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!

My goodness. The weather here is either amazingly beautiful or incredibly awful! Today was the latter. From the moment we got up until we hit the sack (should be happening in the next hour or so) it has rained. And rained. And rained. I know they need it badly down here, but maybe if it was just spread around a little….
OK, enough whining!
Tomorrow is our last day of work here. Wow, I am always amazed at how quickly the time goes by. We’ve left our little guest house assignment, and have moved to the mail room. And that 11,000 piece mailing (watch your mailboxes, Toccoa Falls Alumni and friends!) is now well underway!
We’ll spend the rest of the week doing chores and packing up (hopefully things will be a little drier after tonight!). We’re heading out on Saturday and pointing Lizzie South! Our destination for Thanksgiving will be Amelia Island, FL, where we’ll be visiting with our friends the Sensings. Our third T-giving on the road, and our third with the Sensings! What a treat!

Back to pre-packing!

Sunday was a long day…..

But a very good one! In what seemed to be an effort to pack at several days into one, we headed to Atlanta (about 100 miles) early Sunday morning. (We being all eight of us in a Toccoa Falls College van, with Gary driving and me as the honorary tour guide!). Our first destination was to worship at First Baptist Church of Atlanta and sit under the preaching of Charles Stanley. Now, I’m not a huge mega-church fan, and having a camera on a track around the perimeter of the room is somewhat distracting, but I must admit it was a very friendly church, the preaching was excellent, and the service was a blessing. An unexpected bonus was the special music – two solos by Steve Green. Our group leader was right on the ball, and after the service arranged for us to have a group shot taken with Dr. Stanley. He was very gracious, and was actually taking quite a bit of time to greet any visitors who wanted to speak to him. It was well worth the drive!
From there we found a great little place for lunch – the Metro Diner. Yummm. Since we’ve been eating in the college cafeteria it quite a treat!
And then our destination for the rest of the day – Stone Mountain Park. I had no idea what to expect, but while it wasn’t Disney World (nor did it want to be!!) it was quite charming. We took the Summit Skyride up to the top of the largest exposed granite dome in North America right past the carving of Lee, Jackson, and Jefferson Davis. The views from the top were quite spectacular, and the terrain made me think I was walking on the moon. Aside from the fact that it was FREEZING, it was pretty cool! Back at the bottom of the mountain we headed to a lovely Antebellum Plantation area (looking at old houses still is one of my favorite things) and then we ended up at “ A Stone Mountain Christmas”. Lots of Christmas lights, a couple of cute shows, roaming performers, some nice shops, and general Christmas good cheer. Nothing about what Christmas is really about, but nothing offensive either. We wrapped up the evening after the brief fireworks and headed home. A long day, yes….but a good one!

Here are some photos from the day –
The group photo with Charles Stanley -

And then the group with the 3D glasses. Yes, we are a pretty wild group!

And then on to Stone Mountain….
It was a great day for kite flying…as long as you didn’t get too close to the edge!

And yes, it made it all the way up.

And here’s Atlanta in the distance…..

And finally the Christmas Village (with the Confederate Memorial carving in the background).

(Sorry if the picture download was forever! I could have posted more, but tried to show some restraint! )

Today is my 55th birthday. There. It’s out in the open. I now can join AARP, get the Senior Day discount at Kohls, and order from the “Seniors Menu” from any number of restaurants. All THAT good news aside, it was a great day. We Sower Ladies took the day off, and after a yummy Vanilla Latte, we headed to the local outlet mall where I managed to pretty much wrap up my Christmas shopping. Other highlights of the day included an amazing “Happy Birthday” song from my granddaughters, calls and emails from kids and sibs and friends, and another rousing chorus of Happy B-day from my co-workers (along with a GREAT chocolate cake!). All in all, a fine birthday!

And to make the day just a little bit sweeter – here are some new pictures of our little ones. Ah, Christmas (and our visit with them) is only 6 weeks away!
Ellie with her new hair cut….

Hayley playing on the driveway….

And one of the two girls together!

Soooooo cute!