Happy Thanksgiving 2008

We had a great day at home, our family and Mel and Nic from North Carolina. Of course there was plenty to eat, and we'll enjoy leftovers for a while. I got to open my birthday gifts this afternoon, and now I can tell you about one of those pictures that was a surprise! It's of a lady, holding a bottle to catch her tears in. Under the picture is the verse about God catching all of our tears in a bottle. I have always loved that verse, and the picture was beautiful. On my birthday, Michelle took me to lunch. We had a short visit squeezed in because they were getting ready to leave for Thanksgiving. She gave me a crystal dolphin! Loved that! Cary took me to dinner and I had tons of calls and birthday wishes on Facebook. Kathy took me to lunch yesterday and gave me a special little gift too. Last weekend we were with Cary's family, celebrating mom's 80th birthday. It was a surprise party and we had a great time with family. Tucker got a hair cut this week, so he's been a little cold and needed some covers! It's been a good week!

Cruise Details

We went to Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Jamaica, and the Princess private island. These were all the ports we were supposed to go to, but just in a different order than originally planned! We had a great day on Cozumel. We took a taxi to a beach, and it was quite private. It was a beautiful place, and we really never figured out why we were almost alone! Grand Cayman was gorgeous, but the beach was VERY crowded and the chairs were REALLY hard plastic! Jamaica was nice, a small beach with some entertainment. I'm not sure WHAT this lady was doing, but I got a laugh out of her. Let me tell you, when she danced to the music, that back side did some moves! They also had an area all ready if you wanted a massage. We always enjoy the private islands, but we did "run" back to the boat fearing a storm that ended up not coming our way. We just spent the rest of the day on the boat, at the pool. From the island we were able to get a good picture of our boat, the Ruby Princess. This was the inaugural cruise and we made it with no problems! One of my favorite things about Princess is the dessert called the "Love Boat"...I'm telling you, it's worth the trip! I had seven of them...one each night! And, I will say, with NO regrets! We went right from getting off the boat to Robby's wedding. It was so sweet. Robby and Cary have been close over the years, and we were big buddies when they first came to McGregor. My favorite memory was when Robby was in middle school and the movie "Twister" came out. He couldn't believe I had not seen it yet and he said "Ms. Vicki, I'm gonna have to take you on a DATE!"

Cruise Events

We made it! Just as we thought, they re-arranged our ports and we never knew there was a storm out there. We had perfect weather the whole time, very pretty. We love cruising because we feel like we are out of the fishbowl for a few days, but God seems to always have some friends for us to meet. The first night we had a Romanian for our waiter, Gabriel. That always gets me all wound up and makes me feel connected to my second home. Then, there was the morning we ate in the dining room, and we had this cute little guy from the Philippines for our waiter. He had way too much spunk (for one who is not a morning person) and he was singing his way all around us. Since it WAS in the morning, and I WAS in a bit of a daze, it took a while, but Cary and I realized about the same time that he was singing a Christian song. Cary asked where he had learned that from. Without a bit of hesitation and with all the boldness and spunk he was capable of, he said "I AM A CHRISTIAN." He stood so straight and proud, so unashamed. He told us he had accepted Christ while he was in high school, and that he has met a lot of Christians while working on the ships. Near the end of the week we sat close to a couple at dinner, close enough to talk a bit. It ended up that he was a minister in Montana and they were celebrating their 25th anniversary as well. Of course we had plenty in common and ended up spending some time with them before the end of the cruise and exchanging information. Cary's favorite "moment" was when we were in line with a couple and Cary asked where he was from. He was a heart surgeon (didn't look old enough to be such!) and was from Guatemala. He is in charge of the volunteer fire department. We ended up comparing all our Guatemala stories and experiences. Before we parted he volunteered his info and offered to help us out any way he could whenever we are down there. Reading between the lines, we are pretty sure he must be from a prominent family with influence. Those are always good people to have phone numbers for when you're down there! My favorite moment was at dinner one night, when we were sitting next to an older couple. Much older. Very old. Cary and I were talking about what we had been reading that day and basically saying how very blessed we are, how very wealthy we are-compared to SO many in the world. Wealth being defined monetarily, but not exclusively. We have seen enough of the world to know we are the exception in many ways, but we also know because of Jesus we would feel wealthy no matter where we lived. We are BLESSED, and we are well aware of it! Well, our conversation was stopped cold when a man walked up to the older couple and thanked the man for serving our country and providing the freedoms we enjoy. It was Veteran's Day. Obviously they had met somewhere along the way and this gentleman had gotten up from his table and made the effort to walk over to thank this dear old man. Tears in my soup! I was stopped cold! Cary and both had to take a deep breath. Our country and freedom was a blessing we hadn't mentioned, but the foundation of what we had been talking about, and certainly one we should have been adding to our list on such an appropriate day. All these things were really neat things that God had planned for us, divine appointments. I will save some of the details and pictures for another day, but we had a great time and met some really precious people!

Hurricane Paloma????

Yes, our bags are packed and we are headed to the Western Caribbean...right where Hurricane Paloma is headed! We aren't worried or even concerned, we've done this enough to know they will have it all under control! They will probably change our route or the order of our ports...or even just park at sea! We don't really care, we'll be happy no matter how it ends up! Last night Joshua and Jen had us over for dinner. Joshua fixed steak sandwiches on the grill, and Jen made wonderful mac and cheese and asparagus! We had a nice visit with them and with Owen, of course! I think I better add in a Tucker picture too...can't be partial! We'll be back in a week!

Nothing Imparticular...

I started to write yesterday about the blue jays and cardinals at the feeder, but my picture didn't turn out so well, and you've heard that before! I'm SO glad the birds visit and keep Tuc on his toes! He seems to know when it is OK for the visitor to be in the feeder, or not...like the squirrels. He takes his job seriously. We had a nice, but busy weekend. Of course with Friday being Halloween, the church was busy getting ready for our Fall Fest. Cary and I voted, and did so pretty quickly. Fall Fest was very nice, and TONS of people! I spent some of my time in the bookstore, trying to make wise decisions on the sale items, since the bookstore is closing. Cary and I decided on three pictures for the house, but I can't tell you about them since they are for birthday and Christmas, so I don't know about them yet. Saturday morning we met a young man and his mom for coffee. He was in the youth group about 20 years ago and wanted to visit with us while he was in town for the weekend. I pray I never get over the blessing of these precious ones passing back through our lives just to say they are still loving and serving Jesus! This particular family has been very special to us since we first came, and all four of their children passed through our ministry. Long after the kids were gone and had started adult lives, the parents would still remember us at Christmas and thank us for our ministry. So genuine. Mom and I still have lunch from time to time and we share deep motherly joys and burdens-always have. We rushed home from having coffee to spend some time with a couple that was in town for the weekend and wanted to see us. We pushed them out the door and got ready for a wedding and reception for a couple currently in our ministry. That was also a blessing. They did it all right, in the right order, and live to make a difference in the lives of those around them. It was a joy to be a part of their special day. We were WORN out when we got home! So, this week I have been trying to recover and also getting ready for our usual November cruise! We leave Saturday for a week on the Western Caribbean! We will arrive back and jump off the ship and run to another wedding before coming back home! The weather has been so beautiful and we've had all the windows and doors opened. It's wonderful when we are able to do that here! I guess I should mention the election...I can only say that I am glad I can trust the only One who holds the future.