For Our 34th Wedding Anniversary

Dan and I celebrated our 34th wedding anniversary in June. We made a quick trip up to Las Cruces, NM to visit our favorite bookstore and enjoy a burger and sweet potato fries at a little place called Day’s Hamburgers. It is a little joint in the downtown area off Main Street. The sweet potato fries are always worth the drive for us. (yes, that is our daughter in the photo…she went up with us for the day because she loves books and sweet potato fries, too) Saturdays are always Farmer’s Market days up there, too.

We didn’t make a huge deal of the day because… it was so stinking hot we didn’t feel much like making a huge effort, and we had just spent 4 days in New Orleans, Louisiana eating out and buying stuff at the SBC Annual Meeting. It was just a quick little day trip.

Over the previous week Dan and Emily built some new shelves for her room. During the super hot days they worked outside cutting lumber, sanding, staining and assembling them. In the process of building these shelves Dan had some swelling in his hands and the 34 year old wedding ring decided to become too small for his finger. It had to come off… the ring, not the finger!

He had to make a trip to a local jeweler but the good news is that the ring was salvageable and the man who took it off can resize it and make it look as good as new for us. He didn’t lose a finger or a ring. We are certainly grateful for that. No way any women will think he is “available” with that indention. LOL There is also a callous on the inside of that finger from wearing it while playing the guitar for the last 34 years.

He will have a “new” ring in a few weeks. We are paying less for the resize than we did for the original ring by about $25.00. I was willing to go find a new one for him but he is glad he gets to keep the original. He is a bit of a sentimental old softy sometimes. I still love him all these many years later! I am grateful for a Godly man who still wants to wear a wedding ring and go with me to farmer’s markets, bookstores, and burger joints.

By the way, the bookshelves for Em’s room turned out great. She learned some valuable woodworking skills and has more space in the room to move around and use her desk again. She is enjoying her time with her Dad without all the boys around, too. It has been good for both of them.

Photo by micheile henderson on Unsplash

Road Trip to Wedding

The Great Smoky Mountains

Beginning on July 10th we made a long trip… 4000 miles round trip through four states. We loaded up the car after church that Sunday the 10th and started the road trip to North Carolina for our middle son’s wedding.

On day one we headed to Abilene to pick up our middle son and do the road trip with him. That meant that we would be taking two cars all the way to Pinehurst, NC. That also meant filling two tanks all the way there. We were super grateful that gas prices decided to drop by almost a dollar in some places from May to July.

It took us 4 days to arrive at our Airbnb. We booked it starting that Wednesday July 13th through the 17th. We had carefully planned the trip so that we would be staying with family all the way there and back except for the Airbnb.

As things often do, that plan fell through for day two of our trip. We were scheduled to stay with my parents but my mom called that Friday before leaving with the news that she and my father were both down with the Vid. It was their first round and it was really mild but we all decided not to risk getting the groom sick. He is the only one in our entire family that has not had it. (They are doing well, btw.) That meant that we headed on up to Arkansas for the night.

It was a long traffic riddled day so we were glad to book a room as we drove with Booking.com and fall into bed after dinner at the local Waffle House. We did make two big stops to stretch our legs and take care of some business. We hit an REI in Ft. Worth for some gear for the groom and then a Buc-ees on our way to Texarkana. We have not been to Buc-ees a lot over the years but we did stop for a specific photo and some snackage.

2015 shot on the way to oldest boy’s wedding outside of Houston, TX

photo redo in July 2022 on the way to second boy’s wedding outside of Rockwall, TX

Just a fun photo 2022

We did stop for state line photos along the way, too…

They were kinda over me taking photos by the time we hit the NC line. Actually, probably way before that. LOL

Day three took us into Nashville to meet our newest family member and stay with our kids overnight. We picnicked at the Tennessee state line and took a few more photos. We had a nice chat with one of the helpful ladies at the main desk as we went in. Memphis sits right on the Mississippi River so we ate lunch while looking out onto the river there. We made Nashville by dinner time and enjoyed our DIL’s delicious Chickpea Curry and then spent some time with the grand kids before heading to bed.

It was our second trip to Nashville. The other trip there was in 2005 for the SBC Annual Meeting. It is still just as beautiful and traffic is still just as crazy.

Papaw and his new girl

Aunt Emily (Auntie Em, maybe?)
I don’t know if she would go for that. LOL

She is the sweetest little girl and she was not lacking for attention!

Uncle Josh… new babies smell so sweet!

Day four found us heading into North Carolina. It was our first trip there and man, was it stunning! Driving through the Great Smoky Mountains was such a treat. After living in the desert southwest for 25 years the trees were like giants and the green and flowers were unbelievable! I didn’t even mind the extreme humidity. As a matter of fact… as a Sjogren’s patient I rather enjoyed it. My sinuses and skin were so happy. LOL

We arrived late into the night at our Airbnb in Pinehurst, NC. We booked a whole house so that we could all stay in one place. We had all four children plus DIL, three grandchildren, Dan and me, and two groomsmen all staying under one roof. It was really such a wonderful adventure and the home we stayed in was absolutely fantastic. If you are ever heading to Pinehurst just ask me for a recommendation. I have the perfect place for a crowd.

I will stop here for today… I have so many other adventures to share but I don’t want to write a book for you guys. I will share more in some later posts as we move through August.

Until Next Time,

~Leann

Day 30… long and busy but really good

Here we are at day 30 in the 31 Days of Blogging. I am getting this post in under the wire but for a really good reason.

One… Today was the last band contest with my children forever. Our youngest had his last competition as drum major of his high school band and it was a beautiful, wonderful, and emotional thing for all of us. I didn’t take any pictures. I lived in the moment and soaked in every wonderful moment as I watched him and his band perform. This is a day we won’t soon forget.

Two… We spent some time at the local used bookstore (Coas Bookstore in New Mexico) and I got a short stack of books. Two writing books, a biography of Margaret Wise Brown, The Tennant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte, and a Trollope Christmas story, Christmas at Thompson Hall. I didn’t go nuts today and my daughter and husband picked up some books, too. It was nice browsing in a bookstore. It is a rare treat these days.

Three… The last stop on this whirlwind trip to Las Cruces, NM was our favorite NM burger place… Blake’s Lotaburger. If you are ever in New Mexico you should look one up. They are all over NM and are a New Mexico original.

That’s it… tomorrow will be up early in the morning and then I am taking November 1st-3rd off. Until then, have a lovely Lord’s Day.

Blessings,

~Leann

The Great Farmapalooza by Jill Roman Lord

This book is in stores now and was released this summer.  It is a sweet larger sized board book with a sing-song rhyming style.  This one, unlike the others in the series I have reviewed, has flaps to open and discover fun little creatures and sounds as they read. The book introduces children to animals you would find on a farm. It emphasizes how God creates and provides for His creation.

It is sweet and engaging for little ones. I love that it is in a board book format so it is durable and easy to handle for busy little hands and fingers.  The illustrations are also bright and colorful and the text is interactive and highly engaging.  If you have little ones in your home or other settings like church or daycare this is a great addition to your collection. As a grandmother of two sweet little boys I will certainly be reading this one with them.

It is published by BHPublishing and is available in Lifeway stores or other Christian stores right now.  You can also order it online wherever children’s books are sold.

This book came to me free of charge with no obligation to read or review it.  It is, however, quite delightful and I am glad to do so!  

God Gave Me Grandma by Pamela Kennedy

Here is another fun picture book from BH Kids. It is a sweet book about going to Grandma’s house. The illustrations are absolutely beautiful from an artist named Xenia Pavlova. She specializes in children’s book illustrations. In this beautiful book there are lots of opportunities to identify different kinds of animals, colors and nature. With each page you turn you see a sweet aspect of life with grandma from sharing gardening chores to baking cookies, going to church, sharing household chores and playing together.

This book not only encourages me to spend special moments with my grandchildren but it also reminds me of the special times I had with my own grandmother.

It is a sing song style of writing with rhyming. It is a little awkward in places but is, overall, a fun read to share. I typically pass picture books on to my grandsons to take home but this one will live at my home for those special visits.

This book was written by Pamela Kennedy and illustrated by Xenia Pavlova. Check out Parent Connection at BHKids.com for activities to go with their books.

I give this one a 4 out of 5 and encourage all you grandmas out there to share this one with your little ones. I was sent this book free of charge from BHKids Publishing. I was not required to read or review it. It is a sweet book that needs to be shared so I hope you will look for it soon.

Sacred Holidays by Becky Kiser

Sacred Holidays is written by Becky Kiser and is an excellent resource for single, married, married with kids, empty nesters, etc…  It is not limited to one group of people.  This is a book that is also not limited to Christmas.  It is packed with information, helps, encouragement and workbook features.  This resource can be used year-round and is a resource you will want to use for many years to come.  It is intended to be marked, underlined and written in as you move through each chapter.

Sacred Holidays is divided into sections.  The first section shares Becky Kiser’s experiences as she sought to celebrate more “sacred” holidays with her family. Kiser shares how we can bring our focus of “less chaos and more Jesus” into a reality in our homes, too.  She is encouraging and practical and focuses on changing one aspect of our celebrations each year until we are celebrating in a way that brings us joy. Her goal is not to overwhelm us but to help us find more Jesus and joy in our celebrations.

In the second section she shares specific holidays and ways to bring a more spiritual focus to those days. She begins at the New Year and works through Valentine’s Day, Lent/Easter, Summer months, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Advent/Christmas and birthdays.  Each chapter has workbook space for you to record thoughts, plans, successes and failures and to plan for next year.

The third section is my favorite.  She addresses many common struggles that come up as we try to make changes.  She addresses how to deal with people outside of your immediate family and all the opinions, expectations, conflicts, and drama that come up when you change the way you do things.  She also addresses budget issues, schedules, grief and more.  It is wonderfully written and she gently works us through issues that, more than likely, will arise along the way.

If you are trying to celebrate more spiritually in your home this is definitely a book you can use.  I would give this book a 5 out of 5 stars and will be recommending it to all my friends and family as the topic comes up… and it always comes up!

I want to wish you all a very happy Advent season and Christmas.  May your days be merry and bright and may all your celebrations focus on His Light… the Light of the World, Jesus.

For more from Becky Kiser check out her websites… Becky Kiser, Sacred Holidays, and her Instagram and Facebook pages.

I received this book free of charge through the BH Publishing Group.  I was not asked to read or review this book.  I am so glad I did, though.  😉  It is fabulous!