Down the river

After church on Sunday, we drove out of Birmingham to go tubing down the Little Cahaba River. I thought it would be too cold to be in the water (it was in the 70's, but I am used to 90 degree water for my therapeutic swim at the rec center!), but that is what we did.

Yes - I did use the bathroom. No lock - there was a rope to hold it shut while you sat on the pot.



Quite the place, huh? Unlike this place we passed on our way home through Arkansas.

We climbed in the back of the pickup and he drove us to a point up river and let us off.

It was chilly - no, it was freezing! I was so glad to have brought my windbreaker with me! I had read on-line to wear more than just a swim suit as the rocks can cut you up. Al has wounds to prove that.

We were too chicken to try to go over most of the rapids. So each time, we would get out and walk around on the land.



There was a sign for "No alcohol" but judging from all the beer cans on the tree, no one paid attention.
Shortly after this photo, Mindy lost one of her shoes. It was in a bend in the river and Al got up on the land and ran across and jumped in the river on the other side and rescued it!

Earlier when Mindy and I went over a smaller rapids, the waterproof camera we purchased slipped away and went down stream, but a couple quite a ways down river caught it for us!!

We watched a guy actually climb up the ladder and dive in. About 35 feet!
End of the road (or river) where we got out. This is the owner who gave us a thumbs up.




A very cool waterslide. One can get up to 50 mph going down it, but once a guy flew across the river and banged his head on the rock wall across from it. Insurance prices were just too high to keep it up so it is no longer in use.

The car felt so nice and warm and we were exhausted as we drove back to Mindy's.



We passed this lumberyard that reminded me of where I grew up in Japan.


We thought that was interesting. Echizen is a town close to Kyoto. Don't know the history that made the towns sister cities.
Xander was happy to see us when we got back.


What adventures we have with our daughter!

As I am typing this, I was reminded in 3 different settings this day the truth that Christ spoke -
"I will be with you always".
Our lives are similar to traveling down a river. There are bends in the stream, unexpected turns. Times when you might hit a swirly whirlpool where you can't seem to get anywhere. The journey can be beautiful. The rocks can be slippery and as you try to walk across them, you fall flat (like one unnamed person in our group!). There are rapids that are dangerous and need avoiding - and sometimes you can't seem to avoid them at all! You might even get cut up. But Christ promises "I will be with you always." And just like that owner who gave us that thumbs up at the end of the trip, Christ welcomes us with a "well done" at the end as we have traversed life with Him.

"When you pass through the waters
I will be with you;
and through the rivers,
they shall not overflow you."

God doesn't promise that we will escape the turbulent seas of life, but He does promise
"I will never leave you nor forsake you." Hebrews 13:5

Sunday

Sunday morning we went to The Church at Brook Hills which is not very far from Mindy's apartment. It was very interesting as they were launching their new church plant that will begin on Easter Sunday, just like our church is. Their pastor, David Platt (who wrote "Radical") had done a series on Acts and some of the people felt led to do a church plant on the south side of Birmingham. Our church has been going through Acts also as we start a church plant in Hillsboro.


After worship, we went to The Summit and ate at Flip Burgers.

Notice how the chairs and tables are flipped? And the ceiling art is pretty awesome!



Mindy ordered onion rings which were the BEST I've ever eaten! We had sweet potato tots and they give you whipped marshmallow fluff to dip them in! Oh my!!

We ate outside and this was the view.

We were fueled up for the afternoon to go tubing down the Little Cahaba River! (next post)

Six Flags over Georgia with Min

Before we went to Alabama, Mindy had asked if we would want to go to Six Flags over Georgia, located a couple of hours away from Birmingham on the outskirts of Atlanta. We thought that would be fun.

We conquered Goliath!

We spent 6 hours riding all the roller coasters we could! Can you imagine us? grandparents? old foggies? riding the coasters????? The majority of people on the rides were junior highers. But what a fun time for these old geezers! Any time with our daughter whom we don't see nearly as often as we like is time well spent - even screaming at the top of my lungs riding 90 miles at hour in circles and in every which direction!

A trip to visit Mindy

We planned a vacation to go see our daughter, Mindy, in Alabama. We were going to drive through Little Rock, but when we were getting to Tulsa, we decided we were so close to the grandkids that we just had to make a detour! We called Josh and he said he would meet us in Springdale for lunch.
What a joy to have an unexpected lunch with them!! Staci was working (she works 2 days a week) so we missed her. After lunch we took a scenic drive out of Springdale on 412, then south at Huntsville and on 21.


The road followed a creek (some pronounce it "crik" and other "creeeek").



I guess there really is "ozone"!

I don't quite understand this culture of refrigerators, sofas and trash in the front lawn.
Just a beautiful drive!

I have heard that you should NEVER wear socks with sandals. Who says? My feet were cold and I like to wear my Birks in the car for comfort. Who makes up these "rules" anyway? Al says if he wants to wear his polo shirts with checkered shorts and white knee highs with velcro tennies, why can't he? (ha ha) I don't know who the fashion moguls are anyway who determine what people can and can't wear.
There were lots of semis on Interstate 40. I wish we could have grabbed my camera when there was a Walmart and Tyson semi side by side. But the camera was somewhere in the back seat, I was driving and Al couldn't locate it in time. But we knew we were in Arkansas!
Fourteen hours later, we were with Mindy!!! And in time to watch the KU game!

Tall heights

We have a tall roof with a steep pitch. We noticed we had a couple of leaks so asked Dave to come take a look and see if he could fix it.

It was such a windy, gusty day but Dave just scampered right on up, like he was Spiderman or something.
I am so afraid of heights but it didn't seem to faze Dave. The thought that Dave might slip and fall and be maimed or leave Amanda a widow did enter my mind, but gratefully he is just really good at what he does!!!

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Hannah was playing with dominos and enjoyed how high she could stack them. Such steady hands!

And at the top of her skyscraper....


Silly girl!

Jill

Today was Jill's birthday.

We let the birthday person choose the meal they want (or the restaurant to go to). Jill ordered hoagies with various deli meats, sun chips, and for dessert, cream puff dessert (recipe at end of post). Mom also brought these delicious beet eggs. YUM! We don't find them in Kansas so much, but my mom's side of the family from Ohio had them lots. They are a Swiss thing.

Here are some old family photos. This first one is just shortly after Jill was born.

On the night Jill was born, Al's parents drove up from Pretty Prairie and with the bad weather, it took them longer than usual. It snowed that night and also it was tornadic. Crazy Kansas weather. My parents were living in Japan and after she was born, we called them. Since it was the middle of the night here, it was daytime there. In those days it was very expensive to make international phone calls so we didn't talk long, but they were able to listen to Jill's little cry. It made them cry to have to miss out. I'm so glad they are a part of Jill's life now and are around for their great-grandchildren.

Josh needed extra loves that day I guess. Newborns can take a lot of a mommy's time and we have to remember to give the older ones time too.

I love this picture of Al. He used to hold her while vacuuming. She loved it.

Looking at these old apartment pictures at Cherry Hills Apartments I just laugh. Gag, huh? But it was such a provision for us. It was where I met a dear Japanese friend of mine who also had children close in age. Even though she is back in Japan, we still keep in touch. We were dirt poor, with Al getting his master's and we lived on love. Ha ha!

I miscarried 3 months before I got pregnant with Jill. Just to think that if I hadn't, Jill would not be here. But God had plans for her. What a blessing she has been to us!! He knew all about her even before she was born.

From "The Promise" by Robert Morgan -
Before you were born:
When God called the prophet Jeremiah, He told him, "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations." Jeremiah 1:5

Isaiah 49:1b says, "Before I was born the Lord called me; from my birth He has made mention of my name:

The apostle Paul said, "God...separated me from my mother's womb and called me through His grace" Galations 1:15

The psalmist said, "You were there while I was being formed in utter seclusion! You saw me before I was born and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe. Every day was recorded in your book." Psalm 139:15-16

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Cream Puff Dessert
Boil 1 cup water and 1/2 cup butter. Add 1 cup flour. Cool. Add 4 eggs, one at a time. Mix well. Spread in 9x13 pan (I spray it with Pam first) Bake 30 minutes at 375 degrees.
2 pkg instant vanilla pudding
3 cups milk
1 pkg cream cheese, softenend
Mix together well. Spread on cooled crust. Cover with cool whip.

Revserse thinking

Shown at church this past weekend.