Lisa And Mexican Food Time

 Hey Friends,

This is Odie reporting in from the beach cottage. I hope you are having a great day. I am here today with a look into a couple outings I had last month with my cousin.

First, a special reminder about something happening in most of the United States before we wake up tomorrow.

It is time to spring our clocks forward. We lose an hour of sleep tonight. I am not a fan of the time change, but I am glad to get more sunshine. Also, I am looking forward to the warmer weather.

Lisa  And Mexican Food Time

Our regular readers will recognize our Cousin Lisa. Several of us often call her Mama Lisa because she is always taking care of someone. She is a tremendous blessing to our family. Today, she gets an extra shout for being awesome.

Lisa and I love it when our schedules work out for us to spend some extra time together. Even if it is just a couple hours for lunch. Lots of laughter and fun is always involved.

Salsa from Alcapulco is often in the equation, too.

Then we have some yummy food from Alcapulco. These pictures are making me ready for Alcapulco right now. I can almost taste it!

God gave me an excellent person to be in my corner. Lisa brings a smile to my face on a daily basis.

I am so thankful for Mama Lisa! Thank you, Lisa, for being there for me! I love our happy memories. I try my best to always express my gratitude. The words thank you can never truly convey my thankful heart. Everyone needs a person in their life who is as awesome as you!

The food, fellowship and friendship make for a wonderful trio. Here is another picture of the yummy Alcapulco food. 

A highlight of going to my favorite Mexican restaurant is seeing my friends! Jorge is the owner and a wonderful friend to our family. He came over to check on us. Also, to get an update on Dad! We love Jorge and his family!

Thanks for joining me for this post telling you about Lisa. 

She and I are already planning another outing in a couple of weeks that we are excited about. I will tell you about it in another post.

Odie

A Tribute-Aunt Madaline Alexander

We have a huge family and we have been blessed with a vast network of acquaintances and friends added into our family.

Although we add friends and family to our prayer list nearly every day and try to keep them there as long as needed, I seldom give all those details here on Mile Markers. Nor are we able to list all of our friends and family that pass away.

Today though, I need to mention a special Aunt that flew away to glory a couple of days ago. One of my mom's sisters, Aunt Madaline Alexander was a faithful Christian and Godly woman for many more years than I have been alive. 

Here she is last fall in Kentucky at the family reunion sitting next to my mother. 

Aunt Madaline had an amazing testimony of her experience with God and was a shining light absolutely everywhere she went. She will be missed far and wide for her joyous spirit and her holy example. 

I can speak for myself when I say, Aunt Madaline had a tremendous and lasting impact on my life. From my earliest days, I remember her great cooking, sweet spirit and compelling and bold relationship with Christ. He defined everything about her.

Eight of her nine children are still alive. Even though they knew this day was coming for quite a while, she has left a place that will never be filled. Please pray for Randy, Daphne, Bessie, Charnell, Daniel, Arty, Belinda and Lonetta. 

Please pray for my mother and one uncle and two aunts out of 17 children that remain.

Thank you for stopping in. 

Davy

Odie's Pre-Cruise Sunday And Monday

Hey Friends,

I hope this finds you having a good weekend. Can you believe we are more than halfway through February? 

Before I get to the topic of today's post, my Aunt Theresa had a request. We were discussing the blog, and she had something special for me to tell you today. She wanted me to tell the world that I love my AWESOME aunt!

Well, I love my Aunt Theresa to the moon and back! She is one fantastic lady. She has been by my side since my first memories, cheering me on! Theresa has been there to wipe my tears, dream with me, teach me to imagine big things and love life!

I am really so blessed to have her in my life! She always tries to help wherever needed and brings me so much joy! Theresa, is that good enough? Hope this makes you smile!

Odie's Pre-Cruise Sunday And Monday 

Now, back to regular programming. This post is number 2 to recap my vacation last month. Click here to see my travel day to Florida. Today, we will be focused on Sunday and part of Monday leading up to the big Singing At Sea 2024 event. Pictures shared in this post are from mine and Nicole's phones. 

Sunday

Sunday was dedicated to much needed rest and relaxation. We spent the whole day on the property of the Hilton Garden Inn. It was the chill day that we needed to enjoy our vacation to the fullest!

Church was on Mixlr with my church at Dryden Road Pentecostal Church. Bro. Jared Burris preached a message that really spoke to both of us! We had a great conversation,  Bible study and prayer that afternoon that encouraged our hearts.

Good food was also on the menu for the day! We ordered breakfast and dinner from local restaurants through DoorDash. Sunday's brunch was yummy; we ordered coffee and croissants. It was from Foxtail Coffee Co., but we promptly forgot to take any pictures.

Dinner was from Proccolino's Ristorante & Pizzeria. We placed the order at the same time as brunch and scheduled the evening delivery. We anticipated dinner time all day!

Before dinner, we went outside to enjoy some sunshine and see the beautiful hotel grounds

Below is our Sunday Dinner.

Bread

Stuffed Shells

Nicole's pasta dish. She said it was one the best things she had ever eaten.

Desserts, the cannoli for Nicole and chocolate cake for me.

 

Sabrina was the lady at the hotel front desk in the afternoons and evenings. She was extremely helpful and friendly!

Then It was back to the room to prep for cruise day on Monday. Nicole decided to pre-order Monday's breakfast. She chose another local place called 407 Cafe. We were excited to wake up Monday morning. Their frappes were amazing. We will order from them next year. It is already on our radar.

Monday 

It was embarkation day for Singing at Sea 2024. We were up and ready to head to the ship before 9 AM. 9:30 was our scheduled shuttle time.

When two shuttles arrived to pick up the cruise guest from our hotel, neither shuttle was equipped with a lift for me and my scooter. Several other wheelchair users decided to get on the shuttle with the assistance of family members. I could not climb the step so we had to wait for the accessible shuttle to arrive.

Angela was a Carnival Cruise Line employee helping with the shuttles. We were so thankful for her assistance that day. Angela stayed in contact with us while we waited. She assured us the shuttle would arrive for us. We just did not know the timing. A horrible accident caused a shutdown and major traffic backup between the hotel and the cruise port.

Thankfully, we had a good place to wait for the shuttle. The firepit outside the hotel was nice to sit by as we waited.

This was a screenshot of the weather while we waited. This was a chilly day for Orlando. 

Thanks to Angela from Carnival Cruise Lines, Amy Brown from Templeton Tours INC and Mr. Richard, the shuttle driver. With their assistance, we were shipbound by 1:30.

We were thrilled to be headed to board the Carnival Freedom! Although we were many hours behind schedule, we were excited to be going forward with vacation!

Port Canaveral bound! We had the shuttle to ourselves.

First glimpse of the Carnival Freedom, our home for the next five nights.

By 2:30 in the afternoon, we were on the ship. We were some of the final people to board. I was happy to finally be on the boat. 

Here is a look at the tiny cabin we called home during the cruise. Room number 6311 was a fully accessible stateroom. 

It met our needs perfectly. Nicole and I worked together well as roommates! Thank you again to Nicole Estes for being a superb travel companion. We made so many fantastic memories during our vacation! I am still smiling when I remember all of them!

That wraps up our pre-cruise adventures. Come back next week for another Singing At Sea 2024 recap. The real fun is about to begin!

 Singing At Sea PSA. 

Several people have contacted me in the past, interested in the Singing At Sea cruise. I highly recommend this cruise chartered by Templeton Tours! It is my favorite vacation! We are planning to go next year! 

2025 is already booking up fast for the 49th annual Singing At Sea. Next year, it will all take place on the Carnival Freedom again. The dates are January 27-February 1st 2025. 

The ship sails from Port Canaveral, Florida, on Monday. Tuesday is spent at sea. Wednesday is a port day at Amber Cove in the Dominican Republic. Thursday is another port day at Grand Turks. Friday is another sea day sailing back toward Florida. Saturday morning the ship arrives back at Port Canaveral. The bars and casinos are shut down on the ship for the week. You are surrounded by fantastic food, fellowship and great southern gospel music for your time on the ship.

Contact Templeton Tours here for more information. You can put down a deposit to reserve your spot today. The remaining balance is due in November 2024. The southern gospel groups on board get credit for every passenger who signs up with their group as their host. You can choose any group from the list of entertainers for the week. 11th Hour was our host this year. They were great to sail with, and we highly recommend them as a host group.

It will not give you any special perks, but if you sign up for the 2025 cruise, tell Templeton Tour that Andrea Boggs recommended it! 😆

See you next time!

Odie

You All Made Me Cry

As a general rule, I do not make a big deal over my own birthdays. They have not been all that important since I turned 16. 😇

Especially so this year, there are much bigger things that are more important.

Also, I fully subscribe to Bro. Kenny Morris’ description of the dichotomy of birthdays.

You have to have birthdays to keep living, but if you have too many birthdays they will kill you. 😇😍

However, this year my cousin Lisa Isaacs informed a bunch of our family and the Dodds church that it was my birthday and she asked them to send cards.

Because of that, I received cards not only from Dodds but from probably dozens of cousins and other family members that I have not heard from for years.

It was a very pleasant surprise and I appreciate all of the cards and love. I also appreciate cousin Lisa for loving us and thinking of us always.

Over the last three weeks we have also received cards, letters, phone calls, texts, emails and maybe even a few smoke signals wishing our family well as we journey through this stroke and the aftermath. The messages are still coming at a furious pace and we appreciate all of the love, concern and prayers toward God on our behalf.

Thank you, dear friends. We feel the love.

Davy

January Family Birthdays

 Hey Friends,

This is Odie coming to you with my Saturday post for the week.

January Birthdays

January is a big month for birthdays in our extended family. Today is a good day to give them a shout for their birthday. May God bless each of them with an extra blessing for their birthdays.

January 3rd. Lucas James Osborn turned 21. 

We are so proud of Luke! He is a fine, respectful young man! I can not believe our Baby Luke is now an adult!

I started the Boggs grandchildren. Then Luke capped us off. We make good bookends for the grandchildren of Martha and Eugene Boggs.

January 12th was the next family birthday of Betty Jo Morgan.

I mentioned my Gran's birthday in this post. She hit the 75 milestone on the 12th. Gran deserves two birthday blog shout ous this year!

January 13th was the birthday of my cousin Ezra Daniels. 

Ezra is a fun boy who is turning into a young man. I can not believe he is 11!

Time has flown by so fast. The toddler, who used to arrest me while we played, is now so helpful and loving!

Sunday, the 14th,  my Aunt Jeanna Morgan had a birthday.

God blessed me in the Aunt department of life. I have several wonderful Aunts. Jeanna is high on the list. I am thankful for the bond that we share!

Funny story about the picture above. It is too good not to share. Aunt Jeanna was working to get a lot of photos at Christmas. She and I had just been conversing about something. Then She turned to take a picture of my parents. 

She then said, "Where's Odie? I want a picture with her?"  Jeanna began to look around the room for me, but I was right behind her in the exact spot where I had been talking to her a moment before. We had to have a good laugh about that incident.

January 16th was my Dad's birthday. 

We celebrated number 57! I was thrilled to have Dad home with me at the beach cottage for his 2024 birthday.

God has blessed our family by allowing us to keep Dad around! I am glad I get to tell him I love him again!

God blessed me with the best Daddy in the world! I want the world to know that I love him! Amidst sickness, he has taught me faith and determination and exemplifies an excellent attitude!

Today, on January 20th, little Miss Chloe Jean Shoemaker is 2! 

She is our big miracle girl. God has answered many prayers for Chloe Jean in her two years of life. She is a growing girl who loves food!

I love this picture below. She loves to dip her food. Uncle Davy the Great taught her how to dip with chips and salsa. She has been hooked ever since! 

My Uncle Danny Morgan completes the Ohio January family birthdays on January 21st.

This is Mom's brother. This picture is evidence that he takes after Mom. Craziness does not run in the Morgan family. It gallops through all the members of the family! We like to have fun!

He is always making me laugh with his antics and humor. He is an awesome uncle! Uncle Danny is there to make me laugh, cheer me on when I am trying something new, and pray for me when I need extra prayer!

Happy birthday to all of our family who have birthdays this month. We are privileged to call you our family! I love all of you dearly! May this be your best year yet!

There is a look into our family birthdays for this month. Thanks for stopping by to see me. 

Odie

Steve And Karen Boggs

We are working through things and working around things one item at a time around here. One of the things we are working around today is typing. I have typed hundreds of words each day for many, many years. That becomes a problem when I am now typing about 2.5 words per minute. 😍 There are not enough minutes in the day nor enough mental capacity in my little brain for that.

So, I will try speaking to text. Maybe Odie can insert and format the text into the blog and go through the process of posting. Let’s see how it goes.

We have had so many friends and family draw near to us in the last three weeks. There were so many calls, texts, and emails offering to come, to buy, to do absolutely anything that could be done. 

Many family members that are near us here in Ohio, have done so much for us, from bringing food to finding clothes and other things we needed. It has been amazing. Standing tall among those that stood up are these two special people I am mentioning today.

Steve and Karen Boggs

My brother Steve and my sister Karen were in Ohio visiting family for Christmas when the stroke hit me. In fact, Steve and I were loading PA equipment into the bus, visiting and spending time together. I am very thankful that he was here with us praying, thinking and acting.

Steve and Karen were scheduled to go home in a couple days but stayed nearly three weeks, being everything we needed anyone to be. They brought food, drinks, clothes and support at each and every opportunity. They sat for many hours and many days in the hospital just to be near. There were several days I was not able to see them, but they were there. They did whatever needed to be done for us or for Odie at the barn, at the house, or at the hospital.

Dozens of friends have expressed a willingness to come to us from day one, but there was really nothing that any of you could do for us. We appreciate the willingness and we know you would have sat there and waited on us, but we already felt guilty enough that Steve and Karen would not go home.😇

Let me assure you anything you could have done, could have brought, could have provided was well covered by the selflessness of my dear brother and my dear sister. Steve and Karen were the arms, legs and feet of all of your compassion, tenderness and provision.

They did absolutely everything that any of you have wanted to do for us and they did it well. They represented God’s people and our family, and they represented you completely. 

They neglected the things that they needed to do and stayed with us for days and days, but not for any type of recognition. They did it because of love, and we felt it and feel it now. 

But I want to recognize love and loyalty like that. They would say they made no sacrifice, but I have seen too much to agree. So, Kelly and I salute these great people, Steve and Karen Boggs as heroes in this momentary tragedy of life.

Please join us in thanking and appreciating these tremendous people.

Davy

1/12 Friday Davy Update, Family and Birthdays

Hey Friends,

This is Odie checking in for this Friday's post. Here is the latest update on my Dad. He continues to work hard on the road to recovery!

Davy Update

Dad has now finished 7 days of inpatient rehab. He has 4 more days to go. The therapists say he is making great strides, but it is honestly hard for him to see the progress himself. Mom can see his coordination improving.

There was an interesting facet to rehab Thursday. They had Mom bring the green machine to the outside door and he loaded in several times using the walker and using the wheelchair. He really did good with that. The Jeep seat is a little higher; they said they will try that later as well.

I pray he keeps gaining ground each day. He is giving it his all! I can tell he is tired. I also see he is getting stronger. Thank God for daily strength!

Most days, I only get to see him for a little bit. This week, I was able to hug him. That was one of the best things I have felt in a long time! I love my Dad so much!

Family Time

I spent several hours with Gran, Papaw, Uncle Steve and Aunt Karen yesterday! The extra family time is an added blessing for me in the last two weeks.

My family members are lifesavers for me. I have not worried about food, rides, and whatever I need!. I am so thankful for all of our family!

Happy Birthday, Gran

We have a big birthday today in our family. I could not let this day pass without a bit of fanfare for my Grandmother.

Happy 75th birthday, Gran! We love you so much! You are a wonderful Mother and Grandmother! We feel blessed to call you Mom and Gran!

Some of the family had planned a surprise party for her last weekend. From the beginning of the planning, I knew that we would not be home for the party.

Well, things changed. We were home, but we were at the hospital all day. Thanks to our Morgan family for understanding why we could not be there to celebrate in person!

Below is a picture my cousin sent me from the party. They were all able to pull off the surprise and treat Gran for her birthday. It looks like they had a great party!

I am incredibly proud of the family for not spilling the beans! That was quite the task for a few members of the family! Gran is hard to surprise.

Thanks for stopping by to visit with us! See you tomorrow!
Odie

1/8 Monday Davy Update

Hey Friends, 

Happy Birthday

First, I want to wish a very special reader a Happy Birthday! A little birdie informed me that our cousin, Glendon Lamb, is celebrating number 89 today. 

Glendon, Happy Birthday from all three of us! We love you! Thank you for keeping up with our blog. I know you are praying hard for us. We appreciate you!

A Word From Odie

This is Odie writing for this Monday's post. I hope you had a good weekend. Thanks for stopping by to check on us today. 

We are still praying, believing, waiting, and trusting in God to heal Dad instantaneously. I can say God is helping us and giving us strength for the journey. God has been so good to us! 

I have a special treat for you; Dad sent an update for all of you. I will end the post with Dad's words below!

Odie

1/8 Monday Davy Update

This weekend was a special weekend on the schedule, going way back into the spring of 2022. A  very young lady in Tennessee, Evelyn Eason, discovered we had birthdays near each other in January. 

We conspired then to have a joint birthday party at a Mexican restaurant in the Knoxville area in January of 2024. This Saturday, we were going to meet them in Knoxville on our way through. Of course, most of you know we were nowhere near Tennessee on Saturday because I was on the second day of rehab for a stroke. 

I think it's very safe to say we were not where we wanted to be and we were certainly not where we thought we would be, but we must believe we are in the hands of God and He has it all in control. 

I was in inpatient therapy for three days over the weekend. I wish I could tell you I was getting much better, but the truth is I am mostly learning to adapt and hopefully training my body to more normal function. 

Thank you all for praying for us. I must tell you, we need the help of God.

Davy

1/1 Davy Monday Update

Hey Friends,

This is Odie checking in from the hospital. I am posting from my phone in case the font and formatting look crazy. 

If you missed the post from earlier today, please click here to see it. Below is the latest update from Mom about Dad. We appreciate all the love and prayers! 

We have had a full day of doctors in and out, scans and tests. We just finished a session with the lady helping with Davy’s swallowing. Even though he’s not swallowing, she has much hope. 

There is a chance we will do in patient therapy, but some of the doctors on the team are pushing for a temporary feeding tube to get us home as soon as possible, maybe this week. 

There are many things that will need to be in place for us to go home but they are all doable. Going home means going to Odie’s house. She has made it available to us. 

Thanks again for your continued prayers! God is helping us day by day. 

Odie

Please Continue Praying

Hey Friends,

Odie here on this fine Monday morning. Happy New Year! We are beginning 2024 with a prayer request.

I posted this information here yesterday. I know that we often have readers on Monday who are not able to tune in on Sunday.

As most of you probably know, our view is not what we expected today. We planned on beginning revival at First Pentecostal Church in London, Kentucky, for Pastor Vernon Jarvis. Unfortunately, we are not going to make it to London this week.

My dad had a health situation arise about noon on Friday. The medical experts feel like he had a stroke.

Many of you have already been praying and communicating with us. We appreciate it very much. We are needing and we are expecting a miracle from the Lord. Please have your churches pray for us this week and continuing into the foreseeable future.

If you have our numbers, you are welcome to contact us. We will communicate as possible.

Thank you for stopping by today.

Odie

Please Help Us Pray

Hey Friends,

This is Odie coming to you from Ohio. As most of you probably know, our view is not what we expected today.

We planned on beginning revival at First Pentecostal Church in London, Kentucky for Pastor Vernon Jarvis. Unfortunately, we are not going to make it to London this week.

My Dad had a health situation arise at about noon on Friday. The medical experts feel like he had a stroke.

Many of you have already been praying and communicating with us, and we appreciate it very much. We are needing and we are expecting a miracle from the Lord. Please have your churches pray for us this Sunday and continue into the foreseeable future.

If you have our numbers, you are welcome to contact us. e will communicate as soon as possible.

Thank you for stopping by today.

Odie

Odie's December Hillsboro 2023 Family Time

Hey Friends,

This is Odie reporting in one last time for 2023. It seems like we just closed the door to 2022 about three months ago. Where did the time go?

This year has been full of ups and downs, with a few sudden curves thrown in the mix, too. The one constant that has carried me through 2023 is my precious Lord!

I am incredibly grateful that I can rely on Him! I have utilized my ability to lean on Him heavily this year! He has never once let me down! With His help, I have survived another year.

I am looking forward to having a fresh calendar page to flip on Monday. God only knows what the coming year holds for all of us. We can trust Him to see us through every day of the year ahead. I pray God blesses us all with a tremendous 2024!

 Odie's December Hillsboro 2023 Family Time

I have a bundle of pictures to share from my time at home. I am going to break them up into a few different posts. Today will be my Morgan Family pictures.

I spent a few days with my Morgan family in Hillsboro a few weekends ago. It was wonderful to be with them. I love my family! 

Here are some pictures and commentary from my fun family time. First, we had a family pizza night at Gran and Papaw's house.

Morgan and Odie.

Uncle Danny and Odie.

Wade and Hunter.

Joey and Courtney. 

Kayla and Trever.

Odie and Seth.

Courtney and Odie.

Odie and Kayla.

Karleigh Jo fun.

Playing cars with Jackson.

Wake up Karleigh Jo.

Papaw plays the guitar.

Gran's Christmas tree.

On Friday we shopped. We had to have ice cream during the fun!

They had a Christmas dinner at my family's church on Saturday night. Below are a few pictures from the night.

Odie and Ezra

Morgan and Odie

My food.

Trever and Kayla

Courtney, Papaw and Ezra.

Jackson having fun with the table decorations.

Karleigh Jo watching the games.

Odie and Uncle Danny.

Odie and Gran.

My official Christmas picture for 2023. Thank you to Kayla Jo for the photography.

Gran and Papaw took me home on Sunday afternoon. We had lunch at Alcapulco.

The food and salsa were heavenly.

Papaw and Odie.

Gran.

A quick selfie and I had a hard time getting the angles right. It was too cold to get the picture outside.

I insisted that Papaw had to play me some good music before they left to head home.

That wraps up my family fun filled weekend. I hope you enjoyed coming along for the ride. Tune in next time for more Ohio pictures from my camera roll.

See you in 2024!

Odie