Big Change for Our Family

Yesterday our son, Stephen, celebrated his 25th birthday. We went to Gainesville today to take him to lunch. He has been living there for the last 10 months, working in a men's homeless shelter, active in his Sunday School class, praying and deciding what he should do next while working a part-time job and being near friends that he was very close to in college at University of Georgia. He broke the news to us as our salads were brought to the table at Longhorn. "Well, I've got some news. Sometime in the next 4 weeks I'm moving to Denver. Going to live with friends, look for a job and an apartment."
We were stunned and yet not so stunned. I've known that this would eventually happen since he loves the west so much. He's made three road trips out west in the last year and one of his best friends lives in Denver. There will be much more opportunity there he feels and he is very happy with the decision. I asked him if he had permission from the Lord for this and he said yes. He's been praying about it and thinking about it for some time now. We are happy for him, yet prayerful, knowing this will be a growing time in his life, an adventure, too...after all, he's young, single, finished college, ready for a more permanent situation. I pray it works out for him and I pray for us, his family, as we learn to cope with a very long-distance relationship with our son.

Beautiful Points of View

I took these photos of lovely park scenes while on our trip. My niece played with them a bit and we have the finished product...creative and beautiful. Thank you, Belinda!

Purple Mountain Majesties

John and I will celebrate 30 years of marriage in December. We have been in a rut lately and decided to get out of our "comfort zone" and take a road trip. We left Georgia on Friday, September 11 and, after driving through Tennessee, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado and Wyoming, we arrived in Teton Village near Grand Teton National Park in northwest Wyoming. I wish that I'd counted how many times I said the word "WOW". I have never seen such breathtaking scenery as in that park. There is no picture that can really show the magnificence of the "purple mountain majesties above the fruited plain". We spent every day we could in the park and made a side trip over to Yellowstone. That was a wonderful day also but cannot compare in my mind to the beauty of the Tetons.
We saw buffalo, elk, antelope, deer, moose, and even tiny chipmunks. We enjoyed the smell of the sagebrush, the forested areas of the park, and even hiked a 3 mile trail to a hidden lake. Our last night there we went into the forest and parked on a "turnout" after dark and listened through the open windows of our car. Within a few minutes we heard elk calling out, guarding their territory. There were three who were challenging each other and they were very close to our car. An eerie experience but I'll never forget it.
John and I had a wonderful time together, our companionship renewed after all these years with work, school, children. We haven't been on a trip together by ourselves in many years and, guess what?? We had lots to talk about and even had moments of talking about things other than our children and grandchild! :)
I am grateful to God for my husband and our marriage. There have been some tough and interesting times but many adventures also.

Pure Joy!

"The breezes taste
Of apple peel.
The air is full
Of smells to feel-
Ripe fruit, old footballs,
Burning brush,
New books, erasers,
Chalk, and such.
The bee, his hive,
Well-honeyed hum,
And Mother cuts
Chrysanthemums.
Like plates washed clean
With suds, the days
Are polished with
A morning haze."
- John Updike, September