What I'm Thankful For!

Ok, so it's been a little while since I have blogged.  There has been so much that has happened!  I will try to get better at keeping this up-to-date.  

Just wanted to take a moment this morning and share with you all what I am thankful for.

• Thanksgiving! (It gives us an excuse to get with family!)
• My beautiful wife, who is beautiful in the true sense of the word.  She makes everyday beautiful in her own special way because she is such a special woman.  Gifted and beautiful.  She still makes my heart beat faster.
• My kids.  Each one makes me smile!  Where would I be without my incredible family!
• Parents
• Brothers
• Grandparents
• Cousins, uncles, and aunts
• Friends - those who are close, and those who are new!
• Strangers who offer their campers for us to use so we can sleep at Maw Maw and Paw Paw's and have a new adventure!
• The maker of heaven and earth who gets infinite pleasure out of his children delighting in his world!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Overwhelmed

The dust covers me and makes me feel as though I am suffocating under the weight.
The pain is almost too much to bear...alas, it is too much for me.
I breathe my last as the darkness sets in.  The last dim light fades.
Gasping again for one last hope I realize that it must all end.
Life on earth is over now.  The darkness has overwhelmed me.

Then bursting forth, I shoot through the crust of the earth's mantle.
The warmth and the light nourish the days and weeks and months and years of rain and storm.
I feel myself growing higher and higher in the light.
A sense of newness surrounds me.  This is unfamiliar to me.
My life under the earth was so dark and bleak.
This new sensation is fresh and wonderful.  Too wonderful for words.

In one final push, I am thrust into what seems like the final stage of this uprising.
I dazzle the earth with radiant colors.  Colors unmatched by anything man-made.
Life has ended, but life has also begun.
Life where there is no more pain.  Life in the midst of death.
The earth and dust and darkness that overwhelmed me lost.  Something bigger won.
And here I stand in full bloom.  In the glory of light like I have never seen.
I sense that I will never leave this light.
I felt the end coming when I was in the darkness,
But now that I am in the light I have no sense of any sort of end.
It is as though this is what I was supposed to be all along.
And somehow who I was in the darkness under the earth was only temporary.
It is too amazing for words.
So amazing that I am completely overwhelmed.

inspired by 1 Corinthians 15

Our Day Off

We have declared as a family that we shall have at least one day every week where we do nothing but rest and enjoy our family!

And today we did just that!  It began with trip to Blue Jay Point County Park.  We hiked on the Falls Lake Trail and spent some time skipping rocks and collecting nature items.  We had a great time.  The weather was absolutely beautiful.  It couldn't have been over 85 degrees out there.  There was no humidity either.  Noting but blue skies and fresh air!

In case you were wondering, yes, that is Caleb.  My baby carrier was also used as a baby holder when we took breaks.  He looks like he is in pain in this picture, but I promise there was no baby harmed in this trip.  In fact, he was carried along and spoiled a good bit.  He even slept for most of the hike.

Men have marveled for centuries at the wonders of God's creation.  This hike was no exception.  I saw five things that caused me to take pause and thank God for his splendor.  And one of them even stopped to let me  take the above picture!

What can you say?  I have got the best family in the world!

We had to have a picnic lunch with our hike to make it authentic.  So we let Sonic take care of the food.  We used their tables for our picnic.  It was much better than packing a lunch and trying to feed these little animals. These big cups you see everyone holding are Sonic's Route 44 sized drinks.  We split two of them.  They were enormous.

What a day indeed!

Tennessee Vacation (5)

The Ferris Wheel was Nate and Micah's first "big boy" ride. They had been on other rides, but this one was very high!  They both loved it.  In fact, I think they were more calm than the adults were!  

Abigail and Nate were both given some money by their grandparents to use as they pleased.  That was a real treat for both of them!  We let them pick out whatever they wanted, take it to the check out, and pay all by themselves.  We somehow convinced Abigail to use her money on a souvenir rather than cotton candy.  And the first souvenir she had was a shot glass to go with her tea set.  So we showed her a small coffee cup that might be better for her tea set.  Her dolls might appreciate that a little more than the shot glass...maybe.

Nathaniel had his mind set on the same gift the whole time we were there...a new Thomas the Tank Engine.  He has a wooden Thomas train set at home and Thomas has been lost for some time now.  So Nate bought a new one and just about hasn't let it out of his sight since!  Micah's purchase isn't shown because his toy is in hiding.  He bought a new gun that makes a lot of loud noise and lights up.  So we are not quite sure where that toy is...and it might just stay like that!

The below attraction was a unique on for sure.  It was one Ashley was so excited about.  It was a huge challenge course.  It was about three stories of nothing but challenges and obstacles.  Ashley had a blast on it!

Well....all's well that ends well they say.  We sure hated to see it come to an end.  We'll be back tho' for sure.  Here's Ashley's folks wishin' us a mountain farewell.  

"Ya'll come back now! Y'hear!"

Tennessee Vacation (4)

Here are some classic Dollywood photos.  We had a blast at the antique cars.  Grammy and Pappy really fit the part.  (You notice who's driving, right?)

This water ride below was Abigail's first "big girl" ride.  It got a little intense at times, but she did such a good job.  Ashley was the first to get soaked.  It look like she was going to be the only wet one for the whole ride. But that simply wasn't the case.  I got absolutely soaked at the end.

Tennessee Vacation (3)

When we think about this vacation, DOLLYWOOD is certainly the most memorable part of the trip.  We spent two days at Dollywood.  Not sure if that was the smartest thing, but it was still fun anyway.

The 5-mile journey on Dollywood's real steam locomotive, Cinder-ella, was probably everyone's favorite attraction.  The kids loved it for sure.  This was quite a treat for Daddy as well!  I haven't ridden on a big train like this since I was a wee sprig in the hills of Carolina.  (Tweetsie RR!) 

I think Micah was so convinced his horse was real that he thought he was going to get bucked off!  So he made sure he held on for dear life!

Nate the Navigator!  It was amazing how good four-year-old Nate was with the Dollywood map.  He was pretty accurate with his directions!  He always had his copy on hand.  (The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree for sure!)

There were points were I certainly envied Caleb.  Oh to be carried around the park, never have to walk, and be fed when you get hungry.  And when it's all over everyone said what a hard day he had.  Really?

Micah is on the train closing his ears from the loud whistle.  When we got off the train Micah was holding his eye and rubbing it.  We wondered if he got a cinder in his eye.  Ashley took him to the first aid station and they were able to get it out.  It was a cinder from the train.  They took good care of him.  He was a good patient, too!

One thing Dollywood does better than any other theme park I've been to is move people around from the parking lot to the gate.  There really wasn't a bad parking spot in the whole park (and there were a lot of them!)  They had tram stops all along the parking lots to get people to the gate.  It's especially great if you travel in a herd like we do!

At the same time, it would have been nice if they had something like that actually inside the park.  They give you a ride to the gate, but once you're in it's nothing but walking...everywhere you go!  Two days of walking was a bit much!

Tennessee Vacation (2)

Here are more shots from just our hanging out around the cabin.  You honestly could have just locked me in and I would have been just fine.

Ahhhh....marshmallow goodness.  Sometimes good taste comes at a high price.  For example...see Abigail below.  She was a sticky mess, but if you ask her she'll tell you it was well-worth it!  Her face says it all!