Truckin Teeds

A Little Bit of History

2009-10-13T08:44:00.001-07:00

Tim and I often get nonplanned days off in various parts of the country. Sometimes we get a chance to be tourists. This was one of those rare occasions that we were able to spend quite a bit of time and very little money to enjoy an interesting tourist attraction!

This is the Railway Cafe. We started our little visit by having a yummy lunch here. They had a Sante Fe Chicken Soup that was scrumptious! This is the information center. They were a wealth of information. If we ever get a chance to visit here again, I plan to spend more time finding out about the area attractions from them.

I just love fall. The leaves are turning! I love that we get to see the seasons in all the different parts of this country!

The austere Mrs. Grant. This statue of the First Lady is located just outside of the Grant home. I'm not sure if we should feel welcome or not. Her expression is not very pleasant.

This is a picture of a picture. I thought it was neat to see what the Grant family looked like.

You can't visit a Civil War Memorial site without having a picture taken with the cannons! :o) I think the Yankees would have been a bit intimidated facing down this guy! (I'm talking about Tim, not the gun) It's my camera that's slanted, not the ground. :o)

Ain't he handsome, though?

What a beautiful view from the top of the hill near Grant's house! I was trying to decide if it would be worth the money to take the tour of the Grant home when we saw the sign saying it was closed on Mondays. Decision Made! :o)

This cute little trolley took tourists on a tour of the town. Of course, they charge you an arm and a leg to ride in it and they don't even let you get out to take pictures, so we didn't do it. But, it's cute! :o) This is the Civil War Memorial that is in the park.

And last, but certainly not least...the statue of General Ulysses S. Grant!

Summer Fun!

2009-07-25T21:14:00.000-07:00

Our family came to visit! We had lots of fun and ate lots of food!
Laurie and I had to try out this playground toy to make sure it was safe for the chilluns!

It was nice to look at the lake, but it would have been even nicer if we could have jumped in! It was SOOO hot!!

Phillip and Randy took turns fishing.

These kids make me smile!

Stay tuned and I'll try to publish a few more pics from that visit!

Old Sturbridge Village

2009-05-10T20:53:00.000-07:00

Tim and I did a little sight-seeing a couple weekend ago. We went to Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, MA. It is a "living museum" all about life in New England in the 1790-1840 time period. There are 59 buildings on 200 acres where you can meet people that are dressed for that time period and know many of the historical facts pertaining to that time. There is a working blacksmith shop, cobbler, water powered saw-mill, grist mill and carding mill as well as a print shop, tin shop, pottery maker, and cooper. We had a wonderful time (it sure was a lot of walking, though). I'm going to post some of the pictures from our day so you can enjoy some of the sights we saw.

A Most Interesting Weekend....

2009-02-03T13:06:00.000-08:00

Julie, Beth and Wanda

We spent this past weekend with the family that owns the truck we drive. They belong to a German-Baptist Church. I wasn't exactly sure what that meant until we spent some time with them and went to church with them Sunday. What a fascinating experience! I am going to try and relate our church-going experience with those of you that are interested!

We arrived at the meeting house at about 10 til 10AM. Our hosts pointed out that if we needed to use the restrooms we would have to go to the outbuildings (and it would be MIGHTY COLD). The men and women sit on opposite sides of the church. We were told we could sit together, but we wanted to follow their traditions as much as possible, so for the first time since we've been married Tim and I didn't sit together in church. Another of their traditions is that they greet one another with a holy kiss (fortunately for us that does not include "outsiders" so we were able to greet with a handshake). The benches were just simple wooden planks...one to sit on and one across the back for a bit of support. (Let me just insert here that I REALLY appreciate the cushions on our church pews!) The service began at 10 with a song. They do not use instruments, but sing in 4 part harmony. It was beautiful, just a bit slower than I'm used to. They each have their own little hymnal which they are responsible for bringing along with their Bibles to the service. After the song, a minister stood and read a chapter from the Bible. Then, we sang another hymn, then knelt for prayer (my rear end was welcoming the break from that wooden bench). Next, another minister got up and read another chapter from the Bible and talked about praise and how important it is to continually give God praise. Then, the main speaker for the morning got up, read another chapter from the Bible and started his sermon. It was a wonderful message full of depth and meaning! He used many more scripture passages throughout his message. (Tim and I were both amazed at how much scripture they read during the service). After his message (by now it was about 11:30) we knelt for prayer again (big sigh of relief). Then, the final minister got up and summed up what had been preached that morning. Finally, we sang another hymn and then we were dismissed. The entire service lasted 2 hours (not much different from our Sunday School and church combined). I thoroughly enjoyed the service (I'm thinking I may have to bring a cushion with me if I go again, though).

There were about 250 people in the service, many of those were young people. It was really interesting to find out about their youth activities and singings. Their worship and traditions are VERY similar to the Amish churches, but their doctrine is much closer to ours. We had a great time visiting them and learning about their faith. I can hardly wait to go back and visit again!

As you can see, we had much laughter! :o) These girls were a real hoot! You may notice Wanda's two girls did not wear coverings or the hand made dresses. They are not baptized members of the church yet, so they do not have to follow all the rules and traditions of the church.

Bibles And Cell Phones

2009-02-01T15:18:00.000-08:00

I just read this little article and thought I would share it:

Do you ever wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phones?
What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?
What if we turned back to get it if we forgot it?
What if we flipped through it several times a day?
What if we used it to receive messages from the text?
What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?
What if we gave it to our children as gifts?
What if we used it as we traveled?
What if we used it in case of an emergency?
Oh, and one more thing, unlike our cell phones, we don't ever have to worry about our Bible being disconnected because Jesus already paid the bill!

This little article really challenged me! I thought I would pass it along. :o)

Playing Ball in the House?? Shame On You!

2009-01-29T14:50:00.001-08:00

Visit with Family

2009-01-12T19:46:00.000-08:00

Just before Christmas we were able to meet my Aunt Jenny and her daughter, Katie for dinner. It is one of the "perks" of our job. I try to keep track of who we might be near and take the opportunity to spend some time with them. We had a nice visit (they brought me homemade Christmas cookies)!

San Francisco

2008-12-22T09:56:00.000-08:00

We had a fun day just being tourists!

We didn't take the time to go to the aquarium, but I would like to do so someday.

Pier 39 is the main "tourist trap" at Fisherman's Wharf.

Lots and lots of shops to spend money in...

And a giant Christmas tree to put you in the mood to spend $$$ :o)

Have you ever seen a double decker carousel? I hadn't!

It was soooo cold. I thought this poor little bird looked frigid!

The famous Alcatraz Island

A performer at Fisherman's Wharf

Some of the street performers we saw (there weren't too many out on this blustery day).

The San Francisco Boudin Sourdough Bread Company is a YUMMY place to visit. I had to take several pictures of them making bread in differents shapes. They are really artists! :o) It was fun to watch the demonstrations as well as smell the yummy bread baking!

View of the city

The famous "street cars". We rode on them a couple times during our visit.

This is Lombard Street. It's kind of hard to tell from the picture, but it's the crookedest street in the US. :o)

The next two pictures are just to give you an idea of how steep the roads are in Frisco. We hiked up and down a few of them. (whew)

In California Again

2008-12-13T07:53:00.000-08:00

We're in San Francisco this weekend. Tim and I are going sight seeing down by Fisherman's Wharf today. I may even get some pictures to post! (I know they've been a long time in coming).
Anyway, until then I found some holiday eating tips in a paper my parents get called the Fish Wrapper and thought I'd share them with you...
1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a buffet table knows nothing of the holiday spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving real snack food.
2. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.
3. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.
4. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?
5. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-lb plate of food.
6. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in a variety of shapes and sizes, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.
7. Same for pies. Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or, if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?
8. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have SOME standards.
9. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Reread tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner.

:o)

What a Week!!

2008-11-10T16:14:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe that just over a week ago we were in Hobe Sound, FL. From there we went up to Atlanta where we got a load to Oregon. After spending just a short day and a half with Bob and Amber we got another load to Albany, NY. Whew! We sure are tired!
I couldn't resist posting this hilarious picture of our friend, Zola all dressed up for Halloween! Also, below that is a picture of Rod and Betty's kids in their costumes.

Now for our pictures in Oregon (sorry, no scenic ones this time).

I really enjoyed playing with Joseph. It took a little bit for him to warm up to me, but by the time we were ready to leave (of course) he and I were able to have some fun.

Such a photogenic little cutie!
Can't believe how big he's getting!
Mommy and son--just a bit of family resemblance, right?
The Howell family
Tim decided it's time to train a new driver.
He caught on really fast! :o)
He was so pleased with himself wearing Daddy's shoes!
Amber and I always have to have a goofy picture taken.
And, a normal one. (You can tell which is which, right?)

VOTE VOTE VOTE!!!!

2008-11-03T19:57:00.000-08:00

It was such an awesome experience to go to a Palin rally! About a week ago, Tim and I were in Tampa at the same time as Palin, so we went to the rally. I was amazed at the size of the crowd! I really enjoyed the different signs people had made (especially the Kids for Palin, that guy was SO cute). If you look through the pictures there is one that shows her husband Todd and daughter and son, Piper and Tripp. Also, the lady in the green dress is Elizabeth Hassleback from "The View". Also, Florida's Governor Crisp was there along with Shawn Hannity (he was busy doing interviews, so I didn't get any pics of him).

Rod and Betty's kids helped us make posters so we could stand on the corner of US1 and Bridge Rd and show our support of Sarah Palin and John McCain. They also came out with us Sunday afternoon and stood for 2 hours holding up the signs! They were such a blessing to have around! :o) If you go to Betty's blog, she'll probably have pictures of us standing out on the corner (I got so busy holding signs that I forgot to take any pics of that)!

It's finally all going to be over in just a short 24 hours! I hope all of you are going to get out there and vote! I am so excited that God has been answering prayer and McCain and Palin are going to be the President and Vice President of our great country!

Peek A Boo!

2008-10-01T11:26:00.000-07:00

A fun little side trip.

We took a tour of the "stars homes". This was the vehicle we got to ride in.

This is a gate that leads to a house Elvis used to own. Fans have carved their names and notes to Elvis in the paint in the gate. The current owners have left it so other fans can enjoy it.
This is the entrance to Julia Roberts home. It was one of the most beautiful homes we were able to see. (Most of the homes were so far back off the road and surrounded by trees that we couldn't see them).
This is the back of Julia Roberts home.
This home was built for Ray Croc (founder of McDonalds).
I know all you can see here are trees and a fence, but this place belongs to fomer First Lady Nancy Regan. You could even see some of the secret service agents guarding the place.
I just couldn't resist taking a picture of this statue. It looked so sweet!
And of course the famous Rodeo Drive!
These are some of the exclusive shops on Rodeo Dr.
I couldn't resist Kermit the Frog.
Here is the entrance to Grauman's Chinese Theater (this is where the stars put their footprints in the concrete).
Tim and I went down the "star walk" and found a few interesting stars.
After a full day of sightseeing we went to a musical production at the Pantages Theater. It was WONDERFUL!
The inside of the theater was beautiful, but we were only allowed to take pictures of the entryway. :o(

I know, I'm not keeping up very well! :o) But, our computer died a couple weeks ago and we have just recently replaced it. I'll try to do better. We have actually gone to some interesting places recently! (Like a Sarah Palin rally--pictures coming soon)

A Rare Treat!

2008-08-31T11:53:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we had the opportunity to drop in on my brother, John and his family. John recently had hip replacement surgery, so he is housebound for a while. We really had a good time visiting with them! Tonya fed us, and fed us, and fed us!!! We must have each gained 10 pounds over the weekend! :o) She's a great cook! We really enjoyed getting to know my niece, Michelle better too. We don't see them very often and she's all grown up now (she'll be 20 in December).
We managed to get them to agree to let us teach them how to play Catan. It can be a bit intimidating at first. Once we got into it a bit they really had a great time! I hope we get to stop by there again sometime soon. We just never know where we're going to end up each weekend. (Watch out! It could be YOUR house!)

Michelle

Tonya

John (pardon his appearance--after all he DID just have major surgery)

The Catan board (such fun)

And finally...Michelle is showing us there are other uses for roads than just placing them on the board.

VBS--Part 2

2008-08-18T11:19:00.000-07:00

I know, I'm really slow getting this on here, but I haven't had good internet connection in quite a while. When it's a slow connection I can't get the pictures uploaded.

Anyway, here are some more highlights of VBS in Arkansas!

CRAFT TIME!!

Each night we had a different craft. Leora did a wonderful job making sure it all ran smoothly. (Especially since we didn't always have it quite ready for her).

The first night we had them make pet rocks--David and Goliath story so we incorporated the rock :o)

Night 2 was spray dye t-shirts. The kids really seemed to enjoy doing that. We had written "Wanted By God" on the back of each shirt and the kids spay dyed stars on the front.

Night 3 they made rattlesnakes out of empty water bottles.

Night 4 they made cowboy vests out of paper bags.

And, finally on night 5 they made "Wanted by God" door hangers.

Here are some pictures of the kids working on the crafts. Somehow Leora managed to escape having her picture taken.

We had the children split up into 4 teams. Each night they started out together in the church singing and listening to the Bible story. Then, we split them up and one team went to the craft tables, one went to have a snack, one went to do an outdoor activity and one group stayed inside to play a memory verse game. Laurie had a different game each night to help them learn their verses.

I'm going to post a few pictures from the activities, then I'll stop boring you with this photo journal of our VBS. :o)

What's a story of David and Goliath without a slingshot?? The kids LOVE to play with water balloons. One of our church members brought this super-powerful water balloon slingshot for Monday night. My dear husband decided to volunteer as the target. He came away from that with a few bruises!

Every year Shawn Gaddy sets up an obstacle course for the kids. They really look forward to the night they get to run through it.

Remeber how I said Laurie was working with the kids each night on the memory verses. As an added incentive, Pastor Charles (aka Snakeoil Snidely) agreed to be the target for some cream pies. Any child that learned all 5 memory verses by Friday night was able to smush a pie in his face. (Some of the adults were hoping they could qualify too!!)

Such a good sport!!

Last, but not least...we were able to borrow a horse for the children to ride. They REALLY enjoyed that. Most of the kids had never been on a horse before. Tim went through a lot of hassle to make that happen, but he came through! :o)

Our final service was on Sunday morning. We did a summary of the week using our skit. We gave out prizes for the children with the most points earned all week. We also had a cookout after the service. We had quite a few parents come to see what their kids had been doing all week. All in all, it was worth the work and effort put into it. We had about 60 kids every night and 53 kids on Sunday! A pretty good turn out for our little church!
Hope you enjoyed this glimps of our VBS!

Welcome to a new Blogger!!

2008-08-12T12:26:00.000-07:00

And I do mean NEW! :o) Robert and Arlene Booth are the proud parents of little Kalena Nicole. Tim and I had an opportunity to meet her Sunday night (I can't believe I forgot to take my camera). I snatched a couple of pictures from Kalena's blog. You should pop over there and check out the others. I think there will be a LOT of them to look at in the coming months! I have put a link in my "blogger buddies" list to her photo blog.

Welcome, Kalena and Congrats Robert and Arlene!

Vacation Bible School Part 1

2008-08-09T14:54:00.000-07:00

We're finally back on the road! :o) After such a hectic time at home it's almost a relief to be back in the swing of things (ALMOST). Anyway, I'm going to share some of the highlights of VBS and of our time with Laurie and the kids.

Welcome to Cowtown...this is where it all took place! :o)

There was singing....

Accompanied by Laurie on the keyboard...

I don't think we have any pictures of Laurie telling the Bible story or doing the memory verse games...she did an excellent job, as usual!!

And NOW.....THE DRAMA

Each night we had a little skit that kind of summed up the lessons. It was about a young sheepherder named "Davy". (Get the picture?)

This young man (Nelson) played Davy.

And of course, every story has to have a villain. Ours was none other than Snakeoil Snidely (played by Pastor Charles).

Then, there was the Narrator, Windy (played by Tim the first couple nights, and then by one our teens, Julian, the other three nights).

Davy had a girlfriend (Sweet Clementine), but for some reason we don't have any pictures of her. :o(

Then, we had Sheriff Saul and Deputy John. Our puppeteers, Omar and Mario did a fabulous job with them!

I'll share more about VBS soon, but this is a start, right? Just check back and you'll see some of the crafts and outdoor games we did. I'd just like to note that all of this was coordinated by my very talented sister! It's amazing how much work went into this week long production! She never ceases to amaze me!!

The "ICK" is here!

2008-07-18T10:28:00.000-07:00

Our home has been hit with a BIG UGLY BUG!!! It started Sunday night with Tim getting sick. Then, just as he was feeling better, I got sick Wednesday night. Last night Nathan and Phillip were sick. I'm just praying Katie, Austin and Laurie escape unscathed! Pray for us. We have to be ready for VBS Monday night. God can help us!

Happy Birthday to Me!

2008-07-08T11:39:00.000-07:00

Ok, so it's not my birthday yet....but Mom and Dad had a little party for me! :o) We were passing through last week on the way to California so they decided to go ahead and celebrate.

Mom made a yummy Birthday Cake!

The Birthday Girl

Mommy and Me

Ride 'em Cowboy..er..CowGIRL :o)

Nathan having fun with Uncle Tim

Oh, the Fun!

2008-06-25T17:54:00.001-07:00

Can you believe this???

McDonalds is doing their part to help trucker obesity! :o)

Happy Father's Day

2008-06-16T08:19:00.000-07:00

F.A.T.H.E.R.S.
"F" aithful.
"A" lways there.
"T" rustworthy.
"H" onoring.
"E" ver-loving.
"R" ighteous.
"S" upportive.

A little tribute to my Daddy! Love you, Dad!!!

What Makes a Dad
God took the strength of a mountain,
The majesty of a tree,
The warmth of a summer sun,
The calm of a quiet sea,
The generous soul of nature,
The comforting arm of night,
The wisdom of the ages,
The power of the eagle's flight,
The joy of a morning in spring,
The faith of a mustard seed,
The patience of eternity,
The depth of a family need,
Then God combined these qualities,
When there was nothing more to add,
He knew His masterpiece was complete,
And so, He called it ... Dad
Author Unknown

Grandpa goofing around with one of his many grandsons! :o)
The little ones love to snuggle with Grandpa.

Grandpa goofing around with Grandma! :o)

Fathers are Wonderful People
Fathers are wonderful people
Too little understood,
And we do not sing their praises
As often as we should...

For, somehow, Father seems to be
The man who pays the bills,
While Mother binds up little hurts
And nurses all our ills...

And Father struggles daily
To live up to "HIS IMAGE"
As protector and provider
And "hero or the scrimmage"...

And perhaps that is the reason
We sometimes get the notion,
That Fathers are not subject
To the thing we call emotion,

But if you look inside Dad's heart,
Where no one else can see
You'll find he's sentimental
And as "soft" as he can be...

But he's so busy every day
In the grueling race of life,
He leaves the sentimental stuff
To his partner and his wife...

But Fathers are just WONDERFUL
In a million different ways,
And they merit loving compliments
And accolade of praise,

For the only reason Dad aspires
To fortune and success
Is to make the family proud of him
And to bring them happiness...

And like OUR HEAVENLY FATHER,
He's a guardian and a guide,
Someone that we can count on
To be ALWAYS ON OUR SIDE.
Helen Steiner Rice

Long Overdue!

2008-06-13T11:43:00.001-07:00

I'm a bit behind in my blogging (I know at least a few of you noticed). Not much has been happening lately (just truckin), but I did want to share some pictures from a quick visit with Amber, Bob and Joseph a couple months ago. We met them in Gettysburg and spent a few hours together. As usual, we found time for photo ops.

Bob at the cemetary

Tim and the President

I just LOVE that face

Amber and I

What a fun day!

Don't worry...Mommy was nearby...

Young Love :o)

Tim and I and my niece (Katlyn)

Yay! Look at me!

Awww...such a sweet family

A Parting Shot :o)

PS Thanks to those of you that have already responded to my last post through comments and emails. We look forward to visiting some of your churches! :o)

To Whom It May Concern

2008-06-11T12:16:00.000-07:00

How many of you out there actually EXPECT to have 1 or more visitors to your church this Sunday? I'm just curious. How accessible is your church information (times, location, phone numbers)? I have to tell you, trying to find a church (especially a conservative Holiness church) while you're traveling is a very difficult task. I use every resource I can to find a church. I have used our GPS, church directories, church finder websites, the yellow pages, and the phone-a-friend hotline. Even with all of these great things at my fingertips, there are some Sundays that we miss church altogether. One of the things that makes it difficult for us is of course, parking. Not every church has the kind of space we need for parking our truck. Usually we can find a lot nearby and walk the rest of the way, but not always. Another obstacle is that churches all start at varying times. We usually try to arrive around 10:30am to be on the safe side. The final problem we encounter is outdated information (especially when finding a church from a website or the yellow pages. Sometimes we get to the address and find the church has moved or closed. It would be easy to find out about these things and avoid all the obstacles if we could call ahead, but alas I have found that 9 times out of 10 when we call a church phone number we get an answering machine. Even THAT would help IF the church would put some vital information on that message (such as the times of service). I almost always leave a message when I get a machine and almost never get a return phone call. It makes me wonder if some of these Churches are missing out on some local visitors because they choose not to answer the phone??
While I'm harping....I just want to say how disappointed I am that so many churches choose not to have Sunday evening services. Most of them say it is because they want to have "family time". What better way is there to spend time with your family than in church?? And how many of these families are really staying home on Sunday nights and REALLY spending time together as a family?? Just wondering...
Anyway, if any of you out there have any suggestions of ways to find a church please let me know! Also, please consider putting your church information on www.churchangel.com So far that is the largest directory I have been able to find online, but there are VERY few holiness churches listed on there. I am proud to say our home church (in AR) is listed on that site and our pastor does answer his phone!! :o)

Still Trucking...well, trying to...

2008-05-16T12:05:00.000-07:00

We're in Atlanta, GA waiting for a load. Things have been a bit slow for us lately. I'm thinking the price of fuel is slowing down the expedite freight business.
My internet connection has been a bit slow lately, but when I get a better connection I'll share some Mother's Day pics with you. We were able to be with my mom for Mother's Day and I took a family photo (not easy with 10 adults and 9 children to fit into the picture).

Another Week Has Flown By

2008-04-28T06:28:00.000-07:00

My sister, Laurie has done a better job of keeping up with her blog than I have. She has been giving updates on Mom's progress with her treatments as well as our progress in getting her moved into her new home. Whew! We are exhausted! Tim and I are planning to get back on the road today (we need to just so we can catch up on our rest). :o) It has been a long week, but things are looking up. Mom is finally starting to feel better and we have all their things moved over here from the other house. She is planning to slowly unpack and settle in as she has the energy. Hopefully she won't overdo it. It is going to be hard to leave, especially when we don't know when we can get back here. I'm praying the Lord will work it out for us to be here for her next treatment.

Below is a picture of the outside of Mom's new house. It's a lot bigger than it looks...plenty of room for visiters. She is looking forward to doing some entertaining in the near future.

Thanks to all of you that have been praying. We have really seen God's hand in all this. We are trusting in Him for Mom's recovery. She is still apprehensive about all her treatments and about the fact that this is something that will never completely go away. But, she knows Who holds tomorrow and is gaining physical and emotional strength each day. I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful role model. I wish I could be the encouragement to her that she has been to me over the years. I truely treasure each day I have with her! (I know, I'm waxing sentimental) :o)

Just a Quick Update

2008-04-21T01:22:00.000-07:00

Today is going to be the most difficult day yet. Mom has to have several more tests done (some of which she is very nervous about). They told us yesterday that she is in stage 3, but we still don't know which specific type of lymphoma it is, so we're trying not to be panicky.

If you know my mom, you know that her natural inclination is to think the worst...she is trying her best to overcome that and think positively, but it's VERY hard for her. Please pray specifically for God to give her some peace in the coming days. It's so hard to see her going through all this!

God IS good! We really appreciate all the support we have been shown from extended family, friends and church members. Thank you!

Mom would really enjoy getting some cards just so she knows people are thinking of her and praying for her. If you know her and have a minute to write her a note it would be wonderful. My sister, Laurie has posted an address on her blog that the cards can be sent to. Her link is under my list of "blogger buddies".

Long day, and longer night....

2008-04-19T21:44:00.000-07:00

I am at the hospital right now. We decided it would be better if Mom wasn't left alone here...she gets a bit too anxious. So, we are taking turns sitting with her. Tonight, it's my turn. It's about 12:45am and she is finally sleeping. I'm not sure how long that will last because they have to come check on her and give her antibiotics periodically.
Mom and Dad were just getting ready to move to a new place just before Mom was put into the hospital. As a matter of fact, Mom had almost everything packed up. The people that lived in the home they are moving to had not gotten all their things moved out, and we were about to give up on them ever doing so. We started praying that something would happen this weekend since Tim and I were here with the truck and Mom really needs the new place to come home to; not only for something to look forward to, but also because it is all on one level, so she won't have to navigate stairs. Well, today it worked out for us to go help the other people to move out. It was LOTS of work!!! Laurie had also planned a spaghetti dinner for today as a fundraiser, and she had advertised so she had to go through with it.
Like I said, it was a very LONG day. But, I'm happy to report...we did get the other people completely moved out and the house will be ready for cleaning first thing Monday morning...Laurie's spaghetti dinner went fairly well...and Mom is resting comfortably for now. :o) For the moment, all is well!
I'm going to post a couple of pictures from the day later (unless I forget) :o)
I think for now I'll just try to get a little sleep before the nurse comes back to give Mom more medicine.
Thanks again for your continued prayers!

Waiting...

2008-04-18T14:29:00.000-07:00

It seems like all our lives are spent waiting for something...when we're children we can't wait to become a teenager, then we can't wait to get our driver's license, then we can't wait until we graduate from highschool and go on to college or get out on or own for a career, then we can't wait until we meet that special someone and settle down to married life, then we can't wait until we have children....then, things settle into a groove for a while, but the next thing you know...you can't wait until YOUR children settle down and have little grandchildren for you...see, always waiting to see what will happen next. Sometimes the anticipation is worth it, and sometimes it's not. If you have been reading my sister's blog you know that my mother was just diagnosed with non-Hodgekin's Lymphoma. We are now all waiting for all the test results and the recommended treatment program. I think this is the most difficult waiting time of my life!! One minute I tell myself that the waiting will be the hardest part of all this, then I realize that this is just the beginning...I know there are many of you out there that know what I'm talking about. You've already been through this with a loved one. You know exactly how it feels and most of you know how much we have to rely on God to get us through this time. Please pray for our family...especially for Mom...as we go through the next few weeks finding out exactly what we're dealing with and learning how to cope with it. Tim and I are driving to PA right now to be with her for the weekend and I can hardly wait to get there!

Home Sweet Home!

2008-04-05T19:06:00.000-07:00

It's hard to appreciate all the extra room with mere pictures, but they'll have to do while you all wait for us to come visit you again! :o)

A Queen sized bed

OR a kitchen table

I also have a kitchen sink

And, a nice sized fridge

And cabinets galore to store all of this (plus a few more things)

New Truck!

2008-04-05T07:29:00.000-07:00

We have finally been able to move into our new truck. :o) It is soooo roomy compared to the one we just moved out of. Check out the size of the sleeper! I'll post some pics of the inside later today. We are in the process of getting all our things put away and getting some work done on the truck so that it's ready to run!

She Got Me!

2008-04-02T10:37:00.000-07:00

I knew yesterday was April 1st...I don't know why I wasn't expecting something, but I was innocently going about my day when my niece, Michelle, text messaged me. She managed to get me to call a phone number where I heard a recording saying there was an important message for me. The message was "Your Breath Stinks!" To say I was surprised is putting it mildly! :o) Oh well, at least I was able to share the joke with a couple other people. That makes it worth it, right?

My Cheeks STILL Hurt!

2008-03-25T20:11:00.000-07:00

We visited, we ate, we shopped, we played Dutch Blitz, we laughed, and laughed, and well...you get the picture! All in all we had a wonderful time with our new friends! Dan and Tammy were terrific hosts and the children kept us entertained for hours on end. Unfortunately, our crazy company decided it was time for us to get back to work, so we're off to the eastern states for a while. We hope to get to visit with the Williams again soon (next time I'll have to bring my scrapbooks!)

By the way, Tammy is a Creative Memories Consultant...if you need any scrapbooking stuff just check out her blog (I added it to my list). Her contact info is on there. :o)

--Thanks again, you guys for taking us in...we really appreciated everything!

Easter in Arizona

2008-03-24T00:02:00.001-07:00

Ya know, I'm starting to see a trend....first Christmas, then Easter...I'm not sure I want to see what the weather will be like here on the 4th of July! :o)

Our wonderful pastor told us about a church in Phoenix, AZ that belongs to the same conference as ours. We looked them up, and were we ever glad we did! We enjoyed wonderful services, a great Easter dinner and top of the line hospitality. Isn't it wonderful to belong to the Family of God? You'll find that you have "relatives" just about anywhere you go! We really enjoyed getting to know the Pastor and his family as well as some of the church members. They made us feel welcome. One of the pastor's children (Matthew) colored these great pictures for me, and even gave me permission to post them on my blog! The whole family was just wonderful! We'll never forget how they made us feel completely at home.

Truckin Through Colorado

2008-03-20T14:21:00.000-07:00

Pike's Peak

I snitched this picture from the Internet since I wasn't able to get a good one this time through. :o) It truly is beautiful out here! We have been trekking through the mountains all afternoon heading to New Mexico. Tomorrow we will deliver in Scottsdale, AZ and then we're HOPING to head back to the east for a while.
If anyone out there knows of a good church in Scottsdale, AZ I'd appreciate it if you'd give me the information....just in case we wind up there for the weekend. :o)

More TN Pictures

2008-03-17T07:52:00.000-07:00

Nurse Jamie--One of the teens got a little injured while playing soccar (see next post), so...Jamie to the rescue! She had her doctored up in no time.

We tried our hand at Mad Gab. Tim and I are not used to playing, so we were not much use to our teams. You can see by Brian's expression that what Tim is reading isn't making a whole lot of sense. :o)

And of course, Ben was turning on the charm, as usual (it didn't work though, the girls still won--sort of)

Pastor Peak and his bride

Our Happy Hosts

Ben, Cora and Quintanna Peak

We really had a great time visiting in TN. We look forward to going back! It's so wonderful to see our friends being used by God in a mighty way. We expect to hear great things from that little corner of the woods!

Fun with Friends in Tennessee

2008-03-10T18:16:00.000-07:00

The Church that Ben and Brian are pastoring.
Brian and Tim playing indoor soccar with the youth group.
Jamie and Katie (She's such a "smiley" baby)

Megan and Quintana enjoying a video (each in her own unique way)! We had a wonderful time this past weekend! I have more pictures, but I'm having trouble uploading them. I'll try to post them this weekend.
Anyway, it was great seeing some old college friends at work! :o) Thanks Brian and Jamie for your wonderful hospitality!

Fixin up Ye Ol Homestead

2008-03-10T14:33:00.000-07:00

Before

During

AFTER

The last time we were home Tim decided to do some painting. Our eaves and other trim on the outside of the house were starting to look pretty bad! A friend of ours (Nate) came over on Saturday, and the two of them spent most of the day working on the front of the house. The above pictures show a little of the progress they made. :o)

Bus Convention

2008-03-06T07:33:00.000-08:00

Oops...I almost forgot...Bus Convention is on in Lebanon, PA! It is a great place to get ideas for outreach ministries. If you can't be there in person, just go to their website www.busconvention.com and watch some of the sessions live. ENJOY! :o)

New Blogger!

2008-03-05T15:11:00.000-08:00

A hearty welcome to my big brother! He's finally joined us in the blogosphere. :o) He's been getting to woodworking lately (I've blogged a little about it in the past). He has already finished some really neat projects and plans to share pictures of his creations in the making. Drop over and visit his blog...and if you have time, leave a comment so he feels welcome. :o)

Oops, I almost forgot...you can find his blog at www.dutchcountrywoodworker.blogspot.com

"Relaxing" at Home

2008-02-25T14:50:00.000-08:00

We were recently able to spend 9 whole days at home!! This is the longest we have been home at one stretch since we first started driving over 2 years ago!!

As you can see...we had a small pile of mail awaiting our arrival (this is just what we received since the end of Dec.--Tim's mom had already forwarded December's mail to my folks house at Christmas time). By the way, I pay all of our bills online and get estatements from many of them, but yet...it still stacks up!

After wading through the mail, we set up all the appointments we could in advance for all the things we had to take care of for our truck as well our physicals which were due at that time. Unfortunately, I was having some health issues, so I had to go to several doctor visits before I could pass my physical. Between all the appointments we were able to cram in several Catan games, dinners with family and friends and a few church services in our very own HOME CHURCH! :o) Above is a slideshow with a few pictures of our time with Jeff and Heather and our little niece, Katie and the Schenck family. We managed to cram in quite a bit of fun before heading out again.

Catching Up!

2008-02-24T20:02:00.000-08:00

Since I've finally rejoined the blogging world, I thought I'd try to catch up on the last few weeks.

Some people might think this was my Valentine's day gift...you would be wrong. Tim actually gave me those a week BEFORE Valentine's. I thought for a minute he was just trying to stay ahead of the game, but not so! He was just being extra sweet! On Valentine's Day he woke me up and told me he had drawn a hot bath for me and when I went into the bathroom, I found a dozen roses and a card propped up beside the jacuzzi. Then, that evening he was going to take me to the Olive Garden. That was a nice thought, but...even though we got there at 5 it was already VERY crowded! So, instead of waiting, we decided to go somewhere else. I had seen an advertisement at Chick-fil-A for a candlelight dinner and live music. I thought it sounded really cute, so I talked Tim into trying it out. We were glad we did! It was so cute!! They had the restaurant decorated, and were giving out little stuffed cows with roses. :o) All in all, we had a great evening. :o) Unfortunately, I left my camera in the truck, so I have no pictures to comemorate the evening. :o(

Back From My Blogging Sabatical

2008-02-21T18:07:00.000-08:00

Wow, has it really been that long??? Tim and I were home for a week and a half, and I don't get much internet time at home. :o) Pitiful excuse, I know, but if you check out Leora's blog you can see that we enjoyed some time at our pastor's home...we also spent time with family AND crammed in getting some maintenence done on the truck as well as trying to run all the errands that come with being away from home for THREE months!! We REALLY enjoyed the hometime, and it sure was hard to get back out on the road (especially since we managed to catch the "ick" from our dear friends the Schencks) :o)
So, last night Indiana, tonight Ohio and tomorrow Pennsylvania...and we're off....

Blue Light Special

2008-02-07T16:50:00.000-08:00

And I'm not talking about K-Mart!! The long arm of the law finally caught up with me! :o( Yes, I was going a whopping 6mph over the speed limit. You'll be happy to know you are protected from us wild and dangerous truck drivers... ;o) The officer did let me know that the main reason he pulled me over was because one of my headlights was out (we were on a hazmat load, so we had inspected the truck just a few hours before and the light was working). Since he had gone through all the trouble of pulling me over he decided to do a level 3 inspection (which is a pretty thorough inspection). Instead of giving me a ticket for the headlight (a non-moving violation) and a warning for the speeding, he did the opposite...which is not good for a cdl holder. Oh well, I've learned my lesson (don't ever drive with a headlight out)!

The BEST Mom in the WHOLE world!

2008-02-02T08:05:00.001-08:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!Today is my mother's birthday. Yup...she's a groundhog. :o) We used to tease her about whether or not she saw her shadow.
I feel so blessed that God put me in this family! My mom is the BEST lasagna-maker (it's not just her kids that say so...other's have proclaimed her fame far and wide). She's also been a wonderful example of Godly living! She has taught me to love God and others. I've never been able to express my feelings in writing (I'm a much better talker!), but I want everyone to know how very much I love and appreciate Mom!
I found this poem and it expresses better than I can how I feel about my mom...

I Learned From You
I learned about love from you,
Watching your caring ways.
I learned about joy from you
In fun-filled yesterdays.
From you I learned forgiving
Of faults both big and small.
I learned what I know about living
From you, as you gave life your all.
The example you set is still with me
I'd never want any other.
I'm thankful for all that you taught me,
And I'm blessed to call you "Mother."
By Joanna Fuchs

Mmmm...mmm..GOOD!

2008-01-31T13:39:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday we were able to spend some time with family, which is always a treat! This time was even better than usual because my mom made her famous lasagna! YUMMY! We all love it and beg her to make it often. Add to it some homemade rolls a la Jonathan and we had one TERRIFIC Sunday dinner.

This One is For Real! :o)

2008-01-28T11:55:00.001-08:00

My cousin, Sally has joined the blog world. Hop on over and check out her blog when you get a chance! :o) http://www.piercepad.blogspot.com/

Oops!

2008-01-23T17:24:00.000-08:00

My mistake! Amber has been threatening to "go public" with her blog for a little while now, and I thought she had done so, but she hasn't. She has, however given me permission to post her email address so anyone that is interested in seeing her blog can email her and she will give you an invitation. :o) I guess that's the next best thing. You can email her at batchick1306@yahoo.com

Welcome!

2008-01-23T09:55:00.000-08:00

Amber has finally made her blog available to everyone! Pop on over and check it out! It's http://www.lovingmommyhood.blogspot.com/

Our Little Jaunt

2008-01-16T16:05:00.000-08:00

A couple days after New Year's Amber and I took a little road trip (after all, I couldn't very well spend a whole 2 weeks NOT driving, could I?). First we went up to Tunkhannock to see the Sicklers. We had a very fun evening of reminiscing. Andrea has already shared a few pictures...but I couldn't resist putting on a few more.

We always have a blast when we're together!

The "Dorm Demolition" Crew :o)

Amber and Jessica

Jennifer, Emily and Jack bundling up for "nippy" weather.

Andrea, Jaron and the girls and I celebrated Christmas. I think Jaron's gift was a hit! :o)

Our next stop was Syracuse, NY to meet up with my cousin Sally. She had come to Hobe Sound for a while and she and Amber became good friends. It was really neat to catch up on the last few years. She now has three children. She only brought her youngest, Charles with her this time (such a cutie!). Charles

I Knew It!

2008-01-15T07:32:00.000-08:00

I knew I had a good lookin brother under all that hair!! Now he's threatening to grow the beard back! Maybe if my fellow bloggers will shout some words of encouragement I can talk him out of it. :o)

Oh What Fun!

2008-01-11T20:05:00.000-08:00

Tim and I love to give gifts! The worst part about missing Christmas Day in PA was not getting to see everyone open their presents! But, we made up for it when we finally got there. Laurie had even saved a couple of her kids gifts so we could watch them open those. We had Christmas with Mom and Dad and Laurie's family, then with Jonathan's family, then with Bob and Amber, then Andrea and Jaron..we really stretched out Christmas this year! :o)

Sight and Sound

2008-01-09T10:16:00.000-08:00

My parents gave us tickets to see a Sight and Sound production for our Christmas presents this year. If you're not familiar with Sight and Sound, it's a Broadway-like production of a Bible story. We saw the Christmas Miracle, but in about a month they will be changing to Daniel. WOW! It was SO awesome! We had balcony seats, so we could see everything! There are 3 stages...a large one in the middle and two smaller ones on either side, and they bring animals right down the aisles past the audience. What a neat way to see the Bible come alive! My parents gave tickets to Tim and I, my two brothers and my sister and their families, so there was quite a large group of us! We were able to sit together, so after the show I had someone take a picture of us all. Dad had to work that day and Mom stayed home with the two babies, so they didn't get to enjoy the show with us.
Thanks Mom and Dad for such a wonderful gift! You're the best!!!

Yummy!

2007-12-24T20:25:00.000-08:00

The owners of our truck decided to give us a Christmas bonus. They told us we could choose a nice restaurant and go out to dinner on them! :o) Amber had told about this place a long time ago and I've always wanted to go try it out. Wow! It was really delicious!

For an appetizer we had the fiesta cheese fondue. The cheese sauce was just a little bit spicy. They gave us some apple pieces, bread, mixed raw veggies and tortilla chips to dip in the cheese. We did our best not to eat TOO much of that, because we knew the best was yet to come!

Next, came the main entree. As you can see, we had quite a selection of meat!

Along with the plate of meat, we had some potatos, broccoli, mushrooms and zucchini, as well as some yummy dipping sauces. We knew the best was yet to come...we didn't eat all the meat and veggies because...

...Cookies and Cream Flambee!!! You can't tell, but I took the picture just as the waiter set it on fire! :o)

Mmmmm...strawberries, bananas, marshmallows, pound cake, brownies,rice crispie treats and cheesecake to dip in the chocolate mixture!!

Even though we had "saved room for dessert," we still couldn't eat it all!

Whew, what a meal! Thanks Dan and Bettyann!!

Christmas in the Desert

2007-12-22T17:42:00.000-08:00

Well, it's official...we're spending Christmas in Arizona this year. We were not able to get a load heading back east. :o( But, the silver lining to the cloud is that Amber's grandmother lives here and has graciously invited us into her home. My parents bought us tickets to see a Sight and Sound production on Dec. 28th. We have a load picking up Dec. 26th in El Paso, TX going to Detroit, MI. We figured out if we can average no less than 55mph for that trip and immdiately head to PA after delivery, we can make it just in time for the show. You'll all have to help us pray for good weather and clear roads for this 2600 mile trip we have to make with about 50 hours to do it in.

On the Road Again!

2007-12-20T17:26:00.000-08:00

Yipee! After hours and hours of waiting, our truck is finally fixed! Tim was a sweet husband...he let me enjoy the comfort of the driver's lounge while he "camped out" on the lift gate of the truck. The shop would not allow us inside the truck while it was being worked on today, and we had to keep the back of the truck in sight, so.... as you can see, Tim had quite a neat little set up. :o)
Tim insisted I share this little story. Yesterday, I was sitting in the truck and one of the service guys opened the door to do something. He thought he had scared me, so I guess he felt he should make some small talk. He asked where we were from to which I replied, "Arkansas." "Oh, Are you Irish?" HUH???? That's a first!! I was taken a little off guard, but I told him no and that actually my husband was the one from AR, I am actually from upstate NY. "Oh, well my mother is from Arkansas and she's Irish," he replied. Again I had to quickly disguise my reaction. Let's just say we're in EL PASO, TX and the guy looked about as far from being Irish as anyone I've ever met!! Oh well, ya never know! Anyway, the story is a bit funnier if I TELL it, I've never been a good writer (where's Travis when you need him?).
Anyway, we are FINALLY ready to hit the road! Arizona, here we come!!!

We Interrupt This Broadcast for a Special News Flash! Happy Birthday, Sis!

2007-12-20T04:33:00.000-08:00

Wow, it's my big sister's birthday! Time really flies. It seems like only yesterday she was teasing me unmercifully and bossing me around (oh wait, that WAS yesterday). When we were kids I never dreamed that one day my sister and I would actually WANT to spend time together. But, here we are years later and now we have such a good time that it's really a bummer we live so far apart! I am continually amazed at the talent and creativity she possesses. Not only does she have talent, but she uses it! She plays the organ every Saturday night at the Gospel Center. She is an incredible musician! It's amazing how she can play a song on the piano after only hearing it only once or twice! She's a Sunday School teacher for the bus ministry at her church. She plans, decorates and coordinates the VBS program for the 3-5 yr. olds at her church every year (not a small task, believe me)! This year she even brought her entire family to Arkansas and helped our church with the teen VBS class! She conducts craft classes for a group of ladies once a month. She even finds the time to volunteer at her kids' school as librarian! The list could go on and on. The bottom line is, when she sees a need, she does everything she can to fill it! I'm proud to be her baby sister! :o) Maybe if I hang out with her long enough some of that creativity she has will rub off on me!
Happy Birthady Sis! Hope this year is even better than the last!

PS The snowman you see in the picture is one of her creations :o) She crocheted the hat and scarf (along with 12 other hat/scarf sets) so the ladies could put them together on craft night.

The Verdict is In!

2007-12-19T16:16:00.001-08:00

And, it's not pretty! The turbo went out on our truck. The simple version is that it is a very expensive and time consuming repair. Fortunately we don't have to pay for the repair. Unfortunately, we also can't make any money until this truck is up and running again. :o( AND, it's not looking so good for Christmas in the east. Oh well, God is still in control. I'm sure he has a reason for all this. Meanwhile, we have to "babysit" this load, so we're not getting much sleep. I'll let you know when we get up and running again.

The Jury is Still Out!

2007-12-19T07:54:00.000-08:00

After sitting all night outside the Freightliner Dealership, we know one thing. The truck is broken. We still don't know what the official diagnosis is, however. We were supposed to be in Tucson, AZ by 3:30 this afternoon. That is NOT going to happen. The technicians here are scurrying around like snails in the dead of winter, so I'm thinking we'll be here a while. Stay tuned for further developments! :o)

Uh, OH!

2007-12-18T22:00:00.001-08:00

We are having technical difficulties! It is only 1 week until Christmas and we are having truck issues in El Paso, TX. A VERY long way from where we want to spend the holidays!! Please help us pray that the truck only needs an "easy" fix and that we get a load heading back east ASAP! :o) Even though it's nice and warm here, we don't really want to spend Christmas in Texas! Help us pray and we'll keep you posted.

Breakfast with the Taylors

2007-12-13T17:31:00.000-08:00

We had a delivery in TN yesterday, and we found out we were going to be just a few miles from Pastor and Mrs. Brian Taylor. :o) We met them at Panera Bread and enjoyed a couple of hours of fellowship. They have two very beautiful daughters. We really appreciate having friends that will take time out of their busy schedules and meet up with two lonely truck drivers. Thanks to all of you out there that have met up with us at one time or another. We are so blessed to have you as our friends!

West Virginia

2007-12-07T19:47:00.000-08:00

We had the opportunity to spend a few hours with Bob and Amber (and of course, baby Joseph). We really enjoyed getting to see them again. It's so nice to have them over on the east coast! :o) Joseph is growing so fast.

Here Turkey, Turkey!

2007-11-29T11:16:00.000-08:00

I once had a teacher that told us the turkey is the dumbest animal alive. Sometimes she would tell us to stop acting like turkeys and think things through before we did them. I should have followed that advise last Friday! :o) My sister really wanted a laptop computer. She found out that Circuit City had them for sale for $300 on Black Friday. Alas, there is no Circuit City near her home in Lebanon, PA, so she convinced her little sister to try and get one for her. I have gone Black Friday shopping every year for the past 4 or 5 years and I actually enjoy it. But, my usual practice is start at about 4AM when the first store on my list opens and systematically work my way through until I get all (or at least most) of the items I'm wanting. I knew that some people go really early and wait in line for stores to open to get some of the big ticket items. I thought, hmmm..a laptop computer...I'll have to start out early. So, I convinced my friend, Leora to come with me and we set out at Midnight Thursday night. On the way down we laughed about how silly we were to be out that early. "We'll just sit in the van and keep warm until the crowds start coming" we nievely said. Then, we pulled into the parking lot at Circuit City. After much searching, I FINALLY found a parking space. The line was already half around the building!! I could hardly believe it! But, we came prepared...we had our coats, a scarf, some gloves, blankets and folding chairs. "We'll just settle in and visit and wait for the store to open. How bad can it be?" "Brrr....it's so c-c-c-old...only 4 more hours...??? We can do that, right?" We knew it was cold, we didn't find out until much later that it had gotten down to about 17*. We took turns defrosting in the van, but we never did truely warm up until much later in the morning when we finally got down the business of REALLY shopping. Anyway, we finally made it to 5AM when the store would open. Time to get that laptop, right? WRONG! After all we were about 40th in line and they only had 12 laptops!!! Poor Laurie...I tried! But wait...apparently the Pennsylvanians are not as determined as the Arkansawyers...Laurie got up at 4AM and went to Staples to wait in line (they had a deal on a laptop as well). Believe it or not, she got it! After I had treated my frostbitten toes and thawed out my nose...I decided that next year I would REALLY be prepared: propane heater, extra thick blankets, hot chocolate in a thermos....WHAT AM I SAYING??? I think I'll just go back to arriving at the stores when they open and leave the waiting in line for the real professionals! :o)

Sweet Home Alabama!

2007-11-17T10:29:00.000-08:00

Well, we did spend last weekend in Alabama. :o) We really enjoyed getting to catch up with so many friends all in one place! Jessica was a wonderful hostess, as usual. We spent Saturday evening at Daniel and Holly's. We really enjoyed catching up and cutting up! :o) They have a cute little dog (you'll see him in the pictures). Tim and I are usually loved by children and anmials, but this little guy was terrified of us! I did manage to catch a snapshot of Tim holding him before he bolted to the other side of the room, but other than that short moment, we had to admire him from afar.
Sunday, Jessica and Marissa provided us with a wonderful Sunday dinner. We really enjoyed the services at the Talladega Bible Methodist Church both Sunday morning and evening. I'm not sure how Marissa managed to escape from my camera's range, but I'll be sure and not let that happen next time.
We had to be in Atlanta first thing Monday morning, and we have been running hard ever since. We are finally pausing to catch our breath this weekend. We have a load scheduled for pickup Monday morning in Memphis, TN. Then, hopefully we will be off and running until Thursday. If you think of it this week, please help us pray that we will get a load bringing us close to home by Wednesday night. We would really like to spend Thanksgiving at home this year! Thanks in adavance!

Good Coffee and Good Conversation

2007-11-09T13:31:00.000-08:00

We had a great (albeit short) time in Hobe Sound. Saturday night, Rod and Betty took us out to dinner. Then, Sunday they overfed us again! :o) We really enjoyed visiting with them and our other friends down there. Now maybe you can see why I call Betty the "Queen of Hospitality".
Now we're in Alabama and waiting for a load to take us somewhere exciting for the weekend.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

2007-11-05T06:33:00.000-08:00

A Dad is a person
who is loving and kind,
And often he knows
what you have on your mind.
He's someone who listens,
suggests, and defends.
A dad can be one
of your very best friends!
He's proud of your triumphs,
but when things go wrong,
A dad can be patient
and helpful and strong
In all that you do,
a dad's love plays a part.
There's always a place for him
deep in your heart.
And each year that passes,
you're even more glad,
More grateful and proud
just to call him your dad!
Thank you, Dad...
for listening and caring,
for giving and sharing,
but, especially, for just being you!
Happy Birthday, Dad!

Florida!

2007-11-02T20:56:00.000-07:00

We have been Soooo busy! It's hard to believe I've been away from my computer for such a long time! :o)
We are in Melbourne, FL tonight, and hoping to head down to Hobe Sound tomorrow afternoon if we don't get a load out. We always look forward to spending time with our friends down here. :o)

"I've Been Everywhere"

2007-10-22T13:39:00.000-07:00

The first song on my playlist is one that Tim has loved ever since he was a kid. Now he can sing it about himself! :o)

We really enjoyed the scenery on the way down to St. Paul, MN from Canada. We even stopped in a little tourist town and walked around a bit. We even went into the railroad museum. :o) It was a nice way to spend an afternoon.

Strange Loads

2007-10-21T18:59:00.000-07:00

I'm often amazed at what some people consider important. We are in the expedite freight business, and often we are asked to haul one or two small items "hot shot" so a company can keep in production. Sometimes you have to wonder just how important that one little item can be...we took a train seat all the way from Plattsburgh, NY to Thunder Bay, ON (which is right by the Wisconsin border).
Tim took a picture of one of the train cars at the production plant we went to. Looks kind of luxourious, ay?
I also included a picture of a tree I saw in NY...I thought it was pretty funny that only half of it had turned. :o)

Pastor Appreciation

2007-10-19T18:12:00.000-07:00

A Pastor's Heart

A well spoken message stirs a heart to rejoice
There is nothing like a strong, resilient voice
But when sorrow comes, there is no better gift to impart
Then the gift of a caring, pastor's heart
A loving touch or a kind word
A moment of counsel from God's holy word
A telephone call--after you just heard..,
Is the gift of our pastor's heart.

Lord, bless this pastor
In each new day
Bless his ministry along the way
For fame and fortune can never impart
The precious gift of a caring pastor's heart

Just a servant of Christ
and at times a dear friend
With a desire to love God
To the very end
Tending his flock in the Savior's way
Is the gift of a pastor's heart

Striving to live
as an apostle of Christ
Serving his father giving Godly advice!
Preaching and teaching and sharing the Word
Is the gift of a caring pastor's heart.

Sandra L. Adams, Copyright 2000

We are so blessed to call Charles and Leora Schenck our Pastors! I have never been very good with words (I use a lot of them, but don't put them together very eloquently). These two poems I found say it better than I ever could. We really love and appreciate our pastor and his family! They love God and their church family and do a wonderful job of showing it!

The Pastor's Wife

She's a Godly woman, she has such grace
Always a warm greeting, a smile on her face.
She's always encouraging, she knows her place.
She is - The Pastor's Wife.
She has to always look just right
Always on time, though the schedule's tight.
From early morning, 'til late at night
Always - The Pastor's Wife

She's such a Lady, everyone's friend
She serves with love from deep within.
All the rifts she tries to mend
Oh she's - The Pastor's Wife

She carries your burdens, she prays for you
Sometimes she cries the whole night through.
But you won't know when she's feeling blue,
'Cause she's - The Pastor's Wife

At church as she starts to walk up the aisle,
So many need to stop and talk for awhile.
Though she is tired, she has her own trials
She's patient, she's - The Pastor's Wife

Her life, her time, is not her own
There's always a need, they go on and on
With a knock at the door, or a ringing phone.
That's the life of - The Pastor's Wife

Her husband she shares with a whole congregation
She humbly accepts his intense dedication.
In loneliness she kneels to see consolation
God Bless - The Pastor's Wife

She will someday reach the end of this race
As she meets her Master face to face
Surely our God has a Special Place
In Heaven for - The Pastor's Wife!

Happy Birthday to You!

2007-10-15T18:08:00.000-07:00

Today is Leora's birthday! :o) She is not only my pastor's wife, she is a very dear friend! I was looking for pictures to post today and realized I don't have any of her. Shame on me! I had to go borrow some from her website, and even then there aren't any of just Leora alone. She is always behind the scenes working to be sure everything goes smoothly. She doesn't like being in the limelight. But, for today... :o)
I'm sure those of you that know Leora have seen how very talented she is. She plays the piano, cross-stitches, crochets, scrapbooks, decorates cakes, and the list goes on and on. She is also a really good listener. I could keep listing all her good traits, but I'll save some for later this month (remember, this IS Pastor Appreciation month).

PS This should have been posted last night, but blogger wasn't working. :o(

Fall Frolic

2007-10-08T19:13:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to help out at the Gospel Center this past weekend. They were having their annual Fall Frolic. It is an opportunity for them to reach out to the community. They had lots of fun activities for kids as well as some musical entertainment and food.
I brought my niece and nephews with me and they had a good time! Carissa even won the best costume contest.
To see more about the Fall Frolic, click of Robert's link in my blogger buddies column.

Happy Anniversary To Me! :o)

2007-10-07T19:29:00.000-07:00

Step back, girls....a lot of you have been bragging on your husbands lately, but I have to tell you...I WIN! Tim and I have been married for 7 wonderful years! He is truly the love of my life. He is compassionate and understanding and a wonderful spiritual leader in our home. As most of you already know, we spend a lot more time together than your average married couple. We are on the road 6-8 weeks at a time and most of that time we are confined to a little truck cab. We learned more about each other in the first 2 weeks of driving truck together than we had in 5 years of marriage. :o)
If you have ever been around us, you know that we are one of those sappy couples that tend to make others sick. Sorry, but we intend to stay that way!
I am really blessed to have such an understanding husband. He knows about all my quirks, and loves me anyway. If you'll notice, I never lack for pictures for my blog. I don't even post half the pictures I take. He is always willing to stop the truck (or car) to let me take advantage of a photo opportunity. He also lets me visit with any and all friends and family within driving distance. He understands my need to socialize! :o)
This past weekend, we had some time off...what did my husband do? He spent the time working his head off to fix some things in my mom's kitchen.
I have really enjoyed the past 7 years of married life and am looking forward to many, many more happy years as Mrs. Timothy Teed!

More Friends

2007-10-07T17:41:00.000-07:00

I was able to spend some time with Amber, Bob and Joseph Howell this week. :o) We had lots of fun, as usual. I went down to WV where they are living right now and stayed a night with them, then Amber brought me up to Lebanon and stayed a couple days. Of course, we had to take Joseph for his first trip to Hershey Chocolate World. He was such a good baby the whole day! Amber and I always have lots of fun when we're together (and very little sleep).

Friends!

2007-10-04T18:36:00.000-07:00

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Last weekend we were able to spend Sunday with some good friends of ours, Jaron and Andrea Sickler. We really enjoyed seeing them and their girls again. It's hard to believe how much Katrina and Katie have grown.
We became friends with Jaron and Andrea while we were all still living in Hobe Sound. Andrea and I have been keeping in touch ever since. They are actively involved in their church especially with the youth group.
Andrea is the model housewife...I am so impressed with all her gardening, canning, scrapbooking, sewing, cooking, mothering...etc. And, Jaron is quite the handy husband. He has been working hard at remodeling their home.
We always have such a fun time with the two (well, now it's four) of them. Their girls are an absolute delight!

7 Random Facts

2007-09-28T17:07:00.000-07:00

Hmmm.....I think my life is an open book....I'm not sure if I can come with 7 things about myself that none of you know. But, here goes:
1. When I was in high school I played a bird in a school play...I had to whistle a song.
2. I have sung songs in at least 8 different languages (English, Spanish, French, Creole, German, Hebrew, Latin, one of the languages from a South African Tribe).
3. I have sung in Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, Disney World, Hobe Sound Bible College and various other places.
4. I used to sing women's barbershop (and loved it)!
5. I am in Pennsylvania tonight! :o)
6. I have 11 nieces and nephews plus 5 more "adopted" nieces and nephews.
7. I am the youngest of 5 children and my (much) older sis has a blog too. :o)
8. I am an overachiever! (tee hee, just kidding) I only put a #8 so I could be sure and tell you my name is ShaRRon with 2 R's just my mom's way of making sure I am noticed!

Ketchup Day!

2007-09-25T13:23:00.000-07:00

Wow! It really hasn't been THAT long since I've posted, but I sure have lots to tell about and lots of pictures to post! I think this is going to be at least a 2-parter. :o)

Last week we had the opportunity to pick up a load in St. Petersburg, FL and I remembered that one of my "blogger buddies" lives in that area. YEA! So, I called up Jennifer and asked if we could meet her for lunch. She accepted my invite and we got to spend some time visiting with her and her new son, Evan. Jennifer and I went to college together, so we had a good time reminiscing and catching up. Tim and I really enjoyed getting to hold Evan, too. He's such a sweet, friendly baby.
We left Florida and headed back north to Philadelphia. Since our delivery was only 90 miles from Mom and Dad's we, of course, headed over there for the weekend.

One of my cousins was passing through the area Friday night and needed to pick up something from Dad, so Tim and I drove the item out to the interstate and met up with her. Since it was the middle of the night, I didn't take any pictures of the adults in the group, but I did get one of my cousin's baby, James. He was such a cutie pie! :O)

Saturday, we went over to my brother's workshop. He is getting into woodworking and has just started learning how to make dove tail joints. He gave us a step-by-step demonstration. I have put in an order for bookcase! I can't wait too see how that's going to turn out!

A Fun Weekend

2007-09-18T15:14:00.000-07:00

We were able to spend this past weekend in Lebanon, PA with my family. I'm always excited when that works out! We got in Friday night just in time to have dinner with Mom and Dad. Then, Saturday we met my brother, Jamie and his fiancee, Jennifer for lunch at the Olive Garden (yum!). He's looking much different these days...

BEFORE

AFTER (See, he cleans up nice)

Saturday afternoon we went by the GMC's Sunday School picnic. We enjoyed watching the children play. I can't believe how much my nieces and nephews are growing.
Kevin and Austin were playing football.

Austin Crocker

Kevin Sherman

Jeremy, Katlyn and Carissa were having fun with relay races.

Carissa Sherman

Katlyn Crocker

Jeremy Sherman

Phillip and Randy were having fun "fishing".

Phillip Crocker and Randy Sherman

Noelle really enjoyed the bounce house. :o)

Nathan had fun watching all the action.

I had more pictures to post (some of the adults in the family), but alas my battery is about to die. I'll try and get those posted in the next few days. (I know you'll all be holding your breath until then).
And now, off to Jacksonville, FL.

PS I also have to wait to post the pics of Noelle and Randy due to SLOW internet connection.

New Hampshire VS. New York City

2007-09-13T16:12:00.000-07:00

We were in scenic New Hampshire last weekend. They have a beautiful lake and some pretty mountains. We really enjoyed the view! :o)

Then, Sunday night we headed into NYC. If you like buildings and skyscrapers...this place is for you. Late Sunday night is a great time to avoid traffic snarls, but it is a bit difficult to find a place you can park to sleep for a while. When we woke up we saw this lovely truck parked right in front of us and a van was snugly parked behind us...we weren't going anywhere until one of them decided to move.

We picked up not far from St. Patrick's Cathedral, so we walked down and took a few pictures. It is a beautiful old church!

We were picking up from the 9th floor of the Rockerfeller Center! Not something we will consider doing again. It was very difficult to say the least.

The only redeeming factor...right across the street was this wonderful store. I had to take time out for a treat!

Saint Louis, MO

2007-09-13T08:35:00.000-07:00

Sorry I have been away so long. Sometimes it seems we get internet every day, then other times it's close to a week in between. Oh well, if that's our only problem, it's a very small one! :o) We are here in good ol Missouri. We're actually in Troy, MO this morning. We were able to visit Bob and Shar Spleen last night and they graciously invited us to spend the night and freshen up here. (Thanks SO much for being so hospitable, Bob and Shar). We had a wonderful visit. Unfortunately we kept them up very late gabbing...they are both probably mighty tired today. :o)
This afternoon we will be on our way to VA...just outside of DC (Amber, where are you??) God has been very good to us. We have been keeping very busy lately.
We did have some excitement the other day. We picked up a load in NYC at the Rockerfeller Center...I'll post some pictures soon. Have I mentioned before that NYC is not "trucker friendly"?

Happy 25th Bruce and Donna!

2007-09-07T16:48:00.000-07:00

Some friends from our church celebrated their 25th anniversary this past weekend. Tim and I were glad we were able to be home so we could join in their celebration. Bruce and Donna Henman have been a huge help to our church over the years. Donna is always there to lend a helping hand whenever and wherever she is needed. Bruce has been driving the bus for a long time! He does such a great job and is faithful to be there week after week. Their son, Heath comes to Sunday School each week and is a very special member of his class.
Congratulations Bruce and Donna!

And we do WHAT for a living??

2007-09-05T14:51:00.001-07:00

We were out and about last Friday in our van, and we had Sabryn Schenck with us. She is such a card! :o) We were on some pretty curvy, hilly roads, and she piped up from the back seat: "Uncle Tim, I'll give you a quarter if you slow down...no wait...a dollar!"
I took the picture a little later when we were actually going much slower, but it went so well with the story I just had to post it.

I also have some pictures to post from Bruce and Donna's 25th anniversary party, but in order to have internet access I'm having to sit in a very cramped smelly place....so I think those pictures will have to wait a bit. Sorry! :o)

Home Again??

2007-09-04T21:41:00.000-07:00

Can you believe we were home TWO weekends in a row?? We were so surprised to get a load offer taking us right to Bentonville, AR last Thursday! We are now on our to Virginia and I need to get back on the road, but I'll try to get online tomorrow to post more about our fun visit home. :o) (I have a funny story complete with pictures)

Worn Out

2007-08-30T07:27:00.000-07:00

We just finished spending a few days at home, and boy are we bushed! We got home last Thursday and we managed to cram in lots of work and play. I helped Leora paint her kitchen (it looks beautiful if I do say so myself). Tim and I also helped his brother Jeff get his trailer ready to move into, then we helped him move! :o) Tim also restreatched some carpet just before we headed out on Monday. Besides all that, we managed to play several games of Catan and Dutch Blitz!

Two brothers laying carpet

Katie checking out her new living room

Katie LOVES her Grandma Teed

Rylan Schenck

Sabryn Schenck

Somehow I missed getting a picture of Landen :o( Hopefully I'll get one next time!

TEXAS

2007-08-22T15:14:00.000-07:00

We are in Fort Worth, TX today. Nothing exciting happening here. Fortunately, there is no bad weather. :o) We're going to head on home for a day or so since we're so close. Hopefully we'll have time to squeeze in some visiting with family and friends while we're there.

Catching Up

2007-08-19T17:12:00.000-07:00

After Niagra Falls, we have traveled many miles and seen many things. I don't have many pictures of those things, but we saw them, nonetheless. :o) Last weekend we had a bit of excitement. Our refridgerated unit on our box broke down (air compressor went bad). We had to get that fixed as we have been hauling many refer loads lately. Fortunately, we were in Charlotte, NC when this tragedy happened. I grew up in that area, and Tim and I both lived there for a while when we first got married. Needless to say, we have many friends there.
One such friend, Terri Russell, was gracious enough to allow us to stay in her home for the weekend. She had a very busy schedule already in place for herself, so we had the run of her lovely home. It was like a mini vacation for us. Thanks Terri!

Our beautiful room at Terri's

Some other good friends of ours, Bill and Lois Brown and Bill's son William invited us to a delicious Sunday dinner. It's so nice to have friends that will look out for you when your stranded. :o)

We were also able to meet us with some friends in Charlotte. We have known the Horner Family and Michael Macalouso for many years and always enjoy visiting with them when we are in the area.

Left to right: Tim, Tommy, Vickie and Tom Horner and Michael Macalouso

After they finally got our truck fixed, we headed to Indiana. From there we were immediately dispatched on a load to Connecticut. That brings us up to last Friday. While in CT, we were given our next load assignment going from New Jersey to Texas. The exciting part is, it doesn't pick up until Monday afternoon! That meant we had the weekend off! :o) My parents had told me they were going to Richland, NY to visit a camp meeting, so we worked it out to meet them in Binghampton and rode up to Richland with them (stopping at their favorite seafood resturaunt- Eddie's on the way). Unfortunately, I left my camera in our truck :o( so I wasn't able to get any pictures. We saw many old friends there--The evangelists were Brother MR McCrary and Brother Reiff, and the singers were the Fullers. It was like a Hobe Sound reunion. Brother and Sister Blowers took good care of us for the weekend. They even took us to a WONDERFUL icecream place Saturday night after the service.
We are now back in our truck getting ready for the week ahead...who knows where we might be or who we might see by the end of the week....

Niagra Falls

2007-08-16T19:19:00.000-07:00

Lest anyone think we only take pictures in Canada! :o) We had a few extra hours when we picked up by Niagra Falls, so we ran up to the falls and took a romantic walk.

Duck, Duck, Moose?

2007-08-12T19:53:00.000-07:00

Ok, so that's a pitiful title. :o) You get the idea. We FINALLY saw a moose along side the road. We were in the Fundy National Park when we saw this guy. As you can see, he was back in amoungst the trees, so it was a bit difficult to get a clear picture. It was still kind of exciting, though.

Hopewell Rocks

2007-08-08T14:45:00.000-07:00

This blog entry will have LOTS of pictures...hope you enjoy them!
After visiting Prince Edward Island, we drove along the Bay of Fundy while heading back to the USA. We had seen a brochure about the place called Hopewell Rocks and thought it sounded interesting, so we decided to stop and check it out. We thought it was pretty cool. To really get the full experience you have to visit there at high and low tides. We went Saturday night at high tide, and then went back Sunday morning before church to see it at low tide. WOW! What a difference! When you see the pictures you'll know what I mean.
Just a side note...Saturday night it was POURING down rain (which you can see in some of the pictures). Hiking in the downpour was quite an experience in itself!

The details for each set of pictures are written UNDER each group of pics.

It's kind of hard to see, but that Orientation plan shows the bay and the trails. We hiked most of the yellow line on Saturday night.

These first few pictures are of Flower Pot Rock at high tide and again at low tide. As you can see...during high tide you have to stay up on the observation deck, but when it's low tide you can walk right down on the ocean floor.

These pictures are of the "Big Cove". The first two are high tide, and the third is at low tide. The third picture was taken from down on the beach.

Next we have "Diamond Rock". The first picture is H Tide. The second is L Tide from down on the beach, and the third is L Tide up on the observation deck.

This area was Tim's favorite! It is called Daniel's Flats. They told us that at low tide it is possible to walk out to the little island you see in the picture. (It would be a VERY muddy walk, though).

At the end of the line is an observation deck looking out over "Livingston Hills". The mountain you see is called Shepody Mountain and is the highest point in that area. I'm not really sure why they call it "Livingstone Hills".

Lobster Traps

2007-08-08T14:35:00.000-07:00

We saw a lot of these lobster traps on our trip through that part of Canada. Believe it or not, we didn't eat a single lobster dinner while we were up there. Maybe next time...

Prince Edward Island

2007-08-08T13:02:00.000-07:00

We had to drive all the way across the island to get to the place that they filmed the Anne of Green Gables movies (which is the main reason I wanted to go). The main part of the island doesn't really look that much different from some of scenery you would see in Iowa (farmland mostly). But, when you get over to the water WOW! It's really beautiful!
We basically went straight to the Anne of Green Gables Museum. There are some other intersting looking tourist attractions on island, but I was on a mission.
I learned a lot more about the author (LM Montgomery) than I ever know before. The homestead she basically grew up with was the inspiration for her Anne Books. It is still owned by some cousins of hers.
Several people there were quite amused that Fed Ex visited Green Gables. They were a bit disappointed that we didn't bring them any "parcels".

A funny side note...the little girl in some of the pictures that looks like Anne is hired by groups of Japanese tourists that come frequently to the museum for photo opportunities. We "borrowed" her for a couple of pictures.

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Not too far from the museum they have a village called "Avonlea" that is supposed to have the characters from the books walking around as well as some shows and shops. We didn't have the time to enjoy it, but hopefully we'll get to go back someday. They also have a theater in Charlottetown, PEI that has a musical version of Anne of Green Gables.

On To Canada!

2007-08-08T12:47:00.000-07:00

We took some medical equipment up to Miramichi, New Bruswick, Canada. After we caught up on our sleep, we went in search of some sights to see. :o) A huge storm had moved into Miramichi (with hurricane force winds predicted) so we quickly left that area and headed towards Price Edward Island. On the way to PEI, we stopped at a quaint little shop that makes all-natural homemade soap. They did free demonstrations. We really enjoyed looking around and seeing the demo. We were the only spectators there that were not French-speaking, so we got our very own interpretor! They had a bubble blowing contest (using Bubblicious, not soap) and the one with the biggest bubble received a free bar of soap. Since we were sitting in our own little corner they just had Tim and I compete against each other. :o)

They let us sample some of the soap at these handy dandy sinks.

This was where they held the demonstration. I was so busy watching and listening that I totally forgot to take pictures DURING the presentation.

This is the pan of "Rose Soap" they made while we watched. It will take almost a month for the soap to harden and be ready for them to sell. (They do cut it into smaller pieces). If you talk to me in the near future remind me to tell you a funny story about the large block of soap (it is not "blog apprpriate").

We saw so many quaint little towns with museums and lots of walking trails...it was hard to pass them up, but we had limited time and I REALLY wanted to get to PEI.

Next Stop....

2007-08-07T19:39:00.000-07:00

From LA, we went to NC, then to GA. (I didn't get any pictures from those pretty states since most of those trips were done at night). Then, from Atlanta, GA we got a GREAT load taking us to Miramichi, New Brunswick, Canada! :O) What an opportunity!
On the way we stopped in D.C. and had breakfast with Amber and Bob (they are going to be living in that area for the next two years). Of course, I had to get some more pictures of baby Joseph :o) Amber managed to sneak into one of those pictures. :o)

LA Pictures...as Promised!

2007-08-07T19:36:00.000-07:00

So Much to Tell, So Little Time!

2007-08-06T14:37:00.000-07:00

We have been VERY busy lately (which is a good thing). We have been hopping all over the Eastern US and Canada. I'm going to post some pictures and details over the next couple days. I have only a short time to be online right now, so I'll keep this one brief. But, stay tuned, cause more is on the way!
I'll start with when we left home (was it only a week and a half ago?). We went to Dallas, TX, then headed right over to Baton Rouge, LA. We hadn't been there very long when they decided to send us to Houma, LA to pick up a high security, refridgerated load going to New Orleans and then swapping that out and going right back to Houma. What was this all important, high security, temperature sensitive load? It was a box about the size of a tackle box with data tapes in it. It was a little difficult to secure in our big old box (Tim had to bungee it to the wall to keep it from sliding all around back there). The roads in Lousianna are very intersting. Since it is mostly swamp down there, it is hard to build something firm and solid like a road. I have a couple of pictures here to show what they have to do. We drove on miles and miles of these bridge/roads while we were down there. There's not much scenery to see...just swamps and trees.

GRRR...blogger is having problems uploading the pictures! I'll have to try again later.

Fun With the Kiddos!

2007-07-28T16:12:00.000-07:00

We really enjoyed having my sister and her family down this past week. They were a HUGE help for VBS!! Laurie helped tremendously with the planning and with the music. Her husband, Matt was busy working on the church roof all week (thanks Matt for working so hard so I could borrow your family for a while). Even the kids got into the act...Katie and Phillip helped to get the igredients ready to make soap...Austin laid on the couch and gave his two cents worth every now and then (he also helped to set off the volcanos one night at VBS). And, Nathan....well, he entertained us ALOT! :0)
I hope they can come back again next year!

Happy Belated Birthday!

2007-07-28T16:08:00.000-07:00

Our niece, Katie, turned 1 year old last Saturday. I was so busy with VBS (and also internetless) that I was unable to post on the right day. I know she had a nice b-day, though (I saw the pictures). :o)

VBS Pictures

2007-07-25T15:15:00.000-07:00

Our VBS this year had an Around the World theme. We went to Hawaii the first night (which is one of the 2 states Tim and I haven't been to yet). For our craft, the teens made volcanos out of playdough, then later in the week, we set them off. They enjoyed that. They also played Musical Sombrero on the night we went to Mexico. Apparently they had a good time. We started out Monday with 6 teens and by Friday night we had 17!! Below are some of the pictures I took. I think Leora will be posting more on her blog (she managed to remember to take more pictures than I did).

Another VBS is FINISHED!

2007-07-22T17:41:00.000-07:00

We were home all this week to help our church with Vacation Bible School. My sister and her family all came down from PA to help us out too. Whew! We sure are tired! I have some pictures I'll share later this week.
We had over 50 kids most of the nights. Laurie, Leora and myself worked mostly with the teens. We had 17 teens by Friday night! :o) I'll share more later. Glad to be back!

Home Again, Home Again

2007-07-11T15:23:00.000-07:00

We finally got the load we've been praying for!! It will take us to St. Louis, MO which is only 5 hours from home. We had committed to helping our church with VBS next week, then we had to trust God to get us home in time. :o) We're excited aobut being home for a WHOLE WEEK! My sister and her family are coming down from PA to help out with VBS as well (and get some visiting in at the same time). This will be their first time in AR.
So, tonight we're in western PA and tomorrow night we'll be in western AR. As a bonus, we'll be meeting up with Tim's parents and Aunt and Uncle in St. Louis for lunch tomorrow. They are all on their way to North Carolina for a family reunion. Isn't it amazing how God works things out sometimes?

Joseph Howell (again)

2007-07-07T21:30:00.000-07:00

I don't have children of my own, so I have to "borrow" them from friends. I just had to share these adorable pictures of Joseph. Hope you don't mind. :O)

White Glove

2007-07-03T20:42:00.000-07:00

We have been hauling some interesting loads lately. We aren't supposed to say too much about our latest one, but I will tell you that if we weren't careful we really COULD have started out the 4th with a BANG! :o) We have been able to run short loads the last couple days and stay near my family, so we will get to spend the 4th with them. :o) It's really neat how that works out sometimes.

PS Has anyone else noticed the lack of patriotic decorations this year? I have seen very few patriotic items in many of the stores I've visited lately. I for one will be wearing red, white and blue tomorrow (and maybe a lot more afterwards too).