06/25/13

Drumroll please....

I will now begin the blogs on our 20th anniversary trip.  Can't say how many there will be... just stay tuned!  ha!

When we arrived on the island, we didn't realize what adventure awaited us just to get to our resort.  Even though the island is only 27 miles long and 14 miles wide, it took us about an hour and a half to get to our resort.

Why?

It is mountainous... VERY mountainous. 

I usually do not get car sick, but this time I did.

They drive on the "wrong" side of the road.

They do not have the same traffic laws/expectations as we do in the US.  There were a few times we thought we were going to have a wreck.   The driver, however, seemed as calm as a cucumber as he was all over that road.  Let's just say I was glad when we finally arrived at the resort.

Here is Dennery, St. Lucia.... our first view, and a nice break from the horrendous drive to the resort.

 That first day afternoon after arriving we just tried to get adjusted from the traveling and with the resort.  It began to rain buckets... apparently we arrived the same time a "tropical wave" arrived.  These are rainstorms like a tropical depression but definitely not as large.  We tried to take a nap, but were so tired we couldn't rest. 

That night, we went to a dinner they hosted for all of the newcomers.  Everyone was walking around with "Sandals" (the resort name) umbrellas.  We thought we had to buy one.... found out they were supposed to be in our rooms.... but we didn't have one.  We made our first memory that night by having to run back to our room in the pouring rain.  We would dodge in and out of the building stairwells when the rain would speed up or slow down.  Comical.  Truly.

The next day we took a tour of the resort to know where everything was.  We made reservations that night for their Japanese restaurant and then just laid by the pool trying to soak up the Caribbean.  :)

Here we are before we went out to eat at the Japanese restaurant.

Our chef's name was Simeon and he was great.  He wanted everyone to take a picture of his flame.  haha

 One of his fellow chefs came over with the fire extinguisher trying to be funny.

 We met two couples at that table that were going to be getting married that week.  We kept in touch with them all week... more on them later.  :)

We also met one of our favorite servers for the week that night - Robert.  His picture will come later, too. 

After eating we had our picture taken.... like how we kind of matched?

Dessert

These pictures were actually taken later in the week but you can see our room.  :)

It was so funny that they had doorbells for the rooms!

I realize it may be weird to photograph the bathroom, but it was a nice one!  

 

The shower had a huge shower head.  Usually when you go to a hotel you don't get as good of water pressure.  This shower was not like that at all.  Steve wanted to take it home with us.  haha!

This was a picture of the pathway we walked every day getting to and from our room.  It was just so pleasant.  More pics of the grounds to come.

Well, that was our first full day in St. Lucia.  I realize it wasn't as exciting but I enjoyed the relaxation because of just getting off of school and then traveling.  

Just wait until my next post on Wednesday's adventures.... lol

06/22/13

I honestly did not mean to have a week between these posts!  I have been crazy around here doing summer fun things with friends and the kiddos.  :)

SO... let's get back to those past 20 years of "me and Steve" shall we?


I can't believe how young we were.  I looked like a baby.

I don't believe I have ever told this story on my blog before.  I have told several people in person and it usually gets people giggling.... even laughing hysterically.

It is our honeymoon story.

Now, before you think I am going to go TMI on you... DON'T.

Just sit back, read, and laugh, er, uh... ENJOY.

When Steve and I were planning on what to do for our honeymoon, I knew it was no need in us going anywhere far away from home because I knew I would be having issues with that.

People used to say I couldn't get too far from the silos at the farm....

Anyway, we decided to just go to the beach.  Emerald Isle, NC to be exact.

My aunt had a condo there so we asked her if it was OK for us to use it.  She was fine with that.

We were fine with it, too, because we had no money.

I was extremely money conscious then.   

(Not that I am not today...but then I was... well.. ) 

I even borrowed my wedding dress.  (Regret #1 that I never even tried on dresses!!!)




Fast forward... we are hitched and heading to the beach.  We were going to stay there from our Saturday night till the following Sunday/week.


It took us 4 1/2 hours to get to the beach, which normally just takes 3 hours, because Sweet Man thought he knew a better way.  (He just didn't realize then that he was living with Rand McNally.)

After finally making it to the beach, and already being exhausted from the wedding/driving for a thousand hours... it was time to unpack the car.

We also brought a cooler with food in it that had to be hauled up to the condo... to cook... on our honeymoon.

Tight wad would be more descriptive of me.

Our time there had many comical moments on top of what I have shared already.

However, remember how I was really cost conscious??

We never went anywhere. 

Not even putt-putt.

Not even FORT MACON.

And only went out to eat ONE night during our stay.

We just stayed by the pool or beach.  When it rained one day we stayed in and watched TV.

We lived the exciting newlywed/honeymoon life.

On Wednesday, Sweet Man decided he would be fine without any sunscreen while sitting by the pool.  After all, it was May and the sun couldn't be THAT bad.

He fell asleep on his stomach.

He fried.... looked like a lobster, actually.

He was in pain.

He hardly slept the entire night he was in so much pain.

Thursday morning, he says to me:  "You are homesick and I am fried... let's just go home!"

Yes, I was homesick... the only time I had been away from home for a long period like this was my Senior trip in high school and I was miserable then, too.

WHY was I homesick you might ask?  After all, I was with the love of my life.  I had just gotten married.

I don't know WHAT was wrong with me, people.  I honestly do not know.

This was before cell phones, you know, so imagine the surprise of my Mom when we show up at the door on THURSDAY afternoon....from our HONEYMOON.... not the week later SUNDAY afternoon.

We stayed with them until Sunday because we didn't want anyone to know we came home early from our honeymoon.

WOULD YOU WANT ANYONE TO KNOW THAT?  Seriously!

When we left that weekend to go to our house... a couple of miles away.... my Mom and I cried and held on to each other as if we would never see each other again.  You would have thought I was moving across the country.

Poor Steve... he didn't quite know what to do with me those first few weeks.

Shoot... I wasn't quite sure what to do with ME those first few weeks.

It surely does make for an interesting story, but THIS is why we celebrated 20 years in the way we did this year.  When we took our trip to St. Lucia we had the honeymoon we never had.

More on that to come soon...

Are you still laughing?

Yeah, I thought so.

06/15/13

Where, oh where have I been?
I've not been looking at birds..... although, these pics are quite nice. 

I have been getting out of school.

I have been celebrating 20 years with Sweet Man.

I have been having a trip to celebrate those 20 years with Sweet Man.  (More on that soon...)


Here we are 20 years ago on our wedding day, May 29, 1993.

Boy, were we young.

Here we are today.... much has changed.

I say much has changed, because it has...

I don't weigh 115 pounds anymore.  OY.

Steve doesn't have brown hair anymore.  (I don't really, either, but that is our little secret.)

There are many other things that have changed, too....

On our anniversary we went out to eat.  As we ate we discussed ways we had changed over the past 20 years of marriage.

We both decided we are not the same two people who got married on that day in May, 1993.  

The thing that matters most is that in that changing we changed TOGETHER and not separately in the fact that we drifted apart. 

I wrote this poem a year before we got married and gave it to Sweet Man.  It hangs in our room to this day.  Little did I realize when I wrote it in 1992 how true it would be to our marriage.  This sums up our last 20 years... and I am confident it will be a continuation in the coming years. 

Precious Gift

Love is a precious gift from God

That cannot be bought or sold.

Love is something that stands strong

Even when storms of life beat on.

Love takes pain and grows with it;

Does not quit when time seems long.

Love is there when hurt is felt,

And stands by to heal the pain.

Love shares laughter, as well as tears;

And loving arms to hold you still.

Love is patient and very kind

Although it may be tried.

Love makes each day a bit brighter;

And grows stronger as they pass on.

Love is sometimes hard to express,

But is felt strong in the heart.

Love can last the test of time ~

For love is you.

05/23/13

How do you look at life?

Do you see the cup half empty or half full?

We all have days when we see everything empty... that is understandable. The Lord understands our weak times.

What I am meaning is how do you respond to circumstances in life on a daily basis? 

Are you positive or negative?

• Have you ever known someone who was pretty much always joyful and even when life threw them a lemon they chose to make the sweetest lemonade ever known?  They chose to consistently see how God is working and using the situation to grow them to be more like Him.

• On the reverse of that, have you ever known anyone who was nothing but a complainer and no matter what happened there were always negative comments? Does it get to the point you can "taste" the sourness of their lemonade as they approached you from a distance?  They can't see what God is doing because of the grumbling of their heart.

I have been reading this book:

It has been very good and I have gained much by reading it.  What I have just read tonight refers to this and it is written so well, I decided to share it instead of trying to rephrase it myself. 

It is worth the time to read ... and a challenge to us all to delight in each day the Lord gives to us with an attitude of praise and worship instead of grumbling and complaining about everything.

"Every day we set the table for the emotions that feed our attitude.  We either dine on positive or negative emotions.  Either we determine that we'll face life with a bad attitude or a good one.  Do you feast off a positive attitude?  Or dumpster dive into negative emotions?

Each of us sets the stage for how we respond to each situation by our attitudes.  Do you begin a task with grumbling about everything you don't like?  Does the day begin by murmuring or complaining?  How much joy do you think this is going to create in your life?  A negative attitude does not change any circumstance; it merely makes it harder to bear.

Life is filled with things we don't like and situations we'd rather not have to deal with.  When approaching a difficulty with a good attitude, the results are much more likely to have a good outcome.  If we approach life with a negative attitude, negative results will follow.  Even if there is a successful outcome, there will still be little joy or satisfaction.  A poor mind-set blinds us to the good we can glean from every situation.  .....

A grumbler never finds good.  A complainer never sees the opportunities God hides in the crevices of difficulties.  Consider the instructions of Philippians 2:14-15

Do all things with complaining and disputing,

that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world. .....

Do we really expect God to bless our lives if we are murmuring our way through every task, or resisting and complaining about what we don't like?  The ones who are faithful in the little things are the ones trustworthy in the big things.  If we walk by faith and shine His light in our attitudes, we will experience relief from the burden of our emotions, and we'll be blessed by the Lord.  ....

Psalm 37:23

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way."

~ Eddie Snipes ~ pages 178-180

05/21/13

It is the end of the school year!

You know what that means....

AWARD ceremonies!

It is a joy to reward those children who have worked diligently over the school year and attained a goal of something. 

Mikayla and Wesley earned rewards last week with their talents.  Mikayla received the Drama Award and Wesley received an award for his use of space in a piece of artwork.

I was so tickled for them and quite proud.

May I be a bit abrupt here, though, and look at these awards in a new light?

Awards in this present world will one day collect dust, rot away, could be stolen, or even thrown away by non-sentimental people.

Awards in our world are wonderful, but they do not last.

I always hear from other people year after year these types of things:

• They were so disappointed their child did not receive an award.  
• They are frustrated that their child was not recognized.
• It seems like all the awards go to the same people.
• Their child was not told at the beginning of the year that "this" was what the teacher was looking for so how will they ever win that award?

While I completely understand where they are coming from in their statements, we have to see reality here.  

I know this may seem a shock, but not all people see what we see in our children... especially the older they get and the more students a teacher may have.

Here are some thoughts that I have been "chewing" on since last week:

Are we teaching our children to only act a certain way in order to gain an award?

Are we showing the value of what they have learned in the year is less important than an award made of something that will fade away?

Are we teaching our children that it is more important to do everything as unto the Lord and not necessarily for the accolades of men/women/teachers/coaches?

While I understand the disappointment when a child does not receive an award, my concern is more of a spiritual nature.... 

...It is that of a child laying up treasures in Heaven where moth and rust aren't going to corrupt it and thieves could break through and steal.  (Matthew 6:19-20)

At this time of year when awards are rampant and feelings seem to always get hurt, let's take the time to look at the eternal picture.  One that reveals the true rewards of a child's journey in learning:

• How has your child personally and/or spiritually grown in the school year?  
• Is he/she learning from mistakes?
• Is he/she coming alongside others and helping?
• Is he/she taking the time to grow in study skills...whether they are academic or spiritual?

There is a lot more to life than earning an award here on earth. 

Let's strive to teach our children to reach for those rewards that will never tarnish.  The ones with eternal value.

Matthew 6:21 

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

II Timothy 4:7-8

I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:

Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

05/13/13

It is the end of the year at school.

May is always a tough month.... so much going on and so little energy left.  (At least for the teachers...)

By this time of year, usually I have taught all of the new things that I am to teach for the year.  I am doing a lot of reinforcing and reviewing to make sure all that has been taught is really known.

There are days at this time of the year when it is hard to get going in the morning.

It is hard to think straight because I am trying to do a million things at once.

Some days I feel as if my "bag of tricks" to help the kids learn has been drained.

I must admit.... I, myself, feel pretty depleted.

That is the state I was in when I got up to get going to school this morning.

Except, the Lord had different plans for me to stop looking at myself and how "drained" I feel, and continue to be used by HIM.

There are a few girls who have been having some difficulty getting along in my class.  It is nothing abnormal... we deal with this all of the time as teachers.  Instead of "band-aiding" the behavior of unkindness, we all try to counsel the children to help them understand what God's Word says about their problems between each other.  Teaching school is a lot more than "Readin', 'Ritin', and 'Rithmetic!"

One of the precious ones I was talking with today began to share with me in the middle of our discussion how she asks Jesus in her heart every day, lots of times a day, but she never feels any different.  It was interesting to hear her say it.... and her sweet, animated face showed it as well.  I asked her if she would like for me to talk with her alone about that once we were done with all of us together and she said she would.

A few minutes later, with my Bible continuing to be in front of me, I began to share with her how she can know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus is her Savior and never need to ask Him to come into her heart again.

The Lord gave me verses from our Sunday School lesson yesterday, as well as others that fit what she needed at the time.

It was all from the Lord... truly.

I think she was having a hard time understanding that the accepting of Jesus Christ into ones heart is just like accepting a gift, and not something you have to do repeatedly once it is done with true belief.  I began to show her Romans 6:23 -

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."  

I then looked down at my wrist and saw a gift she had given me.  I touched my hand to my neck area and felt another gift this precious one had just given me last week.  These gifts were ones that the Lord pricked my heart to wear today.... one of which I don't normally wear a lot to school because it is a bracelet and bracelets get in my way when I am grading papers.  I still remember a still, small voice telling me this morning to wear the necklace AND the bracelet....

It was then that the Lord gave me another word picture for her.

I shared with her that when she gave me those two gifts, I accepted them.  I didn't keep handing them back to her and asking her for them again, but I believed in her love for me and gratefully accepted the gifts.  I shared that they were now near and dear to my heart and very precious to me.  Once I accepted them, they were mine to keep.

This is what Christ did on the cross... He made a way for us to have the gift of salvation.  All we have to do is accept what He did and confess that He is Lord and believe in our hearts that He has taken away our sin, and nothing can take Him away from us.

Through the words that the Lord gave me, this precious one accepted Christ as her Savior as I held her hands.

She shared with me on our way to lunch that she was so happy she couldn't stand it!  She beamed!  She KNEW now that Jesus was her Savior and she never had to worry about that decision again.

What a joy to my heart!

What a reminder from the Lord to me that "[His] grace is sufficient for me; for [His] strength is made perfect in [my] weakness. (II Corinthians 12:9)

It wasn't about me.  It never is.

It was about being used by God even when I felt my well was dry. 

Because of this, there were showers of blessing in my heart. 

05/12/13

I had a friend send this to me.  It is from the Love and Logic Institute.  Such a good reminder on this Mother's Day!



"Moms…do you ever feel like the weight of the world is resting firmly on your shoulders? Do you ever feel like it's your job…YOUR JOB… to make sure that your kids always do the right thing and turn out well? Do you ever worry that the entire neighborhood is aware and judging you when your kids sneak out of the house with mismatched socks, messy hair and less-than-polite attitudes?

Oftentimes, the most loving and effective mothers take the most heat from others and themselves.

Wonderful moms understand that kids need to make plenty of small, affordable mistakes. They know that kids must experience occasional struggles and disappointments. They also know that constant rescuing or micromanaging just creates kids who need constant rescuing and micromanaging.

Because of this, the best moms often feel a bit lonely and unsure of themselves. They feel lonely because our society too frequently rewards what looks good rather than what is good. They feel lonely because they rarely overhear other mothers bragging about allowing their kids to learn by forgetting a lunch, misplacing an occasional homework paper, or having to pay for a lost coat.

The best moms often feel a bit lonely and unsure of themselves.

It's easy to feel guilty or insecure when you see so many "super hover mommies" acting like pack mules, carrying all of their children's sporting equipment, back packs and other responsibilities. It's easy to lose perspective when your minivan is the only one without an "Honor Student" bumper sticker. It's tempting to waver when the parents next door are working harder completing their child's homework than their child is.

On this Mother's Day holiday, I hope to encourage all of the wonderful mothers who let things fall apart from time to time…who understand the wisdom of providing a rather imperfect world for their kids. When you find yourself feeling insecure or guilty, listen to our audio, Helicopters, Drill Sergeants and Consultants, and be reminded that it's far better for our kids to submit a sloppy science fair project than them seeing us hunched over the kitchen table frantically doing it for them."

~Dr. Charles Fay