Back in TX, full-hearted and thankful

If you notice such things, you might have noticed that I haven't written on here in two weeks. That's because Andy and I have been off on adventures for almost the entire month of March. It started with Andy heading to Ft. Bragg back at the beginning of the month for a course for the National Guard. I followed a few days later by way of I-20 and I-95.

It was beautiful driving through the deep South, everything had been drenched in rain days before, and the green was anxious to get out of its winter coat. I enjoyed seeing the red buds, Bradford Pears and daffodils as I drove through Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. When I got to North Carolina, I remembered that the camellias were in bloom, so Andy and I went to the Cape Fear Botanical Gardens one Sunday afternoon to see the camellia garden.

This display was at the little cabin where they charge for admission. A cute way to display what's blooming while you're at the gardens.

This is a helebore. I've been really curious about them since reading about them in Better Homes and Gardens. They're sweet little flowers, but they hang down like they're crying, which seems a little sad for a harbinger of spring.

This is a bloom from a Saucer Magnolia. We call them Tulip Trees in the South. Andy liked these a lot.

And here come the camellias...

This camellia was grafted. If you look close, you'll see that half the bush is red and the other half is variegated.

Andy likes irises. ;)

My one request for the trip back home was that we get to spend some time near the ocean. So I was so thankful when Mrs. Haley offered us their cottage on the Pamlico River for the weekend. We spent some time exploring the Lake Mattamuskeet and the wildlife preserves nearby.

"You get a line and I'll get a pole, honey..."

Oysters..yummmmm...

Crab pots!

The Lodge at Lake Mattamuskeet

Wildlife trail at Mattamuskeet

This is St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Bath, NC. It's NC's oldest church, built in 1734.

He was pierced for our transgressions.

Bath waterfront at sunset

Dogwoods trying to bloom. I bet they're gorgeous by now.

THREE boxes of delicious seafood leftovers from Fishooks in Belhaven. And we split the "Trawler"!

I wanted Andy to have a ferry ride before we left Coastal Carolina, but we learned the hard way that ferry's keep a tight schedule. We missed the Swan Quarter Ferry to Ocracoke Island, but rearranged our plans and drove down Hatteras Island instead. We eventually boarded the Hatteras to Ocracoke ferry and Andy had a pretty good time feeding the seagulls.

But these pictures don't do justice to the great time of fellowship with family and friends we got to have. My mom had a big dinner in our honor, so to speak, and I got to see all my aunts and uncles and some of my cousins. And I got to spend time chatting and eating with all of my girlfriends back home. And then...

We got back to Austin Thursday night and turned right around and headed to Dallas for the BSF leader's retreat. We ended our long journey with a time of deep spiritual feeding, renewal, fellowship and healing. We returned to Austin full-hearted. What an awesome God we have. So gracious and loving to us. Thank you, Lord, for this time of travel, friendship, beauty and peace.