A Day to Remember

Today is a day that should be remembered for the freedom that came to my dad 8 years ago.........his flesh was so worn out and he was not able to eat, walk, or even talk on certain days, but I remember something about that time when he was very near the end, it was a day that I knew would be one of my last chances to talk to him, I am so thankful that I was able to tell him that I love him and that I am so proud of him and I would miss him, but that I knew that he would be in a better place because he knew the Lord, and he said......."Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior"........That was very comforting to hear that my Dads faith was still there, even though his body was so gone, he still had his spirit and I would not be saying good bye, but just "see you later". I sure do miss him........words can't explain how much......I was talking to my Grandma the other day,.....she was having a tough time......missing my Grandpa.........I reminded her that the only thing that died was Grandpas old worn out body.....that his spirit is in Heaven with a new body that will never wear out.......and someday she would see him and a whole bunch of others ........we named a few people who we were looking forward to getting to see again, and she said" Oh there are so many people who I am looking forward to seeing again!" It is hard to even imagine the joy that will be when we are reunited together FOREVER..........

Havin' Fun with Julia

Here is Julia putting on a show for us!

Here is Julia Bowling with Wii...she holds the record score in our house....at 222!!

Challenge Progress

Well yes it has already been six weeks since the start of the "six week challenge"........I can say that it has been very successful.........no I have not lost my goal weight......but I am in MUCH better shape and feel so much better physically.......and I know if I keep it up, I will reach my goal weight! .........and my quiet time has been great!.........this has been key to starting the day and getting everything else to flow better........and I wrote a song that was a result of my Bible study and quiet time!......the laundry and the guest rooms are much more organized now......I even managed to organize a few other parts of the house as well.......I still have plenty of organizing to do in various places, but I think this will also be something that needs to be an ongoing practice and needs to be kept up little by little and then it doesn't seem soooooo overwhelming! ....Getting more rest and getting to bed earlier was the one that I didn't like as much as the others.....but it is an important part of being my best at everything else....so I am really going to try to keep this goal a focus as well..........I think the big point is consistency and long term change.......a steady and balanced approach ..it isn't going to do me any good just to do something for six weeks and not continue......I need to make it a lifestyle......not a work so hard until I can't take it anymore crash and burnout.........I know what is too easy for me and I know what is too hard.....and some days it is different than others...... the daily accountability was great, a fresh start every day is great..... and it also gives me a log to look at and see patterns of behavior that I can learn from and understand myself better in the future....... I am going to continue this "Challenge" for another 6 weeks..... I will be gone on vacation some of the time so I will be unable to report sometimes...but I will still be trying to stay consistent and in the habit of being as balanced as I can...............anyone else in???? You don't have to start today and you don't have to end at any point........set your own rules.......just be true to yourself....... jump in the water is refreshing!

RAIN !

This morning as we were getting ready for church, it started to rain!!! A LOT! it didn't last too long, but it was a surprise! and it cooled the temperature down some .......

Dougs parents , Gene and Jeanne, have been gone on vacation to Michigan where they went to a family reunion ....it was the Mc Millen Family Reunion that they have faithfully every 4 years. Pete and Sheila McMillen are cousins of Jeannes and we know them as Uncle Pete and Aunt Sheila....they have always been very special to the Poe family. Pete is known as the Marble man and Sheila is a Art Glass expert .....they have been collectible glass and marble dealers for many years . One summer Doug and I went to Michigan to visit them for a week.....their place was very cool......the guesthouse is a cabin....it was a lot of fun.......Pete is licenced to do firework shows and when we were there he put on a very cool firework display.......I remember the awesome sound of the big sky out there in the wide open where their property is.....it was like nothing I had every heard........

This weekend started out with us selling our 5th wheel on Friday Morning.......we sold it to a couple that came all the way from Northern California!! Then on Friday evening , Gene, Jeanne , Dougs Brother Dennis and his wife Cyndi and two of there kids Alyssa and Christopher came over for dinner......then on Saturday Doug ,Julia and I went out to breakfast.....Alyssa came over later on Saturday morning ....Julia and her played together all afternoon.

My aunt Memory is visiting for a few days and is staying with my Grandma...Memory, Grandma and Eliu came over and brought an apple pie and ice cream and we played with our new Wii game!! The Wii from Nintendo is very cool......we played the bowling game and it is like having our own bowling alley in the house!! Even Grandma played!!

....then back to this morning.......after church (which was amazing ) we came home and Gene and Jeanne came over and we played Wii Bowling and also a good game of hand and foot....( a card game) Jeanne and I played against Doug and Gene and......well..... they didn't win!...sorry guys...better luck next time!

Here is Grandma Bowling with the Wii!

Julia and her Great Grandma Julia...........

And Aunt Memory , Grandma , Julia and I snuggling on the couch ......

Oceanside Rest

This weekend we went to the boat and had a very low key, restfull time.......I got to spend a lot of time with my friend Sheila.....she had her granddaughter visiting her this weekend and she is Julias age!! They did a lot of swimming at the pool and we got to catch up on our visiting. We went to Montery bay to listen to Steve Orr on the patio and as usuall it was great fun. The weather was beautiful!
I forgot to bring my camera this weekend......

Our New Front Yard

We have been having our front yard redone! It just got finished today! I really like the way it came out! Very tropical! With the resent paint and now the new landscaping it looks a lot better!


Here is the house before the recent changes
And After...........

FOGGY 4TH OF JULY!

We went to Oceanside for a long weekend to celebrate the 4th of July! Doug left on Wednesday so he could go out fishing on Thursday and then Julia Brandon and I met him there on Thursday evening . They went pretty far out to fish and managed to get one nice 24 pound yellowtail! We had it for dinner on Thursday night......Matt and Diane had a room at the marina Inn so we were hanging out with them all weekend between the boat and the hotel swimming pool.....they have a lot of activities for the kids at the marina Inn.....games, music, crafts, food........Robert and Jessica and Brandon were also there this weekend. We all had a great time! The weather was nice and cool, with lots of fog for a nice change from the desert heat!!! It was so foggy that no one was able to see the fireworks! There was a dingy parade and we had lots of other things to entertain us, so we can't complain about the fog.

Yesterday we took a long dingy ride and I had my blackberry in my pocket and it slipped out into the ocean......so I had to go get a new one today......I have had that phone for over 2 years and I was so mad at myself for being so careless.......well hopefully I will learn to be more careful !

Julia and Brandon did some fishing of the back of the boat and they caught stingrays!

We let them go of course ....that was a lot of fun.....I couldn't believe that Julias little Barbie pole could catch anything!!Monty took Julia and Madison and Levi for a sailing lesson in his little sabot sailboat......that was very special.......we are very lucky to have Monty as a dock neighbor, he is so good to the kids!

Here is Clint with the Yellowtail!

A couple of dingys from the parade

Doug took Brandon and Julia out fishing on the Dingy