Celebrating Twenty-One Years

Our anniversary is in the month of November. 
I struggle with trying to summarize
twenty-one years together. 

Plain and simple, it can't be done in brief form. 

One thing I know full well though: God diligently used the past twenty one years to love and discipline two divinely adopted orphans into obedient members in His Family. 

Many years ago, God spoke Isaiah 27 into my spirit concerning our lives, our marriage, and His purpose concerning the two. 

In the good and the not so good, through both the exciting and the mundane, God has been ever present, authoritatively and consistently stating,  "I, the Lord, am its Keeper; I water it every moment; lest anyone harm it, I guard and keep it night and day.....In the days and generations to come, Jacob shall take root; Israel shall blossom and send forth shoots and fill the whole world with fruit [of the knowledge of the true God]."

There has ever only been one overriding response divinely rooted deep within my soul:

"Let it be so!"  

And because *HE* accomplishes that which He purposes, I am blessed to enjoy these precious souls daily, with the knowledge that the complete fullness of His Word to us is yet to be realized!

Glory! 

I am forever grateful for beginnings, for growth, for His divine leadership; for they have yielded and will continue to yield an abundant crop that exceeds these precious souls!

Giving Him ALL the glory for what He began
twenty-one years ago!
  I am humbled and so very grateful.

Andrew's First Mountain Bike Race

This morning Andrew, our eldest son, competed in his first mountain bike race. Fifty five miles, forty degree temperatures, and mud! He was numb to the core at the finish line, but finished in the top ten! So proud of him!! We are all thankful to the Lord for a safe race, home, heat, and hot chocolate!

(As always, click on images to enlarge them.)

His "pit stop" prior to his last leg!
"Last leg" being 14 miles,
thank you very much!
Glory!
On a mountain bike that is like LONG, LONG!

His sprint to the finish line!

Seconds after dismount!

Done!
He was having a little trouble with his legs
cramping, thus his slightly odd stance.

After race snack.

His back.....covered!

Heading home!
One of the top ten racers!
SO proud of him!
His mind is as strong as his body
.... and THAT is saying something!
Not too many ROAD race 55 miles...
much less mountain bike racing!

 Happy Saturday, all!

Respite, New York Style

A week ago today, at exactly this moment, I was touching down at my local airport from a glorious  trip to NYC, my home-away-from-home.

As part of my birthday present, my family gifted to me the following certificate, to be redeemed at a time of my choosing:

(Click on any of the images to enlarge.)

Well, with October being among my top picks as far as months go and with the full blessing of my generous family, I booked my flight and headed north for five solitary days of rest and exploration.

Sharing a few of the over three hundred (grin!) pictures I took: 

Window seats are the only way to fly.
The sky was just glorious on the flight up.

The very thoughtful & super delicious meal
that awaited me upon arrival!
Countless "thank yous" to my very dear hostess!

A friend and I headed north of the City on Sunday
to explore the quaint and beautiful town of Cold Spring, NY.

Our supper upon arrival from a day of exploring.
Enjoyed "couch side" & as incredible
of a meal as the evening before.

I so enjoyed all the autumn
decorations dotted throughout the City.

Roof top and balcony gardens delight even those
knocking about the city streets. 

Gorgeous gazebo in full "bloom" in Central Park.

A "friend" stops to say, "Hello!"

Love the greenery of Park Avenue!

Our selection of the evening; a mini-trip to Italy.
Top notch atmosphere; top notch food!

Early one morning, I arose & made my way to Coney Island.
It was so quiet and peaceful.
Post card perfect!

Gorgeous serenity.

Lovely cafe for lunch

The Brooklyn Bridge,
as viewed from the Manhattan Bridge.

More autumn beauty.

Time to head home!
Great respite... and to be sure, I'll be back!

Andrew's First Skydive

As I told you all the other day, we scheduled Andrew's first skydive in celebration of him turning 18 this past week for this weekend.... today to be more specific.

What a wonderful experience!

Mr. Paul (who has skydived over 4,200 times)
was Andrew's escort on his tandem dive.
He was so much fun
and made the experience even more memorable.

Up, up, and away!

See the plane??
Yep, it's WAY up there & climbing!

What LIFE there is in those baby blues!

LOVE YOU, ANDREW!
HAPPY 18th BIRTHDAY!