There and back again~ (click for "Windjammer")

Yeah... we're home!
(Wait...BOO!!!...I wish I was still at the beach!)



The Windjammer is my favorite hotel...click on the link above and you'll see why!
All the rooms are ocean-front with beautiful views.



When we arrived, we walked out on the balcony to look at the Atlantic ocean...and guess what we saw?

Dolphins! And not just a few...but about 15! This is just one pod!

Trust me- those ARE NOT SHARKS! I looked up and down the shore- and the dolphins could only be seen in front of our hotel!

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The Sunsets were stunning-

And we had a lovely time- we didn't do anything extraordinay...we just tried to unwind- and enjoy the time off- the time away. We did go for a walk on the beach and I found a whole sand-dollar! :)

I gave it to Tim~

Bye little dolphins! Hope we'll see you again soon!!!

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Thanks for all your "well-wishes" for this trip! I felt them~

Hopefully my post tomorrow, or later this week, will be a little "deeper" than this one! :)

~ Break ~

I'll be away for the next several days~

I'll be a the Crystal Coast..."Emerald Isle", North Carolina :)
Thought I'd leave you with some photos I've taken in South Africa, and South East Asia.

* A baby red rhino...rare-and facing extiction.

Lions are hunted for their skins-
so these live on huge reserve.
There are no fences inside either!
I was very close...too close some might say.

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"Simba" :) He was friendly...but still a lion- with claws to prove it!

Of course, as much as I loved seeing the animals- I didn't want to take any home with me...but I can't say the same about the children I met~ it was hard to leave them...

And it didn't matter where- or who- they were~ I became "attached" very easily :)

The landscapes were beautiful- I would return to SE Asia in a heartbeat!

But- there is no place in the world like the United States of America...I am blessed- and thankful to be an American. It took my being away from my country to understand and appreciate it.

I love being "out in the world"...but there's no place like home! :)

Hope you enjoyed these- and that you will all have a great weekend!

Made me ache a little~

when I read this...
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"I never knew dawn could break
With peace so deep and hope so wide,
Till that first morning when I awoke,
And you lay sleeping by my side."

-Robert Sexton


What does this make you think of?
Who does it make you think of?
Is this a reality in your life now?

I thought of a morning- over 13 years ago...
My insides were stitched up- had a "grin" that stretched from one hip to the other...the Dr. called it a C-section.
And a warm tiny bundle (ok- he was almost 9 pounds, so not that tiny! :) was snuggled next to me~

I was thinking of my son...

Who is now taller than me- and has completely lost his baby smell-
I miss that!
And I miss the magic of those moments~
of dawn breaking with a peace so deep, and hope so wide.

But I don't miss the 4 am diapers ;)

I'm ready for Spring...ready for a new season...ready to hang my coat in the closet- and sit in the sunshine.

Ready to reach beyond the emptiness of winter... and not really sure how~

Bloggers meet! :) (for Sean's page- click here)

About a year ago I stumbled upon a blogger who was a soldier in Iraq-
He had only been blogging for a few weeks, just like me.

In 2004 and 2005 I led a group that wrote letters to people who were sick/in the hospital, and next we added soldiers (who were out of the country) to our list.
In particular we wrote to soldiers that were friends of, or were related to someone we knew personally.
I was thrilled when I came across Sean's blog because it enabled me to keep writing to someone in Iraq, and it gave me chance to make a new friend.

Sean was in my area for some training exercises over the last 2 weeks, and I got to spend 90 minutes with him this morning at a local mall.
We talked the whole time! (well, if you know me...getting me to be quiet is difficult! lol)

Anyway- I wasn't sure if our schedules would work out- but they did :) It was a lot of fun and I hope we can coordinate our schedules again before he returns to Iraq at the end of the year.

Thanks Sean...it was so nice to meet you! I hope next time I get to cook dinner for you! :)

***If any of you have a chance to meet a blog friend- be sure to do it. It really is special~ :)

Oh Deer! ~ /t and I have a yard full! :)

/t and I do not have the SAME yard though...
His yard is north-west of mine :) He has Buck's, and I have Doe's...

I guess there were 8 or 9...but these were all I could catch with the camera though :)

Shameless photo :) Took this one today- and there's no excuse for it~

Or for the next one either! :)

Hope you all have a "Super" weekend! I'm pulling for...umm- umm- umm???

Whose playing???

Horses and Grizzlies? Ponies and Cubs? A bunch of Yankees I think!

I'd be interested if North Carolina, or Texas, or Atlanta were invloved...but they're not.

LOL! ;)

My dad is from Indiana...so- I'm pulling for the baby horses ;)

Hope my friends from Chicago understand~ Hugs to you Susan! :)