"Take a Look at Our Celebrated Weekend We Shared!"

This past weekend we celebrated the man I love most's birthday!! Rather than just tell you about it - I wanted to share with you, through pictures as well, of all that we enjoyed.

David planned our trip, in honor of his birthday, for us to share. He did an excellent job too....as always! Friday morning, we hit the road for Lake Charles, Louisiana. It was a beautiful drive. David loves to drive and I love to ride. . . so we make a really good team! Once there, we found the LauBerge Du Lac Casino and went in to see the sights as well as find some lunch. The "sights" were nice, but the people inside the Casino itself were quite a different story. Everyone looked so pathetically HOPELESS and LIFELESS! No happiness anywhere really. If gambling is supposed to be some happy thing (like the billboards portray) well these people didn't show it!! What a sad world. Anyways...we found a nice buffet lunch to try. I ate alligator for the very first time as well as key lime pie and ONE prune. In order of like I would rate the pie first, prune next and alligator LAST...it was disgusting!! : P

Afterwards, we went to the golf course to tee off at our posted 2:oo time. We did find Tee 1....finally! It was a very nice golf course. I compared much of it to Walden (back home) and found I preferred this one even if it did have alligators on it. : ) Yes there were two as a matter of fact! I found them exciting and adventerous as I made way, little by little, to get the best picture of one almost on the greens!



Come here gator, gator, gator. . .



Here are some shots of the Casino as we are on the golf course looking back.

The wind was something else!! I was hair beaten from all the wind, so trying to just see the ball was a task for me. We were able to take our time and go slowly which made it nice. Two holes past our usual game of 9 - - I was tired and getting cold. I became solely the golf cart driver as well as ball retriever/finder while David played the rest of the 18. He did well and had a great time, which made it all the more worth any discomforts I felt. :)

After our game, I was in dire need of a pitstop. David drove us back to the Casino part. As he did I questioned his action to which he said "You need a bathroom." Umm...yes dear I need a bathroom, but have you taken a look now at your wife who resembles something out of tornado herself?? I didn't feel "suitable" enough the first time we went through there to eat lunch....there was no way I could enter now looking the way I did! I quickly told him no and that I would prefer something down the road. So he lovingly consented all the while he half heartedly wanted to go back and try a hand at the gambling. . . as I would learn on down the road. He just couldn't convince himself though as we had earlier seen such despair in these people's faces. So not worth it.

Sooo...we traveled up the road to a town called Jennings. We found a very NICE Hampton hotel there. Checked in and I got a hot shower....YAY!! Then we set off to find some real Cajun food. I on the other hand would be happy with just a simple and much loved Subway sandwich! Poor David traveled up the street and down the street in search of something good to try. I say street, as in singular, because the other side of the highway was pretty much pitch BLACK! The closest thing he could find was ..... Popeye's Chicken. . . which had a super bonus because right next door was ...... a Subway!!! Yup, I got my Subway and took it inside our "Cajun" restaraunt. Hey the cup did say "Louisiana Kitchen" right on it....that counts right?! Afterwards, we went back tot he hotel and had some super YUMMY cookies complments of Hampton. We also played our new game, that we had bought just for the trip in case got bored. It was very nicely titled "Smart Ass". Fun game too!! Haha! :)

Next morning, we ate breakfast at the hotel and set off for the Plantation Homes tours. These were a good 2 hours up the road, so we had another nice drive. We arrived at Oak Alley Plantation and let me just say here - - WOW WHAT A PLACE!!! Words don't do it enough justice! We ate lunch in a nice little house on the plantation grounds. It was absolutely PERFECT! They sat us in a little room with windows all around that looked out to the home and ground itself. It was as if we were literally sitting outside underneath one of the beautiful oak trees! And the meal?? Like nothing I have ever tasted so amazing before! I ate all kinds of animals. . . alligators (fried this time and it was so GOOD!), duck!!, catfish, and chicken! The gator, duck, and catfish each had it's own dipping sauce too.....so wonderfully good!! Finally....David had got his REAL Cajun meal....and I was SO happy for him!

This was a picture taken of our view, as we ate, at the lunch place.

We still had some time before the next tour started, so we walked around taking in all of this majestic place. The trees themselves were what made this place so gorgeous and full of history as well!! These next few pictures were what they called the "Baby Oaks" which were no babies to us, but in comparison to the ones planted in the front.... they were! These were planted in the back of the house and where many of the slave houses originally were.





These are the BABY oaks!!



Now it was time for the Big House tour!! Once inside we learned all about the timeless history that this once thriving home had. I so love History and am beyond blessed to have a best friend who allows me not only to enjoy every moment of it.....but also enjoys it himself!!



Oak Alley Plantation. Built 1837-39.

If you look closely you can still see the ghost of the lady who once long ago lived here! I'm kidding....she was a tour guide. :)



This was Mamie and she did a very fine job of sharing her knowledge of days gone by.



The parlor where we learned many interesting facts of  how parents handled courtship of their sons and daughters. I think we should still practice them today!! Ha! 





The Dining Room and more interesting facts!



I didn't continue taking pictures throughout house because I wanted to absorb all the history she was sharing with us. There was many interesting stories throughout the home though.



These next pictures are of the front and the most majestic of the oak trees planted! They were planted some 300 years ago, by an unknown settler, who planted 28 evenly spaced trees (each 80ft apart) leading out to the mighty Mississippi River. Planting these trees would assure him to bring in the cool air right off the Mississippi to cool his home which was a quarter mile back. These mighty oaks have a life span of 600 years old so these are just considered middle age at 300!! 

If pictures could only do justice!! This is looking towards the  front of the home.

This is a view from the balcony looking towards the Mississippi River. In warmer seasons it is beautiful and green.

Me standing in front of one of the mighty oaks!

I told you it was B I G!!

We later returned for a night shot of the place.

Next, we traveled up the road to the next Plantation we would visit. This one was not as majestic and was really of a different lifestyle all it's own. It was a Creole Plantation. But what it lacked in majestic scenery was made up for in more history about a family and the life they led so many years ago. Very interesting indeed!! What they did have in common with their more majestic neighbors would be both were sugar cane plantations harvesting crops by slavery.

This was called the Laura Plantation. Built in 1805 by slaves.

And this was our tour guide, Bryan, who was a real Cajun and his 8th great grandfather owned this property.

This was an original slave house on the property! Two families would be given this house to live in! It was basically a 16ft X 32ft house with a wall down the middle. If it was cold you ALL slept in the attic. If it was warm you all slept outside. If it was too hot you ALL slept inside the one room. And I thought our home was too SMALL sometimes for 5 people living in it at 2,500ft!!

I absolutely LOVE this picture!! It just seems so perfect in it's rare form of history. Once again another slave house. If truth be said, I see this house just as majestic as the Oak Alley Plantation one....for it held a family inside it's walls just as the Oak Alley once did. A family of no lesser value in the eyes of God Himself. Both families faced hardships, victories, sadness, happiness, lonliness, and acceptance. There was no difference.

We would leave our enchantment with the days of old to return to the present.

Once again on the road. We traveled back, towards home, for two hours for our dinner. David had been wanting pizza and remembered a nice little place in Lafayette. We had a delicious meal! Then it was time to decide where we would stay for the night. There was a toss up between the Holiday Inn Express right across the street which would give us a better breakfast in the morning than at previos Hampton. But then the Hampton, in Jennings 30 mins down the road, had mouth watering cookies and a really NICE room to stay in as well. We decided on the Holiday Inn Express.....bought a room.....walked up stairs to check out the room.....found hair in the bathroom across the tub......walked back down the stairs....said No thanks! .....and set off down the road once more. I thought that meant we would stay at the Hampton now, but Mr Moore was missing his o so comfy bed and decided he could be home by 12:30am. Soooo....the car didn't even slow down going through Jennings.....and we did in fact make it at 12:30am......on the dot!

All in all it was an absolutely wonderful time to share with this most beautiful man I know. . . .

I am most blessed to call him my own.

I am so thankful that we share the same interests in life and can enjoy our time together in sooo many ways as well! :)

And that is the story of how we celebrated my best friend's 49th birthday!!

"Ever Have One of THOSE Days?!?!"

Ever have one of those days. . . .

When you wake up at 6:05am to get the boy up for school. . . . and you have NO idea what lies ahead of you, only to be "pleasantly" surprised as you meet your challenges of the day head on? Let's just say I'm thankful not everyday begins this way!

In a "shortened" and not so detailed story - I will tell you that I was met with cat vomit as I proceeded downstairs. Not just cat vomit alone, but smeared in cat vomit on my beautiful area rug, as well as other various nice places around the downstairs. Seems Heather came in last night and unknowingly walked right through it. *YUCK!* Going back upstairs I also noticed the nice little kitty hit my other area rug 3 times as well. Well, now I'm trying to best decide how to clean up this whole mess. I grab 2 bottles of spray, a knife, paper towels, plastic bag and go to work. One spray was for the wood floor and the other was for the carpet rug. You know when they say "Test spray in an unconspicous place before using." <<They ain't lying. Without seeing any such place on this rug I grabbed a bottle and begin to spray. Not knowing I grabbed the wrong bottle! I blotted that up quickly and used the UN-tested one. As David says . . . it's not noticeable unless you're looking for it. Well. . . .

Mess #2: Levi needs Mom to clean up a bed sheet and his clothes. Seems he fell asleep yesterday after school with GUM in his mouth. When I asked him HOW do you get gum everywhere while sleeping, his simple reply "Gum stretches when you take it out of your mouth and unknowingly leave it in your bed....half asleep." Thank you dear son.

Mess #3: After taking boy to school, I return to go back to bed. When I get up for a second time, I met once again with the O so lovely vomiting and this time it's WORSE. He has now managed to hit even more nice rugs as well a path around the entire downstairs - which I had just freshly mopped yesterday. At this point I had to make a decision of Vet or no Vet. We have not had very good experiences with Vet dealings so I was really un-decided. I went with Vet seeing this just wasn't going to stop. I once again start cleaning,  mopping, and vaccuming.

While I'm talking on phone with David relaying the run of the day so far, our pet bird KiKi decides to take a nose dive in her cage to the bottom of the floor. This is NOT a usual occurence and usually means it is in distress. I recently even went through an episode with it where it was rolling around sqwacking in pain with blood getting everywhere. I had NO clue whatsoever to help him. All I could do was pray for him. God very graciously took care of him for bleeding stopped and wounded leg healed by itself by next day. As I'm telling David about nose-diving bird who apparently is going to die now while I'm on the phone, I remember that it was late in the morning well past feeding time for our two dogs and I hadn't fed them yet! Our oldest dog had recently knocked on death's door as well and we thought this was it. God also very MIRACULOUSLY turned her around 180 degrees and she is doing much better.....if she is fed that is. Ha!

Now we have 1 dying cat, 1 dying bird, and 2 dying dogs < due to starvation. As sad as that all sounds, it really hit David and I as funny. Funny in that David said "Well, I guess I know where we are going for my birthday in a couple of weeks - Romance, Arkansas." We have a new show that we have started watching. The guy runs a taxidermy place in Romance, Arkansas and it's not your ordinary taxidermy. He also is called a Pet Preservation guy. He stuffs people's dead pets so they can keep them around forever. Actually, we find it rather comical, so you can see why the comedy here. Well, maybe you can. :)

I made it to the Vet and of course they gave me "We have 2 options...the conservative and the aggressive." speech. I had told David before I went that I was choosing the conservative view. . . and I stuck with it. The doctor had informed me that she hadn't seen this kinda mass in the stomach area before and that it was very firm. She went on to say "if it were a 18 year old cat we would call it Cancer, but not necessarily in a cat this young." Hmmm.....
I get cat home and read her remarks on paper of which state that she thinks the treatment we chose will help him feel a little better but not solve the problem. She leaned more towards the X-rays and possible surgery instead. Did I choose the right decision?? God knows. I'm trusting God to take care of him and to guide us. So far all he has been doing since coming home is . . . .sleep. He is supposed to be getting medicine but I NEVER have been good at waking up sleeping people or pets. Haha!

Later, David comes home and gets ready to go golfing with me and Levi. I decided my day had already been a little TOO eventful and chose a nice hot relaxing tub instead. Yes, Mother.....a hot bath.....your remedy for ALL things known to mankind. :)

Now - - I tell you all that story to share with you that even during all of the chaotic messes and decisions to be made, God helped me to keep a right perspective. He even influenced that perspective when earlier this morning I could hear that familiar song by Mandisa playing on the radio - "Good Morning".
It's a good morning!
Wake up to a brand new day
This morning,
I'm stepping, stepping on my way
Good morning,
You give me strength,
You give me just what I need
And I can feel the hope that's rising in me.
It's a good morning

It was a brand new day! And I was stepping, stepping (although carefully) on my way! God did give me strength and gave me just what I needed to accept the challenges before me and carry on. He has given me hope that he will see us through. . . .and it was not just a good morning but pretty darn good day too!

So, my friend, what is your perspective of your day? Are you bogged down by all that you see, hear and feel or have you chosen to turn to the One who can give you the strength to face come what may? Amist the chaos you too can feel hope rising up. Let go and let God.

Maybe this was why I came up empty this past weekend when I sat down to Blog and nothing came. Possibly it's because I was supposed to wait. . . .wait to give you a perspective check and maybe even a laugh or two! :)



Before being so sick.
I love this picture. . .
Ever feel like you're being....WATCHED?!
I looked up from where I was sitting in kitchen to see this! :)





"Hey Did You Know?!"

Hey did you know that God is a God who sympathizes and identifies with our weaknesses and suffering? In Hebrews 4:15 it lets us know that. "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are, yet was without sin."

God really made this verse stand out to me yesterday as our pastor shared the real meaning of what it's saying. I am no pastor, but I will try to put into words what I learned through this message. . .

When we hear this verse it can almost seem cold in a way. . . as if God is seated on his mighty throne in Heaven looking down us with our pain, sickness, struggles and says "You poor thing. I see you from way up here and you look miserable. That's a pity. Not sure what it's like, but I will say a prayer for you."
But that's not it at all!

God came to earth as Jesus himself and has lived YOUR life. Some may say well he's never been married to my spouse or had my children to deal with. . . and this list could go on. And although those could be true statements, that hasn't stopped him from having every single feeling you have, every single thought you have, every single challenge, every struggle, every fear, every doubt, and even faced the same temptations you have. He lived through it ALL as a human here on earth.  He knows. He is not some distant God who is unable to identify with all that we have ever been through and will go through. Let me say it again. . .He has lived YOUR life.

God not only knows, but he even gets in our weakness with us when we are experiencing the pain, suffering and struggles of it! He feels it with us and doesn't just leave us on our own to figure it all out! How amazing is it that we know he doesn't just know. . . but he feels it along with us?! He feels sadness, pain, fear, lonliness, rejection, worry right along with us.

The second part of the verse "but we have one who has been tempted in every way just as we are, yet was without sin." lets us know this >> God has lived our life and he aced it! When he walked here on earth and was faced with all matters of fears, doubts, worry, struggles, challenges - he made the right decisions. He made the right choice, took the right path, chose the way that led to righteous living, freedom. And as the verse said he was without sin - he led a sinless life.

So in understanding all of this we see that: 1. God sees our struggles. 2. God came to earth and lived your/my life....feeling every pain, sorrow, doubt, fear, worry. 3. God gets in our struggles with us NOW. 4. In living and knowing, all the while living a sinless life,  he is able to navigate us through them and out of them!

God gets you and me, my friend. He understands. He isn't someone removed from knowing all the pains and struggles of our life here on earth. Trust him to navigate you daily through this journey of life. Draw near to him. If it has been awhile since you have, it's never too late to do so. If you have made wrong choices in life, God was/is with you in those times and he can and will lead you out of them. No life is ever too wrong, too distant, too messed up to turn to God and tell him "I messed up. I need your help."

O and an add on here: God not only shares and feels our pains and weaknesses, but he also shares and feels our JOY, our VICTORY, our HAPPINESS, our FREEDOM right along with us as well!! So rejoice in and with him today!

Thank him for not only knowing, but leading us through too!! :)