I Left My Heart In Texas and My Wallet in Tennessee

This past week visiting Brooke's family in Alabama has been wonderful and relaxing. I have the best in-laws and I love them.

Amanda showing MaMa Brenda the new camera she got for Christmas. 

Playing Blitz with The Fam. Notice the only person who still has 5 lives! 

As great as this past week was and as "un-fun" as getting back to the "real world" is after vacation, there's nothing like getting back home. Today was the day. Up at 6am, we packed and headed back to Texas. There is no place like home, and that's where the "I Left My Heart in Texas" came from in this post's title.

This is something like what I saw in my rear view mirror at 9:30am this morning, and thus the "I Left My Wallet in Tennessee" portion of the post title. Brooke had been driving and I just took the wheel. I thought  was going 70 MPH in a 65 MPH zone, but the officer informed me the speed limit through that area was 55 MPH. Not much you can say when you knew you were speeding...even if you thought it was only 5 MPH over the speed limit. On the plus side, the officer was very polite and I can now say I properly handled identifying myself as a legal CHL carrier in another state. When the officer asked for my license, I handed him my driver's license and my Texas CHL explaining that I have valid Texas concealed carry license. He asked if I was carrying, and when I replied "yes" he asked where. Without removing my hands from the steering wheel, I explained it was on my right hip. The officer informed me that as long as my right hand stayed where he could see it, would be fine. It was all good...right up to the part where his definition of "fine" included handing me a ticket for $161.00!! So, come January, I will be mailing my 'donation' the State of Tennessee. Lesson learned.

I think this is my FAVORITE part of coming home. No, NOT unpacking...I do NOT like that! My favorite part is coming home and seeing my puppy dogs. I miss them terribly when we are gone. Boo always comes and offers her support when I am working on a project.

And here is a picture of Sully in "his" chair in my office after getting his haircut (both dogs got a haircut tonight).  The last couple times I have given the dogs a haircut, I have listened to a podcast of my friend Pastor Stan King at Impact Cowboy Church of Nacogdoches. He made a statement in the message I listened to tonight that I knew I had to write down as soon as he said it. I will pondering it and praying it over my life this week. I will end with this quote:

"We need to start walking in the impossibilities so that we might start seeing the realities of the Kingdom of God."  -Pastor Stan King