Day 3-4

Myrtle Beach

Charleston - the four laws on one corner (law of God, a church; law of the city, post office; county law, courthouse; state law, statehouse)

Typical home with porch

Carraige ride - not ours.

Williams home

South of Broad, on the Battery

The next day we went to old Charleston. It is a beautiful city with lots of old southern charm. We started with a carraige ride through the old city which was fun and then we went walking all around looking at all of the old homes.

The following day we took a driving trip to Myrtle Beach which is very commercialized with one hotel after another but the beaches are nice and we sat out and did some body surfing. It was very relaxing and a lot of fun.

Nothing could be finer.....

Ft. Sumpter Cannons firing out

View of the fort from the sea

USS Yorktown

Boone Hall Plantation - the row of old oaks!!!

The Plantation house

Luana resting on an old oak

There is an old song that starts out "Nothing could be finer than to be in Carolina in the morning; no one could be sweeter than my sweetie when I meet her...." and that is how I feel after my first visit to South Carolina. Luana and I went to Charleston last week for a much needed vacation and to see a little of Luana's roots (she was born there). There was so much to do so I am going to show pictures in several segments. Hope you enjoy!

The first day we walked around Patriot's Point which was near our hotel and where the USS Yorktown is resting. The next day we went to Boone Hall, the oldest continuing active plantation in the south. The view down the entrance with the old oaks with moss you might recognize from "Gone With The Wind". After that we took the ferry out to Ft. Sumpter where the first shots of the Civil War were fired. It was interesting.

Life on the lake

There is an old saying that the two best days in the life of a boat owner are the day he buys it and the day he sells it. Well I have experienced both of those in the past, and now I am still in the exhilaration of the new boat ownership. Yes we made the plunge and took it out on Cedar Creek Lake for the first time where we have a lakehouse. It was a lot of fun and we look forward to a summer full of riding, tubing, skiing and wakeboarding.

Jayden, Duncan and EK
Campbell really did not like her lifejacket

Sweet Mollie with Luana and Aunt Kiki

Jayden

The Bobsey twins, EK and Duncan. Could cousins love each other more? EK loved the boat even when it went fast.

Amy!

Christy!

The Ogden clan.

Lesson Learned

Sometimes if we are observant enough we can learn a few things just from the everyday things in life. That happened to me just this week. I had been bemoaning the 98 degree heat in early May and lack of rain and getting down about it. Then we had a cool front and two inches of rain and I was running around praising God. Then I got bummed out because Luana's car died and wouldn't start. I took the battery in to get tested and sure enough it was dead and I had to get a new one. But then it turned out the battery was still under warrenty so I got a brand new battery for free. Again I was praising God for His blessings. I had lost my I phone about a month ago and never did find out where it went. I got a new one and did not think any more about it until I got my bill and found about $250 worth of international calls that I did not make. Obviously it had been stolen and I did not lose it. I called AT&T to see if they would waive the charges, but since I had not reported it as stolen they would not. Again I was bummed out but resigned myself to pay the bill. A few minutes later I was on the phone with AT&T again to try to get my bill transferred from my work to my personal account. I got that done and just happened to mention the international charges and what had happened. The sweet lady asked me a few questions and then waived all of the charges. I was back on the cloud praising God and ready for a wonderful weekend. Not five minutes later I went to get into Luana's car with the new battery and it was dead again. My spirits sank.
So what did I learn from all of this? The main thing is that my joy in Christ should not be dependant on what is going on around me. He is good all of the time, whether I am receiving His blessings or I am experiencing the difficulties of life. And since He is good all of the time I can praise Him for who He is and not whether I receive good or bad things or good or bad news. And since He is available to us at all times I can commune with Him all day and walk in His presense no matter what is going on around me. I know this is not new and it is not some great revelation but sometimes it is good to be reminded of the simple truths once again.

Happy Birthday

Today is Luana's birthday (I will not say how many) and I wanted to take this opportunity to honor her. We have been married for 34 years and I continue to love her dearly (those who know her will reply duh - how can you not love someone like her). She is my best friend and I still love spending time with her. Now even in the empty nesting years we do not get tired of each other.
She has been a great wife, always supporting me in whatever I do and going along with my decisions. She has tirelessly cooked meals, shopped for my clothes, washed my clothes, ironed my shirts, gone to baseball and basketball games with me and so much more.
She has been an awesome mother to our four kids, both when they were young and even now as they are adults. Even when I was gone all of the time she did all of the work and never complained (at least to me). And now she is an even more awesome grandmother. All of the grandkids love their "Mimi". She is so patient with them and gives them her undivided attention, which I think is her greatest quality.
She loves the Lord and I can truly say that as in Matt. 25 she has been one of those who has done it to the least of these.I could go on and on about her qualities and exploits but she is shy and humble and it would only serve to embarrass her, so I will end by simply honoring her for who she is and thanking her for spending her life with me. I am truly blessed.

Forever Friends

Larry and Ellen Forrester The girls - Cindy, Melinda, Luana, Peggy

The view from their back porch

On the boat

No this is not their lakehouse but a sampling of what is out there

"Hell's Gates"

Sunset on the lake

The past few weekends we have had the opportunity and privilege to spend time with old high school friends. A few weeks ago we were with my friends from Bellaire High School in Houston, Larry and Ellen Forrester. We had a blast and it was interesting in that this was the first time we had been down there and probably the first time we had gotten together with just the four of us - without any of the kids. We found that we still enjoy them even without kids.

Then this weekend we spent it with three of Luana's friends from W. T. White High School in Dallas and their husbands. We went to Possum Kingdom Lake where one of the couples has a lakehouse. It was a very nice time of relaxing and sharing and getting reaquainted - and doing a lot of eating. Unfortunately for me it was all foods that I am not supposed to eat, so I have a lot of repenting to do - but it sure tasted good. I had forgotten what a good charcoal grilled steak tasted like.

In all of this I was reminded that we maintain few of our college friendships and even fewer of our high school ones. But there is something special about getting together with people who knew you at that really awkward stage - and still like you. It is so different from a high school reunion in that we have maintained these relationships continually over the years. We have grown from immature kids to college grads to gettings married, and then have been able to watch each other's kids grow up, and them get married and now share grandkids stories. In addition and fortunately we not only have the past in common, but we have in common a relationship with Christ which adds another diminsion to our friendships.

I cry out to you o God!

Tomorrow morning will be a very emotional time as it always is. I am taking Luana to Dallas and Southwestern Medical School where the Memory Research Center is. This is the time for her yearly appointment. This is her third time as she had a baseline and now has finished her second year of dealing with Alzheimer's Disease. The first year she had a pretty good response to the medication and did well and we felt truly blessed. This past year has been a little more difficult and who knows what the ensuing years hold for us. It is so hard for Luana as it is a yearly reminder of what she cannot do and what lies in store. It is hard for me to watch her go through this.
Week in and week out I pray for her for healing and I will continue to do so until God says for me to stop. I know He is able and yet I am aware that the vast majority of people do not get healed from this, even those who are strong believers. Yes it does get discouraging at times, but I press on in prayer for the miraculous. My motto has been "the Lord gives, the Lord takes away; blessed be the name of the Lord".
What has really helped me has been how courageous Luana has been throughout this ordeal. She has a peace about her that can only come from God, and she does not try to hide it from people. She is open to talk about it with people, though she may shed a tear or two. Not only that but she has not been afraid to take on new things. She continues to serve people around her and the women in our lifegroup. She is doing a Precepts Bible study which requires a lot of study and preparation, is involved in a book club, does Meals On Wheels and well, you get the idea.
The hard part for me is to watch the person you love more than any other in the world to slowly lose her abilities to think and function. And then to realize that there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. My fear is that I would not treat her with the love and respect and dignity she deserves. So far God has given me the grace to do that and it is a constant prayer for me, and I would ask any of you who read this to join with me in that. I have a new appreciation for suffering and feel that God is going to be teaching me a lot over the next few years and hope that I learn well.
So tomorrow we go and there will be no answers, but I will be by her side. We will fight it kicking and screaming but we will walk through it together and in the end we will still give glory to God affirming that He is all powerful and He is Good.