God Is At Work...I'm Just Not Sure What He Is Doing!

Things have been all out crazy since we got back from our cruise. The week after I got back, I had one of the shocks of my life. Ken and Bob were released from their ministry at the church on the Tuesday after we got back. They gave their resignations on Wed. night two weeks ago. This has been a very difficult time.

At this point, one person off personnel and one off of pastor search team have been placed as helping me in the small group area. I met with one man last week and will meet with both men tomorrow night at 6:00. The next few months are the busiest time for the small group area getting ready for the new church year which has to be ready to begin by the end of August. There is a LOT to be done!

I have recently been sensing that God may be leading me away from directing women's ministry at the church, at least for a while. This began quite a few months ago. Now that Ken is gone and small groups has pretty much landed in my lap for the time being, I feel that this area is so important to our church, that I need to devote all of my time to it. I know this is only temporary until we get a senior pastor, but for now I really feel led to devote a lot of thought and time to the area that God has me serving.

The question was...who would lead women's ministry. As God always does, when He closes one door for one person, He opens one for another. One gal in our church who was not currently involved with our women's ministry kept coming to my mind to ask. This was very strange. But I went ahead and called her and asked her if there was any way that she might be remotely interested in leading in this area. I knew that she had served on staff at another church and had been involved as a lay person in women's ministry at other churches. It so happened that she had been sensing from God that she was to be working in the area of women's ministry again, but she was asking God for clarity on exactly what He wanted her to do. Then I call. Wow! Isn't God incredible!! I can tell she will be wonderful and I look forward to seeing what God is going to do through her leadership in this area. I will still be the staff person connection for women's ministry and will be involved as much as possible.

I really need God's direction and leadership because I am WAY over my head! But I also know that when I am in a place where I have to totally depend upon God, that is exactly where He wants me and where He can use me the most!

Cruise Day 2 /Peak 30th Anniversary!

Today is the BIG Day! It is Tom and Linda's 30th Anniversary!!!!!

Randall and I got up around 7:45 and ate breakfast at Seven Seas Restaurant. We both had ham and cheese omelettes, turkey bacon and wheat toast. When you have been married as long as we have, you begin to do things just alike, including choosing the same things to eat off of a menu. We let the anniversary couple do their own thing this morning!

We ate breakfast at a table with 3 other couples--2 younger and one couple about our age.

After breakfast, we went onto the sun deck where Tom and Linda joined us later.

We stayed outside on the back of the ship all morning until lunch time. We ate lunch at the buffett which was just off the area we were sunning. Linda and I were not very hungry for some reason and the men just ate while we sat and watched.

After lunch, there was a "hairy man contest" on Lido deck that was pretty amusing. After sitting out here a while, we were all tired and decided to go to our cabins to rest for a while. We knew that we had a big night tonight. This was our one formal night on the ship and we also planned to see one of the Broadway shows after dinner. We were going to be up way past our bedtime....so we knew we better take a nap if we were going to make it:) Formal night would also be the big anniversary celebration dinner too. We had a wonderful dinner and the waiter staff sang Happy Anniversary to the Peak's. Afterwards we went to the show, "Shout" which we really enjoyed. Below is one of the towel creatures that we were greeted with every night when we came back to our cabin after dinner and the show. I think having the bed made with the lights turned down when you came back in the room was one of my favorite things about the whole cruise.

Cruise Day 1

After getting approximately 3 hours of sleep on Sunday night because of all of my excitement, I woke up ready to get this cruise on the road! Randall and I arrived at Tom's and Linda's around 10:15. They were ready to go and off we went. The weather left alot to be desired. It was cloudy and rained on us as we approached the terminal. The Peak's son, Andrew, dropped us off around 10:35. The first thing we did was to unload our baggage at the luggage drop off.

After leaving our luggage, we proceeded into the terminal to check in. As soon as we entered the doors, we were asked for our "fun pass" and photo I.D. Then they sent us a few feet further where we were given a questionaire about swine flu symptoms. We were asked to go up the escalator and then fill out the questionaire.

Our next stop was the desk check in where once again they reviewed our "fun pass", passport and collected our swine flu questionaire. Then our picture was taken and we sat down in a holding area until they were ready for us to board the ship.

At 11:25, we began the boarding process. We were able to enter the boat, but were not able to go to our cabins until 1:30. So we used this time to familiarize ourselves with the ship and eat our lunch in the buffett area. Linda and I had cheeseburgers and Randall and Tom went to a different area of the buffett and had different foods than us.

After lunch, we continued to just walk around until they announced that we could go to our cabins. When we arrived at our room, our luggage had not yet arrived. We went in and began to put up all the things that we had brought in in our carry on luggage. By the time we did this, one piece of our luggage had been brought to out door and a little while later the other piece arrived. Tom and Linda were beginning to sweat a little because it looked like most of the luggage had been delivered and they still did not have the piece of luggage that had all of their medications in it.

After getting all of our things in place in our room, we rested for just a little while and then we went back to the buffett where we got some fruit. While sitting in the restaurant eating our fruit, an announcement was made that the muster drill was getting ready to begin. We were instructed to go to our cabins and get our life jackets out of the closets and bring them to our designated muster drill areas. I had heard horror stories about the drill taking forever, but it did not last long at all and we were done within 20 minutes.

After the drill we came back to our room to take the life jackets back. As we looked out our window, we realized we had begun to move. So we quickly headed to the deck to watch as we left the Port of Mobile. We stayed out on the deck until approximately 5:15. Then it was time for us to get ready for our 6:00 dining time in the dining room. The four of us changed clothes and headed to the dining room.

The table that we would be sitting at every night sat 8 people. We met the two other couples that we would be dining with each night. The other two couples were also friends who went to church together. They were from Navarre, FL. Nedra and Steve and Connie and Larry were an absolute delight to get to know. Our first dinner was delicious. Randall and I both had steaks.

After dinner, we stopped in a couple of different places to listen to some live music before retiring for the night. Our first day has been GREAT!

Cruise passengers return to Mobile after Mexico stop

It looks like the swine flu has worked in our favor at the moment. Because of the outbreak of it in Mexico, we will not be going to Cozumel and Calica, Mexico. Instead we found out last night that we will be going to Key West and Freeport, Bahamas which we are thrilled about. I just pray that the swine flu remains mild and does not get bad. The pandemic level was raised to 5 yesterday which is not good.

Below is the article in the Press Register about the cruise that came into port this morning. There is a 4 day cruise leaving out this morning who also been rerouted from Cozumel to Key West. They will arrive back in Mobile on Mon. morning and we leave Monday afternoon.

Can't wait!!!

Cruise passengers return to Mobile after Mexico stop
Posted by Casandra Andrews and Kaija Wilkinson April 30, 2009 11:21 AM
Categories: Breaking News, Swine Flu, Top Stories
Press-Register/

Bill StarlingMichael and Kristy Buckle from Atlanta walk away from the Carnival Cruise ship Holiday after arriving in Mobile today. The ship made its regularly scheduled stop in Progreso, Mexico, but canceled the excursion to Cozumel because of swine flu concerns.MOBILE, Ala. - Passengers aboard the Carnival Cruise Line ship Holiday disembarked Thursday without incident, according to officials with the cruise terminal and Alabama Department of Homeland Security Director Jim Walker.
The ship stopped in Progreso, Mexico, during the week but canceled an excursion to Cozumel because of concerns about the spread of swine flu.
Passenger Kay Wright, 52, of Martin, Tenn., said she had never been so happy to be back in the country.
"I'd like to get down and kiss the ground," she said, bending over toward the concrete and grinning as she stepped outside the terminal into the sunshine. "We were apprehensive we wouldn't be able to get off."
At least one passenger, a teenage boy, could be seen wearing a facemask as he waited for a car inside the parking garage.
Al St. Clair, director of the Alabama Cruise Terminal, said this morning that the mood was relatively light aboard the Holiday during the five-day cruise.
St. Clair, who took the cruise, said the dining rooms, casino and public spaces were full Wednesday night.
He said he saw no passengers with obvious signs of illness and that cruise ship staff issued the usual reminders to take flu-prevention measures, such as wash hands frequently and cover one's mouth when sneezing or coughing.
The ship received news feeds from Fox News out of Denver, he said, but most televisions were tuned to soccer. He said he saw no newspapers on the ship.
Carnival Cruise Lines announced Wednesday that it would divert the four-day cruise leaving Mobile today to Key West, Fla., and the five-day cruise leaving May 4 to Key West and Freeport, Bahamas.
Guests who do not wish to sail on a modified itinerary may opt to receive a refund in the form of a future cruise credit equal to the full amount paid for the voyage through the end of 2010, Carnival said.

Grandchildren Saturday!

Wow! What a busy Friday, Saturday, and Sunday I had this weekend! Friday night, we had our Strive 09 Event at church which our department was in charge. I spent a lot of Friday going to the store and getting supplies for it and then was at the church from 4:00 until 9:15 or so.

Saturday morning, Elizabeth brought Carter over around 9:00 to stay the day with us. Ryan was out of town in a fishing tournament and Eli had a hair appointment and was giving a shower in Baldwin County. We went to the mall to look for a gift and while we were there Carter rode the merry-go-round at the mall. Afterwards, we ate lunch at Chic-Fil-A, and then on to Carter's T-ball game at 12:30.

When we left the park at 2:00, we went by the Bell's house to pick up Ryleigh. She was also staying with us while her mom and dad were out of town at Gulf Shores. The pictures you see here of the two of them were taken while we played in the back yard.

Elizabeth got back around 6:00 and Ryleigh wanted to go with them even though she was supposed to spend the night with us. Elizabeth told me she didn't mind if she came over. I knew Ryleigh would have a lot more fun with "her Carter" than with us. So she stayed with them Sat. night and we took her with us after church Sunday morning.

She spent the rest of the day Sunday with us until her parent's picked her up around 3:00.

I have been going to the tanning bed before our cruise, but I have been so busy the last 2 days, I haven't had a chance to go. So after they picked Ryleigh up, I took off to get a few rays. Then, it was time to get ready for Community group.

We went to Morris' and Julie's for our group time and then out to eat at Cracker Barrell. I have been busier this weekend than I am during the week when I work. Whew!!! I'm pooped!

Getting Ready To Cruise!

Today is Wednesday, April 22 and we leave on our cruise one week from Monday. We are really getting excited. Randall and I went out last weekend and bought some much needed summer clothes for the cruise. Since our last two vacations were taken during cold months, we have not purchased any new summer clothes in quite a while.

We made purchases at Stein Mart and Academy Sports. Once I got home and began planning my clothes for each day, I determined that I really had too many clothes. So I took back a pair of shorts and a top on Sunday. I ended up buying 3 tops and two pair of shorts. I tried on swim suits, but I have such a weird body that nothing looked right. I think I will just use an old one I already had and Linda has also loaned me one of hers that looks decent.

We began placing all of our new clothes and all that we plan to take with us in the guest room. You probably won't be able to go into that room by the time we get ready to leave:)

We also picked me up some sandals at Shoe Station and Randall some sandals at Academy Sports. I think this is the first pair of sandals Randall has owned since we married 32 years ago. It's just not somthing he cares for. I have a feeling that once he begins wearing them, he may wear them a lot. As a matter of fact, he is already wearing them.

I know most people say they always think they will need more clothes than they do on cruises. I have planned one outfit for each day and one for each night for dinner. I may still have too many clothes. But I would rather have too many than not enough:)

I also started tanning at the tanning bed just until we go on the cruise. This fat really needs all the help it can get to look better. Tanned fat just looks better than white fat!

I went today at lunch and got the hair taken care of. I got fresh highlights and cut as well. It sure does feel better.

This weekend looks like it will be pretty busy for us. Beginning Friday, we have a churchwide discipleship event called Strive 09, that I am helping with. That will require a lot of my time on Friday afternoon and night. Saturday, we have been asked to keep Carter during the day and take him to his t-ball game. Then we are to keep Ryleigh Saturday night and Sunday morning. So we probably won't have time to do much else this weekend.

I think we are ready for the most part. We will still have next weekend to get any last minute things we need.

Happy Half A Decade My Sweet Carter!

Happy 5th birthday to my oldest grandchild, Carter Christopher Stanford. We had a wonderful Batman themed party, complete with Batman Jumps A Lot and Batman cupcakes that his mother made. The children had a great time and so did the adults as well. His party was held on Saturday, April 18, but his actual birthday is today, April 19.

What a joy he has been to our lives for these past 5 years. We love you Carter!