2023 Journal

 10 May 2023, Wednesday Priorit ized Daily Task 10:30 AM - Cason Road 3 PM - Meet with Karen Forster at Petro's I slept in, had prayer, showered, shaved, and got ready for the day.  Matthew and I went out to meet Clara, Matt's contact, from Atlanta.  She did not make the appointment and moved to tomorrow at noon.  Later Matthew and I drove out to Petro's and met Karen Forster, who is married to my cousin, Ken.  She was the Administrator at Cason Road Nursing Home at one time.  She now owns and operates 10 skilled nursing home facilities.  We talked to her about contacting Daryl Sprayberry, Major League Baseball player, who operates drug rehab facilities in the south.  She helped him open one in Birmingham Alabama.  She will contact him to see if there is any interest on his part about the Cason Road building.  We got home and Debbie and Max had bought dinner for us.  I washed and dried clothes.  I went walking with Max....

 9 May 2023, Tuesday Priorit ized Daily Task Avery Robinson's 26th Birthday Brad Bilbo at Rockmart Nursing Home I was up early, had prayer, called Matthew, woke him, showered, shaved, and got ready for the day.  We ate breakfast and drove to the Cason Road facility.  Matthew wanted to check the yard and outside of the building before tomorrow.  We checked the electric-controlled entrances to make sure we will be able to get in tomorrow morning.  We drove to the nursing home in Rockmart and met with Brad Bilbo, Manager of Reliable Health Care, and Ronda Bass, Administrator.  They gave us a tour and we talked with Tim Blankenship and Mike Lee in maintenance.  Tim has found a lawn company that will maintain the yard at Cason Road.  Matthew and I drove to Paulding County and stopped at Manor Lake a 100-bed Assisted Living and Memory Center across from Paulding County Hospital in Dallas.  We met with Sherry Lyle, RN, and Assistant Director wh...

 8 May 2023, Monday Priorit ized Daily Task Call Jane Haws Call and pay Capital One and American Express credit card bills Tim Blankenship (770-231-0194) his maintenance man at Reliable Health Care                                                                                                          Mathasia Lope (859-489-6043) does yard work for Joan DuPont I was up at 7 AM, had prayer, and listened to some Tabernacle Choir music.  I tried to call Jimmy Morris at A&M and Gateway Investments but he did not answer again and has not returned my phone calls or responded to my emails as of this morning.  Matthew is still sleeping and I assume Max and Debbie are sleeping.  I called Debbie before I wen...

 7 May 2023, Sunday Priorit ized Daily Task I got a good night's sleep, had prayer, and studied scriptures before showering and getting ready for church.  I went and picked Dan Leser up for the Sacrament meeting.  Charlie and Shirley Hibbert were at church today.  I saw a lot of old friends and some young ones.  After the Sacrament meeting, I took Dan back to the assisted living home,  I drove back to the Cedartown Branch building and attended Sunday School.  Afterward, I drove home, Matthew, Max, and Debbie got home and we had dinner.  Matthew drove over to Atlanta to see Will Harbin he went to school with at Darlington.  Will lives next door to the Governor's mansion.  Beth called and I talked to her and Andrew.  Maggie is playing soccer and loves it.  I called and talked to Michael and Grace; her team. won their basketball tournament.  Elan, Robyn, and some of their children, Baylen, and Kate were there.  I tr...

 6 Ma6 2023, Saturday Priorit ized Daily Task Call Jane Haws about water lines at her apartment garage 12 Noon - Kimball family reunion 3118 Hwy 27 Business, Buchanan, GA Matthew and administered to Max I slept in, had prayer, and went for a walk around the neighborhood.  I did a few pushups and tried to call Jimmy Morris.  He did not answer; I left a message but when he did not call me back I sent the email I put together last night.  Matthew only got about 1.5 hours of sleep since yesterday because he was working on his software with developers and customers.  He did get Max and Debbie's WiFi working at more than twice the speed with a new carrier.  He also got 3 new T.V.s connected and used an Apple TV box for another TV which made it basically a new smart TV as the other 3 TVs.  I went with Max and we took the food we purchased this week. and picked up 3 fried chickens at the Kroger Deli Max ordered last night.  We drove down to Buchanan ...

 5 May 2023, Friday Priorit ized Daily Task I had prayer, read, and came downstairs Matt was awake working on getting some documents ready for Jean to put together in his software for a client.  We ate breakfast.  Matthew went to get his hair cut; I went with Max to the Post Office to mail some cards for Debbie.  We picked Matthew up and drove to Best Buy in Hiram and Matthew helped Max get Orbi Netgear Satellite, router and 2 satellites, and 3 TV.  We stopped on the way home at Mac's Bakery in Rockmart and picked up 3 pies for memorial services at Perryman and Banon, Mormon Church Graveyard this weekend.  When we got to Cedartown we stopped and picked up dinner at the Kroger deli.  Debbie picked up dinner for Lance and Nancy Pope.  Max and I took it to their home in Esom Hill School they converted into a home.  Don Garman and his wife were leaving.  Max and I visited with Lance and Nancy.  Nancy has hurt her back.  Max an...

 4 May 2023, Thursday Priorit ized Daily Task Jack Karl Hobbs 6th Birthday 8:30 AM - Meet with Brad Bilbo and Tim  Blankenship at the Cason Road facility 2:00 PM - Meet with West Evans, Attorney at his office 711 Broad St. Rome, GA call Floyd Farless at 706-266-5082. (mobile) I was up early, had prayer, showered, and shaved before Matthew and I drove out to the Cason Road Facility and met Brad Bilbo and his maintenance man, Tim Blankenship (770-231-0194) his maintenance man at Reliable Health Care that operates our nursing homes.  Tim is going to get us a bid on getting the building in shape to lease and getting the grass mowed and bushes trimmed.  Max went and got his hair cut this morning.  Later Matt and I drove up to Rome.  Matthew had a meeting with his developers in India.  Afterward, Matt went to Wells Fargo to make a deposit and I went to Regions Bank and withdrew $200 from my checking account to carry in my wallet for petty cash.  Ma...

 3 May 2023, Wednesday Priorit ized Daily Task I was up early, had prayer, showered, shaved, and Matthew came over.  We packed the SUV, visited with Dan and Ora, and got on the road to Cedartown, GA.  We visited with and spent the night with Max and Debbie.  We had prayer with them and Matthew slept upstairs in Spencer's room and I slept downstairs in the guest bedroom.  I called and talked to Debbie.  We had prayer together before going to bed.

 2 May 2022, Tuesday Priorit ized Daily Task James "Jimmy" Taylor, Ora and Dan's next-door neighbor behind their home turned 92 on the first of April this year.  Olive complexion, hardly no wrinkles, short and stocky in stature, keeps his yard and fruit trees up, climbs ladders, and works hard. I slept in this morning, had prayer, and called and talked to Debbie.   She was working in the yard setting out flowers.  I gave her the name and phone number of Kim at Thrive Nursery to see if they have the  espalier  pear tree.  Debbie talked to Jared and he is picking it up from the Nursery and planting it in the backyard on Saturday. I set in the shade on the back porch with Dan and Ora.  Matthew, Dan, and I had lunch with Brian, Susasn, Ally, Palmer, and Lele Ruth in Sandestin.  Matthew went home with them; Dan and I came back home to see Ora.  Susan brought Matthew back and he connected the WiFi and satellites to their TVs.  M...

 1 May 2023, Monday Priorit ized Daily Task Regions Bank - password and user name here in Destin  Best Buy for Matt to purchase a new computer Ora and Dan's in Mimar Beach, FL 7:00 PM - dinner at Louis Louis Restaurant in Sana Rosia Beach I slept in until 7 AM; Matthew was awake working on his computer.  He was up after I went to sleep working with the developers in India.  I paid tithing online and was about to pay some credit card bills from last month and Regions website would not let me into my account.  I walked about a block at 9 AM and talked with a young lady who works at another location but came in to help here today.  She got my username and password working.  I spoke with a lady in customer services at the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line about my bill and Visa Credit Card charges.  She told me the $675.90 was a deposit and should be refunded in 11 to 14 days from April 14th when it was posted.  This is not correct; the charge was...

 30 Apr 2023, Sunday Priorit ized Daily Task Melodie McAlpin's 42nd Birthday Our boat docks in Port Canerval Florida 10:30 AM - The Knutsons or Brother Meeks is covering for us to provide church services at Abbington Memory Center 5;51 PM - Melodie, the girls, and Vickie depart Orlando for San Diaago  9:58 PM - Debbie departs Orlando for SLC We were up early, had prayer, and went to breakfast.  We put our luggage in the hall last night to be taken down to the meeting area on the ship on deck 4.  After breakfast, we all met and deboarded, picked up our luggage, and met our tour bus that took us to Kennedy Space Center.  Our tour of the space center was very interesting and educational.  They had so much for children and adults there was not enough time to see all we wanted to see.  I told Debbie this would be a good place to bring Mrico and Ljubica when they come to see us in a few months.  Our tour bus took us to the Orlando Airport at about ...

 29 Apr 2023.  Saturday Priorit ized Daily Task 10:00 AM - Coco Cay Water Park Island Debbie and I had prayer, showered,  and met the family for breakfast before going down to Guest Services to get our luggage tags exchanged for an earlier checkout tomorrow.  All of us, Matthew, Melodie, Madeline, Bella, Ava, and Vickie went with us off to the ship to walk to Coco Cay Island Water Park.  We rented a cabana for 8 people before coming on the cruise.  We were provided bottled water, beach towels, a Bluetooth speaker, and two floating mats.   The children played in the water park and at noon we ordered lunch that was served in the cabana.  We rode on the open-air shuttle bus around the small island before getting on the Wonder of the Sea.  The Liberty Cruise Ship was docked next to us.  When we got back on the ship we all played laser tag.   When we finished we went next door and saw the play with the tap dancers again....

 28 Apr 2023, Friday Priorit ized Daily Task Note: Come Follow Me, Taylor and Tyler:  C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity near the end of chapter 3: Christ says He is humble and meek, and we believe Him, not noticing that He was merely a man, humility and meekness are the very last  characteristics we could attribute to some of His sayings.                                                                                                                     I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: “I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.” That is the one thing we must not say...

 27 Apr 2023, Thursday Priorit ized Daily Task 7:30 AM - 2:30 PM Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas Island  I woke at about 5:30 AM, had my personal prayer, and listened to scriptures using my computer and ear connector.  Debbie got up at about 6 AM and we had prayer together and listened to Jared Halverson, Unshaken, Come Follow Me, part 2 of John 7-10.  At 7:30 AM we met Matthew, Melodie, Vickie, Madeline, Bella, and Ava for breakfast.  Afterward, we got off the ship at Charlotte Amalie on St. Thomas Island.  We caught a 35-minute taxi ride to Coral World Ocean Park.  Debbie, Vickie, and I took Ava and went through the park to see the fish and mammals in the aquariums.  We watched one of the employees feed the Marcow and tell us their story.  One of them could talk a little.  Matthew, Melodie, Madeline, and Bella went snorkeling in the sea.  Our ride back in an open bus was an experience.  There was a carnival in town and many ...

 26 Apr 2023, Wednesday Priorit ized Daily Task Visit St. Marrten Island divided, part Dutch and part French, Airport runway starts at the edge of Maho Bay Beach Debbie and I were up at 7 AM. Had prayer and studied the scriptures. 7:45 PM Dinner 8:45 PM - show Tap Factory We were up at 7 AM.  The ship docked this morning at Philipsburg, St. Maarten.  Debbie and I had prayer and studied scriptures before meeting Matthew, Melodie, Vickie, and the girls for breakfast.  We got off the ship and caught a Taxi to Maho Bay.  We rented lounge chairs and umbrellas and spent about 4 hours on the beach.  Debbie, Matthew, and Vickie got messages from a local lady working on the beach. We had lunch there before our Taxi picked us up and took us back to the ship.  The temperature got up to about 90 degrees F.  Everyone got a lot of sun today.  I stayed under an umbrella with my hat and covered with a shirt, pants, and shoes and still got a slight sunbu...

 25  Apr 2023, Tuesday Priorit ized Daily Task Note: Alura cruise ship in 2020, same as Wonder of the Sea but not as long or as wide Debbie and I slept in until about 7 AM.  We had prayer and studied scriptures in John and Mark, Come Follow Me schedule for this year in the New Testament. Showered, shaved, and got ready for the day.  Debbie went to aerobic exercise and I walked around the track and did some weights in the gym.  Later we had breakfast with a couple from Long Beach, Matt, Melodie, Vickie, and the children, Madeline, and Bella.  Ava went to the youth center to play with other children in a supervised controlled area.  Later we had lunch at the pool and water slides.  We had a late lunch at 3 PM near the pool at the Mexican buffet.  In the evening we had dinner reservations at the restaurant we went to the other night but it was much better seating than we had before.  After dinner, we all went to a show in the Royal The...

 24 Apr 2023, Monday Priorit ized Daily Task We slept in, had prayer, and Debbie went to the pool to do aerobic exercises.  Later we ate breakfast and spent the day doing things with the children.  Matthew and Melodie took Ava to the children's center where she played with other children her age, they had supervised games, movies, etc.  Madeline and Bella went rock climbing and then we all went down the dragon slide.  Matthew and Melodie went to dinner at a specialty restaurant.  Vickie took the girls to the restaurant where we have reservations, the same place as last night.  Debbie and I dressed up and went to dinner and then to the water show.  There was 3, 10, and 17-meter tower/platforms the acrobats dived off into 4 meters of water.  They were on wires just over our heads some of the time.  We got a little wet; I could stand on the seats and just about touch them when they would go over our heads.  We got back to our room...

 23 Apr 2023, Sunday Priorit ized Daily Task Call Frank Powell Cruise, Royal Caribbean to CocoBay, Bahamas; St. Maarten and.  We were up at 6 AM and had prayer.  I showered, shaved, and ate cereal with Almond milk for breakfast.  I met Matthew and followed him to Fox Car Rental near the Orlando Airport.  I turned the Toyota 4-Wheel SUV back in.  I forgot to give them the key and after we picked the girls up and packed the Wahoneer all 8 of us got in and Matthew drove to Port Canerval.  We dropped the girls off at Terminal 1 where our boat was docked.   I rode with Matthew back to Fox Rental in Orlando.  He turned in his Wagoneer and I gave them the key to the Toyota.  Matt called for an Uber pickup to take us back to Port Canerval.  The girls had already checked. in and were on board.  When Matthew and I got on board we ate some lunch with the girls.  When we were allowed in our rooms before 3 PM I got on the WiF...

22 Apr 2023, Saturday Priorit ized Daily Task Matthew McAlpin 46th Birthday Westgate Town Resort, 7700 Westgate Boulevard, Kissimmee, FL NOTE:  “Jesus Christ lived in the midst of his enemies. At the end, all his disciples deserted him. On the Cross he was utterly alone, surrounded by evildoers and mockers. For this cause he had come, to bring peace to the enemies of God. So the Christian, too, belongs not in the seclusion of a cloistered life but in the thick of foes. There is his commission, his work. 'The kingdom is to be in the midst of your enemies. And he who will not suffer this does not want to be of the Kingdom of Christ; he wants to be among friends, to sit among roses and lilies, not with the bad people but the devout people. O you blasphemers and betrayers of Christ! If Christ had done what you are doing who would ever have been spared' (Luther).”  Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together. (Dietrich lived what he taught.  During Hitler's reign of terror in...

 21 Apr 2023, Friday Priorit ized Daily Task Call and check on Frank Powell Westgate Town Resort, 7700 Westgate Boulevard, Kissimmee, FL We slept in this morning, had prayer, showered, and shaved before going down for breakfast provided by the Residence Marriott Inn and Suites.  Vickie and we checked out and put our bags in the SUV.  We waited in the lobby where we had WiFi access until about 1:30 PM when we drove down to the Embassy Suites.  I parked the SUV and met Matthew, Melodie, and the girls, and at 3:00 PM we went over to the Tampa Convention Center for the Cheer competition.  Madeline's group tied with another team for 3rd place.  All the little girls were incredible in their performances but the group, Ruby Red, from Louisiana won first place.  We ate at the Embassy Suites where Matthew, Melodie, and the girls had stayed.  We drove up to Kississie, FL, and checked in at the Westgate Resort.   Debbie and I stopped at Public...