Everything Rare & Precious

Tonight we had a little family get together. It started with a request by my very good childhood friend, Gini, who grew up here, but now lives in New Jersey. She's here visiting, as she does yearly, and asked me if we could get my family together so she could see them all. So, we did just that. At my house we had 7 adults, 9 kids, lots of food, & LOTS of laughs. I took a few pictures, but this is one that I LOVE. I hardly ever get to be around everyone at once, but more rare than that, is a group photo. On the far left is my baby brother, Nathan. Next is my dad, Roger, then me, & on the far right is my younger brother, Jared...as if you could not tell we are all siblings (& got most of our mother's DNA, on looks anyway). We had a blast talking & remembering & catching up with Gini. But you know, it really made my mind flood with those memories of way back when, when we were all just kids, & didn't know where life would take us, & really weren't concerned about it, because we were kids. Who knew that one day we'd all be busy with our own families & lives, & not really get to spend much time together? We have all taken different roads in life, and there have been twists & turns for all of us, but I would say we are all successful in our own ways. I just wanted to share my rare sighting with you & remind you to hug your family, spend time with 'em, & let 'em know you love 'em...because those moments that are so rare are also so precious, & I thank God above for everything rare & precious.

Vienna Sausages & Sardines on the beach OR Surf & Turf with an Ocean View?

I am reading a book called "The Noticer" by Andy Andrews. It's all about perspective. An old man spends time teaching a young, homeless man about perspective, and, based on hearing Andy Andrews speak at Women of Faith, this new perspective will change the young man's life. So, I've been thinking a little about perspective, & trying to change mine a little bit. We may not always be in charge of what happens to us, but we are in charge of how we respond. If we have the right perspective, eating vienna sausages, sardines, & saltine crackers while sitting on the sand can just as well be enjoying surf & turf with an ocean view.

So, Here I Am Again!

So, here I am again. I've been contemplating deleting this blog. But I just can't. I tried to start one on another blogging provider, but it was more complicated. So, here I am again. You know, I changed my work schedule last September, and I have all this "free" time, so to speak, and I should have NO trouble keeping this blog updated, right? HA! I really want to try to be better with it, I know all you blog-readers out there are dying to know what's up with us Bynum's, right? HA again! I do know of ONE faithful blog-addict who will read it if I post (thanks, Tarrabeth). So, my vow is to get interesting, to post at least weekly, to make it worth your while to come all the way to ekjm.blogspot.com. Who knows, there might be a little nugget of wisdom in a post here someday. Until then, I say this, to blog-finity & beyond! IDK WTHeck I'm talking about, but oh well...TTYL!

O M Gosh!

I cannot believe I have not posted since October of last year! Since my blog is blocked on the internet at work, I can't post on it there, and since I'm almost entirely "mobile" on facebook, I just don't get on here much anyway. Tonight I decided to check on it, post, add some pix, change up the look, etc, & I just can't...I like the tropical theme...it fits...we are about to take another cruise...for spring break...soooooo, I'll leave it for awhile. Hey, don't give up on me, PLEASE!

By the way, isn't my squirrel cute?

Until I post again....hugs!

Long time, no post...

Wow...it's been a while since I've updated here. Since I am almost always on Facebook, I just don't get to this blog much. We are all doing good. Praise the Lord we have our health, and we are keeping busy. I just love the change to Autumn! The cooler weather is perfect for open windows. The State Fair is upon us. I am in patient await of the changing colors! We get these wonderful spider webs all around our house that are spun by these beautiful garden spiders...aka writing spider, banana spider, or orb weaver...see photo. I call them all "Charlotte," because they remind me of "Charlotte's Web."

Well, I apologize for the short post. I just wanted to let you all know that we are doing well and will hopefully soon post a detailed update w/ some new pix! If you are on Facebook, look me up...Kimberly Ort Bynum. I have lots of photos on there, and regular status updates!

Until next time....

Hugs and Happy Autumn!

Happy 11th Birthday Mal! We had her 1st real sleepover...6 girls total...& it was a blast. We went 4-wheeler riding, they jumped on the trampoline, we ate pizza & cake, they played "ding-dong ditch" where they ran away after knocking on doors (all neighbors are family, so we gave a heads-up & the girls got a little scare), they played with makeup & played Disney Scene-It, & wound the evening down w/ some movies. Did I mention eating? Those girls ate a ton of candy & chips. The next morning I made Beignets for breakfast, which the girls said tasted like eating funnel cakes for breakfast! I told them, "don't tell your moms I fed you funnel cakes for breakfast!" It was fun!

Viva Mexico!

Our "Elegant" night family photo.



Towel Monkey made by our cabin steward,
Conrad.



On the far left is the Carnival Ecstasy out of
Galveston, TX, next is our ship, the Carnival
Fantasy, then the small vessel in the center is
a Mexican cargo ship, & on the far right is the
Royal Caribbean's Enchantment of the Seas.




Some boats & one of the Fury catamarans in the
beautiful water of Cozumel.




Our boarding photo on our snorkeling/beach
party excursion in Cozumel. That is the actual
view of our ship behind us.


Wow! Quite a bit of time has passed since my last post w/ pictures.
School has ended & summer is in full swing. Baseball came
& went. Our most recent endeavor was our vacation....a cruise
to Mexico! It started w/ a drive to New Orleans where we
boarded the Carnival Fantasy. We spent a day at sea and then
had our first port-of-call in Progreso, Yucatan, Mexico, where
we visited the Dzibilchaltun Ruins site. It was H-O-T out there!
We had a really fun tour guide named Cesar, and at least the
bus ride to and from the pier was an air-conditioned charter
type bus! The ruins were pretty interesting. I have to say,
looking at a bunch of piles of rubble from ancient buildings
wasn't the highlight of our trip, but it was interesting enough,
& somewhat educational. Like I said, Cesar was great! He even
sang us the USA's National Anthem on our ride back to the pier.

The next day our port-of-call was Cozumel, Mexico, where we
took a catamaran trip out to snorkel & then to a private beach
for fun in the sun! The snorkeling was so amazing. The kids
absolutely LOVED it. They were sad when that part ended.
But, when we arrived at the beach, where there was a blow-up
water slide, a blow-up iceberg to climb up, and 2 trampolines in
the water, they had a blast there, too. Next we had another day
at sea, then sadly our cruise came to an end.

One of the other really fun things was dinner each evening. The
kids really enjoyed having that fancy dinner and ordering new
things. We were so proud of Jonah, the picky one, for trying
several new things. Our waitstaff soon learned that he could eat...
alot. After the first night they called us by name & knew what our
drink preferences were. Each night they entertained all the dining
guests with a little song or dance. One night they danced to...
get this... "Apple Bottom Jeans!" It was GREAT! Our guys,
Beda & Johnny, had some great moves and were really able
to get low, low, low!

Another cool thing was the attention to our stateroom. As soon as
we were out of there in the mornings, they got in there and made
the beds & cleaned up the room. And in the evenings when we left
for dinner, they came in and turned down the beds, put chocolates
on the bed, & cleaned up again. Our cabin steward, Conrad, was a
sweetheart. He made the most wonderful towel creations. The kids
loved that part, too.

The ship was so big, and there was so much to see and do. The
shows were just like Vegas-style shows and were really fun to
watch. We really had a wonderful time. We were all sad to have to
get off the ship on Thursday morning.

When we got off the ship, we drove around New Orleans for a little
while, taking a look at Bourbon Street and the French Quarter. We
made a stop at Cafe Du Monde for some beignets...they were GOOD!
Then we walked around for a while and had lunch at Bubba Gump's
Shrimp Co. We are a Forrest Gump-lovin' family, so we just had to
eat there! The food was FABULOUS! And the atmosphere was cool!
We all got 100% on our Forrest Gump quiz! LOL!

There is so much more to say, but I just don't have the time or
space to put it all down, and, of course, there are almost 300
pictures of this trip. If you are my facebook friend, I have put
about 78 pics in an album on my facebook page. For the blog,
I've only uploaded a few pics, the main one of us snorkeling is the
blog title. I would love to share all of them, but it would just take
TOO long to upload them all.

I hope you enjoy the few posted here & the album on facebook.

Until next time....Bon Voyage!


Outside Cafe Du Monde in New Orleans...the
beignets were fab!



In Cozumel with our ship, the Carnival Fantasy,
in the background.



At the top of a pyramid at the Dzibilchaltun Ruins
in Progreso.



Walking a wall of a pyramid at the Dzibilchaltun
Ruins in Progreso.



Entrance sign to the Dzibilchaltun Ruins.