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Monday, April 21, 2008

Savannah, GA

What an increadible city!! Seriously...I could SO live in the Historic district...although, it is terribly close to slums on one side...

We had the most amazing time in Savannah. It would have been better if 1) we were not BOTH sick for the trip and 2) if it had been OVER 62 degrees. NEXT time we will know enough of the city to plan some fun stuff...we didn't even get to see Bonaventure cemetary or the famous museum...still...we are so close and its so beautiful there...I know we will be back...

We took a trolly tour...many of them are the same...you just have to get on line and figure out which one you want to take...our tour guide was hysterical and had TONS of history to give us...it went by so fast that I think I'll be purchasing a guidebook for the next journey. I can't remember most of what he told me...

Some photo highlights...

This is where we lunched...nothing fancy...in fact, we had the rudest waitress we've ever had there...but the food was good old down-home diner cooking and it was a REAL train car at the REAL depot...



These were cotton warehouses when cotton was still king. Now they are art studios converted by the Savannah College of Art and Design. SCAD restores MANY old buildings - meticulously, I might add - and uses them for facilities buildings for their students.



If you are a Forrest Gump fan you might recognize this...think opening credits...think following a floating feather...



How about this? Do you recognize it? Its from "Something to Talk About" with Julia Roberts.



And here is the now infamous Mercer House from Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.



How about a 300 year old oak tree? Seriously, the squares and the trees with the Spanish Moss are not to be believed. The entire area is just lush and gorgeous.



And my favorite part of the trip - River Street. Those are original buildings and original cobblestone streets. AND the Savannah Candy Kitchen is on River Street...they have the "original" Pecan Praline...yummy!



Grandma and Grandpa Kleeberger are in town visiting with the boy...I'll have pictures of that soon too...

I've gotten my hands on some baby pictures of Scott and have been looking for the "matching" photo of Jay in my vast collection...I'll try to get some of those up too. Its funny to me how many of the shots that were taken of Scott as a toddler are duplicated in our collection of Jayden photos. I have a cool project in mind for them all.

Now...If I could only get some scrap time!

Peace, everyone!

Monday, April 14, 2008

Quick Post from Hilton Head

So...

On Saturday we left Jay in the care of one set of grandparents and went to Hilton Head for a few days...

THIS is the beach on our first evening here:






The beaches in the Carolinas are protected...so you don't get the building right up to the sand like you do in other parts of the world...besides, in a hurricane, you don't want to be that close to the water...

Stunning isn't it? SO different from the California beaches we are used to.

We rented bikes yesterday and went cruising all over the section of the island we are on...



The island has wonderful bike paths...and since parking is often at a premium, the bikes are fabulous for getting around...its suprisingly close...and the weekly rate for a bike as main transport is EXTREMELY reasonable!!!

AND you can ride directly on the beach...the sand is very fine and packs extremely hard when wet...like being on pavement when wet...but when its dry, its the softest stuff you've ever put your toes into:



Today we had a chilly but GORGEOUS day and did a little day trip to Savannah...what a stunning city! I'll be working on those pictures in the morning so will post some of the amazing pics then.

Until tomorrow, I picked up this little gem to read (of course!)



I've seen the movie -



Several times, in fact...Kevin Spacey is brilliant in it...but never have I actually read the book. After seeing the sites I recognize from the movie, I figured it would be good to read the book that inspired it.

Did you know that there is an entire book store devoted to this book? Its called "The Book" Gift Shop...

We saw the location of the bench in Forest Gump and the cathedral spire that the feather floats down in front of in the opening scenes of the movie...but...seriously...I have to post those pictures tomorrow!

Peace, ya'll!

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

In-SAN-it-y…(and boots)

Say it with me folks…insanity…this is what life has been like for what seems like ages…how in the world do I get from there to here and not really have anything to show for it?

So…since my last blog…so many things have happened.

Firstly, I received some interesting criticism regarding a specific Christian practice and my personal experiences (and fears) about it.

Since this has been my forum to work out spiritual issues, I’ve composed and deleted SEVERAL entries about my spiritual struggles with the issues over which I was criticized. WHY was I criticized? WHAT did I say that was wrong? WAS I, in fact wrong? (this one got me because the last thing I ever want to do is lead a fellow Christian astray!)

When I got myself around to verifying that the Bible does, indeed, say what I thought it said. And I talked with God and sought some guidance from a respected Christian woman with a strong walk. And I dealt with my hurt feelings and persecution…AND I dealt with my worry over what this person would think of me…I had an epiphany! (Imagine that!)

I realized…All this struggle, and verification and prayer and worry and guidance was the point. I needed to be able to ensure that my beliefs and my Bible and my personal relationship with God were aligned. They are. (And that is all that really matters in the end.)

I wish I could really give you more information…alas, the potential for offense is too high…and I’m certain the lesson was this: I have gifts that somebody else might not ever get. I need to understand them the way God outlines them for me in the Bible. When I speak about the spiritual things that I’m working out or have experienced, I need to make sure I’m speaking out of love and truth. I need to continue to practice a transparent walk with God. And, since the Bible promises that criticism WILL be part of being a Christian, I need to lose my assumption that it will always come from a non-Christian source. Sometimes, it comes from our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Ok..enough of that…

Did you all know I celebrated a birthday? It was a great birthday. I had great coffee and a scone, a 90 minute massage, a junk food dinner and chocolate cake with mint chip ice cream. I got an amazing gift from my friend Debbie who knows I love folk art and graced me with a gorgeous and useful hand-made item from Columbia…I have no photo to put up right now, but I will take one and post it.

Here is the obligatory birthday picture:



So…on to the boots..

These are the boots:



Ugly, aren’t they?

This is how these ugly boots came to be a part of my household: We went to Target on a Saturday afternoon and were sort of wandering around talking and we went into this aisle that had rain boots, rain coats, garden gear, tents, etc for little kids...

We are walking along and pass tons of pairs of pink rainboots with little butterflies with no comment from the little guy. Then we pass tons of pairs of yellow boots that look like little giraffe's with no comment from the little guy.

Then we get to these UGLY things and he went crazy, "Momma! BITS! BITS! MY BITS! ME! MOMMA!"

So I say, "Ok, buddy...you don't have any rain boots. Let me see if they have your size." He was leaning over the edge of the cart, trying to get to a pair to grab and just chattering away about these "BITS." They didn't really have his size, but they had one size too big…so I say “Ok, buddy. You can have these boots.”

He hugged the things to his chest and wouldn't let go. He was turning them over and over and chattering away like he won the lottery.

When we got to the check out stand, he wouldn't give up his boots to be checked. I said, "buddy, let the lady scan them and then you can have them back."

"No, momma. MY bits."

"Please, Jayden! We have to pay."

"No" in his little voice with his little brow all wrinkled up.

So, Mommy had to fish out the tag, tear it off and hand it to the lady. And Jay, of course, is hanging on to those boots for dear life and looking at the check out lady like she's going to rob him.

We couldn't put them in a sack, he held them in one had then the other when I tried to put him into his car seat. He had a melt down when I took them away to finally buckle him in.

When we get home, he immediately sat down to take off his tennies and put on his “bits.”



He had a devil of a time learning to walk in them. They are too big and they are stiff. AND, he is so busy bent over staring at them that he can't keep his balance.



He always wants them on. He makes you tuck in his pants so he can see them.



We even have to put them on over his footie pjs



Ah…life with a toddler…

IN-SAN-IT-Y

Peace, ya’ll!!!