Home Again

 Hey Friends,

Yesterday started dark and early for us. It was a travel day, and we were at the Oklahoma City airport by 5:30 AM to catch a 7 AM flight.

Thanks to Bro. Bruce and Sis. Priscilla Mayhan, they were a great host for the weekend! Bro. Bruce Mayhan took this pic at the airport yesterday. It was much too early for pictures.

The Lord, once again granted us traveling mercies, and we are so very grateful! Due to weather conditions, both flights were extremely bumpy!

Flight number one was from Oklahoma City to Atlanta, Georgia. I was able to catch a little bit of shut eye on that flight. that was much needed!

We had a layover in Atlanta. The weather caused us to be grounded there a little longer than planned. We made it out of there safely, an hour behind schedule.

By the time we reached Dayton, Ohio it was 4:15 PM when the plane landed. Once we left the airport, it was time to head to church at DRPC. 

I am glad that we were able to make it for church. It was wonderful to be in service with our church family. Our Pastor preached a wonderful message on revival!

After church, we were in need of dinner. We found ourselves at Dolly's again. if you missed my post about Dolly's, go back to Friday’s post. 

Several other church members had the same idea, and it was great to visit with all of them!

Now as I type this, my eyes are growing heavy. It is already Monday morning, and I am ready for a long nap in my comfy bed.

Thank you for reading! I will be right back here tomorrow! See you then.

Odie 

Sunday Sanity 4/6/25

 Hey Friends,

Mom and I are flying back to Ohio from Oklahoma. I cannot wait to share more from our quick weekend trip. It was great!

Here is a nugget that I read this week.

“There is no greater evidence of God’s will than the relentless fight of the devil to destroy it.”

-Joyce Martin Sanders

See you tomorrow!

Odie

Traveling Again

Hey Friends,

Just a quick note to check in and let you know that we are all doing well. Mom and I have been traveling. I will have more about it later. Here are a few pictures from our travels. See you tomorrow.

Odie

Foodie Friday Dolly’s

 Hey Friends,

Thanks for joining me today. I hope you are having a great Friday!

Man, do I ever have a yummy Foodie Friday for you? We visited Dolly’s for the first time yesterday. Below is the backstory for my non Ohio tri-state readers. 

Frisch's was a local favorite restaurant for many decades. Late last year, all but a couple of locations closed. We were all saddened to lose a staple restaurant in our area. Frisch’s was always part of our lives! What were we going to do?

There were rumblings of Big Boy restaurants moving into the Miami Valley after Frisch’s closed. Big Boy and Frisch’s were competitors. Their menus were much the same. Big Boy would not move into Frisch’s market while Frisch’s was still open. A huge uproar took place in local courts and media. Frisch’s was trying to block Big Boy.

They came up with a different plan, and Dolly’s was born. I have heard that over 50 old Frisch’s locations will now house Dolly’s by summer. They started opening last month! We are excited to have something like Frisch's again!

A Big Boy character is the mascot for Frisch’s and subsidiary restaurants. A Big Boy statue was usually out in front of the buildings. Dolly was Big Boy’s girlfriend in a comic in the kids menus.

Now you know about Dolly’s. The food was very good. We got the Big Boy, aka The Signature, at Dolly’s. It is slightly different but delicious. The onion rings and fries were good. The Hot Fudge cake was out of this world scrumptious! It was hand-dipped in ice cream, and you got the choice of vanilla, chocolate or strawberry ice cream!

I will close with my Dolly’s pictures. Aunt Theresa, Mamaw and Papaw joined Mom and me. We enjoyed our time with them!

See you tomorrow.

Odie

The Bog Boy statue was gone. Mom posed in his spot. 

Thankful For A Safe Place

 Hey Friends,

Bad weather has been plaguing our land. As I type, we are watching for more storms. We have been praying for many of our friends who have been in the path of the storms! Our county in Ohio is under a tornado watch for several hours over Wednesday night into Thursday morning.

I have been extremely thankful for my 

Daddy’s foresight. When he designed my home, he made my master closet a safe room. It has a concrete ceiling and block walls, so when storms come, I have a safe place to go!

We are prepared to run in there during this bout of storms if needed. We took shelter in the safe room Sunday night. A tornado came through our area. The Lord protected us, and I am so grateful! We did have a dead tree fall behind the barn, but it just laid over!

I have been thinking a lot about the safe place we can run to as a Christians. I remember the scripture that Dad wrote on the walls of my safe room while we are building the house.

These verses have brought comfort to my heart many times. I thought I would share them with you today, I hope they comfort to your heart!

“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.”

“I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: My God; in him will I trust.”

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭91‬:‭1-2‬ ‭

Thank you for reading! I will see you tomorrow!

Odie 

Happy 6th Birthday Charlie

 Hey Friends, 

Welcome to Wednesday. Today is not just an ordinary Wednesday. Did you know it is time to celebrate?

Charles Ray Shoemaker was born April 2 2019. The world was changed forever that fateful day when a bouncing baby boy entered our lives. He has brought so much love and joy to all of his family! I blinked, and it is six years later!

Happy 6th Birthday, Charlie! We love you so much! You are a sweetheart and encourager, already at six years old! You know how to make my day a little brighter with a special. I love you or smile! You give the best hugs!

I hope you have the best birthday ever! I wish we were there to celebrate with you. We are hugging you and celebrating with you in our hearts! 

Thanks for turning in! Please leave a comment and wish Charlie a happy birthday. here are just a few of my favorite photos from the last six years. It's hard to pick because I have so many great ones.

I will see you all tomorrow!

Odie

The Martins March 2025

Hey Friends,

Thank you for joining us. I hope you are having a great day. Welcome to April! There are no April Fools jokes here today. 

We are rewinding to Saturday, March 23rd. Mom and I traveled to Washington Courthouse, Ohio, not too far away.

We went to Heritage Church to see the Martins in concert. It has been years since I have seen the Martins live. I was thrilled to receive a notification about this concert in my area on the Bands In Town app! We were home and able to attend. 

It was an appreciation concert for Sunday school teachers and church workers in their fellowship. They honored several people. 

Then, it was time for the main event of the Martins. Thanks to Heritage for a great night of music! Everyone was so friendly and welcoming. 

The Martins have been family favorites for over thirty years, and their singing has always inspired us. 

The concert was incredible! I smiled all night and kept looking at Mom, saying, "Wow!"

The Martins are a sibling trio: Joyce, Jonathan and Judy. They were all there and came out to sing. After the first song, we were told that Jonathan did not have enough voice to sing the entire concert. They had reinforcements waiting in the wings. Judy’s son Jake Hess the III was there. 

Jake did a fabulous job filling in for his Uncle Jonathan. This was the first time he sang live with the Martins.

He was nervous but was having a great time. His Mama,  Judy and Aunt Joyce were so proud and thrilled to be singing with Jake! It was fantastic to witness this night in The Martin’s history!

Here are my pictures from the evening. I hope you enjoy the concert virtually!

Jake also sang two song he has co-written. Both songs have been recorded and released by others. Turns out Mom and I already knew both songs. We did not know he was one of the writers. 

It was a wonderful night of laughter, music and tears! I felt like it was much needed for both Mom and me! Thank you to Joyce, Jonathan, Judy and Jake for a fantastic concert!

See you tomorrow!

Odie