Mini Vacation...Part III....Grand Finale

We finished off our exciting...rain filled day with a visit to "The Dixie Stampede". It was so much fun!!! It is dinner theatre at it's best!....at least at it's dustiest! You aren't supposed to take pictures, but I think it is more about not having your flash on because of the horses....anyway, I don't think Dolly will be visiting my site, so what she doesn't know will provide enjoyment to those who check my blog. :) The picture below is near the beginning of the show. The whole "plot" centers around the battle between the North and South in the Civil War. I won't say too much because I wouldn't want to ruin the show for anyone who may get to go see it.

The whole deal with dinner is that there is no silverware. I was totally ok with this until they proceeded to plop this big bird on my plate. I looked at David and asked, "How am I supposed to eat this?" He just looked at me like I was being silly. My problem is that I can barely eat with silverware without most of my meal ending up on the front of my shirt....now I was supposed to eat everything with no silverware and not be wearing it by the end of the show. You aren't even really paying attention to your food because you are watching the horses and riders. They are amazing!

I took a picture of this for those family members living out west. This reminded me of all of you! :)

And, last but not least....there has to be a patriotic ending and a reminder that we are no longer the North and South, but one Grand Country that, I for one, am very proud to be a citizen of....the United States of America.

I have been a Dolly fan my whole life. I had a cassette tape (I know, I'm showing my age here) of Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers that I played into the ground. I knew every word to every Dolly song. I watched her movies. I loved her then and I still do. I think she is an amazing lady with an amazing story. I didn't know this until we visited Dixie Stampede, but Dolly has arranged for every child born in her county to receive a book a month from the month of their birth until they are five years old as part of her Literacy Campaign. Cool, huh?

We had a wonderful trip...made lots of memories...had fun together....and got some much needed down time. Hopefully we can do it again real soon.

The End.

Mini Vacation...Part II

Well...it's been a while...I've been otherwise occupied and pretty darn busy, but here is more narrative on our fun trip to Tennessee. I don't know why, but I always feel the necessity to take a picture of the entrance gates to just about everywhere we go on vacation. True to form...here is a picture of the entrance gates to Dollywood.

The rides were actually very fun! I knew that Dollywood was known for their shows and the artsy craftsy spots where you can watch stuff being made the "Old Fashioned Way" and there were tons of shops and eateries, but the rides were nothing to sneeze at. The one in the picture below looks scarier than it was. It was raining, so we decided to ride as many rides as possible in the beginning, knowing that if the weather worsened, we could still do other things, but they would probably shut down the rides. I was pretty sore the next day from the roller coasters...I'm not as young as I used to be.

The picture below is from the show "Sha-Kon-O-Hey". It was a really good show. David enjoyed it also....I think he was surprised that he actually liked it. They had a lot of tumbling and acrobatics and they were pretty good singers.

After the show, we were starving, so we headed out to decide which one of the million places to eat we would choose. We found a place along the way selling pork rinds. As true southerners...we had to partake. They were YUMMY! and we were very glad we bought them on the way to eat lunch because they line was so long for food that we ate the entire bag before we even ordered. I know...that makes us sound like pigs....Ha Ha....I did that one on purpose. :)

You can't really tell from this picture, but David chose this HUMONGOUS sandwich for lunch. Of course, we had eaten an entire bag of pork rinds, so he couldn't finish the whole sandwich. He was excited about trying to though.

David loves 50's-60's cars. There was a part of the park that was dedicated to the 50's-60's. David had seen a Food Network show about this apple pie that was something like a foot in diameter...they bake it in a big cast iron skillet. He was determined that we would find the shop that sold these pies. We found it in this area. The ladies in the bakery were so proud that the pie had been featured on the food network show. David's eyes (and his smile) got huge when he saw the slice that this ENORMOUS pie makes. You would think we would have tried the pie, but no, we settled on a cinammon roll?!?! It was VERY good. Here is a picture of David checking out one of the old cars.

I did convince David to see one more show while we were there. It was called "Dreamland Drive-In". I can't say too much for the plot, but the music was great! Everybody was "Jumpin' and Jivin'".

We wandered around for a little while longer. We found this great little Irish shop. We looked all over the store for things saying "Ryan". We found a mug that we bought. I brought it to work with me so I can use it everyday. They also had a bunch of Heather scented items. They are very concerned with patriotism and helping the environment in Dollywood. They had an amazing Eagle sanctuary. There were a bunch of different kinds of eagles that for one reason or another needed to be cared for temporarily, or permanently in some cases. All in all, we really enjoyed our day in Dollywood. The day wasn't over yet though....more to come.

New Lessons Every Day

"Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you." I Peter 5:7


I'll admit I had to "Bible Gateway" search to find the reference for the above verse.

God has been dealing with me about worrying for quite some time now. (The bold is my opinion of how God is viewing my progress in the lesson He is trying to teach me.) I'm stubborn and hard headed and I think I can do it all by myself. Anyone that knows me well can attest to that...and then some. I think I'm finally getting it though. I freely admit that I teeter on the line the crosses over into "Burn Out" most of my days. Is it my fault that my plate is too full? Yes. Can God use it for His glory? Absolutely. I am slowly weeding out which items that I have taken on that are expendable. In the process, I am learning about my limits and most importantly about my priorities.

I have ALWAYS been a worrier....I am talking from the beginning of what I can remember. It has taken it's toll on me emotionally, physically and spiritually. I don't believe that God wants me to worry anymore. I actually don't think He EVER wanted me to worry, but what's past is past and all we have is our future. I want to make the best of my future.

As I write that, I am reminded of the old saying, "This too shall pass". I think of it mostly when I am having a hard time with something and I want it to pass quickly, but it has a flip side. The good stuff passes too. Nothing lasts forever. I too often find myself having to enjoy a moment in history in my memories because I didn't embrace it fully as it was happening.

Do I think this is going to be an easy road? No way! I am trying to alter a personality trait that I have lived with for over a quarter of a century. Can I do it alone? That would be another No way....but I believe that the Lord will carry me through. I will be victorious through Him!

TWICE in the New Testament, the same story is told regarding worry. This is what Matthew says:

Matthew 6:
25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life[b]?
28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.


Then the story is told again in Luke 12. It's like God is saying, "I know My people are going to have a problem getting this....so let Me say it again." Obviously I'm not the only obstinate person that God knows.

My new motto is going to be this: "Work like your working for the Lord and He will take care of the rest." I will do the absolute best I can, and then I'm going to let it go. I will hold strong to the fact that He knows the plans He has for me and I can trust in Him.

I have some mighty prayer warriors on my side and I know they have played an essential role in my keeping a semblance of sanity all these years. Thank you to my Granny, Grandad, and Mom. I love you.

We're back! Mini Vacation Part I

I say "We're back!" with an exclamation point, but I don't really mean the exclamation point with all my heart. We could have stayed in Tennessee for much longer! It was beautiful. Most of the trip the weather was rainy and overcast, but that kept the temperature down. It was a WONDERFUL trip. We weren't rushed at all. I felt weeks and weeks of stress melt away. David and I REALLY! needed this trip. It was such a blessing that God worked everything out for us to be able to sneak away for those precious few days. We made lots of memories and enjoyed just being together with no one and nothing calling for our attention. Can I just say again that it was WONDERFUL!

We left at a reasonable hour of the morning on Saturday and grabbed breakfast on the way. It took us a while to hit Tennessee because the weather was pretty nasty for a little while on the interstate. Our plan was to try to make it to a magic show in Pigeon Forge before we checked into the hotel in Knoxville, but because of the time difference (Pigeon Forge and Knoxville are Eastern Time Zone), I realized we weren't going to get there early enough. No biggy. As we were driving I noticed the famous "See Ruby Falls" and "See Rock City" signs along the interstate. We decided we would "See Ruby Falls". We both had been as children...but let's face it. That was a long time ago. This is a picture of us in this cute little spot they made in the line for you to take a picture while you wait to get tickets.

As you can see, it was Saturday and our BIG appointment that had to be kept was the one with the television to watch the Alabama vs. VA Tech game. Just in case anyone missed the game.....we WHOOPED them! Well maybe not whooped, but we won just the same. This next picture was our favorite rock formation in the cave on the way to the falls.

Roll Tide...no matter what state we are in! We had fun investigating the cave on the way to see the big attraction...with the help of our hilarious tour guide. His humor was so dry and I found him absolutely hilarious. I know everyone else, including David thought I was nuts. Maybe I was just tired. :)

Finally....the big finale....it's hard to take a good picture of the falls because they have this crazy light show going on, but it is really amazing to see one of the wonders of God's creation.

I feel very small when I look out over God's creation because it reminds me of just how BIG our God really is. He created this amazing planet with all these anomalies and uniquenesses and each of those differences were on purpose. Reminds me that when things don't always go quite as planned, that maybe it was on purpose.

Well, I have to get back to my crazy daily grind, but this is not the end of our trip...more to come!