This year's trip was this past Sunday, and it was perfect! Yummy burgers? Check. Kids in the creek? Check. Fall color? Check. The leaves were so bright they almost hurt my eyes!
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Tradition
Even before we had kids, Randy and I have taken a Sunday afternoon in late October or early November to go to the mountains. We go other times of the year, too, but those are random and don't count as "the trip". For this excursion, everything is kept simple and the same from year to year. We cookout -- nothing fancy; just some burgers on charcoal. We take pictures -- the obligatory poses beside the creek. And, we marvel at the fall colors -- whether good or not so much.
This year's trip was this past Sunday, and it was perfect! Yummy burgers? Check. Kids in the creek? Check. Fall color? Check. The leaves were so bright they almost hurt my eyes!
This year's trip was this past Sunday, and it was perfect! Yummy burgers? Check. Kids in the creek? Check. Fall color? Check. The leaves were so bright they almost hurt my eyes!
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Stealing Home
I love to watch O steal home ... she's gotten so much better at it than her first attempt 18 months ago. That time? Head first. But safe! These pics were take at our last tournament of the year this past weekend in Crossville. The pitcher threw a high one, and the catcher missed it; O set out to steal home, and was successful. Our team took 2nd place; so proud of those girls! Randy figured out that we played more than 90 games with the Astros this season. Wow! Can't wait until spring practice begins ...
Monday, October 4, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
My Bible
About this time last year, we experienced "Flood #2 of 2009". This one, as some of you may remember, was outdoors (#1 was in our house). On a camping trip. Our van was totaled. Many of the items in our van were a complete loss, and one of my prized possessions was in the passenger's seat: my Bible.
Just a word about this particular Bible. I bought it for myself with graduation money upon completing high school in 1987. It's a "kids Bible" -- Precious Moments to boot. These little children with the big heads and big eyes were quite the thing back then, and I loved the pictures and extra devotionals scattered throughout. I documented special verses and sermon notes in the margins and extra pages; in the "record keeping section", one finds my salvation timeline, family births, dedications, baptisms, marriages, etc. It's history. It's the book that stuck with me through college. It's the book that sat on my bedside table in our little apartment when first married. It's the book that bore my grief and fed my faith as we dealt with infertility. It's the book that has shared my joy and struggles as our family finally grew. It's a part of me.
Gingerly, I rescued it from the water-soaked van when at the impound lot. I laid it in the sun to dry ... for weeks. Once all was said and done, my Bible lost its spine, the adhesive had dissolved, many pages were stuck together, and evidence of water damage and mold were evident in the seams. The pages make a unique noise when turned now, and every one of them are crinkled, bumpy and rough.
But ... all of my writing, note-taking and underlining is fine. Perfect actually. All of my keepsake notes, bookmarks, and hand-made treasures tucked in the pages -- fine. A flower Hudson had picked special for me -- still in its place. And most of all, the printed pages were all in tact; readable; Jesus' words still a gleaming red; God's Word -- unharmed.
Not long after the flood, I replaced this Bible with one that had been given to me a couple of years ago (still unused). My old one is just too damaged to carry to church or to even use at home on a daily basis. I bought it a new cover and plan to keep it under my side of the bed. Not too far away. For now, though, I'm going through it -- page by page -- transferring every underline, note, reference, and thought to my new Bible. Which, by the way, does not have any pictures of cute big-headed, big-eyed kids in it.
I've completed the Old Testament, and today I finished Luke. Should have the rest of the New Testament done before long. While working on this today, a verse in Matthew came to mind prompting this post.
"Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away." Matt. 24:35.
The flood may have done a lot of damage to things I held as important -- our van, favorite beach towels, my crock pot (!). But it didn't take God's word from me. It's in my heart, and it's still in my favorite Bible from 23 years ago.
Here are some pics of the damage. Notice the water marks and mold spots on the picture page, then note the unharmed handwriting on pages of Scripture. My camera didn't focus very wide, so some of it looks a little blurry, but it's clear as can be in real life:
Just a word about this particular Bible. I bought it for myself with graduation money upon completing high school in 1987. It's a "kids Bible" -- Precious Moments to boot. These little children with the big heads and big eyes were quite the thing back then, and I loved the pictures and extra devotionals scattered throughout. I documented special verses and sermon notes in the margins and extra pages; in the "record keeping section", one finds my salvation timeline, family births, dedications, baptisms, marriages, etc. It's history. It's the book that stuck with me through college. It's the book that sat on my bedside table in our little apartment when first married. It's the book that bore my grief and fed my faith as we dealt with infertility. It's the book that has shared my joy and struggles as our family finally grew. It's a part of me.
Gingerly, I rescued it from the water-soaked van when at the impound lot. I laid it in the sun to dry ... for weeks. Once all was said and done, my Bible lost its spine, the adhesive had dissolved, many pages were stuck together, and evidence of water damage and mold were evident in the seams. The pages make a unique noise when turned now, and every one of them are crinkled, bumpy and rough.
But ... all of my writing, note-taking and underlining is fine. Perfect actually. All of my keepsake notes, bookmarks, and hand-made treasures tucked in the pages -- fine. A flower Hudson had picked special for me -- still in its place. And most of all, the printed pages were all in tact; readable; Jesus' words still a gleaming red; God's Word -- unharmed.
Not long after the flood, I replaced this Bible with one that had been given to me a couple of years ago (still unused). My old one is just too damaged to carry to church or to even use at home on a daily basis. I bought it a new cover and plan to keep it under my side of the bed. Not too far away. For now, though, I'm going through it -- page by page -- transferring every underline, note, reference, and thought to my new Bible. Which, by the way, does not have any pictures of cute big-headed, big-eyed kids in it.
I've completed the Old Testament, and today I finished Luke. Should have the rest of the New Testament done before long. While working on this today, a verse in Matthew came to mind prompting this post.
"Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away." Matt. 24:35.
The flood may have done a lot of damage to things I held as important -- our van, favorite beach towels, my crock pot (!). But it didn't take God's word from me. It's in my heart, and it's still in my favorite Bible from 23 years ago.
Here are some pics of the damage. Notice the water marks and mold spots on the picture page, then note the unharmed handwriting on pages of Scripture. My camera didn't focus very wide, so some of it looks a little blurry, but it's clear as can be in real life:
Sunday, September 19, 2010
It's Fall Ball Time in Tennessee
Had to sell our UT season tickets this year, but for a good cause ... fall softball and soccer! Olivia is playing for CAK and for the Astros; Hudson is doing One Goal Soccer through our church, and he loves it!
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