The ringing of the bell. I like to think of my honey’s life like this. He used to have a bell in his backyard.
I even drew it and gave him a poem.
Well, the bell in his life and in our lives has now been ringing loudly as one chorus! We are uniting as a family. So why not go to Bell Rock to climb it to commemorate? Plus, Doug took me to this rock when we first met.
This family….we ring!
Tot and me enjoying the walk headed up.
We met some nice girls who agreed to take our pic.
So symbolic of our lives.
Later, Daddy teased Tot about this fence. Don’t touch like this…Do as I say not do, right? Heehee
…. SO guess what she did?
Copied Daddy and got……
a good laugh.
We headed home then. AAAAHHHH Back to our own beds, our palace, and ….
COOPY! He nuzzled in my arms on the way home.
I am SOOOOO grateful for my family. For these HAYS. We have bumps, bruises, scabs too. BUT, we have Jesus as our ROCK; we have each other, and our BELL continues to ring. AMEN!
There they are at 7am! Aren’t they so cute!? Sleepily, we head to the gym across the way to get our motors going. I have a few surprises in store.
After our workout, we have coffee, bars, and beef jerky for breakfast (sigh…sorry family but we are being frugal). We pray, do our devotion, and read about St. Patrick. Who was he? Well, we find out that after his capture for 6 years, he becomes a believer. He later returns to Ireland (he’s originally from Britain), to love on the people and bring them the good news of Jesus. He uses a shamrock to explain the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. WOW!! SO, I give each of us a new shirt. We will wear the shamrock today to celebrate. First stop, Tuzigoot! This is a National Monument near Jerome. The people who built and lived in the rooms of the Tuzigoot (meaning “crooked water”) pueblo were a tribe called Sinagua (without water) around the year 650, 1400 years ago…this is when people began settling in the Verde Valley. Here we are in front.
First, don’t we look cute in our shirts?
Ok, so off we go to explore the pueblos.
The pueblo at Tuzigoot consists of over a hundred rooms; after the people left, sometime in the 1300s, the pueblo stood empty until the early 1930s, when it was excavated by American archeologists and then turned into a national monument on July 25th, 1939.
We are going to climb to the top!
Here we are Hay family!
It was a short but educational visit. Now we decided to go to Jerome to visit a mining town area. We had NO idea what to expect.
Factoid about Jerome:
Jerome is a town built way up high on the hill and was built above a vast deposit of copper. The mines helped wealth and formed Jerome’s history. It is definitely a ghost town to see! The Gold King Mining Company is one treasure trove to visit. Little did we know it is really not about the mines that make it unique. It’s all the antiques and character!
We paid our admission, and entered into a world of the past. First we were asked to drop our pants at the laundry mart.
Then we entered to wash our clothes. My grandma had to use these machines!
Doug was fascinated by this huge generator.
We came upon the oldest home in the area. This used to have about 300 people populating this space. Then down to 1.
Animals everywhere. Especially this little rooster. He must be the town gossip because he seems to be in everybody’s business.
Tatum just wanted to go to school and learn more. Look at this little room filled with old typewriters!
Later, we met the owner of this whole place, Mike, and he shared some history. He also told us how he gets his treasures. Like this car for instance. Paid $600 but it’s worth probably $5000.
His home is right above this land…built with all the wood from the property.
Oh, did I mention the animals? This poor little guy? pregnant pig? has not missed any meal or snack or dropped morsel. Nothing at all!
Then we met the blacksmith, Will. He has bible verses all over this exhaust, and I was intrigued.
He had a note about Harry Potter up there that got us sharing our common dislike for him and the glorification of wizards. Interesting man, but he loves Jesus!
We found a few funny signs. This weather rock…..holy rocking’ moly!
BAAAAA!!! Or this..
We hope we never get to this point! Later in the gift shop, we found my honey. Oh dear. What happened to you Douglas? I wonder about the person who actually purchase this beauty.
Off we went to check out Jerome and the Haunted Hotel. Seriously hard to find parking in this ladder of a town, so we skipped it in search of lunch. Back to Sedona to eat and head to the golf course.
On the first hole, Tot grabbed the flag and discovered it was made of NOT wood but fiberglass. And…. Daddy had to go fetch the tweezers. We sat on hole 9 and did surgery for a few minutes. Meanwhile, this beautiful scenery surrounded us.
After the dramatic splinter scene, I took a few shots in the last hole. Now, remember, I may look good on the swing, but the result is usually only 80 yards or so. My honey’s swing gets it much farther or at least into a tree limb, tearing it down. Quite powerful!
We headed to the pool after this even though we needed the hot tub, headed to dinner, and came back to our room to laugh, eat, and collapse.
The next morning, we’d head out after a hike if we are feeling ambitious.
Well, it’s that time again! Time to learn more about Arizona in the 7th Hay Arizona Adventure. I left it a surprise until the last possible moment. We headed out the day before St. Patrick’s Day during Tot’s Spring Break. The start is always the same: Get the coffee, pray (not in that order particularly), and then drop off Coopy. Chilled a bit, we all were a bit sad to say goodbye, but he’d be in good hands in his Sedona suite.
Off to…….Verde Canyon Railroad!
It’s a 3.5 hour round trip train ride through the Verde Canyon. We’d have a first class couch and table and a spectacular view.
Tot bought a little eagle (Stu) to join us.
We boarded the Sycamore car at 12:45 for a 1PM departure.
Champagne to greet us!
Cheers!
Row 13? Well, maybe it will bring us good luck! (although we don’t believe in luck…good cheer!)
The friends around us were all Trump supporters. There were tables of different families, and they were like-minded. We had boldness talking about God and our faith. Tatum even chatted with Jennifer, our gracious hostess, for a while.
Ok, back to cozying up:
After departure, we went out quite a few times to capture the view. Just wow!
Tatum didn’t want me to fall out.
The river runs through it.
And the rocks take on a personality of their own.
We couldn’t believe how close we were to the cliffs. At one point, turtle rock! (see him at the top?)
Tunnel…we are nearing one!
TUNNEL! Scream!
And back out.
We had so much time on board. It allowed us to soak it in and sometimes just sit and think.
Or cuddle and encourage.
Like I said, Tatum conversed with many passengers and our hostess. We enjoyed our fellow passengers talking politics and Jesus. My kind of talk!
We arrived back around 4:30 and headed to…..SEDONA! My favorite destination in Arizona.
Poco Diablo once again. I love that we can be right on the golf course and the prices are doable.
We just wanted to get a good dinner, chat, and head to bed for a full St. Patrick’s Day the next day.
Look at these views outside Chipotle. Never gets old.
Thank you, family, for making this first day grand. Thank you Verde RR for making memories for us!
Mommy, Daddy, come see my room! This was the first stage:
Not yet! First, look at the art room.. if you want to draw, you have now access.
Ok, good to know. Back to Tot’s room.
Enter.
Can I come in too?
Ok, first stop…
If you have to read or go potty, you have access now. What about if you just need a time out?
Maybe you want to play?
or sit down?
Prayer time is another station. I’m going to start there.
She sent us out so she could now update with specific prayers. You see, she has been trying to develop self-control, and she knows this requires some “think before you speak or act” time. She has created some inspiration.
Now, come on in again.
Now for the tour of inspiration and developing self-control. Her relationship with Christ continues to grow.
What does that say?
theme: Help me be kind. Time outs require this prayer and reflection.
Father, thank your for this girl. Thank you for her heart and her desire to please you. She knows her life comes from you and her heart comes from you. She must nurture time with you to develop better habits, responses, and thoughts. Her “daily bread” are her prayers to you, Dear Father.
I am super grateful for my life. Not because of things or even people, but because He has entrusted me with an amazing family and He requires me to steward it well. Therefore, I must look upon each aspect of my life as part of His story. Good, bad and the ugly. Even the soapy.
Ok, back to the day. Sunday. Gratitude dinner #2 with Mama, Daddy, Tot and me. We were to bring a list of 10 things we are grateful for and then share at dinner. It was also PIE day (March 14th…3-14) so I had a special surprise planned for the crew!
Come on in! Our foyer is so welcoming.
Mama showed at 5pm and honey skewered the scallops. My master griller was making filet and scallops. SRSLY delish.
I had our table all ready for our extravaganza.
What a joy to share with family in our special room.
We then posed for pics. I cannot wait to share.
Now, Mama and Tot…they are so stinking cute! Tot gave her a little note.
Tot gave us a Scaredy Squirrel show
Now we are ready to partake!
Daddy shared first. Just wow.
My mom went next, and her’s was filled with such heartfelt kindness.
She truly puts the graciousness in gratitude. She edified all of us, and for her I’m eternally thankful.
Then Tot went. She had cards for all of us and then some drawings. She put PEOPLE in her list of 10. Mama, Daddy, Me, Mrs. Phillips…and HER LIFE from Christ. Melt.
Now me. I’m just …I’m just. I love living this way. What a lens to live with. It’s so easy to focus on the “what is not right.” But, we have a choice. Daily.
I added the Bible as the BEST book. I also added that my relationship with Christ soared after Tot was born. Another serendipity with her being born. AND, I added Doug’s job in there as well since I have seen him used mightily since he got promoted (I count it as one). After this time of sharing, it was time for 3-14! PIE! I made an apple crustless pie. Four kinds of apples, a few oats, cinnamon, nutmeg, and …..No need for crust when you have plenty of butter! heehee
I love our family. I love our gratitude attitude. May we live this way with HIM at the center.
Decade day at school. Yes, it’s spirit week, and today, she gets to dress up in one of the decades (50’s, 60’s, 70’s, or 80’s). Well, perfect! I had just bought a tie dye shirt for her for school, and we also had some other 70’s garb.
Cooper noticed she needed more peace, so we added…
Now, she’s a true Hipster.
Oh, dear…the girl is growing up.
Now, let’s keep the peace and keep the love flowing!
They were literally dead on Sunday. I watered them down and Monday morning, they were resurrected. It was a direct message to me that Jesus is renewing us daily. He is bringing new life! What a reminder.
Especially this Monday. It’s the second Monday of the month, and this means we have our IDEA dinner tonight. We share as many ideas (of any kind) that we can think of which we’ve recorded in our gratitude journals. I figured we’d have dinner in the dining room!
First, a fun game. Guess in 10. We don’t follow the rules to the T, but we do guess eventually.
Then, it was time for our salmon dinner. My favorite!
It’s a real treat being in our home. Ok, so we each shared our gratitudes first, as usual, then it was time to share ideas.
Daddy always has amazing house ideas. This time did not disappoint. I hope he remembers them! I love how his mind thinks so creatively.
I had some fun ideas for our family like service project ideas.
Kind of messy, but I get the idea. I added Tot’s ideas to mine so I could transfer them to my planner. She wants healthy lasagna and she wants a soccer game over Spring Break. Brilliant! Oh, and I wanted to add that we’d have a piano recital for each of us at the end of each month since Doug is taking lessons now. No joke! I am in!
We love doing this, and we love always thinking of ways to serve.
Now, later on in the evening, there was a new idea of Coopy. The fan. The ceiling fan in the living was launched for the first time, and he went berserk.
What is that mommy?
Oh, Coopy.
What a fun day of new life, new ideas, and new discoveries.
