Merry Christmas

 

Merry Christmas 

from our home 

to yours!

Our Weekend in San Antonio - Dec. 2011

We had a great weekend in San Antonio ~

hope these pictures will allow you to share in our fun. 

A couple and their wedding party on one of the bridges over the Riverwalk.

Going through the locks on the San Antonio Riverwalk during the day.

The tree at the locks taken as we went up as the water was being raised in the locks.

 

A beautiful view of the lighted building.

Looking down the Riverwalk on the water.

The Christmas Tree in front of the Riverwalk Center Mall

Another view on the Riverwalk.

This picture does not give it justice - this margarita was Texas sized!!!  One of these and I am sure I would be down for the count :)

Santa's Barge!  Still haven't got Ron to get our picture taken with Santa :(

A group of girls singing across from La Villita - they did a great job!

A snap shot of some of the views on the Riverwalk.  Hope you have enjoyed this journey with us.

Celebrations

Today has been filled with lots of blessings.  You can read all about my birthday over at Alice's Restaurant - definitely a day of blessings.

And we have been working with the Board of Director's about a new contract for the 2012-13 year.   And today an agreement was reached.  We have been offered a new contract and it has been signed.  We will be here at the Alamo Area SKP Co-op, aka The Lone Star Corral.    We will now be here in Texas till May 2013.  

We want to use this time to set some short and long term goals, see more of Texas and do some remodeling of our rig.  We have 3 projects that we would like to get accomplished: 1) is building bookshelves above the nightstands in our bedroom 2) take out the bench & dinette and build a three-section cabinet: the far right side will be two file size drawers, the middle section will be a drawer on the bottom with a bookshelf above the drawer to hold my cookbooks (they are now in a cupboard above the couch) and 3) paint the cabinet above the driver & passenger seats...right now it is raw wood.

And of course, the ongoing cleaning out and purging of stuff that we no longer need or use.

So here is an open invitation ~ if you ever make your way to the San Antonio, TX area give us a shout out.  We would love to meet up with old and new friends, share a meal and hugs and lots of laughter.

Today I am Thankful for ...

Today I am thankful for the many blessings of life ...

... a wonderful husband!  We have walked many different roads in 36 years.  We have shared joy & sorrow, laughter & tears, fears & triumphs.  We have moved 34 times in 36 years (not counting all the moves with the motor home:), owned way too many cars, and become the best friends that anyone could want.

... two wonderful sons, two great daughters-in-love, and four terrific grandchildren!!!

... friends, oh so many friends.  Having lived in Nevada and Washington and the Netherlands we have met so many different people who have blessed us over and over with their friendship.  I have Blog & RV'r friends who I have never met in person but I count as friends ~ and we have had the pleasure of meeting in person many of those blog and rv'r friends and our life is richer for that.

... a great church family at Northwood Alliance Church in Blaine, WA.  They have stood by us as we have traveled the into the valleys and up to the mountain tops.  They have prayed with us and for us too many times to count.

... I am blessed to have a great job where I get to work with and meet so many fun people and especially getting to work each day with my hubby.  

Yes, I am truly blessed and I thank the Lord for my life and where I am today. 

Today I am Thankful for ...

Today I am thankful for ....

...an invite to join friends for a quick dinner at Dairy Queen.  Was fun to visit and laugh.

... a surprise visit running into friends as we were leaving Dairy Queen so we sat and visited with them too ... two great visits in one day!

... a phone call visit with a special friend who is not feeling too well and hearing her pleasant voice even when she would rather have been sleeping.  Praying she gets to feeling better real soon!

... that I was down 2 more lbs when I weighed yesterday ~ that makes 19 lbs in 4 months!!!

and I am thankful as always for a loving Abba Father who gave his son to die for me so that I may live in His eternal presence.

In closing I would like to ask you to keep Kathie Thiessen and her family in your prayers as Kathie is nearing the end of her battle with cancer.  Please pray for Jenelle, Andrea, Kendall & Monica as they gather around their mom in her last days. 

Today I am Thankful for ,,,

New friends...yesterday Ron and I took a road trip to Austin, TX to meet up with some Families on the Road families.

 

We had a great time visiting, watching all the children play and of course share a meal.

And then we drove home.  It was a cold and clear night.  And we were without a top or sides on the Jeep.   And we took the long way home.  Ron has been saying since we have been here in Texas that he wanted to go to Luckenbach, TX and so we did.

While driving home we had a beautiful sky of a sliver of a moon and seeing Jupiter.  Here are the pictures I took while Ron was driving.

 And then he stopped and I got a great picture of the moon with Jupiter just below it.  

We are so thankful for God's creation and beautiful show He gave us last night on our way home.

 

It was 46' when we pulled into Hondo at 8:30 p.m. and we both had chattering teeth.   We left Austin around 3:00 p.m.  Took us almost six hours drive home and it only took us 2 1/2 hours to get to Austin.  We definitely know how to make a short trip take a long time.  After a stop at Walmart we made the final trek home...where it was nice and warm.

We laughed as we pulled into Lone Star Corral when Ron commented that we drove 319 miles between 9 a.m. and 9:30 p.m. ~ our normal travel days are usually not more than 250 miles!

All this to say I am thankful for new friends and a sweet hubby who loves to drive even though we were so crazy to not put the top or sides on the Jeep before going for our drive!!  And for the opportunity to see God's beauty in so many different way.

Today I am Thankful for

Today I am thankful for a fun day with my hubby.  First I balanced the checkbook (not so fun but it balanced the first time through :) and then we cleaned the motor home together and then got out the Christmas decorations...the best part!!  We have lights up in the living room, on the tree, down the hall and into the bathroom - it is definitely a Christmas light festival in here oh and Snowflake lights in the living room.  The tree is up and Scooby Doo has sang his song a few times and the Christmas bear is sitting guard on the edge of the couch. 

We also got some little packages ready for our grands and adopted grands.  Will get those in the mail on Monday.

And all the while cleaning and decorating we watched Christmas movies...new ones and old ones...but all with the message of sharing love with others.  Exactly what the Christmas season is about.

I am thankful for a loving husband who knows how to help me have a fun even when there are little chores to be done!

Today I am Thankful for ...

Today I am thankful for friends who drive and get up early and go shopping with me at 5:45 a.m.

I posted on Facebook yesterday if anyone would be interested in going to Beall's (like JC Penney) for my non-Texan friends.  They had Sketchers, regularly $120 for $29.99 - they had one pair in my size so I grabbed them up.  They are so comfortable.  Though at first it feels kinda weird with the rocking motion.

I was also able to get a gift for Ron ~ it is in hiding till Christmas Eve.  Now I just need to find the right box for it.  I need one about 36" long, 3" deep and 8" wide.  And I also picked up one of the grands' a gift that was on their wish list.

And then we went to Mickey D's for breakfast...so fun to sit and drink a nice peppermint mocha and visit for a little while.  Then it was back to the park as one of us had to go to work.

On a sad note we went to put up our Snowman in front of the office and he didn't blow up anymore...we think he got banged around way too much on his trip to Idaho, then Washington, then back to Idaho, Oregon, California, Arizona, New Mexico and then finally landing here in Texas.  :( :( :(

But that just means we get to look for a new one ;) :) :)

All in all it has been a good day ~ did a little decorating in the office, will do the motor home and outside tomorrow.  Then on Sunday we are going to Austin to meet up with some more Fulltime Families who are RV'ing.  So excited as there are going to be a bunch of little's and this grammy will get to do some cuddling :)

Hope you all had a great day after Thanksgiving!!!

Today I am Thankful for ...

Today I am thankful 

... that we got to talk with Opal and her daddy, Jamie.  Opal has the sweetest voice and sounds just like the princess she is.

... for new friends to spend this Thanksgiving Day with.  And the sharing of a great meal.  And we even got to bring home a few leftovers: dressing & gravy and scrumptious desserts.

... a special note from Rob, our boss at the carnival last summer.  Such a surprise to get greetings via email from him today.

... a beautiful Fall day here in Texas.

My heart is full of gratitude for the many blessings in my life.