Friday Fun!

I am going to share fun stories on Fridays. I hope that you will join me for laughs. There may not be anything real deep, but laughter is good for the soul. So I hope you will stop in for some good ole fashioned medicine!!!!

Last weekend was a blast!

I was supposed to go to a women's seminar in Kansas City on Friday and Saturday, but Scotty (and the Lord) had other plans. Scotty suggested that we get in the convertible and take a drive down into Arkansas to see the gorgeous trees. Did I mention that it was 40 some degrees when we left home? Well, we began our journey with the top up!

I had free tickets for a Branson music show so we decided to stop there Friday night.

The audience at the show was a lot older than we, but our numbered tickets led us to seats that were close to the only other "young" couple in the audience. It just so happens that they were not Christians........(Who do you think set that up?) We began to talk and laugh and I got to build a piece of the bridge that is leading them to Christ! Are you shouting Hallelujah about that???? Please pray for them.......I don't even know their names and they don't know mine. It didn't seem to matter.

We spent the night in Branson. Morning brought hope for a warmer day. At least the sun was shining which makes the trees much more beautiful. We journeyed around the Branson area........back roads and through the hills. It was amazing! The trees were not in their full glory yet, but they were on the way!

Well, we began to wander down more roads. One little town we found was so much fun! We found a place to eat........mmmmm! It took us awhile to find one, but it was worth the wait.

We went into a little store that was full of rustic furniture made out of trees and left in the rough. I LOVED that!!!! There were bear skin rugs on the floors and cougars on the walls perched on branches. It surprised me how much I loved that store! Having four boys has done something to my decorating taste! I was wishing I had my camera.

When we came out of the store we saw a corvette that was pretty amazing (if you like corvettes). We got closer to get a better look and the license plate said "T-Bunch". Scotty has a brother named Terry! If it is his, he is keeping secrets! Once again I was regretting not having my camera!

We decided to be brave and put the top down. I wrapped up in my black neck scarf (a big one) and Scotty put on his black stocking cap. We both put our black coats on and turned the heat up to 90. You should have seen some of the stares! We looked like Muslims. I am sure that people were praying for our souls as we passed by!

I was ready to buy a disposable camera at that point.

The many hills and curves led us to a little town in Missouri named Crane. We stopped because I spotted a doll shop on the corner and I just wanted to look. Scotty zipped around and found a spot to park.

The doll shop was closed, but the whole town was full of flea markets. Both sides of the street were lined with store after store that were filled with old treasures. We went in every one. Each store had it's own personality. It was so much fun. Scotty would say, "Look at this! I used to have one of these." So cute!

We went into one big store. He went one direction and I went the other. Pretty soon I heard him calling my name. I had just come out of the restroom.......whew, glad I wasn't there when he called. (I would have been so embarrassed!) Fortunately I was in a corner that had books from floor to ceiling. I was drooling as I skimmed the titles. I think there will be many corners like that in heaven, don't you?! Complete with an easy chair and fireplace!

Scotty had spotted a homemade gooseberry pie and wanted me to share a piece with him. Share we did. I got a bite of the most sour gooseberry in the whole pie. I told him it would surely seal my memory of that place forever. Then I went for the crust.

Someone in the town of Crane happened to mention the town of Billings for more flea market grandeur. We went on down the road and soon we spotted the sign for Billings. Scotty began to laugh and said "Where shall we go? Anywhere but Billings!" But he drove right to it. I promise I didn't say a word to influence that decision!

Again we went on a treasure hunt. My favorite find was an old text book from the 1800's that had a girl's name in the front written in the beautiful script of our ancestors, with the name Vilas, Kansas underneath it. Then it said Wilson County. Vilas is a country community that is barely there anymore. It is about four miles from our house. The book was priced at $1.50 so I brought it home with me. I would love to know the story behind the girl that the book used to belong to. I may have to do some research. Has anyone ever heard of Josephine Hagerman from way back in the day? Like a little over a century?

We spent the night in Springfield, MO. We never made it to Arkansas.

Sunday we went to church in Joplin. I had been chewing on some passages for days and the pastor just happened to teach his whole sermon on them. Glory!

The trunk of our car is very, very small. It is pretty full with just our two bags and my pillow inside, so we didn't do a lot of buying, just a lot of looking, laughing, and story telling. It was a very special time and I will treasure the memory of it.

I could have missed the Lord on this one if I had made my way to a good thing, a women's conference, instead of listening to my husband. The Lord totally blessed our choice and we came home with many treasures that cannot be bought.

I hope that your weekend is filled with many happy moments and big smiles!

Sweet blessings,

Cheri