20 years in the minefield

Dear Steve,

20 years ago today, I walked down the aisle on the arm of my daddy towards you...a man I had only know a few short months. However, I knew in my heart of hearts that God had sent you directly to me, for me. I was right. There is no greater joy for me than to love you.
Though the last 20 years have, at times, resembled a minefield, I've felt confident walking through it with you. You have been with me through many rough patches, but we have also experienced great joys. Those are the times that I choose to focus on today. You are the man I choose to continue to love, honor, cherish,and respect today.
At the end of your portion of our vows you asked me one question....Patty, will you be my wife? I said yes that day, and I'd say it louder and with more enthusiasm today. Because, without a doubt, I'll always be YOUR wife. The one who loves you more than any other.
My prayer today is that we have many, many more years together surrounded by family and friends, filled with God's love, and most importantly, the ability to always find our way to each other at the end of the day.

You are my best friend, and I love you.

fbc lyons children's building

First Baptist Church in Lyons, Ga built this incredible building. These are only a few of the pictures. They paid a company to come in and paint all of these amazing murals everywhere. I have more pics, but this is all I have time for today!

the registration desk

their play place

it's two stories high...better than mcdonald's

even a place for moms to hang out

the youth area

youth area includes pool and ping-pong

the entrance to the children's building

this huge ship is painted next to the registration desk

looking down the hallway of classrooms

x marks "the spot"

friends are friends forever take 2

Vidalia, home of the sweet onion, and also the second stop on my trip to south Georgia. I lived in Vidalia when I was in middle school, so this was not only a time of visiting, it was a serious blast from the past!
First stop: Lynn's house. We talked and talked and talked into the night about everything and nothing. I got caught up on her life and she on mine. Her husband, Gerald, came in around 9ish and took me by surprise. He looks exactly the same.....which is mostly funny because I had seen a picture on Lynn's FB page and thought that was him. However, at the time I also remember thinking to myself.....I really don't remember Gerald looking like the unabomber....so, happily that wasn't him...because, honestly I was a little afraid!

The next day, we embarked on a "tour" of Vidalia. This took about ten minutes as Vidalia isn't a big town...to say the least. It was fun, though, because I took lots of pictures from days of old. We also went by her church, Lyons First Baptist, who recently completed a 3 million dollar children's building...oh yeah, I was seriously coveting! I have lots and lots of pics for you pastor's wives of that thing!It is really something to behold!

Lynn is a retired teacher (31 years) and was working as a consultant, so I was able to really pick her brain on many literacy issues and ideas to use for my new library.  This picking of the brain? Yeah, that will be an on-going thing......hate it for her!!

So, without further ado, here's my true "blast from the past"

This is the house we lived in.

The "old" Tripp middle school

More of the middle school

The "old" Darby gym. This is also where we saw many wrestling matches

...like the Rick Flair type!

and this is Lynn! 

It was so much fun to see her and see the town again. I have many fond memories of living there. The word "community" actually means something to these people! If you ever go through there or are going by and can make a detour.....do and stop at the Steeplechase for lunch or dinner....it is quite worth it!

I'll be posting the pics from the children's building soon.

friends are friend forever

Indeed!

I set off on my adventure through south Georgia on Wed about two hours later than I had planned. I wanted to rent a car because my van was acting up, and while the guy knew that I had planned to pick it up at 10 AM, he didn't bother to show up until noon. I thought I was going to have to reschedule, but things ended up working out,and boy am I glad they did!

First off, I met up with Janet in Savannah......

It was great to see her and her husband, Mac. She gave me a tour of her ginormous house that contains about 850 paintings that Mac has done. (ok, so that's an exaggeration!) but all the same it is filled with his work...and can I just say....they are AMAZING!! They have an etsy shop where they sell some of the paintings and if you are in the market, you might want to give them a look-see! There were quite a few that I would have gladly snuck out of their house for my own use!!
She showed me her lagoon which, quite frankly, was the thing I was most excited about seeing--except her of course!--it's pretty darn cool. Thankfully, their friendly alligator neighbor did not make an appearance. Because while I am sure that would have been intriguing, I didn't really want to meet him up close!

Lastly, we took a swim in the gloriously not too warm water in her pool, Now, let me explain about this pool. It has no ladder or steps in which to get in......or OUT! So, getting in was fine. We talked and enjoyed the lapping of the water and about 30 minutes into this activity it dawned on me----how am I suppose to get out??? Let me tell you, that became the question of the day! Janet with her little self, says to me, just jump up and roll out. Yeah, right. First of all, grandmaw here ain't jumping too high these days. Secondly, Janet, have you SEEN me?? I am rotund, to put it nicely. Imagine with me, if you will, a giant manatee trying to slosh its way onto shore. Yeah, that was me! It took three tries with me wondering if I should just call AAA for a tow, and while it would have been so much more embarrassing, I was totally kicking myself for not having a video camera as I would be $25,000 richer for winning that AFV show or at least I would be a YouTube sensation!

It was, really, an amazing time. You know you have a true friend when after not seeing someone for 20 years you can talk for 5 hours straight without a lull in the conversation. It was wonderful to see her!

You can really see some of Mac's work well in this pic!

lots and lots of news

I have lots and lots of news and pictures, but I'm just too tired to type it all. Suffice to say that my trip was great!It's so amazing when you haven't seen someone in years, and you can pick up and talk for HOURS without missing a beat.....now, that's a true friend!! I have some funnies about my misadventures as well. I can't wait to share!

still counting

Well, when the other man in my life--also known as Dr. Godfrey--called today, I knew the news was bad. My counts are down again. Actually the white blood count is the same and he doesn't seem worried about it. My platelets are down to 7.4, which is about half what they should be. However, after doing some more research, I am not really that worried. When I saw the oncologist last month, he said that everything was working normally even though the counts were down. And, what I read today said that sometimes the counts are just down, but everything works.

We are on a new plan of action, however. We are reducing my premarin (hormone) to 1/2 and while doc said to go back to the oncologist as soon as I could, I think I am going to give it about a month before I go. I am making an appointment with someone in Augusta since I didn't really care for the guy here.

On a happy note, I will be counting something else....BOOKS!! Yes, I got the job. The only thing now is for the board to approve me which should happen sometime next week.

I'm off tomorrow to visit my friends, and I can hardly wait!!

big week

I hopefully have a big week coming up! So excited.....hope everything works out!

First up, tomorrow, I have my blood drawn again to see if my counts have gone up. I sure hope so because I am really tired of thinking about this thing. That will also mean that the adoption can go forward.

Next, I will hopefully be going on a job interview. A little school in our district is hiring a part-time media specialist. The principal called last week to ask if I was still interested, and then said she would call back with an interview time. This would certainly be an answer to a big prayer if I could secure this job. It wouldn't solve the medical insurance issue, but would certainly solve my boredom issue!

Then, I am suppose to hook up with two long-lost friends. First, I am driving to Savannah to see Janet...you've probably read her blog.....whom I haven't seen in 20 years. I know this because she moved the summer I got married. She and I were in college together and simply lost touch. I am very thrilled to have the opportunity to see her again. I cannot wait to hear about her many travels and see that lagoon she talks about all of the time. That should make for a pretty interesting post when I get back!

Also just as exciting is that this week I get to see another friend I haven't seen in about 20 years. The last time I saw her Stevie was an infant, and she's 19 now! Lynn was my 6th grade Language Arts teacher and lived in my neighborhood. She became like a surrogate mother to me, and I've missed her. She is a g'ma now and her daughter who I babysat is getting her doctorate. WOW!! Way to go, Jodie!!

Finally, I register Luke for high school on Wednesday. Yes, that's right, I said high school. I cannot believe my baby is in the 9th grade. My how time does fly!

It's shaping up to be a wild week, for sure.