A rare family get-together.

We cooked steaks on the grill and sat around this beautiful table laughing so hard at the stories told, the kids playing.  Just did my heart good!

Mr. Man and I drove to Tennessee this past weekend to meet up with our four sons at the youngest son's lake house.  We'd not done that before for several reasons.  All of our sons live in different states and our son has only had the lake house for about a year.  It's beautiful there!   His neighbor was kind and invited the 'overflow' to stay at his vacation home next door.  There were so many of us that we just couldn't all sleep at our son's house even though it's pretty big.

We'll have to work something out to be able to get our girls and their families here another time.

But, as a mom, I was thrilled to see our sons all together again after so long!  They had a great time catching up, their kids did as well!  They got along so well and are old enough to remember this weekend and the new bonds they've formed with their cousins.  That's life these days, I suppose, families live so far apart due to jobs, etc.  This weekend was special and so worth the traveling!


There was boating, playing ball, a makeshift slip and slide(seen below) that worked really well. :)  So much fun!

This is the makeshift slip and slide. They soaped it up really well and tried all kinds of stunts and races. LOL

Occassionally the kids went inside to rest and watch a LITTLE BIT of TV. 

This is our youngest granddaughter in front of her uncle's HUGE TV.   I love this picture.

We're all back in our own states, in our own homes now.  But this was a weekend to remember and I pray we are given more like this.

Thank you, God, for your blessings.  You work all things out for our good because you love us.  Please continue to bless our 'babies' and their babies and continue to draw our whole family closer and stronger.  We'll remember to thank You for it all!

Blessings everyone.  Hug your loved ones every chance you get!

Hamstring owie.

We've spent most of the day on the TN river.  Beautiful.  Some of our group wanted to wake board, some wanted to ski, and others wanted to sit it out.  We had ....let's see...11 people on the boat.  Which was a bit too much to get up to top speed, not to mention to get around with skis and such.  So, our captain dropped me and four grandbabies and one of the daughters-in-law off on the ''''''beach''''''' to watch.
Now I live in Pensacola, Florida where we have the most amazing white sand beaches.  It honestly looks like snow.  So, I was unprepared to step out of the boat and sink into thick, slimy MUD! MUD!  We managed to make our way to the 'shore' with the sound of 'thuck', 'thuck', 'thuck' as our feet lost suction with the mud.  We were, thankfully, left there with four chairs, three lifejackets for the little ones and a swim noodle.  We left the towels and water with the 'poor' boaters.  Well, within the first ten minutes I took a flying slide through the mud, into the air, and made a three point landing on my bottom, left arm, and right hand.  oh.my.word.  I do not like mud, Sam I Am!  I do not like mud in the sun, I do not like mud on my buns! I do not like it here or there, I do not like it anywhere!  The youngest grand was bathing in mud...slathering it all over her lovely four year old legs.
At any rate, we settled our muddy bottoms in our chairs or floating in the muddy water while the 'brave' ones tried and often failed to conquer the water on skis, wake boards, and those pull behind thingies.
They had lots of fun and we enjoyed watching them try.  There were lots of pictures taken and I'll post them when I can.
The bad part of the day came when Mr. Man got out to water ski, not having done it in about 30 years...and pulled his ham string on the first try.  I mean, agonizingly pulled it to the point where he can't put weight on it even now, eight hours later.  Poor guy, he refused to be taken back to the house, though, because he didn't want to ruin everyone's good time.  So he suffered through it.  He's now finally lying in bed, but his leg is propped up and pain meds are helping.
Please pray that he makes a miraculous recovery in the morning.
We have another whole day here before we start our drive back on Monday.  I want him to be able to enjoy the family God has blessed him with.  We are truly blessed and thankful.
Maybe sometime soon our whole family, with the daughters and their fams, will be able to get together.  But, for now, I'm enjoying my sons and theirs, too.
God bless you all.  I'm off to bed.

Time with the fam!

Good morning!!  We are enjoying some time away from home with family.  Gosh, isn't it hard to put into words what your family means to you?  At the age of 61, I can say that I value family now more than ever before.  So many people I've loved have walked through Heaven's gates, I have learned to treasure my time with family while we're still here.

My kids and grandkids may get sick of me telling them I love them, but I'll tell them anyway.  Whether we're traveling states away or walking across the street, whenever we part, I make sure to say "I love you."  And, I tell them lots of times inbetween.  I do love them so much...cherish them!

Watching the kids play dodge ball or 'Monkey in the Middle' or going for a boat ride together.  Some families get to do this all the time, ours doesn't.  Our kids live in four different states.  My heart is overflowing with thanks and joy.

I am soaking up every minute of it!
Mr. Man is determined to ski today.  It has been about 30 years since he last went skiing.  I will NOT be going out on the boat with them to watch it.  I just can't. They can video it for me.  Praying he has fun and doesn't break a leg. :)

Enjoy your day.  I hope it is full of family or full of fun memories of family time.
Blessings!

It's the small things

I had such an enjoyable day, just running errands and visiting with friends.
My beautician, Gigi, is such an encouraging, cute, little lady!  I'm always blessed when I go there and I think she feels the same way. :)
Then ran into sweet people everywhere I went today.
Had nice chats with my neighbor and her cutie pie grandson, Hayden, who had a lemonade stand this morning.  He earned $30!
Another friend came over and chatted later.  Now hubby is home and we're ready for our mini vaca starting tomorrow. 
It's the little things that make for a great day.  Something huge doesn't have to happen!  Count your blessings name them one by one.  Remember that song?  That's what I'm doin'.  Counting each and every blessing, big and small.
Here's a chapter from the Bible I've enjoyed reading today:
Colossians 3

I hope you have seen lots of blessings in your day today!