Our Trip to PCC continued

At that Rest Area in Alabama they had lots of pretty flowers. I didn't stop and smell any roses, but I did stop and take some pictures. haha



This is the Cow from Chik fil A posing for me. I couldn't get the girls to pose with "it", so "it" did a little "ta-da" pose for me. The cow must have been a girl, because she kept flirting with Theron (at least I hope it was a girl)!! He just kept saying "Moo" when she'd get in his face. It was so funny.

Hurricane Gustaf & Arriving at PCC

We didn't hit any rain until we got into Pensacola. Chrissy called and told me that God had told her on the way that she was not supposed to go to Pensacola and we could turn around and go home. I said, "Great! Let's go. I had been praying for a sign and asked Him that if He didn't want you to go to PCC this year, that it would be raining when we got there otherwise let it be sunshining." (I was kidding, of course) She laughed. Then, I said, "Watch, when we get on campus, the sun will peak out through the clouds!" Now, when I said this, there was just no way you'd thinnk that could happen. The clouds were thick over the campus and it was really raining. Well, wouldn't you know the minute we turned onto the campus, the sun peeked out for a second!! It was so funny. Of course, I wasn't really looking for any signs, but we were kidding around. Chrissy said it shows that God does have a sense of humor. He is an awesome God to give us a laugh when He knew I was so sad inside.

This is right before we turned onto the side road that leads onto the campus of PCC

Chrissy & Mary after the rain stopped as we were saying goodbye for the day

Griffin Tower...the girls are on the 3rd floor this year...and roommates this time!!

Scary skies as we leave campus to head for the condo...the young man in the foreground must have thought I was taking this of him...he has the funniest look on his face.

Pretty Campus

Theron and I stopped to eat at a seafood restaurant near the condo we rented. I laughed because the wind had blown a lot of their letters off...the last line is what made me laugh. I felt awfully fat after eating, so it was appropriate!!

It was too dark and stormy to go outside once we got to the condo, so this is early the next morning. I love the beach, even when it is stormy. The waves were so big for the Gulf. I know they are bigger in HI and CA, as we've seen those, but the Gulf isn't usually like this at all.
My camera kind of fogged up as I walked outside and took this one, but I think it is a great effect


Notice the two red flags...this means swimming is prohibited. Some silly people were still in the water later, but most obeyed.

There were people on the beach all morning. I didn't go out on the beach on Tuesday until the evening when Theron and I walked a bit. The ones who were there during the day had to keep running in as the bands of weather came in. I had fun just watching them scurry as if they hadn't a clue that a storm was so close.

These funny tourists were putting up two beach umbrellas as the winds were howling around them. I had quite a good time watching them. They did persevere, though, and did finally get them to stay up awhile.

Here are a few pictures of the little apartment (condo) we stayed in. The girls never did get to come see it. It is a lot smaller than the one we stay in at Thanksgiving, but any place on the beach is great to me!! I love listening to the waves while reading on the balcony. Perfect!!

Johnny Update

Darlene and I were talking today and she asked that I put this on the blog, so you will know how Johnny is doing. They discovered last week that he is allergic to the experimental drug that he has been on for the past several months. The last hospitalization was even caused by the allergy, and not by a virus, etc.!! It is so neat to see how God orchestrated it, so that it was clear to the doctors what was really happening. It's a long story, but Darlene and Bill picked up on the allergic reaction before the doctors did, and when they went to talk to the doctors...the doctors agreed. So, this gives Johnny a week that he doesn't have to go in for shots/chemo each month, as he has had to do some sort of treatment every week for the past 15 months. They also feel he was able to take that drug long enough that it helped him in his fight. Please continue to pray for him. He is doing great, though!

PCC Here We Come Again

Chrissy, Mary, Theron and I left on Sunday, Aug. 31st, heading for PCC. Mary and Chrissy followed us in the RAV. There was no way their stuff would have fit in the RAV without having the van, too. They did a great job on their first long drive! They will be driving home in the spring, although, I am trying to convince them they need the van then, too. I look forward to my trips to the beach when we go to PCC!!

Mary drove the first day, and Chrissy drove the 2nd day
Filling up the tank
Eating lunch
Still Eating

Chrissy and I are standingn in front of a dead sunflower at a Rest Area in Alabama. It was supposed to be a symbolic picture of how we felt, since they were leaving home, again. However, Chrissy couldn't hold her frown and started laughing!!

A yucky big spider at the rest area

Mary & Chrissy in front of some live flowers!!

First Day of School

TJ and Samantha started school on Monday, August 25th. I took these right before they left for school. Sam is attending Spotsylvania Middle School again, and TJ is at Courtland High. So far, they've had a great week! I am so glad, as this time of year usually makes me pretty sad, as they had back to school, and it helps that they are both enjoying it...well, enjoying it as much as you can enjoy going to school. haha

Grandpa Stone Comes to Fredericksburg

My dad has been visiting us this week from Sarasota, FL. We always play Dominoes when Grandpa is here. All four of the kids played, too, so it was a fun evening. Theron had to work late, but came in to observe after awhile. haha Here are some pictures Mary took during the evening. She was camera crazy. She took about 20 pictures of Chrissy, so I didn't upload all of those to the blog. We had a lot of fun and laughed a lot. Thanks, Dad, for coming to spend time with the girls before they leave for college.

Theron took this shot of usMary snapped this one when we weren't looking

Grandpa contemplating his next move
Me, acting surprised, as Mary snaps another shot. Theron is in the background watching TV
Chrissy watching Dad take his turn
TJ, thinking he was going to win, but he ended up losing by getting too many points the last few rounds...poor little boy

Sam lauging at Mary

Chrissy and Dad looking at me doing something silly, I guess

Mary taking a picture of herself

TJ

Our trains

Flowers Along the Way

My Mother-in-Law knows a lot about plants, and was able to tell me what a lot of the plants and flowers were. Some were near the river walk we were on, and a lot were by a house that was by the walkway. I took a lot of these, not just because they were so gorgeous, but I also wanted to try out different settings on my camera. :) Oh, and we also ate wild blackberries and wild mulberries. They were SO good! Our hands looked like we'd been fingerpainting!