I studied Portuguese this morning. Working on Science terms and Future Conditionals.




I’m using this life like doll to teach Penelope some new behaviors.

I put food on the doll’s hand and Penelope almost immediately eats it up.

Also working on tooth brushing.


Filled up my car with gas and got K lunch.
I tried to rest, but never could fall asleep. I never sleep that well at night when Penelope sleeps over. She was actually good last night. But I woke up at 3am and couldn’t sleep for about an hour. Studied Portuguese.

Went for a 15.49 mile bike ride while Penelope took a nap.

Took her to Stone Mountain to enjoy the pool.

The lake was beautiful. Penelope calls this the pool, too. Although she said “lake” for the first time this evening. She’s SO smart!
I spotted the International Space Station for the 30th time this evening! WOOT!

We had a good FaceTime with Ashley, Miles and Everly. I wasn’t up to having Penelope run up and down the hall ways again. We’ll try tomorrow. I figure if we go in the morning it’ll probably be ok.

Still need to get her cleaned up and read her some books.

Labor of love.

Monday early I took Kathy to Dr. Pat to get some help with her pain levels.

I recorded my Intro Video on Patreon.

Monday I picked up Penelope from Azalea to take care of her while Ashley and Miles went to the doctor. He told Ashley that he thought she should have a C section. There is a “1/4 chance that Everly will get a broken shoulder and that you will have trouble getting past 8cm.”

With news like that, it wasn’t a hard decision to go with the surgery.

I took Penelope to the pool on Monday. Had a delightful time in perfect weather.

Had a 10.98 mile bike ride while Penelope slept.

Studied Portuguese and wrote my newsletter.

Released a new version of Verbal Surgery -491- “PurifI” is awesome. Use your filters!

Started making a list and dossier of my new friends from Brazil.

She spent the night Monday night. The plan was to have the C section at 11:30 am on Tuesday.

The procedure went perfectly! Everly is SO BEAUTIFUL!



THANK YOU, LORD for taking care of my little girl as she had a brand new baby! Thanks for all the people who prayed for Ashley and EVERLY!

Saturday evening I uploaded the pictures I shot for the N. Gwinnett Church team. Also edited and uploaded the video I shot. And sent their leader links to all the media!

I posted a need to our subdivision’s Facebook Page: Scarlett Woods Neighbors about needing our gutters cleaned.

Sunday morning on the way to church, I talked with a landscaping crew that works for my neighbor, Ms. Shirley. I spoke only Spanish to him and explained I needed my gutters cleaned. He told me he’d take a look. When I got home from church, he’d done the job! I told him I had other neighbors that needed work, too. I was impressed by his initiative. Don’t even know what it will cost.

Studied Portuguese this morning. I’m working on the subjunctive tense. Reminds me of French.

Went to Westside BC this morning.

Pastor Ben spoke from Nehemiah on being a good leader. I’ve enjoyed wailing away on the djembe for the music. People seem to like it. Definitely adds something. I like the djembe because it’s from Kenya!

Came home to eat a salad.

Washed windows.

Blew the garage area.
Sorted Kathy’s meds.

Cleaned my corner area. Sorted and labeled all the pill bottles. It gets really confusing fast. I have had to create a system and stick with it.

Also sorted my vitamins. I also take a low dose aspirin every day.

Fixed one of Penelope’s bears. Had a couple of holes in it.


Threw out a bunch of plastic jugs and lids and Amazon boxes into the recycle.

Cleaned and refilled my hummingbird feeders. I have four. Takes me about fifteen minutes to do the whole process. Worth the time. Love those little guys!

Dug holes and planted my Elaeagnus shrub that Miles gave me last year and two other succulents.



I used to keep a lot of my cacti collection outside once it got warm. That was a mistake. Most of them died or got eaten. Saddens me. Live and learn!

I brought back two as very small pups from mother plants from Tybee Island, GA. They’ve gotten a lot bigger over the last couple of years! This is the variegated version. I have another slightly bigger just green one. Can’t remember what they’re called. I asked for an ID on Facebook. I have some plant experts as friends!

I also got a new water gun for my new hose. The last one didn’t last but a few weeks. I’ve had one like this before. It did really well. We’ll see!

Went for a 15.40 mile bike ride. Rode like the wind, baby!

The 29th time for me to “Spot the Station!”

iPhone doesn’t do too well with photography in this case.
Here’s a list of the last times!

Admin duties now.

I have a super early morning tomorrow. Need to take Kathy to the doctor. She is suffering. She can’t sit in the car. I have to drive and she kind of lays on her stomach in the back seat. Sad. We have to be at the doctor’s by 7:30am.

Studied Portuguese! Surprised?

Got bills in the mail.
Met up with my team from N. Gwinnett Church in Clarkston! Took them to one of the markets and to the mosque.

Also showed them the Buddhas in the back yard of the Buddhist Temple.

Went to Al Madina for lunch.
Great food!

We had a visitor today as well. Megan wants to be a Journeyman with the IMB. I’m trying to help her get some experience.

Took the team over to the missions in Chamblee.

Megan is interested in Chinese culture, so I took her over to Chinatown.

And to the Buford Highway Farmers Market.

Got a call from Ashley while I was showing Megan around that the Comcast guy was there and having some problems. I went straight over to help.

Took some time but got it all squared away. We had to move a bunch of stuff out of our upstairs neighbor’s closet in order to repair the wires which apparently had been cut. I’m sure they didn’t realize that the wires were being used!

Penelope loves to play with her little girls.

Went to Lowes to pick up some supplies for the mission. I needed to get the face plates back on the switches and plugs in Ashley’s house. Dangerous!


Also got some supplies to repot my little ficus tree.

Took a while to get customer service to figure out the gift cards I had. Still worth it!

Put the face plates on with the help of Ashley and Miles.

I still have to go get a couple more face plates. I figured I’d miss a couple, which I did. Almost always happens.

Went to the church to repot my Ficus tree.

Got her in a new pot. It’s not much bigger, but hopefully it won’t tip over any more.
Home now working on admin duties.
Editing video.
Long day. Didn’t get home to after 8pm.

Continued studying Portuguese! Every morning a little more!


I decide to see just how much was left in the DuoLingo language tree.

To my surprise, if I continue on my current pace, I will finish Portuguese in 37 days! Wow!

Since I will be going to the UK in just thirty days, I will probably try and accelerate my pace slightly. Maybe three lessons a day rather than two.

Recorded a new podcast! LOVE this edition called “PurifI!”

I spoke to my friend Amit in the UK right before I recorded it. I was pretty pent up after our conversation. He’s having some stress with his parents. Pretty familiar story. Still made me sad.

Then to the pharmacy to pick up meds for Jesse.
Went to Walmart to do the grocery shopping. Mainly went to pick up a new battery for Kathy’s blood sugar machine.
Seems like mainly fruit, salad and cereal. Pretty much all I eat.

Went by my treasurer Jon Paul’s house to turn in the financial report that Ashley does.
Jon came to my house right before I went for a bike ride. GREAT to talk with him.

Spent a couple of hours working on my Patreon page. Patreon is a program where people can sponsor you to receive your work. I will be doing special editions of Verbal Surgery including short videos and some coaching for a fee every month.


I still need to decide how much to charge and finish a couple of sections of the site.
At this point in my life, I need to monetize everything I do to some degree. I love what I do, might as well get paid for it. Today I record what will be episode -497-. Incredible.

Over 50 countries have downloaded my podcasts.

Top countries? USA, China, UK, Canada, Australia, Germany, Russia, Ireland, France, Spain, Iran, New Zealand, Poland, Sweden, S. Africa, Taiwan, India, Israel and Brazil!

Talked with my insurance man about health insurance for 2018. My policy will end after this year since BCBS will no longer offer ACA programs in GA.

Went for a 15.44 mile bike ride.
Felt good.

Been watching Jack Whitehall and Travels with My Father on Netflix. Pretty funny.

Admin duties now.

Looking forward to a team tomorrow in Clarkston!

Mais portugues hoje! Certo!

Released a new podcast this morning! Although Verbal Surgery -490- “Bag of Doom” sounds like one big downer, it’s actually quite uplifting! Just click on the title and GROOVE!
Uploaded to server.

Link on fFacebook.

Recorded a new edition of Verbal Surgery this morning! Called “ValYOU” Another winner for the books!
Enjoyed having my WHOLE family together this morning! Just gets better.

Went to the mission to work with the kids. Went early so I could watch Penelope while Ashley and Miles went to the doctor to check on the baby’s progress! Everly will be here soon! But not today!
Penelope loves sitting on this little black bulldog.
I think it’s terrific when kids help the younger kids. Way to go Juan!
On the way back and forth to Chamblee (which takes about an hour and a half) I work on Portuguese. I’m trying something different these days. I set the playback to 75% speed (which is not really much slower) and then try and repeat every sentence they say at full speed. It’s been a challenge and also helps my comprehension.

It’s also amazing how much better my Spanish gets after studying her sister language! Double blessings!

Got home from the mission too late to ride my bike. Looking forward to some longer rides soon.

Eu estudo Portugues hoje!

Minha vida e uma aventura!

Muitas dias!

Recorded a new podcast! A surprisingly upbeat edition called “Bag of Doom!” It’ll release tomorrow!

I have seven “in the can” right now. My goal was six extra to cover my time in the UK.
I mainly record a lot when I’m super stressed out or depressed.
Makes me feel better!

Took Kathy to her first day of physical therapy. I’m optimistic that it will help her.

They did an evaluation of range of movement.


The kicking her leg forward hurt the worst.

Then she taught Kathy a couple of exercises.

Got home and after a quick lunch went for a bike ride.

I saw this copperhead in the road.

It reminded me of a joke I saw. What is the definition of the emergency vehicle that picks up people after they’ve been run over by a steamroller?

A flatulance. Ark, ark, ark.

Short bike ride. I wanted to go at least 30 minutes. My goal is 150 minutes a week. I usually go way over that.

Got hot again today.
Later, my car said it was 94 degrees! Ouch!

Room full of kids!

I’ve been continuing my “curb side service” so I can help the children and watch Penelope.

She always wants “OUTSIDE!” That’s where all her friends are.

She loves playing in the dirt.

The kids spent a lot of time pushing each other around in the various vehicles. Of course Penelope starts all the activities! She’s the team leader and she’s not even TWO!

She’ll say, “MINE!” and the kids just give in. Hilarious really.

The maintenance guys put in the new accordian door to close off the front room from the rest of the house. Gives Miles more privacy.

Ashley added a Pay Pal button to a post on Facebook this afternoon. We had $179 donated in just a couple of hours. AMEN!

Went to a meet up this evening in Little 5 Points. Didn’t work out. I thought it might be a good place to meet people to talk about my hypnosis practice. Just wasn’t what I was expecting. Only way to find out is to go!

Spent good evening with Kathy when I got home talking about her PT work that day.

Admin duties now.

Studied Portuguese! Porque nao?

I hear that!

Lots of days in a row!

Released a new edition of Verbal Surgery! One of my best, Verbal Surgery -489-“Rise ON!” You can tell how I’m feeling by the intensity!
Uploaded to my server.

Link on Facebook.

Ashley and Penelope came over to visit! GREAT to see the girls! Looks like I’ve lost a lot of weight! Lol! Loved her getting my flip flops out and trying to walk in them!

Went over to Providence Christian Academy to see our friend and President of the Board of Whirlwind Missions, Dr. Carl Barrington. What an immense blessing he’s been to us. Truly one of the best people I’ve ever met and the smartest guy I know.

Ashley, Penelope and I met up with our good friend Rob Martin for lunch. I sure have missed that guy. He was a terrific partner and helped our ministry a lot. We went to Plaza Fiesta to eat and watch Penelope play. Can’t believe I didn’t get a picture with him. Here’s one from last year! My has Penelope grown!
Went to the mission to help the kids. I worked outside and had curbside service!
Ashley is doing great with the inside kids!
Two of my girls from Bangladesh had splinters. One in her foot. The other in her hand. They were both pretty brave!

Got gas on the way home.

This letter greeted me. I knew it was coming. Still hard to believe. Not like the insurance was cheap! $1,750 a month just for Kathy and me!
One more thing to be concerned about. We won’t even know what’s available until October.

Keep praying for us, please. Hard times for most churches and pretty much all ministries.

Had a good talk with my Mom. She’ll be coming to visit in December. Amen for that!

Studied Portuguese! The few minutes a day add up!

Finished the Future Perfect tense.

Moved onto abstract objects.

Recorded a new episode of Verbal Surgery called “Satellites Don’t Blink.” I record primarily because it helps ME! But each episode is downloaded around 100 times from people in over 30 countries! Jesse talked to me about Patreon, a way to help people support my work financially. Sounds like a plan!

Went to Walmart to pick up groceries. This sign caught my attention.

Of course I loved this picture.

Went to Westside Baptist to pick up a check they had for me. GLAD that came as we were almost exactly $500 overdrawn. Put us back in the black. Thank you, Lord and Westside!

Had a good talk with my friend John Weldon who is our Youth Minister and been serving as our interim Music Minister.

Picked up Kathy and took her to her Rheumatoid Arthritis doctor. Overall, a pretty good report, although K is still in a lot of pain.

Dropped Kathy back home and went to the mission to talk with Ashley. Hard decisions had to be made to see just how much we can cut salaries and still survive. Heart breaking to see all these cut backs. Who would have thought I’d have to be looking at doing other part time jobs starting at 60? Welcome to the new world.

I saw this bumper sticker on the way to Azalea.

The kids were very eager for help! Fun to have them come into Ashley’s new HOME! It looks SO different, and beautiful!

Always great to work with Ashley!


Then took Penelope to play outside with her fan club.

A very emotional day. Glad I had some baby time to help me feel better.

Woke up Saturday morning to check my email and see this from Ashley.

Obviously, that a big concern right now!

I immediately went to the bank and deposited the check that I got from speaking at the Equip conference into the bank to help Whirlwind.

Also recorded a new podcast, “Fresh Pressure.” Talking to a tape deck is my main form of therapy. I’m always best when I’m yelling to myself.

Studied Portugese.

Did the grocery shopping. I was shocked that Walmart ALREADY had Christmas trees out. What?!
Came home to work on my bike. Needed to repaint the handlebars. They had gotten a bit rusty.

I water my plants every Saturday.

I went to Clarkston to drop off my dolly for Miles and his Dad to use to get the last stuff out of their old house.

Then picked up Penelope. She was such a blessing to me, especially since I was so sad about the financial situation with Whirlwind Missions. I took her to Stone Mountain to see the train!

I have to cover her ears. Gets pretty loud!



She’s so happy!

I thought this looked like the horse was crying.

I liked these panoramic shots!


She loves to climb on the rocks, and throw them!

She spent the night with me last night. She would get sad and I would cuddle and comfort her.

It was so much like I feel the Father does to me when I’m sad. I know He wants me to trust and feel his joy and peace. I must admit there has been a big difference between this time and the previous episodes. We continue to make big changes and hard financial decisions.

I know that Ashley and Miles moving into the mission will help the ministry and their family financially. Their last place was $1,250 a month.

I called Pastor Ben about the situation. He’s been wise council for me in the past.

This morning I went to Westside Baptist Church. Pastor said they will be taking up a special offering to help us.

We live by faith, but we live on money! I appreciate their generosity for us SO much!

This afternoon, I also wrote an article on Facebook asking for help.

Also sent Ashley an email that we will forward to all of our supporters. There are nearly 1,000 people on that list. SURELY some of them will help with this!

Catching up on all my admin duties now that I couldn’t get to yesterday. When Penelope is here I try to just focus on her.

I only got a few hours of sleep last night. I wasn’t reallly worried, but my brain has trouble slowing down as I run through all the possible scenarios.

I need to get more rest now. I’m really on edge emotionally. Happens when I get too tired.

Later I want to ride my bike. That also helps relieve stress and help me sleep.