Romania Day 9

Tuesday May 15

It was so nice to wake up and have Jimmy with us! I am also glad that he is here to take pictures. I will have a lot more pictures since he is here with his camera.

 another picture of the view from Julie's and Big Sam's balcony

When Jimmy felt like he had slept enough, we all ventured out to the city park that has the zoo. Clay and Big Sam had left earlier, and they planned to meet us there. On our way we stopped at the coffee vending machine just outside Julie and Big Sam's apartment. Yay! It was back! We bought a few coffees, and then were on our way for the thirty minute walk to the park.

 watching the coffee come out of the vending machine

 meeting Clay and Big Sam at the entrance to the park

 roosters at the zoo!

 Julie, Big Sam, and Clay

 posing in front of the monkey exhibit--Sam's favorite

 playing on the swings

 and playing on the see-saw

While the rest of us stayed on the playground, Julie and Jimmy ran around the park.

We walked through the zoo, and then we walked back to the apartment. After a quick lunch, Julie, Leah, Sam, and I walked to the grocery store to buy groceries again! Thankfully, the four of us were able to easily carry them back.

Dan and Tami joined us for a Bible study at the apartment at 5:00, and then we all walked to the Center for supper at a Romanian restaurant. We ordered several different Romanian dishes which we all shared. Thankfully, the waiter had three English menus--although the translation on some of the items was humorous!

at the restaurant

getting coffee again on the way to the Center

 We stopped by the pretzel shop on our way home. Hot, chocolate filled pretzels are the best!

 the Romanian restaurant where we ate

 Everyone in our family except Leah and me love this mineral water.

We had this delicious mocha cappuccino before our meal.

Romania Day 8

Monday May 14

Today was a rainy day for most of the day. I did school with Leah and Sam. Today was the day that Jimmy flew all the way here. I prayed many times today that Jimmy would arrive safely. 

Julie and Clay walked to the local farmer's market before lunch, and then Julie prepared us a Mexican feast! Dan and Tami joined us for lunch. After lunch when the rain finally stopped, Clay walked Leah, Sam, and I back to the farmer's market area to get coffee from a vending machine.  Around the town here there are coffee vending machines in places where you would see Coke machines in the U.S. When we first arrived here last week, there was a coffee vending machine just a few steps from Julie and Big Sam's apartment. Then the next day, they moved it! We were sad. But, Big Sam noticed just this morning that they had put a different one back in the same spot. The coffees (and you can get expressos, expresso with milk, cappuccino, mocha, etc.) cost 1 lei (which is about $.25). 

Most of our days here I am spending helping Julie out with her daily chores. Romanians do not have clothes dryers; they use dryer racks or clotheslines to dry their clothes. She has a small front loading washing machine, and one load of wet clothes exactly fits on her drying rack. So we wash one load each morning and let it dry on the rack until the next morning. It usually takes 24 hours for the clothes to dry, even with a fan blowing on them. 

Julie's apartment reminds me of the married student housing apartment Jimmy and I lived in while he was in medical school, except that her apartment is a little bit bigger. She has a small single sink in her kitchen, and of course, no dishwasher. I have been washing our dishes after each meal and drying them and putting them away so we have room to wash dishes for the next meal. Our family is all sleeping in the den--two people on the sofa bed, and three people on the floor. Each morning I fold up all our bedding and store it and the mattresses in various corners for the day. We have our large suitcases in out of the way areas (as much as possible!). It really has been a treat to stay here with Julie and Big Sam. 

Big Sam and Clay left at 4:30 to drive (in Dan's car) to Bucharest to pick up Jimmy from the airport. They arrived here around midnight. I was so happy to see Jimmy after being away from him for over a week. 

Romania Day 7

Sunday May 13
This was Mother's Day, and for the first time since I became a mother, I was not with all of my children. In fact, the child that first made me a mother was the one who was missing--Olivia! But I had a delightful day! I heard from Olivia, and she posted a nice message to me on Facebook. Leah and Sam brought me cards they had made back home, and later in the day Julie, Clay, Leah and Sam walked to the market and came back with beautiful fresh flowers, M&Ms, and a Coke for me. What a nice treat! Julie also gave me a hand painted spoon rest she bought on her recent trip to Jerusalem. It is so pretty!

We drove to Severin, the city where Julie and Big Sam lived when they first came to Romania, for our morning worship service. Parts of the service were completely in Romanian, and parts were in English and translated in Romanian. The hymns were sung were in Romanian, but they were sung to familiar American tunes.

We enjoyed a picnic lunch, and then we drove back home. I have been so sleepy the last couple of days. I am having trouble sleeping at night, but in the afternoons I get so drowsy. I guess this is jet lag? I slept in the car going to and coming back from Severin.

We met with Dan and Tami at Julie's apartment at 5:00 for an evening Bible study. Big Sam led us in an inductive study of a portion of Mark 9. It was such a good study!

A few observations about life in Romania:

• Like I said earlier, Romanians are fast drivers! I don't think I could drive here.
• However, they are very aware of pedestrians, who have the right of way at all intersections. It's like being in college...in all the crosswalks, cars must stop for pedestrians.
• Most Romanians do not use air conditioning. They think it is harmful to you in some way. Thankfully, the nights are cool here right now, so with the door and all the windows open in Julie and Big Sam's apartment, it is comfortable here. In fact, it gets chilly at night.
• Romanians do not drink ice in their drinks. In fact, they like their drinks to be room temperature.
• Romanians must be cold natured.....I see them wearing heavier clothes than I think necessary in the 80 degree weather. I often see babies wearing hats.
• Here in the city, people do a lot of walking. I easily got well over 10,000 steps each day I have been here except for Sunday. In fact, most days I got 20,000 steps, and that was all walking (not going for a run as part of the count).
• Here in the city of Craiova, the people live in apartment buildings with very little personal green space. But the public parks we have visited are very shady. They are full of trees, grass, pretty flowers, walking paths, biking paths, and lots and lots of playing children!
• Romanians have green thumbs! Every where I look, beautiful flowers are blooming. Roses are everywhere! Every apartment building has all kinds of green plants and flowers in its courtyard. Flowers are on street corners, lining sidewalks, and really just anywhere you look. 
• I see many, many Romanians smoking cigarettes--old and young people alike.
• Almost every young Romanian man I see is wearing skinny jeans with rips or holes in them. They all have the same hairstyle too--super short on the side and fluffy on top.
• There are no street signs in Craiova, Romania. Who knows where we are as we walk along!

Romania Day 6

Saturday May 12

Julie cooked us homemade pancakes for breakfast this morning! What a great way to begin our day. I am still sleeping later than I should, and the kids slept until 9:30 this morning. After our yummy breakfast Leah and Sam did schoolwork while Julie and Big Sam studied. Clay kept himself busy cutting fliers for Big Sam.

After lunch we walked back to the town Center for a Bible Study that Julie and Big Sam have on Saturdays at a coffee shop. Dan and Tami met us there, and everyone ordered coffee before we began. (I ordered a Coke in a bottle!) It was so good. Tami added a Romanian word to my order, and when I asked her what she said, she said, "cold". She reminded me that Romanians like their beverages room temperature, and if I did not specify, that is what I would get. They don't serve beverages with ice, either. So, my coke was cold, but not really that cold. Still, it was good!

The coffees were all delicious! Tami and the waitress helped me interpret the menu, and I helped the kids order fancy coffees--some with nutella, chocolate, and whipped cream!

 at the coffee shop

 at the coffee shop

 at the coffee shop

After our Bible study, where we discussed evidence for the resurrection of Jesus, we parted ways. Julie, Clay, Sam, and I stopped by the grocery store on our way back to the apartment. 

 I found this collection of wires interesting.....

 Later in the afternoon Clay and I took Leah and Sam to a nearby park. I was so proud that we made it all the way there and back by ourselves! We are slowly learning our way around here.

Sam spent the majority of his time at the park trying to climb various trees.

This picture is an instant photo that Leah put in her travel journal that she is making. It was taken at the park.

We ate supper at the apartment, and then just hung out and enjoyed each other's company for the rest of the evening.

10 Favorite Beauty Products

I don't consider myself high maintenance in the beauty department, but there are a few products that I use. Some have been favorites for years, and some are recent finds.

Here they are:  (I'll include links, but actually most of these items I buy at Walmart, my local beauty shop, or Ulta.

1.  Redkin shampoo and conditioner.  I use either the Color Extend, High Rise Volume, or Extreme in both the shampoo or conditioner. I really can't tell a difference between these on my hair, but I can tell that my hair gets dry and brittle if I use any other brand. I buy this at either my beauty shop, The Hair Tailors or at Ulta. The large bottles last me at least six months.

2.  Mary Kay eye make-up remover. I have used this for about 12 years. It is not oily, and mascara comes off easily with cotton balls. I will say that I am not faithful to even remove my eye makeup at night, but when I do, or if I have to remove it in the morning before I put in my contacts, this is my favorite product to use. I am out of this right now, so I bought Simply Clean brand eye makeup remover, and it is not a favorite. It does remove the eye makeup easily, but it burns my eyes! I order Mary Kay products only once a year, and 3 bottles of this usually lasts me the whole year.

3.  Mary Kay Timewise 3 in 1 Cleanser.  If I take my make-up off at night, (I don't even wear make-up every day, and sometimes I am just too tired to wash my face! I know, I know, that is terrible! The next product on my list has somewhat solved that problem for me.) this is the cleanser I use. It does not burn my eyes, and it easily removes the makeup.

4.  Simple Cleansing Facial Wipes.  My friend Jessica told me about these a few months ago, and they have changed my skin care routine! About half the time I wear makeup I just wash off my face with these wipes and I'm all done! They are perfect for traveling.

5.  Teddy's Organic Rosehip Seed Oil. I kept hearing Melanie and Sophie talk about this rosehip oil on the Big Boo Cast, so I finally ordered some. I love that stuff! I really believe it has helped the wrinkles around my eyes. I apply a several drops (all over my face) both morning and night.

6.  Avon Moisture Therapy Intensive Healing Repair Body Lotion. This is my favorite all body lotion. I apply it head to toe--even on my face. It is thin, rubs in well, and has no odor. And it's very economical.

7.  Mary Kay CC Cream Sunscreen. This is what I wear as my foundation. It is light, not too thick, and has sunscreen, which is important because none of the moisturizers I use have sunscreen.

8.  Mary Kay Mineral Powder Foundation.  If I want a little more coverage, I apply this powder on top of the CC cream.

9.  Maybelline Pinkalicious Lipstick.  When I checked on this lipstick to create a link, I saw that the price is now $10 per tube. I am not going to pay that much for lipstick that is sold at Walmart! When I first began using this shade, it was available at Walmart for less than $5. Then of course after a period of time Walmart stopped carrying this shade, so I began ordering it from Amazon.  However, when I run out again, either I will find a new shade of lipstick I like at Walmart, or I will search for this color somewhere else. I also like Clinique lipstick, I just can't find the perfect color. And I know that Clinique lipstick costs more than $10 a tube, but it's a better quality than Walmart lipstick.

10.  OPI nail polish. Some of my favorite colors include: Berlin There Done That, Coconuts Over OPI, You're Blushing Again, and Cajun Shrimp.

Well, there you have it! 10 beauty products.

What are some of your favorites?

Romania Day 5

Friday May 11.

Today we walked to the grocery store before lunch, and bought as many groceries as Leah, Sam, Julie, and I could carry. Clay was out in town working with Big Sam.

Later on we all walked to Dan and Tami's (Big Sam's parents) apartment for a delicious lunch prepared by Tami. They live about 10 minutes (walking) from Julie and Big Sam. After our lunch we all walked to the mall to look for supplies for a race that Jimmy, Big Sam, Clay, and Dan are running on Saturday, May 19th. It's called the Transylvania 100. Jimmy, Dan, and Clay are running the 20K, and Big Sam is running the 50K. They have to have backpacks to hold various required items in order to race--things like a compass, 1L water container, their own drinking cup, a first aid kit, an emergency blanket, and other things like that.  We found most of the items at a sporting goods store that reminded me of Academy Sports back home. Jimmy plans to bring the rest of the things when he joins us here on Monday. We are all so looking forward to his arrival!

 Big Sam and Julie with her tiny baby bump

We rushed back from the mall just in time to leave to walk 30 minutes again to the town center, which is a really nice area featuring shops and restaurants and a public library. Julie and Big Sam host an English speaking book club there every other Friday night. Tonight's book discussion was The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. Two young Romanian girls, who spoke English really well, joined us today. At the end of the meeting, they all decided that their book to read for the next meeting would be A Wrinkle in Time.

 A librarian talking to us just before the two girls arrived

 This is the poster hanging on the library's front glass doors advertising the book club. Julie designed the poster!

After the book club, as we walked back home, we stopped at a fresh pretzel vendor and enjoyed hot pretzels. Leah, Sam, and I all got chocolate filled pretzels. Yummy!

These pretzels were delicious!

Another fun day in Romania!

Romania Day 4

Thursday. May 10.

I began this day bright and early. I had gone to sleep around midnight the night before, and when I woke up at 6:00 AM, I decided to go ahead and get up, drink coffee, and catch up on my Bible reading. (I am a couple of weeks! behind in my daily Bible reading.) I was hoping that if I woke up this early, I would be ready for bed at a reasonable time later than night. Romania is 8 hours ahead of Mississippi time. The jet lag has really not been that hard of an adjustment, except that I find myself yawning in the middle of the day and wide awake at 11:00 PM!

Big Sam began his day by running a marathon (26.2 miles) distance around town. Julie served us breakfast, and then we began our day by doing school! Both Julie and Big Sam are in college online--Julie is working on her degree in English, and Big Sam is working on his masters. I brought five days worth of school for Leah and Sam to do during our trip. So everyone except Clay did school. 

After that, Big Sam and Clay hit the streets of Craiova. Big Sam and his dad are holding a two day lectureship about the resurrection of Christ at the end of this month. Big Sam and Clay wore shirts to advertise the event, and they spent a few hours walking the streets of Craiova handing out flyers inviting people to the event. They enjoyed lunch in town, and then Julie, Leah, Sam, and I joined them at the large city park.

The park was about a 30 minute walk from their apartment, so we got to see even more of the city. Romanian drivers drive super fast through town. Although pedestrians have the right of way, and there are many pedestrians, I still think the drivers are driving too fast!

The park was nice and cool, very shaded with paved walking paths and marked bike lanes throughout. It also features a zoo! This was quite an interesting collection of animals. Along with monkeys, leopards, and lions, there were also roosters, chickens, pigeons, horses, and deer. Quite an assortment of animals!

 the walking billboards

 at the city park

 at the zoo

 Can you see the lions in the background?

After touring the animal exhibits, the kids played on the playground for a little while. After Sam and Leah made many attempts at climb the center pole of this structure, Big Sam finally walked up and showed them how it was done.

 first one up the pole

 Clay easily followed, and then somehow Sam made it up as well.

 They helped Leah get up there too.

We walked back to the apartment and spent the rest of the afternoon visiting. Julie prepared us a delicious supper! Then we watched part of The Greatest Showman and got ready for bed. It is still hard for us Mississippians to feel sleepy at 10:00 PM. 

Leah and Sam fixing their supper plates.

10 Ways to Study God's Word

Here it is....my first list of 10 Things to celebrate 10 years of blogging.

I have studied my Bible several different ways in my life. Different stages of life lend themselves to different methods of Bible study. The important thing is that you spend time in God's Word. Spiritual food is as important for our sustenance as physical food is.

"...that He might make you know that man does not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord."

Deuteronomy 8:3

Choosing when to study God's Word is not always easy, but it needs to be top priority. I prefer mornings, after I have prepared Jimmy's lunch for the day. I sometimes read my Bible on my iPad at night, and when I had nursing babies, I kept a Bible handy to read while feeding them. 

So once you have figured out when is the best time for you to study your Bible and pray, here are 10 ideas for you. 

1. Just read the Word. Have a plan for covering a specific portion or all of the Bible. You can find a plan for just about any Bible reading online. I have done the B90 a few times. This is when you read through the entire Bible in 90 days. Reading through the entire Bible in one year is a popular plan, and that I what I am currently doing using The Daily Bible. You may plan to read through one of the Gospels repeatedly in one month, or an Old Testament book, or really anything you choose. But reading large portions of Scripture to get an overview of a time period or topic is beneficial. 

2.  Take notes while reading the Word. Some ideas include making an outline of each chapter you read, listing things you learn while reading, writing down questions you have about a passage, or recording items to apply to your daily life.

3. Copy Scripture. This is something I began doing a few years ago. I really like doing this. I began with one of the Epistles, Colossians, I think. I have copied over half of the New Testament, and I am currently copying John because our preacher is teaching a series of lessons from the book of John this year. I typically set my timer for 10 minutes while copying, and that usually allows me to complete one page of copying in my journal. I sometimes combine copying Scripture with #2--I will outline the chapter after I have finished copying it. I used to use erasable pens while copying so I could correct any mistakes I made, but now I am using a fine point Sharpie pen.

4.  Topical Study.  Using a concordance, you can read and study verses pertaining to a particular topic. While this is a good method, you need to be careful that you don't pull verses completely out of context and somehow misconstrue their meaning. It is helpful to read the verses before and after the ones your concordance references so you can make sure you understand how the verse applies to the topic you are studying. 

5.  Study using a workbook. When I am preparing for an adult Bible class or our Ladies' Bible class we usually use some type of workbook. 

6. Study to prepare for a class you are teaching. If you have ever taught any kind of Bible class, whether for adults, teens, or children, you know that lots of Bible study is required in order to adequately prepare. This totally counts as Bible study! 

7. Read Scripture to your children. Whether you home school your children and Bible reading and study is part of your school, or not, reading Scripture and studying God's Word is important. Choose a reading plan that fits with your family's schedule and be consistent with it. Bedtime Bible reading (stories for younger children and reading from the Bible itself for older ones), mealtime Bible reading, beginning the day reading, or anytime you choose, all work great! While reading to your children, they will inevitable have questions, and this allows all of you to search for answers and grow spiritually.

8. Devotional type books. While I would not let a devotional book alone be my only spiritual food for the day, every single day, many of them offer short, encouraging messages that when supplemented with further Bible reading, studying, or copying can provide a timely message for you to ponder. 

9.  Study a particular person in the Bible. Many lessons can be learned from the real people of the Bible--the good ones and the bad ones.

10. Choosing a group of Scriptures to pray. The Psalms lend themselves to this. Really many passages can be read and offered as a prayer to God. 

I hope this list of 10 Ways to Study God's Word as been beneficial to you.

Romania Day 3

First, a couple of pictures from Monday and Tuesday......

 This was taken at the Toronto airport. The theme of this airport must be penguins, because there were penguins everywhere.

 Eating Turkish ice cream at the Istanbul airport--We got a cone with all three flavors:  vanilla, chocolate, and pistachio. The young man who served us was very funny! He played all kinds of tricks on the kids as he was scooping and serving their ice cream.

 Little Sam and Big Sam on the train to Craiova

 The girls on the train

Wednesday, May 9

After the travelers finally all woke up (it was 1:45 PM local time before everyone was awake), we enjoyed a hot cooked breakfast prepared by Julie. Or was that lunch? Anyway, after we ate, we all walked to the mall where the grocery store was located. It was about a 30 minute walk, and it really was enjoyable. The name of the grocery store is Auchan. It looked very much like an American grocery store, except I could not read the names of any of the products! In the produce section, anything sold by the pound is measured yourself. You take the label that the scales print out and stick it on your bag. Then the check out lady just scans the produce like all the other products. I used Google translate on my phone to try to figure out what was drinkable yogurt and what was milk! We bought groceries for our supper plus some other staples and snacks. We had carried our grocery bags to the store along with two empty backpacks. We had no trouble carrying all the groceries on the walk back to Julie and Big Sam's apartment. Clay even carried a watermelon in his backpack!

After returning from the grocery store it was almost time for our Wednesday night Bible study. Big Sam's parents, Dan and Tami (who live about a 10 minute walk from Julie and Big Sam) joined us at 5:00 for our study. We sang a couple of hymns, and then Dan led us in a study about the authority of Jesus. We had a profitable discussion and study, and I enjoyed it very much. Then we sang a hymn in Romanian (to the tune of an American hymn), and one more American hymn. We concluded with prayer.

Next, Tami and I helped Julie finish preparing our supper.

 Here are Big Sam, Little Sam, Dan, Clay, and Leah visiting after our supper.

A little while after we ate, Big Sam suggested we go for an evening walk. The night air was pleasant, and so was the walk. We had not gone very far when we passed a coffee vending machine. Julie and Big Sam had already told us how common these vending machines were and how good the coffee was. So Sam bought us some!

 Sam, waiting for the coffee to be ready

We continued our walk for a while more, and then Dan and Tami headed back to their apartment, and we walked back to ours.
The kids and I were not sleepy at all, but I finally turned out the lights at 11:00 PM. I did have a hard time falling asleep. I think it was midnight before I turned off my iPad. (I played solitaire trying to get sleepy).

the view from Julie and Big Sam's balcony

Romania Day 2 or Is it Day 3?

Here is a recap of our traveling halfway across the world!

• We left our house in Mississippi on May 7, at 6:45 AM (CST) for the 4.5-5 hour drive to the Atlanta airport.
• We checked in our flight, got our boarding passes, found our gate, and waited for our 3:25 PM (EST)  departure.
• Next, we flew to Toronto, Canada, and arrived there at 5:53 PM (EST). We flew Air Canada, and the kids all watched movies on the airplane screens while I read a book, The Bridge Ladies.
• We had about a 4 hour layover in the Toronto airport. We went through passport control, got our little tickets, and proceeded to find our next gate. 
• We left for our flight to Istanbul, Turkey at 10:30 PM
• We flew Turkish Airlines, which was a wonderful experience! As we boarded the plane, we were welcomed by soothing Turkish music playing in the background. There were fresh flowers on display, and the airline attendants were so kind and professional. We walked through first class (which was amazing!) on our way to our economy seats. We sat on the second row of economy seats, and they were really nice! We got settled, and soon we were in the air for our 9 hour, 45 minute flight. All four of us watched our own movie--I watched Me Before You which was a good movie for most of it, (I had no idea what is was about) but about halfway through it took a disturbing turn.....assisted suicide. I was so sad! Anyway, we were served "dinner" about  midnight, and that was delicious. Soon after I finished my movie, and then we tried to settle down for some sleep. I slept on and off from 2:00 AM until about 7:00 AM when the airline attendants turned on the cabin lights and cheerily announced "Good Morning!" and promptly served us a hot breakfast. It was yummy too! Of course as we flew overseas the time changed, and by the time we landed in Istanbul it was 3:15 PM local time, and I have no idea what time our bodies thought it was. It was Tuesday, May 8.
• We had to go through security again at the Istanbul airport. I was not mentally prepared for that, and I had to rebag my contact solution and remind the kids of everything they had to remove from their backpacks before going through security. We made it through, and were own our way to find our gate.
• Our layover was 3.5 hours, and by the time we did security, shopped for Turkish delight (delicious), and found our gate, we really did not have that long to wait before our 6:45 PM departure for Bucharest, Romania. The plane was delayed about 30 minutes. We had to ride a bus to our plane, which seemed very far away. I think the bus drive was at least 10 minutes. Then we climbed stairs to board the plane. It was also a Turkish Airlines plane, and while it was smaller than the previous one which had 10 seats on each row, it was still a very large plane (6 seats per row). We did not watch a movie on this 1 hour, 20 minute flight, but we were served a wonderful supper. Turkish Airlines is now my favorite airline! 
• We landed about 8:45 PM, and going though our final passport control was not as scary as I thought. it would be. The man asked us how long we would be in the country and why we were there, and that was all. It wasn't far to the baggage claim area, and our bags were already there. Yay! Our baggage made it. We exited the airport, and we there were Julie and Big Sam!
• And we were off and running. Since our plane was delayed, we had to rush to the train station to try to catch the 9:20 PM plane to Craiova (where Julie and Big Sam live). We crammed our luggage and ourselves into 2 taxis and drove to the train station. The ticket attendant said we could not possibly make it on the train, (we had 7 minutes until it left) but she was wrong! We ran with our 5 huge suitcases and heavy backpacks in tow, and just barely got on the train before it left. Whew! The next train to Craiova wasn't until 11:45 PM!
• It was a 3 hour train ride to Craiova. We passed the time eating Turkish Delight, laughing, talking, and just delighting in each other's company. After a while, all three boys fell asleep, and Julie set an alarm on her phone so we would not sleep through our stop. 
• We got off the train at 12:30 AM (Wednesday, May 9). The buses to their apartment had stopped running, so again, we crammed into two taxis for the 10 minute drive to their apartment. Finally, just before 1:00 AM we arrived at Julie and Big Sam's apartment. I think our total travel time was 34 hours, if my math is correct. 
• We were in bed by 2:00 AM, and I slept until 12:45 PM the next day (today). 

My prayers for safe travel were answered!

Happy Ten Year Blogging Anniversary!

1416 posts.

That's how many posts I have written in the past ten years. Some of those years I wrote prolifically, and others I barely averaged 2-3 posts per month. Overall, I have loved writing this blog! I have made numerous internet friends and also reconnected with "real life" friends as well. I learned a little bit (very, very little) about the technical side of blogging, but most of all I learned that while I don't do it as much I did nine or ten years ago, I really do love to write.

Here is a link to my very first blog post: Preserving Memories.

When I was reading through the first year's blog post titles, I discovered that we have had our sandbox and paved driveway for ten years. I had been running regularly for one year, ten years ago, and I was already calling my five children by the wrong names back in 2008. Also, interestingly, it was ten years ago this month when I moved Sam from our bedroom (where he had been since his birth in January 2006) upstairs to the room that is his now! At first, Clay shared this room with him, but at some point, Clay moved back into a room by himself. (I'll have to check my blog to see what year that was!)

Strolling down my own memory lane via my blog has really, really inspired me to get back to blogging in a regular basis.

(I'm writing this from the airport in Toronto, Canada.)

And We're Off!

First of all, tomorrow is my 10 year blogging anniversary! I cannot believe how fast those ten years have flown by, and how much my family has changed. Ten years ago, my children were 2,4,9,10, and 13. Now, the two oldest are married, Clay is in college, and we are expecting our first grandchild in early September!

I have big plans to blog several lists of ten things during the month of May to celebrate my ten years of blogging. These lists will include things like 10 favorite beauty products, 10 best homeschool materials, 10 ways to study your Bible, and many more. But......I may be delayed in beginning the lists of tens because:

We are on our way to Romania!

Clay, Leah, Sam, and I are leaving Atlanta in just about an hour, and Jimmy will be joining us next Monday. (Don't worry about robbers finding my house....I have a house sitter, a great security system, and four big dogs that guard our place.)

I hope to blog about our trip while we are here. I have great intentions!