Vacation

Wow...back from vacation and feeling entirely grateful for my life.  This was the first true vacation (were I did no work for an entire week) in over 2 years.  Even though I worked out of the home, I was working for myself and was always working in some capacity to ensure a paycheck was on it's way.  It was nice to enjoy not working the past week knowing I was still going to get paid when I got back.  Just one of the benefits of not working for self. 

We did allot of traveling around the east coast.  First stop Boston, where it poured all day, but we found plenty to do to entertain us.  We visited the Aquarium ate at Faneuil Hall, spent some time in a fantastic book store and played cards into the night for dibs on the king size bed in Gloucester the next night (fortunately I got a back ache from the bed that night and ended up in the king even though I was crushed in spades).

Off to Gloucester we went where we ventured out into the sea to view the whales.  I have to admit, this was one of the highlights of the vacation.  Something I've always wanted to do on my many business trips to Boston, but never had the time.  If you ever get the chance, it's something you MUST do!  We visited the quaint little town of Rockport where they have the best little shops and lots of lobsta'!  We will definitely return to this hot spot!

Back to PA, only to venture off to Jersey the next day to Great Adventure with all the kids.  Where the price is high, but I guess the thrills are worth it.  Very expensive day, but pure joy on every one's faces when they rode the thrill rides.  Me, well I enjoyed the safari and the dolphin shows.  I tried the Houdini ride and had to cover my eyes the entire time due to something in my brain that tells me I want to vomit when the room spins around me.  Maybe some remnants of my past life, who knows.  All I know is that there wasn't a bed to hang my foot over and plant it on the ground to help stop the spinning.  Ugh.

The rest of the week was spent doing smaller day trips to the Antique Auto Museum of Hershey, Knoebels with my men, my sister-in-law and her husband, golfing at the Manor Golf Course, a picnic with some of my best buddies, Alpha Group and ending the week at the Bridge to New Life.

I feel so entirely blessed to have had this past week.  God has been so good to me and my family.  Even though I sometimes think that traveling the world would make my life better and make me feel like my life was more complete, in the end I've learned that the best vacations are the ones you spend with family, friends and God.   

My men!

Sharon and Rob

Chelsea Rose

Cassy

Sugar Daddy

I think the hardest thing to do is wait.  Boy do I just want to jump everytime I have a brilliant idea.  When I do that, I end up messing up a lot of things.  Even though it seems like it may be working out, after awhile, it becomes apparent that I've messed up.  Then it takes additional effort to go back and fix it all.  Thank God I've learned this lesson over and over again.  Repetitiveness seems to make an impression on my brain.

When I wait, God reveals the undisputable answer.  I can tell in my soul when it's the right thing.  There is no anxiety, no worry, no fear, no debate.  Then the only effort I have to put in is to move my feet towards Him.  It's not a marathon to get to my destination when I wait, it's just a few short steps.

Unencrypted, God showed up in my life over the last week and made it pretty clear that I should move on from a consulting gig I had.  I have been debating it for a awhile, and I didn't want to make any moves without Him.  I've been praying for Him to show me what I need to do, and He answered me.  All I needed to do was show up, wait, and watch.  It's never easy to make decisions when it affects me financially, so I'm grateful I have my sugar daddy to take care of me.  His name is Jesus!  The good news, is that he is available to all who come to Him, and he's one man I won't be jealous over and am willing to share with EVERYONE!

Philadelphia Trip

So, we actually did the trip!  We went to Gunther Von Hagens' Body World Exibit at the Franklin Institute.  I must confess, that when we first arrived, I told Chelsea and her friend Shauni that I may end up throwing up in my mouth, but it didn't happen.  Once I got past the idea that these were just bodies and that there was no soul there anymore (and in MY mind they were really plastic figures) I kind of enjoyed it.

It was actually rather interesting to see the human body and how it works.  Shauni is going to school to be a nurse, so she was my go to gal when I had any kind of question on what I was looking at.  She answered my questions with few breakouts of laughter and sincere respect.

As I was walking through the exhibit and looking at all the different muscles, bones, cartiledge, ligaments, organs, blood vessels, nerves and the like that make up the human body, I was completely overwhelmed with the marvelous creation God built.  Yes, I thought this same thing before, but to see it laid out in the manner that it was, you couldn't help but be in awe.   

One of the other things that was striking to me, was that my little girl is all grown up now.  She handled herself with dignity and grace inside the museum.  Even the child inside of me was giggling when we came across a few things, but the two young women who were with me held themselves poised, smiled and moved on.  Wow.

So that is about all I'm going to say of the museum, except that if you get a chance to visit it in the next couple of weeks, it will be a pleseant surprise.  I don't want to give away all of the secrets, but it was rather fascinating.

This Side of Heaven by Karen Kingsbury

If you have never read a book by Karen Kingsbury, I suggest starting out with This Side of Heaven. I read it in about a day and a half, and it was one of the most inspiring books I have read in a long time.

Karen Kingsbury is an inspirational writer who is a Christian and writes novels based on her own experiences as well as her reader's experiences. She has 6 children (which I find an inspiration in and of itself).

This Side of Heaven is a story of adversity, a family's love, and how faith can overcome anything. I truly have been changed by reading this book.

Remember that God always has a plan, we just may not see it right away. Just wait for the miracles.

Super Bowl Sunday

Okay...yes, I'm a Steelers fan, but I believe I can be biased in my opinion of the game. Way to go Steelers and Cardinals for giving us one of the better Super Bowls to watch in years. It reminded me of the old Cowboys/Steelers games when I was a kid. As for the commercials, they were surely lacking. There are NONE that stick out in my mind that will be talked about at the water coolers today, except for maybe the one where the guy got thrown out the window (what was that again? Budweiser?) See what I mean.....