It's all about Lincoln

I have never been to Springfield, IL before, but having gone there today, I can tell you that everything there is about Abraham Lincoln!  We went there to see the Lincoln Museum, and while we were there, we also went to his house and tomb.  Throughout the town there are many references to places where Lincoln had worked and lived, etc.  And there are many things with the Lincoln name such as the Lincoln Public Library (not to be confused with the Lincoln Presidential Library!).  We even were able to look out of our hotel room at night and see a glowing Lincoln!

Almost like a moon!

Thursday morning we went to the Lincoln Museum. I had read a book titled Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker, and this inspired our trip.  It was interesting to see how many facts about Lincoln and his wife were in this historical fiction book.  The museum was top notch in quality...almost Disney-like.  But not many pictures were allowed.

Camden Lincoln

Camden Frederick Douglas

We fit right in!

Sites in downtown Springfield

After the museum, we headed to lunch at Charlie Parker's diner.  When we first starting planning our trip, Camden saw this restaurant on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives.  So of course we had to go there!

Camden got a plate size pancake!

After lunch we headed back downtown and went to his house.  We were able to tour the family's original house and see items that Lincoln himself has used.  I realized that we were in the same rooms he had occupied and we were looking at actual items that Lincoln himself had used and it was very cool.

The most photographed view of Lincoln's house

The neighborhood he lived in

We finished our tour of Springfield at the tomb of Lincoln.  We were able to go inside the mausoleum and see several sculptures and the tombstones of Lincoln and his family.

I am not sure why, but everyone ahead of us was touching the nose of Lincoln as they walked by, so we did it too.

We headed back to Memphis after out Springfield day, and we decided to take a different route and a little detour through Metropolis. Camden had read about Metropolis, so we finished our adventure there!

The final picture from our day was the rainbow that we saw while driving through the rain.

God keeps his promises!

St. Louis Road Trip

Camden and I took a road trip to St. Louis for his Spring Break.  Before you think we left Nathan behind, don't worry.  We sent him to California to visit family and he got to go skiing on a good ski mountain for two days!

We did leave Dave, but someone has to work! (and he also had his Spring Break earlier this year!)  Our trip started out with our Easter Memphis visit, but since the cousins are all in school this week, we decided to take a road trip.  So off to Missouri we went.

The visitor center for the Arch is in the Old Courthouse.

Then on to the Arch!

It really is tall!

View of the Mississippi River and Illinois

The Cardinal's stadium

St. Louis

At the top.  Camden wanted to be able to stand on top; I am very glad we were inside!

Enjoying the view!

Inside the capsule we took to the top.

The opening to the tram...not very big!

Gotta take a selfie!

And of course we got caught in the rain!

We were planning on going to the City Museum next because we have heard how fun it is, but with the rain (which turned into a downpour!), I was told they close the outside, and that is the best part. I only knew of two other options; the zoo and another National Park.  Not wanting to go to the zoo in the rain, we headed to the Grant National Historic Site.  We got some northern education for our southern roots :)  

At least we had an umbrella his time

Camden being a rebellious rebel!

Now just being silly!

We had fun exploring the site using the Junior Ranger puzzles and activities.

Of course, every road trip has to involve good food!

Very yummy donuts!!

We found a great restaurant in The Hill section of St. Louis.  There are Italian restaurants on most every corner in this Italian neighborhood.  We lucked out and found a good one!

Camden really liked the food!  Even the stuffed mushrooms!

We ended the evening in Springfield, IL, where we will have more adventures tomorrow.  A dip in the pool was a must for the night too!

Dennis Ray Powell

My dad passed away on November 1, 2015.  It has still not totally soaked in.  He had been so sick since May and never fully recovered.  His problem was he couldn't eat.  Because he couldn't eat safely, he developed pneumonia and was hospitalized from May (Mother's day weekend) until August.  When he came home, he had a trach and a feeding tube.  This was not ideal.  He got the trach removed, which was awesome, but he still had to eat through a feeding tube.  For anyone, to think of not eating by mouth is overwhelming and doesn't make for a fun life.  But he was determined to do his therapy to try to improve his swallowing or live with a feeding tube and enjoy his family the best he could.  He did, of course, pray and ask his church and family and friends to pray for healing from this problem.  God did heal him, but not in a way we would have chosen.  He is healed now in heaven.  He is eating now in heaven.,  And although we are very sad here on earth, he is happy now in heaven.  He is with his Savior.

Some of the things I remember most about my dad that have stuck with me were his devotion to God and his family.  I remember sleeping on the coach at their house and hearing him pray in the kitchen early in the morning.  When I was pregnant with Camden, he was a twin.  I remember dad calling me and telling me how God had impressed on his heart to pray for her...so he thought we were having a girl.  Around that time (about 13 weeks), we lost Camden's twin.  I truly believe that Camden has a twin sister in heaven.  And she is with her grandaddy now.

Being close to Columbia, I have been able to go up there a lot.  So I was able to get to spend a lot of time at the hospital with him and mom.  One day he told me that he wanted me and Jennifer and the grandkids to see him living out his faith.  He said that living for God is easy when life is easy, but he wanted everyone to see that his faith was real in the good and in the bad times.  He remained faithful to the end.  In fact, he visited a sick church member the day he died.

He stood firm in his devotion to God; but he also was devoted to his family.  He loved his grandkids..maybe more than his kids:)  Seriously, he showed love to all of us.  He spent time with us and made sure we knew he loved us and were proud of us and how we were raising our families.  Nathan spoke for himself and Ashton at the funeral.  One thing they both remembered was him leading them in devotions during Grammie Camp.  

Grammie Camp 2015

He also was devoted to my mom.  Jennifer and I wrote about him for the funeral program.  This is what we said.  

Our Dad

We could say many things about our dad and what a wonderful man and father he was. He taught us the importance of loving God and our family. Throughout his life and especially this last year, he showed through his actions how to love us and more importantly his wife, our mother.  When our mom was sick in the hospital 2 years ago, we saw him put her first and take care of her. When he got so sick last May, she did this for him, but he also continued to take care of her and put her first. As he was stuck in a hospital bed for over 3 months, he cared about her by insisting she get out of the hospital at times and do something fun. While he couldn't eat by mouth and had to have a feeding tube, he insisted that she leave the hospital and go get something decent to eat. He also continued to pray for his entire family by name when he was in the hospital, asking how he could specifically pray for us. And when he came home, still having to take all nutrition by the feeding tube, he showed love to mom and his family by making pancakes for us even though he couldn't eat any of them. If you knew our dad, you knew he liked to eat. So not being able to eat was torture for him. But he not only tried to keep living via a feeding tube so that he could be a part of our lives, he insisted on helping us enjoy our food by making it for us. This showed us extreme love.  On the weekend before he died, Amy was able to take mom to the fair. The plan was to take them both, but he didn't feel good enough to go. As she left that night, he sincerely expressed gratitude for taking mom out to have fun, even if he could not go.  He put her needs first as usual. And in the end, when he was too tired to get out of bed, after he told mom he loved her, he thought of her needs and told her to get some rest. Caring to the end, he is now fully healed and resting in the arms of his Savior. And we are sure he is also enjoying a good meal!


I know this has been long, but it could be much longer if I started recounting all the good memories I have of my dad.  From making me feel good about myself as a teenager, to climbing in the back of the car to comfort me from a broken heart to crying the day I left for college.  But I will end it here. And soon I will post pictures of my family as we came together to grieve and celebrate the life of Dennis Powell.