It's Coming!

We have been having lots of snow and ice and WIND, always wind. Last night it was difficult even to get around town because of the ice and the emergency vehicles aiding those who slid into each other. But, there is hope. I saw it in my flower bed this week between snow storms.

Yes! Spring will come soon!

Vision beyond borders - Seeds!

If you didn't already watch the YouTube video I posted yesterday, I hope you will go back and do that. It is about Vision Beyond Borders, a remarkable organization.

Our congregation has become increasingly active this year and many of the things we do, we do as a group of all ages. It has been really quite wonderful! I love it most when we are doing something for the good of others. Our congregation helps many organizations and our last project was to help Vision Beyond Borders.

Vision Beyond Border's main mission  is to deliver Bibles to countries around the world where people do not have access to Bibles. They deliver Bibles in the native language and in some instances that means hand-wind tape players to deliver the Gospel message to those who can not read.  They are often putting themselves in danger in order to do this! They have already delivered over 1 million Bibles!

They are often witness to many great needs and because of this, they have taken on other tasks as well. They partner along side Christians in other countries to accomplish many goals. One is to help women and children escape from the slave trade. Patrick Klein, founder, was telling me yesterday about an owner of a large brothel becoming a Christian and freeing those enslaved under her. They help provide safe houses as well as training for other ways to earn money.

One of their projects that we were able to be a part of this week-end is their seed project.

They have found that many are in need of seeds to use to grow things for their own food as well as to sell. When I went to church Saturday to package seeds, I really didn't understand what a big deal this is. Our church had stacks and stacks of boxes (54 of them) and each box was loaded with unsold seeds donated by seed companies.  Each box was stuffed with seed packets...80,000 of them!  Due to customs restrictions they are not able to take those packets into all countries. Our seeds were bound for Cuba. So, we had to repackage them into baggies.

Here's how that is accomplished...

We each had a cup and we'd line it with a baggie. We'd then open 10 matching seed packets and cut out the label from one of those packets to include in the baggie, seal and repeat. They were then grouped with like seeds and boxed up for delivery to Cubans in need. A large group of us worked on that all day Saturday and still did not quite complete our task!

Sunday after church Patrick Klein was telling me a story
about visiting a man some time after he'd received seeds
from Vision Beyond Borders. The man was standing proudly by his rows of carrots that were just coming up and he was
so happy, he was crying.

I can go to the store and buy seeds anytime I want.  It was
a good reminder to appreciate all that we have.

Vision Beyond Borders is an amazing organization. If you are interested in learning more, maybe even want to be a small part of it, please click here.

Vision Beyond Borders

We've been doing something important this week-end. It was not a big thing, really, but we felt we were a part of something huge. Actually, we were! I will tell you more about it tomorrow but for now, watch this video and you'll learn more about Vision Beyond Borders. Check back tomorrow to hear our small part in helping this group.

Ballet With Elise

Our local rec center offers ballet classes for Cordelia's age, 5 year olds.  They do NOT offer ballet classes for 2 year olds but don't tell Elise. She is actually in a class that is about movement and tumbling and music. Parents are actively involved as well. Elise loves it and today I got to slip out of work to attend. Maria sat this one out and let me participate with Elise.  It was a sweet time with my youngest granddaughter!

On a side note, the teacher referred to me as Elise's mom... Twice.  I didn't correct her... Twice. Was that wrong?

When Eric arrived Elise called out, "Look, Daddy, I'm doing ballet!" She followed up with some little girl twirls.

Like I said, don't tell Elise there are no ballet classes for two year olds!

Thank you, Maria, for the photos.

Sunday Dinner

How was your day yesterday? We had a lot to be thankful for, including a dinner out with family from out of town.  Having people to love and who love us is not something we should ever take for granted. 

Made Alive

I like this song and this group. The drummer, Adam Skatula, was the drummer at our church when he was in high school. He's very talented and a nice person as well! If you like this song, please share it on Facebook or other sites to let others get to know this young group.

Door Joke

I am still putting a joke of the day on my office door at work. Healthcare can be a tough field and my work friends often deal with difficult situations and pressures. I love it when I hear someone chuckling at my door. Everyone needs a daily laugh, don't you think?

Groundhog Day 2015

The day we returned from the beach to Sara and Ben's house was Groundhog's Day... and my birthday. Because of that, I got to choose where we stopped for lunch. I didn't want to eat at an ordinary fast food chain so Sara used her phone to see what was around. We stopped at a sweet little restaurant in some little town. The restaurant where we ate was in a building that was probably a department store or something in the past. We sat at a table that was maybe in an area that used to be for the window displays. We were the window display for a bit.

It was decorated in a very eclectic manner. Along the front in the window was a whole little Christmas scene, complete with fake snow.  I guess they weren't in a hurry to take it down. On another wall they had framed pictures that had Winnie-the-Pooh quotes on them. A few of the walls had words from old hymns painted on them. It was kind of sweet. Our waitress had on a t-shirt that said, "I'm not perfect but I'm forgiven." 

That may look like a tender moment between me and Mike but do you know why my hand is on his? I was holding it down because he kept grabbing my nose!

For dinner that night we were at Sara and Ben's and they cooked a delicious dinner for us. What was really sweet was that Sara went and changed into a pretty dress. The reason that was so touching was the dress had been made by and belonged to my Grandma Rose. It looked beautiful on Sara and I thought it was a sweet gesture to wear it for my birthday.

We completed the day by playing a game that was new to us, TICKET TO RIDE. Have you played it? I really enjoyed it and look forward to our next time to play it. 

My birthday was quite memorable and it just made me so happy to spend it with Ben and Sara.

Beach Photo Shoot

Our daughter-in-law, Sara, was photographer for this strange, spontaneous photo shoot involving Ben, Mike and me.

Nights in Rodanthe - Or Afternoon in Rodanthe

Did you ever see Richard Gere and Diane Lane in "Nights in Rodanthe" based on a Nicolas Sparks book? I saw it some time ago and although I can't say it was a favorite movie or anything, I DO remember loving the scenery. I remember thinking I'd sure love to see a place like that.



Well, last week-end we were in Rodanthe! It is part of the Outer Banks (OBX) and we were actually there. I mean...right there! Sara and Ben and Mike were helping me look for the house from the movie. It wasn't hard to find.  What I didn't know was that we could have rented it for our vacation! Of course, I don't know what that would have cost.

The ocean is just over that pile of sand on the right but you may notice that it isn't quite as close as it was in the movie. Click here to see how it once looked and where it once sat.

I read more about the house and learned that the house was originally built in the 1980's and had over 400 feet between it and the Atlantic Ocean. Over the years all the storms, including hurricanes, put the house in jeopardy. After the movie it was further damaged and actually condemned. It became a hazard as movie fans were going to see it and were in danger of being injured just climbing up the damaged stairs. It was going to be torn down.

A couple ended up purchasing the house and had it moved back from the ocean. They worked to bring it back to code and to replicate the way it looked in the movie. I read that the interior shots of the movie were actually shot at a sound stage, not inside the house. However, the new owners used some of the actual props and made it as close to what we all saw in the movie as they could.

This place was not actually an inn but was just named the Inn at Rodanthe for the movie. They have that sign on it still and now rent it out as a whole house for vacationers. Actually, there were many, many houses quite like it all up and down the 200 miles of the Outer Banks. Most were empty this time of year and most are available for rent, just in case you need to plan a vacation.

I still have more to tell about our North Carolina trip but it'll have to wait.

OBX Lighthouses

After church last Sunday Mike and I met up with Ben and Sara and we took off to explore more of the Outer Banks. We weren't going to be there long enough to fully explore the area so we decided to head South and climb a lighthouse. There are four lighthouses along the OBX (remember, that is the cool way to write "Outer Banks") and two of them were advertised as open to the public for climbing. We all wanted to do that. It seemed interesting and we knew the view from the top would be fantastic!

Well, even on a fantastic day such as that one, disappointments could still occur.

As it turned out, the lighthouses were NOT open for public climbing because it was still the off season. Bummer. Still, we were able to walk around outside two of them.

This first lighthouse is the Bodie Island Lighthouse. There was a lot of water around it (well, duh?!) and a lot of birds. There were also a lot of birdwatchers hauling around giant cameras and tripods.  Close enough for the birdwatchers to hear him, Ben said to Sara something like this, "This is why I can't go anywhere! The Paparazzi are always there." Funny guy.

Bodie Island Lighthouse

Sara and Ben must have outrun the paparrazi.

We continued on down the skinny piece of land called the Outer Banks/OBX.  The road looked to have been plowed as sand was piled high on each sand. Some places the highway was this skinny...

No, we didn't get a helicopter ride. This photo is public domain, compliments of Wikipedia. The crazy thing about driving along that highway was that, although we knew that we had ocean on both sides of us, much of the time we couldn't see it because of those piles of sand on each side of the highway. Not to worry, we parked from time to time and filled our shoes up with sand as we climbed over the sand to play on the beach. It was worth filling our shoes! 

These beaches just go on and on and on.

Mike Skipping Stones - Hard to Do With Waves Coming In

Sara and Ben

(I love this photo)

We stopped at another bird reserve and followed an interesting path that had been 

tunneled through the scruffy brush. It was pretty cool.

Aaaah, Ben and His Ladies

I was going to tell you what was going on with me here but I actually can't remember.

From there, we moved on to Hattaras Lighthouse. It is known for its diagonal stripes. Actually, all 4 lighthouses along the OBX are painted differently. That way, ships at sea would know where they were by recognizing the designs on the lighthouses. Although the gift shop was open, the doors to climb up inside were locked until April 1.

But, Ben wanted to climb a lighthouse. We didn't let him. That kid has been climbing things since he was 8 months old!

There were deer all around the grounds there. We see deer all the time in 

Wyoming but these seemed different, more petite.

Speaking of wildlife...

I am not sure which little village we ate at as they kind of ran together. It was a little seafood place but after I sat down Mike pointed out this guy behind us.

I am not a big fan of animal heads hanging over my meal but this one was just weird. Here we were, out in the ocean, far from Wyoming. There hung a Pronghorn. Many people may not know this but 80% of the world's pronghorn live within a 200 mile radius of our town in Wyoming. Many live right in our town. Some of them hang out on the lawn of our church! I asked the waitress about it and she said her boss had gone hunting in Wisconsin or Wyoming or somewhere. I guess it was one of those "W" states, huh?  

Well, I'm going to stop for now but check back tomorrow because I have a photo of a special house to show to you.

Dolphins at Sunrise

Last Sunday morning I couldn't sleep in. I'd listened to the waves for much of the night, so happy to know we were right there by the ocean. One thing I really wanted to do was to see the sunrise on the ocean. I finally got up and went out on our little deck. Although the sun had not yet risen, it was already getting pretty light out. I listened to the waves, which were pretty big by then, and just felt so happy. That's when it happend!

Dolphins!

Lots and lots of dolphins!

They were really close to the shore. In fact, I worried they might beach themselves. I couldn't believe I was seeing dolphins right from our room. I quickly dressed and made my way down to the beach, soon joined by Mike.  Although I never got any photos of the dolphins (they slip through the air very quickly), we enjoyed them for quite some time.

I can't tell you how beautiful it was but I'll try to give you an idea with photos.

Do you see the bird in this one? A dolphin had just jumped below it, almost in the spotlight of the sunrise.

Joy.

Looking at all that water, seeing the sunrise there...I felt so humbled.

Mike came up to me with his cell phone showing me the most perfect verses for the occasion. 

From Psalm 8

1 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. 

2 From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. 

3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 

4 what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? 

5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. 

6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: 

7 all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, 

8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. 

9 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

I think I need to give you more...

Well, that sure didn't do justice to the beauty and the feeling we were experiencing. I guess you will have to use your imagination.

Finally, we went back into our hotel and ate a nice breakfast with Ben and Sara in the hotel restaurant with another full ocean view.  It was a wonderful start to our day.

Mike & I found a sweet little congregation with which to worship. Mornings just don't get any better than that one! What a great start to what turned out to be a great day.  More tomorrow!

OBX

Our second day in North Carolina was sooooo, so exciting! I had recently become rather fascinated with the Outer Banks. If you are cool and in the know, you spell it OBX. You needed to know that.

The OBX is a long, skinny strip of land that runs about 200 miles long. It looks like land that broke off of North Carolina and part of Virginia. It includes places you've heard of.... Kitty Hawk, Nags Head, Hatteras Island, Rodanthe and more. It is somewhere I really wanted to visit and last Saturday that dream came true!

We had about a 3 hour road trip to the OBX.  We crossed some long bridges, including one over Alligator River. We saw lots of swampy places that I didn't want to wade through!

We stopped for lunch on Roanoke Island, eating in the little town of Manteo. Andy Griffith used to live in Manteo and so did my brother and his wife for awhile. That's interesting, isn't it? It is a charming little place. This time of year a lot of places were closed but we enjoyed ourselves all the same.

Our Oldest Son, Ben

Ben and Lots of Seagulls

From there we crossed more water to head toward our hotel in Kill Devil Hills. That is actually the name of a town. I read that rum or gin or something alcoholic was once referred to as Kill Devil. There used to be a lot of pirates in the area and there was something about the alcohol being hidden in the sand hills there.

Before we got to our hotel we stopped at a state park where we could wander through sand dunes. This was not far from the sand dunes where the Wright Brothers made the first flight. I'm telling you, we were surrounded by history.  It was a fun place to wander after having ridden in the car for awhile.

Our daughter-in-law, Sara, got a little ride from Ben. 

I'm not sure how he knew where he was going.

The rest must have done her some good as she was pretty light on  her feet after that!

 I love that Sara has such a great sense of fun and adventure!

It was a place of unique beauty.

 There were weird piles of sand.

 It was really a unique place.

 It felt very much like a dessert but when we got up high on the dunes

we could clearly see that we were on a skinny strip of land with

ocean on both sides of us. 

I loved it!

We had to stop and empty a lot of sand out of our shoes but we were soon moving on to our hotel.

I almost burst into tears when I went out on the little deck off our room and saw 

how close we were to the ocean!

That is exactly what I wanted, an ocean view!