Wonderful, Wonderful!

We had a wonderful week in Georgia. We left Indy after church on Sunday and after completing another Advent job Sunday morning. A great bunch of Sr. Hi Kids moved many nativity sets from the room over Kevin's office allowing people to put them in place in the sanctuary yesterday. It's that thinking ahead skill that really got a bunch of work druing November. So...off to Georgia not realizing how tired I was. I slept Sunday afternoon for hrs. and hrs. We stopped for an overnight stay just north of Knoxville, Tenn. Doug's shoulder was not being nice at that point and it was dark and rainy. Not a very nice drive. Then on to Georgia on Mon. morning arriving around noon. The place is beginning to feel like our home away from home. The family retreat house is a very old farm house that has it's charm in it's own way. There are leaky windows, uneven floor with soft spots here and there. Lots of space and it always seems to be like it was the first year we visited Dee. It's unbelievable accommodating. Dee stopped by in the afternoon and the mending began after getting the sewing machine settled in the living room. There really wasn't a whole lot to mend but there were pants to shorten, buttons to sew and seams to stitch. We ate our meals at the retreat center...Yoohoo...no cooking. A real vacation. We walked to the new Heritage Center...It's an amazing place with a wonderful bookstore, refreshment center, bonsai shop and plants of all ages and sizes and then to a history of the monastery. The barn part of the center displays how the monks lived after moving to Georgia showing monks living quarters in the barn as well as pictures of building the current monastery. What a wonderful way to explain who they are and what has happened in the past for them. It's a great history center, Dee along with others having much to do with the written words of explanation. We helped with fudge making one morning, watched biscoti being made all of which is sold in the store. Brothers stopped by from time to time. Rick and our Michigan Jared family arrived Wed. afternoon. Jared always stops at the Lego store so Jacob and Adam promptly put together their newest Lego cars. It's interesting to see how quickly they follow the directions allowing their cars to become a reality. Jacob and Adam and Eli quickly seemed to find their favorite porch to entertain themselves. We talked, ate, watch the kid entertainment, laughed, walked, and shopped during the next days. The weather was a treat with sunny clear days with blue sky in abundance. For the first time we were able to take advantage of the screened in porch. We had lots of pretend restaurant lunches with the grandsons there. Gathering bits of Georgia also was a part of the weekend. Pinecones among other things came to Indiana via the truck which was packed to the max and will find a home here and at church. Saturday evening found us picking up toys, cleaning out the cupboards anticipating a busy Sunday morning when beds were stripped and the door was closed with all of us back in our vehicles driving to the gate with a collection of memories fresh in our minds. Georgia and Conyers and another monestary visit has enriched us once again. Feb. 29, Dee or Cassian will be making his final vowes and once again we plan to make a trip to Georgia. Rain followed us home ALL the way. We stopped for an overnight at Berea. The next morning we visited a coffee shop for a little breakfast in the center of town, walked the street in the rain looking through many shop windows and then by 9 we were back on the road hoping that the bumper to bumper traffic would be less. In some cases it was and in others it wasn't. We took a wonderful road through the hills of Kentucky off the beaten trick arriving at Madison, Indiana. Woo...we found the howlers and hills and beautiful horse country in Kentucky. At 3pm we pulled into the house on Hillsdale, unloaded the truck, stretched a bit and finally with a very cold wind at our back were off to Steak and Shake for supper with memories of another time in Georgia with family. Snow is predicted for tonight...Maybe 3 inches. We're not in Georgia anymore. Thanks you Dee for another visit. Love to you.