Goodbye Scrapbooking, Hello West Virginia.........

 

One of the very best things about scrapbooking at a hotel is that the husbands bring the kids to swim in the pool!  That means I get Grandma time with my little sweeties.  I just love the above picture of "Mermaid Lia"!  She has really learned how to swim this summer and loves to swim underwater with her goggles.  She went from being a bit timid in the water, to full on swimmer in just a matter of weeks.  I guess this is another one of those "when they get it, they get it" things.  I managed to finish 46 pages of scrapbooking.  Not a record for me (I think I once did 58 pages on one of these weekends), but I was very happy to complete what I did!  I left from the hotel, drove home and unpacked MY car, only to turn around and PACK Ken's car for our vacation.  It was a bit crazy, and unfortunately, one of my fears came to pass.  We stopped for lunch about 125 miles out from home and Ken said "Didn't we have a garment bag of clothes?"  Well, it is still hanging in our closet at home.  And in that garment bag were all of Ken's work clothes for his meetings over the next few days, plus the dress I was going to wear to the dinner on Tuesday night.  There was no way we were turning around.  So we stopped at Kohls and bought Ken some new clothes.  I tried to find a dress, but this is not an easy task for me.  So I decided I will wear something that is already packed in my suitcase (black pants and a new top I just bought) and they will have to like it!  As I said, it is not the end of the world, but kind of a crazy start to this trip! 

Yesterday we drove to the middle part of Ohio and spent the night and then this morning we drove into West Virginia!  This was especially meaningful to me since I got to cross another state off of my "states I need to visit list"!  I still have 15 states to get to, Ken only has 7.  Unfortunately there are only 4 of these that we BOTH need to see!  And if you take out Alaska and Hawaii, the two we both need are Nevada and Maine!  We are hoping to be able to complete all the states before we are too old to really enjoy the travel.

 

Now back to West Virginia.  I was amazed at this state!  The mountains were amazing.  It was a cloudy, overcast day and the we actually drove up into the clouds .  It was not just fog, you could see the clouds coming down from the sky.

This picture really doesn't show exactly what I saw, but you can get the idea.  It was breathtaking. I was thinking about Psalm 144.  It begins with a proclamation that God is our rock and fortress, a stronghold and our deliverer, a shield and a refuge.  Then beginning in verse 3 it says......
Lord, what are human beings that you care for them, mere mortals that you think of them? They are like a breath; their days are like a fleeting shadow.  Part your heavens, Lord, and come down; touch the mountains, so that they smoke.  Send forth lightning and scatter the enemy.

Yes, today, it looked like the top of the mountain was smoking and I felt as if God had reached out and touched both the mountain top and me!

We stopped at a "Scenic overview" which was just spectacular.  It was on the side of the tollway and the traffic was zipping past.  After I looked down and saw this view, I felt sorry for everyone that just drove past!  What a picture of God's beauty they missed!

I think that Psalm 104:10 speaks to the view.......
"He (God) makes springs pour water into the ravines it flows between the mountains."
I am so thankful for seeing this new part of the United States.  And I am so thankful for another day to see and experience God's creation in new and different ways!

Jesus, thank you for grace and patience and provision - that includes Kohls stores.  Thank you for your amazing love and care that just overwhelms us as we see your amazing work in nature.  Give us all courage to step out of our busy routines, and wisdom to grab on to the opportunities to stop and breath in more of who you are as you show yourself in creation.   Amen