Wintertime In Gautier, Mississippi

 As the political rhetoric in this country gets out of control and blame for the Capitol Hill Riots is placed solely on anyone who dares to support conservative values and the work President Trump did during his presidency, our overly partisan Democrat House leadership could think of nothing else but ruining the future that President Donald Trump may have by impeaching him a second time. It didn't go anywhere and he was acquitted in the Senate, but I have never seen such a disregard for the rule of law and manipulation of evidence as the democrat house managers did in this process. What a sham and a shame.

Even with the roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccine in late December and early January under President Trump's program, evidently the number of people with covid was rising and most of the states (excluding Florida and a few others) re-implemented mask mandates and in our state recommended people not go to church or large gatherings. It wasn't a mandate, but our Stake President and Regional Representative stopped in person church, so it was back to online meetings in December. We started meeting in person again in February.

The problem is all of the data is skewed and probably will be for a while. 

When Trump was in office the news media would run daily tally's of new "Covid-19 infections". Since when did we start counting and advertising infection rates? We didn't do it with the Hong Kong Flu of 68 or the Bird flu or the swine flu. They also put up in continuous bold lettering how many new Covid deaths we've had that day in our nation and the total for the past year. But they do not separate those who die "from" Covid from the people who die "with" Covid. A man may have been killed in a car crash, but if he tested positive for Covid it's counted as a "Covid Death". Our world is going crazy with this stuff. Incidentally, once Joe Biden was inaugurated as President of the United States of America, the media stopped the non-stop advertising of Covid 19 infections and deaths - even as the numbers spiked again. Hmmm.... I wonder why? (As I typed the words "United States" it struck me as odd; if I listen to the mainstream media it seems our country is so very divided.)

Jesse did test positive for Covid earlier in February but said she just thought she had a bad cold. Michelle's kids have had it as have John and Nancy and a couple members of their family and some cousins. We think that Shiloh, Skye, Cami and Hillary's family experienced it last year when they were all so sick with Flu like symptoms but there was no test for Covid. We are blessed as they have all recovered - but then they are all pretty healthy, and except for John and Nancy,  they are in an age range where this virus does not seem to be very lethal at all. It will be interesting to see how the historians write about these times in the future. Will it be truth or political spin?

In spite of all this crazy news, life has been good for us. We have enjoyed this winter, so far cold temps only lasted a week, and now it looks like spring is on the verge of taking over here in South Mississippi. 

An now, a few photos of the fun we've had this past month.

I sewed Sammy's 1st Birthday quilt.

Since Sam is a Leapling (born on leap day) I thought it appropriate he have leap frogs on his quilt.

The water birds are coming back to the pond...

We made a new friend, a collector of clocks named Becky who is also a master gardener. While Darryl works on her clocks I enjoy her backyard in Ocean Springs.

I did my best to cheer up Sister Angela Corke and her brother and sister-in-law as they took care of her when she was in quarantine for 14 days with  Covid-19. Although Sister Corke is a quadriplegic and lives her life in a wheelchair, she wasn't sick a day with the virus. She tested positive but was asymptomatic. How very grateful I was for her being healthy, and to meet her family.

We rested on Sunday's

And I started painting again. First I hosted a 'watercolor' painting day with the sister missionaries, Sister Fronk and Sister Cheney.

In return they helped me move the bed and fix a couple of things.

I experimented with some Americana style paintings as Hillary wants me to do one painting for her home.

My rooster is too fat, but I enjoyed working on my watercolor technique. 

I like the acrylic painting of Hillary's family that I did last week. She now tells me she wants a larger one for their living room.

So far the highlight of the year has been watching Emily and Jonas open their mission calls during a family Zoom meeting on February 16th.

Emily is going to the St. George, Utah mission, English speaking, and will be assigned to the temple visitors center. She enters the MTC on March 24th.

Jonas was called to the Busan, Korea (South Korea) mission and will be speaking Korean. He enters the MTC on May 5th. Mom and Dad are feeling so proud and a little overwhelmed! It's getting REAL!!!

Finally, on February 17th I lost a friend and mentor. For 30 years I've listened to Rush Limbaugh and was educated in politics and the world by this good man. Though I never met him, I considered him a friend because as I heard him talk to so many people on the radio it was like he was talking to me.

Rest in peace Rush Hudson Limbaugh III 

The United States of America was lucky to have you!

God Bless your family and friends.  

 Thursday January 7, 2021

I love our new little Mississippi Aquarium in near by Gulf Port. It's a perfect way to spend a couple of fun hours. On Thursday Cami and I took the kiddos over to look at the fishes.

DOLPHINS!!!

When we were here in November the Dolphins were not yet in the aquarium due to some minor issues caused by hurricane Zeta. We were thrilled to see the dolphins today! And, We were able to watch their training show!

Marshall took a ride on the alligator statue...

And Grandma just had a grand time with everyone!

The touch tank was a favorite spot. I think we spent 30 minutes here at least.

Touching the Rays...

..and getting our hands cleaned by the shrimp..

..to petting the sharks.

From the touch tank we passed the fish tornado, where I forgot to take a picture, and on to the underwater tunnel.

And then off the to bubble where the kids had the best view!

And finally, to my favorite part of the aquarium - the Aquarium Wall.

For more than 20 minutes we were the only people in this room. With the beautiful calming music and the view it is so peaceful and relaxing. Lily couldn't help herself, she just had to dance. As we watched we noticed that the fish seemed to be dancing with her. It was such a beautiful moment!

Grandpa was feeling very well when he got home from work, but that's okay. Little Izzy took very good care of him, bringing him a drink and a snack, along with a little stuffed bear to keep him company. 

She also told him a story to help him feel better. Then she laid down and snuggled him for about 30 seconds and then turned the light out and left.

On Friday the 8th we started off the morning with a painting class.

Then it was off to the Mardi Gras store, the Ocean Springs toy store and finally to the big community park. The double swing was a big hit with Cami!

In the afternoon Lily started sewing together her Harry potter quilt with a little help from Grandma and Cami worked a psychedelic puzzle we received for Christmas.

And everyone showed off their paintings!

Saturday morning January 9, 2021... time to go home to North Carolina.

And we can't wait until they come back to visit again.

Starting January 2021 With Cami and her Clan!

We started off 2021 with Cami and her children visiting us for a few days. The first of the week was nice and sunny so we took our adventures to the beach!

Lily modeling a future prom dress?

January 5th - Beach Day at Ocean Springs, Mississippi

Fun in the sun, sand and water.

The tide was out and it was so shallow Little Miss Izzy couldn't really use her floatie.

 But we still had fun in the water and writing in the sand. The seagulls had fun too when the kids pulled out the stale bread and crackers to feed them.

And after a long, hard day at the beach the best thing to do in the evening is to watch TV and eat something sweet!

Miss Izzy enjoying her 'cuppa' herbal tea out of Grandma's fancy tea cup.

Wednesday January 6, 2021

It was quite a bit cooler than the previous 3 days, but the fish were biting and the kids had fun fishing with Grandpa in the little pond her at the apartments.

"And then the fish came and bit the worm. It was a big fish but it didn't get on the hook".

Izzy had a great time feeding the fish and watching the others try to hook them.

Nice catch Gage!

Awww... Ransom caught the baby fish. Catch and release was how we fished this day!

The kids worked up an appetite after all that fishing, so Grandpa took us out to eat at Huck's Cove. It was a little chilly for our dining "al fresco" experience, but it was fun and the food was delicious.

Don't worry... there are more adventures to come!