OUR UPCOMING TRIP!

We are just 5 days from embarking on our big trip in celebration of our 35th wedding anniversary. We originally called the cruise an early anniversary trip but when Richard retired, we then considered it our retirement trip. Shortly after arriving home from our Alaskan cruise, we received an invitation from PRINCESS to go on the New England/Canadian cruise in September. We looked and our anniversary occurs while on the cruise. It was a GREAT price and so we went for it.

Our trip will commence with Richard taking part in a retirement symposium at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville. That event will be be held on September 16-19 with our lodging and most meals paid for. SWEET. We hope to meet up with our long-ago pastor, Ray L. and his wife Ida while in the city and perhaps even attend their church on that Wednesday night. From there, we will drive back to Huntsville as Chip will have closed on his house on the 18th, and we want to help him with the move. We will be there with him for a few days before we take off to make up drive up to New York City where we will catch the cruise on Sunday, September 28.

Our cruise itinerary:

September 28: Set sail at 5:00 p.m. from the Brooklyn Pier in NY

September 29: (Our 35th anniversary) Arrive in Newport, Rhode Island at 7:00 a.m. We will take the Beechwood Mansion and Ocean Drive excursion in the morning and then the Scenes of Newport drive in the afternoon. The ship sails from Newport at 4:00 p.m.

September 30: Arrive in Boston at 10:00 a.m. We have plans to see my dear online friend Chickie during the morning hours and then will take the scenic Boston & Harbor cruise from 2:30-5:30. We depart from Boston at 7:00 p.m.

October 1: Arrive in Bar Harbor, Maine at 7:00 a.m. where we have reserved the Acadia National Park, Museum and Mansion tour from 8:30 - 12:30. We will then have time to do some sightseeing on our own before the ship sets sail at 6:00 p.m.

October 2: Arrive in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada at 7:00 a.m. We will take the Saint John Highlights tour from 12:30 - 3:00 p.m. and then get back to the ship as we will set sail at 4:00 p.m.

October 3: Arrive in Halifax, Nova Scotia at 9:00 a.m. where we will visit Peggy's Cove and take the double decker trolley tour at 2:00 p.m. The ship will sail at 6:00 p.m.

October 4: We are at sea all day making our return trip to NY.

October 5: Arrive back in New York, New York at 7:15 a.m. We plan on visiting Chris High's church in New Jersey that morning.

We will then make our leisurely way back home stopping at various places of interest along the way, spending a couple of days in Gatlinburg (the site of our original honeymoon), seeing dear friends Jerry and Peggy in the Chattanooga area, and making our way back home.

We look forward to our exciting trip in celebration of our 35th anniversary!!! If anyone wants to read the blog I will be keeping, here is the URL that you can bookmark: http://our35thweddinganniversarytrip.blogspot.com/

It Was a Nice Visit in Tuscaloosa For Larry's and Genell's 25th Anniversary Celebration!

Twenty-five years make a lot of difference, don't they! It was wonderful to see the love shared between Larry and Genell and to see how the family how grown. When they married in 1982, Genell had one young daughter, Kim, and Larry had two young teenagers, Yvonne and Chris. (Thinking about that, Chris probably hadn't quite reached his teenage years.) ANYWAY, Larry and Genell married and some three years later, the Lord blessed them with a daughter whom they named Krystle.

In the years since, Yvonne married her high school sweetheart, Tim. They traveled to Russia nearly 5 years ago and adopted their darling daughter, Emily. Kim married Tim and they have two sons: Jake and Colton. Chris married Bonnie and is a wonderful dad to her children, Alex and Alyson. And this past May, Larry's and Genell's "baby" girl Krystle graduated from college!

We told Larry and Genell that if they will plan to attend our 50th in fifteen years, we will plan to attend their 50th in twenty-five years. The deal was sealed ~~ the Lord willing.

Below is the pic of Larry and Genell with Kim, Yvonne and Chris at the time of their marriage. The 2nd picture was made at their 25th annivesary celebration and includes their daughter Krystle.

To see the other pictures we made at the event, please copy and paste the following URL into your favorite browser:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=nhewoo3.b2g996ez&x=0&y=jkkwd0&localeid=en_US

Happy 25th Anniversary to Larry and Genell

Hebrews 13:4~~ Marriage is honourable in all...

We are headed off to Tuscaloosa today to join in the celebration of (Richard's brother) Larry's and Genell's 25th wedding anniversary where we will enjoy seeing them (we haven't seen Larry and Genell since last December) and their family: Yvonne and her family: hubby Tim and daughter Emily; Chris and his family: wife Bonnie and kids Alex and Alyson; Kim and her family: hubby Tim and sons Jake and Colton; and last by not least, their daughter Krystle who is recently graduated from college. We will attend the first hour of the celebration at Cottondale Baptist Church and then motor on up to the Huntsville area to spend the night with Chip and attend his church on Sunday. We will enjoy the day with him ~~ though Sundays are his busy day. We usually have real good fellowship with him after church on Sunday nights. He invited us to come so we can only assume it is a good time for him for us to visit! We will leave by 8:00 a.m. on Monday morning to make the 5-1/2 hr. trip home. It will be a nice get-away.

We will come home on Monday and may have to make hurricane preparations depending on the track of IKE by then. It is looking like he will come into the Gulf so we will have to keep a wary eye on him. Oh well....... we'll worry about that come Monday. For now, we will go to Tuscaloosa and enjoy seeing a lot, if not all, of our "D" family there as well as a host of friends at our "home" church, and then enjoy being at Chip's for 2 nights and a day. We are enjoying the freedom of being retired!!

Pics of Larry's and Genell's Family:

Daughter Yvonne with her hubby Tim and their daughter Emily


Son Chris with his wife Bonnie and children Alex and Alyson


Daughter Kim with her hubby Tim and their sons Jake and Colton


Krystle in blue shirt with cousin Joanna.

EXCITING NEWS FROM UP CHIP'S WAY.........

I just read this on the blog of Chip's pastor in the Huntsville area.....and we'll be able to listen on the internet!!! 

Voice of the Valley - Coming Soon!

September 3, 2008 by Zach Terry

I recently received an email from Scott Blakely, the station manager at Pro Talk 1490AM asking me to consider hosting a one hour call in talk show that would be broadcasted once a week (then replayed on weekends) in the Tennessee Valley. To be honest the idea was very intriguing to me and I heartily agreed. I am hoping to call the show - Voice of the Valley Live. 

Each week we (Pastor Chip and myself) will offer commentary of a variety of issues facing believers in our culture, then open the lines for questions from callers. The broadcast will stream live from the Pro Talk website.

You can help us by recommending topics, issues facing believers in the TN Valley, questions, ect. What are your ideas?

THEY'RE BACK!!!

L-R:  Jess from CT, Melissa from WI, Jennifer from IN, Julie from TX, 

and Jennifer's sister, Sarah.

From last year's group, we have eight returning campus daughters this fall.  One graduated and one daughter didn't return.  We were thrilled to meet up with some of them for lunch on Sunday~~ their first Sunday back.  The girls not with us with with their parents and another with her friend and her mom for lunch.  We have a new campus daughter this fall but haven't met her yet.  We tried to meet up with her for dinner before church on Wednesday night but weren't able to make the contact.  We look forward to meeting her and know she will fit right in and that her campus sisters will take her in and love her.   Here are a couple of pics that at campus daughter made at Sunday's lunch.  We look forward to the year and loving on "our" girls.

L-R:  Julie from Texas, Sarah (Jennifer's sister) and us old folks!

Sarah Palin ~~ Sarah Works!

Sarah Works By Bruce Walker The selection of Sarah Palin works, on many levels and in many ways. McCain knew what he was doing when he picked her. Consider all the ways in which Palin helps the Republican ticket. Women voters know not only that the election of McCain likely will lead to the nomination of Sarah Palin as the Republican nominee in 2012 or 2016, but the election of McCain-Palin may well mean that the nominee of both major political parties in 2012 will be a woman: Palin, if McCain decides not to seek another term, and Hillary, who would be the presumptive favorite for the Democratic nomination in 2012 if Obama loses in 2008. In other words, women voters who vote in this election know that they can probably ensure that the next president is a woman, if McCain is elected. That knowledge will pull wavering women away from Obama-Biden and to McCain-Palin.Sarah may do more than any person in modern history to close the gender gap, not only for Republicans but for conservatives. Unlike Hillary, who rode into Washington on the back of her husband, Sarah Palin created her own career. Unlike Hillary, who dwells within a small family focused on politics, Sarah has a big family and focuses on life. As a conservative, Sarah Palin sees life as more than politics, election campaigns and litigation. Her husband has a real job in the real economy. Sarah is athletic, animated, alive. Her family seems very real to us. She seems very real to us. Sarah Palin is pro-life, which solidifies McCain's base with conservative voters, but she is pro-life with a vital twist: She has walked the walk. Women who favor the right to abortion love to point out that the male political leaders who want to limit abortion do not know what it is like to give birth, to care for an infant, or to endure the heartache of a child born with serious illnesses. Sarah knows all those things at a very personal level. When Sarah gave birth to Trig, her son with Down Syndrome, she walked the walk in a way that few people ever have had to do on the abortion question. He will grow up in a warm, loving family and his mother can tell the world, with perfect sincerity, that all human life has great worth. She walks the walk on Iraq as well. Track joined the Army. He is going to Iraq. Sarah and Todd are laying their most precious possession, the life of their child, in harm's way for the sake of freedom. Sarah Palin, like John McCain, can tell the American people that they know precisely what sort of sacrifices we all must be willing to make if America is to be safe and free. The contrast between McCain-Palin and Obama-Biden on the personal sacrifices made for America is profound. The criticism of her inexperience is already brewing, but Sarah can say that she has more executive experience than Obama and Biden combined. Moreover, she has been a gutsy chief executive of Alaska, which means that she has shown an ability to resist the blandishments of lobbyists which neither Obama nor Biden have demonstrated. McCain and Palin really do represent a resistance to pork exceptional in a presidential ticket. As gas prices becomes an increasingly pressing personal issue for huge numbers of Americans, and as more and more Americans support drilling for oil as a logical way to bring down gas prices, Palin brings a strong and persuasive perspective on ANWR drilling. She loves the outdoors. Alaska is her home state, the place where her family lives. When Sarah says, as she doubtless will, that no outsider can care more about preserving the beauty of Alaska than she does, it will be hard to contradict that. So when she then says that drilling in ANWR will not damage the loveliness of that Alaskan natural wonder which she loves, then Sarah will be believed by millions of otherwise ambivalent voters. Sarah, moreover, will be able to make a very cogent intellectual argument for drilling. She knows more about this issue than Obama, Biden or even McCain. And it is an issue that becomes more important to Americans by the day. Sarah Palin on the ticket also creates some serious problems for Democrats in planning their campaign about the Republican ticket. How, for example, will a reflexively arrogant man like Joe Biden act toward Sarah Palin in the Vice Presidential Debate? This is the same man who talked about Obama as well spoken, for a black man. How careful will Biden be when he debates Palin? The debate will be a virtual minefield for someone as callous as Senator Biden. One slip, one impolitic remark, could shift millions of votes. Governor Palin also lives in a frontier state, a land about as far away from Washington as you can be and still hold political office in our republic. This is a theme that can resonate with voters. Delaware is right next to Washington: Biden commutes home after work. Chicago, the Daley Machine, does not seem to be much of an improvement. But Palin, and for that matter, McCain, come from another part of America completely. Alaska and Arizona are very distant from the capital whose machinations must be curbed. The image of two people from America's frontier cleaning up our nation's capital is potent. The biggest catch, though, is Palin herself. She seems utterly genuine. Her life story sounds familiar and comforting. Her words come from her heart. Her ideas come from a mind not trapped in Beltway Newspeak. We want change? She is change. More than just change, though, Sarah Palin represents change for the better. She personifies all the goodness in America which we seem to have lost. Her election will be a shot across the bow of every entrenched politician in the federal government. As a nominee, Sarah works.

Our Weather Conditions Here With Hurricane Gustav Way to Our West....

Psalm 55:8 I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest.

We are touched by the inquires we have had as to our weather conditions today. The rain and wind come with the bands so it comes and goes in cycles. Richard and I drove out to Johnson Beach late this morning to see the waves. I am attaching a few pics from our trip out there but have to leave here in a minute to go work at the college this afternoon. At the beach, the waves are high and the water looks like a wall. Four or five emergency vehicles came out onto the beach while we were there but came back "empty handed" so hopefully, it was a false alarm. We do have a tornado watch until 4:00 p.m. (bet it will be extended) and have had numerous tornado warnings during the day. Richard got me up at 4:45 a.m. to get into the closet because they were reporting a tornado on radar in our immediate vicinity. We have not heard of any touch-downs anywhere and praise the Lord. We are fine here but need to pray for those in LA/MS who are getting battered. As I have time later this evening, I will post some video I made at the beach.

Waiting on the Tropical Storm Conditions to Arrive... and Thanful We Won't Have Hurricane Conditions Here!!

Currently at 8:41 PM

82 °F RealFeel®:87 °F

Mostly Cloudy

Humidity: 73% Dew Point: 73 °F

Pressure: 29.77 in Visibility: 10 Miles

Winds: ENE at 17 mph

Sunday Night, Aug 31

Low: 77 °F RealFeel®: 78 °F

Considerable cloudiness with showers and thunderstorms; winds gusting past 50 mph

Fifty-Years Ago

Back in June, my sister Karen attended the 50th anniversary of Druid Hills United Methodist Church. Why? Because my parents and my sister were charter members of the church when it was begun in 1958. That would have been the year of my 7th birthday and Nonie's 5th birthday so, of course, we weren't charter members. Karen brought to me some nice items from the 50th celebration~~ a church bulletin, an old-fashioned fan, and a wonderful CD of old pics. Back to the story... It was nearly some three yeas later but the congregation raised the money and the present church structure was completed in early 1961. Below is a picture of our Dad, Byron Meyer, having a part in the start of the building program to erect the church.

Our family left Druid Hills when we moved to Gordo in 1961 so I didn't have a lot of years in that church and was only ten when we moved away, but I do remember some aspects of "church life" at Druid Hills. It was years later when my family would join a baptist church that I learned about God's plan of salvation and how I could be born-again. It was age 21 when I truly came face-to-face with my sinful lost condition and prayed to receive Christ. The years certainly fly by and then this life is done. I'm thankful for eternal life. Thank You, Jesus!

I Knew It! I Knew It!!!

Acts 15:36 ....Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city...

I knew my sister's visit would be the Balm of Gilead for my heart. I have so many GOOD and DEAR friends here, but I miss my sisters! It was such a joy when Karen called a couple of weeks ago to say they would like to come down for a quick visit. They did ~~ it took place over the past 24 hours~~ and we enjoyed having Paul and Karen here immensely.



They arrived at about 3:00 and so we sat for a while and talked. They were interested in our recent trip to Alaska so we shared a lot of information with them. Karen helped me prepared dinner ~~ in tribute to the blessed memory of our parents, I had planned to have Dad's "honeymooner" sandwiches and Mom's shrimp salad.

Brian, Amy, and the grandkids came over to have dinner with us so they could fellowship with their Uncle Paul and Aunt Karen, too. After dinner, the four of us went to a restaurant across town that specializes in a delicious key lime pie so that was fun. (Note: I cropped Paul out of this pic as I don't think he wants his picture on the internet.)

On Friday morning, we got up leisurely, enjoyed a few cups of coffee (well, Paul and I enjoyed the coffee. Richard drank his diet coke and Karen had water)' and then at about 10:00, we shoved off on an excursion. We rode out to visit a museum, left there and went to a seafood restaurant for lunch, took a scenic drive, and then visited our infant sister's grave. Sharon was born and died just a few weeks before Karen's 2nd birthday some 4-1/2 years before I was born.


















We arrived back at our house just in time for Paul and Karen to shove off and return to their home for their weekend activities:

(ROLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL TIDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

I cannot express the joy in my heart regarding their visit. Thank you, Lord, for the fun time I had with my loved ones.