Sheris Journal page 2

11-18-08

We had a wonderful time around Atlanta. It was soooo cold, though. We stayed at McKinney Army Corp of Engineers campground.
It was north of Atlanta about 30 minutes. I really could have stayed there a few more days. There was so much to see and learn. We found
quite a few free things to do. We have to watch our money so closely since Shae got layed off recently. We would of loved to have gone to
the Natural History Museum, Aquarium, Stone Mt. and such but finances were not there for us. I’m sure next time we travel through we
will have the money to go to those places. We did get to go to Kennessaw Mountain. It was a very tough Civil War battle. Hanna wrote
a beautiful story about it. It is not ready to upload, but I will soon. We learned about The Great Locomotive Chase! Wow, it was amazing!
We spent a wonderful day in the Appalacian Mts and at Cabbage Patch Baby Land. That was like Naomi’s dream come true! You’ll have
to check back in the next week for the kids essays, articles, and pictures about it. I better run. We are going to take in a few sites on the
way to our next destination.....
Love Sheri

2-1-09
Sorry it has been so long since I updated! You’ll understand why after I explain. We spent another week and a half after
Thanksgiving at Shae’s Mom and Dad’s near Pensacola. We had a great time seeing everyone and getting to know the
neices and nephews again. I got real sick. I had a Horrible bout with Bronchitis. Boy, do I have more sympathy for people
with it! We left there and headed to central Florida. We stopped in Marianna and south of Lake City. We got layed up there
for a week. I was real sick and so was Shae and the little ones. Cody and Hanna were the only healthy ones. They worked
so hard to take care of us. We didn’t really get to enjoy the area, just tried to get well. After that we headed to a Florida State
Forest, Withlacoochee, west of Orlando. We can stay there for 1/2 price since Shae is VA disabled. It had great hiking and
biking trails. There was a pretty lake, Silver Lake. We enjoyed walking and our trips to the beach at Pine Island on the Gulf
coast. It was a little island that we just happened upon. We had so much fun. Shae and the kids went kayaking a lot in the
ocean and in Silver Lake. It was strange to have to watch out for alligators. Yuck! Shae got a job while there. He didn’t start
until well into January, but we were thankful to know money was on the way! It has better pay and better benefits than the last
company, but will be more hours. Thank you Lord!

11-27-08
Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you have a wonderful day. Today is not just a day to eat turkey and see friends and family. I
think it mainly is a day for us to remember all the wonderful things we have in our lives. A day to remember the Creator and
all that he has blessed us with. It is easy to be thankful for all of the good things, but I challenge you to really look at the hard
things in your life right now. Try to find a good thing in that and be thankful for it. That is what builds true character. I have so
much to be thankful for, yesterday we got to hear the baby’s heartbeatfor the first time. It was beautiful. I found out I am maybe
19 weeks! That is further than I thought! But, some of you know, Shae go tlayed off recently. That sure makes things tough.
Baby number six on the way, no job, no insurance, no house, I could despair. But why? God will take care of us. This time
off has given Shae a break which he needed desperately. It has given our family more time together. My kids have gotten the
chance to see how to handle hard things in life. They have the opportunity to see what little spending really is. There is good
in everything, sometimes you just have to dig. I have a really hard time trying to find any good from my father’s death. I can
only find one good thing, that is that my two uncles who hadn’t talked to each other for years, finally saw each other at the
funeral, talked, and seemed to find some forgiveness. I was thankful for that.