Almost too long between blogs!

There has been so much that has happened in the past two weeks, I almost gave up on trying to blog before I even started!

Let's start with our new owner's quarters. Roseland Plantation came with no owner's quarters, so we have to build a house on premises. Currently we are renting in Canton and it's becoming quite a chore to go back and forth and keeping up with two complete households 23 miles apart. We've always intended to build, but just couldn't find the right builder for us and our needs. Then one day my husband drove by United-Bilt homes and talked with Nathan. After his conversation, he came home and asked me and Jennifer to go by and see what they had. Jennifer and I visited with two different builders that day and came away with a very positive impression with Nathan and United-Bilt homes. Long story short, United-Bilt designed a custom home to meet our needs at a price we are comfortable with. We are thrilled! Papers have been signed and ground has been broken - I'll keep you updated on the progress.

Hurricane Ike Wedding! Yes. We had a wedding on Saturday, September 13, just when hurricane Ike hit the Tyler area. The forecasts were horrid! Winds! Rain! Tornadoes! Seek shelter! Take cover! Tie down everything in sight! And for many, Ike was just that bad or worse. Here at Roseland Plantation however, we had a steady, gentle rain all day. Not much wind to speak of, no tornadoes, no power outage - Praise God! Our dear wedding couple, Janice and Jeff, didn't get the tent they wanted or the outdoor dance floor they had hoped for. Everything was moved inside the ballroom. But let me tell you what, Janice was one of the most genuinely happy brides I have ever seen. Nothing - nothing - not anything was going to diminish the joy of her marriage day to Jeff. She smiled. She joked. She was absolutely gracious to everyone around her. A true lady through and through. I mentioned this to my niece, Carmen, and she said, "You know, rain on your wedding day is good luck!" If you believe in luck, then Jeff is one of the luckiest men alive because he has a jewel like Janice as his bride. Personally, I don't believe in luck. I believe in the living God of Israel, and I pray all His blessings on Janice and Jeff Moser and their new life together in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. AMEN!

Hurricane Ike refugees. We had a few refugees from the Houston area this past week. Houstonians suffered varying degrees of damage depending on where they live. Even if no physical damage was done to their property, millions of people were (and many still are) without electricity. My niece Carmen took action right away. The first day after Ike went through she called me, "Aunt Debbie, do you have electricity?"
"Yes Carmen, we do." I answered.
"Do you have water?" she asked.
"Why, yes Carmen, we do."
"Aunt Debbie, do you have any rooms available?"
"Of course," I replied, "Ya'll come up."
Carmen is 8 months pregnant with her second child and being without electricity is most uncomfortable and just plain silly if you have options. Besides, I'm happy to take family visits anyway I can get them. She and her son Luca came up. Carmen's husband, Cisco, is an important part of the rescue and recovery efforts in the Houston area so he stayed behind. We had a business man from the Houston area who had business in Tyler stay with us a few days and then another niece, Jessica, called, "Aunt Debbie, do have any rooms available?" She knew Carmen was up here so she didn't have to ask if we had water and electricity. :-)
"Of course," I replied, "Ya'll come up."
Jessica and her two children, Jordon and Renee (husband David stayed behind to work) only got to spend a couple of days with us before all five of them, Carmen, Luca, Jessica, Jordon and Renee left us on Friday. While they were here they visited the Caldwell Zoo, the Discovery Place, several restaurants and shops. They really enjoyed Tyler and Edom and we really enjoyed having them.

Today is Saturday and the weather is perfect. No, I should say the weather is PERFECT! A lovely wedding today and the bride, Ashli, happens to be someone Jennifer used to work with. A nice coincidence. Her colors are black and white and the table dressings and decorations are stunning against the black and white backdrop of our Victorian ballroom. I haven't been out there much as the wedding is still in full swing, but I did get a few photographs before the wedding began. It's nice to hear the laughter of the guests at the reception and the ringing of the wedding bell - all the joyous sounds of celebration.

God is good - all the time.

Debbie