Thanksgiving Wewahitchka Style!

I'm guessing most of my readers have never heard of Wewahitchka, Florida. Neither had I until I married Les! Wewa (as it is known by the locals) is about 30 miles from Panama City. Three of Les' aunts, along with many of their offspring, live in Panama City. His cousin, Allen Crabtree, pastors the First Pentecostal Church there.


The family Thanksgiving gathering has been happening in Wewa since sometime in the 1960s. We went to Gatlinburg, Tennessee for a few years, but three years ago it was decided that we would head back to Wewa.


The setup in Wewa is very simple. Everyone who is able, pulls a trailer or fifth wheel to Dead Lakes State Park just outside Wewa. There is fishing and hunting for those interested and lots of visiting. It's all about family in Wewa!


Four generations were represented. Ages 2 to 88!


Since we don't have a trailer (and we weren't going to drive one from California!) Les and I stayed about 25 miles from Wewa at El Governor Motel in Mexico Beach. Les' parents, Bill and Dolly, were also there. Everyone else was at the camp ground, so after our midday bike rides, that's where we headed.


We did not lack for food! These ladies know how to cook in trailers. Thanksgiving was full on turkey, dressing, ham, mashed potatoes, chicken and dumplings, and much more!


There is usually a game or two of Rook going on...


You can take a walk in the park...


Or head on down to the lake...


Where mighty fishermen...


Can catch their fill...


Take a ride in a golf cart...


Although some drivers cause fear and trembling...


Or ride a motorbike...


Play a rousing game of frisbee...


Jump in a pile of boys...


Or sit mesmerized by the fire...


Certain dogs even have their own camp chairs!


A good time had by all!

It's Beginning...

To look a lot like Christmas!


Of course I make a mess pulling everything out before I get the "look"...


It's also beginning to sound a lot like Christmas! I can't decorate without the proper background music. I always start the season with "Child of the Promise." This is one of the best Christmas musicals I've ever heard. Les and I saw it live in 2000 ~ the cast in the live production included Steven Curtis Chapman and Crystal Lewis as Joseph and Mary, Russ Taff as Gabriel, Russ Lee as Herod, 4Him as the Shepherds, Twila Paris as Elizabeth, Michael Passons of Avalon as Zacharias, and many more. Sitting in the audience at the Pond in Anaheim that night was Bryan Duncan!


It will smell like Christmas in a couple weeks!

Mileage Update - Thanksgiving 2011

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Les and I have been celebrating with the extended McElhaney family in Florida. About 35 family members gathered. We had a great time that I will tell you all about next week. To offset some of the feasting, Les and I rented bikes. The riding was SO different to what we are use to ~ flat, flat and more flat! We had a great time. After a 3:00 a.m. wakeup call this morning, we traveled home without a single delay!

Here's a sneak peek at some of the cuteness we encountered:




Totals for Week ending November 26:
Running: 14.75
Cycling: 66.05
Total: 80.81

Year-to-Date:
Running: 1127.63
Cycling: 1398.09
Total: 2525.72

Black Friday!

Are you shopping today?? Not me!! I haven't done the black Friday thing in years. Back when a store opening at 6:00 a.m. was early!


Things to do on Black Friday instead of shopping:

Sleep in!
Have leftover pie for breakfast.
Go for a walk (you'll need to after the pie)
Make your Christmas card list
Pull out your decorations
Have a leftover turkey sandwich
Take a nap (from the tryptophan in your turkey sandwich)
Put your feet up - you worked hard cooking all day yesterday
Make your plan for Cyber Monday!


Now, how many of you are reading this AFTER you've been shopping on Black Friday??

Happy Thanksgiving!

But don't forget to be thankful!

Wordless Wednesday - Are You Ready?

Christmas Decorations

I've noticed lights going up in the neighborhood. The Thanksgiving meal hasn't been prepared, the turkey is still in the freezer, pumpkin pies are yet to be baked, but the lights are going up!


We don't put lights on the outside of our house. Well, let me rephrase that. I don't put lights on the outside of our house. Les has always left the decorating to me and I'm just not interested in climbing ladders. Come inside sometime next week and you'll see an abundance of decorations, but you'd never know it just driving by.


Do you decorate a lot or a little? Do you do it up big time inside and out? And when do you decorate? Inquiring minds want to know!

Thankful for Monday

Surprising blog title, isn't it? Thankful for Monday? Well, I could be like Garfield this morning...


But you know what? If I spend every Monday feeling grumpy and complaining that it's Monday, I will waste one seventh of my life feeling that way! What a horrible waste!

I am currently 47.5 years old. That's 2470 Mondays! If I live to be 90, that's 4680 Mondays. And if I live to 100 that's 5200 Mondays. That's a lot of days to be grumpy.

Psalm 118:24 says, "This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." We hear that quoted on Sundays, but EVERY day is the day which the Lord that made! Rejoice it's Monday!

Mileage Update

Here's another great quote from Runner's World:

I realize that I have been blessed with health and strength to overcome not only the miles on the road, but also to overcome the hard times in life when you want to throw in the towel. When I cross the line now, it is a celebration of the fact that I didn't quit.
~Tasya Lacy, U.S. Navy Human Resources Officer

Hebrews 12 has a little something to say about running:

1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

We can overcome any obstacle when we keep our eyes on the Author and Finisher of our faith!

Totals for Week ending November 19:
Running: 22.40
Cycling: 26.79
Total: 49.19

Year-to-Date:
Running: 1112.88
Cycling: 1332.03
Total: 2444.91

Friday Foodie - Thanksgiving Plan

Thanksgiving is truly just around the corner! It's next week, people! I hope you're planning something special. Fix at least a couple of your favorite dishes and enjoy them. But enjoy the people in your life even more ~ they're what counts.


Click this link to go to the Weight Watchers website for an interactive plate builder. You can see how much each of your favorites will cost you. What it won't let you do is have a second helping ~ once you've put a 1/4 cup of gravy on your plate, that's all you get. Now really, who can just eat a 1/4 cup of gravy?? By just mousing over the item you can see how many points it is and double or triple depending on your serving size.


If you eat every food item listed, your total points will be 40. Most people get 29 points per day with 49 additional allowance points per week. So you would be safe to do that.... as long as you only eat like that on Thanksgiving. If you plan on enjoying leftovers on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, you may need to think a little more clearly about it all!

I also suggest a Turkey trot! If you get in some exercise Thursday morning, you'll feel less guilt Thursday night!

Long Term Goal

Today's Runner's World thought for the day:

My long-term goal is to be around to run long-term.
~Jeremy Dobrick

This reminded me of something Sis. Kay Singleton said on Sunday morning. She said, "God is a God Who keeps me and He's been keeping me, but you gotta want to be kept!"

As I child, I remember saints testifying, saying things like "I've been living for the Lord for 40 years and it just gets better and better!" I thought they were ancient, when they probably were in their 50s! But I always wanted to be one of those saints who had been living for the Lord for 40 years or longer! It's always been my long term goal.

I've learned there is no magic to being here long term. I just have to keep doing the right things long term...

If I want to have a long term prayer life, I must pray long term.
If I want to have a ready knowledge of God's word, I must read it long term.
If I want to see revival in my church, I must keep reaching out long term.
I must fast, worship, be faithful, live holy, love God and those around me, long term.

Heaven is my long term goal and I'm going to keep walking the path that will get me there, long term.

How the Internet Really Started

My aunt sent this to me and I love it!!

In ancient Israel , it came to pass that a trader by the name of Abraham Com did take unto himself a young wife by the name of Dot. And Dot Com was a comely woman, broad of shoulder and long of leg. Indeed, she was often called Amazon Dot Com.

And she said unto Abraham, her husband, "Why dost thou travel so far from town to town with thy goods when thou canst trade without ever leaving thy tent?"

And Abraham did look at her as though she were several saddle bags short of a camel load, but simply said, "How, dear?"

And Dot replied, "I will place drums in all the towns and drums in between to send messages saying what you have for sale, and they will reply telling you who hath the best price. And the sale can be made on the drums and delivery made by Uriah's Pony Stable (UPS)."

Abraham thought long and decided he would let Dot have her way with the drums. And the drums rang out and were an immediate success. Abraham sold all the goods he had at the top price, without ever having to move from his tent. To prevent neighboring countries from overhearing what the drums were saying, Dot devised a system that only she and the drummers knew. It was known as Must Send Drum Over Sound (MSDOS), and she also developed a language to transmit ideas and pictures - Hebrew To The People (HTTP).

And the young men did take to Dot Com's trading as doth the greedy horsefly take to camel dung. They were called Nomadic Ecclesiastical Rich Dominican Sybarites, or NERDS.

And lo, the land was so feverish with joy at the new riches and the deafening sound of drums that no one noticed that the real riches were going to that enterprising drum dealer, Brother William of Gates, who bought off every drum maker in the land. And indeed did insist on drums to be made that would work only with Brother Gates' drumheads and drumsticks.

And Dot did say, "Oh, Abraham, what we have started is being taken over by others." And Abraham looked out over the Bay of Ezekiel , or eBay as it came to be known. He said, "We need a name that reflects what we are."

And Dot replied, "Young Ambitious Hebrew Owner Operators." "YAHOO," said Abraham. And because it was Dot's idea, they named it YAHOO Dot Com.

Abraham's cousin, Joshua, being the young Gregarious Energetic Educated Kid (GEEK) that he was, soon started using Dot's drums to locate things around the countryside. It soon became known as God's Own Official Guide to Locating Everything (GOOGLE).

That is how it all began. And that's the truth.

Divers Places

I saw a headline this morning that read "Oklahomans ask: What's causing these quakes?" A record 5.6 quake hit on November 5th. As of Monday, the area had seen 22 quakes of magnitude 3 or greater since the record quake and more than 200 smaller aftershocks. Geologists are trying to figure it out. Some Oklahomans are blaming the oil wells that have been drilled for decades.

I'm a native Californian. The place with "all those earthquakes." So I don't spend a lot of time thinking about it. But the thought that immediately came to my mind was, "earthquakes, in divers places." The words of Jesus in Matthew 24:7. Japan, Chile, Haiti, Turkey, Colorado, Oklahoma, Virginia ~ it doesn't get any more divers than that.

Man spends so much time trying to figure out why things happen on this earth, forgetting that the One Who created all this with His Word, can shake things up just as easily. No, I don't care for earthquakes, and I'd probably freak out completely if a tornado came our way, but I trust the One Who causes the earth to tremble. I want to do what Jesus said a little further on in Matthew chapter 24, "But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved."

Many things about tomorrow
I don't seem to understand
But I know who holds tomorrow
And I know who holds my hand.
~Ira Stanphill

30th Pastoral Anniversary Weekend

What a great weekend at Victory Tabernacle! We celebrated 30 years with Pastor and Sister White. They are worthy of all the honor bestowed on them. I love this great couple!

Friday night we had a packed house. The number of visiting ministers showed how highly respected our pastor and his wife are. Pastor Steve McMullen preached "When God Switches His Hands." He told the story of Joseph and his two sons ~ Manasseh and Ephraim. When Jacob blessed them he put his right hand on Ephraim, instead of his older brother Manasseh. Manasseh means God hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house. Ephraim means God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction. God wants us to get beyond our past and make us more fruitful.

Sunday morning was a beautiful time of reflection. We had several special guests ~ Pastor and Sister Clifford Clark, Elder and Sister Gerald Buxton, and Pastor White's sister, Sister Kay Singleton. There was also a time for some of the saints to reflect and say what Pastor and Sister White mean to them. Sister White gave Pastor White and her sons beautiful memory boxes that had preaching notes from Pastor White's father, along with some other mementos.

Last night was another great service. The church presented Pastor and Sister White with a Mediterranean cruise. We were blessed to have Elder Vaughn Morton in service with us. He preached "Let this Mind Be in You, Which was also in Christ Jesus." The mind of Christ is not some great mystery, He came to seek and to save that which was lost. Our church has just started a new evangelism thrust, which Elder Morton didn't know anything about, so his message about reaching the lost was perfect timing!

I said to Les numerous times last night and this morning ~ "It was such a great weekend." My only slight regret ~ I didn't take a single picture!

Mileage Update - Washed Out!

We started the week with rain and finished it off with more rain, with a couple days of Santa Ana winds in the middle. Not an easy way to up the miles! It started sprinkling while I was out running yesterday morning ~ I thought I might need Mary Poppins' umbrella ~ but it didn't last long. The full brunt of this storm hit about 11:30 last night.

Speaking of water, I got this tip in an email from Dad...

Check your shampoo bottle label.

I don't know WHY I didn't figure this out sooner!!!! It's the shampoo I use in the shower! When I wash my hair, the shampoo runs down my whole body and (duh!) printed very clearly on the shampoo label is this warning:

FOR EXTRA VOLUME AND BODY!

NO wonder I have been gaining weight!!!

Well! I have gotten rid of that shampoo and I am going to start using Dawn dish soap instead. Their label reads:

DISSOLVES FAT THAT IS OTHERWISE DIFFICULT TO REMOVE.

Problem Solved!!!

Totals for Week ending November 12:
Running: 18.21
Cycling: 27.44
Total: 45.65

Year-to-Date:
Running: 1090.48
Cycling: 1305.24
Total: 2395.72

Veteran's Day

As I've mentioned before, we have a very large genealogy book that traces my paternal grandmother's side ~ the Gannaway family. Every time I'm in Fresno I pick it up and flip through the pages.


Our family has been in America since the early 1700s. We have had soldiers in the American Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Civil War, World War I, and World War II. There were many that gave their lives for our country, for freedom. I salute each one today.

Thankful for Memories

The other day I was thinking about the cruise Les and I took earlier this year. It was the most amazing trip. I was thinking about Rome and Venice and a new appreciation for memories hit me. Vacations don't come that often, but I can relive them through my memories.


We have never had anyone in our family who has suffered from dementia or Alzheimer's. We've had our share of other diseases, but we've been able to remember. Here are some of the memories I'm thankful for today:

The joy that came to our family When Mom Became Grandma...


Jingle Bell Rockin' with Rod...


Easters...


Christmas mayhem....


Weddings...


Golden anniversaries...


Camping trips...


Laughter with the one I love the most!