Sunday at Petit Jean

As usual we woke up at the butt crack of dawn. (When did we get so old that 7:30 is sleeping in?????) Anyway Dale gets up around 6:15, so YEAH! we can go watch the sunrise from the overlook at Petit Jean's grave. New camera in hand, and out the door. Whoa....what's with all this haze and fog? There is no way we're going to actually see the sun rise. Oh well, we're up and out let's keep going.

Arrive at the overlook at approximately 7:05. According to all the others there (and there was a crowd in my opinion) sunrise was expected at 7:11. At 7:08 realize that my camera batteries are dead. Where are the spares? That's right the room. Where's Dales handy camera phone? That's right the room.

At 7:12 the two guys from Louisiana head to the car to head home. About the time the get their car started the first edge of the sun appears. Hopefully they could see it as they drove down the mountain. Thankfully one of the many folks watching the sun rise gave me her email address to get a couple of pics.




Off on an adventure down "Red Bluff Drive". The last time we were here was 22 years ago. That fall we came up for a picnic. I remember a beautiful, romantic fall day. What does Dale remember? He remembers that KFC left out our plasticware so we had to use the plastic lids as a scoop for our slaw & potatos. Oh well, at least he remembers the day. Some random shots from the drive. Quite beautiful.









Dale in front of the Turtle Rocks. These are way cool!




We decided to walk along the trail to the Falls Overlook and the Rock House Cave. We were told by one young hiker that it wasn't hard and just right down there. YEAH RIGHT!!!! Not hard if you're part mountain goat. After walking for quite a ways. I came to the end of my line. The trail seemed to go straight down. I handed the camera down to Dale and he carried forward. Across the valley we can see another overlook (more on that later). Dale did a good job getting some pics of the falls. Of course the one with the red post showing in the corner was taken ouside the "safety zone". A few more gray hairs on my head!














The Cave was really neat!








This looked like a giant piece of driftwood to me. To much Dauphin Island on the brain.

These shots are from the "other" Falls overlook. Which is at the end of giant wheelchair accessible ramp. Boy did we laugh our butts off. Seriously, Dale sacrifaced a lot to get those other water shots and here were clear, unobstructed views of the falls. Typical.



See Dale's platform across the valley?

A zoomed in shot. LOL



These rocks are made up of fossilized trees. They are so cool!

Bill Clinton's old mustang at the Car Museum. (Which overall was a disappointment).

More pics from the "sunrise" bluff. Yes, that is my husband the billy goat out on that rock in the distance.







I had to take a picture of our door for Yaya! She just got back from Greece. Her pictures of doors were much cooler!

We really didn't have sunset per se on Sunday. But we did have quite a show. These pics show the clouds & the sun as the moved across the valley. On Dauphin Island they were toasting to "Arkansas Fats - Eric Weiland" and "The Breadman - Tommy Sands". We did the same here at the mountain.









As I watched the clouds move across the valley it was neat to see how places went from "darkness" to "light". On the ground I'm sure the effect was not as neat. The couldn't see the light moving towards them. I guess that's how our lives are as well. Sometimes we just see the clouds, and do not see those rays of sunshine moving towards us.

Today I'll leave with the 23rd Psalm (New Living Translation)

A psalm of David.
1 The Lord is my shepherd;
I have all that I need.
2 He lets me rest in green meadows;
he leads me beside peaceful streams.
3 He renews my strength.
He guides me along right paths,
bringing honor to his name.
4 Even when I walk
through the darkest valley,[a]
I will not be afraid,
for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff
protect and comfort me.
5 You prepare a feast for me
in the presence of my enemies.
You honor me by anointing my head with oil.
My cup overflows with blessings.
6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me
all the days of my life,
and I will live in the house of the Lord forever and ever.

Saturday at Petit Jean

Up early turn on the TV. Make the bed. Go out on the deck and take a picture of "sunrise". Our balcony faces west, so the sun hasn't had a chance to burn off the haze. Drive around the Winrock complex. This tree was in front of the boathouse. Back to our patio for pictures of the valley without the haze. Back to the balcony to read, take a few pics, how about a nap???? Time to make dinner. Bruce's famous bacon wrapped pork tenderloin. (Mine wasn't as good as his, but good for my first try). With dinner in the oven, back to the patio to play with the camera some more. I love sunsets!
I videotaped the sunset, it was so beautiful.

If you don't have the patience to watch the sunset (No names...Dale)or the video, then below is a frame out of the video.

It really was beautiful. This person probably had the best view. (You can actually here their motor in the sunset video.)


The pork is finally done!

Did I mention that I left the side dishes to Dale? It's a carb overload. Loaded mashed potatos, mac & cheese, homemade coleslaw, and garlic bread. IT WAS YUMMY!!! Who needs green veggies? (Well, me actually, but it was still yummy!)


Can you believe the Hogs beat Auburn??? What an awesome day!!!

I'll leave you today with Psalm 118:24

This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Petit Jean

We had a wonderful time this weekend! The weather was beautiful, although it could have been a little cooler when we went hiking all over the mountain on Sunday (but that is a whole other post.)

We made out usual stop at Wal-Mart when we got to Morrilton. We couldn't make up our mind if we wanted to eat out the whole time or cook. We decided to cook but just do easy stuff. (We brought over half the groceries home). As always we went way overboard. Next time we'll definitely just eat out all weekend!

I was in the market for a new camera and they had a Kodak Easy Share on sale so my precious hubby bought it for me. It's pink and very user friendly (i.e. this blonde could actually figure it out.) He had previously purchased me a digital camera and I was just a nimrod. I never did get it figured out. The pics on this one look great on the screen, we'll have to see how they look when I download them. (Which is my next project to figure out).

Sunset on Friday night was beautiful. Unfortunately we missed part of it since we were driving up the mountain, getting checked in, etc.... I've posted a few pics taken with the camera from Dale's phone. I wish that I had the real camera ready but oh well..............at least we got to watch the beautiful sunset together.

We had a spectacular view of the valley. You'll see those pics tomorrow. Dale was standing on a rock, again I wish I had better clarity.

The object you can see in the lower part of the picture is actually the Petit Jean River.

Dinner was really a treat! Our appetizer was "Portobello fries". Which were exactly as billed. Portobello mushrooms sliced, breaded and fried. The were wonderful!!! Dale had a "cowboy" Ribeye and I had Lobster risotto. We ate dinner on the patio of the restaurant. The conference center has many "water" features, so they provided a nice ambience. We shared off each others plates, but my risotto was so large and so rich, we had to bring part of it home for later. Our portions were so big that we actually skipped dessert. I know can you believe it!

We were actually staying in a special part of the conference center called "The Studio". It is not usually available to recreational guests so we felt very special! Our room was huge and we had our own deck that overlooked the beautiful valley. We also had access to the downstairs meeting area. It had a full kitchen, 2 bathrooms, a big screen tv, conference table, a rock terrace and of course THE VIEW!!! Our bathroom was nearly as big as our front office. The bedroom itself was nearly as big as our whole office space. The bedrooms have not been re-done to match the modern look downstairs, but I found them to be very nice. Better than our accomodations at the Peabody.

Again, Dale felt a little out of place. I think he described at as blue jeans at a tuxedo ball. The other areas that are avaiable for rent are very nice. They just don't offer that spectacular view.

More on our Petit Jean adventure tomorrow.......

Happy Birthday Mom

Today is mom's birthday. It is a beautiful day!!!! I know she would have loved it. It seems so hard to believe that it's been 8 years since we celebrated her birthday together. I haven't cried yet today. Maybe it is finally starting to get easier. Probably not, maybe I'm just getting stronger. I don't know but I'm thankful that I had all the birthdays that we were able to share together. Some people don't get that pleasure!

It's also the 28th anniversary of Dale getting run over by a semi-truck. That accident could have been so much worse! I'm so thankful to have him in my life!!! When we first met he used to have horrible nightmares. He still has lasting effects from the wreck, but again it could have been worse. I don't know what I would do without him!

Dad's birthday was on Wednesday and I'm again thankful for the healing in his body.

Thank you Lord for all the many blessings in my life! I pray for all my friends traveling to the big bash on Dauphin Island. I hope that they will all have safe travel and a wonderful time!

Prayers again

Please pray for my friend, Sandi. Her husband (Tommy) went ahead of her into heaven yesterday. It was his birthday. She has a wonderful attitude, but I cannot imagine how lost she must feel right now. Sandi and Tommy also had the joy of welcoming twin grand-daughters yesterday. Thankfully, they and their mother are doing wonderful! Last week I wrote about the cycle of life. It was two-fold for this family. There will always be joy on October 6th, as Tommy's birthday is remembered and the girl's birthday celebrated.

I've said before that my mom and grand-parent's birthdays are harder for me than the anniversary of their death. Unfortunately for Sandi that date is the same day. I know that she is choosing to celebrate Tommy's life rather than morn his death. But that doesn't mean she won't miss him every single day. Please pray that she stays surrounded by Angels to support her. (Both heavenly angels and earthly ones). I was supposed to be at Dauphin Island this weekend. How I wish that I could be there. To meet my friends in person, and to just give Sandi a great big hug!

This verse was such a comfort when I lost my mom. I really love The Message version.

John 14:2 (King James Version)
2In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

John 14 (The Message Version)
1-4 "Don't let this throw you. You trust God, don't you? Trust me. There is plenty of room for you in my Father's home. If that weren't so, would I have told you that I'm on my way to get a room ready for you? And if I'm on my way to get your room ready, I'll come back and get you so you can live where I live. And you already know the road I'm taking."

So while those of us that have lost loved ones are left behind. We can rest assured that there is plenty of room for us when our time comes. Sandi will see Tommy again. I'll see my mom & grandparent's. Dale will see his dad and grandparent's. Thank God we have that comfort!

Is the Shack - heresy

This is a link to a blog about the book The Shack. This book seems to be causing a lot of controversy. I thought this might help some to think about things.

I've tried to create a link. but it's not working, so here is the address: http://lifestream.org/blog/2008/03/04/is-the-shack-heresy/

The Mail

Remember when you were little? You couldn't wait for the mailman to come. There might be something for you. A birthday card, a Highlights magazine, and later Tiger Beat or Seventeen magazine?

I must admit that I don't rush to the mailbox anymore, it's usually bills or junk mail advertisements. Yesterday was an "interesting" mail day. It started with Renee who received a copy of "The Shack" in the mail, and it didn't say who it was from. She immediately called me. Then Ashley called, then Ann and then Gina. By the time Gina called, I was walking in the door with an envelope in my hand that I had just pulled from the mailbox. A copy of "The Shack" for me & Dale. Most had a message, some seemed personal, some not so much so.... Our's said "share this book with others". Which is a great idea, but then again would it be better if someone sent everyone a copy of the Message Bible. Seems like a great idea, but then not everyone really enjoys that particular version of the Bible.

Back to the Shack, I read this book, and actually started reading it again before I shared it with Mona. It's a different book. It's fiction, so that had to be understood before you read it. It definitely will play with your emotions. I can't say that I would recommend it to everyone, but then again maybe that wouldn't be for me to decide. I guess someone felt that folks might be more likely to read it if they just received it. I don't know.

Because the main character has lost a child, I would think that it would be extremely hard for someone that's lost a child to read it. But then maybe not, I don't know. I just know that for me reading books or watching movies where someone loses their mother are hard for me. Which brings me to my other piece of odd mail. I got a letter for Mom yesterday. Her birthday is next Friday, the 10th. It was a gift certificate to Shorty Small's for $10.00. Okay, she's been gone for 7 years, why would they suddenly decide to send that now? The other ironic thing is that the night before she died, I ate at Shorty's. We were celebrating Karla's birthday. I felt horrible. I had a bad cold, and it was a miserable meal at Shortys. At some level, I just felt something wrong.

Anyway, that brings me to today. Dale's Grandpa Hardy passed away. Talk about living life to the fullest. Grandpa Hardy was a DOLL!!!! He loved to dance! Even though he suffered from polio as a boy, and he walked with a limp. He still loved to Dance!!! I hope that if I live to be 94, I'll still want to dance.

I know that this post is pretty random, and rambling. I guess my ADD is just really bad today. Forgive me! I miss my mom, I miss my son, and I'm hurting for Dale. When Brett was born he had 7 great-grandparents. Now all he has left is grandmommy.

I guess we should be thankful that he does remember all of his great-grandparents. I only barely remember my great-grandpa Mooty.

Gotta go, Dale's here.

Love ya, mean it! Bye

The Circle of Life

Kiah Simone joined our family this morning. Weighing in at 7lbs. She has an older sister named Kaisyn, and Lisa & Kasey are her proud parents.

I have another cousin, Sarah that is also expecting within the next week or so. We will add another beautiful little girl to our family. My grandmommy is blessed with many little girls. She has 2 daughters and 1 son. She has 5 grandaughters and 1 grandson; she will soon have 5 great-granddaughters and 2 great-grandsons. Right now the girls are outnumbering the boys pretty heavily.

I watched a program about the Duggar family the other night (they're from Arkansas and our expecting their 18th child). They have been truly blessed! All of their children are beautiful, seemingly intelligent and well-mannered. But as I watched them, I wondered how well do they really know their children? My dad is #11 of 12 children. Some of his siblings were already moved out of the house by the time he was born. They are a very close knit family, but I know they also suffered from being such a large family.

If anyone had told me that I would have an only child, I would have argued with them. I wanted lots of babies. That wasn't God's plan. I believe in God's plan, even if I don't understand it.

Today we learned that a young man, Bradley Norris, was killed in a car accident. Just 4 days shy of his 20th birtdhay. We haven't seen him in over 10 years, since he and Brett played peewee football and little league baseball. I remember his mom, Kim. Bradley was her only son, but she is still blessed with a daughter. His step-dad, Glenn helped to coach him. He loved him very much, that was apparent. Bradley was going to school at Fayetteville. He was friends with several of those that have already lost Taylore, Taylor, Alicia and Jae. I don't understand, I just can't understand. Again, he was a model child very active in his church. My heart breaks for his family, his friends.

I wished I understood so I could help to explain. I do know a man that lost his only son, he's recovered very well. He's found a new little girl to love, even though they are not biologically related she is his grand-daughter and he is her dawdaw. Today he posted some amazing pictures of them exploring Dauphin Island. Those pics remind me of the hope of the future. Even though we don't understand things right now, there is always hope.