Inconsiderate Shopper

Today I thought I would try a different venue for my grocery shopping and went to the Walmart Neighborhood grocery. I used one of the electric scooters because it was the once a month big day shopping. Not once, not twice, but three times I just had to sit and wait for another person to let me by. I would be going one direction they would pull their basket up in front of me going the opposite direction and then just stand there and peruse the shelves. I could not get around them and just had to wait patiently until they were finished. I did finally say "excuse me" and one person moved. I just found this to be very annoying. It would of only taken a moment of their time to move and let me by. I don't know why they were so inconsiderate. I think people just get too intent on their "own" business and forget there are others around and then again maybe I just need to be more patient. The other day Steve and I were at a restaurant and I walked in on my crutches and not one person offered to let me sit. Not even the parents who were standing and their two children ages 8 and 6 (just a guess) were sitting. Once again perhaps I shouldn't think I should have special consideration, but I just pray when I am totally well that I will remember to be much more considerate to the handicapped.

IN EVERYTHING GIVE THANKS

Merry Trujillo sent me this through an email and I thought I would share it with all of you. After you read it, I will give my thoughts on it.

DEAR GOD:
I want to thank You for what you have already done. I am not going to wait until I see results or receive rewards; I am thanking you right now. I am not going to wait until I feel better or things look better; I am thanking you right now. I am not going to wait until people say they are sorry or until they stop talking about me; I am thanking you right now. I am not going to wait until the pain in my body disappears ; I am thanking you right now. I am not going to wait until my financial situation improves; I am! going to thank you right now. I am not going to wait until the children are asleep and the house is quiet; I am going to thank you right now. I am not going to wait until I get promoted at work or until I get the job; I am going to thank you right now. I am not going to wait until I understand every experience in my life that has caused me pain or grief; I am thanking you right now. I am not going to wait until the journey gets easier or the challenges are removed; I am thanking you right now. I am thanking you because I am alive. I am thanking you because I made it through the day's difficulties. I am thanking you because I have walked around the obstacles. I am thanking you because I have the ability and the opportunity to do more and do better. I'm thanking you because FATHER, YOU haven't given up on me.

There are verses in the Bible that cause me to think "Will I ever obtain that?" I Thessalonians 5:16-18 is one of those verses "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." God's will for me is that I am joyful, prayerful and thankful. I struggle with all three. Unfortunately, my flesh nature is more pessimistic than optimistic, more critical than praiseworthy, more complaining than thankful. But I am thankful for days like today when an email reminds me of the goal and returns my thinking to where it needs to be. I pray that I can be continually giving thanks for all circumstances. Thanks Merry for the reminder!

My Ma'ma'

So as promised her is a post about my mother (I tenderly call her ma'ma'). As I mentioned yesterday my mother had me when she was 17 years old. She turned 18 a month after I was born, so needless to say she was very young when I was born. But fortunately she had great support from grandparents on both sides of the family. When I was three my mother recommitted her life to the Lord and from that point on was faithful to involve me and my brothers in the life of the church. Her father was an elder in the church. My birth father did not go to church with us although he never kept us from going. My mother always made sure we had the best she could provide. We had a lot of fun times with aunts, uncles and cousins. One of my favorite Christmas memories was a year when I could not decide between a Betsy Wetsy doll and a Bride doll, so I told Santa to bring me either one and to my surprise I got both of them!! My mom always made all the holidays very special.

My mother has always been a very private person so I will not post what happened in our family that resulted in a divorce when I was 12. Through no fault of my mother she was left with three children to care for and only a high school diploma. She received a whopping $150.00 per month child support. but she got a job as a Head Start aide and provided for us the best she could. I don't remember the time frame but she eventually became the secretary for our church. Then when I was 15 the Lord brought a wonderful Christian man into her life and ours and they were married. As I said yesterday we became a family of 6.

From the get go we were family, not a step family. We never referred to each other as "step".
My parents made sure that we had open communication and we had family "pow-wows" where everyone would go around the table and say what was on their mind. If you were the object of someone else's concern you were not allowed to argue or defend. You just made a commitment to try and do better in the future. And they let us bring up things about them as well. It worked for us.

My mother has always been my greatest supporter and cheerleader. Since I didn't get married until I was 36, she was my travel partner. We had some great trips together and have some very special memories. My favorite was a fall tour we took that included Bush Gardens. I got her on a water ride promising her that we would not get wet (because I didn't at Six Flags) but we got absolutely swamped! And if you ever meet her you will have to ask her about the man that offered to take our bags at the New Jersey airport ("my car is just out back" he said, and guess who was going to follow?)

There is so much more I could tell you about my mother, but I will close by just saying I really don't know how I would have made it through these past 28 months without her. She has taken such good care of me. Not just physically (although she has worked endlessly at my house) but emotionally and spiritually all the while also taking care of my dad whose health has taken a drastic turn for the worse in the past year. She has an inner strength that I have always admired. Her own life has been riddled with tragedy (her father died when I was 5, her mother died of leukemia when I was 19, she lost a sister to tuberculosis when she was 16, she lost a brother, niece, nephew, and brother-in-law all in one car accident, she lost a sister to an alcoholic driver, she lost a sister to cancer) and yet her faith in the Lord has remained strong.
God has always been at the center of her heart. I am thankful that she showed us what a surrendered life looked like. She did not just "talk the talk" but she walks it in unconditional love for all of us to see. She has sacrificed so much for me, but always makes me think it is her pleasure to do so. Never guilts me about anything. I am so very blessed!

I love you ma'ma'. Happy Belated Birthday Post!

Belated Birthdays Blog

Today was Steve's 55th birthday. Late last night as I was lying awake, waiting to fall asleep it dawned on me that while I have told you a lot about Steve this month, I did not Blog about my sister Caren on her birthday, nor my mom on hers, nor either of my brothers on theirs. See we have a lot of August birthdays!! So let me just tell you a little about each of them and what they mean to me.

Brad's birthday was on the 4th and he was 45. Brad is the baby of our family. I remember when my mother was pregnant I so much wanted her to be having a girl, so I had fun dressing toddler Brad up in my walking doll clothes (tights, hat and all!!). When I was 15 we became a blended family and we went from three kids to six. Brad was still the youngest (Five teenagers and Brad was 6). Therefore he never could get a word in edge wise and grew up being more quiet than the rest of us. By the time he was 10, all of us had left home. So then he became an only child and was blessed to have all my parents attention focused on him. He was really good at sports and they were able to support him in all that he did. He is now a great father to two girls Alyssa and Aly and he has been their coach and has supported them in all of their activities . They all live in Olympia Washington so I don't get to see them very often. My favorite story about Brad is that when I moved back home to go to graduate school he was a teenager and one day asked me if I would iron something for him. I told him I would be glad to teach him how to iron to which he replied "why? I am going to get married some day". Well, thankfully he did not keep that chauvinistic attitude and is quite a great cook! I have admired Brad's strength in the midst of his own tragedy and his love and support during mine.

Brent's birthday was on the 10th and he turned 52. Brent is the middle child (2 years younger than I). Our relationship was a little bit more combative as kids because we were so close in age. The memory I goad him with is I had been left to babysit he and Brad and we were having soup for lunch. Brent wanted a cracker (or two) and I told him he could not have any until the soup was ready and I promptly took them away from him to which he punched me so hard in the stomach it knocked the wind out of me (and he ate the crackers). I also bear a scar on my hand from when I was in high school and was knocking on his window for him to let me in the house (I didn't have my key) and he was sleeping so soundly he could not hear me and I knocked so hard the window broke and my arm went through it. Today Brent lives in Denver and has three children. The light of his life is his 6 year old granddaughter Alyvia. Brent is also a good father, but the thing I admire the most about him is that he never settles. He is always trying to better himself and goes into job interviews convincing people the mistake they would be making if they did not hire him. He has a good sense of his value.

My sister Caren's birthday was the 24th and she was 53. When our parents married she was 14 and I was 15 (another sister Cathy was 15, and brother Steve was 16). The amazing thing is when I think about Caren I can't really remember when she wasn't my sister. We have always been blessed with a good relationship. She even named her daughter after me (Danette Lynn).
She has two children Daniel and Danette and they all live in Denver. Caren got married right out of high school and her husband was in the service so we have never been blessed to live close to one another and yet we have this great relationship because we share a strong love for the Lord. I love her even more today because she is taking me with her to Hawaii in October (just kidding). Anyway, the thing I admire the most about Caren is her constant optimistic attitude. She always looks on the positive side of things. She has had to live the life of a parent with a prodigal child and has done so with the love of Jesus.

And finally there is my mother who turned ?? on the 18th. She would probably not like me to tell you how old she is so let's just say she had me when she was 17 and I turned 54 on the 26th of July. So this post isn't an hour read I will post more about my mom tomorrow. Because I have a lot I want to share with you about her.

I am thankful for the family God has blessed me with. I just wish we all lived in the same city so we could be with each other more often. Unfortunately, none of us are very good emailers, or callers with each other. Everyone communicates well with my mom and she keeps us all up to date on each other. So check back tomorrow to learn more about her.

Moutain Top of God

Several years ago I heard Joe Beam give the testimony of his life and I remember that he said something like this "if God told me that I could go back and live my life over I would ask Him, 'but would I be as close to you as I am now?' God would say 'No, but you would have the chance to make new choices'. I would say 'no thank you, I would rather have the relationship that we have now.' I am not there yet...I think I was closer to God prior to my accident 28 months ago. However, there are things I have learned that I would not have known then. This thought came to me as I heard this song from Third Day today. The lines that caught my attention were "That I must go through the valley To stand upon the mountain of God" I look forward to being on the mountain top one day!

MOUNTAIN TOP OF GOD
Third Day

Thought that I was all alone
Broken and afraid
But You were there with me
Yes, You were there with me
And I didn't even know
That I had lost my way
But You were there with me
Yes, You were there with me
'Til You opened up my eyes
I never knew
That I couldn't ever make it
Without You
Even though the journey's long
And I know the road is hard
Well, the One who's gone before me
He will help me carry on
After all that I've been through
Now I realize the truth
That I must go through the valley
To stand upon the mountain of God
As I travel on the road
That You have lead me down
You are here with me
Yes, You are here with me
I have need for nothing more
Oh, now that I have found
That You are here with me
Yes, You are here with me
I confess from time to time
I lose my way
But You are always there
To bring me back again
Sometimes I think of where it is I've come from
And the things I've left behind
But of all I've had, what I possessed
Nothing can quite compare
With what's in front of me
With what's in front of me
(After final Chorus)
I thought that I was all alone
Broken and afraid
But, You are here with me
Yes, You are here with me.

Happiness Scale

Briefly watched a portion on Oprah today and she was discussing happiness with a doctor. She said you could go online at Oprah.com and take a test, so I did. My score was in the medium range (not real high, but not low) then there was this quote:
"Dr. Holden says the key to being happy is overcoming "destination addiction," which he defines as "living in the not-now." "It's always about tomorrow, so you're chasing 'more,' 'next' and 'there,'" he says. "You promise yourself that when you get there, you'll be happy. And I promise you, you won't, because you'll always set another destination to go for." Instead, Dr. Holden says if you are unhappy with your life or looking to improve your score, there are two things you can do. "We have to learn to let go of our past, we have to give up all hopes for a perfect past. Let the past go, it's gone." After that, he says, "Take a vow of kindness. Be kinder to yourself and to others."
So the key? Don't live in the future or the past, live today. Too bad Dr. Holden doesn't know that Jesus already told us that in Matthew 6:34. Too bad I don't remember that in my own life as I am guilty of that "destination addiction", thinking that "if only" it would be better. Again if I embraced Philippines 4:11 and Hebrews 13:5 I would be content with today. I am thankful we have a Father who is full of grace and mercy, because I am way too human!!!!

Another Tuesday Post

Yeah! My guy Will Bigham won "On The Lot".

AND

My guy Terry Fator also won "America's Got Talent". Interesting that he was from Mesquite and the other finalist Cas Haley was from Arlington.

But...the worst thing about the evening was having to listen to David Hasselhoff sing "This Is The Moment". Why does this guy think he can sing? Too bad they couldn't have pushed the "X" box on him!!!

Walmart Observations

Sure hope I don't offend anyone with this post. Today I waited in the car at Walmart while my mom picked up a prescription. My car was on the end facing the front door so I began observing all the people coming in and out. I could not help but notice there are a lot of Walmart shoppers who do not have much fashion or common sense. Here some things I said to myself as I was sitting there.
If you are wearing aqua capris, don't put a grey mans t-shirt with them.
-Why were you carrying a package of boxes (the kind you put together) where you could not see where you were walking instead of pushing them in a cart?
-Do you really think that tugging and twisting the back of your husbands pants is going to keep him from falling? (he was elderly, he would have been better off with a walker or cane)
-If you have to keep pulling up your top over your breast as you walk, perhaps you would do better with something with straps?
-Do you not have white underwear to wear under your white shorts?
-Lady, have you not heard about the damage that 2nd hand smoke does to children?
-If cell phones are not bad enough, now every other person has an earphone? (I am sure it is so their significant other can call them if they forgot something)
-A white bra with straps with a black tube top makes what kind of sense?
-Should women over 60 really wear biker shorts?
-Should people 50 pounds overweight wear shorts in public (yes I know this applies to me and I don't)
-And don't get me started on all the women's choices of dress shoes with casual shorts (why does anyone want to walk in Walmart with high heeled shoes on?)

I may be really wrong, but something tells me if I had been sitting in the parking lot of Dillards or Macy's today I would not have seen the same thing.

On another note my mom and I ate lunch at Cheddar's and it was fun seeing all the school teachers in their different school t-shirts all dressed alike. Could not help but wonder why there are so many more female teachers than males? Guess the same reason there are more female Bible class teachers than males.

A Voice In the Wind

Tonight I finished a book entitled "A Voice in the Wind" by Francine Rivers. Sarah Snyder had told me about this book (which is the first in the Mark of the Lion series) several years ago and I had gone out bought all three books. I had tried reading this first book two other times and just could not get into it. This time I started it in Ruidoso and have anxiously awaited each moment to continue to read it. So I immediately picked up the 2nd book "An Echo in the Darkness" and began it hoping to find out what happened to Haddassah. I know some of you have already read this series, and for those of you that haven't you will want to. I found it convicting of my own faith and how much do I really trust in the Lord even when I do not understand the whys? Haddassah was a Christian slave when they were persecuting Chrisitians simply for Roman entertainment. I think all of us have contemplated if we would be bold in the midst of persecution. I would like to think so, but what if you were a mother watching your children die? I remember years ago hearing a story from the Book of Maccabees of a mother with seven sons who appeared before King Antiochus of Syria. He wanted each to deny God and began with the oldest. As each refused the torture became worse and worse (including scalping, cutting out tongues, etc) until he came to the youngest and he told the mother to convince him to deny God or he would die the worst of all. She said to her son "look at the sky and earth my son and remember who made them from nothing. Do not fear. Be worthy of your martyred brothers." After killing the last son, then the mother was killed as well. I cannot fathom the strength that it would take to endure such, but I am thankful for those that have laid down their lives in a way that allows the rest of us to take hope that we would be able to be strong for the Lord as well if He ever asked that of us.

Too Friendly?

In the last week I have had two men be "friendly" and left me wondering were they "too friendly?" The first was at the airport when I landed in El Paso. The steward pushing my wheelchair was very verbal, but then he kept patting me on the shoulder. Then after he put the luggage in the trunk he came and closed the door for me and again patted me on the shoulder. I knew he was just being nice but it did make me feel rather uncomfortable. Then yesterday at the grocery store the little Asian man taking my groceries out for me asked me how I hurt my leg. He then stopped the cart and patted me on the shoulder. Then I got in the car as he finished putting the groceries in the trunk of my car. I rolled down the window to tell him thank you and he came and took my hand and kissed it. Once again I knew this was a sweet gesture, but it made me feel uncomfortable. I don't know why the compassionate touch of both of these men made me feel uncomfortable, perhaps it should not have. I guess I am just not used to such gestures of compassion from total strangers. I am sure if I had not had crutches or a cane they would not shown the same concern. What do you think?

Happy Birthday Steve!

Today is Steve's 31st spiritual birthday. I wish I knew the date of my baptism (all I know is the year). Anyway...Steve likes celebrating today more than his physical birthday. He wouldn't give me any gift ideas and I was at a loss, so I just tried to make him a special dinner. I put a tablecloth on the kitchen table with cloth napkins, candles and our china. I made his favorite meal which is meatloaf (but tried a new recipe) and a sugar free chocolate pie. Fortunately to Steve this was a really big deal and he was so appreciative.

Thanks to all of you who commented on the last post about our anniversary, let me continue our story in telling you about why I am so thankful for this sweet man God has given me to call husband. Steve became a Christian while he was in the Air Force. His little brother went to VBS with a friend and that church contacted Steve's parents and studied with them (they had been Methodist) They watched the Jewel Miller filmstrips and then they shared them with Steve (he was in North Dakota at the time). Steve made the decision to get out of the Air Force to go to Preston Road School of Preaching. After graduating he was not able to find a pulpit position because of being single, so he fell back on his accounting skills and degree. Preston Road is where he met Mark and Kay Henderson who ended up coming to San Benito and introducing the two of us. Now skip to our story in California...

When Steve came out to California on Memorial Day Weekend, I had planned a week full of activities (Chino Air Museum, Spruce Goose, Queen Mary, Universal Studios, etc.) I mentioned I had been praying for a sign. The first thing I asked is for God to show me that Steve was a spiritual leader. At 36 I had struggled to find a man who was a spiritual leader and being raised in a family where my birthfather was not a Christian, this was really important to me. Well, when I told Steve of the week's agenda he said "this sounds fun, but I would like us to start each day having a devotional time together". That first morning we began in 1 Peter and talked for 4 hours!!!!

When Steve proposed to me he promised that he would do his best to follow Ephesians 5:25 and love me the way Christ loved the church. I can honestly say that he has kept that promise.

The thing I love most about Steve is His love for the Lord and for His word. He is so much more disciplined than I am and for the 18 years we have been married he has read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation every year but one (one year he decided to try a different method of study)

If he already didn't have my deepest respect add on the past two years where he has absolutely sacrificed everything to take care of me and make sure that I have the best care possible. He has been amazing at holding down his own job and taking care of so many more responsibilities at home and making sure that I did not want for anything.

So I am very thankful for this day when my husband was reborn and became a servant of the Lord. I am indeed the grateful recipient of the unconditional love he pours on me because of the unconditional love that has been poured out on him.

I love you Steve! Happy Birthday! I am so thankful that the Lord blessed me with such a wonderful husband!

18 Years and Counting

Today Steve and I celebrated 18 years of marriage. We worshipped together at Highland Oaks and then went to Ralph and Kocos in McKinney for lunch. We had never been there. Typical of our eating experiences I really enjoyed mine, but Steve not so much. I had a shrimp medley plate and he had a seafood platter. I think if he would have asked for tartar sauce he might have enjoyed it better. We then went to see Bourne Ultimatum. Not a romantic movie, but nevertheless we both enjoyed it. Also a testimony of how a movie can have no offensive language and no sex and still be a blockbuster.

Thought I would reflect back on our 18 years. Steve and I actually met 28 years ago when some mutual friends introduced us. I was living in San Benito (where his friends Mark and Kay also lived) and Steve was living in Dallas. He came down for Easter one year and we met and went to lunch. After that we were pen pals for 10 years. Steve would write me short letters and I would write back, but never thought much about a relationship. 10 years later the same Mark and Kay were living in San Diego and I was living in Chino, CA. Steve was coming out to celebrate their son Josh's 13 birthday at Disneyland. Mark and Kay invited me to join them. They came back to my house and we had a bar-b-que with my foster daughters and as Steve and I were grilling the chicken, we kind of had a conversation that went something like "too bad we don't live closer together". Well, I was a brazen hussy and when he returned home I actually wrote a letter and suggested that perhaps we could do more than just write letters. Perhaps we could call (long time before email) and actually even fly and visit? Well that was in April and Steve made the first trip to California Memorial Day Weekend. We spent the week touring different L.A. sites. I had prayed for some very specific signs for God to show me if Steve was "the one". He answered them all. We were engaged in June and married in August. (long story made really short)

We have been blessed with a great marriage. We testify to God's sense of humor in that we are complete opposites. But the one thing we do have in common is our love for the Lord and our commitment to love one another with His love. We know that He put us together to serve one another. We have withstood several major disappointments, but have grown stronger.
I am so blessed to have a partner that is commited to making sure that we share heaven together one day. He helps me to keep my eyes fixed on Jesus. I look forward to continuing this journey called life with this gift that God has given me. I can only pray that I will be as good of a wife to him as he is a husband to me.

Steve gave me this really cool prism candle and a cross necklace.

I've Been Tagged

When I returned home I had been tagged by Liz with these rules...1) I have to post eight random facts about myself, 2) I have to list these rules and 3) I have to tag eight other people.

So here we go:
1)I was born and raised in El Paso (except for the 4 years I lived in Mobile Alabama)
2) I began teaching Bible class at the age of 16 with a sweet lady named Kathryn Hicks and have taught most years since then
3)On the first day of graduate school I thought I was "hot stuff" and was walking and noticed two nice looking guys, when I tripped, fell to the ground, dropped my books and tore holes in the knees of my hose. Both the guys just sat there and did not even offer a hand, so they weren't even worth my fall.
4)I was a social worker at three different church of Christ supported Children's Homes for a period of 15 years, one in San Benito, TX, one in Springhill, TN and the last in Chino, CA.
5)I worked as a reference librarian at the Superconducting Supercollider. I was the only employee in the library that did not have an MLS. It was an interesting time working with the top scientist of the world.
6)I love to swim. I swam competitively when we lived in Alabama and have a shoe box full of the ribbons I won. Backstroke was always my favorite stroke.
7)My favorite vacation was when Steve and I rented a cabin in Breckenridge, Colorado. It was a solar house and just really pretty. A creek ran behind it and the roof to the hot tub upstairs opened up to the stars! Would love to go back.
8)My favorite dessert is cheesecake. My favorite is "chocolate fudge brownie" at Cheesecake Factory. Yummmm!

So now instead of tagging eight people as the rules said, if you are reading this and want to be tagged and let us all know some new things about you, then consider yourself tagged.

Home Again

Back from Ruidoso. Andrea and I had a really nice time, just not near long enough! First of all the weather was perfect!! Gorgeous days and cool nights. The last night sleeping with the windows open we both needed a blanket. We were both amazed at how beautiful the cloud formations were. I guess because we never see the sky that blue here, they just looked different. Because they have had a good summer of rain, everything was really green. It is always special to be at the family cabin. There are just so many memories there.

Unfortunately, the town is really changing and becoming much more commercial. They are building a lot of new structures out of stucco. It is taking a lot of the character away in my opinion. There seemed to be two types of stores, the old trade post stores that just sell a lot of junk and then expensive stores with apparel and stuff that you could buy at the Galleria. It didn't use to be that way. There used to be more unique stores. Nevertheless, I did manage to buy some things including a very unusual cross made of various kinds of turquoise and stones. I could not resist.

The cabin was as I remembered it. We enjoyed sitting out on the deck, and while I did not enjoy the increase in traffic noise, it was fun to watch the hummingbirds and deer. I guess there has been an increase in deer and the Ruidosians find them to be problematic, but for us it was a novelty. We just saw a few where we were staying but the day we visited my aunt at her cabin we saw at least a half dozen at a time. She also had a really blue bird I had never seen, she said it was called a Stellar Jay. We also saw Woodpeckers. I forgot to take a camera, so did not get any pictures.


One thing I did learn is that 3 evenings is not long enough to work a 750 piece jigsaw puzzle! We worked so hard and at 2:00 a.m. the last evening I could see no end in sight so had to put it all back in the box! (Andrea had given up at midnight) So know I guess I will have to try and recreate it here at home.


I don't know that I am ever ready for a vacation to be over! But back home and will try to find some routine. I'll close today by posting a picture of the "Leaning Loo of Ruidoso". It is the outhouse that my grandfather frequented while I was growing up. It is still there, although as you can see it has sunk into the ground and no longer usable, none the less another memory that makes this place special to me.

How Could I Forget?

I forgot to mention (before I leave in a few minutes) to ask you all to send a prayer of praise up to God for the good news I got at the doctor yesterday. Everything looks so good that I don't have to go back for three months!!! This is huge for in 29 months I have never been able to go more than a month. It still remains unclear as to whether I will be able to walk on my own without a cane or crutches, but I am certain if I work hard enough, that will come too. So today I will be traveling all by myself and will see how I navigate the airport. Fortunately, they do offer wheel chair assistance! Thanks for those prayers!

Ruidoso Here I Come

I have shown this picture before. It is the Schuller family cabin in Ruidoso. My aunt Gee Gee maintains it (even though she lives in Massachusetts) because we all have such great memories of the summers we got to spend there growing up. The cabin was built in 1933, so it is very rustic. It isn't in a very wooded area and I guess they had to cut some of the few trees down because of disease. Nevertheless, I am looking forward to just being there and chilling. Taking some books to read and a jigsaw puzzle I have been wanting to work. I leave tomorrow and will visit my aunt (I call her Nanny) in El Paso tomorrow night and then will pick Andrea Landry up at the airport on Saturday and we will drive up to Ruidoso and stay until Wednesday. Andrea's son DJ is stationed in Alamogordo so we will stop and have lunch with him on the way up. I am not taking my computer with me, so will not be blogging, but will give you an update when I return. Please pray that this will be a great time for God and I to reconnect. I will miss Steve. Traveling just isn't his thing and the one time he went to Ruidoso with me he just thought it was too commercialized. He doesn't have the same connection as I do with my childhood. It was always a very special time with my grandmother. This will be my first time to go without her there, I will miss her. But I am sure we will play some Scrabble in her honor. I'll be back on the 8th and will look forward to catching up on all of your blogs and seeing how the Lord blessed you while I was gone.