Seeing God's Masterpiece & His Hand At Work

Congratulations Ashley & Thomas

It’s a GIRL!!!! Ok at least that’s what the ultrasound showed. She still has another five months before she makes her Grand entrance. We are so excited for Thomas & Ashley and feel so blessed and overjoyed that we were able to share this moment with them. We now await Abigail Faith’s arrival sometime in July.

Gina and I were so impressed with this ultrasound machine. I have never seen anything like it before.  We were able to see her little hands and legs move, we watched and listened to her heart beating along with watching her move all over the place.  God is so AWESOME!!!.  We both thought of the song "Masterpiece" by Sandi Patty as we watched the screen.  Here it is if you have never heard it. 

The operator was extremely knowledgeable and showed us things that neither Gina nor I never knew. She appears very healthy and her growth is normal.

The view on our way to Fort Irwin

Welcome to Fort Irwin, the Army's National Training Center

Each command paints their logo on rocks when they train here

There are hundreds of them as you drive onto the base

We rode with Thomas to Fort Irwin and met Ashley at the Hospital for her appointment. Afterward we had lunch with her. Of course she had to go back to work and Thomas had to go to work too. So we dropped her off at work and then we made the drive back to Victorville with Thomas. We dropped him off at his apartment and we then stopped by Costco on our way home to pick up a few items we needed. After we stopped by our house to take care of Angel & Zoey we drove over to Thomas and Ashley’s apartment to wait on them to get home from work. While there Gina arranged some fresh flowers to surprise Ashley along with a small Faith plaque.

Gina and Ashley ate pizza while Thomas and I had fried catfish. After dinner we all sat down and watched the movie “Unstoppable”. Well, Gina and I almost watched all of it. Around 9:30 we decided to call it a night and head home. Today will be one of those unforgettable days of our lives, a day that will forever be remembered as a day of Joy and Happiness for us. Each day of our lives we are both amazed and humbled by the blessings Our Heavenly Father gives to us.

Gina and I thank everyone for all the lovely comments on both Facebook and here.  It was a very exciting day for us and thanks for allowing us to share our Joy with you.

Gina & I hope everyone has a pleasant and wonderful day, enjoying what our Father has so graciously blessed us with.

Still in California With Thomas & Ashley

Tuesday morning founds us sleeping in just a little later and enjoying our coffee when Thomas arrived. We spent a couple of hours talking and trying to post an update to our blog. We soon left and went over to his and Ashley’s apartment. We didn’t have any plans today other hanging out with Thomas since Ashley had to work. While we were there I did a couple of loads of laundry and Gina made a pot of chicken & dumplings. Ashley arrived home around six o’clock and soon after Thomas brought us back to our home. We enjoyed another great day spending time with Thomas.

Wednesday found us waking up to a trailer that was rocking and rolling. The winds picked up through out the night and here we sit with 35+ mph winds and misting rain. We thought about going out in town. However, we decided instead to just stay at home. Gina read all day while I watched a couple of movies. We enjoyed a very relaxing day.

As we drove out we took these pictures of San Gabriel Mountains

Just love how the peaks are up above the clouds

It doesn't hurt having snow on top of them either

Waking up Thursday morning we decided to drive to Edwards Air Force Base. We needed to pick up a few items at the commissary and Gina needed a new military ID card.

Welcome sign to Edwards Air Force Base

While we were there we spotted the converted Boeing 747 shuttle carrier aircraft (SCA). It was getting late so we started back toward home.

Shuttle Carrier Aircraft

Thomas called us around five o’clock and invited us to go out to dinner with him & Ashley. We had a wonderful meal at Outback Steakhouse but mostly we just enjoyed spending time with them. We made it home a little after nine o’clock and called it a night.


Here Gina and I sit early this morning drinking our first cup of coffee waiting in anticipation for Ashley’s ultrasound appointment. Hopefully today she and Thomas will find out if they are having a girl or boy. They asked us last month if we wanted to go with them and without hesitating Gina said we would love to go with y'all. So that’s our plan for today. Finding out if our first grandchild will be a girl or boy. I’m not really sure if that is a good thing or not since it will give Gina all the more reason to go shopping for specific girl or boy baby items. LOL I’m just joking around I too cannot wait to find out either. Plus we’re both happy that Thomas will get to find out what their having before he deploys on Tuesday for Afghanistan.


Gina & I hope everyone has a pleasant and wonderful day, enjoying what our Father has so graciously blessed us with.

Enjoying Our Time With Thomas & Ashley

We finally departed our little desert paradise around 10:30 after numerous hugs from our friends still boondocking. A very special thank you to Jim & Ellie for providing brats and buns for travel food. After dumping our tanks we were on our way toward Victorville, California. We passed through Joshua Tree National Park. Very unique trees found only in the high desert.

Joshua Tree National Park

More Joshua Trees

Our destination

We arrived at Mojave Narrows Regional Park around four o’clock. Once Thomas & Ashley arrived home from work they drove over and picked us up.  They decided to take us out to dinner at Joe’s Crab Shack. A very enjoyable evening with our kids after a very pleasant drive to California.

First thing Saturday morning we drove down to San Bernardino Valley. The mountain views over Cajon Summit were just beautiful.

Cajon Summit in the distance

Beautiful snow covered mountains

After we made it back to Victorville we stopped and bought a dining room table and chairs for Thomas’s birthday. They would have already bought it. However, they didn’t have any way to get it home. They decided to wait on our arrival so I could use my truck to take it to their apartment.  We then spent the afternoon putting it together.

Thomas & I putting the table together

Thomas reading and giving directions

The finished table & chairs

Gina cooked a great meal for all of us to enjoy on their new table & chairs. It looks great too!!  Thomas even commented that it was nice to eat at a table instead of TV trays.  Thomas wanted us to pass on a very big thank you to Rod & Deb for giving him the fresh salmon they caught in Alaska.

Sunday morning we drove over to their apartment so Gina could make homemade biscuits per Thomas’s request. After brunch Ashley & Gina did a little more shopping for some decorations. Thomas and I on the other hand just hung out enjoying some father and son time. We finally met up with Ashley & Gina in the afternoon and by early afternoon Ashley was tired so we all headed home so Gina could cook dinner. They did great on their decoration shopping.

Dining room all decorated

Thomas drove over Monday morning since Ashley had to work and he had the day off.  After talking for a little while we decided to eat an early lunch at Taco Bell. After lunch we dropped Gina off to get a pedicure while Thomas and I changed the brakes on his Toyota Corolla. After we finished the brake job we picked Gina up and drove back over to Thomas & Ashley’s apartment so Thomas could clean their house for Ashley's Valentine's Day present before cooking dinner for them.  We on the other hand drove home and had our own special Valentine's Day dinner.  We hope everyone had a very nice Valentine's Day with their sweethearts.

Thomas preparing dinner as Ashley gets home from work

We are really enjoying our time here in California with Thomas & Ashley.


Gina & I hope everyone has a pleasant and wonderful day, enjoying what our Father has so graciously blessed us with.