RV There Yet?

Stone Mountain 2, originally uploaded by RV there yet?.

This is a shot from the top of Stone Mountain, GA taken last month. I’m testing out a feature on my Flickr photo page and figured the least I could do is post a pretty picture!

Soon-to-be daughter-in law Abigail just sent some engagement pictures they had taken by a friend. I thought they were pretty wonderful, so I’m sharing them with you….

I wrote earlier how we are settled here in Bonifay for spell. Just thought I’d let you see the neighborhood. Get it - NEIGHborhood!

Gotta love this life!

What a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend! While our first choice would be to have been with the kids, since we were about as far away as possible (Lancaster, PA – Marysville, OH – Santa Clara, CA – and Bonifay, FL), we were delighted to spend (for the third year in a row!) the weekend with our friends the Sensings at their beach house on Amelia Island. It was just the five of them and the two of us, so it was a lovely laid back couple of days. We ate too much turkey, took long walks on the beach, watched the youngins’ play in the surf , watched the whole 10 hrs. of Pride and Prejudice, slept late and drank coffee in our jammies with friends. Heck, we even went shopping in our jammies! The weather was bright and clear, and though too chilly for most of us to go in the water, we spent time at the beach each day. It was truly a lovely time.

The Sensings headed north on Saturday morning, and we headed just a little southwest to Jacksonville where we spent the night with Sower friends, Jim & Lillie Walker and their family. That evening we went into downtown Jacksonville to see the Christmas Boat Parade and fireworks. The parade was fun – but the fireworks were SPECTACULAR. Certainly the best we have ever seen. And well worth the crowds along the riverfront.

So now the weekend is but precious memories, and we are settling in at Teen Challenge Boys Ranch in Bonifay, FL. We have signed up to be “Sower on Assignment” which mean that we’ll be here for several months while Gary works on a specific project – in this case heading up the installation of the heating and A/C on a new building. So, the awnings are out, the outdoor mat is down, the birdfeeder is filled and hung, and we’re hunkering down for the winter. I might even go out and buy a potted plant for “landscaping”. Since we’re only about 5 miles from Alabama, we won’t be walking around in shorts, but we’re happy to be out of the snow at least.

Christmas (in Columbus with everyone except Abigail!) is less than 4 weeks away! Sweet.

Here are some pictures from our weekend -
Our walk after our big meal on Thursday..

The BIG Game

The Beautiful Family!

Sunset at the Walkers (yes, that is the view from the house!)

This is a pretty pitiful “representative” photo of those great fireworks, but I loved the way the moon was hung in the sky.

Like I said - a Great Weekend!

Just a quick post to report that we have arrived safely at Teen Challenge in Bonifay, FL. Do not be deceived, we are not in shorts! It’s really south Alabama! We’re just beginning to settle in, though and tomorrow (Wednesday)we head East (truck only!) to see friends for Thanksgiving. We’re truly looking forward to that!

So what are we thankful for? The list is too long to write out. But I think the bottom line of what I am thankful for is God’s Faithfulness and lovingkindness to me. I wish for you the very best of Thanksgivings - filled with friends and family, good fellowship and yummy food, and a deep abiding sense of who you are in the Lord.

We left Toccoa this morning, were somewhat delayed with an electrical problem (it’s not a good idea to drive this monster without brake lights!), but arrived at our planned destination, Auburn, Alabama, in good time. In fact, we even fit in a stop to FDR’s “Little White House” in Warm Springs, GA. It was one of the spur of the moment - hey, let’s go there- stops, and I’m glad we did. It was a beautiful property with an informative museum. The little off the beaten path jaunt took us off the Interstate and onto some nice “less travelled” roads, and I always enjoy that (well, except when the roads turn into dirt…..).

Tomorrow we’ll be stopping at Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site and the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site on our way to Dothan, AL where we’ll be Walmarting for one more night before we head into Teen Challenge Ranch in Bonifay, FL. We had been planning on spending most of the winter there working on some new construction, but we’re not sure if they are ready for the heating and A/C guy (that would be Gary) yet. So…..we’ll park there and check out the situation and then figure out what our next stop is.

Oh, the game? Well, Auburn beat Alabama U - 22-15. Since the game was in Tuscaloosa, it’s pretty quiet (at least it is now!) here in the Walmart parking lot!