Our Mountain Getaway

We just got home from a week and a half in the Smokey Mountains!! We originally had only planned to stay a week but we had a little mishap with the truck. We noticed after we had spent almost all week driving on those crazy mountain roads that one of the wheels was making a little funny noise. Well, Arnett looked and found that our wheel bearing was going out. Praise God for His protection and that we had made it all week without any accident!! We took the truck to the shop first thing Monday morning (we noticed the noise on Saturday afternoon). Unfortunately, they couldn't fix it until Wednesday afternoon!! So, we decided to rent a car and spend a few more days in the beautiful mountains. I mean out of all the places in the world to be stuck in, we were stuck in the mountains!!

So, we did a lot of nothing while we were gone. It was great. Zeke and I had two days that we stayed in our PJ's all day!! Did I mention that, it was great!! We also watched a lot of movies. Those little "Red Box" DVD rental thingy's at Wal-Mart are GREAT!! We kept them in business for sure this past week and a half!! Arnett and I discovered something we both LOVE doing and that is going antiquing!! We visited several antique shops. Praise the Lord we don't have a house here nor do we have a lot of money cause if we did, we would have been in lots of trouble!! One day we went to Cades Cove, a National Park in Tennessee. They have lots of deer and bears!! We saw 70 of deer and 1 bear. Here are a few pics. Of course, Arnett was in hog heaven!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beautiful mountain scenery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Big Buck!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course the most exciting part for us was all the snow we got to see. Being from Florida any time you get to see snow it's a real treat. So, after spending almost 2 years in Africa snow was an even bigger treat. We so know God was the giver of this extra special treat for us and we give Him all the Praise and Glory for it!!

Zeke and Daddy all bundled up ready to go play in the snow.

Zeke and Mommy in the snow.

Beautiful!!!

Our beautiful family.

We also were able to let Zeke try out sledding while we were there. I know these pictures may be a little blurry but I think they show just how much fun he was having. When we decided it was freezing and we all needed to go inside to unthaw, he pitched a fit. He absolutely loved sledding and didn't want to go inside, even though he was frozen!!

Zeke and Mommy enjoying sledding!!

Zeke and Daddy taking a turn!!

We praise the Lord for giving us the opportunity to getaway as a family. It was much needed and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Until next time...

An update...

Well, for all you faithful readers out there here's a quick update as to what's been going on since we arrived in the states...

We got in and had an amazing time surprising our grandparents. Here are a few pics of surprising them that day. Needless to say, the pictures say it all...








Then we spent a few days surprising all our friends. Sadly, we don't have pictures from all those surprises.

Then we spent a few days adjusting to being back in America. We have spent time with family and friends too. We've also been doing what we enjoy. Shopping for me, even though I just can't seem to buy that much. No need to buy any clothes, I have plenty here and the winter clothes that are out now won't do me any good in Africa. Arnett has enjoyed hunting too. He's killed a 6-point so far and as I type this he is in the woods.

We had a great Thanksgiving. We spent the day at my aunt and uncle's house. Enjoying lots of good food. Then the Saturday after Thanksgiving we had a big lunch at Arnett's parents house. We were able to see lots of family and once again, eat lots of good food.

Zeke has done well adjusting to being here. He sure is a little trooper. For Christmas we got him a "Flintstones car". We went ahead and gave it to him early so he'd have lots of time to play with it. I don't know if we'll be able to take it back to Mali with us, even though, I'm doing my best to find a way!! Here are some pics of him enjoying his new toy...






Monday, we're heading on a mini get away, just the three of us. We're going to the mountains for a week and we are so excited. Even though, checking out the weather forecast we are going to freeze!!

Thank you all for joining us on this journey. We covet your prayers and can't say Thank You enough. We ask that you please pray that God would use our time in the mountains and our remaining time at home to totally refresh and restore us. Ask that He would prepare our hearts to head back to Mali in January. Until next time...