A Dose of Mountain Air - Best Rx Ever!

A couple of weekends ago, David and I had the chance to get out of town for a few days, and oh my gosh, it was just what the doctor ordered! My brother, Hal, and his wife, Mary Jane, invited us to stay with them in a home on Lake Burton owned by one of Hal's close friends. As some of you know, we had been kicking around ideas for a getaway for several weeks and had asked Hal and Mary Jane to accompany us, but we just couldn't come up with the right fit for traveling distance, time, and lodging. In an "aha" moment, while they were visiting their friend, they asked if his home was an option, and graciously, he agreed. What an amazing friend!

I deliberately didn't call the house a cabin as it is so much more than that! It is beautifully located right on the lake with an amazing boathouse with an upper deck and a wrap-around dock AND a separate connecting dock! The home itself was absolutely gorgeous - six bedrooms, five and a half baths, two television sitting areas, a fantastic kitchen, screened porch with fireplace, and 100% beautiful! It was more than we could have ever imagined!

We rode with Hal and Mary Jane on the drive up on Thursday, and that in itself was a wonderful way to start our adventure. We got to spend the ride "catching up" and listening to our "tour guide" (AKA, my brother.) Because he's made the trip so often, he's very familiar with the area and its uniqueness. We made a couple of stops - one to pick up some fresh tomatoes at a roadside stand and one at the most incredible grocery store I've ever seen, an Ingles in Cleveland, Georgia! After our shopping adventure, we stopped at Mark of the Potter in Clarksville before heading to the cabin. We had actually been to Mark of the Potter once before, but I honestly don't think I appreciated it for the natural beauty surrounding it.

From there, we went to the house which, as stated, was absolutely incredible! We couldn't have asked for a more perfect setting for our first getaway since David's diagnosis. 

Although it rained on Friday, it didn't dampen our spirits. We rode past the property my parents once owned on Lake Burton, the property our cousins owned, and the house my grandparents built in the late 70's outside Clayton. My grandfather was born in 1899, so he was nearly 80 when he decided to build a home in the North Georgia Mountains! Here's a picture of the house I took, which other than the wrap-around porch and added deck is still very much the exterior of the house "Grandpa" built. As the Maren Morris song goes, "The house don't fall when the bones are good." By the way, my grandmother named the creek, and my brother has a creek by his house he named the same! I love that so much!

It turns out the local meat market is owned by the guy who purchased my grandparents' home, and my brother had the opportunity to meet him! He told my brother that the whole time my grandparents lived there, his wife "wanted" the house, so when it became available, he really wanted her to have it. He said they took their three children with them to see the house, and apparently, my grandmother loved those young ones! She told my grandpa to "make sure those folks get this house!" And, even though it meant financing the house themselves for the young couple, my grandpa made sure HIS wife was happy and sold them the house! (And they paid them every cent they owed for it!)  

We have so many memories of times spent at my grandparents' home outside Clayton, and it was truly a unique experience to get to visit those old "stomping grounds." Mary Jane even reminded me of the two of us "sneaking a smoke" in the basement when we were teens! Moi? Oops! I'm pretty sure I was the PERFECT child! :) Okay, well maybe my parents wouldn't agree, but I'm SURE my brothers would! LOL! Our oldest was the only one of our children who got to visit the house, although I'm sure he doesn't remember it; he was only about two years old at the time.

We drove into Clayton on Saturday morning for another trip down Memory Lane, and while it wasn't exactly as I remembered it, there were still quite a few areas that were very familiar! It's definitely more of a tourist town now, but hey, people have to make a living! After popping in to THE Reeves Hardware in Clayton where I may or may not have made a purchase, we went back to the house to rest up for the Dawgs game against Mississippi State and a little fishing time for DC. Hal grilled steaks he got at the meat market, and we toasted to a trip well enjoyed. 

Being able to pick up and go is something I think many of us take for granted; however, when a curveball like cancer and the unexpected setbacks it often brings hits you, you begin to look at everything differently. The opportunities to travel become limited, a "day" trip becomes a luxury, and an "overnight" trip seems unimaginable. We are so grateful to have moved beyond the limitations we felt just a few short months ago. God has been faithful, He has been present, and He has made a way when there seemed no way.

Hebrews 10:23 "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful."

September 2022

November 2022

Check this out -Taken TWO months apart!










Does DC look amazing, or what? God IS good, ya'll! Believe it; He IS faithful!

Goodbyes, Hellos, and Giving the Glory

 A couple of weeks ago, a friend expressed a need for a wheelchair stating that the individual in need couldn't afford a chair. After more than 17 years of storing Jon's custom-built chair in our garage, this was our perfect opportunity to help someone!

When you go through a situation like we did with Jon and have incredible insurance, you realize quickly that not everyone has the same opportunity! There was a time, for example, when our insurance approved a standing frame for Jon, a very expensive and often not covered piece of equipment, but as soon as he no longer needed it, we passed it on to another Shepherd outpatient.

Thus, the picture you see is of a much-needed friend at a time, but happy-to-let-go assistive device when we learned of someone else's need. 

Isn't that how God takes care of us? He knows our needs before we do, and He prepares the way for us. Would we have ever imagined Jon would need a wheelchair? Nope, but our all-knowing God knew and He made the way for another family in need. How Great is our God?