Hi, My name is Mary and I am a 45 year old Christian mother of 7 children, wife, to my husband Keith, and grandmother to my grandson,Johnny.

We live in Citrus County on the west coast of Florida. Citrus Co. is the winter home of the manatees. They like the warm water from the nuclear power plant nearby and the many fresh springs we have in Crystal River and Homosassa.(see below for more manatee links)

The county is currently in the process of putting in some new reef-balls that will be in fairly shallow water in the gulf. They will become artifical reefs that are supposed to be just like a natural reef in 5 years. The purpose is to have a place for snorkle and scuba divers in the months the manatee is not here. There are also many fresh water springs that attract many divers.

If you aren't a diver there are several places that offer boat trips out to see the manatees and there is the Homosassa Springs Wildlife Refuge that has quite a few manatees and other marine and wildlife for you to see.

My family and I are members of the Calvary Christian Center Assembly of God in Inverness. A wonderful place of worship with ministeries for all. We have wonderful children's programs, youth ministry, senior's have a special time as do the men with Promise Keepers and the Men's Ministry and the Women's ministry. There is something going on all the time so you can always be with brothers and sisters in the Lord!
I work as a hair stylist and volunteer at the Citrus County Family Resource Center. I have the phone that comes to my house when the office is closed and I am the treasurer. We facilitate parent workshops. have a warmline for stressed parents, a clothes closet, a book and video library, a baby furniture loan-out, we are the county agency for the Central Directory, and we try to help people find any other resource in a time of need.
I went to school at Withlacochee Technical Institute. It is a county run facility that teaches high school students and adults. There are many classes of interest to all-from art to computer to nursing assistant to hair stylist to auto mechanics and auto body.
If you are looking for somewhere to attend classes this might be the place for you!!!
I moved, here to Florida, in 1990 when the Lord spoke to me. At the time I had been attending college preparing for a career as an attorney when suddenly my funding was cut off for, what seemed to me, no reason. That same day I had received a letter from my oldest son, who lived with his father in Homosassa FL, asking me to move down here to be near him(we hadn't seen each other in a year since his father had taken Marty out of NY illegally). My ex had also written asking me to come down saying that I could stay with them until I had a job and a place of my own. Since funding had been cut off, and I still had 2 children to raise, I sold almost everything we owned and got on a plane to Orlando and a new life on July 3,1990.
Within 3 weeks I had a job in a factory in Crystal River and just before Christmas my two youngest sons and I moved into our own place.
I hated it here. I am a people person who had grown up in the same small town all of my life, had gone to school there, worked in the public as a bartender, in several of the pizza shops, and then as a school bus driver. My time not working or spent with my children was taken up with my volunteer job as a firefighter and medic on the ambulance. I knew people from all walks of life in our small town(Attica, NY), so to move somewhere that I knew almost no one was a big shock to my system. (Jesus knew what He was doing though!!) I would drive home from work and cry because weeks would go by and I wouldn't see anyone I knew outside my home or work and those at work were very stand-offish because of the turnover rate in the factory. Most people stayed less than six months so no one made any effort to be friendly, knowing you probably wouldn't be there too long. It was terrible.
Now I had gone to church on and off most of my life and had been very faithful for the last couple of years, but I didn't have that personal relationship with Him and I didn't realize that He was taking care of things for me!! I had no idea that the move my children and I made was our steps being ordered of God!
Then in Feb. the Lord started to show me why I had moved. I met the most wonderful Christian man!
Keith's wife had left him, in August 1990, with 3 small children to move in with her boyfriend. Their divorce was final in March and we started to date rather than just talk at work.
Keith attended a small store front Pentacostal church that his parents had helped found. It was different than the United Church Of Christ that I had attended most of my life. Different but not in any way that I had a problem with. In fact it was while attending that church I realized I had never had a personal relationship with Jesus!!
We were married in Feb. of 1991 and our honeymoon was to pick up his children at his parents house, gather some of their clothes, get my youngest son from daycare, get his stuff and mine from our house and go home to make dinner for our family after having worked all day and getting married at the notary!! We always joke that someday we'll get a real honeymoon when all of our children are gone. Yes, we have had a child since we were married too!!
It has been a long time since I have updated this. Our "baby" is now 11 years old, we have 2 more grandsons, Ben and Tommy and a granddaughter due in March 2004. WOW
We changed churches after 9 years. What a difficult move that was. Now we are charter members of Joy and Praise Fellowship in Beverlyhills, Fl. Been there right from the first meeting to ask for prayer and direction to see if this is what the Lord would have us do. Starting small is such a blessing. Getting to know each other on such a intimate basis. The fellowships are great and when someone new enters it is easy to recognize them and welcome them. WEll, I have some great news to add. When I was 12 or 13 my mother told me she bore a daughter and that she had been adopted. My mom died when I was 19 so we never had any further conversations about this. I looked and looked for 8 years after I got on-line. The Lord had closed all doors and windows. On Dec 13, 2003 my Aunt Lori e-mailed me and told me she thought there was contact. WEll there was and I now have another sister. What a blessing. My younger brother and sister were here for Christmas and the 3 of us got into my van and drove to meet our "new" sister!!!! What a wonderful lady and such a blessing. We will be going to West Palm Beach this July 4th week end to have a family reunion with my mother's side. Long overdue. Can't wait. Things went well and all of our family we excited to meet my "new" sister Barb. We have stayed in touch by phione every week at least once it is so wonderful to have gotten so close. Like a part of me had been missing and now I have that part.
Even our brother Kit came around one he met Barb. We spend all our vacations together and really enjoy getting to know each other.
Another grandchild has been born her name is Shaylynn. She is sooo cute.
This has to be the hardest thing I have ever written. My sister Barb passed away on Nov 11, 2006. She lived alone and was eating dinner when a piece of steak became lodged in her throat and she couldn't get it out. We found out about it on Monday when I called her work. We always spoke at least once a week and since she had not returned my calls I was going to pick a bit. I got the news that she had passed. No one knew how to get in touch with her family, including her son she was estranged from. I never knew anything could hurt this much, even when my mother and father passed away.

JESUS IS LORD

A LETTER FROM A FRIEND

WEB RINGS I BELONG TO

SINNER'S PRAYER

I'M SAVED-NOW WHAT?

TEEN-AGER'S POEM

MY PAGE (manatees!)

LINKS

WILL YOU ACCEPT THE MARK OF THE BEAST?

OLD/NEW TESTAMENT COMPARISONS

CELEBRATE HALLOWEEN?

PRAYER CLOSET

THANK-YOU LINKS

JOKE OF THE WEEK

Sign Guestbook

View Guestbook

This gif came from the Crystal River Middle School web site about manatees. That site also contains several links to other sites in Citrus County Florida about our manatees.


 


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