The 2017 Eclipse

We headed up to Nebraska on Saturday to see the Great American Eclipse of 2017.  I had never seen a total eclipse.  I've seen some partial ones.  I knew it would be cool but I really had no idea.

I expected there to be lots of traffic and lots of people.  There were..but not near the amount I thought there would be.  Maybe because it was boondocks Nebraska?  I don't know.  We even saw a school in session on Eclipse Day!  Why?  Best education ever is to see totality.

Anyway.  Eclipse day comes and we start watching the skies.  The morning looked good-not too many clouds.  So we played some Monopoly and waited for the countdown.

One hour until first contact- the clouds started rolling in.  No way were we going  to drive 10+ hours to miss this amazing event.  So we packed up all our camping stuff rather hurriedly and started chasing blue skies.  Thankfully, in Nebraska there are a lot of dirt roads and lots of places to pull over too.  So off we went.

We found a patch of blue sky and pulled over just in time to see first contact.  I had a cool app on my phone that we could check if we were in the totality range and then it announced when to look for certain events and what was coming next.  We set up our chairs and got out our snacks and watched as the moon started coming in front of the sun.  Such a weird sight to see the sun start to shrink.

Then the clouds started rolling in again.  So we threw everything in the truck and started chasing blue skies again.  As my phone announced "15 minutes until totality"  we prayed we would find blue skies before totality hit.  Up ahead the sky started to clear and we pulled over in the middle of a dirt road surrounded by corn fields and hay bales.

The anticipation for totality was mounting.  What were we about to see?

As it started to get darker and noticeably cooler,  I could tell something remarkable was about to happen.

Birds suddenly got quiet.

Shadows were extremely short for the middle of the day.

There was a hush that fell over everything.

Then totality.

Glasses came off and my eyes got to see the moon blocking the sun.

How to describe it is very difficult.  The only way I can think to describe it is that it felt like we stepped through a mirror into another dimension.  Darkness in the  middle of the day.  Looking at a huge hole in the sky with long streaks of corona shooting outward.  Frogs started croaking in the middle of the day.  Time seemed to slow down.  My mind could scarcely take in what I was experiencing.  2 minutes and 39 seconds.  And then it was gone.  Everything slowly started returning to normal.

What a remarkable thing to experience!  It was surreal.

 It was spiritual.  Will this be even a glimpse of what it will be like to enter Heaven?  Will the Lord in all His Majesty and Beauty have to be eclipsed so that I can look upon Him?

It was unlike anything I've ever seen before and I can not wait to see another one.

A Kilgore is...

What it means to be a Kilgore

When our kids were little we decided to come up with a family creed.  What it really means to be a Kilgore.

We each contributed thoughts and ideas and the kids were the ones that encouraged us to find Bible verses to back up each of these.  We had this framed and it hung on the wall for years.  As we moved and the kids grew up and moved out..it had gotten lost somehow.  The file was on an old computer that we no longer could use and it sort of went by the wayside.  

Then I went to message an old friend about a random topic and lo and behold this creed was there from a previous conversation many many moons ago!  

I think I'll print it out and hang it on the fridge again.  It's a great creed for our family.  Have any of you all made a family motto or code? Would love to hear it!  Comment below!

A Kilgore is....

Fears, loves and worships the immortal, invisible, only wise God.

Deut. 6:4

Honors God, parents & elders.

John 5:23, Eph 6:2, Prov 16:31

Man lays down his life for his wife and loves her as Christ loves the church.

Eph 5:25-28, Col. 3:19

Woman submits to the authority of her husband and provides wise counsel.

Eph 5:22, Col 3:18

Child seeks opportunities to serve parents without being asked.

Gal. 5:13, I Corinthians 9:19

Protects and cares for orphans and widows.

James 1:27

Can do all things through Christ who strengthen us.

Phil 4:13

Hates the wicked and seeks to crush their schemes.

Ps 139:21

Meditates on infallible Word of God, the Bible.

Prov. 3:1, Ps 1:2

Communicates with God frequently and ask for wisdom.

Col 1:9, Phil 4:6

Is hated by the world, because we preach the truth without compromise.

Ps 34:21

Mourns and rejoices with others and provides comfort.

Rom 12:15, Isa 61:2-3,  I Cor 12:26

Practices unquestionable integrity, truth & loyalty.

Job 27:5, 1 Kings 8:61

Does not whine, yell, pout, or display discontent.

Phil 2:14, Phil 4:11

Provides freedom and justice to the oppressed.

Isa 61:1, Job 36:6, Ps 10:18

Eagerly accepts correction.

Prov 3:11

Gives generously of our time, talent and treasure.

Prov 3:9, 2 Corinthians 8:3,4

Has a thankful heart and hates covetousness.

Eph 5:20, Eph 5:3

Enthusiastically communicates Gods plan for an abundant life.

Matt 28:19

Is fun.

John 10:10

Times they are a changin'

This year has been a whirlwind year!  There's been so much happening!

First of all, I became a GRANDMA!!!  How fun and exciting is that! I'm really looking forward to this stage of life.  The empty nest is great and having my time with hubby is fabulous but grandkids!! That brings a whole other level of fun!

Secondly,  my son is getting married!  I will have 2 grown kids that are married!!  What?!  The Lord is so good to provide such wonderful spouses for my kids.  I'm so happy to experience my grown kids in this new stage of life!  My son will be a wonderful husband (and dad sometime!! AH!) and it's so exciting to see this newlywed couple and their new love!

Thirdly,  we are moving AGAIN!!!  Ok this is about the 14th time we have moved in our 27 years of marriage.  See this post here about that.    But this time is gonna be so cool!  It has always been a dream of mine to move to Europe.  To live in a high rise and be able to walk down the street for groceries, coffee, shops and restaurants.  I have always loved living near parks and water and especially looking at the greenery.  Although we aren't moving to Europe just yet.... (you never know what the future holds!)  my hubby has found me the next best thing here in Texas!  It's a condo in a high rise building overlooking a canal!  Pictures will be coming for sure!

I'm really looking forward to what this year will bring.  The Lord is gracious and loving.  Even though sometimes life is like a roller coaster, I can trust that the Lord is good and is faithful.

I never want to portray my life as only the good and only good things happen to me.  I have my ups and downs just like everyone else.   But this roller coaster ride of life is taking a fun turn this year!  I'm holding on tight, raising my hands and seeing what the Lord will do.

Nature Hoopin'

I love hoopin' in pretty places.  I take my hoop everywhere.  This past weekend we went to Branson, Missouri and saw some absolutely gorgeous waterfalls and scenery!  Hoopin' in these places is relaxing, inspiring and so enjoyable.  

Grandma time!!

Beautiful Annabelle Lee was born 

to my wonderfully strong daughter, 

Renee & her equally amazing husband Kyle 

on March 15, 2017 at 5:05 pm 

in a peaceful and calm environment. 

 She is absolutely gorgeous and precious and 

I am overjoyed and blessed to be this sweet girl's grandma.

Words cannot express the feeling of seeing my baby being a momma.  

I'm so excited to start this new chapter in my life!  Can't wait for all the sweet new adventures!

Thanking the Lord for new life!

See this past blog post for a hint of what I feel like :)

Dancin' in the minefields

I went to a wedding this weekend and it was lovely.  Young love in the air is so inspiring!  All the dreams and hopes for the future are just sitting right there like gifts waiting for them to open!

They have no idea what lies before them.  The better.  The worse.  Just eyes closed and dancing.  I love that.  Yes, it's gonna be a long road.  But oh so worth it.   If I could talk to my 18 year old self standing at the altar some 27 years ago and tell her all the trials she will face, and the heartache and the tears...I'm not sure my little 18 year old self would understand it all.  I had stars in my eyes and my heart in the clouds.  And that's ok.

I've grown - we've grown.  We've learned so much about each other, life, others, ourselves.  It hasn't all be happy happy - but it has all been wonderful.

I think this song explains it perfectly.  Lyrics are below.

I was nineteen, you were twenty-one
The year we got engaged
Everyone said we were much too young
But we did it anyway

We bought our rings for forty each
From a pawn shop down the road
We made our vows and took the leap
Now fifteen years ago

We went dancing in the minefields
We went sailing in the storm
And it was harder than we dreamed
But I believe that's what the promise is for

"I do" are the two most famous last words
The beginning of the end
But to lose your life for another I've heard
Is a good place to begin

'Cause the only way to find your life
Is to lay your own life down
And I believe it's an easy price
For the life that we have found

And we're dancing in the minefields
We're sailing in the storm
This is harder than we dreamed
But I believe that's what the promise is for

So when I lose my way, find me
When I loose love's chains, bind me
At the end of all my faith, till the end of all my days
When I forget my name, remind me

'Cause we bear the light of the Son of Man
So there's nothing left to fear
So I'll walk with you in the shadowlands
Till the shadows disappear

'Cause he promised not to leave us
And his promises are true
So in the face of all this chaos, baby,
I can dance with you

On being an introvert

You might not know this about me... but I'm an introvert.  I like people and I like being around people...just in limited quantities.  I like time alone.  A lot.  I like time to myself and time to think by myself.

You might not think I'm an introvert because my hubby is such an extrovert!  But it's true.  I am more of an introvert.

So just some thoughts on being an introvert:

• I do enjoy people and big crowds but if I'm not talking that doesn't mean I'm not listening.  And I may need to leave and walk around by myself just to recharge a bit.  Crowds drain me.
• I'm better talking one on one or in small groups.
• I love to be silly and have fun.
• If I've spent a while with a big group then I need some down time to recharge.
• I'm perfectly fine spending an entire weekend alone.  Or going places alone.
• I think internally.  I may mull something over for a while and process it all internally. I may or may not eventually tell you how I feel.
• I prefer to work alone. I'm not sure if this is an introvert thing or just a being independent thing.
• I like being married to my best friend the Extrovert!  He helps me get out of my shell and not be a hermit!  He makes my life interesting and a whole lot of fun!

God made us all different!  I'm thankful for that! It'd be a pretty quiet world if we were all like me! I'm glad I have a lot of extrovert friends too! They are fun! and I love it!

Just not too much fun all at once! HA!

So...Did you think I was an introvert?  How about you?  Where do you fall on the introvert/extrovert scale?