Atlanta Road Trip

I apologize for the blog break.  We took a trip to Atlanta.

My sister, her husband, and their three children live there.

In the midst of looking over my calendar for the rest of the summer, I saw that unless we took off for Hotlanta last week, we were not going to have time the rest of the summer.  

What happens with the end of summer freedom?

So I packed up the kids and headed down I-75.  This was a new adventure for me/us.  

In 20+ years of marriage, I have only once driven that far on my own. 

My husband has always hated being a passenger.  

(The only time I did drive a substantial distance was from middle GA to south FL on vacation one year. 

My poor, dear husband came down with food poisoning from a fast food milkshake.)

While in Atlanta, we had the privilege of seeing my niece perform in Grease at  the

Barnes Ampitheatre in Mableton.  

Every year they have a youth performance.

We loved playing with the babies and just talking.

We also got to enjoy some great tastes around town.

We had the terrific cheeseburger pizza at Blue Moon Pizza.  Cheeseburger is not usually my first choice, but I would eat it over and over again.

For breakfast one morning, we stuffed ourselves at The Flying Biscuit Cafe.  I ate the High Flyer, which included an organic oatmeal pancake with peaches, eggs, a big ole biscuit, chicken sausage, and grits.

If you love grits, these are goood grits!  And, oh whatta pancake!  Everything was fabulous, and I am sure I will be

wishing and dreaming and hoping 

for this breakfast again very soon.

Our last evening we ate at Paco's Mexican Restaurant.  

The best enchiladas I ever had.  Enchiladas Rancheros to be exact!

There are so many great food places in Atlanta.  Maybe you've tried a few?

I better get going now.

If you call and I sound out of breath when you answer,

it's because I am working off all that great food!

Hugs!

Sleep, dreams, and t-shirt worthy quotes

A couple of weeks ago, we attended a pool party for Brooke's soccer team.

One of the girl's brothers-- a friendly, blue-eyed, well-mannered, and much loved young man who also happens to have autism, made such an awesome statement to his father.  

Carter(not his real name) said,

 "Dad, you know I don't sleep well because I am too busy thinking about all the fun I am going to have."

I immediately thought about how great that would look on a t-shirt.  A best-seller.

Later, I started thinking about the fact that for children, the anticipation of fun is

usually the cause for a poor night's sleep.

Rarely, is that what causes adults to lose sleep.  

That's too bad, I mean, if you have to be sleepless at all.

Personally, I need a full eight hours.  I'll take up to nine.

Even at my age.

A couple of years ago, I went through several, torturous

 (like 18) months 

of nearly sleepless nights.  We are talking 2-5 hours a night.

Don't ask me how I am still alive.

And I thought I would never be able to sleep a full night again.

Thank God that I can.

But...last night I had a horrible--

I mean one of the worst--

nightmares ever.

There is no glory in dragging out the details.

But I did get back to sleep after I got my brain right!

Back to my previous sleep-deprived season, and maybe yours?

As adults we usually lose sleep for the exact opposite reason of impending fun.

Stress or anxiety over something stupid/mean/ugly we said or did

or something stupid/mean/ugly said or done to us

is what keeps us up at night.

We re-hash it, re-live it and wear it out.

We really have to let it go.  It takes us nowhere but into further misery and defeat.

Go tell your Daddy!

He is the only One who can bear your burdens, comfort you fully, and give you rest.

During my own journey, I began to seek out scripture related to sleep and rest.

Of course I knew it was there, because if a human can suffer it, God's Word has it covered.

After my confessions and expressions of gratitude, I would read and pray these scriptures.

I will share one of my favorites-- Psalm 4:8

"I will lie down and sleep in peace,

 for you alone, O Lord,

make me dwell in safety."

Sweet dreams, sweet friends!

Getting started

I've been thinking about blogging a loong time now.  How to start, what I want it to be, what my goal is.  I know I want to keep it real-- as real as possible.  

I can be a perfectionist.
And a dreamer.
I often know where I want to be, but I am an impatient journey-woman.  I might be tempted to let my dreams get ahead of my reality.  It usually doesn't take long for my feet to return to earth.  Darn!
So I am certain this blog will be a journey.
Just like my life.
Just like my walk with my heavenly Father.

The journey will be everything from shallow to deep, far and wide.  Today, I ask your forgiveness for the rambling.  It's what's on my mind and in my heart.  Just keeping it real.

PS-I hope to become a bit more savvy at all this blog layout stuff.  I'll add my picture as soon as I pick the one I want.  And I want this blog to reflect my style(more on that in upcoming posts).