thentherestwo.com LIFE, Reflections on Life

We Won’t Forget

I took this photo after traveling to Georgia to make some wedding plans for my daughter’s wedding several years ago. The sun was beginning to set as the planes took off. One by one they started to climb against the sunset backdrop till they disappeared. I quickly went back and grabbed my camera and headed over to the other side of the airport. I couldn’t help but think of the tragedies on 9/11 and what the passengers must’ve felt on that day. Those were some true heroes! May we never forget! God bless their families and the families of those that sacrificed their lives to rescue them!

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College Bound

The Indiana University students are back! We observed many a mom and dad walking alongside their new college student. Boy, that sure brought back memories of me choking up all the way home from Missouri and Georgia.

My kids both left home within a year of each other and I found myself walking by their bedrooms to say something then would quickly realize they weren’t there.

I ended up just shutting their doors. 🗣😭

Leaving our babies behind, wondering when we’ll see them next is a difficult transition. And many of us are/were going through menopause at the same time! 😳 I always said it was God’s cruel joke! We put in all these years of hard work, making lunches, sewing costumes, throwing parties, working in their classrooms, for all of it to come down to moments like this. This is when we do double duty praying that our kids meet professors that align with their upbringing, meet encouraging friends that have the same morals, that their minds only be open to things that will help them grow and become the people they were destined to be.

We’ve worked with college ministries as well as international students. And can you imagine leaving your child in another country? 🙀

We pray our young people come to know God and make a change in this world just by being who God always intended them to be.🙏 .

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Do I Represent God Well?

I took this photo on one of our walks nearby.

I have always loved Francis Chan and this quote came from reading his book “Crazy Love”.

My other Instagram acct deals with fashion, food, home decor and faith. @Morgie_and_Me

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Travel to Virginia (Battle of Bull Run, Jamestown, and Virginia Beach)

Recently, I decided to leave with my husband on his business trip to Manassas, Virginia. A lot has happened these last 5 months, with mom’s stroke, then my surgeries, just life issues always coming at us, and even though I was fighting pain and trying to walk, I was so over this cold weather and really needed a change of scenery, so we decided to go for it. We hesitated whether to drive or fly but ended up having to drive. (At least I could get out to stretch and could wear a tens unit without TSA thinking I was packing a bomb. 😁)

In my husband’s 30 yrs, he hadn’t been to this particular city and was meeting with a new company. So, we decided that it might be nice to also drive a little further to Virginia Beach, after his meetings, just to check out the area.

We have been part of a ministry, for many years, called Operation Blessing that gives to those in need here and overseas, and had watched some beautiful testimonies through the years on the Christian Network CBN. So, we also thought it’d be interesting to visit the studios as well as see Regent University there. The campus was beautiful with it’s colonial style buildings and brick paved pathways.

Video of the campus here: https://youtu.be/dlHcI_kGA2k

We knew the weather wouldn’t be as warm as we would like but the two full days we had there (in Virginia Beach) still were warmer than at home.

There happened to be a St. Patrick’s Day marathon run (along the boardwalk) that we could view from our balcony, and we also enjoyed some great seafood while there. We even visited our first Trader Joe’s where we picked up a few things. The employees were so helpful there!

The wind was pretty fierce when we first arrived, and we were pelted with sand as we tried walking along the boardwalk. I noticed horses along the beach and felt sorry for them.

When we first arrived, we heard, then felt, the thunderous jets flying overhead from the nearby Oceana Naval Air Station.

This is where fighter jet pilots are trained and boy what a rush it was hearing them fly overhead, one right after another. Since my husband works for the Navy, later on, we decided to go on the base to view some of those jet fighters.

We also viewed many a ship using the ocean like a highway.

Each day there were large cargo ships lined up along the horizon; more than we’ve ever seen on any coast.

On the last night, I managed to catch some magnificent sunsets with the sky continually changing by the minute.

Since the trip came up rather suddenly, we hadn’t realized that major Civil War battle sites were literally 7 minutes from our first hotel in Manassas, VA. Both the first and second battles of Bull Run took place here.

The grounds provided some beautiful views stretching out to the horizon and it was sobering to think how many lives were lost on the very land we were walking. There was a free museum there as well as a self guided driving tour. We got out at one point and walked a few miles down a trail noticing points of interest.

I thought it was interesting that the northerners had a different name for the battle than the southerners.

Wiki: The First Battle of Bull Run (the name used by Union forces), also known as the First Battle of Manassas[1] (the name used by Confederate forces), was fought on July 21, 1861 in Prince William County, Virginia, just north of the city of Manassas and about 25 miles west-southwest of Washington, D.C. It was the first major battle of the American Civil War.”

And it was just sad to think that this war cost some 3,000 Union casualties, as well as 1,750 Confederate deaths.

Later, as we drove away from Manassas, I mentioned to my husband I thought Jamestown might be near. I looked down at the map and realized we were then only 20 minutes away, so we took a slight detour and at last minute, toured the Jamestown settlement. Again, I learned many facts I had not realized before.

Check out our Jamestown video link here:

https://youtu.be/IPCVR6xrSqI

So, we saw a lot for the short time we were there and our 12.5 looong drive home took us more southerly through the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains and Smokies. Then, we came home to find our refrigerator had gone out, again, like it had 7 years ago. What a welcome home. 😞

*For more travel videos and pics across the country, check out our YouTube Channel: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCB07TgWeL-brVsLv–C7yYA

or see Instagram highlight video “Midwest to VA” : @Thentherestwo

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My Valentine to the Readers

Even if you don’t have that special valentine today, or you are feeling sad and low… I, even a stranger to you, want you to know that someone DOES love you and saw you before the beginning of time. You are important; you were designed to come into this world, you have something to add, and you are still here for this purpose.

Be you…but be kind.

Don’t listen to naysayers.

Dig deep.

Keep going.

Happy Valentine’s Day❣️

 Psalm 139:15-16 (NLT) – “You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. 16 You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.”

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Fall in the Midwest

This past fall was some of the most beautiful scenery we’ve had here in Indiana for a few years. I did a lot more driving up through southern Indianapolis, Danville, Mooresville, and Plainfield due to the sad fact my mom had a stroke in October. She is fairly young and went in for a rather routine heart cath and stroked. (The odds were less than 1/2 percent.) All our lives changed that day.

I still have a hard time wrapping my head around it completely. When you see someone go from totally functional, driving, etc.. to needing help with everything and their mind just not all there…well, I still think I’m in shock. It all happened within an hour. It wasn’t a slow degredation, nor something we saw coming and could attempt to prepare ourselves for as we did with my husband’s father. He dealt with Parkinsons. It has just been a lot in such a short time with sudden adjustments.

Not only is mom dealing with a severe stroke, but they also found her heart to only be working at 25%. (According to her doctors, this heart thing could’ve been going on for years.) She had already been dealing with severe, undetermined pain for decades, along with pain from fibromyalgia. So, my poor mom has been through A LOT, and having entered that arena of severe pain, especially these last ten years myself, I am realizing just how REALLY TOUGH my mom truly is!!

Mom was over an hour away from us; first in the hospital, ICU, then went on to a rehab facility. So, I had a lot of time to drive and think. As I drove (and prayed), I thought of how much my mom would’ve loved these vibrant colors. She LOVES fall. She used to paint, and I thought she would’ve loved painting all this beautiful color!

While on the road, I positioned my camera to catch some of the fall foilage. (You may have already seen some of my IG photos.)

But here’s some of my video links: Driving through the Indiana countryside.

Driving the new I69 from Bloomington, IN up through Martinsville.

AND my YouTube channel: thentherestwo

I’m not a professional by any means but someday maybe my grandkids will see the clips along with everything the grandparents were up to. 😉

thentherestwo.com Landscapes, LIFE, Photography, Reflections on Life, Spiritual Thoughts

Pathways

You never know what’s just around the bend (good or bad). Refocus to assure you don’t swerve too far off the chosen path you’ve been asked to travel.

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thentherestwo.com LIFE, Posters/Quotes, Spiritual Thoughts

Have No Regrets!

Do you constantly see things in the news or feel frustrated with hearing issues you wish you could change? 😿Well, you can… in your own, little corner of the world. Bloom where you’re planted. 🌻You may not be able to help everybody, but you can help that one person.

Do good. 🌾

Even in your own struggle and pain; REACH OUT to others.

It’s very hard at times, with all that life throws you, but oh so rewarding!

You were designed for a purpose. Don’t leave this earth regretting you didn’t do more to help mankind or to be God’s hand extended.

Waste no time.

Leave this earth knowing you made it a better place!

🙏💕

(pic taken along a walking trail with my hubby)