Day 4 or/and Mooned Again....

So Wednesday morning we had a great breakfast. I was very happy with how nice this place was - I had been impressed with it the first time around - but after where we stayed at SPI - I was even more impressed. We packed up our things. But before we left Victoria we had one more stop.

We went to The Texas Zoo in Victoria Texas you can click and go to their website to find out more.

Anyway we had a nice time - even though 3 or 4 bus loads of children got there right before we did. We were able to get inside and head a direction a bit differently than they were going and have a nice visit to the zoo.

We walked into a building that houses their snakes and reptiles and were amazed at the fact that we could hear the mad rattle snake as he shook his tail. He was all coiled up and ready to strike. In fact, he stuck towards me - even though there was a nice thick glass between him and I - it still scared me and I went to the other side of my husband who then took some photos of him. That snake keep his eyes on Jason - if Jason moved to one side - the snake was ready to strike in that direction- if Jason moved to the other side- the snake recoiled himself enough to be able to strike again. That was one mad snake!

Have you ever been Mooned by a peacock?

Well now you have! lol :O)

 Here he is showing off his beautiful feathers!

Here you have a male, female and oh yeah -I hadn't noticed when I took the photo - but another male peacock.

 

Here is something amazing that I captured in photos- and did not realize I had captured it until after I had taken the photos and my husband pointed it out to me.

I was taking the photos of the lizard in order to capture a photo of him with his orange/pink balloon thing at this throat that he would puff out ever so often.

 What I captured was the lizard changing his color in order to blend in with his surroundings.

Until he had gone from green to brown.

Oh and that is when I captured the photo I was wanting!  

Some of the animals were watching us:

Some of the animals were resting: 

Some were down right sleeping

 

And some where hanging around eating:

That is just a handful of what we saw at The Texas Zoo! If you are ever in that area be sure and check it out. It is not a very big zoo - when compared to big town zoos but it was a very nice zoo. And I am glad we took our time to visit it.

Once we were finished at the zoo - we were on the road again - this time we were headed to La Grange Texas. And since I have so many photos for this post already and blogger was giving me a bit of trouble downloading them - I will continue this day of the trip tomorrow. Come back by to check it out. See you then. :O)

 

 

Getting Mooned....

I am so sorry that it seems as though I have been dragging my feet at posting photos and such from our vacation. What actually happened is that when we got back we had a lot of stuff to get done to get caught up with - because we had been gone. And it seems like every week has been like that. Each week I am making my normal list of things I want to get done - but I try to add a few extras just so I can stay caught up on things. So last week - I put cleaning carpets, cleaning bird cage, cleaning fish tank, and mowing the yard as priority. Well I got every thing done except for I needed to push mow a couple of places in the yard that I just cant get the riding lawn mower to do the job. I also needed to mow the chicken yard. Well yesterday thankfully my husband helped me get that stuff done. And then we also got some branches cut off of some trees that were hanging down too far- and they were making it hard to mow around those areas. So thankfully all of my list got done.

This week I have decided that I need to make a priority to get the rest of the vacation posts ready and posted. I also have a few other things that I have taken note of that I want to share. SO getting these posts done will be a priority. I also really need to see if I can find some youtube videos about my new quilting machine- and watch a few to give me a bit more information of the how to's before I start quilting - for real. I have been practicing the last few weeks - but I am wanting to get on with it- I have 4 quilts to quilt, thankfully they were all either lap quilt size or twin sized quilts. I am very happy for that since I really would like to learn on the smaller size before I even attempt a bigger sized quilt. So hopefully this week I can watch some videos and then I am hoping to actually get one of the quilts - quilted! That right there will be a challenge for me - because sometimes I am  little intimidated to do things I have never done before. Anyway I am working on the courage to get one done.

Courage - well that is something I have felt like has kind of went down lately. The reason - well I have a dime sized knot just under the skin it is to the outer side of the bend at my elbow- you know where you get blood drawn - well out towards the outer bend- is where this knot is. I have had it for 2-3 months. I have probably already mentioned it here. Anyway when I go see my oncologist next week - I will be asking her what she things I should do. There is a consensus of those I have talked to about it - that I need to have it checked out, which will more than likely lead to having it removed - another surgery...  And to be honest that scares me. I am really not wanting another procedure but if that is what is suggested - then I know it is the best thing to do. So that is why has lead me to move forward with quilting - even though it has been intimidating to me. I don't want to allow fear to stop me from moving forward.

So anyway that is what is going on here. Oh and I have a funny little photo to share with you all today.

"Happy" was a Mother's Day gift from my son and his fiancé. And the gnome - the mooning gnome - well that is something my husband had said he wanted and I found the cutest one I could find and got it for him. So it was sitting on the table when I got my "Happy" and I had set him down. Well then we noticed how funny it looked that "Happy" had those shocked eyes- yeah its with a big smile - but it you pay attention to just the eyes you can see the shock on his face at getting mooned! I thought it was so cute - I couldn't pass up sharing it! I hope it gave you a smile for the day!!

The Twenty-Third Psalm For Today ~ Peace

...he leadeth me beside the still waters.

Peace

Thou wilt keep him in perfect

peace, whose mind is stayed on

thee: because he trusteth in thee.

Isaiah 26:3

 

Come unto me, all ye that labour

and are heavy laden, and I will

give you rest.

Matthew 11:28

 

But the fruit of the Spirit is love,

joy, peace,...

Galatians 5:22

 

Be careful for nothing; but in

everything by prayer and

supplication with thanksgiving

let your requests be made known

unto God. And the peace of God,

which passeth all understanding, shall

keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6,7

 

Now the God of hope fill you

with all joy and peace in

 believing, that ye may abound

 in hope, through the power

 of the Holy Ghost.

Romans 15:13

 

 

Heart Gifts.....series

Everywhere Across the Land You See God's Face and Touch His Hand

Each time you look up in the sky

Or watch the fluffy clouds drift by,

Or feel the sunshine warm and bright,

Or watch the dark night turn to light,

Or hear a bluebird gayly sing,

Or see the winter turn to spring,

Or stop to pick daffodil,

Or gather violets on some hill...

Or touch a leaf or see a tree,

It's all God whispering, "This Is Me...

And I am Father and I am Light

And in Me there shall be no night."



~ Helen Steiner Rice

 

The rest of Day 3

Alright when I left off of telling about our third day of vacation - it was a little after noon. And we were off to Victoria Texas. We had a bit of excitement on this part of the trip. During a section of this trip - I could not believe the amount of bugs that we hit- a WHOLE bunch of black bugs. When we got gas - I was trying to clean the windows and I could not get enough elbow grease to get the bugs off- thankfully my husband was able to do a better job. I know, I know...that really isn't excitement is it? Well here is the excitement. So we are driving down the road minding our own business. We had noticed quite a few Border Patrol vehicles - both on our way South and now on our way back. But we were still surprised when we drove around a curve in the road - and came to orange cones the ushered us through and Border Patrol check point. Several officers along with at least one drug sniffing dog. As we got to the office - we were asked if we were citizens - as the dog sniffed our car- seconds later- we were back on the road. It all happened so fast that I did not get any photos. Certainly a new experience for us!

Well a couple of hours later - we made it to Victoria Texas. I had looked at things to do in this town and had picked my top several things that I wanted to do. And we decided since it was already 4:30pm - we would pick the garden to check out first, since it was opened until dusk. It ended up being a favorite thing that we did on this trip for me anyway.

This was just a sneak peak into how beautiful this garden was!

After spending an hour or so at the garden - we were getting hungry and went to find something to eat. Jason's Deli was where we chose to eat. My husband was so disappointed! They have a lot of BBQ places in Victoria Texas and we had planned to eat at one. We just did not realize that most of them close early. So by the time we were going to eat most were closed. Thankfully our meal at Jason's Deli was pretty good. I had a half sandwich with a bowl of broccoli soup. It was very yummy - and an ice cream to finish it off.

Sorry for the Absences- It is Excused Though...lol

So sorry I have been missing in action. I had really intended on getting on here and get a few more posts written up at the beginning of this week but my husband ended up sick on Monday and Tuesday. And it is just a little harder to concentrate and get my stuff written with him being home and where our computer is located.

But the good side of it is that I was able to get some work done on getting my sewing room a little easier accessible and easier to work in. I have been able to get a few sewing projects done- well these were small jobs- on clothes to make them easier to work with and better fitting. So I have gotten some things done around here - just not as much work done on the computer as I would have liked!

So we have some new additions to our family. Well sort of. A year ago in March - we found 3 little kittens in our garage. Well two ended up leaving and we were left with Bandit/Bandito/Bandy- the black and white one. We had hoped that it was a boy - but were we're wrong. And I figured that out when about 2 months ago - it seemed like male cats came out of the woodwork...seriously. And then they were gone - leaving just the 2-3 stray cats that come to eat now and then. Ok - so back to my story - so I had noticed that Bandy- as she is now called- was getting more and more round. So I was about sure she was pregnant. My husband, true to his nature, did not really believe that I was right. But on Sunday - he had to admit I was right! When he found Mommy can with a few kittens under his work bench in the garage. We think there are 3 kittens. I have seen 2 of them good- a black and white one and then a black/yellow orange/ and white one_ this one is so cute! And I am told the 3 one is multi colored as well. We have a bit of a dilemma though - Momma cat does not really like to be touched. I have touched her tail and petted it a bit - but it is usually only after surprising her and she is quickly out of reach. So the chances of us being able to hold and tame these kittens is probably low. Which disappoints me. I am SO hoping we can figure out a way to tame them and Momma - because we are going to have to get her fixed - not wanting a set of kittens every single year. Anyway - if anyone has any suggestions - I would love to hear them. Thanks in advance.

Ok - I will be working on the rest of our vacation post- and hopefully have one ready by tomorrow to share. I hope you all are doing well. As I said last week was a rough week - it really was- felt like the roughest one I have had in quite some time. But after getting into my routine again -having my devotional time every day helped. Then shopping with my sister and finding a few really neat things- a new (seriously brand new) Sabbath Dress being one of them! I would share a photo but blogger is not allowing me to upload photos right now. Getting a new Sabbath Dress - for less than 1/5 of the original price was such a blessing! Especially since I don't have a lot of dresses.

Oh and I really need so update you all on how our garden is doing? And today I am going to have to get out there and get some weeding done. By the way - for you gardeners out there: What is the best tool you have found to keep your gardens weeded? Please share- I would love to know! :O)

The Larger Prayer

"At First I Prayed for Light"

 

At first I prayed for light;
Could I but see the way,
How gladly, swiftly would I walk
to everlasting day!

And next I prayed for strength:
That I might tread the road
With firm unfaltering feet, and win
The heaven's serene abode.

And then I asked for faith:
Could I but trust my God,
I'd live infolded in His peace,
Though foes were all abroad.

But now I pray for love:
 Deep love to God and man;
A living love that will not fail,
However dark His plan.

And light and strength and faith
Are opening everywhere!
God waited patiently until
I prayed the larger prayer.

* a song in the Seventh-Day Adventist Hymnal #488- I believe the source that I read this song in first - says that the song is written by Mrs. E. D. Cheney/ C. E. Kettle