We became huge fans of Cafe Du Monde for their “breakfast of champions” well probably not, but very delicious cafe au lait and beignet.  (Just think calories and sugar, you’ll understand)  One morning it was dreary and overcast, but that didn’t stop us.  While we were there I decided to take a quick little photo using the available light I had and am really glad I did.  This image has hung in our kitchen by our “coffee station” since we got back.  It has moved from Ohio, to our current house and will still be displayed when we move into our new place in March.  Here’s proof that the best camera is the one you have with you.  In this case a Fuji Fine Pix that gave me about a 2 MG file that we printed to about a 10″x20″ print, custom mat and framed and it looks fantastic!

This road trip we will miss our good friend and brother Terry Wyatt.  He has been faithfully standing by his mama that has been on a respirator for the last few days.  This story would take too long to tell in a way that would give Terry props for all he has done as a son and caregiver for his mom for decades.  I would like to ask you to join me in praying for them, that they will be strengthened and encouraged and find their peace and hope in Christ alone during this time.  We’ll miss having you with us Terry, but will be praying for you without ceasing.

There is nothing like window light!  A great softbox is a good start, but even the best ones are no match to His light.  Seriously, does that surprise you?  It doesn’t surprise me that mans best attempts fall incredibly short of whatever God decides to do.  We know that “God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten Son” for each of us.  That is an unbelievable and incomprehensible love!

I know that as I think about my son or my grandson’s that there is no way I would consider doing that.  Proving once again that I would be a terrible god!  I think most everyone will admit to the fact that they wouldn’t be a very good god, I guess what I don’t understand is why they can’t admit the need for a Savior.  We know that all our righteousness is as filthy rags before a holy God, that is easy to understand.  But as humans we don’t like to admit that we need help, or we just aren’t good enough to do it on our own.

So my prayer for you this holiday season and start of a new year is that you would admit that you just can’t do it yourself.  You would ask the Almighty God of the universe to come into your heart and live there.  Start your year off right by a real new beginning, new life in Christ!  Not merely a “resolution,” or simply trying to break a bad (and often self destructive) habit.  But a dying to yourself and experiencing total new life in Christ!  If you have any questions on how to do this, I would be honored to talk with you about it.  I did this in 1974 and it has totally changed the course of my life, but more importantly my eternity!

Here is a tight crop of the lower portion of this image.  I love the way Jade is hanging onto his finger, and the weathered look of dads hand.  The contrast is incredible and tells a story all it’s own.  She feels safe and comfortable resting in his lap, and he is looking at her with pride.  No doubt he was thinking about the fact that mom would have loved to be a part of this time of life too, she so loved being a grandma and spoiled our kids rotten!  I remember Christin’s first Christmas,  (which was also just a few days before her first birthday) there almost wasn’t enough room in our VW Rabbit for us to get back to New Philadelphia because of all the presents!  She was the first grandchild and niece, so the spoiling was terrible.  (in a good way)  It’s OK, I totally understand it now that we are grandparents too!

Dad served proudly with the Army Air Corps in WW II.  Here is a picture of “Sweater Girl” the airplane he flew in

I can’t believe dads been gone a year already.  I have to say that I am thankful for my parents and my siblings, we have tons of great memories that will last a lifetime.

I want to make sure I do my job to help our children and grandchildren have great memories too.  So I am looking forward to Friday when Aaron will ride with us up to Ohio where we will spend the week with our entire family for Christmas!  I try to take this week off because it is the one time a year we can all get together…at least this year for one more time.  I am blessed to have a family that wants to get together even to the point of sacrificially investing in it.  Sara and Hugo have to fly here from CA, that isn’t cheap.  Aaron will fly back to GA, Christin and Scott will provide the place to stay for all of us.  We’ll all invest “financially” but the returns in memories will be priceless!  Yes sir, PJ’s on till early afternoon and keep the coffee comin’, sounds perfect to me!

Of course there are some individual shots of Vinie and some with his big sister, I just haven’t gotten to those yet.   They will be up very soon, I promise.

PHOTOGRAPHERS Tech info: Nikon D700 camera, SB 900 flash in Cheetah Q Box, SB 800 background light, TTL Commander mode.  JPEG out of camera with Nik Vignetter Blur and Imagenomic.  No post processing exposure adjustment and about 15 actual exposures in 5 minutes. ( That’s all you get with a two year old and 4 day old)

It is rare that we get to wake up when we want, and sit around casually enjoying  cups of coffee.  (French press today)  Part of the enjoyment is watching Jade run around the coffee table singing silly songs.  Not a care in the world, she has some grapes, toast, and a drink to sip on.  Her parents are very engaged and helping with the entertainment.  Marlene and I are happy to watch, sing along, grab a Kleenex or a drink, or maybe just march around the room with her.  Next on the agenda is a bath for Jade before we start our Saturday.  The girls have planned our day and I’m sure it will be a great time!

If we aren’t too careful, we just get too busy!  Too busy to enjoy these fleeting moments that make up the memories of our lives.  The huge part of the “dash” on our tombstones.  You know, born 1956 -  that little dash is today…and tomorrow and every day until we die!  The bible tells us to “redeem the time”, we are to live our lives like we don’t have tomorrow.  Fact is, we may not have tomorrow, so I don’t want to have a list of things I regret that I didn’t say or I didn’t get done.  Some folks make up bucket lists, and there is nothing wrong with that.  However, I find that my list tends to be more things I want to do with our family and friends.

I should explain the picture of the Yuppa families Halloween costume.  You see, they are the complete transformation from a cocoon to a caterpillar and finally a beautiful butterfly.

This weekend, I am going to enjoy every second that I can while we are here.  I hope to make some memories and maybe even take a few pictures.  What we do and say over the next few days will be what we talk about on our drive back home to Nashville, and for weeks to come.  Gotta go, there is lots to do!

I have to be one of the most blessed guys on the planet. I married my high school sweetheart, and Saturday we will celebrate 34 years of marriage.  Marlene has not only accepted my mid life crisis of motorcycling, but she has embraced it.  This picture of us is after riding a few hours in the cold and rain…there she is smiling, just like always.  Most importantly she has been an incredible encouragement through the good and bad, always looking to the Lord for strength.  Trusting in Him to provide ALL our needs, even when we walked through the valley of cancer and all the treatments and uncertainty that carries.  This verse says it all:  Proverbs 18:22 Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD.  I can’t add a thing to that other than AMEN!

We’ve been blessed with great daughters who have wonderful spouses and are raising their kids as stay at home moms, just like their mom raised them.  Our son is a man I would be proud to call my friend!  He has a heart that is huge and sensitive to the needs of those around him.  He does an unbelievable job at the Atlanta Union Mission and he is making a difference in many lives there and at his “home church.”

We are getting ready to enter a new phase of our lives.  We’ve lived here for a little over a year, and we are now ready to purchase a home here in Nashville.  Thanks to my dad, we can move forward and buy this home.  We are going to settle in a Dell Webb Community called “Lake Providence.”  What’s that?  It is a 55 and older community!  At first we were apprehensive, but after looking at it, we are convinced that this is the place for us.  OK, so we’ll be on the younger side of most of our neighbors.  We are excited about sharing this place with our family and you, our friends.

Like I said, we are blessed!

Just look at the wood on this beauty.  This is a Chrysler Town and Country, and it is huge!

The craftsmanship was so intricate and precise.  It is sad to think that this is what we used to produce here in the United States not that many decades ago.  I couldn’t even imagine what it would cost to build something like this today (or what it would weigh).  I am glad to know that some people are committed to preserving these beautiful vehicles so that we can see where our roots originated.  I’m also glad I had my Nikon with me at lunch so I could grab a few shots on this beautiful fall day.

There were smiles all around from the riders, the passengers and everyone helping make it happen.

You’ve got to love the expressions on these kids faces.  There were non-stop smiles from the time they put their helmets on till they took them off.  The “smiley doo rags” were our gift to them to keep from the day.

Tom and Barbara working their magic on the grill

We cooked up hamburgers and hot dogs, then went into the gym to hear a concert from the Hermitage Hills Mt. Juliet worship band.  They totally rocked the house with great music (like The Doobie Brothers)  It was just plain fun!

Someone asked Poly, “can Baptist’s dance?”  His answer, “some can, some can’t!”

Here are some more shots from the day.  I hope you enjoy them as much as we enjoyed the day.

NBC_9888 NBC_9868 NBC_9843 NBC_9843 NBC_9922 NBC_0054 NBC_0032 NBC_0047 NBC_0051 NBC_0084 NBC_0094 NBC_9622 NBC_9626 NBC_9675 NBC_9697 NBC_9719 NBC_9746 NBC_9753 NBC_9754 NBC_9795 NBC_9838 NBC_9884 NBC_9935 NBC_9956 NBC_9964 NBC_9966 NBC_9974 NBC_9987 NBC_0091 All of the FAITH Rider groups represented presented the Home with checks totaling over $7,000.00.  We are already making plans for next years event, and we can’t wait!

OK, so we may not be pretty, but we are fairly warm.  Besides, it really didn’t matter, we had a lot of excitement and expectation that provided adrenaline to keep us going.  Tom and Barbara were our Road Captains, and did an incredible job of getting us safely there!

Tom giving us some last minute instructions before we pray and hit the road

Nothing like Cracker Barrel soup when you are cold and damp!

Yes, that is rain!  No worries, I’m shooting the brand new Nikon Coolpix AW100…totally waterproof! (only $379.00)

The owners of this shop are incredible people!  They allow us to set up our tents for two days in their parking lot and treat us like family while we are there.  They have a great selection of Motor Clothes especially “Dragon” shirts if you are looking to add to your collection.

Here is a look at our set up.  Breakfast all the staples, Krispy Kreme’s coffee and juice.  Later in the day: ice cold water, G2, popcorn, snow cones, and candy.  We had another table set up where they could take anything or everything.  Biker bibles with stories, bibles alone, tracks, maps of the area, , sunscreen, and lots of other goodies.

So much more to tell, but I will do that in the next entry.