Nashville

One of my mom's favorite places to visit in Tennessee is Nashville. This past Thursday my aunt had a doctor appointment there so my mom and I went with her.

After we got done at the doctors office we had time to check out some of the sites. Our first stop was at Archeology, the museum / shop for American Pickers.

Maya liked the huge tire

They had some really cool things.

Mom and Maya in front of giant overalls

After that we headed downtown for the Johnny Cash Museum.

One of Mom's favorite singers.

Listening to Johnny

Close to the museum is a walking bridge.

Maya thinks she's "racing" me

Maya and I enjoyed walking on the bridge and looking at the sites.

"There's water down there"

It was a warm beautiful day.

Walking back to the car

Cool looking bridge

Maya loved this art piece

It was well worth the drive.

Weekend Getaway Day 3

All weekend long it rained on and off and our last day wasn't any different. Our morning plans were uncertain because of the weather so we decided to have breakfast and clean up while we were waiting.

Penney cooked a yummy breakfast

Everybody dig in

After we cleaned up and got our bags packed it was still raining so we decided to head home.

A great group of ladies

It was a fun weekend with good friends.

In a beautiful area.

I'm glad I got to go :) Thank-you ladies for the memories.

Weekend Getaway Day 2

Over the past ten years the ladies from work have tried to plan a girls trip every couple of years. We have gone to Gatlinburg, TN, and Charleston, SC among other fun destinations. One of my friends is very good at finding a bargain and has planned some wonderful trips that normally I wouldn't be able to afford. This weekend we our main goal was to visit Callaway Gardens.

We woke up Saturday morning to heavy rain showers, thunder, and lightening. We started our day with a delicious breakfast while we waited to see what the weather would do.

It was still raining and most of us didn't want to hang around the cabin so we decided to go downtown to see what they had.

We had fun shopping.

The rain finally let up and the clouds parted so we decided to head to Callaway Gardens.

We started out watching the bird show.

Red Tail Hawk

Great Horned Owl

Vulture

Some of our group did the zip line.

While they conquered the zip line Teresa, Susan and I went to the butterfly house.

For a day that started out looking like it was going to be a total wash out ended up being really nice.

Weekend Getaway

This weekend a group of ladies from work got together for some time of fun and relaxation. Before I could leave I had to take care of Buster and get her packed to go to my parents house.

All packed up and ready to go

After getting her dropped off it was time to meet up with the ladies. We took three vehicles to get to our destination.

Penney is a great driver :)

After a short 4 hour drive we finally reached our destination!

Our cabin

Getting things unpacked and organized

It was late when we got to our cabin so we just walked around the grounds to see what was what.

Gazebo

They even have a wedding chapel

After exploring the grounds we sat around the cabin and visited. It was a nice relaxing evening.

We love the screened in back porch

We have a full day of fun planned for tomorrow ... I'm excited!

Mother's Day and Birthdays

Yesterday we celebrated Mother's Day and our family also celebrated some of the May birthdays.

Happy Mother's day Mom

May Birthday's

It was fun having the family all together, we all pitched in on the food and my dad grilled burgers and hot dogs.

My dad the chef :)

After eating we had Hello Kitty birthday cake and ice cream.

Then it was time to open presents and cards.

It was a beautiful day with family.

I am very blessed :)

Thank-you Rhonda and Bob

Today I want to tell you about a life that was saved because we were willing to go to "the regions beyond." We went to a village that can only be reached during the dry season because you literally have to drive thru the river bed to reach it.

During the rainy season this river bed is impassable

Our group had set up clinic in the church/school building. I was helping with crowd control and assisting where needed. One of my jobs was to help get the babies weight. We didn't have a traditional baby scale so we would weigh the mother holding the baby then I would take the baby and weigh the mother again.

Setting up in the church/school

A mother came in with her precious little boy. When she first handed him to me I noticed how light he felt and it struck me strange that she had him all bundled up.

A loving momma wanting to give her baby a chance

What we soon discovered was that he had been born with no arms or legs. Haiti is a country that is deep seeded in voodoo and superstitions. When the people in her village saw the birth defects of this baby they told her to kill him.
As you can see she didn't listen to her neighbors instead she has been a good loving mother.

This mother had been crying out to God to send someone that would help her baby. When she heard that we were in the area she came to us. As hard as it may be to understand her plea was for us to please take her baby. Unfortunately, her village people look at him as being cursed. Love A Child doesn't have the facility to take care of a child with that type of needs HOWEVER they are connected with an organization that helps finds homes for handicapped children.

Sweet baby boy, born with no arms or legs

Because we were there this sweet baby boy has been given a chance. We didn't just happen to set up clinic in that particular village. I believe God sent us there as an answer to that mother's prayers.
Rhonda and Bob because you gave you helped save this beautiful baby boy. He will be placed in a home that will be able to get him the medical treatment he needs. His mother loved him enough to protect him from a deeply superstitious society so that he'd have a chance to grow up. I can't help but wonder what God has planned for his life.
There are lives that we touch everyday and we won't know the impact of those lives touched till we get to heaven.

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"   Isaiah 6:8

Thank-you New Liberty

The next tribute I want to send out isn't just to an individual but also to a church.
A friend of mine's grandson (Hayden) attends New Liberty Baptist. Hayden came over one day and asked me about the trips I have been on and where I was headed to next. At the time I was in the process of raising funds for the February trip to Haiti. He told me that he was going to talk to his church to see if they could do anything. Honestly at the time I thought well that's sweet but they don't know me so I don't think they'll be able to give. To my surprise I got a call the next week saying that the church was writing a check.

A program that Love A Child has set up is a nutrition center. They work with other nutrition programs in the country so that children who are put in the program are assigned to a clinic closest to their home.

The front of the clinic at LAC

Unfortunately malnutrition is rampant in Haiti and many children starve to death before their 5th birthday.

One day as we were getting ready to close down clinic a mother came in with her six children. Upon examining them we found that all the children were very thin, malnourished, and dehydrated. To make this story even more heartbreaking we found out that the mother was expecting twins. The mother is a sweet lady that loves her children she just isn't able to get enough food for them.

The last patients for the day

Because we were there at that time, we were able to get them enrolled in the nutrition program. Now this family will receive food packages on a regular basis and have hope for a future.

Sweet family that will now get proper nutrition

Thank-you Hayden and New Liberty Baptist for helping to make this possible.