Housekeeping Duties

No picture today.  After the girls swept, swiffered, did dishes, and straightened up the camper this morning, they went swimming until it started to rain.  I did 8 loads of laundry.   Thank goodness for 5 washing machines up in the shower house.  That makes it go much faster, but it has still taken me all afternoon.  I also got to make a trip to Walmart, my favorite place.  Not!!  We cooked supper on the grill.  Now we're relaxing while we watch Blackbeard's Ghost with Dean Jones.

Last night at 10:00, my husband said, "Let's go on a date."  We left Meagan in charge and took off with no definite destination in mind.  We ended up at the Hampton Inn near the campground.  We ate breakfast at the Waffle House this morning and got back to the camper at 11:00.  It was so nice to spend some time alone with NO interruptions...no one asking for something, no one arguing, no phone calls.  We enjoyed our mini-excursion before Gary leaves for Texas on Wednesday night.

Top o' the River

 Top o' the River Restaurant in Gadsden on the Coosa River

 The girls enjoyed watching the ducks, the turtles in the water, the Great Blue Herons flying over the water, and the other wildlife outside the window.

View from the window next to our table

We enjoyed a noisy supper with the MTQ guys and their families tonight.  There were 25 of us in a banquet room.  Over half of them were kids, so it was quite noisy.  We had a good time though.  I wasn't brave enough to try the turnip greens, but their chicken strips are delicious!!

The Absolute Best Homecoming So Far

 Greater Vision on Saturday night

 Rodney Griffin, the greatest songwriter of our time.  There must be a lot of other people that feel the same way because Rodney was voted the Favorite Song Writer of the Year for 13 consecutive years.

Eric Phillips' daughter, Carli (age 7), singing a solo, I Love to Tell the Story.  So sweet!!  I don't think there was a dry eye in the house.

Saturday night was fabulous!!  Then on Sunday morning, the choir at Hillcrest Baptist Church sang two specials before Mark Trammell Quartet sang.  Then Mark preached.  Every time we are there for church, we come away saying, "Those people know how to have church."  It's like church was when I was a child...people hungry for the Word of God, not afraid to be blessed and show it, many people at the altar.  We just really enjoy church down here.

After the morning service, we went to the gym for a dinner that Mark & his wife, LaResa, provide for some of the people that support their ministry throughout the year.  We enjoyed the food and fellowship.

The Stone

They set Lainey's stone this week.  I'm not there to see it, but Krissy texted me pictures of it.  They are supposed to fasten a vase to that little thing that looks like a bolt sticking up beside the heart.  

The pain is still very great and very real.  I cried last night when I saw the pictures until my eyes were red and burning.  There is still a big, empty spot in our family.  Our friends, Pat & Kesha Barker, had a little girl just 5 days after Lainey was born.  We are spending time with them this week, and I watch Emma toddling around with uncertain steps.  I see her short ponytail sticking up from the top of her head.  I look at her chubby little face, and it hurts.  I wish I had my chubby Lainey to cuddle in my arms.  We miss you, Lainey.

Mark Trammell Quartet Homecoming

 Left to Right:  Eric Phillips, Dustin Sweatman, Pat Barker, Mark Trammell (with Nick Trammell in the background to the left)

The Lesters from St. Louis, Missouri

Friday night was the first night of the MTQ  Homecoming in Anniston, Alabama.  Their guests were the Lesters from St. Louis, Missouri.  This was the first time we had heard the Lesters.  We greatly enjoyed them.  I would describe them as down-to-earth, sincere, and conservative.  Their voices blended well since they are a family.  The young man in the middle is the son of the man on the left.  The man on the left and lady on the right are brother and sister.  Their family has been singing Gospel music for over 80 years.

At one point in the evening, they showed a slideshow tribute to Dustin Sweatman.  I cried through the whole thing.  Dustin is leaving the group and accepting a position in the music department of a Christian college.  We will all miss him so much whenever we go to hear MTQ.  Dustin is one of Meagan's very best friends.  He's even listed as her brother on Facebook.  Mark's son, Nick (pictured in the background on the left), will be taking Dustin's place in the group.

It was a wonderful evening.  The Spirit of the Lord was there.  There were tears and laughter.  Hearts were touched.  Souls were blessed.  The Gospel was presented.  Christ's name was exalted.  And we're going back for more tonight!!!

Space & Rocket Center

 Nanna, Laura, & Leah pose as astronauts at the Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama today.

 Nanna in the cockpit.  Now that's a scary thought!!

 Laura in the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU).  This was a jet pack used in the early days of the space shuttle program.  It was designed as a single-person spacecraft to allow them to maneuver untethered on space walks.

 Heather, Leah, Nanna, Laura, and Kara play with straws and connectors to build unique "creations".

We drove about an hour-and-a-half to Huntsville today.  It was a beautiful drive.  We have a family membership to the Indiana State Museum that allowed us to get into the US Space & Rocket Center free.  It was a nice museum.  They have the prototype of the Saturn V rocket there.  That was the most interesting part of the whole trip.  It is 363 feet tall.  The five engines on the bottom were massive!  Wow!!  All of the exhibits around the sides of the building that is was stored in explained each part of it.  We learned a lot today and had a great time doing it!

When we got back to Gadsden, we met Pat Barker (bass singer for MTQ) and his family for supper at the park.  The kids had a great time playing, and we enjoyed getting to know Pat's wife, Kesha, better.  We all know Pat very well from the time we've spent with MTQ, but have only met Kesha once before.  

After our long day, we were glad to get back to the camper and relax for a while before going to bed.  Elly was glad to see us too!!  She had spent the day waiting for us in the camper.  She's a good dog and loves to go camping with us.  When we are loading the camper for a trip, she goes and sits by the door as if to say, "Don't forget to pack me!"

Water-ful Wednesday

 This is the office/shower house/laundry building at our campground.  It's a very beautiful place.  They keep the grounds and building immaculate.  This is the third year we've stayed here.  The first year we came down here for the Mark Trammell Quartet Homecoming, we had reservations at a different campground here in town.  After one night there, we couldn't get out of there fast enough!!  There was a nest of yellow jackets in our camp site, and we "lovingly" referred to the lady in charge of the campground as The Dragon Lady.  That first morning, Laura got stung on the cheek by a yellow jacket.  While we were trying to get hooked up and get out of there, Meagan and Erin got stung multiple times.  We got on the internet and found other campgrounds in Gadsden.  River Country Campground was the first one we called.  The man there, Butch, was very nice and accommodating.  We moved over here and wondered why we hadn't come here first.  Butch just fell in love with the girls.  He looks forward to our visit every year, and so do we.

This is where we spent our day on Wednesday so Gary could sleep in the camper.  He drove all night Tuesday night, getting in about 9 a.m. Wednesday morning.  We left him in peace and quiet for most of the day while we spent our time in the pool.  There is a kiddie pool on the other side of the big pool and a splash pad.  I'll have to take pictures of that later.  I tried to take this picture so you can see the river behind the pool.  The river runs all the way around the campground.  The campground is almost like a peninsula with beautiful flowers and trees all around the perimeter and swings facing the river.  It's beautiful at night with the lights reflecting on the water.  I don't know if that will show up well in a picture or not, but I'll try to capture it.

The girls were having a war.  They took those foam noodles that are hollow in the middle and put them under their arms.  Meagan and Erin would dip them down under the water so they were filled with water.  Then they would raise them up and aim them.  Then Heather, Laura, Kara, and Leah would get on the back end and blow.  The water would come shooting out.  I don't know if they ever hit each other, but they sure had a lot of fun trying!