Daredevil Amy!!

I'm doing something I NEVER thought I would do! I'm flying by myself! Ok, first let me give you my flying history..... I have flown several times. I have been told the more you fly the more you like it. But I'm just the opposite. The more I fly the worse I get. Two years ago my sister, Tracy, and I took her two boys, Jake & Buck, to Disney World. I thought I would be ok since I'ld have my two nephews with me, you know, "Aunt Amy" would have to put on a brave face. But we started off and I cried like a baby, tears streaming down my face and all. I couldn't help myself, I hate flying! So back to now.... I am having to take some time off before the end of the year, or I'll lose those hours. So I have put down to have off Nov 7th - Nov 14th, thinking Jimmy and I could do something. But it just so happens he, along with some more guys, are going up to Kansas to pheasant hunt. They're leaving on Nov 7th - Nov 10th. The other night I dreamed about our nephew Benjamin, so I told Jimmy that we needed to go up to Michigan to see him. So he suggested I go while they're gone to Kansas. Well, I just said, "No way am I flying up there and back, plus tickets will be expensive". But the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to do it. So I talked with Sarah, my sister-in-law who lives in Michigan, about it. She told me if I was serious about it she could get me a reduced ticket using Mark's mileage points, Mark is Jimmy's brother who lives in Holley Michigan. So last night I got on the phone with Sarah, she priced me a ticket using Mark's points and it was going to be $37.00 roundtrip! Before I knew what I was saying, I said "book it". So she did and now I'm on my way..... She was able to get me a direct flight from Jackson to Detroit and a direct flight back. So it's not like I'll be changing planes and all.... Hopefully I'll be able to handle it.... Pray for me.... Above is a picture of Benjamin and Mark (his dad, Jimmy's brother); and then Benjamin and Uncle Jimmy. As you can see, Uncle Jimmy was trying to teach him something that could get him in trouble, playing in the bucket of water.....

I love this time of year, Fall! I love the orange and brown colors of the trees. The air is cool so that you only need a light jacket or long sleeve shirt. This reminds me of a trip the women and I took last year to Eureka Springs. We didn't know until we arrived that the Corvette car show and the motorcycle ralley was both going on. We were overwhelmed with Corvettes and motorcycles. While walking down the streets of Eureka Springs my mom said that she should get a picture made with a group of bikers so that she could show my dad the fun she had in Eureka Springs. Basically she wanted to do it as a joke to my dad. I saw this group of bonafide bikers and thought, "It wouldn't hurt to ask to take a picture. All they could say was no". So I grabbed my mom and said, "come on". I was really nervous because I didn't know if these bikers were sweet or mean, it was hard to tell by the facial hair.... But I went up to them and told them the story about my mom wanting a picture to take back home to my dad. They were the biggest bunch of teddy bears! They said "Sure little lady, here, sit on our best looking bike, this bright red one". And they all gathered around, smiled and I took the picture. They were laughing, really showing us a good time. They asked us if we knew Jesus and we told them yes. Before we left, the guy who owns the red bike (the one with the long beard) told my mom that he wanted to give her something. He opened his storage container on his bike and it was filled with christian literature. He gave mom a devotional book. To this day, she reads from that book each day and says a prayer for those four bikers who were witnessing. It also proves that we are not to judge a person by their appearance. Even the gruff looking ones deserve to know about Jesus.

Ok.... I'm inspired.... A couple of people I know has started blogging. So, I decided to post start posting more. I can start off with my summer. In June some girlfriends and I took a trip to Natchez, Mississippi. This was my first trip to Natchez. I absolutely fell in love with the town! We ate lunch at the Carriage House at Staton Hall. Staton Hall is an anabelum home, beautiful. We then drove around the town, then drove to the old cemetery, and the military cemetery. That night we went on a haunted tour. The haunted tour was really neat. The guide told us many stories about Natchez. The last ghost story he told was about this tavern, that is now a resturant. So, after the tour, we just had to eat at this resturant named King's Tavern. When we got there they were having their last seating. So, we got lucky. By the time we received our meal, we were the only ones at the resturant. So us girls had a great time giggling and getting caught up with the lastest... The group picture above is all of us at King's Tavern standing in front of the famous fireplace. If you're wondering what's the story behind the famous fireplace, well, you're just going to have to go to find out..... The picture to the left is the view of the Mississippi River from our hotel room and the picture to the right is the Mississippi River Bridge.

I love Natchez so much I just had to go back. A few weeks ago I took my mom (Dee); my mother-in-law (Betty); my aunt (Marsha); and cousin who is just like my aunt (Linda) back to Natchez. We went to the Fall Pilgrimage to tour some of the annebelum homes. We ate lunch at the Carriage House, toured some homes, ate dinner at King's Tavern, then went on the haunted tour. We stayed at the same hotel that I stayed in back in June, so we had a great view of the Mississippi River. We had a blast! We are planning to go back during the Spring Pilgrimage in March. This time the ladies want to take a horse and carriage ride through Natchez. Hopefully, my sister will be able to go with us. She's not much on this kind of stuff, but I do think she would have a good time!

This posting is getting a little lengthy. So next time, I'll continue with the rest of my summer and the latest happenings...