We filled up with fuel

 

 



We are not leaving as planned!

Our trip has been postponed and instead of leaving with our dear friends Doug and Leslie this morning on our three month journey south on the intercostals waterway to go see our friends Ron and Kathy Fitzgerald in Port Charlotte Florida. We are staying at the marina.

Since we love the Lord and ask Him for His direction in our lives, we know He has the right to change our plans.  So yesterday on Ron Fitzgerald’s birthday our plans of leaving the dock this morning with Doug and Leslie were changed (postponed).

Rich work up yesterday morning with sharp burning pain in his ankle tendon. He began walking with a limp and said the pain was bad when he tried to walk on it. It seemed to get worse as the morning went on. All of the Shanes Clinic were closed until Monday because of the holiday, so we had to go to the emergency room at UF Shanes. We arrived at one and had to wait until eight to see a doctor.  He gave Rich a pain pill and send him for x-rays. He said nothing was broke in the ankle but it was inflamed. The doctor said perhaps one of the strands of tendon could have broken off. We have to call an orthopedic surgeon on Monday to get an appointment. The nurse put a light brace on his ankle, gave him crutches, and the doctor send us home with a prescription, two turkey sandwiches and two gator aids. We had not eathen anything since breakfast. So now we wait.  We may need to change the means of travel from boat to motor home but we will still go south and see our friends Kathy and Ron in January.

Precious Lord Jesus, thank you for changing our plans. We love and you and are waiting for Your direction. I thank you of your glorious promise in Your Word that says, All things will work out for good to those who love God and are called to His purposes. That is us Lord, we love you and know we are called to be your children so we wait to see the good that will come out of this detour. Please let Rich get the rest he needs and let the tendon heal without him needing surgery, but please do what is best. We love you and thank you for closing this door for now and when you open it again it will be glorious. So now we are going to rest and see what the Orthopedic Specalist has to say.



Be Blessed!

 

 

Christmas Eve at Rick's House

Rich, Lucky and I spent a wonderful day at Rick's House with Vande and our grandsons on Christmas. We love all of  our children and miss them all especially at Christmas.

Colton, Seth and Jeremy

Our Christmas Tree

Rick,s Christmas Tree

 

Colton got a new matress and iphone 6

Everyone was very happy with their gifts. I got a cute sun hat and ankor earings and Rich got new  boat shoes. We went to the candle light Christmas Eve service at the Dinsmore Baptist Chruch with our children and grandsons and it blessed our hearts. One of the members played "Hark the Herald Angels Sing", on a trumpet and it was amazing. It was a perfect evening after an afternoon of extremely wet weather. I love to celebrate the birth of Jesus and this year was very special to me.  

What a beautiful family

Merry Christmas

Be Blessed!

 

 

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas 2014

 

Happy Birthday Jesus

Ortega Yacht Club Marinaa

Lucky is asleep and waiting for santa

Here comes Santa

 Lucky's Christmas

 

This is a picture of my friend Debbie and Richard's boat in the Jacksonville Boat parade.

Be Blessed!

December 23, 2014

 

 

Merry Christmas. It looks like Santa left his vacation home in Jacksonville to make his trip back to the North Pole.

 

 

 

Monday of Christmas week!

Our stocking are hung

 (no not really)

 

This is going to be a busy week. There are still so many last minute things to do and we must not forget this is Christmas week. The greatest gift of all is that God so loved the world he gave us His only son to shed his blood for our salvation. Our right to become forgiven of all all sins and begin a new life as the Child of the King o Kings.  Emanuel  Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus!

Rich is finishing up some projects and I am listening to Christmas music while making lagaga. We are going to our son Rick's house for Christmas Eve morning. They will be celebrating it as if it was Christmas morniing and we are all going to the Christmas Eve service at The Dinsmore Baptist Chruch at 6 pm. My grandchildren will be going to their mothers house by noon on Christmas. It is going to be nice to be going to a Christmas Eve service with your children and grandchild. This truly is a desire of my heart that has not happened too often.

I love my new cushions it is so nice to have the Morningstar looking so nice.

 

 

 





The count down begins

The countdown begins. Rich, Lucky and I are preparing for our first major boating adventure. Our departure date is set for December 27 (weather permiting)  We will be leaving our marina (Ortega Yacht Club Marina) on the Ortega River in Jacksonville and taking the Saint John's River to Mayport. In Mayport we will go south on the intercoastal to St Lucie. In St Lucie we will head west on the Okeechobee Waterway and cross Flordia coming out to the Gulf of Mexico. We will travel north at the Gulf and head up to Punta Gorda. We plan to stay at the Lashley Park Marina for a week and visit our dear friends Ron and Kathy Fitzgerald. We have not seen them in many many years and are looking forward to the visit. After that we plan to go south on the gulf to the keys and return home along the east coast. 

It is exciting to be finally leaving but also scary. I know that the Lord is leading us and He will be with us where ever we go. My first real challenge will be learning how to grab a mooring ball. I will get my first chance in Saint Augustine. I have gotten myself crazy in anticipation of it but know when the time comes I will do it. I found a Hook and Moor Boat Hook that is designed to handle the situation.  

 So with this hook I should be fine.

This picture was taken by Dena just before they left the marina.



 

 

 We had new cushions made for the salon and bridge and they came out beautiful!

 

That's it for now!

Be Blessed

 

 

Preparing for our first real adventure

 

A few weeks ago while I was praying with my friend Phyllis,  the Lord gave me a mental picture of Jesus sleeping in the boat while His disciples were in a panic. A severe storm appeared of hurricane proportions and Jesus was in a peaceful sleep. His disciples tried to handle the situation by themselves, but only growing more frightened as the winds howled and the boat tossed violently. His disciples decided to wake up the Lord and tell them that they were about to perish.  As I watched the Lord open His eyes the peace that radiated from His eyes was amazing. Jesus spoke to the storm and it instantly calmed down. Suddenly the peace I saw in His eyes transcended to the storm and just the sound of His voice and the authority He possessed resulted in a miracle. The storm stopped and His disciples were amazed.

 

Then I hear in my heart the voice of the Holy Spirit telling me this is the peace I want you to have. When I said my peace I give to you I was referring to the peace that passes understanding. There is no storm on land or on the sea that I will not be with you. You need not fear the future because I am with you wherever you go.

 

Last Sunday my dear friend Phyllis and her family left the OYCM for the Bahamas . This morning our dear friends Myron and Dena also left the Marina for the Bahamas. There are only a handful of live a boarders that are still living here since we moved to the OYCM almost five years ago.  Many new people have come and gone but the original group have truly dwindled,

 

Now after years of planning it looks like Rich, Lucky and I are getting ready to leave the dock. An exciting but fearful moment. Yes that is why I believe that I was blessed to have that vision in my head a few weeks ago. New adventures and experiences are waiting for us and very soon we will be leaving here. Most of the projects on the Morningstar are completed. If the weather is good this coming weekend  we will drop the hook and dinghy and teach Lucky to learn how to climb aboard the dinghy from the sundeck. I am so thankful I have the picture of Jesus in my head and the promise of His peace and presence with us. I am also happy that I know my treasured friends will be safe in the arms of Jesus because they love Him dearly and are out on the waterways sharing His love with other boaters. We are so Blessed!

 

 



 

Be Blessed!

Happy Thanksgiving! Be Blessed!

We all have so many things to be thankful for so lets take a few minutes to stop and give thanks to the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. He blesses all of us with His lovingkindness each day and His mercies that are new every monring.

 

This is a poem my sister Maisie wrote when she was in grammer school. I always loved it!

 

Here comes the turkery nice and brown

mother puts it on the tray

but before the turkey's passed around

we bow our heards and pray

The cranberry sauce is red and round

the stuffing looks good too

I'll have some turkery nice and brown

and here is some for you!

Thank you Maisie for that special memory that stays with me every Thanksgiving. You are a wonderful sister.  I love all of my sisters very much and I am so thankful I got to spend a week with all of them in August. I am thankful for all of my family and friends that become dear to me with each passing day. I am thankful to the Lord for healing my son Tom and for His continuing healing presence in their lives. I am so blessed to be living close to my son Rick, Vande and my grandsons who watch out for us and have drawn closer to Jesus and His amazing love in a deeper way this year.
I am blessed to have had my son Brian, Julie and Adam visit us this past year for Easter. Adam finally got a chance to meet his cousins. I am thankful that our house in NY finally sold so Rich and I could prepare to travel aboard the Morningstar. We hope to be leaving the dock in the new few weeks and travel south on the intercoastal towards the Florida Keys. I am thankful that our dear friends Sue and Shelby were able to visit us this past winter. I am thankful to have also received a visit from my cousin Joe and Patty. Both of their visits to the Morningstar were special. I could go on an on and on because these are only a small fraction of the many blessings in my life.

The greatest blessing in my life is spending my golden years with the man I love and have loved for almost 50 years. The greastest gift God has given me except for His precious son Jesus. We know that our Lord Jesus is guiding our lives and providing for our every need. His unconditional love and presence in our lives brings joy and meaning to our lives. We know that our lives our truly in His hands.  Be Blessed this Thanksgiving and please take a few minutes to look up and give thanks to the Lord for His amazing love!

Psalm 46:10

Be still and know that I am God; I will exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.

 

 

 



 

 





Jacksonville Air Show

What an fantastic afternoon aboard the Morningstar.

Rich and Rick

Blue Angels over flying over the Saint John's River

Seth and Jeremy

Vande and Lucky

Be Blessed!