Rain Rain Week 4

It rained and rained and rained some more!

Beautiful Sunrise Week 3

Great way to start the day. Photographers are obsessed with light and especially sunrises and sunsets. I should be going in the office but could not help stop and admire God's handy work!

Shot from my iPad

Post 2

How in the world can I already be a week behind? Oh well, in my head I am a week ahead. ha

So this was a great weekend in Gatlinburg. Saturday was Wilderness Wildlife Week and it is always packed full of information. Sunday, we DROVE to Cades Cove and took the some pics. The weekend was a great relaxing and photo packed weekend. We love to stay at Carr's. Why??

1) The rooms are reasonably priced ($39 in January).

2) I love the location and it is sort of a campus type place and I feel safe and love to walk by the creek.

3) Clean and comfortable but not fancy by any standards. It does have a fridge in the room which is great.

4) You can grill by the creek so it is great to take your own food and picnic.

5) It is quiet and peaceful and feel secluded even those you are super close to Gatlinburg.

6) Close to the Mountain Lodge my favorite place to eat.

Things I do not like:

1) The short low flow shower. It is not a deal breaker but it is a pain! I have to bend way back to wash my hair and that seems sort of dangerous.

2) I can't go more often and stay longer.

If they return my power cord I forget then I will give them the 5 WAC(ky) status! I can't believe I forget given how check out room sweep neurotic we are when we leave.

Happy New Year - Week 1

Well let's start the year off right with some goals. "Goals" are now the politically correct thing to say versus "resolutions" because we all know how PC I am! The iPad goals are vast, blog, take photos or learn to use it. The list goes on. Well feet are made for walking and if they walk they need shoes I need to put my shoes on my feet and get moving and losing at least 10-20! Enough said! The orange is a healthier eating plan, I say this after I just got back from CiCi's but at least I have a "goal." I should mention I am not a fan of fruit sort of taste like cardboard. I love oranges we buy directly out of the groves or coconut that Phil picked off the tree in his front yard and cracks for me with his dirty machete. I just am not a fan of WM fruit! The B-I-B-L-E well that is sort of self explanitory. Hopefully, I can check in throughout the year and see how my goals are going!

Project 42

My last post of the 2011 year.

Project 52 - Close to the end

The Project 52 has almost come to a close and I did not make 52 posts. As a matter of fact, this one is post 41. I am not surprised I knew it would be a challenge but I am glad I did it and will probably do it again. I enjoy looking back over the the posts and I remember things I probably would not remember if I did not have a nice record of events.

First, we honor precious Uriah each year and it's a reminder that bad things happen to good people and to know that babies die sort of robs you off your innocence and blissful happiness of celebration when you hear the pregnancy announcement. When we heard the exciting news, at Christmas, of a new baby Porter that should arrive sometime in August I couldn't help but say and extra prayer that no other family has to know the loss of a little one.

Organization is not for me. I miss those books that I cleaned out and I am sort of a pack rat and that is how I am going to roll.

Friends are priceless and especially at the thought of loosing one.

Snow is magical no matter when it snows or how much it snow. The snow brings a special kind of peace to the earth.

The puppy dogs are now big dogs and their bodies are beginning to show age and we are soon going to be faced with decisions that will be hard to make but until then it is dog treats, tennis balls, Frisbees and naps whenever possible! We celebrated, I am not sure celebrated is the right word, but the ditch dog has been around 5 years and that is 5 years longer than anyone ever thought.

We went on vacation and made some wonderful memories chasing owls and visiting cemeteries. I finally made the pilgrimage to visit the King of Rock N' Roll, Elvis. Graceland was amazing and I can mark that off my life list of things to do before I die.

This would be another year of traumatic memories. I went through the worst 82 days of my life. I had no idea how my life would change and my heart would ache for 82 days and then some. I am fairly confident I did not sleep more than a couple hours at time waiting for a phone call because one thing I know, things can get worse and they often will.

I celebrated first days of school, homecomings, sleepovers and joy and happiness I have new experience helping making a difference in someones life and just how much you can love someone you are willing to risk going to jail, your family and your job whatever to make sure they are safe. I did not know I had it in me!

Sun rooms, porches, new TVs, and iPads have been nice additions.

I took this photo on Christmas day when I sat down to read the paper with a cup of tea in my favorite room and just for a brief moment I knew everything was right in the world. It was a calm and peaceful feeling that I rarely get to experience. I am reminded through it all God is good and that we walk by faith not by sight!

Project 52 Merry Christmas

Mike's new TV