Dedicated to the Ones I Love...

Psalm 86
Hear, O LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.
Guard my life, for I am devoted to you. You are my God; save your servant who trusts in you.
Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I call to you all day long.
Bring joy to your servant, for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you.
Hear my prayer, O LORD; listen to my cry for mercy.
In the day of my trouble I will call to you, for you will answer me.
Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord; no deeds can compare with yours.
All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, O Lord; they will bring glory to your name.
For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God.
Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.
I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever.
For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths of the grave.
The arrogant are attacking me, O God; a band of ruthless men seeks my life— men without regard for you.
But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.
Turn to me and have mercy on me; grant your strength to your servant and save the son of your maidservant.
Give me a sign of your goodness, that my enemies may see it and be put to shame, for you, O LORD, have helped me and comforted me.

God goes before me...those who are in Him, He goes before you as well...He is there. He knows all, He is all...and He takes care of ALL!

May God bless the hearts who love Him, and may God move the hearts who know not...

Birthday Party for Luke!

We went to our first "Pump it Up" Party for friends of Eric's from work. Their son Luke is a touch younger than Elena, and one we tease will be her future boyfriend. There were two huge rooms of inflatables that could be jumped on, slid down, and bounced all over. Needless to say Elena had a blast...and shockingly (yeah, right! Anyone who knows Elena knows she IS the Energizer Bunny!), wasn't tired afterward AT ALL. I have a feeling we'll be going back there! :)

Birthday with Mares and Bobby

We celebrated Eric's birthday again in The Villages, per tradition (not that we do it twice a year, but since we moved our vacation to a later date this year we celebrated again...YEA! MORE CAKE!). So here's a happy birthday to you again, Tender! Love you!

At the end of the day...

Elena jabbered non-stop leaving the park, noticing what looked like an ambulance and commented on how that was Mickey's ambulance and they were going to the Disney "hostible". We get to the first exit...and then there was silence...I think we may have wore her out...FINALLY! It was a very good day. :)

And More

Elena's outdoor favorite rides - the magic carpets with spitting camels, the carousel, and of course, Dumbo. Here's also a shot of going into Small world and Elena waving at people at dinner.

At Disney...

Taking the Ferry over to Disney

Disney!!!

We spent a day at Disney...I can't tell you how many times we went on "Small World"...We even ate at the restaurant that has a lookout area over the beginning of the ride so Elena could wave at the boats. We found early on that while our child is fearless most of the time, anything in the dark - moving - was NOT a good thing. Thank the Lord for lots of outdoor, brightly lit happy places. Even the Polynesian room in Small World upset her because it is dimly lit...she'd lean over and cling onto my arm saying, "Mommy, I don't like this part". Poor Baby...Shots are first getting on the road, signs that say "we're here!", stretching in preparation for a great day, and "Oh look Mommy! Castle!"...you should have heard the response when she saw the real one...more posts to come of the day...

On to More "Not So Shy Moments"

And then there was the pool where Elena always found friends to play with...these are priceless...she "showered" the kids with the watering can and they loved it...cute!

My Buddy

Elena has no fear when it comes to people...and animals! She says 'hello' and 'hi' to everyone she meets, and if there's a pet involved, well. look out! She met an adorable dog named Max whom she became friends with rather quickly...I think Max and his owners wanted to take her home...I love the last shot, because they literally are listening to the music together. Loved it!

We interupt this program for a quick announcement

Nope, not finished with the Florida blogging yet...I'm sorry...but I wanted to take a moment to say thank you to the Dads in my life. My own Daddy and my Dad-in-Law, Bobby...I love you both very much and am so thankful for you. To Eric, thank you for being a wonderful Daddy...one I always hoped and prayed I would have for my (our) children...you far surpassed anything I imagined. God is so good. Celebrate your "dads" today, whomever they may be! Blessings!

Sumpter Landing Square Dancing

One of the fun things about The Villages is going to the square (or rather squares, now). They have Vendors Nights, live music and dancing, and much more. Elena begged to dance, so here's some pics of her joining in. She was pretty good, too!

Gator!!!

Ok, there's signs everywhere that tell you not to feed the gators. We've always thought that was funny since we've never seen them...guess what we saw this time?!?! Yep, that there's a gator...EECK!!!

Dinner Together

I think we did more eating than anything else there in FL...not that I'm complaining or anything! Here's pics of dinner out, Elena on the rocking chairs, and us out at the pier

More Pics of FL

Elena enjoyed ice cream at Kilwins and we have some great shots of FL at night...BTW,Elena asked for my mirror to look at the blue teeth...HAHAHA!