Well, well, well.
It’s August 10th, 2009. I’m sitting in the home of Bill and Debra Sanford in Gulfport Mississippi. It’s 12:00 noon, which means I can’t go outside for at least six more hours. The air here is just ridiculous. I think I’m slowly adjusting though. The day we drove down here, I was exhausted, so I got to bed early and woke up late.. with an awful headache that I THINk has to do with the climate difference. I’ve been taking decongestants, because I can’t breathe, and antihistamines, because I keep sneezing.. anyway! Everything seems to be tapering off into niceness and order.
Corinne and I left Knoxville after several delays on August 8th. Before we departed, we saw Will Reagan’s concert at the Bijou Theatre on the 7th, which was awersome.. we had an interesting run-in with a traveling musician from New York. He blessed our trip and asked us to bless the rest of his, and let us know we were welcome to visit him if we were coming through New York City (woot! woot!).
We drove down to Raymond, Mississippi first, for the wedding of Jessica Gilman and Jonathan Knight (friends of mine). I was a bridesmaid and Corinne had never met anyone there! ..so we had a very interesting time. Lots of Gilman hugs to make everything less hectic. We stayed the night at their house on the lake, which was beautiful.. The wedding went exceptionally well the next day.. met several new friends and had a great old time hangin’ out at the local Dairy Queen.
We ended up leaving Raymond around 3:30 and arriving in Gulfport at about 6:00 or so. We tried to regroup and debrief ourselves at the beach before we headed to our next location, but we ran into aNOther traveling couple, who talked with us for quite some time about their travels and recommendations. It was nice.. so then we went to the Sanford home!
The Sanfords are sweet people. Bill is a genius. Knows just about everything you could ever want to know. Apparently.. all he does, every day (he said this, but could it be true?) is study the Torah. He calls himself a Messianic Jew, as do the rest of his family. Basically.. they believe the Law was never nullified, that Christ came to compLETE it, not take away from it. There’s lots more to it, but I’m kind of reeling from all the information I’ve been given, so.. maybe more later on that. Bill looks like Dad a LOt. Cheekbones, eyes, chin, build, and mannerisms. It’s SO funny!! :D
Debra is an elementary school counselor. She reminds me of a cross between Debbie Wilkerson and Lisa Lee.. very gentle and sweet. And short. ;) Bill and Debra have five kids.. the two oldest are off and married, and the three boys are all still living at home. They are Jason, Jordan, and Justin. The two older girls are Jennifer and Jessica. The boys are all unique and.. talented. Justin will be going to school to be a nurse this year; Jordan is in school for math; and Jason is in a band and paints.
Last night I met a bunch of Corinne’s friends from here and close-by. She’s told me about all of these people for months and months.. I feel like I already know them, and it’s strange that they have to ask me my name twice.. :)
Well.. what else.. I’ve got my sewing machine here and a lot of material that I think I may start making into sellable items.. hrm hm. When Corinne wakes up and I can make loud noises, that is..
Spiritually, I’ve been having my usual travel hitch.. for some reason (I must find it), whenever I travel, the first at least five days are really difficult for me. I’m in a daze. It’s hard to process things.. I hope the erratic (right word?) nature of this trip will shake some of that. I think it could be very natural.. I tend to think of my physical home as somewhat intertwined with my spiritual home. I think that’s why I strive to make wherever I’m living absolutely beautiful and welcoming.. I can’t abide a living situation that feels stifled, suppressed, cluttered, etc. Anyway, I think this travel hitch may be simply me being completely thrown out of my comfort zone of having my own home. ::sigh:: God is my home. I’ll just abide in Him.. :)
I suppose that’s all for now. I believe I will eat some delicious granola now.
carlabaudrons.art 