These are my two favorite pictures taken this weekend. I love taking pictures of my children. Dakota is such a beautiful horse and she loves to have her picture taken. If you notice, she is actually smiling. I think the picture of TJ and Amy is one of the best I have taken of them. They had just found their Christmas tree and we were waiting for Hannah, TJ's daughter, to join us for the rest of the weekend.

Spook, the donkey in the top picture was born Halloween 2008, Jesse in the middle is the father of Spook . I hope no one finds the third picture offensive. As you can see, Amy is struggling with all her might to extract the baby. The baby's head and one of it's feet was already delivered and the other leg was caught. I have a whole new admiration for large animal vets after going on this visit with Amy. She really worked hard to help the donkey; but it just wasn't meant to be. In the last picture is part of the herd of goats on this farm.
There was one more with this herd; but instead of being the picture, he was trying to get his nose in my pockets. I pushed him away and made the comment that I hoped he didn't bite. The owner said he was a former pet but now he was just a pest. He wouldn't bite; he was just looking for food. He also had a pretty impressive set of horns, so I was very careful to always be aware of his position and never turned my back on him.

The pig in the top picture is Max, a pot bellied pig about 4 months old. Cindy, the lady who brought them by had rescued them and Amy was putting microchips in them before Cindy carried them on to Pennsylvania. There were 5 of them and instead of bringing them in the clinic, Amy went out to the van to insert the chips. Naturally, being the camera buff that I am, I asked if I could go along and take a few pictures. Of course, was the answer. The chip was inserted behind the ear while Cindy did her very best to hold the squirming and screaming pig. And I do mean screaming. The noise level in that van was unbelievable. Cindy was a very interesting person to talk to and is very dedicated to her pigs. She also has KuneKune pigs. I looked them up on the internet and they are very unique.
The pig in the other pictures is Daisy. She is also a pot bellied pig about 2 years old. I asked her owners why anyone would chose a pig as a pet, not meaning any disrepect. They said they got that question all the time and the answer was (in their case) "we didn't; our daughter gave her to us". But, it was very obvious they love Daisy a lot. She was put to sleep to have a pedicure and while she was sleeping, I rubbed her back and scratched her tummy. Her "mom" told me Daisy played the piano, "and very well thank you". It was a fun afternoon.

In the top picture, the black goat eating, is the goat Amy had to medicate. She is pregnant with triplets. The goat on the far left is an angora goat. Linda, the owner, shears all of these animals once a year.

The third picture from the top is Delilah, a llama. The others are alpacas. Each of them had a name and Amy knew each of them.

Just a few of the alpacas I saw. I really love the first picture. They are some of the most expressive animals I have seen. I was a little anxious about going in the pen; but I went with Amy leading. I was very careful to stay away from the hind feet and since they sometimes spit, I also tried to avoid the mouth.

This is Thumper. He is a mixed mastiff and great dane.
He's very friendly and very loving. I visited him Thanksgiving Day with Amy; she had to medicate one of the goats on the farm. Linda, the owner, owns Simply Southern Alpacas. She has alpacas, llamas, goats and 4 dogs; Thumper, 2 jack russells and 1 which is a bloodhound and something else. You should hear that one bark. There will be several pictures of the llamas and alpacas to follow. I had never seen either before and was very impressed. The alpacas had very distinctive faces, especially the lighter ones and they actually looked like they had make-up on. Amy managed to catch one of the younger ones so I could feel the wool; it was very dense and very soft.
I really enjoyed my weekend here in Albemarle. I had a lot of new adventures and saw lots of new things. I went on a visit to rejoice in the miracle of birth - a baby donkey. Sadly, when we got there, the foal was partially delivered and dead. Amy tried her best to extract the foal and this was done by attaching a chain to the delivered foot and pulling; reallly pulling. She really has a lot of upper body strength. But, the foal was huge and the try wasn't successful. Eventually, the stress was too much for the mother and she died also. It was very hard to see the struggle the donkey was having and the effort Amy was making to save her life.

What I am thankful for

A couple of weeks ago Judy, a friend on Face Book challenged everyone to post something they were thankful for everyday until Thanksgiving. Well, I accepted the challenge and since I didn't see it until 11/11, I chose the veterans to be thankful for that day. Since then, my posts have come so easily. I have so many things to be thankful for. It has been so interesting to see what people posted.

I am so very thankful the "nor'Ida" is over. This was the remnants of Ida, that turned into possibly one of the most devastating nor'easters our coast has seen. I had a little damage, or so I thought. Pastor Tyler and a missionary visiting our church, Jack Peeler, went over to my house Thursday to repair a small hole in the living room floor. The hole was not caused by this storm; but was discovered a couple of weeks ago. In repairing the hole, they discovered the floor around the hole was damp (which it had not been earlier) so they started looking for the source of the water. Regretfully, they discovered damage to edge of my roof, all around the house. This may not be the major problem that I originally thought it was; but it is still a problem. Anything that involves spending money is a problem. But, they were able to put some type of sealant on a lot of the places. I just pray that we do not have a lot of wind and rain this winter and I hate to say that is what the forecast is.

Those of my friends that are believers in prayer, I would appreciate your prayers regarding my roof. This has been a very tight financial year for me, just like for a lot of other people. I am going to have to trust God to provide the funds for the materials. Supplying the labor is not a problem. Thankfully, I have a lot of friends that are willing to supply that.

We had a great week at church as usual. A great service on Wed. night with missionary Jack Peeler and his wife Melinda. I can also count this couple among my personal friends. I got to have lunch with them Wed. and breakfast Sat. before they left to head to Wilson for their next services. They are an extraordinary couple and work hard for the Lord.

Saturday night we had our Thanksgiving dinner at church with between 40 and 45 people in attendance. The food was AWESOME, as usual and the fellowship also. The Pastor shared some thoughts about the first Thanksgiving with us.

Sunday was a great day in the Lord. A visitor from Pennsylvania, Katie Tuckey, played the piano for us in the AM services. WOW. God has given her an awesome gift. I felt so small playing with her and she was very gracious in asking me. I would have much rather just sit back and let her handle the music; but I felt honored to play with her. Pastor's message was very good, as always and Sunday night a man named Bob, came forward and professed his salvation. He visited with us last Sunday AM and Pastor and Stafford Berry talked with him and led him to the Lord. What a great way to end the services.

I am really looking forward to Thanksgiving this year. My office is actually closing Wednesday at 12:00 - an absolute first for us. I am traveling to Greenville to TJ's and we are going on to Amy's in Albemarle; planning to return on Sunday. Amy is a great cook and I am looking forward to the rest and family time with them. Her father and his family are coming in Sat. and that is when we are going to actually have Thanksgiving dinner. Haley isn't going with me this time. A friend here in Manteo is going to keep her for me. She had a play-date at his house Sat. while I was at church. We needed to see if she would get along with his 3 basset hounds, Elvis, Earl and Clyde. He said she was a very well behaved dog and was welcome to come visit for a few days. He said the 3 boys gave her a "paw's up". I will miss having her with me, but in all honesty I will probably will enjoy my visit more by leaving her home.

I mailed some packages off to Raymond last Friday. I really miss him and especially at the holiday season. This is my second year of not having him here to help me with the Christmas decorations. He always puts the lights on the Christmas tree for me, since I absolutely hate to do it. Last year, when I took the tree down, I left the lights on hoping that this year they will all work. I usually put my tree up Thanksgiving weekend; but since I won't be home, I guess it will have to wait until the next weekend.

I hope everyone has a great week and an especially blessed Thanksgiving.

Inspiring Show of Support for Soldiers Related

This is a letter that was in the Coastland Times edition dated 11/17/09.

To the editor:

Reading Senator Burr's letter on veterans in today's edition reminded me of an inspiring incident that occurred a couple of month ago on a flight from Dallas to Seattle.

Aboard the plane were 30-40 soldiers returning to Ft. Lewis for two months of training and relaxation before resuming their duties in the Iraq and Afghanistan theaters of war. On approaching the Seattle gate, the pilot announced that these soldiers had loved ones anxiously awaiting their arrival and asked that we all remain in our seats until all the military personnel had cleared the aircraft. As the first soldier rose to leave, a loud applause broke out throughout the plane and continued until it appeared all had departed. But then came shouts from the rear "there's three more", then "there's two more" and finally "there's one more". As each of these three struggled down the long aisle with their gear, they were greeted with individual applause.

Probably the best description of how much these men and women appreciated this spontaneous burst of citizen support was expressed by one young men, who on departing, was heard to say, "I wish I never had to leave this airplane."

John Summers, Duck, NC November 11

I don't think Mr. Summers will mind that I used his letter in this post.

I am probably like a lot of you in that I am a very patriotic person. When there was a Hardee's in Manteo many years ago, they had a really HUGE American flag (which was eventually stolen) and my heart always filled with pride every time I saw it. I cry at all the commercials that show the military coming home, walking through the airports and having people salute them, meeting their loved ones, maybe seeing a baby for the first time.

BUT and this is a really big but, do I pray for them every day? Or do I just take them for granted - "they didn't have to go; they volunteered; they only joined to get an education......and on and on. I am ashamed to admit that I don't pray for them every day. And, folks, that's wrong! I ask God every day to take of my children, help them, bless them; bless my family, my church family, etc. You get the picture. But, I don't pray for the military unless I am reminded to do so. I am very ashamed.

You know, we have an awesome country - this United States of America. I am not proud of what is happening here; what our elected leaders are doing to my country. But, I do appreciate the fact that I live in the greatest country in the world. Thank you to all the military, both past and present who lay their lives on the line every day. God Bless You.

The Winter is here in Alaska

Some of you may pay attention to the weather here in Alaska, but I doubt it. For those of you that don’t, just to fill you in, the current temp is 5 above. Last night the coldest temp I saw was 15 below. The snow has been on the ground for about 3 weeks now with a good 4 inches. The trees, minus the evergreens, are bare and lifeless. The birds are gone, with exception to the Alaska Famous Dumpster Chicken (Raven). Here like in NC with sea gulls you are not allowed to shoot them. The Natives have a spiritual tie to the Raven, they believe that they carry the soul onto a better place when a native dies. These birds are huge, they dig in your trash, the defecate all over your car, and you have no idea what its like to try and clean off frozen bird crap. Not as much fun.

You can see the tracks of a few snow machines out and about but there is still not quite enough snow to ride just yet. We are all starting to plug in the trucks at night. Nothing is as much fun as getting up and running outside when its 10 or so below and you’re in your pjs, and then you realize you forgot to plug in the truck and it’s frozen, yes I said frozen. That really sucks. Then when its 60 below and it is plugged in and it’s still frozen, imagine how frustrated you can get then. That is cold enough for coffee to turn into vapor when you toss it into the air. I will have to make a point of recording that for you some time so you can all see that. It’s kind of cool.

Still warm enough to wear only blue jeans and a sweatshirt. We havent got to the bibs and carhart stage of winter yet. We still have another month or so before that hits.

Have a wonderful day and I will talk with you again soon.

November Storm

This has been a really tough day-well actually it started yesterday. Everyone knows about the storm that started on 11/11, Veteran's Day. Between the time I got home from work yesterday until I went out to go to church (about 45 minutes), the water in my yard rose to over my shoes. So, I went to church with wet feet. I don't sleep well when we have winds out of the northeast. My house is 80 feet long with a metal roof and there is always a lot of noise with those winds. Of course, by the time I got home from church, it was pouring rain and I couldn't get Haley to go out to the bathroom. She really hates to get her feet wet. I played games on the computer, did some NCBBA work, paid a few bills and decided to go to bed and watch tv. About 3:00 I got up to take something for my headache and when I walked into the kitchen, I noticed water in the floor in front of my refrigerator. "Great", I mumbled. Haley came and checked out the situation and looked at me as if to say, "It wasn't me, Mom. Honest!" Thankfully, my refrigerator has wheels, so I rolled it out, wiped up the water and put the fridge back in it's spot. I popped some popcorn and we went to back to bed and watched a movie. (I forgot to mention, Haley sleeps with me.) Finally, at 6:00, I quit trying to to go sleep and got up. The water was back on the kitchen floor again. Needless to say, I was really concerned at that point since we are supposed to have 2 - 3 days of rain. I rolled the refrigerator out again, cleaned up the water again and this time I left the fridge in the middle of my kitchen floor, plugged it back in and got ready for work.

My yard, the road and the neighbor's yards were covered with water. I honestly don't think I have seen that much rain water standing since I have been living in Manns Harbor. The tide wasn't up too much at that time. I decided to carry a change of clothes to work with me, then decided to carry 2 changes with me. Good thing! When I got to work, I was soaked so I changed into the first dry set. When I went to the post office and bank at lunch time, I was soaked again so here I go changing into the second dry set. It was a long, miserable day. I left work at 4:30 so I could get home before dark and be sure where I was driving on the road. There is water everywhere. I took several pictures and the batteries in my camera died just as I pulled into my driveway. Thankfully, I did not find any more water on the kitchen floor. I let Haley out and just walked around for a while, assessing the damage. Other than some debris in the yard, I don't have any damage. Some of my neighbors were not so lucky. No major damage, just limbs down and lots of trash in the yards. I am praying that the leak in my kitchen is not going to be anything major. Money is too tight right now to have a major problem.

Just listening to the weatherman and now we have to worry about the wrap-around band of showers that won't be here until tomorrow. Oh, well. At least the wind isn't blowing tonight so maybe I can get some sleep. My heart really breaks for those people that have lost homes on the beach. This morning I head someone say, Serendipity (the house used in Nights at Rodanthe) probably would not survive this storm. That house was built by one of my clients and was a really beautiful place - very unique.

I'm supposed to work at a NCBBA meeting Saturday in Rodanthe and sure hope I can make it down there.

Veterans Day

I hope everyone will take a few minutes today to remember our Veterans. I know several of the ceremonies have been cancelled here on the Outer Banks because of the weather. But, please just take a minute to thank God for their service. And to those that are serving today, may God continue to bless you and keep you safe. There are no words to adequately thank you AND your families for your sacrifice.

Random Thoughts

When chatting with a friend this morning, we talked about what happened at Fort Hood yesterday. My heart hurts for those families who lost loved ones and those who have family, friends, etc, in the hospital. But, my heart also goes out to the family of the man who law enforcement believes is responsible for this action. This man is a Major in the Army and word went out yesterday that he had been killed; this morning the news is saying he survived and is on a ventilator. Some people will say that he got what he deserved. I don't think it's known, at this time, what prompted this assault. There is some talk it may have terrorist connections; that isn't known at this time either. But, whatever the reason, I still pray for his family.

Since this happened, I have realized just how much I take the men and women who are trying to protect my country for granted. You know, there is no draft today. These people are all volunteers. They didn't have to go-they volunteered. When 9/11 happened, there was such an outpouring of prayers and flying of flags, etc. But, then time went by and we all went back to our normal routine. It's good that we can do that. But, we should never forget the sacrifices that our Armed Services make every day.

Tuesday, November 11, is Veterans Day. Please remember our fallen soldiers with the respect they deserve and pray for those are still serving and protecting.

When God Answers Prayer

My son, TJ, called me yesterday afternoon to let me know about something happening with his business, Twisted Networx, before I read about it on FaceBook. One of his clients, who owed him a considerable amount of money, had decided to not only not pay his bill, but to sue Twisted Networx for $28,000.00. Needless to say, I was really concerned. I'm not TJ's official accountant; but I am the Mom that has been accountant for over 40 years and answer a lot of questions for him and give him advice if he asks for it. I know the company's financial status and the only thing I could think of to do was pray. So, I did. I knew God also knew the company's financial status and I just prayed for Him to please help them; but at the same time praying for His will to be done. Just a few minutes ago, TJ called me to let me know he had met the client and the client's attorney this morning and the matter was settled. And, the really great news is that Twisted Networx won! Thank you Lord! TJ conceded in a few small points; but the bottom line is the client paid part of his bill today and the rest is to be paid right away. I have truly learned the power of prayer in my family lately. I have recently had two nephews involved in pretty serious wrecks. Bud wrecked his motorcycle, spent the night in the hospital and had a few minor injuries. Zach flipped his truck two times and it burst into flames and he and his friend walked away, with very minor injuries. One of these young men is saved and I'm not sure of the other one; but I believe they were spared for a reason. Me nephew-in-law, Jim had a very serious heart attack last week. He survived and is home with no restrictions except lifting. The doctor said the quick reaction by his wife in carrying him to the hospital herself rather than waiting for an ambulance probably saved his life. I'm not sure whether he is saved or not; but I do know he was spared for a reason. I have an awesome God. Do you know Him?

From My Heart

Last week, I shared an email with some friends about something that is very special to me. My Pastor's wife, Candi, and I pick up some children and adults on Sunday to bring them to church. We were talking about church and I mentioned to her how much I was enjoying the Pastor's sermons recently. I said I had noticed a change since our revival in September. Candi shared with me how she thought the change was in me; she had noticed it. She is a special friend of mine, probably the closest friend I have ever had. She knows things about me I have never shared with anyone else; and loves me anyway. She never judges me; just loves me. She and the pastor are like the younger brother and sister I never had, being the youngest child in my family. I am so thankful God brought them to Roanoke Island Baptist church.

I also shared this with those same friends. Monday through Friday, I read my Bible after I get to work. I like to read aloud; it helps me concentrate. I am reading in John and was in Chapter 4, reading about the Samaritan woman at the well. It is a familiar section and I have heard many sermons about it. Verse 29 caught my attention..."Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?" "ALL THE THINGS THAT EVER I DID"? These words really hit home. Have you ever stopped to think that Jesus Christ knows every thought, every action, every word? It really saddens me to realize how "many things" I have done in my life that have broken God's heart. More than I could ever begin to count; some big, some little; some since I have been saved. I struggle with the music I listen to. Some of the television programs that I really like, I have a struggle watching them now. I used to skip over parts in books of favorite authors; now I can hardly bear to read those books. I know the change has come from God. I want the change to continue; I want my walk to be closer. I want to be a better testimony. I want "the things that ever I did" to be pleasing to Him.

Welcome

This is a new experience for me. I have posted on other blogs, but never had one of my own. I need your help to make this a great blogspot. I think we can have fun here, sharing our ideas, thoughts, concerns, dreams, etc. You get the picture. I only ask that you keep your comments and posts clean, both in language and content (I know that it's probably not necessary to ask that; but I want to cover all the bases). The ladies in our church and other praying friends had so much fun last week passing emails back and forth that I just wanted to have another format for us to contact each other.

If you would like to be a contributor, let me know. If not, you can just make comments to posts.