Autumn days

Pumpkins in the cornfields
Gold among the brown
Leaves of rust and scarlet
Trembling slowly down
Birds that travel southward
Lovely time to play
Nothing is as pleasant
As an autumn day!

It's autumn! I was born and raised in Ohio where the leaves turned bright red and orange. Living in Texas, I miss seeing the beautiful colors of autumn. Our days are still very warm, but the mornings are cool. One morning last week Colette, the sweet 3 yr. old I take care of, dressed up and played wedding. We took a walk around the yard... and I took pictures. I love her pink shoes and "diamond" ring!

Memories of our vacation...

Jim, Travis, Shawna, Austin and Ashlynn drove to Florida to watch the Blue Angels practice

Stacy, Travis, Shawna, Austin and Jim went parasailing one day. They could see huge jelly fish in the ocean. It was a fun experience for them.

Love you Uncle Travis

Ju Ju, I miss you!

Fun week...

We have had a wonderful week at the beach. We left this morning and decided to stay overnight in Mississippi hoping to miss the bad weather in Louisiana and Texas. We are so sorry for all the damage in Texas done by the hurricane. We are thankful that the weather was so beautiful at the beach. We are already looking forward to next year!!

Sure enjoyed having sweet Ashlynn with us this year!


Jim loved walks on the beach, especially with Ashlynn.


Travis and Jim took time off from the beach to play a couple rounds of golf.


Our last night

Waves..

What a difference a day makes! Yesterday the waves were high but we could play in the ocean and walk on the beach. This morning is a different story. The waves are huge and there will be no swimming in the ocean today. I am sitting outside watching the sun rise and listening to the roar of the waves. What a magnificant view!

Isaiah 51:15 For I am the LORD your God, who churns up the sea so that its waves roar-- the LORD Almighty is his name

Sunrise...

Jim & I had talked about getting up early to see the sun rise over the ocean. Today was the day. It was hard getting up early but well worth it. The waves were much higher than they have been since we arrived. It was a beautiful morning and we loved our long walk on the beach and seeing the sun rise.

Shells, Sand and Sun...

Jim and I, along with Stacy, Travis, Shawna, Austin and Ashlynn arrived at Gulf Shores Saturday afternoon. In spite of our weather concerns the sun was shining so as soon as we got the keys to our condo we headed to the beach. We left cameras behind and just decided to enjoy our time and take pictures later. I thought Ashlynn's first time in the ocean would be a time of giggles, but she did not like the salt water when the waves hits her face. So we decided to give her some beach time for awhile and put her on a float next time. She was much happier.

We woke this morning to another beautiful, sunny day. Before breakfast Jim and I took a walk. Ashlynn went with us! She loved walking in the water with Pa.

Friends & Family visit

Our long time friends, Casey and Jarrod, visited us. They live in Arizona and were on vacation. We loved our time with them as well as their sweet children, Hunter, Elizabeth, Becca and Tori.

Chad and Heather, along with their children, were in town for a wedding. They were able to visit us on their way home. It was so good to spend a few hours with these special friends. Nykolas and Lily enjoyed giving treats to Jack. Earlier Lily enjoyed chasing Jack around the house. She was squealing with delight as he tried to get away from her.

Mia, who is a horse lover, was content to play. She may have been wishing Jack was a horse instead of a dog.

My brother, Tom & his wife Peggy and my niece, Cynthia & her husband Hutch visited the next day for a few days. Cynthia was here on business and her husband Hutch came along. He, Tom, Jim and Travis had fun playing golf. It was so hot those days but that didn't keep those boys off the course. We had fun eating out, shopping, laughing, and just being together.

Stacy & Cynthia

cousins

Joshua

Tom & Peggy

Colette was thrilled that Peggy read a book to her at breakfast.

China trip

Jim was in China for three weeks during the Olympics. I wanted to share some of what he wrote on the way home.

"As I am writing this I am looking out the airplane window at the
Grand Canyon and thanking God for a country founded on
His precepts and for the freedom that we have to follow Him...
even to the end of the earth.
Seventeen of us are just returning from three weeks in China.
My heart is full as I reflect on all that we have seen God do
over these days...the battles won...the setbacks and struggles
that allowed us to learn lessons that we would never have learned...
and to return to America with the knowledge that several on this
pilgrimage are now contemplating long term service in China.
As we meet and talk on the airplane and in the airports
there is so much excitement as to how they will be used
to impact China in a significant way over their lifetime.
We all fell in love with our Chinese brothers and sisters
and gained great appreciation for their daily
struggles as they seek to serve God on a daily basis."