************Warning: LONG POST! (but a good one:))*******************
Hello friends and family! I have been such a bad blogger and I'm sorry for that. We have been traveling like crazy and doing anything and everything that comes up! I feel like we 'fly by the seat of our pants' constantly...it's fun :) BUT it is nice to be back home and somewhat settled and unpacked. Since my last update, we've been to Junction, Texas and back, Philadelphia and Jackson many times, Greenwood, Clarksdale, all over the delta (doing a little exploring), Hazlehurst.... the list goes on! We've been everywhere. And we've been having fun!
Christmas was great! I got my Canon Rebel T2i before we went to Texas, and it has been so much fun! What a great present. Also, Todd gave me a beautiful rifle (.223), so we've (Dane) been having fun with it! We were blessed to see so much of our families and friends over the holidays. I got pretty sick a couple of times, but I am in full health now!
Another exciting update is that I have been accepted into the MFTC (Marriage and Family Therapy and Counseling) graduate program at RTS (Reformed Theological Seminary) in Jackson! I start at the end of the month and I'll be commuting. I am SO excited, a little nervous and apprehensive, but overall I have a great peace about what the Lord is using me for. I'm not exactly sure of His steps, but I know that He planted the seed in me 2-3 years ago and the steps have led me here! Please be praying for a smooth transition into school. I'm looking forward to being discipled and growing by leaps and bounds educationally, spiritually, mentally, and emotionally. He's brought me this far, and He'll help me to prosper.
Okay, now, here are some pictures from our Texas trip! There were a ton taken, and I kept over 500 of them. So, choosing which ones to share will be difficult! Between 3 hunters, 12 animals were killed! (9 on the first full day....oh my gosh! Dane killed 5, Cameron killed 5, and Big Mike killed 2). We never left the property (because it was too beautiful and too fun!) and we never wanted to leave at the end of the week. Here are some pictures! (click to enlarge)
packing up in Benton
look how excited these 2 are!
we stopped in Dallas the first night to spend the night at Ab's and see my beautiful niece Clara!
pretty Texas landscape
pulling into Junction!
we made it! (you still have to drive 3 miles down that road to get to the house)
blurry, but some animals we saw coming in! i thought the boys were about to lose it.... they were so excited!!!
some red deer (or red stag) we saw coming in)
another animal we saw driving in... a beautiful fallow!
the awesome house we stayed in (it was on top of a mountain.. you could see for thousands of acres!)
the next few are the view from the back porch!
the bathtubs on the porch! (i never got in them.. but i wanted to!)
the first hunt
the first sunset :)
The Douglas' dogs... Scooby and Daphne! They were precious
baby fallow on our first morning hunt
Dane's first kill! A female red deer... she was huge!
struggling to get her on the jeep!
Cameron, Dane, and Mr. Jeff!
Cam's first 2 pigs
beautiful morning!
we're making a rug out of the red deer :)
Big Mike's Sika
The awesome cliff stand where Cam killed his trophy black buck!
Cam's black buck!
view from our bed.......amazing!
black bucks are beautiful... so fun to watch
by far the most majestic animal i've ever seen in the wild... a beautiful white fallow!
Mrs. Gayle, me, and Mrs. Jan :)
we had a blast riding 4-wheelers around
precious little cabin on their land
just doing a little exploring and smiling
slowly making my way to the edge of the cliff
cam and i on the cliff
this picture cracks me up! Dane's whitetail doe
the cool cypress railing on the porch
the last night :( but it was a fun night!
big mike and cam's pigs
BFF
bottom floor of the house
saying goodbye :(
5 of the 6 coolers full of meat we brought home... they were stuffed in our little house!
That's all folks!
