Friends, Family, and Faithful Friday

Long time, no blog post, huh? Time sure does get away from me!

I mentioned in a previous post that we were going on a trip to see our friends Kim and Chuck (whom we met in China). We headed their way a week ago, last Thursday morning. We had a great time with them!

First of all, let me say that they feel like more like family than just friends. We felt right at home there in their beautiful home.

We spent Friday just hanging around their home catching up on news and letting the kids play.

Chuck grilled out Friday night and we had a yummy steak dinner. As a matter of fact, we spent A LOT of time here at the table. Seems like we were eating all weekend!

I just loved their huge entertainment center and the big clock above it (which I didn't get in the pic).

Jason and Chuck spent a lot of time out here. And I can see why! Sitting on their screened porch, there’s a beautiful view into the woods!  They have deer that come to visit! It is so peaceful there! I told them if my dad ever came, they’d never get him to leave! His permanent spot would be right there on their screened back porch!  It's a perfect relaxing spot!  I told them we would be doing our school out there!  :)

See the deer?  One of the neighbors has a fence around their flowers because of the visiting deer.  :)

We enjoyed lunch at Fox Brother’s BBQ (known nation wide for their yummy BBQ and it didn’t disappoint) and then spent the rest of Saturday at Stone Mountain Park. We had a great time in spite of the heat!

Playing in Geyser attraction

Shiloh on the zip line.

Dakota and Joy on the rock climbing wall.

She made it to the top twice!

Riding the train around the mountain was a highlight for Luke.

The Kiddos....Joy holding Shiloh and arm around Dakota with Luke.

The only picture I think Jason made it in.  :)  The entire crew minus Chuck because he took the pic.

Then it cooled down and we enjoyed a picnic on the lawn in front of Stone Mountain and watched the laser show. It was awesome. It was very patriotic which is right up my alley! Very well done! We thoroughly enjoyed it!

The laser light show was shown on the side of the mountain.

Dakota and Joy were pretty tight.  :)

And this is Ms. Shiloh entertaining us.  The girl can dance.  :)

Sunday afternoon we headed for a local amusement park. Again, it was hot, but the kids had a blast riding all the rides.

Joy and Chuck are up there.  Later Dakota rode it with Joy too.  It takes you up and drops you.  Then back up and drops again.

Told you he's all about trains. :)  This was the space train.

Dakota on the bumper boats.

Luke escorted us around in the old car.  :)

I think Chuck rode just as many rides as the kids! Kim and I even rode the roller coaster to satisfy our kids and I also rode the scrambler. Jason was observer, encourager, and photographer (except for the go-karts...which he did ride with Chuck and Joy). I tell you that little Shiloh and Luke (both 4 years old) LOVED the roller coaster and rode it multiple times! They were little daredevils! No fear there in those two! They kept asking to ride it over and over!

That's Chuck & Shiloh in the front & Joy & Luke in the second car.

Rolling back in with arms up (now).  :)

Then Sunday evening, Chuck and Kim fed us a home-cooked Chinese dinner. It sure did hit the spot after a hot day at the amusement park. We ate way too much (but it was all delicious)! Now it’s diet time this week!

Thank you, Kim and Chuck, for your hospitality and friendship! We enjoyed our time with you guys so much! We miss you already! And to think it took these two from Inner Mongolia, China to bring our families together!  :)

I think both Shiloh and Luke look so reflective in these pics. 

As much as we hated to leave them, we left Monday morning and headed to Alabama which is where where my mom and dad were. We didn’t get to stay but a day and night, but we enjoyed spending that time with my Richie and Missy and their family too. Then it was back home for us. We had a full weekend and enjoyed it so much! We enjoyed riding in the more spacious truck (which drives like a dream by the way compared to my little Mazda).  Jason was thrilled to get better gas mileage than expected!     Now it’s time to get to work doing some maintenance around here, including whipping our pool into shape so we can swim! With all that’s been going on, we’re slower getting it ready this year, but it’s definitely pool time!  :)

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And I really do hate to end it on this note, but I need to ask for prayers yet again for our family. As I mentioned above, we were in Alabama on Memorial Day. My Uncle Junior and Aunt Betty (my daddy’s oldest brother and his wife) were there visiting from Indiana as well. We were actually with them on Monday. They headed home Wednesday morning (after we left Tuesday night), and were involved in a 3 car wreck in Kentucky around noon and both of them were killed. Richie called me last night with the news. I think we are all in shock and just numb right now. It just doesn’t seem real. This is a very close family…..all my dad’s family. We are all together fairly often in Alabama. This is going to be a hard (double) funeral. I don’t know when yet, but we will be headed to Indiana.  We would appreciate prayers for the family. They have 5 grown children, 15 grandchildren, and several great-grandchildren as well. And Uncle Junior is one of 8 children so please remember all the siblings too. One thing I’m thankful for is that Grandma had already gone on to be with the Lord when this happened and not here to bury one of her children. We do have the security of knowing both Uncle Junior and Aunt Betty knew the Lord. Again, sorry to end on that note, but we sure would appreciate your prayers.

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."  John 14:27


Thanks so much for stopping by even though I haven’t been around as much lately! We invite you to participate in Faithful Friday.  Just grab the button above and let Joy know here on her bog.

I appreciate you all! Hope you have a wonderful day and upcoming weekend!  :)

~ Blessings~ Tammy