Southern Virginia/St. Augustine FL

Rural Southern Virginia

View I would see from our balcony if it was not dark..



Here we are lounging in the Hampton Inn, Hillsville VA. Jer is in the tub; Drew is watching the weather channel; and me I am anxious to reconnect with my writer's self. Ha...Yea Vic, I get blog withdrawal too, but I am all about the accolades. And yea Rob, I just used the Google spell check to check the spelling of accolades, found I misspelled withdrawal.

St. Augustine Florida: arrived around six-thirty, ate at a restaurant across the street. Barnacle Bill's Beachside, a little corny of a name but a pleasant waiter, good shrimp, pole beans, and other southern favorites for side dishes.

Now, back in the room, the new Willie Wonka is playing on the TV. Drew is starting to snore. The air conditioning is chilly and I may have to put on socks. The temp to day was warm but it was the sunny that blessed me. Willie is weird. All day I thought of things I wanted to share, but now I guess I am just tired.

We spent last night at Jessica and Matt Millers. Little Ian is growing and cute a can be. Jess made lasagna and had a birthday cookie for Jer and presents. I love stopping there, but wish we could spend more time there. Their home as a sweet peace about it. Jess is a woman of God who demonstrates a servant's heart. Tomorrow we only have to drive a little less than two hours to get to our vacation villa. Villa is what the Brits who own the place where we stay call the homes. Jer is already planning his swimming time. I think Jer and I may turn off the television and get some sleep. The last two times we stayed in St. Augustine we stopped at a nearby farm/stable to see my horse Cool's mother and father. I know it sounds weird to visit a horses's parents, but the Paso breed is a small one so a lot of owners know each other. I got hooked up with Micheal Bruce, the stallion's owner through friends. Oddly Cool's mama is kept at the same barn, not a common thing since they are owned by different people. We have not planned on stopping this year, but on the way down I got to thinking about Cool and how it might be nice to see her mom. Supressa passed her looks on to my horse almost identically. Only a small white snip on Cool's face shows the difference. I guess Cool had one white foot too. Her mom is a pure bay. I tried to buy her a about three horses ago, but her owners did not want to sell. I think seeing her would almost be like seeing Cool again. Anyway, I'll see how Drew is in the morning

OK, time to get ready for bed. I pray you all make it through the next frigid day or so. I wish you all could be here with us. What a party that would be huh? So strange to be here with just the three of us. Once we catch up with Uncle Glenn and Aunt Sam our group will be better. Cynthia will be down on Wednesday to complete the ensemble.

God's grace has abounded and I am sure of His presence. Traveling can be a challange but we have done well. I am confident in His ongoing mercy. I hope to use this time away to nourish my alone time with the Lord. I know I need to make some big changes, but all big things come in small pieces. Faithful in little faithful in much. I need to take small bites.