Happy New Year

When I think about this being the last day of 2008, it is like spending the last dollar you have before payday. With everyday that we used this past year, we were so blessed.

We have had good health both for ourselves and all of our family, and for that we are so blessed.

We have three great children, all grounded in their lives and beliefs. They each have spouses that are wonderful. And above all, they have given us 5 unbelievable grandchildren. This past year, we have watched them grow and been able to spend time with each of them. We are so blessed.

We have taken some really great trips this past year and spent time with both old friends and new friends. And along the way, we've met so many to add to the list. And, with the RV Dreams chat and website, there even some that we visit with that we haven't actually met in person, but look forward to meeting. Each of you are special to us. We are so blessed.

Now, life is not always a bowl of cherries. But, each one of those days that was a struggle or a challenge, was a day of learning. We are so blessed.

Now, we approach January 1, 2009, a new payday. It has 365 new days to spend, but with only a promise of one day at a time. So, as we use each of those days, I pray we choose to use them wisely.

And our prayer from our family to yours is for each of you to have a blessed and happy 2009.

What A Weekend

Christmas came and went in a flash, but the celebrations continued. My mom celebrated her 80th birthday on Saturday and we had surprises planned for her from start to finish. My brother and sister in law flew in from Birmingham to surprise her and wow did they. We had a large family dinner planned on Saturday evening. We were all there, with the exception of 4 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren.

On Sunday, we all went to her church and then had a surprise reception afterwards for all of her friends at church. Everything went great and she was surprised on all occassions.

Thanks mom for all you love and support!

Myself, my sister, mom, and my brother

We Wish You A Merry Christmas

From our family to yours, we would like to share this Christmas Candy Cane with you...

The old candy maker began with a pure white hard candy. White to symbolize the Virgin Birth and the sinless nature of Jesus, and hard to symbolize the Solid Rock, the foundation of the Church, and the firmness of the promises of God.

The old candy maker then made the candy in the form of a "J" to represent the precious name of Jesus, who came to earth as our Savior. It could also represent the staff of the "Good Shepherd" with which He reaches down to lift the fallen lambs. "We all like sheep have gone astray"

Thinking that the candy was somewhat plain, the old candy maker stained it with red strips. He used three small stripes to show the stripes of the scourging Jesus received by which we are healed. The large red stripe was for the blood shed by Christ on the cross so that we could have the promise of eternal life.

Every time you see a simple candy cane, may you remember the Wonder of Christ and His great love that came at Christmas.

Again, from our family to yours may this Christmas fill your heart with joy now and always.

An Afternoon With Friends

It's cold here in Texas, and a day that you would have liked to have just stayed inside where it was warm. However, we had made plans with friends for the day. And I am so glad, because there is nothing like having friends to share time with.

We picked up Jim and Ellie and drove up to the Winstar Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma, which is about an hour from here. We met Joe and Sherri there and enjoyed lunch a then spent a couple of hours in the casino. I don't think anyone was a big winner, but no one was a big looser either. We all just had a good time.

Thanks all you guys for a great afternoon.

New Toy

After our three month trip and having to experience crazy, iffy wifi service in so many different parks with some being free and some being paid for, Mark decided it was time to get an air card. Well, the only problem I saw with that was who was going to get the air card? You see, Mark and I don't share very well. So, I was the hold up becuase I didn't want to pay the monthly fee for the service on 2 cards. Now, I had talked with Bob and Molly and Glynn about a wifi system that was available for the motor home called Cradlepoint. So, we looked into it the other day and then talked with both AT&T and Verizon.

Here is what happend. We got the cradlepoint, we decided on a Verizon air card, we took them home. Then, Mark, who can barely turn on his computer, had it hooked up and working in about 3 minutes. Great job!! We now have one air card with one service and a wifi system for the motor home. And, now, Mark sits in his chair, I sit on the couch and we both use our computers at the same time, while the air card sits in the cradlepoint on the shelf at mid-coach providing us great service.

Graduation Congratulations

Our son in law graduated from the University of Texas/Arlington today. He has worked very hard over the last 28 months to earn his MBA. Congratulations, Kenneth, we are very proud of you.

Taking A Moment for A Real Opportunity

Things have been really busy around here with book orders, grandkids, Christmas shopping, doctor's appointments, etc. However, today, we took time out for a moment that not everyone gets to enjoy.

Yesterday, due to inclimate weather in Florida, the space shuttle landed at the Naval Air Base here in Fort Worth for an overnight stay. This morning, we went out to watch it take off for its return trip to Cape Kennedy.

It was exciting to get some pictures of the shuttle from it's recent trip to space, because it had carried with it all the signatures of the kids and teachers from Westpark Elementary. That is the school where our daughter Karen teaches and two of our grandchildren, Andrew and Lauren attend. It was exciting for us to see and I thought it would great for them to have a picture to remember an event they had the opportunity to participate in.

Here are a few of the picutues I got this morning...


First sight at take off

Clearing the end of the runway

Right overhead



Off to Florida

Well, that was extent of our fun today, and now I must get back to my paintbrush.

More Busy Days

Wow, it is getting busy around here. Just lots going on as I am sure holds true with everyone during the holiday season. Mark and I had dental appointments yesterday and then headed out to do a little shopping. However, our shopping consisted of shopping for ourselves.

First of all we headed to the AT&T phone store to get me a much needed new cell phone. If I could figure out how to use it, I would give you a call. Or, if I could figure out how to get it off of "silent" I would know that you were calling me. Guess I had better get out the instruction book.

Then we were off to Wendy's to get some lunch. I love their chili and yesterday was a good day for it. Afterwards, we headed to Bed and Bath where I got some new cookware. I just had some bits and pieces here in the motor home and never just exactly what I wanted. Plus, I think now Mark thinks I will cook more. Maybe so.

Then for the fun stop...Costco's for food. See, I told you I might do some cooking. Okay, now, that we have done the budget in, it was time to go home and find a place for all the stuff we had purchased. And, everyone knows the rule...if something new comes in, something old must go out. So, I boxed up all of my old cookware and called my nephew and asked if wanted or needed it.

Last night we took Caden and Kourtney to Build A Bear to make a Christmas Moose each and to play at the mall playground for awhile. They had a great time. Sorry, I forgot the camera.

Today, started out really cold, about 28*. The warm up was slow. I had an early morning Weight Watchers meeting. Despite the extra layer of warm clothes, I lost another .2 lbs. keeping me under goal. This will start my 3rd week of maintenance, making it 2 down and 4 to go.
After the meeting, I needed to run a couple of errands and go by my mom's to drop off the box of cookware. My sister was there for lunch and we had a nice visit.

Upon arriving back at home, I find that Mark is still having satellite/TV troubles. He has talked to Tiffin, Panasonic, Direct TV, some electronics place, Direct TV for the 3rd time, etc. And...after much deliberation, they decide that the problem has to be in the receiver. However, Direct TV cannot just send us a new receiver box, but they can credit my account for $99 and I can go to Best Buy and get a new one. Then upon activation of the card, they will send me a box to mail them the old receiver. Do I really have to say that this procedure took all afternoon? And only time will tell if we actually got all of the problems addressed. We did manage to get the connection cable out of the window that we were having to use to pick up the local channels. That is a step in the right direction. Now, if the TV doesn't go off at 1:00 tomorrow afternoon, we will be home free.

Tonight I have been sorting papers, etc., which is not my favorite job. I still have several more stacks to go through. Tomorrow, I am keeping Kourtney as Karen has a Gifted and Talented workshop she has to attend for some CE hours and Kenneth has school tomorrow. Yeah, he is almost finished. He will be graduating with his MBA on December 14. We are very proud for him.

Well, I guess that about catches us up again...have a great weekend, and see you soon.

Busy Days

Gosh, here it is already Wednesday and I am not sure how the last couple of days got by me. Well, really I do, painting, laundry, grocery shopping, grand kids, book fairs, sick grand kids, etc.

Over the last couple of days I have made a dent in the book orders, however, I got some new ones tonight. Mark has been working in the wood shop and has the toy box front ready for me as well. I should have most out of the way by the weekend.

We have Andrew and Lauren the last couple of afternoons after school and enjoyed them. I still haven't seen Zachary since we have been home, guess I will try to catch up with him this weekend. Kourtney was sick last night and today, so she stayed home with me today. Mark spent the afternoon with Scott and Andrew at the gun range. After Karen got home from school, I met up with Mark, Scott, and his crew at Pei Wei's for dinner. It was yummy even though it was a few more points than I needed. But, thank goodness, I had some to spare.

Guess that just about catches us up. Not much else planned for the rest of this week as we are suppose to have some really cold weather for the next couple of days, so we will probably stay close to the fire. Until next time, take care and see you all soon.

You Ask For It

The day here started chilly and windy, but turned out to be a nice day. Everyone is back to school and work, so Mark and I were off to a slow start this morning. I caught up on a little computer work and cleaned out a basket that had collected a bunch of receipts, etc.

I started a grocery list, a Sam's and a Costco's list along with a Christmas list. Hope I don't misplace my list. I decided it was time to start the laundry. After that, I tackled sorting out the special orders for the books I have to paint and got patterns drawn off on most of them.

Mark worked in the wood shop today. This afternoon we picked up grand kids from school and are enjoying them. That has been the extent of most of this day. Tonight I am going to play BUNKO and have dinner with a group of friends for an early Christmas get together.

Now, for the you ask for it...

Last night on chat we were discussing the wheel topper for the motor home, and several of you ask that I take pictures so here they are.

The storage space is great

A Nice Finish To Thanksgiving Weekend

We woke up this morning to a windy and chilly, but beautiful sunny Sunday. After being away for the last 3 months, it was nice to attend services at our home church. What a wonderful finish to this Thanksgiving weekend. We are so blessed.

Karen and Kenneth put up the Christmas Tree this weekend and Kourtney helped them decorate it today.

This afternoon, Kenneth put up the outside Christmas lights while KK was busy getting ready to return to a classroom full of first graders.

Mark watched football and more football. As for myself, I took a nap, which I never do. I think I was thinking that come tomorrow I have a lot to do.

While we were gone, I received several special orders for scrapbooks and a toy box. I guess tomorrow, like it or not, I have to remember what it is like to work, or at least get organized enough to work. In addition, I have laundry and grocery shopping waiting on me.

It is sounding like we have a busy week...see you soon!

Home for the Holidays

Mark and I enjoyed a quite day yesterday as all the kids were off having lunch with the other sides of their family. We had planned dinner here for around 5:00. Everyone started gathering around 3:00 in time for the Dallas Cowboy game. Dinner was great and I planned several side dishes that were Weight Watcher friendly for myself and Kenneth's sister in law. We had ordered a turkey and a ham from Honey Baked Hams, they were yum. What a nice day it was and we are so blessed. I think if I counted correctly we had 22 for dinner last night.

Today, we woke up to a chilly rain that lasted on and off most of the morning. Today was the day the service rep from Direct TV was coming to work on our dish, but he couldn't be of any help to us, so we had to make a few adjustments in how we pick up the local channels while we are parked here at home. That is so over my head, so all I can say is that Mark ran a cable through the window and now it works. LOL

Karen and Kenneth put up the Christmas tree today and then went shopping for a little while, so I got to play with Kourtney while they were gone. Mark spent the afternoon putting some more wax and glaze on the motor home.

Tonight, Karen's friend Ashley came over and we made chili dogs and then Kenneth made homemade Blizzards. Scott, J, and Caden came down for awhile. It gets kind of crazy around here sometimes, but nothing has changed over the last 40 years and I love every minute of it.

Tomorrow will bring more of the same as the guys have already planned a day of football. I think Karen and I will sneak away for a pedicure.

Happy Thanksgiving

"Give Thanks"

Autumn leaves are falling,

Pretty colors everywhere.

Thanksgiving day is almost here,

Another day that we may share.

The things we take for granted

Are blessings from above.

The needs He has provided,

Were given to us in love.

Let's give thanks for what we have,

Bow our heads and together pray.

As we join our friends and family,

On this Thanksgiving Day.

Happy Thanksgiving to all and may you enjoy a blessed day.

Making Our Way to Texas

Today we left Rainbow Plantation as this adventure begins to wind down. Along with Jim, Ellie, and the fur kids we headed west. Our destination for the next couple of days is Marksville, Louisiana and then on to Texas.

Jim leads us across Mobile Bay

and through the tunnel under the Mobile River

and across the Mississippi River

where there is work

and play

and to our last turn towards Marksville.

We arrived at the Paragon Casino RV Resort which is also a Passport America Park. The guys got the motor homes parks and the did their usual, clean the bugs off the windshields, while Ellie and I got the inside set up. Then we were off to eat dinner and then try our hand at the slots for awhile. No luck here, maybe tomorrow.

There is a cold front coming through and the temps are suppose to be in the low 30's tonight. Hopefully it will warm up quickly tomorrow and we can enjoy the day in Marksville.

Just A Quick Note

My wifi doesn't seem to want to cooperate, so I just wanted everyone to know that we haven't gotten lost. We will be here in Summerdale until Thursday when we travel west to Marksville, LA. We will be there for a couple of days before heading on to Texas for the holidays.

Yesterday we took a afternoon drive over to Mobile Bay and down to Dauphin Island. Today Ellie and I went to Weight Watchers. I made my goal this week and will start on my six week of maintenance to earn my lifetime status. I was sooo excited. I started this in 2002 and quit before I made lifetime. After Ellie's visit and stay at Camp Taz, she was ready to get back on program. She encouraged me to also pick up where I left off a few years back. So, thanks Ellie, and this has been fun having a buddy to count points with and I know we will continue to do so even when we aren't together. And, congratulations on your big loss today.

Speaking of points...

Tomorrow we are joining Randy and Terry for lunch at Lambert's. Not sure what that will do to the point count, but we have made it through Paula's, Uncle Bubba's, and Mrs. Wilkes, so we can conquer Lambert's too! LOL

Tonight we got together with Glynn and Sylvia for dinner at Jim and Ellie's motorhome. Jim boiled some shrimp, Ellie made Broccoli Slaw and Peach Cobbler, Sylvia made Chicken and Fruit Salad, and I made Stirfry Veggies and Rice. We had a great visit. Glynn and Sylvia will be leaving tomorrow making their way towards Jacksonville. Safe travels to you too, it's been fun and hope to see you down the road.

Well, I am going to wrap this up before I loose my connections. See you all soon.

Starting A New Week

We woke this morning to a cool but sunny Sunday. We were up and about early as Terry and Randy had invited us to go to church with them today. It was a great little church and a good service. Even this Southern Baptist girl enjoyed the Methodist Church. LOL Thanks for asking us to go with you and I understand why you said before that you and Randy have found a church away from home and why you are so involved.

After church, we got back to the campground to settle in for the afternoon. I decided to put on a pot of bean soup and in the meantime Mark decided he was going to make a run to Home Depot and by the grocery for a few things. Later this afternoon we will get together with Jim and Ellie for a bowl of soup. I hope Jim remembered he is making some cornbread.

As I think about starting a new week here in coastal Alabama, I am researching a few attractions I would like to take in before we leave on Thursday. Mark also has a few restaurants to work into the schedule as well. So, you will have to stayed tuned to find out how those plans develop. Until then, I hope you have had a great weekend and a blessed week.

Having Fun in Summerdale

We have had a good week here in Summerdale, Alabama. I haven't updated my blog this week because the wifi here at the park is minimal at best. I thought I would give it another try and I have managed to get a couple of pictures posted.

We have made one trip to the beach, however, the day was pretty overcast and not really the perfect beach day. I hope we get to make at least one more trip there before we leave the gulf coast

This was Mark and Jim's idea of walking on the beach

We have had a day or two that we just hung out here at the park, which was really nice. This is a great park for getting out to just walk and take a deep breath.

Yesterday, which was Friday, Ellie and I left early to go find the local Weight Watchers meeting. When we got there we found that it was just a weigh in and no meeting, but we had a nice visit with the consultant that was working. We both had a good loss this week. I was excited to find that I was just .2 pound away from my goal. Yeah, I will work really hard to get there this week.

We returned to the RV park and met up with Mark, Jim, Glynn, and Sylvia and made plans to travel over to Pensacola, Florida, to attend the Blue Angels Homecoming Air Show. We first stopped at a little fish market/cafe to have lunch, and then we were off to the air show.

It turned out to be a beautiful day and the air show was great and

and the Blue Angels were awesome!

Today, we have just been doing a few chores. Mark and Jim went to Camping World to get a few things they thought they couldn't live without. After lunch we are going to get out and about for a little while.

Terry stopped by for a brief visit and we made plans to go to church with she and Randy in the morning. We also discussed having lunch with a bunch on Wednesday at Lamberts, home of the throwed rolls! That will be a real treat,

even though it is not too point friendly. At least it will be after Ellie and I weigh in next week.

Another Day on the Road

First, thank all of you that are have served or are currently serving our country in the armed forces. It is because of you that we have this beautiful country and can enjoy the opportunity to travel safely from shore to shore.

We started this day a little slower even though we were traveling. Jim and Ellie needed to wait on a delivery plus we knew we would gain an hour getting back to central time. We met the McFalls this morning before leaving Tallahassee. What a nice treat, to meet someone that you think you should already know because you have been reading blogs. They will be in the Rio Grande Valley this winter, so I hope our paths will cross again.

We had a nice travel day. We headed out on I-10 where we encountered a little more construction, but nothing like yesterday. We made a couple of stops at rest areas and one fuel stop before heading south on 59 to the Rainbow Plantation in Summerdale, Alabama which is just east of Mobile.

Thanks "Flo" for showing us the way

I am glad to see these prices coming down

We have just recently joined Escapees and this is our first stay in one of their parks. We are looking forward to seeing what it all about. The price is certainly right at $13.50 a day or $80 a week. And, you don't pay until you leave.

We got parked and set up. We were all hungry, so I made flat out pizza and Ellie made salad. After eating and cleaning up the kitchens, we got out to take a quick walk around the park, however it was getting dark and our walk was cute short. We also stopped by to say hi to Glynn and Sylvia. They are parked just behind us on the next row.

Randy and Terry are also here in the park and we are anxious to get to meet up with them tomorrow afternoon. This is another couple that I think we should know as we have been following each others blogs for awhile now. Isn't this a fun lifestyle.

We are also looking forward to the sites, sounds, and tastes of the area so stayed tuned for our new adventure.

Travels Down I-95

We woke up this morning in Savannah to chilly, frosty weather. Yes, it is time to pack up and move south. We had breakfast, programmed "Flo" and headed out... with one last trip over the big bridge

and a look up the Savannah River...where work on the river is always busy.

Good-bye Savannah...and off to new adventures

Flo directed us to our turn off

and it wasn't long until we came upon a lot of construction on I-95

and I mean alot of construction

we finally arrived...now on to Tallahassee

Tallahassee RV Park is a nice park, but tight getting into the park and around to the office to get checked in, but then easy to get into the spaces...

Ellie had made a beef stew in the crock pot today. So, after setting up the motorhome, I made a salad and dessert and dinner is served. After dinner, Ellie and I decided to go for a walk around the park and take some pictures. She wanted to try out the new camera lens. However...

Jaz tried to plead with us not to leave her, but her mom said she had to stay home

A look down the road from where we are parked

some cute yard art

and some pretty flowers

We continued our walk around the park and found this guy

who reminds you of the rules to follow while in the park

and we discovered that lots of football fans stay in this park...but after all we are in Tallahassee

or just park here

Tomorrow, we will travel on to Rainbow Plantation in Summerdale, Alabama...so until then I hope you

and we will see you in Alabama

Preparing To Leave

Yesterday and today were suppose to be spent cleaning, doing laundry, etc. in preparation to leave Savannah in the morning. However, on Friday evening, Mark was using his computer from his lazy boy as usual, when he spotted a big mosquito on the window shade. He turned and put his computer on the desk, but got the cord hung on the handle on the side of his chair. When he got up from the chair, the computer was pulled from its resting spot right to the floor!! Crash is all I can say. When we picked it up all was in tact, but the screen was all sorts of crazy and when we looked closer you could tell that it was a zillion pieces. Well, he was just sick, I was just sick, and neither one of us said anything.


On Saturday morning, after sleeping on the situation, I got up deciding that we would go to Best Buy and replace his computer. At first he was not agreeable, but after explaining to him...


that we don't share too well and especially computers. And it was fact that he needed his own and that was going to be the end of the story. He still argued to some extent, but finally, I brought him around to my way of thinking. So, we went next door to tell Ellie and Jim we were headed out to Best Buy. And, at this point, you have to understand that Best Buy is where Jim looses all sorts of will power. You see, he has had his eye on this camera lens for a while now and what better opportunity than now to get it. So, if I recall, the comment was, "Give us a few minutes and we will be ready to go too."


So, the four of us were off to Best Buy to make our purchases. Mark's computer had to make a run past the Geek Squad, so it was going to be a couple of hours before we could pick it up. Now, that just gave the guys the opportunity to say, "What's for lunch?" First however, we made a run through a Linens and Things store that is going out of business. I found a few things I couldn't live without and then it was off to "Moe's Southwest Grill" for lunch. After lunch, Ellie and I went to Ulta for some new makeup, etc. while the guys went to Books A Million to look around.


Now, it was time to go back to Best Buy to pick up Mark's computer. When we arrived, we found that it would still be about 30 minutes before they would be finished with it. So, we sat in the car, enjoyed the warm sunshine, and read about Ellie new WiiFit game she had purchased while Jim was getting his camera lens.


It wasn't long until Mark picked up his new toy, and we headed back to the RV Park and the guys seem to think that there was no reason for Ellie and I to cook dinner and that they would like to make one last trip to the "Pink Pig". We really didn't agree with them, but it was a loosing battle. We arrived at the RV park to check on the fur kids, and to plug in Mark's computer to let it charge. However, when I went to plug in the power cord, it didn't fit!! We had a power cord to an HP and take my word for it, it didn't fit the Toshiba. So, we put everything back in the box and Mark and I headed back to Best Buy. They were waiting on us when we got there because they too had made the discovery that they were holding a HP with the wrong cord.


Now, all is well, and we are headed back to the RV Park, called Jim and Ellie to tell them we would be there shortly and then we would go to the Pink Pig for dinner. We got back, plugged in the computer with the right cord, picked up Jim and Ellie and headed for the Pink Pig. Only, when we arrived, we found out to Jim and Mark's disappointment, they were closed. So, we came back to the motor home where Ellie and I put together tomato soup, grilled cheese sandwiches, and key lime pie. What a day this has been.


It is now Sunday afternoon, and we have had a good day and everyone is back on tract for getting taking care of their chores. Laundry is done and I am finishing up things inside while Mark is doing some outside chores. Jim made a wonderful "Low County Boil" for lunch and Ellie is now off to do laundry. We have our reservations made for tomorrow night at the Tallahassee RV Park where we will stay for only one night before heading to the Escapees RV Park in Summerdale, AL on Tuesday.


Again, we have really enjoyed Savannah, and look forward to the next time we can visit the beautiful low country. I will leave you with this picture of a pineapple that sat atop the corner post of a fence. You see pineapples everywhere, which is the symbol of true Southern Hospitality. See you down the road.

And by the way, I am not sure what ever happened to that mosquito that started this whole story.

One Last Look

Join us as we take one last look around Savannah.

Our first stop was at Colonial Park which is an old cemetery

These headstones are so old that the inscriptions could not be read

Here is another sign that indicates the age of the cemetery

This little guy was just having fun hanging out in the park. After roaming around in the cemetery, Mark and Jim went to get the car so we could go to Forsyth Park. Ellie and I decided we would take Flo with us and walk. These are a few of the things we saw on the way.

A carriage ride as seen from the other end of the alley

I love the front steps of the houses

The steeple of the Methodist Church...and

and we have arrived at Forsyth Park

the walkway to the middle of the park

where we found this beautiful fountain

and these beautiful flowers

and if you lived in this house, you could walk across the street to the park every day. We enjoyed the park until the guys decided that it was way past time to get lunch. The choice of the day was seafood. So we decided to take one last trip back out to Tybee Island.

Welcome to lunch

These guys hang out in front of the resturant!

Mark, Ellie, and I had shrimp salad sandwiches with a cup of crab soup. Jim chose a crab cake with a cup of clam chowder. Afterwards, we headed to the beach

for one last trip over the boardwalk

past the sand dunes

to the beach

where we saw this big ship headed out to sea

and wondered what happened to this fisherman?

and watched these little guys paddle around waiting for something to eat.

After a long walk down the beach and back, it was finally time to leave. We headed back to the RV Park and Ellie and I made plans to go to Walmart to pick up groceries for the next couple of days. Tomorrow and Sunday we will get the motorhomes ready to travel on Monday.

We have had a great time in Savannah and hope you have enjoyed our time here as much as we have. Thanks for going along with us.