Days 18 & 19 - Kris and Chelle's get-away

JUNE 1-3

Time for the two of us

It was a tremendous blessing that Kris and I were able to spend a couple of days together in the midst of all the busy-ness of life these days. God worked on our behalf in such an amazing way to provide the perfect place for us to enjoy. One of my dad's friend, Jeff, offered to let us use his beautiful 150 acre ranch in Hockley, TX. We are so grateful for Jeff and Shanna's graciousness in letting us borrow their lovely ranch home.

Kris especially loved fishing from the stocked, but rarely fished, bass pond - which translates lots fish catchin'. Actually, Kris caught 20 fish in only 1 & 1/2 hours. He was enjoying himself so much I could hardly get him up off the dock. It was so relaxing to sit on the little dock and fish off the deck and watch the sun go down. I took the photo below on the first night there from the dock. It was so quiet and still. We could hear the frogs, the crickets, and the wind in the trees - that's all. It was deafening - the quietness. So unlike where we live in Tirana where there is always the sound of cars, horns, people talking, radios, and city life around us. The quiet was my favorite thing about this ranch.
This is Kris's biggest catch of the day - a 4 lb big mouth bass. We were going to eat it for lunch, but Kris didn't want to clean it, so he threw it back in the pond. I guess the fun is in the catching, not the eating.

In case any of you are wondering...I did fish also. After I saw Kris catching fish right and left, I thought I would try my hand at it.
I only caught 2 fish, but then there was the one that got away. Here's how it was...
We were in the little canoe at dusk (so romantic) and I was rowing us around the lake (I have been doing P90X ya' know). After a couple of hours of rowing (OK more like 5 minutes), Kris took over. I had my line in the water and we were semi-trolling. All of a sudden my line just jerks and pulls the end of the pole into the water. I was reeling and reeling so hard that the little finger rest on the bottom of my pole was digging into my thigh and made a serious indentation. I could not get the pole out of the water. The fish was swerving back and forth so much that the whole boat was following the line. I was afraid to see this monster fish on the end of the line. Kris, of course, was supporting me fully - he was laughing hysterically b/c I was reeling so hard and fast and getting all worn out (more pull ups for me). So, just when it seemed that there was no more line to reel in...SNAP...the whole line, fish, hook, and sinker, snapped off. I couldn't believe it! It was probably a small Lock Ness Monster. Well, right after that Kris gets a fish on his line. He reels in a good sized fish. I was a little jealous at this point. After he unhooked the fish, that silly of husband of mine said, "Heads up!" and threw that wet, wriggly fish right at me! I batted it back into the water but almost dumped both of us in the water. That big monster fish probably would have taken a nip at me. Anyhow, that was my story of "the one that got away". It's true, I promise.

Here's a gorgeous shot of the fishing poles, the pond, and the serene scene that we enjoyed. Isn't it fantastic? God's creation is so amazing!!!

One other thing I enjoyed was sitting on the porch swing and reading, praying, just rejoicing in the beauty around us. It was a superb place to bring a steaming cup of coffee in the early morning and have a quiet time. On our last night, Kris grilled some steaks (nothing like a Texas side of beef) and we enjoyed a yummy meal out on the deck. It was the perfect ending to a perfect couple of days together.

It rained super hard the last night we were there. I loved watching the lightning shoot across the sky, followed closely by the rolling thunder. I love Texas lightning storms. The rain was fantastic and the smell of the wet earth was heavenly. I could have sat on the porch to watch it all night long, but the rain was coming down so hard and fast that I would have been soaked to the bone. However, the dawn broke and the we enjoyed a gorgeous, clear sunrise.

We praise God for allowing us the opportunity to relax together, make some fun memories, and rejoice in His fantastic creative power! He is good, all the time He is good!