It's Sunday, everyone is healthy, so we head to church. It's a church that Shannon and a couple of the kids went to about 3 years earlier on the recommendation of a friend. Shannon really enjoyed it so this year we headed back.
The church is a small, out of the way, country church. Three years earlier it was on a dirt road, but it was paved this year. Our GPS got us there safely and on time.
There was nothing Shannon or I could pin point exactly, but things didn't seem "right". I know that we shouldn't base decisions on feelings, but something was just "off." There was a new pastor, the people were very nice and the lesson was Biblical, but after church, Shannon and I both just felt uncomfortable. The women seemed to "run the show" directing everyone and everything. The songs were not familiar to us. This didn't bother me. Different churches prefer different songs and as long as they are not sinful songs I have no problem. It was just humorous to me that the congregation didn't seem to know the songs any better then we did.
Well, when we got home, we decided to look for another church to go to that evening.
The afternoon the kids spent in the pool while Mom and Dad watched and relaxed.
My husband has been taking correspondence courses from Landmark Baptist Church in Haines City (?) so we decided to see how far away that church was from us. To our amazement it was a little closer than the "other" church. It's a large church and they were having a revival at the time so we kind of got lost in the crowd. When we heard that Bryan Sharp was one of the special speakers we knew we were in the place that God wanted us for that night. We felt right at home listening to someone that we so recently heard at our own church.
Well, that about sums up this day. No pictures, no amusement park, just doing what we normally do on a Sunday, minus the bus route,nursery, choir, etc.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Day 2 - Universal Studios
Today was probably the best day, weather-wise. If it didn't reach 80 degrees it was close. We bought 2 day passes to Universal with 5 days free. We ended up returning here 2 more times.
Ever go somewhere and see a group of people and think, "They must be born-again, fundamental Christians." You can normally tell this by the fact that none of the women are wearing pants. Now, you can usually distinguish between the Amish, Mennonite, Mormon(fundamental) and Fundamental Christians. There's just a clothing style difference.
Well, while waiting for the older three (including my husband), to get off of a ride, a lady approached me and asked, "Are you Christians?"
I said, "Of course, what gave me away."
"Well, I kind of assumed by your skirts and culottes." (She was also wearing culottes.)
We got to fellowship for a few minutes. Neither of us was bothered by the fact that other people may consider us strange or weird, but it's always nice to meet people that have similar standards. She even asked me if I had ever heard of HAC. I told he that it was my Alma mater, and she informed me that she had a sister that worked there. Sometimes, it seems like a small world, and we weren't even at Disney. Get it? It's a small....oh, never mind!
Her family was there as part of the Make a Wish Foundation. Their daughter was dying. We didn't discuss any details, but it seemed to me that this was a long drawn out illness, possibly from birth. I pray for that family often, I can't imagine having a child that suffers constantly.
This is my family with THE Spiderman! Don't blame me for the poor quality! I'm in the picture, not taking it.
I was trying to think of something funny to go along with Robert's expression, but I'll just let the picture speak for itself.
Did you hear that noise?
We were able to see a baby dinosaur hatch from her egg. How exciting! They asked to crowd of about 7 kids (4 were mine) what kind of dinosaur this was. Of course, all raised their hands, but he picked on Brianna. Oh, boy. What would she guess.....butterfly? Oh ME of little faith. She answered, "Velociraptor (sp?)" She was......right! Her prize.....she got to name the tiny dinosaur. The perfect name? Well, Rosie, of course. She looks like a Rosie, doesn't she?
Yeah, David, I'm sure you would win this fight.
The kids with my parents.
Our family in the land of Dr. Seuss.
Ever go somewhere and see a group of people and think, "They must be born-again, fundamental Christians." You can normally tell this by the fact that none of the women are wearing pants. Now, you can usually distinguish between the Amish, Mennonite, Mormon(fundamental) and Fundamental Christians. There's just a clothing style difference.
Well, while waiting for the older three (including my husband), to get off of a ride, a lady approached me and asked, "Are you Christians?"
I said, "Of course, what gave me away."
"Well, I kind of assumed by your skirts and culottes." (She was also wearing culottes.)
We got to fellowship for a few minutes. Neither of us was bothered by the fact that other people may consider us strange or weird, but it's always nice to meet people that have similar standards. She even asked me if I had ever heard of HAC. I told he that it was my Alma mater, and she informed me that she had a sister that worked there. Sometimes, it seems like a small world, and we weren't even at Disney. Get it? It's a small....oh, never mind!
Her family was there as part of the Make a Wish Foundation. Their daughter was dying. We didn't discuss any details, but it seemed to me that this was a long drawn out illness, possibly from birth. I pray for that family often, I can't imagine having a child that suffers constantly.
This is my family with THE Spiderman! Don't blame me for the poor quality! I'm in the picture, not taking it.
I was trying to think of something funny to go along with Robert's expression, but I'll just let the picture speak for itself.
Did you hear that noise?
We were able to see a baby dinosaur hatch from her egg. How exciting! They asked to crowd of about 7 kids (4 were mine) what kind of dinosaur this was. Of course, all raised their hands, but he picked on Brianna. Oh, boy. What would she guess.....butterfly? Oh ME of little faith. She answered, "Velociraptor (sp?)" She was......right! Her prize.....she got to name the tiny dinosaur. The perfect name? Well, Rosie, of course. She looks like a Rosie, doesn't she?
Yeah, David, I'm sure you would win this fight.
The kids with my parents.
Our family in the land of Dr. Seuss.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Day One - SeaWorld
Today was a great day! I expected some or all of us to be tired because of the traveling the day before. Not so. Every one was just happy to be in the sun and warm. I think the high this day was in the high 70's. I remember feeling "giddy" most of the day. I couldn't figure out why I was so happy. I wish I could tell you it was because of some highly uplifting, Spiritual revelation received from God, but I have to tell you the truth. I was so happy because I was healthy. I know I've said this before, but this was the first trip to Florida that I was healthy the ENTIRE time. It's amazing how much of a difference it makes. Don't get me wrong, the other trips were thoroughly enjoyable. I don't really remember the illnesses, I remember the time spent with family and the fun we had together. It was so much more enjoyable to not be sick. I'm sure everyone understands what I mean.
The following post is assorted pictures from our day at SeaWorld. I didn't take the time to edit or fix any of the pics, not that they would look much better.....
Today, we watched the Shamu show, the dolphin show, and sea lion show. We, also, fed the dolphins, all of which is pictured below.
The following post is assorted pictures from our day at SeaWorld. I didn't take the time to edit or fix any of the pics, not that they would look much better.....
Today, we watched the Shamu show, the dolphin show, and sea lion show. We, also, fed the dolphins, all of which is pictured below.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Our Arrival
Our plane didn't leave until 4:07 PM so we got in at about 7:00. Everything went very smoothly. The roads were bad, but we left plenty of time to get to the airport. Security went great. The worst part was getting every one's shoes off, coats off, laptop unpacked and placed on the conveyor. Then everything had to be put back together.
This went sooooo much better than the last time we went to Florida 4 years ago. That time we got "tagged" to go through the extra screening. Brianna's was less than two at the time. There is nothing like seeing your <2 year old getting patted down like a criminal. We were chosen before we even got to the airport. They hadn't even met David, yet! They just knew we were trouble.
Anyway, I digress. It was wonderful having older children this year. Everyone could help with the suitcases. This made things so much easier. The transfer to the rental car place was relatively simple. I sat with the kids while my husband was at the counter. Shannon was offered an upgrade (for a fee) and Shannon called me to the desk to discuss it. It was $100 dollars more, and I thought that he thought I might want a slightly bigger vehicle. To me, it was a "no-brainer", we do not need an upgrade for a dumb car. My husband still looked like he was debating it. This surprised me. We got an additional discount on the upgrade because of our B.J.'s membership. Shannon looked like HE wanted the upgrade so I told him to go ahead if he wanted, too. When I saw him pull up in the vehicle....I understood. The upgrade was not for a bigger van, but for a SUV. Our eyes met, and he gave me that goofy grin that says, "Yeah, I know, I've been caught." It tickled me, and we joked about it the whole vacation. The upgrade was my husband's souvenir. At least that's what I told him!
We were able to rent a house at a reasonable rate. The house had 6 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms, heated pool, and hot tub. There was also an air hockey table and a pool table in the garage. My parents were already there with dinner waiting. An excellent way to end a day of traveling!
This went sooooo much better than the last time we went to Florida 4 years ago. That time we got "tagged" to go through the extra screening. Brianna's was less than two at the time. There is nothing like seeing your <2 year old getting patted down like a criminal. We were chosen before we even got to the airport. They hadn't even met David, yet! They just knew we were trouble.
Anyway, I digress. It was wonderful having older children this year. Everyone could help with the suitcases. This made things so much easier. The transfer to the rental car place was relatively simple. I sat with the kids while my husband was at the counter. Shannon was offered an upgrade (for a fee) and Shannon called me to the desk to discuss it. It was $100 dollars more, and I thought that he thought I might want a slightly bigger vehicle. To me, it was a "no-brainer", we do not need an upgrade for a dumb car. My husband still looked like he was debating it. This surprised me. We got an additional discount on the upgrade because of our B.J.'s membership. Shannon looked like HE wanted the upgrade so I told him to go ahead if he wanted, too. When I saw him pull up in the vehicle....I understood. The upgrade was not for a bigger van, but for a SUV. Our eyes met, and he gave me that goofy grin that says, "Yeah, I know, I've been caught." It tickled me, and we joked about it the whole vacation. The upgrade was my husband's souvenir. At least that's what I told him!
We were able to rent a house at a reasonable rate. The house had 6 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms, heated pool, and hot tub. There was also an air hockey table and a pool table in the garage. My parents were already there with dinner waiting. An excellent way to end a day of traveling!
Monday, January 19, 2009
More to come...
This is where I plan on posting our vacation pictures. I wonder how long this will take me?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
