Let's see....the last seven days have included run-away school buses, skunks, peaches, hives and ice cream! Quite an assortment, isn't it? Let's start with the skunks....

Last Sunday, one of Willie's ride operators spotted a skunk in residence underneath her ride. Being the responsible team captain that he is, Willie quickly called for backup and soon had several individuals who were offering their help. But ye ole skunk was not going anywhere! Rather than risk the odor of Pepe LaPeu being unleashed, they decided to leave Pepe alone for the time being. So Pepe spent the day under the ride, unknown to the parents and children who chose to climb aboard!

Now on to run-away school buses. Late that same day, the same operator was running the ride with one three-year old child aboard....seated in the front seat of the yellow school bus (one of several types of "vehicles" on the ride). As Willie stood nearby, he heard a loud grinding sound and then saw the yellow school bus with child strapped in, break off from the ride and come heading toward his operator! Thankfully, she knew safety precautions and did exactly what she had to do, but it was still a scary sight to see a school bus (a miniature version, anyway) come heading your way! No one was hurt, and the child was soon back riding the tea cups (uck....I hate those spinning rides)!

Now on to the peaches and the hives....I have heard that you can develop allergies to things you have always eaten, but never really bought into the idea. Well, guess what?!!! I do now! We were sitting on the couch last night eating some fresh cut peaches from the local farmer's market, when all of a sudden I had an itch on my neck....then one on the other side. I got up to go look in the mirror and see what bug was biting me, but....instead I saw hives spreading all over my neck and chest...and heading up my chin! After downing a couple of Benadryl, we headed off to the emergency department, where they watched me for the next hour or so (my lips, tongue and top of throat swelled, but not severely). Eventually they sent me home with some steroids, and more antihistamine....but no more peaches for this southern gal!

And now for the heart attack. Yes, it really was a heart attack. Wednesday afternoon, while my dad and I were visiting with my mom in the nursing home, she suffered a heart attack. Thankfully, it was not a major one, but it was scary, nonetheless. She is recovering remarkably well, and is actually in a better frame of mine now than she has been! The quick response and wonderful attention she received from the staff was heartwarming, and it is nice to see her determined to get back to her physical therapy. We still don't know if she will be coming home or not, but we are taking it one day at a time, and trusting that God has her, and us, in the palm of His hand.

Now that we have a better wi-fi connection again, I thought I'd post some of the phots I wanted to put up with the last blog entry!










Our MySpace photo according to Alyssa! And
yes, we are the proud grandparents!



I've been teasing Willie about the "new disease" he has contracted this summer....looks like others have "caught" it, too! Actually, I've been informed it is just a severe case of farmer's tan (as exhibited by Willie and Alyssa)!

Once again it's been quite awhile since I updated everyone, and I'm not going to try to do it all at once! Life doesn't always run the course we have planned or go the way we think it should, so it's always good to know that God knows the master plan, and we are in His care! A couple of weeks ago, my mom was taken to the emergency room and admitted to the hospital, where she stayed for nearly a week. From there she went to Madison Healthcare (nursing home/rehab center) where she will be until she is strong enough to return home. A number of issues surfaced while she is in the hospital, so life has certainly changed! Unless things change drastically, we will be staying in the Nashville area this winter instead of heading south for our scheduled mission projects.


A nice change....a couple of weeks ago, we made a trip to Bethel College, in MacKenzie, TN to see our granddaughter, Alyssa. She was a member of The Memphis Sound, one of the units of the International Drum Corp. Unfortunately, we missed most of the rehearsal, but did get to hear them as they rehearsed their encore number. Even better....we got to spend about forty-five minutes with her before she had to prepare for their competition later that evening. She has grown into quite a young lady, and we really enjoyed our short time with her. Maybe we'll get to see her in a real performance next summer!

(Unfortunately, we have temporarily lost our great wi-fi connection so can't include any photos this time.)

We have a special prayer request...our dear friends, Lee and Esther Smith, have had to leave their current SOWERs project to return to the Tampa area. Esther's sister Beth has just been diagnosed with a recurrence of cancer and her mother (90+ years old) fell and broke her hip. Please lift them up in your prayers.