valentines. :)
Sweet Buddy was constantly looking for any kind of morsel to fall from the table. :) How could you refuse that face??
Since it was Valentine's Day, Bud had a little plate of steak scraps all to himself!
I'm not really sure if I'm smiling in this picture or not. :) No matter!
Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!!!!
"And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us..."
~Ephesians 5:2
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