Take a Moment

What an amazing reminder of God's beautiful creation.

Our first stop in Tennessee was at Rock City. Granted, there has been plenty of intervention by mankind at Rock City, but I was still in awe of the vast beauty of the world we live in.

I am often guilty of living life in my own little rat-race in my own little corner of the world. I don't take the time to stop and ponder how much more is out there.

It was overcast the day we were there, but from Rock City, you can see 7 states. Yes, seven.

Here they are.

That was incomprehensible to me, but I guess I have to believe it.

They made a stone and everything, so it must be true. In spite of the haze, it really was beautiful.

It was also incomprehensible that we could be suspended on the edge of a giant cliff like this.

We look all calm and natural...but, we might not have been.

This little guy made the whole trip to Rock City worth it for my son.

The afternoon was spent doing a little cave sight-seeing.

Again, the wonders of creation were magnificent.

This was a cave in Raccoon Mountain, right where we were staying. It is the real deal. No man made stuff in there, except for the pathways and lights, of course.

 

Travel Tip #3: When packing for a trip, regardless of how HOT the forecast is for where you are going, always throw in at least one pair of pants and a jacket for each person. The family just might decide to do a little cave hiking, where the temperature is 60 degrees, and where every brochure said to dress warmly. This will prevent you from having to drive to Walmart to buy jeans for your children.

Travel Tip #4: Before you go buy jeans for your children (which we had already done), go check out what all the other people are wearing for the cave trip (shorts), since the cabin in which you are staying is literally within walking distance from the entrance to the cave. This will prevent you from having to drive to Walmart to buy jeans for your children.

Travel Tip #5: Sometimes brochures lie. The cave was not all that cold.

I'm sure this will shock you, but this little guy made the cave trip totally worth it for my little guy. It took everything in his power not to try to catch it.

And finally, Travel Tip #6: Seriously, take a moment to stop and be in awe of the world we live in.  Not the messed up, crazy, divided, agenda-filled world that humans have created, but the beautiful, creative, masterpiece that God created for us to enjoy.  It's breath-taking. 

10 Hours...5 States

Yesterday morning we set out for a fun-filled day of driving in the car.

Yay.

State 1: Missouri

State 2: Illinois

State 3:

State 4:

 

State 5:

 

...Which we crossed into for literally all of five minutes before we curved back into Tennessee for our stay.

Sorry, Missouri and Illinois, we travel to you so much each year that you are apparently no longer picture worthy.

However, we did notice something unique about Missouri. Their tax-payer dollars are at work in the form of driver's education. I wish I had taken a picture of these signs as we flew past them:

"Changing lanes? Show me your blinker!"
"Using turn signals to change lanes...the original instant message."
"It's a passing lane...not a cruising lane."
"Pass on left...drive on right."

I was always under the impression that one was supposed to know these things prior to getting a driver's license.

Maybe not.

We took Missouri's advice, and finally made it to stop #2. Here's our little home for the next 2 nights.

 

Travel Tip #2: Don't forget to pack hairspray. I have no idea how this happened, but it was a sad surprise this morning, especially when traveling to locales with 184% humidity.

And We're Off...

One of my goals this summer was to get back to blogging.

So far, I've been about as successful with it as I have with the goal of deep cleaning my house.

Negative on both.

But what better reason to get back online than to document family vacation?

Today we set out on a 9 day trek to the east coast. Three years ago we went west. We planned that trip for 18 months. Yes, we are that family.

Only this time we decided just a couple of months ago to throw together another "big" vacation. We were offered some tickets to a couple of Orlando destinations, and figured the kids were at a pretty good age to head to Florida.

Day #1 didn't start until 5:00 p.m. Such a mix of emotions today. This morning, we attended a funeral of a wonderful man, who's kids are friends of ours. I didn't know him extremely well personally, but the memories shared couldn't help but inspire a person to live for Jesus, encourage others, laugh often, and love freely. It is so hard to watch someone lose one they loved so dearly.

With a mix of inspiration and sadness, we finished traveling preparations, picked up daddy from work, and headed out to knock about 4 hours off of the first leg of the trip.

There were moments when I regretted that decision. Those same moments, my husband may have wanted to kick me out of the car.

It rained. A lot.

It was hard to see, and I may have suggested a time or two that we were traveling at a higher rate of speed than I would have selected.

He handled it well (both the rain and me) and we arrived safely at our first hotel.

Travel Tip #1: When leaving for vacation, do not wait 4 hours into the trip to check to see if both kids were wearing shoes when they left home.

One guess as to which child arrived with no shoes.

Funny...I was so proud of him at home that he put his pillow in the car and was waiting so patiently (for 10 minutes!) for the rest of us to finish loading up. It never even crossed my mind that he might jump in with no shoes on his feet.

Oh well, it's not the worst thing that could happen.

I'm really hoping to avoid needing the Blog Title: "The Worst Things That Can Happen on Vacation".

Different As Night and Day

These two.

I love 'em.

But sometimes...sometimes it takes every ounce of patience I can muster up to navigate their conflicting ways of thinking.

Their personalities are oh, so different.

Take the picture for example. One of my boys loves sports of almost any kind. He loves strategy and watched every play of the game. The other one split his time watching the cheerleaders, the jumbo-tron, and asking when the game would be over.

One loves spiders, snakes, and everything with six or eight legs. The other one despises them.

One loves math and thinks everything in life would just be better if it could be solved with a math problem. The other one? Math is his least favorite subject. He loves history and science.

One asks me to play games with him. The other asks me to do craft projects with him.

One asks his dad to play basketball with him. The other asks his dad to go hunting with him.

One loves legos, the other doesn't. One loves puzzles, the other doesn't. One will try almost any kind of food. The other gets pickier every day.

One, for the most part, is an avid rule-follower. The other, in a matter of one hour on Tuesday, tried to pick a lock into a classroom at school, breaking the paper clip he was using and jamming up the lock for the better part of the day. He quickly followed this up by showing some older boys how he could reach up into the snack machine and extract snacks without paying (about which he promised me he always put them back and never ate any, because "that would be stealing, mom!").

One is grounded for life. The other isn't.

One falls asleep quickly and wakes up early. Always.  The other takes forever to fall asleep and wakes up late. Always.

This week I found myself thinking this could be a really difficult summer (the lock-picking and snack-grabbing incidents may have had something to do with that...).

The list of differences is so easy to come up with, so I tried to flip to the positive and think of some common interests they have.

Turns out there are several.

Jet skiing and tubing -- even when the waves are high and it is so cold you wear sweatshirts under your life jackets. 

Boat time with grandpa and grandma.

Dirt-biking.

Rollerblading.

Traveling.
Long trips, short trips, hotel stays, or visiting family...they love it all.  This is a good thing since we will be logging well over 3,900 miles this summer.

Camping. Our home away from home.

 

Swimming.

Okay, so these things are probably favorites of just about any kid. But at least one doesn't hate water or being at the lake.

They may be opposites, but I am incredibly thankful they have each other. One makes the other be a little more of a risk taker.  The other one helps rein in a  little bit of craziness.

I hope and pray that someday down the road they will be best of friends.

For now, I will just put on my referee shirt and spend a lot of time at the lake.

Back To It

I've missed this little virtual space on the internet.

This past school year I stepped into a role that took a little extra time from our already busy lives. A few things had to be set aside for awhile.

Like this blog.

And cleaning the house.

And cooking.

And dieting.

Which you would think would actually work out well together.

Not the case.

My family didn't die from eating a few more processed foods, the house is still standing, and if I quickly reintroduce myself to exercising, there may still be hope of fitting into some summer clothes.

Actually, the thing that is bothering me the most has nothing to do with how crazy busy life was over the past year.

My current problem: I cannot find my wedding ring.

It disappeared shortly before Christmas.  I know this because I remember spending parts of Christmas break going through drawers and rooms in an attempt to find it.  I have always had issues with my rings in the winter.  My hands are like ice cubes, causing the opposite result of swelling fingers in the hot summer. My theory is that as I was putting clothes away, or taking gloves off or on, or something of the like, my ring slipped off.

However, my theory has not led me to find my ring.

The summer ring pursuit has begun. Yesterday I tackled two drawers in the kitchen. You know, those drawers that hold the pencils, tape, paperclips, and anything else four busy people decide to throw in there. No ring.

Last weekend I cleaned out the pantry. No luck there either, although I did find one long-lost shoe (my son's), monopoly money, and a blank field trip form from April. I'm thinking if I can find shoes and field trip forms in the food pantry, my ring could be just about anywhere.

Next up - going through every piece of clothing in my boys' rooms. That will be loads of fun.

In a bit of irony, our 18th wedding anniversary is today. No girl should be ringless on her anniversary. Which means...I either find my ring today, or I start working on convincing my husband to go shopping!

And Then There Were Three

Someone must have decided that I need to spend a little more time praying.

A few years ago, we started this madness with the simple purchase of a small dirt bike.

 

And then there were two.

And after a short 5 hour father-son trip yesterday....now there are three.

 

I go back and forth between wondering what kind of mother would freely give her blessing for this.........and wondering when I can get one of my own so I can ride with them.

Ten-and-a-half years ago, my husband and I decided it was time to move. I thought I was more of a city girl.  Scratch that.  The biggest "city" I have ever lived in had a population of 14,000 people.  I was more of a town girl.  You know...neighbors, paved roads, sidewalks...somewhere you could have your windows open without having to dust every day.

My husband grew up in the country.  He really wanted his kids to grow up in the country. When a family member offered us a few acres of land for an extremely low price, we couldn't pass it up.

Sometimes, it drives me a little bit crazy. However, most of the time, I am very, very thankful. 

 

 

 

As long as they all come home in one piece.

All In A Days Work

The weather is gorgeous here. It's hard to believe that just last weekend it was freezing cold and snowing.

With warmer weather comes open windows, fresh air, playing outside.....and creatures.  Lots of nature's creatures at their finest.

This afternoon my husband and youngest son were outside and were nowhere to be found.  They were gone for hours. I should have known it had something to do with insects, spiders, amphibians, or reptiles. 

My son spotted a turtle.  Every time he moved, the turtle would go back into the water.  

What's a kid to do?

Become a ninja spy, of course.

He started at the top of the hill. It took him 30 minutes to slither down to this spot.

 

Another ten minutes later, and he was at the edge of the water.  His target -- the turtle in the red circle.

 

He faced a new quandary when he hit the edge of the water. It's hard to see in the picture, but the only way to the turtle was to venture out on the 15 foot log where the turtle sat.

 Inch by inch...

 Foot by foot...

Until he looked like he was literally lying on top of the water.

It was about this time that his dad was 99.9% sure that this would end in disaster.

Sadness.

Tears.

Huge meltdown.

And a turtle swimming away as quickly as turtles can.

But, no, the ninja spy outwitted the turtle.  He was inches away at this point.

As soon as he saw the little turtle legs start to peak out, he grabbed the turtle in victory.

No picture to show for it, but said turtle is resting happily (or not...) in his new turtle home.

And we are still trying to get the pond scum out of his clothes.