Hot Springs Day 1

On our first full day in Hot Springs we walked down Bathhouse Row and hiked up the mountain.

Before hiking we filled our water bottles up with hot spring water. 

This is behind the bath houses - a little spring filled with hot water. 

It is VERY hot! It comes out of the mountain at an average of 150 degrees! Here you can see the steam:

Hot Springs National Park is very beautiful!

We hiked up the mountain to this look out tower. We didn't go into the tower - it is $10 per person. 

There were beautiful views to see without paying $10 each!

This picture just might make our Christmas Card this year:

The KOA is located between the two cell towers.

It was a fun hike!

We all got our steps in that day!!

 

Spring Break 2021 in Arkansas!

 

This year we spent Spring Break in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

We stayed at the KOA and it was so lovely!! 

Our camper was right next to the fishing pond - which made the boys so happy!! When we were at the campground - they were fishing!

On the first night they had no luck. On the second night Gabe learned the trick to catching them - bread! He started pulling in fish after fish! Mig even ditched his rod and stared catching them with his hands!!

The KOA had these fun statuettes all over the place. There were hiking trails, a playground and a pool (but it was too cold for swimming).

Byron got a fun drone video of the camp ground:

(If you are viewing this via email, click HERE to see the video.)

Texas Blizzard

bliz-zard: noun a severe snowstorm with high winds and low visability.

Texas experienced a blizzard in the middle of February. 

On Valentine's Day church was yet again moved online. This time it wasn't because of COVID. There was a snowstorm on it's way. 

We had a lot of fun playing in the snow on Sunday. 

The fire was nice, too! 

During the night on Sunday, the rolling power outages started. When we woke up on Monday, the ground was covered in snow - and our house was frigid. Our temperatures dropped to 4 degrees but felt like negative 14 degreees! 

We gathered snow for snow ice cream.

Of course, Mig liked just plain snow, too! 

On Monday and Tuesday our power was off more than it was on. We kept a fire going for warmth. 

We cooked hot dogs on the fire for lunch. 

On Wednesday our power came on at noon and stayed on the rest of the day. We weren't out of the woods yet, though. We now had power, but our propane was down to 7 percent. We had to turn off our furnace completely. I had called the company before the snowstorm to come fill our tank, but they didn't make it out. The rolling outages and extreme temperature zapped more propane than usual. I was told that it would be a few days until the propane truck would be able to make it out, but that we were marked as an urgent fill. 

Our temperatures dropped down to negative 6 degrees. We now had power, but no heat.

Byron shoveled our driveway in hopes that a propane truck would be able to make it out. 

We all slept in the living room with a fire going. I blocked the entry with my photography backdrops. Our house temperatures dipped down to 45 degrees. 

We bundled up and spent the next two days huddled around the fire. 

On Saturday the temperature finally rose above freezing. The roads started clearing so we went to IHOP for breakfast and to thaw out. I was able to feel my fingers for the first time in days!! 

The snow wasn't as powdery and Mig could finally make snowballs!

When we got home from IHOP, the propane truck was across the street filling up our neighbors. Byron went over to make sure that we were next. OUR HOUSE WAS NOT ON HIS LIST TO FILL!!! I almost cried! Byron stayed with him and convinced him to fill us up while he was in our neighborhood.  It was such a lovely sight to see the truck baking down our driveway!

On Sunday church was online again. This time it was because of a burst pipe and broken fire system. BUT Sunday was SO beautiful! Mig played in shorts! 

It was a winter adventure that we will never forget!! 

 

I got COVID-19!

On Saturday January 23, I had a slight back ache, a dull head ache and a very slight sore throat. I had no fever but by the end of the day I felt off. 

On Sunday morning I was supposed to sing with the choir at church, but when I woke up, Byron noticed that I was warm. Sure enough, I had a fever. I contacted my director and told him that I would not be there and thought I better stay home, just in case. 

 By Sunday evening photosensitivity, violent tremors and chills were added to my symptoms.

On Monday morning I fixed my coffee as usual, took a sip and tasted nothing. It was like drinking warm water. I also suffered extreme fatigue, I couldn't smell anything and my eyes ached so bad that it was hard to keep them open. My temperature climbed to 104. 

On Tuesday I drove myself to CVS for a COVID -19 test. By this time I had a dry cough plus aches, headache, fatigue - but my temperature went down to 100. 

On Wednesday I felt like I was in a brain fog. I also experienced nausea and dizziness. 

By Thursday my temperature was gone. I started to feel a little better. The aches and chills were nearly gone. I didn't have a headache any longer. I was still extremely fatigued and I was sneezing a lot and had a persistent runny nose.   

On Friday morning I received the news that my COVID test was positive. By that time it was not a surprise to me. I was experiencing cold like symptoms and fatigue, but was starting to feel more like myself except that I still couldn't smell or taste anything.

For the next 2 weeks I felt better, but by the afternoon I was zapped. I finally started getting my sense of smell and taste back a month later. Although, I don't think it has fully come back yet. 

My symptoms, though VERY miserable, were very mild compared to so many. I wore a mask any time I was in public unless we were eating out or I was singing. In fact, I am pretty positive that I got COVID from being in choir because a large percentage of our choir got it at the same time. We ended up not singing together again for a month. One of our members died from the virus and numerous were hospitalized. One of my fellow praise team leaders was just recently released from the hospital. Another has been out of work for a month because her COVID became double pneumonia. She is still not able to take a short walk without having to stop to catch her breath. 

It is a serious virus! Praise the Lord, no one else in our family got it. Another praise was that Byron was able to work from home a little to help me take care of the kids. One thing is for sure; I am ready for this virus to go away and leave us all alone! 

Happy Valentine's Day!

 Happy Valentine's Day!!

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in LOVE,

may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp

how wide 

and long

and high

and deep

is the LOVE of Christ,

and to know this LOVE 

that surpasses knowledge.

Ephesians 3:17-19