Great Vacation!!!!

I'mmmmm BACK! Sorry, friends that you have had nothing new and exciting to read from our side of the fence in a long while. I'll try to update you on our last three weeks in a as short as book as possible! Ha!


First, an update on my friend, Kristi. (see post below) She is doing as well as to be expected. She has not gotten out for church yet due to the memories she holds so dear. She has emailed and said that she just needs time. I believe she is with her parents at this time. Please remember to pray for her. We have yet to get the autopsy report. Thanks you for all your prayer support! Thats what great friends do for each other!

Well, first of all we have been away to the north land for a couple weeks. It started out that we were going to Ohio for Larry's parents camp. As a surprise to them we held a 4oth Wedding Anniversary Party! We were to be gone for 8 days. The weekend before our trip, Larry received news from his work that he had a business trip he needed to go to in KY. Therefore, our trip was moved up 4 days. This meant alot of hurrying to get pack and finish plans for the anniversary party. On Monday of that week my parents arrived to load up the cabinets that Larry had made and deliver them back to Jeff. (my brother-in-law who has a cabinet business) It was a great day! The boys loved seeing Papa and Grandmomma for a few hours....as well as I! Mom helped me finalize my ideas for the decorations for the party. On Tuesday, we packed up and left home around noon. We went to GA and met Susan, Jeff, Alexis, baby Colton, and Grandmomma. Momma was letting me borrow some dishes for the party. Larry hadn't met Colton so we made a quick stop to say Hello! As you can see by the picture, Peyton was not happy that Daddy was holding someone else!! After a few minutes of playing in McDonald's playland, off we went to Owensboro, KY. It is in western KY. We arrived at our hotel about 10pm their time. It was a long day! The next few days were filled with Larry's work and me trying to find stores for my last minute items for the party. We were in a town that is located on the Ohio river so one afternoon we spent time at the river. They have a beautiful little town with a little park and benches, trees and a great breeze. It was very relaxing! During this part of the trip, Peyton started having diarhea again! We have had about 3 weeks without it and then it started up again! That's fun to be in a hotel with a baby going through clothes and diapers very quickly. We survived! On Friday morning, we headed toward Columbus, IN where my Grandfather lives. On the way, we picked up our niece from her Grandparents. Our plans were to take her to her mother who was flying into Columbus, OHIO that next day. Our plans changed slightly. We were going to see my grandfather who had just been put into a facility to recieve physical therapy. He is almost 89 years old and is declining physically and mentally. In a few weeks he will be placed into an Assisted Living facility. We had a great visit with Dad Burt and Aunt Janet for a few hours. Dad Burt was mentally "together" so it was great having him know who we were! After Peyton and Larry had a short nap, we headed to St. Mary's, Ohio were Larry's parents were at. Our original plan was to go to there house about an hour from there and spend the night, do laundry and drop off Kristin to her mom the next day, but , Granny (Larry's mom) insisted on us coming on up to the camp that night. She was very surprised to see Kristin and we had to tell a few lies to keep the anniversary party a surprise! On Saturday we did a lot of help for Mom and Dad getting things ready for conference and camp. Tim (Larry's oldest brother) and his wife and three youngest sons arrived and was a great time of family fun! You would have to know Larry's family to fully appreciate family fun! We are a great bunch of people to harrass each other over every little thing! You definetly can't have a sensitive personality and survive! That's one reason I fit right in!!! On Sunday, Larry's sister arrived and suprised his parents so much! She lives in Rhode Island and doesn't get to come home very often. Dan, Larry's youngest brother, and his family arrived in the late afternoon! We had another great day! The Lord has blessed me with fantastic in laws and family!!! Monday was the surprise anniversary party so it was very busy trying to act "not busy". My mother-in-law kept asking us what we were doing and we just said relaxing! Ha! Thankfully she was busy with their conference that she didn't have time to notice everything we were doing! The party was a great sucess and NOT a surprise! Thanks to Dad's brother who spilled the beans...unknown to us kids thou! Dad and Mom did a great job keeping out of things thou! They so appreciated everything that was done and loved having all their pastors and friends there to celebrate with them. The rest of the week we had a great time at there camp. They have such wonderful people who made us fill so very welcomed!! The boys played baseball several times a day and went to children's chuch. Larry played softball and realized how old he really is!! Ha! I even attempted to "play" softball a couple times. Everyone was so gracious as I struck out MANY times! But, we had a lot of fun! The services were great and since I work everyother weekend it was very much needed on my part. We left on Saturday evening and went to Larry's parents house and spent the night. On Sunday, we went into Cincinnati to pick up a girl from our church who was spending time with her grandparents. We then headed back to the great state of South Carolina! It was nice to breathe that stuffy air once again! Some days it was very cold in Ohio and we southern people are not used to that in JUNE!!!

OHHH, I forgot. One day while we were at the camp, Granny watched to kids while Larry and I went to Celina, OH to see the Lighthouse where we got engaged! We had a nice Italian lunch and a few moments without the kids! As I looked at that lighthouse and thought about the many things Larry and I have faced since that day, I could truly say with a excited heart that I would say YES all over again!! He is the best man the Lord could have given to me!





After all that LONG trip, I have been trying to catch up on laundry, bills, friends and now finnally blogging. I have tried to get "caught" up with a few of you, but it will take time! Thanks for taking time to read up on US!