Time to catch up

Holy cow!  It's been forever since I posted.  I didn't think I had anything to say so I just kept putting it off until "something big happened" not realizing that there are small things that happen every day.


Last you heard from me we were in the Great Smoky Mountains on our way to Atlanta.  The big and small that came out of our week in Atlanta was rain!  Rain, rain, rain and more rain!  But that was just the last two days of the trip.  The beginning of the week was beautiful and we managed to make it to two Braves home games!  Before one of those games we had the honor to meet Braves announcer and pitching legend, Don Sutton!  He is a fan of trail mix and we had sent him some of our Hot On The Trail mix a few weeks before.  He loved it and when a tv friend of Darren's mentioned to him that we were at the game, he invited us up to the announcers booth.  

Valerie, Don Sutton (with our HOTT mix) and Darren)

After Atlanta we were in Richmond for a couple days.  With the rain out in Atlanta putting us behind two days, our time in Richmond seemed really short.  Being in the hotel give me access to luxuries that I don't have while camping - namely electricity!  It's hard to make our Wild Hunt packs with a vacuum sealer that runs on electricity if I don't have any.  So, when I get a chance to plug in I get as many packs made as possible.  


We took last week "off".  Not off from racing, just off from NASCAR.  Darren worked an ALMS (American Le Mans Series) race in Ohio so it was like a week off for him.  This is where we saw God in the small details not the big ones that everyone hopes for.  Don't get me wrong, He's always there we just don't listen well enough some times to notice.


Northern Ohio is beautiful.  Rolling hills.  Farms.  Small, quaint towns.  If I could draw more than a stick figure, this would be scenery worthy of painting.  Amish and Mennonite communities are also very prevalant in this area. Most of the fruit/vegetable markets are owned and run by Mennonite families.  We found one of these stands 30 minutes from our hotel.  The second night we were there we decided to go check it out.  Walking out of the hotel we ran into Mike, he works with Darren.  As we got in the van to leave, Darren suggested that we invite Mike to come along.  Mike drives the truck for BSI and didn't have a rental car that week.  He was at the mercy of any of the other guys going out and asking him along.  This is an unusual gesture for Darren because after spending all day with these guys he doesn't usually come back to the hotel and hang out with them.  This night he felt the need to ask Mike along and he was thrilled!  The other guys hadn't come back from the track yet or were busy with other stuff and he was so happy to be asked along.  No, this isn't a life changing God moment but it is one of those times that listening to Him and letting Him lead you brought joy to another person.


Keeping Darren's "out of character" gesture in mind, I had my own.  I am not a salesman!  I do not like to cold call.  I can't even think of something else I would rather do since I would rather do anything but show up at a business unexpectedly.  But, that's what I did!  In the tiny village of Lexington, OH is the Itty Bitty Cupcake Shoppe.  This lady make the yummiest  little vegetarian (no milk, no eggs) cupcakes.  It was her Oreo Creme cupcake that got us thinking about the mint chocolate Oreo fragments we make.  Darren suggested that I take some samples over to her.  "Ok, on Saturday.", I said with no intention of going.  Remember, I don't cold call and I'm not a salesman!  "No, I need you to go today.", he insisted.  Not happy and not the least bit full of good cheer, I packaged up some samples, dropped him at the track and went back to the cupcake shop.  Our spicy chocolate was just what she had been looking for!!  She wanted to do a spicy cupcake that had heat but not a change in the flavor.  She was so excited to get the samples and hear that I could make her a block of chocolate for shaving.  I didn't leave her shop excited about a possible sale, that was the farthest thing from my mind, I left there excited that I had been able to help her and bring her exactly what she was searching for.  It's not always about doing big gestures that are the most meaningful but the small things we do for people that bring the most joy.


In family news we have had some big milestones in the last couple weeks.

Happy 5th Birthday Jaclyn!!!!

(she is our youngest)

Jaclyn Michelle

Happy 14th Birthday Rebekah!!!

(she's "the middle" - there are 3 younger and 3 older)

Rebekah Caroline

Happy 1st Birthday Jazlynn!!

(our granddaughter)

MeMaw & Jazlynn Kay

Congratulations Keirstin on getting your learner's permit and Congratulations Kayla on getting your driver's license!!!!

We are camping in Baltimore for the rest of the week so Darren can get some shop hours in. I am so excited to use our new Dutch oven tonight!!  We are making something called Witch's Brew (it's a hamburger/noodle stew).  I'll let you know if it's a success and post the recipe.  This weekend we will be down in Charlotte and then on Monday in Atlanta for one of the last Braves home games of the season.  Go Braves!!!!  Next week is Dover.

"With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments." ~Psalm 119:10