Oh My GOSH!!!! Yuck

I got a e-mail from a wonderful friend of mine today. She made me feel missed and loved. She said she misses me more than Snappy Stop lunches (we would have lunch together on Fridays with another friend at Snappy Stop...we were the Snappy Stop girls). I am reading this wonderful email having great thoughts about times we were able to visit together before I moved from Rochester. There were many times that she helped me at work and kept me from pulling my hair out because I couldn't figure something out on the computer.

As I said, I am reading along enjoying this wonderful email from my friend when I happen upon this picture.



Now for years I have said that I want to see an abdominal surgery. I know...pretty gross....but NO WAY is that as gross as this picture. OH MY GOSH!!!!!

Now I feel for my friend deeply. It looks to be so painful. It looks horrible in the picture I can only imagine what it looks like in person.

My friend I do have sympthy for you....but that is gross. :)

Love, hugs, and Snappy Stop thoughts to you my friend. I hope it gets better soon!

Ebby Ray

I Am Now A Solo Artist

Most of you know that I worked at our church, Christ Community Church, for two years before we moved to North Myrtle Beach a month ago. We had a large staff for our church of 1,500-2,000 attenders. I was part of a group. There was always someone who could answer my questions. One person I went to frequently was Karen F. She was one of the front office Administrative Assistants. See...."one of". There were three in the front office, one in the Kingdom Kids Pre-School office and then me in the Early Chidhood office. That is just the Admin. Assistants. That isn't counting all the Pastors or Ministry Directors. I think that there were 25 staff members plus how ever many teachers there were for Kingdom Kids.

I started my new job yesterday and became very overwhelmed. I found out that I will be going solo at this new job. I will be once again working for a church (I am so thankful for this!! It feels confortable working for a church.) as an Admin. Assistant. I thought that I would be one of two Assistants in the office. Noooooo, I will be the ONLY Admin. Assistant for this church. Part of my duties incude but are not limited to putting together the weekly bulletin which is approx 10 pages, the hymn guide, which is approx. 10 pages, and the monthly mailer, which is on average 20-22 pages. I will also be the keeper of the database, put together the schedule for the volunteers (greeters, ushers, etc.) for the second service, and any other admin. stuff. I will also do weekly reports, attendance, and so much more.

Please don't feel like I am complaing...I'm not. I am just overwhelmed since I am new, and don't know their system yet. The lady that I am replacing is VERY organized and is doing a good job training me. The members that I have met so far yesterday and today are extremely nice as are the two Pastors.

I am having a quiet night tonight to try and relax a little. Ronnie has taken the kids out for a little bit so I could just rest. Boy am I overwhlemed!

Ebby Ray

Peace and Quiet Have Come to Visit Me

So it's Monday and Ebby started her new job today. She was a little nervous and excited.
the kids started school today too. They were all a little anxious. Veronica was down right nervous. Here was our conversation on the way:
Me- "What is the worst thing that could happen to you today?"
Veronica- "I could make a fool out of myself."

Me- "NOPE! The worst thing would be if you pooped your pants! So don't poop your pants and everything will be okay!"

A little fatherly advice for all of you about to start school or a new job. That is a free one but I will have to charge you for any further advice. Am I motivational, or what!?

Hunter was actually excited. He didn't seem nervous at all. He is pretty easy-going and makes friends easy. So he won't have a problem. Cole was excited too. Ebby took him so I didn't get to give him one of my signature pep talks on the way. When they left he was excited though.

Well, as you can imagine it is a lot quieter around her this morning. I am actually basking in the glow of this delicious silentness. I will be taking a nap today...in silence.

Quick note- I made over $100 in tips last night at the pizza place. It was a good night.

Have a great day. I hope your is as silent as mine.

Metro or Not...You Decide :) By Veronica

Okay...today me andm dad (Ron) were watching 'What Not to Wear' and it made me wonder....does it make him even more 'Metro' for watching this? So i'm asking you to help me decide. Take this poll and we'll settle this once and for all.

PICTURES!!! YAY!!!

Finally! SOme pictures for your enjoyment.
Our House.
Our new neighborhood.
I can't believe we live here!
The kids frolicing in the Atlantic.
Cole & Veronica. Awww...how sweet.
Rubbing it in :)
More rubbing it in :)

Now that we have photo capabilities we wil post pictures more often.

Love you guys!

RR

No More Silent Treatment...Please?

I want you all to know that it is okay to leave comments. In fact, somebody, anybody, leave a comment. We have had several posts with no comments. It makes me sad.

We know that you are reading this. The counter tells us so. We also know that this can become mundane and long-winded. But, we love you guys and look forward to hearing from all of you. So, the silent treatment is not fun.

Let us know you have been here. Thanks.

RR

Weather Update, Please.

IT is raining here today. This is good as we desperately needed it. It also reminded meof the continuous rain in the the midwest, including Rochester. Would one of the readers from Rochester give us an update on how Rochester is fairing? I really hope that every one has made it through unscathed.

In other news... I GOT THE JOB AT HOUSE OF BLUES!! I go in today to fill out new-hire paperwork. I am so excited!! Next week I have orientation and I guess after that I will be on the schedule. YEAH!!

I found out yesterday, after weeks of trying, that our camera's software is not compatible with this old school laptop that we have. SO I will have to attempt different means of getting and transferring pictures. Now that I know, I will go to Wal-Mart and get the photos put onto a CD. YOu can look forward to seeing our lovely faces very soon.

Random Wonderings

I have been thinking about some things lately. No it doesn't hurt my head.

I wonder who convinced women that they needed to shave their legs? Was there ever a point in time when they thought, "Oops, maybe we shouldn't have started this little trend."

I wonder who started the trend of shaving underarms?

I wonder who started the trend of plucking your eye brows?

I wonder who started the trend of coloring or highlighting your hair?

I wonder who started the trend of counting calories?

I wonder who thought that people should go to work at 8:00 or earlier in the morning?

I wonder who thought that two of my favorite shows should be on at the same time? Just kidding on this one. It just irks me is all.

I wonder who started deciding which people are beautiful and which people are not?

I wonder how people came up with the idea that God doesn't exist. This baffles me.

I wonder why the Lord gave me a husband and son that like to play the drums? This proves to me that the Lord does have a sense of humor....I just happen to not be laughing with Him. My boys drive me crazy with the constant tapping, noises from their mouth, and beating on what ever is within reach. I am very proud of their tallent though!

I wonder why it is so stinking hot outside.

There! That is what I am wondering while I sit here watching TV and typing on the computer. A little scary that all of that is happening at the same time. It is scary, but hardly surprising.

Oh, something shiney.....

Ebby Ray

Hot Date!!

I get to go on a date with my wife! We are going to the beach--alone. We have not been on a date in quite some time. It will be fun to catch up and reconnect.

Later tonight we are taking the kids to a pizza place for dinner. Someone gave us a gift certificate to East of Chicago Pizza. We've never been, but it sounds yummy.

No work...wife date...the beach...family date...GREAT DAY!

Lazy Day

We tried another church today. It was okay. No fireworks though. The pastor was good and the worship was good. We heard about it from a guy who knows Ebby's mom. We wanted to intoduce ourselves but they took the weekend off. We will porobably go back there at least one more time just to get a feel for things.

After church we swung by the store got some stuff for lunch and then settled in for a nice quiet lazy afternoon.

Last night was my first official night as a driver for Ultimate California Pizza. It was really busy. While it isn't that glamorous and someties my pride gives me a hard time over it, It is lucrative. Between my hourly pay, tips and $1 per delivery commission, I made over $16/hr last night. It is a good way to make some quick extra cash.

I still haven't heard back from House of Blues yet. If I don't hear back by Monday I will give them a call and check the progress. I would love to have that job.

HOpe you have a nice lazy Sunday like we are.

I got a job!!!!

Yesterday morning I went on a job interview at a church here in North Myrtle Beach. I then had to go to Myrtle Beach to run an errand. On my way back to NMB I got a phone call from the Pastor of the church and we talked for about 30 minutes. We talked about family, our beliefs and about ministry. It was a great talk.

After hanging up the phone I went and did a couple of things with my mom before going home. An hour later I was walking through the door to the house when I received a phone call with the job offer at the church. I was so excited!! I HAVE A JOB!!!

I start on the 27th and the church is only a 5 minute drive from our house. I will work from 8-5 with a one hour lunch break. Not a bad schedule. I could actually go home during my lunch break if I wanted.

I was getting so bummed out about all the resumes that I had sent out and had no response from. Then I go on this interview...only the 2nd one since moving here...and a couple of hours later they offer me the job. I am so thrilled.

Enough of all that.

Things here are going well. Some of the things that bothered me when I lived here before are starting to already bother me again. For example you never know when the swing bridge is going to be working or not. There is a bridge leading from the Cherry Grove area over to where we live and not many tourists know about it. It has to swing to the side for the larger boats to come through. Some times the bridge breaks, therefore you may be stcuk sitting there waiting and not knowing that the bridge isn't going to turn back so that you can cross. This happened yesterday and I was getting supper impatient, but trying to be good because the whole family was in the car with me. Needless to say I ended up turing around and going a different way.

Another thing are the people that don't know where they are going. I have fallen into a grumpy state of mind where "tourists" are concerned. I have to get over this. I don't own the road and these people are what make the Grand Strand possible. To eleviate my frustration I try to take back roads and stay off the main road (Highway 17).

I will stop my complaining. I think that I am going to take my family to a beach just across the North Carolina state line and go looking to shells and beach glass. That should make for a fun afternoon.

Later taters,

Ebby Ray

Check One Off the List…And Learning Lessons. By RR

This one is a little long but it is a good read! Here goes...

This past Sunday we checked out our first church in the area. It came highly recommended by a local family that we know. Let’s just say we will be moving on to check out other churches. The people…talk about friendly. There were several people that were very helpful and gave us directions. One lady even told us to meet her after first service so she could take our kids to their youth service. IT was remarkable. However, the service style was just a little too different for our liking.

Saturday, the kids and I had quite an adventure. First, we went to one of the local surf/skate shops. We got to talking to one of the kids who works there, Matt. He told us about some of the beach spots we needed to check out, now that we are “locals.”

So we proceed to a spot that sounds fun and easy to get to called The Inlet. This place was not quite as crowded as some of the beaches we have been to. The tide was way out so we had to walk quite a way to get to the water. We put all of our stuff down and all four head for the water.

The kids all have boogie boards and I opted to body surf. The waves close to shore (inside) were choppy and small so Veronica and I started looking toward the waves that were farther out (outside). They were still very choppy but a little bigger. Hunter and Cole were still messing around together—so I thought—on the inside waves. The water where they were was knee to waist deep.

Veronica and I are pretty far out but I can still touch. In fact, the water was only up to my chest. I turned around to look for the boys and I could still see them. Hunter was a little farther out than Cole now but I didn’t think anything of it. When I turned around to talk to Veronica she was probably 20 yards farther out than before. I realized that V and I were caught in a rip-tide.

I grew up at the beach so I know what to do in the event of a rip tide. Lesson 1: Do not panic! Lesson 2: Do not swim toward the shore while being sucked out to sea by a rip-tide; you will get tired of swimming and die. Lesson 3: Swim parallel to the shore until you are no longer being sucked out to sea. Lesson 4: Swim to shore and collapse on the beach realizing you almost just died—Okay I made that one up.

SO calmly I call out to Veronica to start paddling her board parallel to the shore. I don’t think she realized what was going on…I don’t tell her. As she paddled, I swam to the north. We were making headway and pretty much out of the rip tide. We both turn around and look at were we had just come from when we see two heads and two red buoys coming toward us. TWO LIFEGUARDS WERE COMING OUT TO RESCUE US!

Vern and I felt fine. We were no longer in peril. We weren’t tired or panicked or anything. We looked at each other and said, “Oops!”

The lifeguards got to us and asked if we were okay. We said yes. They told us we were in a dangerous spot and to go into shore. We apologized and thanked them profusely. We were really embarrassed because we didn’t feel like we were in any eminent danger. Veronica thought one of them was really cute.

Anyway, the other lifeguard disappears and about three minutes later we see him towing someone else on a boogie board in from where we had just swam from. IT WAS HUNTER! He tried to follow Veronica and me out to the bigger waves. What a ding-dong! Cole was still wading around in the shallow water. He knows his limits.

After that, the kids and I congregated on the shore as the lifeguards kept going in after people. I told them that we need to realize our limits and that the fun can turn into danger in a matter of minutes. I reiterated the rip tide rules with them and pointed out to them that the Lord had protected us from anything serious.

We decided that we had had enough excitement at The Inlet for one day. We weren’t quite ready to go home yet. So, we finished out our beach time at our normal crowded beach where the waves were calmer and there were no riptides to be found.

Will someone reiterate the sunscreen rules with me, even though I grew up at the beach. I covered my face, neck, and nose and that’s it. My shoulders arms and chest got fried. Now who is the ding-dong?! We learned more than one lesson that day, didn’t we?

A second post today....wow.

I was looking through a disk I had from stuff on my work computer at Christ COmmunity Church and found this picture. Wayne Jensen (stripped shirt), Jennifer Jensen (polka-dotted shirt), Brandon Ganz (white shirt), Heidi Ganz (sitting next to Brandon), Ronnie (leaning over Brandon) and then there is me in between Jennifer and Ronnie. You can barely see me. I actually look like I have a tan instead of being "stay in-doors all summer" white.

This was when the six of us went up to the Twin Cities and ate way too much dinner at Benihana Japanese Resturant. We had such a good time that night. Ate dinner and then laughed way too much after eating making a couple of us feel a little sick to our stomachs.

It you look closely you will see a lot of saki glasses in front of Brandon. It was his birthday we were celebrating. The other thing you will see is Ronnie groping Brandon. The next thing you will see is that Ronnie and Brandon are really enjoying this. If you ask me they are enjoying it a little too much.

I just thought that I would share this fun moment with everyone. These are four more of my favorite people. Brandon, Jennifer and I worked together at Christ Community Church and they always made me laugh. Heidi, Jennifer and I were on the Women's Ministry Council together and did a lot of laughing at our meetings as well.

The six of us had dinner together several times and I miss those very much.

Heidi - I am glad that the girls always came along. It made for a good laugh.

Love you all very much,

Ebby Ray

On the Road Again...

Well I am officially a driver for Ultimate California Pizza. I start tomorrow at 5 pm. I will start learning the computers the first day, then I will start driving on Saturday evening. The manager said, "That's where the real money is!" Positive cashflow here we come. Well...slowly, but still positive.

I had the second interview at House of Blues last night. It went very well. I met with Nick and we had a nice talk. He is the Music HAll Manager. Which means he handles all of the staff and on-goings in the music hall. Everything from security, bartenders, hostesses, stagehands, etc. He seemed to like all of my answers and we had a good connection.

At the end he asked if I was from California. I said, "Yes! Why?" He said, "You remind me of one of my really good friends and he was from Southern California."

All that's left is the background and referrence checks. They will call me after that and let me know if I got the job.

It would sure be fun to hang out around music and musicians and get paid for it. The only draw back would be dealing with drunks. Nick said that that wasn't too bad at all. His word was "rare."

I also got some information about substitute teaching. I won't be able to start that until Oct. The state requires that subs take a workshop and the next one is not open until Oct.

MY next post will be the exciting story about the kids and my ocean adventure this past weekend. It is a DOOZIE. So stay tuned.

RR

Tell ME!!!!

Today I got a phone call and I will refrain from stating who called me. The person checks our blog regularly and they will know who they are. Just to let this person know I am still thinking about this phone call. (to let everyone else know...this wasn't a bad phone call. It was one of those I have something to tell you but I can't tell you right now phone calls)

Anyway...I wanted to write a little something about 2 of my favorite people. Don K. and Becky R. were co-workers of mine at Christ Community Church as well as friends of mine and Ronnie's. Don is the worship leader and Becky is his assistant. Just to let you know it is Becky that does all the work. If you know Don personally do not let me try to tell you that he does all the work. Becky does it ALL! She is the worker and Don just listens to music in his office all day. We could all hear the music in the outer office.

Some of my favorite times at work was during the monthly staff meeting. Don and Becky would sit in the same corner of table during every meeting. Jennifer J., Brandon G., and I would sit on the same side of the room. I would get so craked up listening to Don make jokes about other staff member, especially Pastor Paul. I loved the staff meetings just because of that. Otherwise they were pretty boring. :)

Don and Becky were some of our biggest supporters when Ronnie lost his job in March. They would call and offer encouragement and ask how things were going. They would also make us laugh.

Don and Becky made being the wife of a worship team member who played 3 weekends out of the month very easy. I remember giving them a hard time for giving Ronnie two weekends off in a row. Don't do that to me. He drives me crazy when he doesn't get to play.

I just wanted to write a little about them. They are part of a big group of people that I miss in Rochester. I have a some that are true "favorites" and they fall in that group. Besides, one of Becky's daughters is going to be my daughter-in-law one day. I don't care how far apart we live. :)

(Was that good enough? Now you can send the money you said you would pay me to write something about you. I think that you have our new address in PDS.)

With lots of love to Don and Becky (they actually didn't tell me to write this part)

Ebby Ray

Good News!!! (By Ron)

Just a short note. So, I went out today with the mission of getting a job or jobs. Ultimately I hope to be a substitute teacher while I am in school. But there are some hoops to jump through that will not allow this to happen before the middle of September.

Anyway, I need something in the interim to pay the bills. So, I went to House of Blues here in Myrtle Beach and filled out an application. They gave me an interview right away and it went great. The lady and I talked for over an hour and I feel like shew wants to offer me a job. She has to give my application and info to the heads of the various departments in which I applied. I applied for stage hand, which would entail setting up and tearing down the varios musical acts that come through town.

She also asked if I would be interested in security. I said "Sure!" She asked if I had ever done any security. I said, "Well, no, but I have seen Road House with Patrick Swayze!" She almost fell out of her chair laughing. I am about 90% sure that I will be hearing back fom H.O.B.

This would also be an evening and weekend job that I could keep through school.

I also went to Ultimate California Pizza and asked if they had any driver positions open. It just so happens they do. I got hired on the spot. I have orientation on Wednesday.

I Like My Car

A month or so ago I was looking for a new/used car for me. I was determinded to get a VW Bug...the new version. I mean I was determined that I was going to be driving one of these cars. Ronnie wasn't in agreement with me, but if I could find one then I could get it. Well I looked and looked but couldn't come up with one in the right price range with the right mileage. Ronnie in the mean time found a VX Passat wagon that he thought I should get. It would be good for traveling and loading up all the kids stuff and cart them everywhere.

Due to some circumstances I had to have a car in three days and I just couldn't find a Bug. I finally gave in and said ok to the Passat ONLY because I had run out of time. I was against this car from the beginning. I still wouldn't admit that it was ok...until this past week.

On our moving journey to South Carolina the breaks went out in my car. We took Ronnie's car off of the trailor and put my car up on it until we could get here and have work done on it. I had to look at my car behind the moving truck from Kentucky to here. Then the car shop had a hard time getting the parts for it. I didn't have my car for 7 days between moving and getting the parts in.

Here I am admitting that I missed my car. I really like my car. It has great air conditioning, which I MUST have here at the beach, drives great, has tons of room, and is quite cute.

I know this is a lame post. Why write about my car? I got my car back this morning! I really like my car!!!

Here is something else that is rather hard to say. Ronnie.....was.......right. Ugh! That is so hard to say. He was right that this car was better suited for our family than the bug would have been. I was trying to have a mid-life crisis and not care if the whole family fit in my car. I really wanted to get the car that I wanted, not the car that was "best for the family". Well I wasn't having a mid-life crisis so that didn't work at all.

I really like my car!

Ebby Ray

HOT, HOT, HOT

It is so very hot here in North Myrtle Beach, SC. Thankfully it has rained the last two nights and broken the humidity. The day that we arrived (August 6th) the heat index was 105-110. Good grief Charlie Brown!

I am not sure if everyone knows...well if you know me at all you know that I do not like the heat. Summer and I don't get along very well at all. Even before we moved to Minnesota in 2003 I would say that I could have snow year round. Now that we are back to my home state of South Carolina I will say it even louder....I wish there was snow outside. When I do out side I automatically break into a sweat.

Ok enough complaining about the weather. There is absolutely nothing that I can do to change it so why complain about it.

We are still trying to unpack. Our new house it a bit smaller than our old house. I like the new place much better, but we are trying to figure out what we can do without and what we need. This is going to be good for all of us. We don't need half of the "stuff" that we have. Also, we don't "need" as much space as we think we do. Hey, we lived in a two bedroom apartment for a year. Can't get much smaller than that place.

We have had a good time over the past week being on vacation. We will be getting back into the real world starting tomorrow. Bedtimes, chores for us all, work (hopefully) and other things that happen in real life. Having a week of being taken out to eat, my mom fixing dinner for us (like she is tonight) and going to the beach or pool each day has been very nice, but vacation is over. Well, we still might go to the beach or the pool each afternoon, but everything else needs to get back to normal.

Normal? As normal as any of the Rays can ever be!

Ebby Ray

Whirlwind Trip

Sorry I have not posted in several days. We have been busy as you can imagine. Lots of stuff to do and get done in our new place.

First of all, we had way too much stuff for our new place. So we have been deciding what to keep or throw with limited storage capacity. I actually love this process of cleaning out our stuff and our lives, per se. How much "stuff" does one family really need anyway?! I didn't realize how much junk we had been accumulating over the past several years. It is a fresh start in many, many ways. I love it.

I just got back yesterday from taking my good friend Mike Forde to the airport in Charleston SC. We left on Tuesday evening and drove down to Charleston. We got into town late and went to the downtown area to find some food. We were starving! We ate at a place called T-BONZ. It was one of the only places left open when we finally got around to eating. We both hit the wall as we were sitting there waiting for our food to come. Moving...going to the beach...and driving for three plus days finally caught up with us.

The next day Mike had an "informational" interview at MUSC for dentist type stuff. He loved Charleston and didn't mind the searing heat but they were not filling the position he was inquiring about until next July. So, It's off to CA for Mike and Heather.

Yesterday was Hunter's birthday!! He is 12! After I got back from Charleston, we went out t dinner to celebrate Ebby (7/28), Walt-wee (7/29) and Hunter's (8/9) birthdays. We ate at a yummy seafood restaurant called Sea Merchant's. It was fun.

This is one of the main reason's we moved here: to be able to just hang out, have dinner, run errands, WHAT EVER, with Beth and Walt. It has been great so far.

We also have discovered the pool in our complex. THERE IS A JACUZZI!! The kids love the pool; dad loves the jacuzzi. We have gone every day so far.

ONE LAST THING- I have discovered one thing about myself--I am not good about taking pictures. I apologize for this. I promise to work on it and get some interesting and informational photos onto this blog. Please bear with me.

Also, take this little poll. This way I will know what to do about the reader comments.

Three Days in a Car with 2 Boys younger than 12.

Well hello everyone! As you probably know from my dad's last entry we are now in South Carolina. Today we went to the beach and the water felt like pool water. It was wam and GLORIOUS!!!! The only problem was the waves sucked. i tried to go booggie boardin' but there was squat out in the water. No waves...NOTHING! Well, not any good waves anyway. I'm really starting to miss all my friends back in the good old MN. It's starting to sink in that this isn't just a vacation. We're really staying here in South Carolina. That's just plain crazy!! Well I'm going to sign off now. Have a wonderful night.

Sincerely,
Veronica

WE MADE IT!!!

I want to tag in to last nights post. I only had a short time, so I was trying to be brief.

I had so much fun at the WIlson's. In life we have some moments that are etched in our minds and hearts as amazingly meaningful and wonderful. This brief time with our family and friends on Sunday morning is now officially one of those moments. It was just so fun and awesome to laugh, talk, catch up and rekindle our relationships with everyone.

Now on to other topics. We MADE IT TO THE BEACH!!! We rolled into N. Myrtle Beach at around 4:00 this afternoon. After hugs and greeting from Beth, Walt and the doggies we got the tour of their house and caught up a little bit.

Then they took us over to our new townhouse. We hadn't seen any pictures or anything so I was just a little worried. I didn't know what to expect. Then we drive up to this CUTE townhouse complex. It definitely looks like a beach town complex. The outside is beautifully landscaped. The facade of the buildings looks kind of like a beachy southern plantation style thing. I will attach some pictures soon.

The inside is kind of a standard townhouse motif, but the kitchen is really nice with black appliances nice countertops and cabinets. It has three floors. Floor one is the living/dining/kitchen and a half bath. Out the back door is a rather large screened in porch. Floor two has two bedrooms and two baths. The third floor is one big room with a dormer and a large closet. It will be perfect for the boys anfd the drumset will go up there too. We will, of course, check with the neighbors about the drum thing.

After we checked out our new pad, the kids, Mike and I went to the beach. I have to say...I was nearly in tears. I just kept saying to myself, "I can't believe we live here." Also, "Hey kids, guess what? We live here!!" IT sounds silly but I cannot put into words how much it means to me to be living at the beach again. It is really good for my soul, and an answer to my prayers. Also seeing my kids enjoy the ocean was a wonderful treat and smile inducing. I made the mistake of taking the ocean for granted last time I lived near it. That will not be happening again.

Well enough for now. We will be unloading our stuff into our new place tomorrow. It should be... fun?

On the Road, Again!!

SO here is the update! We left yesterday, Saturday, At about 7:30 in the morning. Our efforts were not quite organized like they have been in trips past. Ebby discovered that driving behind the truck at only 70 MPH was not something that was overly appealing to her so we decided to just kind of break up into 2 groups. 1 group, me and Mike, 2nd group Ebby and the kids. For what ever reason we decided to meet up at lunch. We stopped at one of the "oasis' " along I-90 in Illinois. So ebby and the kids had got some distance ahead of us and had to wait about 30 minutes for us to arrive. They were already done eating by the time Mike and I got there. Overall that stop was more than an hour. Basically throughout the day we did not coordinate our potty, fuel, and food stops. That is what it boils down to. It turned into a very long day. We weren't that worn out when we got there though. Also on the way we discovered that the brake pads on EB's car were worn down and grinding. BUMMER! We were trying to get service set up for Sunday. It was not working and we couldn't quite figure out what to do. So we called Beth, EB's mom, and told her the situation. Walt, EB's dad, overheard the conversation and came up with the brilliant solution of switching the vehicles. So, this morning we put the Passat on the trailer and EB and the Kids drove my car. Brilliant!! Thanks Walter Wee Winski!

We stopped at my sister's house in Bowling Green KY. We had cake and ice cream to celebrate EB and Hunter's birthdays. We all chatted and hung out until late then went to bed. We woke up in the morning to the wonderful smell of biscuits, eggs, bacon, coffee, etc. It was wonderful. Scott Ray my cousin and our friends the Jonses all came over. We all ate breakfast together. Very nice. After breakfast we were transfering all of our jun ki from one car to anther and came across my disc golf discs. John Jones and Scott both jibed me a bit about it. Until we turned it into a competition around the Wilson's neighborhood. What a HOOT! Both mikes joined in and we sahot about 6 holes of disc golf with "as you go" rules and challenges. I won...of course. They were all belivers after a fun round of D.G.

Anyway, We drove to the other side of Atlanta and we are nestled in for the night.

More later

RR

The Last Day in MN

Well, this was the last day for the Ray family in Rochester, MN. What an awsomely cool adventure this has been.

We started out the day packing the truck up. We had quite a few friends show up to lend a hand. Thankfully Steve Roy showed up to help. His dad use to own a moving company and Steve worked for him. He packed a truck like I have never seen a truck packed before. It was amazing. Also, lending a hand in the truck was Dan Howe. They were the dynamic duo. The whole thing kinds of turned into a social event. 8 of Veronica's friends also showed up to lend a hand. Marcus Eckert, Phil Lindskog and Jordan Hyer were a big help. Us girls just lind of wandered around and found things to visit about. One of the MK's from Cambodia, Josh Manfred, and his girlfriend, Kelsey Johnson, also showed up and saved the day. They did a lot of cleaning around the house after things were moved out of a room. Seriously, we would have been there 3 more hours a least if it wasn't for those two.

After things were packed and we finished cleaning the house there were a few final errands to run.

Our last night in Rochester was ended on a great note. We went to Heidi and Brandon Ganz's house and met up with them and Wayne and Jennifer Jensen for appetizers. We also went to see the new Jason Borne movie that is out. Good movie. Since I am sure that none of you are going to go see it I will get right to the ending.......just kidding. Good movie! Go see it!

It is time for us to get in bed and go to sleep. We have a very big day tomorrow. We are driving all the way to Kentucky and will spend the night with Ron's sister, Deanna, and her family. That will be a great time. I am sure that the neices and nephew are so big.

Our last night in Rochester, MN....wow.

Ebby Ray

Eat and Pack and Eat and Pack and...

I think I mentioned before that people have been inviting us out to eat like crazy. IT IS AWESOME!!! Not only do I get to eat with all of my favorite people but I get to eat pretty awesome food.

Check this out. Here is the rundown on all of the eating out I have done since last Thursday.
Thursday: dinner w/the Dieter's
Friday: Lunch with Dan Howe
Sunday: Lunch with the Rho's and Forde's
Monday: Lunch w/ Pastor Steve
Tuesday: Caribou Employee farewell party
Wednesday: Breakfast at the Eckert's...and lunch with Don Kundert

Ebby has been doing some eating out of her own too. Thew kids havwe been spending massive amounts of time with their good friends too. Lots of final sleepovers

When e are not eating we have been packing like crazy. It finally feels like we are making some headway. We are actually 90% packed up. We have moved all of the boxes and some of the furniture down to the garage. We will have many hands to help us pack the truck on Friday. I think it will only take a couple of hours. If it takes much longer...something is WRONG.

I haven't written about it yet but last Saturday I did worship and spoke at the Salt and Light group at CCC. It is the group for young single adults. Ebby has spoken to them too. I told them about the Cambodia trip and encouraged them to go. It is starting to feel more comfortable speaking in front of groups. To date I have spoken to elderly people, middle aged folk, young adults, teen aged folk and kids. It is always interesting trying to relate to the different people groups. I feel very comfortable talking to just about all of them. I seem to connect best w/ young adults. The worship time was AWESOME. Mike Forde played electric guit. Josh Hetrick played percussion and I play acoustic and sang. It turned out so great.

That is all I have time to write. I will update later.