October Update

Once Gator football season starts my car seems to stay in the road most every weekend. Add to that a BIG celebration in Fort Deposit for monumental birthdays and a 65th wedding anniversary and it has been a crazy month.

What a great celebration party we had. As it turned out it was a mini-family reunion for me. George it was great seeing you after all these years. I was trying to remember when we had last been in the same place and I can't remember any time since the one family reunion at the armory and that was a long time ago! It was just great catching up with you. And.....if you decide to stay home and not off on a hunting trip next year we will catch up with you in Baton Rouge when UF plays LSU.

Many other cousins were there and what a special day when we could have Aunt Bill, Uncle Max, Aunt Beth, Aunt Neanie, and Aunt Melba visit with us. I can't even express how special that was for me. I know Mama & Daddy feel so blessed to have such a wonderful family and so many friends.

Unfortunately, my Daddy ended up in the hospital again this week (not from the party!)but hopefully will be home soon.

Last weekend was Homecoming @ UF. What a great time we had. Friday night the big kids (Paige, Ashley & Kevin) went to Gator Growl and rocked to the Steve Miller Band. I got to keep all my little grandboys for the evening......they are all so sweet and have such a good time together. I think I had more fun with the little kids than the big kids could have had at Growl!! Saturday Kevin & Kyle went to Tallahassee for the FSU game while Ashley, Todd, Paige, Zane and I went to Gainesville for the UF/Kentucky game. And what a game........next Saturday will be the BIG game against the Georgia Dawgs.

There is still more to the month of October with Halloween this weekend. But it looks like hurricane season is finally over. It is going to be cold here tomorrow morning and colder on Wednesday morning. That means the water is cooling down and the storms have nothing to feed on. Yippee!

COUNTING OUR BLESSINGS

Early this morning I got a call from my youngest daughter to let me know that her husband, Kevin, had been in a really bad car accident. When the call started with "Mama, Kevin is just fine...." the heartbeat sped up a trifle and anxiety set in. After I heard the rest of the story the shaking started and I had to sit down. Kevin was almost home (from a trip to Miami)when he lost control of his car on rain slick roads and his Expedition rolled into the median totally destroying the car. Thank you God for watching over him as Kevin walked away with absolutely no injuries....not even minor. Everyone who has seen the vehicle is amazed that he was not killed or at the least badly injured. We are all counting our blessings tonight that this story has a good ending. There is much to be done to replace the car and the electronics but THEY CAN BE REPLACED. Kevin could not be replaced if we lost him.

Over the weekend I had a chance to visit Quiet Water and had a great weekend of relaxation. I love October in the Keys. Winter visitors have not arrived yet; the weather is usually good; there are fewer bugs (the biting kind)and the pace has slowed down after the summer months. All the above was true except for the weather. It stormed Saturday night with very gusty winds. Kinda felt like a tropical storm coming through again. At least the extreme high tides seem to have abated somewhat as there was no water over the driveway this weekend. Only two iguanas showed themselves while I was in residence. Hate those things!

I came back through Fort Myers last night and got to spend some time with Ashley and the boys (supervised a very splashy bath time) and Paige, PG and Zane (got to feed the little guy...he loves his groceries). No matter how my day is going..... when I get to spend time with my kids (little and big)I always get a boost. I am looking forward to making that move to FM early next year.

A special thank you to God this evening for watching over my family, most especially Kevin last night. My family is the most important part of my life and I thank God for them each and every day.