It's Christmas Eve, everybody! Time to get the presents under the tree and make sure that the main PRESENT is in your hearts!

Today is going to be a busy one! Liz and Dan just went to the airport to pick up Rosie and Ron who are flying in from Brooklyn. Rick and I will head off to the doctor in about an hour to find out what our next step is for my surgery. The MRI showed another growth, so we are trusting in the Lord's hand of guidance for what the road looks like ahead. We always know that His hand is the best one to hold and will ALWAYS take us where we need to be.

Prayers are needed for Rick's mom who is non-responsive after her heart and breathing stopped on Monday night. She is in ICU on a respirator, so we have been spending our time at the hospital these past few days (in between my doctors and working and shopping and cooking). God knows all these things, and He also will not give us more than we can handle. So we are praying for peace this Christmas in all our lives.

Peace to you all - and a bundle of great joy to everyone as we walk on the trail of life! It's always filled with surprises - but not to the One who paved the way ahead of us. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

So - this is quite a crazy Christmas season for me!

Thanksgiving was eventful, to say the least, so I should have expected nothing less than an out-of-the-ordinary Christmas adventure, right? Let's backtrack to the week before Thanksgiving.

I had a mammogram. They asked me to come back for more images. ok. nothing new - been down that road before over the past fifteen years. The Monday before Thanksgiving, Rick called me at work to tell me he was having chest pains and having trouble breathing.... zip off to the hospital (thanks to Dan and Andrew and Eric) and after many tests, pokes, prods, and an overnight stay - he is sent home with no solid diagnosis - except to say - No heart attack. Good news. The day he came home, I went back for mammogram #2. Not so good news: they found something "suspicious" and need to biopsy. ok. again - been there, done that.

Wednesday the kids came home. GREAT DAY!!!!

Thanksgiving : We ate, played ping pong, ate ate ate ate turkey turkey turkey. "stuffing" is always appro-po for Thanksgiving, isn't it? As Liz proceeds to get ready to drive grandma home, she trips - goes flying into the door and smashes up the right side of her beautiful face! Big egg on the eye - bigger knot on the cheek. Grandma proceeds to have palpitations - well, you know, it's like "The Christmas Story" only Lundy-style. Lizzy ends up with ice packs on the face - Grandma goes home.

Friday begins.

Letter from the IRS (2nd one) - not allowing our church contributions. sigh.

Phone call from the insurance company regarding Daniel's auto accident 3 weeks prior - not encouraging news. Let's leave it at that.

Saturday begins.

We take Liz to the walk-in clinic and they x-ray her cheek - not fractured. Great news. Christian and Jamie go home - with Jake the dog. We miss them.

Sunday - Liz and Nolan head out to go home and the car breaks down. We take it to the car shop (on Sunday!) and loan them Rick's Pacifica to drive up to Orlando. By the time they get to Kissimmee, they get rear-ended and the car that hit them gets stuck under their bumper. The bumper has to get broken off and it takes the exhaust with it. Now it has to get towed to Altamonte Springs so that they can both get to their homes and go to work on Monday.

Monday - two cars in the shop, two accidents to work out, Rick goes to Omaha for two weeks.

Wednesday - my biopsy. Turns into a four hour ordeal, with two biopsies done.

Thursday - I go to the accountant to call the IRS. More faxes and paperwork. Grandma has chest pains - I drive her to get medical help - she's ok. Liz's car comes back .

Saturday - Liz's car breaks down again.

Monday - the doctor tells me I have breast cancer.

It is now Thursday - December 11. I've got to tell you - I've had adventures before, but this time, it's a little more adventurous! Tomorrow I go to the surgeon to see what the road looks like over the next month. Rick will be flying home a day early so that he can come with me to the doctor and walk through this with me. You know what, though. I've had Someone walking me through this before it even began. He has begun every journey with me, because He created the road the journey takes place on! If I didn't have faith in Jesus Christ and know that the Word of God is true, I don't know how I could even take one step out of bed in the morning! "Begin where we will, God is there first." That's something that is worth remembering. God is Wonderful Counselor (He knows everything!), Mighty God (He will fight our battles), Everlasting Father (He loves us and cares for us), Prince of Peace (He has given me peace).

So - is this a crazy Christmas season? Absolutely.

Does that mean I have to go crazy? Absolutely not!

It means that God has given me an opportunity to walk through a place I've never been before - and that He will give me the chance to walk humbly with Him. This is going to be a Happy Trail, because the bottom line to loving God is trusting in the One Who loves me more.

Watch how the footprints lead to JOY.

Backtrack

Can you say "Abundant Apples at the SkyTop Orchard" three times? Off we went yesterday in our caravan of two cars over to North Carolina and the orchards were in full swing! MacIntosh, Red Delicious, Yellow, Golden Delicious, Galas, Jonathan something or others, and then some. There were families everywhere, baskets overflowing, and we were right in the thick of it. The views were tremendous and the apples were DELICIOUS! We ate our way through the orchards and then "sat a spell" just enjoying the views. What could be better? Friends in the field with fruit. The owners have been there since 1967 and have quite a following... I can't imagine the view with full foliage. I guess I'll just have to make another trip up here....SOON! Besides, the home-made caramel dip is to die for! They also have homemade donuts which I understand are delicious! I passed on the offer to eat "just one". I'm on the road to body recovery, so I can't even chance going there!

After a beautiful day in the mountains, back we went to Simpsonville and dinner at Bruce and Shannons - Bison Burgers! We caught up on life, children, work, and what great things God is doing in all of our lives. It's always the best thing when you're in the orchard of the Lord. He has so much fruit for us to fill our lives with. After dinner - Stephanie and I went back to wind down the day with her crew and then God made my flight change to a different time - yes! Danielle and I were thrilled not to have to get up at 2am! Now I'm back in Florida with my boys. Missing the mountains and my friends, but glad to know I have a place to retreat to. Even better? Rick is on his way back from CHINA! and will be home in about five hours! Now THAT's the mountaintop that I like best ... home again with family.

I'm Upstate for Crying Out Loud!

And I don't mean Albany or The Adirondacks... I'm in Simpsonville, SC right near Greenville. Do you even know where SC is? Well, Stephanie, Bruce & Shannon do. That's right I'm visiting & of course now I want to live here too! We have had a fabulous time and I've only been here one day. But, one day has encompassed a group walk for an hour, through the rolling hills of Neely Farm (my future estate home) (and very affordable) (and not very Boca) (and you'll be jealous), cups of capuccino over looking Stephanie's private "Walden's" pond - complete with wild geese, Mallard ducks, box turtles, and oak trees galore, (are you exhausted yet?); and then we hopped into the convertible, top down of course and headed to downtown Greenville. Free parking at the public parking lot (I'm ditching Manhattan). Then much more walking, but well worth the street shop sites and sounds of a hometown city. Sophisticated but still "hello, how are you" friendly.

Furniture shopping for Stephanie, lunch at The Rising Roll (yum!) and then down to Reedy River Falls Park, no words just check out the pictures...FABULOUS! Saw the venue for Lizzy's wedding, found the spot for Dan's skateboarding, Marble Slab for Andrew and Brittany, the patch of grass for Jake, Christian & Jamie, and the perfect park bench for Rick & I. Coffee at the Under Ground Coffee shop ended the afternoon, completed by visual sightings of four copper mice (It's a long story). We also had the pleasure of the company of Taylor and her friend Stephanie (double-take) who LOVED shopping, looking for mice (I SAID, it's a long story! - don't ask me again), and having those fancy frozen coffee drinks at the Under Ground Coffee Shop too. They sat outside, the old fogies sat inside on comfy couches. Sounds like life continues its cycle. Some things never change. We try to be so cool, but our children always "outcool" us. Free indeed.

Church and tabuli and some babaganoosh ended the day. Today we start a new day of adventure...Off to the apple orchard!

Back to Reality

I guess it's taken me longer than I thought to stop using vowels at the end of my sentences and look for Pelligrino at each dining out experience. Is this what they term "an unexplained void" or is it just withdrawal from the incredible fairy-tale, larger-than-life, fellini-movie-type of vacation that I came home from over a month ago. It didn't help that I went to see MAMA MIA with each scene of a Greek Isle more breath-taking, and memory-jogging than the next. Just to make matters worse, I went to see it twice. Now there's another movie coming out, ...TRAVELING PANTS 2, that has even more blue-roofed, white houses on cliffs. Of course I'm going to see it. Of course I'm going to pretend I'm back there again. Of course I'm going to bug my husband to go back. AGAIN. Is your 26th Anniversary supposed to be a big deal too??? I think it should be.

sigh.

Today I worked at home because I finally got rid of the vertigo spins. I hope. I had to work at home because for two days the after-effects of the treatment for spins, is being dizzy. Makes sense, no? One good spin deserves another twirl. Anyway - I am grateful to have the company of family at home steering me down the hallways as I wind my steps towards each destination. Actually, they are snickering behind my back and probably taking bets on how many times I can hit the wall before getting to the end of the hallway. But at least they do it with love.

After all - love is what makes the journey go easier. Especially when it's a winding road! Happy trails!

Home Again

It's Monday and we've been home since Friday night. Our travel home was uneventful, with the exception of me waking up in Rome that morning with vertigo back in tow... I guess I just HAD to say that I had a whirlwind vacation. That kind of true humor example I could do without! Anyway, we made it back to Florida and have been trying to catch up to life here at home ever since. The vertigo has subsided to almost a small spin; the dogs are trying to understand our Italian accents; the cat is sick; the laundry pile is diminishing; the kids have survived - barely in some cases; all in all, Lundy life is back to Lundy normalcy. We still don't know what that is, but we are trusting that God sure does. The vacation is over, but the trail never ends you know. See you on the path!

holy holy holy

whew. Yesterday brought us to the Colleseum, the Forum, the Palladium, and walk walk walking through the ancient ruins of Christianity here in Rome. Quite overwhelming and very very contemplative to see the early history of what Christians suffered, persevered, and believed in to make the way for what we have today... all the same faith, believing in the same Savior. We got to see students doing excavations outside the Colleseum ' very painstaking work. Amazing.
This morning, Rick and I were beyond blessed to be able to take a very private tour underneath St. Peter's Basillica and see the Scavi Excavations... another amazing look back to the real history of the early Catholic church, the City under the City under the City... three layers of history and then the buriel place of Peter. wow. We are just in between our tours, having found an internet cafe along the way, and will be finishing up with the Sistine Chapel and Museum tour. Then home. literally.... we will go back to the hotel, pack up, get a night's rest, and then tomorrow we travel home to the States. Bittersweet for us - this has been a dream come true and then some.
We hope you have enjoyed walking with us through this trail of memories and blessings. See you soon. Ciao for now, hello for later.

Skulls skulls skulls ... monks!

You never know what you will find when you travel to a foreign city. We expected many unusual sights and customs... but to see the capuccian monks - 4,000 of them! - in all their skeletal remains was quite a sight to see! We went to their crypt in the Santa Maria della-something along the Via Venuto and couldn't believe the way they were stacked, arranged, displayed, mummified, and put around as artwork for all to see. it was quite amazing. So was the Via Venuto and the many beautiful buildings, marble statues, fountains, and people people people everywhere. Rick and I have walked miles around this beautiful city and still haven't seen a minute part of it.. but we are having a wonderful time together.

We dined at the original Cafe Alfredo's last night - the creator of fettucine alfredo - and guess what we ate for dinner? yup mangia mangia on the BEST fettucine alfredo we ever had...plus...we were serenaded by two old paisanos playing guitar and accordian and "welcome to my world". oh my! We are in Roma romantica...happy and blessed trails.

roma roma roma

We arrived in Civittavechiaàs port yesterday morning ...very early. It was so hard to say goodbye to this wonderful home on the sea; we have been spoiled "Mediterranean style".
But we found a new home in Rome - our hotel is a "seasoned" version of the Plaza in NY with alot of old-world charm and lots and lots of guilding, tapestries, and beautiful frescos. They will probably do tours of our hotel!! We spent a beautiful day walking to the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps which are literally "steps" from our door... all on cobblestone and busy busy streets filled with Americans, Germans, and everyone from EVERYWHERE! Last night was a highlight already - we toured the city by night in a tourbus that ended in a dinner not to be believed... an opera-style restaurant complete with "Nessun Dorma" and "Ole Sole Mio", along with prociutto, pasta, and another meal on top of that! We took picture after picture, video after video... and mangia mangia mangia! Today remains to happen... but we will leave a happy trail for sure! Ciaio for now!

Last Night at Sea

This is it...our last night at sea. What an experience our traveling home has been. Our dinners at night have been fantastic fare - dining with the same staff each night, they have become old friends. Melwyn from Bombay and Made from Indonesia, and our two lady servers from Romania. Amazing how people from all over the world are just so comfortable with each other. Food has a way of doing that!

We spent all day today touring this southern part of Italy - First docking in Naples, then taking a tour bus down to Sorrento - a beautiful beautiful city. My mother actually performed here back in the 40's with the USO - so it was just even sweeter knowing that. While in Sorrento we visited a lemon and olive farm where we were treated to an outdoor dining experience of freshly made mozzarella, artichoke spread on homemade bread, and local wine - all under the shade of their olive and lemon trees - Fantastick! After Sorrento, we went to the ancient city ruins of Pompeii, right under the nose of Mt. Vesuvious! Incredible. Hard to explain without the photos - but those will come when I get back. Needless to say, Rick and I are speechless at the incredible opportunities we have been able to take advantage of on this trip. We'll be in Rome tomorrow and spend the rest of the week there. Hope to find a blogspot on the internet to continue. Until then, Arrivaderchi, and Ciao on the trail!

City on a Hill

Today is an "at sea" day - where we mostly catch up on reading and sunning and recuperating from our day yesterday on the island of Santorini. Oh My Goodness. Santorini is a place that feels like God just plopped it down out of heaven for us to enjoy. It is a city - literally - on top of a mountainous island - mostly volcanic around it - but the homes are carved out of the cliffs of the mountain and sit so closely together that one's roof is another's front walkway. All in white - like Mykonos. It really was a slice of heaven - once on the top, the cities pan out from one peak to another, and then out of nowhere, there is a vast farm area of flatland on top. Amazing. There are also little white churches everywhere - almost one per family it seems - and all of them looking alike with white walls and blue domes on top. Rick and I walked and walked and walked and couldn't get enough of this beautiful oasis in the middle of the sea. But - back to the ship we went - I actually took a cable car down the side cliff - closed my eyes the whole way! Tomorrow is Naples/Capri - Pompeii and then to Rome. Until the next trail - many blessings to you.

Island to Island

Hard to believe it's already Friday - the last few days have been amazing and have gone by way too quickly. The highlight of our trip so far has been our visit to Turkey and to the ruins in Ephesus. Seeing the places that Paul walked, John walked, and even the acclaimed house that Mary lived out her life in - hard to process it all. The excavations of the city of Ephesus and the theater, library, homes, and more are breathtaking. We met a family that goes to Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale in the midst of all this! Go figure!
After Ephesus, we went to the Island of Rhodes - another glance back in time as the city is built on a fortress - I've taken hoards of pictures!
Rick and I leave in about an hour on a tender to the island of Santorini - we're docked right by it, but it is a city on top of the island so we are taking a cable car to the top once we hit port. We've been told it is the most beautiful of all the Greek islands - more pictures to come!

white as snow

What a day today! We got to Mykonos and went ashore to experience an incredible town of white homes, stores, and churches everywhere! The streets are narrower than any I've seen before and yet somehow little cars, scooters, pedestrians, and tourists alike manage to all make way for each other. We ate at a fish place right next to the sea, so close that the waves added to our menu! Just a beautiful little island - perfect for being "away from it all".
Tomorrow we port in Ephesus - Can't WAIT!! Tonight, we dressed to the nines in our "formal" attire - you'd never recognize us! It's just overwhelming for us to be here and we count our blessings each day.
Happy trails.

Talk about blue water!

Today we are in Athens and are still pinching ourselves that we climbed up to the Acropolis and walked around this ancient of ancients...The Parthenon, the Theatre, and more... just incredible to see things surviving from BC era.
Our first stop was Sicily on Saturday and that was a great start to our trip. We went to their museum and saw one Caravaggio after another, then toured the city with its many many churches and frescos. We had a full day at sea until we arrived here in Athens this morning - needless to say a full day at sea has produced a full map of sunburn on this Floridian body - who could imagine! Even Rick with his Italian pigment managed a few red markings. Our dinner partners are a couple from Norway (Brunte and Harold) and they have made our dinner times quite enlightening - Fjords and all!
We're off to Mykonos tomorrow and as soon as I can figure out how to download my pictures onto the blog - I will. Until then - I wish you many blessings on the trail today.

First Leg on the Trail Completed!

Well - we made it! Not too many bumps in the road, either - or bumps in the sky! Rick really is an old hat at flying and even though we didn't get upgraded to Business or First Class, he got us in Economy Plus, right at the front in the bulkhead - so there was plenty of legroom and space to catch a few zzz's and watch a movie or two. Believe it or not, we actually had dinner served - and it wasn't pretzels and cheese...an old-school, hot, probably-marriot-catered, foil-wrapped dinner. There was cause for prayer against coveting, though... Our seats were just behind the "curtain" of Business Class, where tablecloths cover trays, actual china is used, and chairs are upscale recliners in blue - with personal overhead lamps, I might add. We watched all this through the "curtain" which was made out of fishnet material - BUT we let it go and enjoyed our private bulkhead accommodations (next time I'm bringing my own tablecloth!).
Got to the ship early this morning in beautiful (bella bella) Italy. Driving here (on the bus) brought us through vineyards and farmland that was breath-taking. We're practicing our syllables to end in vowels so we can communicate - si! Prego. Our room is FABULOUS! We have a huge double bed and a sitting area with a big window looking out to sea. Stephanie sent flowers (thank you so much!!!) and Cindy our Travel Agent sent a welcome basket! We're feeling the love here! I'm wearing my ear patch and not feeling seasick - so all is well.
Tomorrow we dock at Sicily (Messina) and tour in the afternoon. Can't wait.
Will blog again in a few days... but in the meantime, know that our footprints are walking through a beautiful season of refreshment. Happy Trails.

Our ship awaits!!!
Let's hope the ship's Internet Cafe isn't bombarded with bloggers and I can find a spot to bombard you all with my "notes from the field" as we call it!
Just for TODAY, however, I will not worry about tomorrow. I will finish work, run around with last minute list priorities, then PACK PACK PACK, and most importantly, PRAY PRAY PRAY!
Ciao for now. Happy Trails.

Counting down the days....

Okay - so I've got five more days until Rick and I take off into the sunset on our 25th Anniversary trip. First landing in Rome then getting over to Cittavecchio for our 11-day cruise in the Mediterranean...Greece, Sicily, Turkey, ahhhhhhhhhhhhh. Then back to Rome for five days. We just went shopping for some "cruisewear" at Beall's BIG SALE! yikes! You know what that looks like - crazy tropical shirts, lots of white capris, striped sweaters, etc. It's kind of a tacky-meets-manhatten, if you can imagine. It's all good in the long-run. Rick's trying to figure out what "formal" attire he has that will work; I'm thinking it's time for the Casablanca jacket to come out of the mothballs. Sounds like a plan. You'll see, though... I'll be blogging and posting all the way there and back, so stay tuned. And don't forget to say your prayers today! It's important to talk to the One Who gave you a voice. Blessings on the trail.....Barbara