You can't see it in this picture, but the tree tops over our house were swaying with the incredible gusts of wind all day.
Last night we went to bed to an incredible storm. I was so tired that only the really loud claps of thunder woke me, but it lasted for quite a long time. Fortunately there were no tornado sirens and we stayed in our beds. The weather over the weekend was so beautiful with temps in the 70s and clear blue skies, that the storms before the weekend and after make it seem as if God did us a great favor by giving us super Fourth weather. I know we couldn't possible have had gorgeous weather all over the country (in fact, I hear they definitely didn't in North Carolina), but I am grateful for ours.
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Faith and I went on our first official bike ride tonight and I am scouting out all the dedicated bike trails that are close by. I didn't fall my first time out, so I consider it a success. Faith chuckled at me a few times until I told her that if she was going to laugh at me I wouldn't take her along any more. She stopped after that.
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In my post yesterday, I forgot to tell you a heart-warming story that I heard at Mass on Sunday. A friend from our church celebrated her daughter's wedding on the Fourth of July. Her daughter was engaged to a Marine and last week he learned he was going to be deployed -- just days before the wedding. A serious conference with several commanding officers apparently got the deployment delayed, and on Wednesday the young groom set off from one of the Carolinas to Columbus to obtain the marriage license for the Friday wedding. His car broke down somewhere in North Carolina. After he had it towed to a mechanic, he learned the mechanic wouldn't be able to have it repaired until sometime Thursday, but not in time for him to make it to the state department for the license. While his fiancee calculated how long it would take to drive to North Carolina and back and whether they would make it in time, he had it towed to a dealership nearby. After explaining the situation to the service department the manager of the dealership gave him the keys to a brand new sports car and told him to bring it back when he returns after his honeymoon. He said they'd have his car repaired by then. The young man explained that he wouldn't be back for ten days, and the manager told him to enjoy his wedding and honeymoon.
There are still incredible people in this world, who apparently have a great appreciation for our men in uniforms and the institution of marriage. Amen.
WOW!!!!!!! What an incredible story. The world needs to hear more about these types of warm-hearted and generous folks instead of all the awful things that are the news day after day.
ReplyDeleteYour pictures are beautiful. So lush! Love it!
I agree, Patty. But, the beauty of that story is, the "Good Samaritan" did it just because he was a kind soul, not for the news or for accolades. :-)
ReplyDeleteAw, that's a great story! It does the heart good to know there are still such good, kind, generous folks in the world.
ReplyDeleteAnd your backyard pictures are all so lovely. It's so peaceful and inviting, with the shade and wooden fence and all. Do you have a large property? It looks so spacious.
What a beautiful story! I needed that smile this morning!
ReplyDeleteI love riding bikes!! I was so nervous after years of not riding and getting back on again. Keep it up, the world is pretty amazing on the seat of a bike!
Kimberlee, we have a pie shaped property in the middle of a cul-de-sac. So our front yard is pretty small but the back is very, very wide. The creek is at the back and because it is a ravine we have an upper level and lower level. The deck and a grassy yard (where the Adirondacks are) is the upper level and the swing set and fence at the creek are the lower. The yard is really most of the reason why we stay here. The taxes are high for the schools, which we don't use. We do, however, have a top notch library. We travel for our parish though -- the reason we would move, but probably won't. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI was really nervous at first, Amy Caroline. But after three rides, I feel pretty confident. I wear a helmet (though I'd rather not) because I enjoy having my brain function ;-) and because I make Faith wear one. I'd like to feel the wind in my hair, and maybe someday on a dedicated path with grassy banks we'll take our helmets off, but that would be an exception. We live in a very cycle-friendly city, with a lot of dedicated trails, which makes it so much nicer to ride! My brother once rode on a trail from Columbus to Cincinnati -- a 100-mile day trip. We won't be going anywhere near that far, but the dedicated trails make it great to ride without fearing someone texting and driving (or any distracted driving) will take out me or my child.
ReplyDeleteWhat an awesome story to end this post with!
ReplyDeleteThat sweater is amazing...the color, the style, the KNITTING!!!!!
Your yard is beautiful! So happy you made it out on a bike trip, how fun for you both!!