Squire Boone Caverns

Last Saturday was a rare day for us with absolutely nothing marked on the calendar!! We took a road trip to Squire Boone Caverns for the day. We had a great time! You had to go down a metal spiral staircase of 73 steps to get down there, with a few more steps to climb later. Once down, the tour took about an hour. Naturally, 10 minutes into the tour, Isaac said he had to go to the bathroom! He made it the whole tour, though. The cave was pretty cool, although nothing like when we visited Ruby Falls. There was one formation called "Fried Egg" that the boys liked. They were pretty fascinated with the whole cave, actually. After the cave, we visited the giftshop, mined for gems, and went to the grist mill. It was such a hot day that the 54 degree cave felt great!

Unbelievable!

It may sound strange, but I've been really bitter and upset about the whole wallet being stolen ordeal. It took me awhile to even replace my torn up remnant of what was returned to me. Part of that delay was I really didn't have much to put in a new wallet!! The other part was stubborness on my part - I liked my old wallet and looking at new ones simply made me mad all over again. How's that for honesty? I'd long parted with the stolen cash, stopped the missing checks, and replaced the cards. What I couldn't get back were the sentimental things - Andrew's library card with this sweet signature as a 6 year old on it, pictures, etc. I had decided that it was gone for good...finally gave in and bought a wallet a few days ago and let it go.

Today the phone rang and the rest of my wallet was found!! Praise God!! This part was actually discarded at the pool before they left. Jonathan went to open up some pump valve compartment, and there it was!! Perfectly dry and intact even! It made my day! :)

A Father's Love

I got the following in a forwarded email and the video just really touched me. Take the time to watch it to the end - you won't be sorry you did!

A son asked his father, 'Dad, will you take part in a marathon with me?' The father who, despite having a heart condition, says 'Yes'. They went on to complete the marathon together. Father and son went on to join other marathons, the father always saying 'Yes' to his son's requestof going through the race together. One day, the son asked his father, 'Dad,let's join the Ironman together.' To which, his father said 'Yes' . For those who don't know, Ironman is the toughest triathlon ever. The race encompasses three endurance events of a 2.4 mile (3.86 kilometer) ocean swim, followed by a 112 mile (180.2 kilometer) bike ride, and ending with a 26.2 mile (42.195 kilometer) marathon along the coast of the Big Island . Father and son went on to complete the race together. View this:

Under Pressure!

My devotion today was hand-picked by God just for me. He's just that good, right? :)

"We are pressed...but not...broken" 2 Corinthians 4:8

Do you feel like you're in a tunnel with no way out? Rejoice, you're positioned for a miracle! Paul said, "We are pressed on every side by troubles, but not crushed and broken. We are perplexed...but we don't give up and quit. We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going." A certain amount of pressure is necessary to release our faith, and God knows exactly how much to apply. He allows us to get to where (a) We've exhausted our own resources; (b) we're tired of Satan stealing what God says is ours; (c) the opinions of others no longer control us. It's the place Hannah found herself in when she prayed in the temple, "In distress of soul...and weeping bitterly" (1 Sa 1:10). She was under such pressure because of her childless state that when she began to unburden herself before God, the church hierarchy thought she was drunk. But when you're desperate, you're not overly concerned about blowing the minds of religious onlookers; your only concern is touching the heart of God.

With God there are no hopeless situations, just people who've grown hopeless about them. Real faith comes into its own when push collides with shove. After all, you don't need God to part the Red Sea when there are bridges all around, right? It's when there's nothing you can do to avoid the inevitable that you start trusting God to do the impossible! So the crisis you're experiencing today could be a blessing in disguise - an opportunity to experience a greater degree of His power at work in your life.
The Word For You Today, August 21, 2008

can't sleep

It's late...waaaaayyy late. I should be sleeping but just can't. I know that I will pay dearly for this tomorrow.

And for some reason this blogger clock is 3 hours behind...yes, it's 3:14 am and I just said goodbye to my husband as he heads off to work for the day.

First Day of School

It's hard to believe that school is back in session! Andrew is a big 4th grader this year and Isaac is going to kindergarten. Isaac thinks I'll just sit at home and cry while he's at school. :)

pictures...

Here are some summer pics I've been meaning to post.

These first ones are from the day I caught the boys playing with balloons. I plan to use them someday to embarrass my children! :) When I caught them looking a little more voluptuous than usual, like any good parent I grabbed my camera. It took a little convincing when Courtney came in from work - he assumed I was in on their little plan. For the record, I was not. However, I did find it pretty funny!

The next ones were taken at an Indians baseball game. We took Andrew and he was really enjoying the game. During the 4th inning, it started to rain. I think he actually had more fun watching them cover the field with the tarp and playing in the rain. He doesn't cut loose like this often, so it was fun.

Finally, a few baseball pictures. It's hard to believe summer is over and school started today!

strange week

It's been a whirlwind of a few days around here. Wednedsay I volunteered to work a pool party as a board member for North Knox Swimland. It was a "Back to School Bash" sponsored by the Elks. Sadly, someone walked into the concession stand and stole my wallet and someone else's. Needless to say, we had to dig through trashcans and dumpsters all around town looking for wallets. I have part of mine back, and thankfully that included the all important insurance card. Everything else has been cancelled, but I'd sure like to have my checkbook register and my pictures back!! I am glad that my friend found her wallet mostly intact.

Thursday morning came too soon after a late night Weds. We left at 5 am for Riley Hospital for Andrew's admission. He had a 23 hour video eeg, then an echocardiogram, opthamology visit, and another KUB to check for an obstruction. He was a happy little camper since there was a PS2 in the room! Isaac stayed with Mamaw and had fun with her.


Got home late last night, and boy it felt good to sleep in our own beds! Had the Free for All today at church, which was good. The best way I can describe it was organized chaos. It was very clear that there's a real need to reach out and do for others with no strings attached.

Stopped to do a little school shopping for the boys last night on our way home. It was frustrating to be so limited to a small amount of cash only, since none of our cards or accounts are active. I was like a kid at Christmas when my new debit card arrived in the mail today...until I read the part about my pin # coming in a seperate envelope in the next few days. Grr!! The whole theft thing just really bothers me. Not only for the obvious loss of money, but just the idea that someone would do that. I need to buy a new wallet because seeing my old one just makes me sick to my stomach. Yet, I really don't have a lot to put in a wallet at this point, so I guess it can wait. It just makes me mad that someone's selfish decision has had such an impact on every decision I've made for the last few days.

I guess I just needed a good vent...if you've hung in here for the novel...thanks!

Women of Faith

The Women of Faith conference was amazing. It was obvious God was going to do some big things - the attacks before we left were crazy! But, it all worked out, well, with the exception of no air in the big church van and our scenic route to get downtown. :) I wish we had a camera to show us all standing around the tree in Westphalia holding hands and praying, taking over the whole section at Steak and Shake, and even the desperate attempt to fix the air at AutoZone! Although we didn't take any pictures, I'm sure we all made good memories, some new friends, and had a great little getaway. I'd have to say Anita Renfroe, Nicole C. Mullen, and Patsy Clairmont were my favorites. I'd like to be Anita Renfroe when I grow up! What a great job she has!! And Nicole C. Mullen was amazing, beautiful, and incredibly gifted. What she does with the NCM kids is truly inspiring. And I'd like to know where Patsy C. gets her energy...sign me up. She's a real spitfire for the Lord!! :)Looking forward to 2009 girls!


Christy...it was so nice to meet you IRL!