Just Saying Hello

It's a beautiful day here in the south. I went out to walk in the sunshine for some exercise and vitamin d. The birds were singing and a gentle breeze blew on occasion. Just remembering makes me smile. I have been keeping grandbabies, trying to keep up with them. They are now one year old and into anything they can be. They are sweet. Some days I am exhausted! I think I have said it before - keeping babies at fifty is not the same as having them in your twenties.

God is good and I am thankful for all His blessings!

Be Courgageous

The start of 2016 has turned out to be a bit rocky. Actually the end of 2015 was already there and proceeded to carry into 2016. I am not real big on making resolutions or even picking a word for the year as seems to be a new common thing. But this year I have decided that I do indeed have a word that I need to focus on and set forth the effort to achieve. It is courageous. I need to be courageous. Thinking on this helps change/adjust my focus. I have for the last many years dealt with an illness that causes much anxiety for me. Real, physical, life interrupting anxiety. I have felt weary and tired, discouraged and frustrated when I am in the throws of this illness. It is hard for me to interact with others or carry out the normal affairs of life. I go through a gamut of feelings. It is difficult to "readjust" to life as it should be when I get better. Yes, I need to be courageous because it takes courage to face the day and to interact with others and built relationships. I need Jesus, and prayer, and hope for each day. I am reminded of a story I heard of a woman who was facing difficulties in life and was encouraged to go and talk to a wise, Christian woman. Her words of wisdom after hearing all the woman's difficulties was "And then there's God." The woman was frustrated that this was all the "wisdom" that the Christian woman shared. She felt like she had not really helped her. She was encouraged to visit this same woman again, and again she gave her the same words of wisdom, "And then there's God." In time the woman finally got it. The truth is no matter what we are facing the same words apply - "And then there's God."  He is our hope when we feel hopeless, our strength when we are weak, our source of courage, and the God who sees us. So lets take courage - He is with us!

His Goodness Fills the Earth

May this season find you well and rejoicing in the abundance of God's goodness!

"For lo, the winter is past,

the rain is over and gone.

The flowers appear on the earth;

The time of singing has come,

and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land." Song of Solomon 2:11-12

It Use to be Easier

I've been thinking about meal preparations. Several weeks ago I decided to organize my recipes. I had a notebook and a couple of folders full of recipes that I have torn from magazines, gotten from the internet, gotten from friends and family, and who knows where else! I also have several cookbooks that have either been given to me as a gift or I purchased over the years. Really not a lot of them but still several. Some of the cookbooks I hold onto just because they have one or maybe two (or three) recipes that I use. The rest of the recipes just stay between the pages.

When my husband and I first married we pretty much ate the same foods week after week with a new recipe thrown in every now and then. There was very little meal planning as it was simple and pretty much kept in my head. I know that sounds boring but we were happy! We did change things up a bit from time to time. Sometimes we found something we really liked at a church potluck and tracked down the person who had made it and requested the recipe. Sometimes we added a new recipe gotten during a family get together. Mostly our meals were simple with meat and vegetables or pasta. Not a lot of ingredients. Special dishes were delegated to special occasions. Sometimes I long for those days again. No need for meal planners, or so much time trying to decide what to prepare when, or a long list of ingredients to shop for. Truthfully, I find meal planning more difficult now because of all the choices!

I am thankful for the variety of dishes that I have learned and am learning to prepare. However, I am going to try to eliminate some of the angst I feel with meal planning by incorporating some of that simplicity again. I do have my recipes pretty much organized now and that should help also. I have given away several small cookbooks and lots of collected magazine recipes to some newly married and engaged couples. Just knowing I have trimmed my collection makes me feel better and maybe they will be a blessing to someone else.

Now if only I can curb my desire to look at all those wonderful recipes on pinterest. Sometimes I find so many great recipes that it causes me to be paralyzed instead of active. Does that make since? I guess there is so much I want to try that I end up trying nothing. Like I said too many choices makes it more difficult for me. I recently visited a blog where a young woman tries two new recipes a week. I think I might give this idea a try and incorporate one new recipe a week (or maybe a month) into my meal plans. I will see how this works.

Having said ALL that, I am going to share one of my favorite recipes. We use to have these in school every Thursday along with tomato soup and a peanut butter and banana sandwich. My husband's aunt gave me a cookbook with this recipe many years ago. It is one of those cookbooks that I keep just for the one recipe! If your recipe repertoire is not to full I honestly believe you will enjoy adding this one. I have to say, although it has some healthy ingredients it also has a lot of sugar, including corn syrup. So I cannot  promote these as "healthy", but maybe they could be thrown in every now and then. I make them once or twice a year (usually in the fall) and could devour the whole batch if I let myself. I do restrain myself from this! It helps to prepare them when others are coming over. That way the number I can consume decreases drastically. Enough said  ~ Enjoy!

Hay Stacks

1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup white Karo syrup

Bring to a slight boil, remove from heat. Bring to a slight boil again, remove from heat.

Add

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 12 ounce jar smooth peanut butter

Mix well and pour over 5 heaping cups of Corn Flakes (or Special K). Stir Corn Flakes and mixture gently together. Work Fast. Drop by teaspoons onto waxed paper.  

The Times They Are a Changing!

I am tired, very tired, but it has been a good day. My youngest son and I spent the day visiting by parents and sisters. Times they are a changing. I guess they always are. The years have flown by and not only do my parents know that there are fewer years ahead of them than behind them but I know that, more that likely, there are for me also. Just to equal the time already behind me I will have to live to the ripe old age of 94. Not typical for most folks these days. My dad talks of wanting to be here as long as he is useful to God, but when he's not how he would prefer to move on and be with God. I understand. My teenage son is uncomfortable with all the talk of death. There is discussion of what we do and don't want to happen at our funerals. There is no point in burying our heads in the sand and pretending that life is different. As my dad said, we all have an appointed time to die. My heart pulls in two directions as we talk. I know my parents have walked with the Lord, they belong to Him and will one day go to be with Him, but my heart ~ well it sighs with the heaviness of the truth that we will likely have to part company for a time this side of eternity. Knowing that the same God who has walked with us this far will walk us through the coming days and years consoles me. My dad ~ well he's looking for the rapture. Maybe we won't part company ~ our redemption is closer than when we first believed!

Our middle son moved out earlier this month. He is engaged and plans to marry in May of this year after he and his fiancee finish college. As I said, the times they are a changing. Our oldest married this past June. I pray often that I will be a good mother-in-law. I am reminded of the scripture that a man is to leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife. Letting go isn't always easy but it is necessary. Sometimes our home is quieter and sometimes it is noisier (when everyone comes over as our family has expanded). I feel very blessed. I pray for God's will, I pray for my heart to accept His will. I continue to pray for our youngest son, that God would prepare a mate for him.

The times they are a changing! I don't know what tomorrow holds, but thankfully I know the One who holds tomorrow. I am reminded of the words to a song that says ~ hold to His hand, to God's unchanging hand, build your hopes on things eternal, hold to God's unchanging hand. I think I'll cling!


p.s. I didn't get this posted until Friday ~ so this actually took place Thursday ~ have a great weekend all!

Needing to Slow My Pace

Just a bit anyway. I thought I would have more time to share but things are still rolling along at a fast pace. I think I will deliberately, intentionally, choose to slow my pace. We have had much going on. Our oldest son married at the beginning of June. I "renewed" a vanity for his new wife for her birthday. It took much more time than I expected ~ lots of pieces! Sadly, my husband lost an uncle so we had a funeral to attend. I was very excited when we had baby birds hatch in a nest on our front porch. Three little ones. Unfortunately, the babies did not make it. We are not sure what happened to them. We found one out of the nest and on the porch one day and a few days later there was no sign of the other two. After a few days I knocked the nest down and there were the other two. So sad. I have decided to open a booth in an antique mall along with my sister-in-law and a young lady that I met several years ago. I have been spending a lot of time preparing! A LOT of TIME. We are suppose to move our things into the booth on the 16th of this month. I need to get all these things out of my house. I told my husband that we were beginning to look like Sanford & Son! My body is tired, my brain is tired ~ I need to rest! I hope to share some pictures of some of the items I have been working on and maybe of our booth. For now I need to go to bed and get some sleep. Blessings to all.

P.S. ~ I have an unspoken prayer request for a family member. Please pray for God's mercy and His will to be done. Thank you.

A Mixture of Emotions

I have found myself today in a place of laughter, tears, sadness, and joy all brought on by the memories that pictures bring. Our oldest son has asked us to gather pictures of him through the years to do a little slide show for their upcoming wedding. I decided to start gathering pictures today. Wow ~ we have a lot of pictures. Many before the digital phenomenon took place. So, I have been going through stack after stack of pictures. A lady whose son had wed told me not too long ago (when she found out our son would be marrying this year) not to start looking at all the old pictures because it would just make me sad. She was right to an extent. I did find myself feeling sad at moments but also laughing. It just depended on what pictures I came across. So many memories. Some of people who have passed on, of births, of weddings, of birthdays, of graduations, of friends, and everyday life. Today it does seem that time has flown by. Our youngest son is eighteen. For Mother's Day our middle son made me a collage of pictures of him and his brothers over the years for my computer screen.  I see it every time I use the computer. It is a precious gift to me. So much better that anything they could give me to sit around. It also draws mixed emotions out of me. I can't help but smile every time I look at the collage. They have grown up and I am happy to see them moving in new directions and making their way in life ~ but there is a twinge of sadness around the edge of my heart that squeezes.  I hope that I will have many new memories to add in the future ~ but I am sure that when I look back they will bring mixed emotions ~ for it is the way of life. Even so, I want to live it to the fullest claiming all that God has in store for me for His glory. Go make those memories!

~Giving the Benefit of the Doubt~

I have been in a few situations recently where I hoped someone else would give me the benefit of the doubt. I must admit I struggle many times with doing this for others. It is a sad truth, but I think most of the time we as people take a negative approach to something that happens without considering that the situation may be completely different than what we are thinking. Let me give an example. If you have read my post from the past you know that we have a Chocolate Factory where we live. We frequent it just about weekly. As a reward to their customers they give a card that is punched when you buy some of their products and earns you a freebie when fully punched. We purchase an apple or apples just about every time we are there. Not too long ago we went in and spent a good bit of time talking with one of the employees. You know what happens when there is too much distraction ~ someone forgets to do something. Well, that is what happened to us that day. I didn't realize it until the next time we went in. I had one more purchase to make to get a free apple. So, I pulled out my card and explained that I would like to purchase an apple and use the filled card to redeem a free apple. It was then that the lady at the register, whom we talk to on a regular basis, turned the card over to initial the last purchase and paused slightly, which made me look. I noticed what she obviously noticed ~ the last two punches had not been initialed. She continued with the order. I realized that the worker from the last visit who had failed to initial the punched card, had without intention, just put both the lady waiting on me and myself in an awkward situation. I knew who had forgotten to initial the punched card and realized what had happened, but I couldn't help but wonder if the lady waiting on me at the time now questioned my honesty. Yes, it bothered me. I have prayed repeatedly that any time she thought the wrong thing that God would bring the thought to her mind that someone had forgotten to initial the card after punching it. It makes me sad to realize that you can choose repeatedly to do the right thing and live before others in a manner that would honor God and then something so innocent could actually cause someone to believe something bad about you. Yes, it bothers me ~ but it has also been an opportunity to see how often I fail to think the best of someone instead of assuming something negative. I am so guilty of this. I am working on this. In Corinthians 13:7 the scriptures says in talking about love that it "believes all things". A few other translations say "always trust" and "believes the best in all". I have also heard it said that it means that love "gives the benefit of the doubt".  It's kind of like our legal system ~ innocent until proven guilty. I can't say that I am happy that someone might question my honesty, but I am thankful that God is showing me where I am lacking in love and how wrong I could be toward others by not giving the benefit of the doubt. My husband is so much better in seeing the "other possibilities" and often points them out to me. So ~ maybe the next time something happens and you don't absolutely, without doubt, know the whole truth ~ you could give the benefit of the doubt.
 

~ The Benefit of the Doubt ~ 

believing something good about someone,

instead of something bad,

 when you have the possibility to do either.

 

Do You Need a Mulligan?

No, not the stew but a "do over" or second chance. Not in golf ~ but in life.

It's always easier to do something right from the first than to have to undo it and start over. I have a friend who has four children. Her youngest child is much more disciplined in the daily cares of life than his older siblings. All because she taught him differently. At a very early age he knew to put his garbage in the garbage can, his dirty clothes in the laundry room, and so forth.  Her older children struggled with these disciplines because they had not been taught this when younger. Unfortunately, I was the same way with my children. I did not teach them many of the daily disciplines that they should have been taught. Which left me with the load. Yep, I tried to take care of it all and quickly found that taking care of a whole family was way more work than one can do alone. So I was sometimes frazzled, overwhelmed, and frankly not very organized. It really is a shame that I did not realize the importance of delegating, and especially teaching my children to take responsibility of their own belongings, messes, garbage, and so forth from the beginning. Though I have tried to change this over the years, my family still struggles with this. Yesterday I found myself picking up an item that our youngest son had left in the living room. As I picked it up, I thought that I really should wait and have him take care of it. It was easier at the time to do it myself, so I did. I did the same thing this morning, cleaning up several things our youngest son had left in the kitchen that should have been put in the garbage. Old habits are hard to break. Though it may have been easier for me to take care of it, it was not the best thing for my son. We are all still learning.

Fortunately we can start where we are. Like I said we didn't start out as we should have but we have changed a lot for the better over the years. We still have much to work on. So it is in much of life.  

So what about you? Do you need a mulligan today?

Reading, Reading, Reading

Just recently I finished reading a series of books by Lauraine Snelling. I guess I should say a series of series. I am use to reading a book and then waiting for the next one in the series to come out. This time I had read the last three books first not realizing that they were part of a longer series of books. I found the beginning books in our church library and since they were written some years ago was able to read book after book instead of waiting for the new release each year. I have been reading and reading! I had mixed feelings about coming to the end of the series. Part of me was glad it was over because I was getting a little tired of reading. The other part of me was sad to see the series end. I told my husband it was like watching Little House on the Prairie week after week and experiencing the story and then it coming to an end. It is hard not to get caught up in the story and the lives of the characters. As I told my mother I had to come back to reality.

The series that I read are Read River of the North series, Return to Red River series, Daughters of Blessing series, and Home to Blessing series. You can read about them here. The church background in the story was Lutheran, of which I am not, so there were a few things I would not agree with, but over all I really enjoyed these books. If your looking for a good read check them out!

Sunny Days

We are experiencing some sunny, warm days and it is wonderful.  We have experienced more snow this winter that usual for our area.  I think everyone I talk to is ready for spring!  Maybe it is on its way.  If not, I will at least enjoy this brief time of sunshine and warmth.  Hope everyone is having a good day.

If I Could Turn Back Time!

I've just been having some of those days where you wonder. You know where you wonder what you would do differently if you could do things over. I certainly can see some areas that I would change. Alas, there is not much need in such thoughts though. Time cannot be turned back, and some decisions are final. We will never pass that way again. Of course there are many things that I would never change! I am just thankful that we have a Heavenly Father that is there to help us with all our tomorrows and all our future decisions and who is quite capable of taking care of the past.

Days Go By ~ Enjoyed the Smokies & the East TN Shop Hop

It is amazing how quickly time passes. June has come and is almost over. We just returned from a family vacation in the Smokies. I think I have seen more mountains in the last month than I have seen in my entire lifetime. Trips to Missouri in May, Peru early June, and just returning from the Smokies has certainly offered some amazing views of God's handiwork. I am surprised that my dreams have not been filled with mountains!  Though all of the trips were different, each one was a blessing. I am looking forward to being home for a while now.

The Smokies are beautiful!

It was sad to see all the trees dying because of insects

that are not native to the area.

 

I don't think I have a picture here from Clingman' Dome ~ certainly a must see.

For those of you who are use to climbing,
the steep half-mile trail to the observation tower will not be difficult.
For the rest of us "non-climbers", well, there are resting points that get lots of use!

There is a beautiful view not many steps away from the parking area

for those who choose not to take the trail to the observation tower.

Unfortunately, it was quite hazy the day we visited the observation tower

and it did not offer the desired view.

It was unique, however, to be high enough to experience a cloud passing through

~ quite cool and refreshing!

While in Sevierville, Tennessee, I found out that there was an East Tennessee Shop Hop going on. Unfortunately, we were leaving a couple of days after I found out and I couldn't make the rounds to all the shops. I did enjoy getting to visit several shops and picked up several projects to work on.  Each of the shops had a goody bag for the participants that usually included a free block pattern and a fat quarter. They also offered their shop hop featured block with the included material for purchase for $5.  I could not pass this up, so I have several blocks to piece and then find a place to use them.  My sister recommended that maybe I put all the blogs in one quilt as a keepsake from the trip. I like her recommendation.  Since I purchased a block from each of the stores, I also have a second, duplicate pattern for each block, from each goody bag, that I can share.  So it seems that July might be filled with several quilting projects. I am thinking that I would like to do next year's shop hop with my mom and sisters. I think it would be great fun. I will have to see if they are interested. No rush though ~ we do have a year to decide. Below are some of the goodies that I picked up.

Before we left for our trip I signed up for a class that will take place in July and picked out the material I would need. It is suppose to be a good class for beginners (of which I would still consider myself). I am looking forward to actually getting a whole top pieced and moving on to the quilting.

  For the July class project.

 

Well, I have lots of stuff that needs to get done. May the Lord bless you all and fill your life with laughter and goodness as the days go by. Have a wonderful day!

Busy but Blessed!

May has been a busy month. My husband and I celebrated out 25th wedding anniversary by spending several days away together. We had a wonderful time and have decided that we need to make getting away together a more frequent event. Here are a few pictures from our trip.

A restful quiet cabin!

Taking in nature!

A little craft mall browsing and barbeque for lunch.

A visit to the Amish Country Store.  Hmmm~ in the middle of the city. Since I've never visited another Amish Country Store, I can't say whether it's your typical country Amish store or not. Somehow I think not, but I enjoyed our visit.

I haven't had much time to spend posting this month. I have a short time to finish preparing for a trip to Peru, with a team from our church, in a few days. So, I will be taking a blogging break. Hopefully, I will be able to share some pictures and more with you when I return from Peru. May the blessings of the Lord be with you all!

Giveaway ~ Quilting Squares or Bag

Do you like to quilt? If so, you might want to check out Lora's blog ~ Eager Hands. She is giving away 100 6x6 Rotary Cut Quilt Squares of Vintage Fabrics or a Shabby Chic Roses and Dots Bag.  If you would be interested just drop over and enter.

Go Fly a Kite!

It's that time of year again. Pull out the kites, buy new string, fix up the old one or buy a new one.

If your up for it, you can help your children or grandchildren make one. You can find information on kites and instructions on how to make a simple kite here.  Have fun!

One of My Favorite Short Stories!

Troll Associates, 1979

There are so many lessons to learn in this one short story.  It was written by Hans Christian Anderson in 1837 and actually titled The Emperor's New Suit. The picture above is of a book written for children based on this story. I loved reading this to my children and probably enjoyed it more than they did.  Vanity, deceit, fear, pride, oppression, self-esteem, honesty, and dishonesty are all portrayed in this one story.  For me, the untainted, simple truth of a child reminds me of how we should be true to oneself. And how awful, for the people and the king, that the vain, deceived, embarrassed, ridiculed king could not acknowledge the truth, cover up, turn around and go back to the palace! 

I think you would enjoy this story if you have never read it. You can read The Emperor's New Suit here.

There's No Place Like Home

 Have you seen these five finger shoes? Oh, let me get back to these.

We just got back from New Orleans last night and it is good to be home. My husband had a conference to attend and our youngest son and I went with him. Our first day out we came upon a couple of Hollywood trucks. Turned out that they were filming a movie scene. We had to stop on the sidewalk for a few minutes and let them get the scene filmed. People were just running across the street. I couldn't tell who was in the scene or who was just trying to get out of the way. I have no idea what movie ~ and no, I didn't ask.

Our second day there the fire alarms went off in the hotel where we were staying. Turned out that all was okay. Then they went off again, and again, and again.......! Three days out of the year they test the sprinklers and fire alarms and we happened to be there to experience it. We only had to deal with it for one day though; not so bad.

New Orleans is a very diverse place. So, honestly I didn't think we would stick out. We're pretty simple folks.  Ah, but back to those five finger shoes. No, I don't have a pair, neither does my husband, but our children do. I try to let our children make there own choices when it comes to clothes and for the most part they do okay. Not too long ago our middle son came home with a pair of the five finger shoes. He proceeded to explain all the "promoted"  benefits of the shoes. I thought they were strange, but I tell our children when there choice of clothing style is not the norm (there are boundaries here ~ there have been a few times I have had to say absolutely not) if they can stand the heckling go right ahead. So, on our way down to New Orleans we stopped to let our youngest son take a look at the shoes. We listened again to all the "promoted" benefits of the shoes and he decided he wanted a pair also. Yes, I still think they are strange. So long story short, the shoes got lots of attention, even in New Orleans. I was so surprised at how many people while walking along notice your shoes. I'm more a face person myself ~ I'd rather look at the face than the shoes ~ but many would rather look at your feet. The responses varied from ~ cool, like those shoes, laughter, and probably the most memorable is the businessman whose mouth dropped open and had to tell the man walking along with him about them, he couldn't stop staring back. So, now you know how to stick out even in diverse New Orleans.

We enjoyed the River Walk, the food, the sunshine, being able to share something of Jesus with others,

and time away with family

~ but I still have to say ~ 

There is no place like home!

Friend or Foe?

Our oldest son is renting a small, two bedroom house with one of his buddies. They have indoor pets. Our son has fish, his roommate has a dog. I think the dog has access to every room of the house except our son's room. Recently our son decided to add some new fish to his aquarium and his roommate's dog took notice. Our son noticed that his roommate's dog was missing one day and went to find her. Guess where he found her. Yep, in his room. Somehow she had gone into his room and had closed the door. When he opened the door he found her sitting in front of the aquarium staring at the fish. Harmless, right? Certainly she was curious. The next time ~ he found her in his room licking the aquarium! So, hopefully she is just being friendly. Or maybe she's part cat! 

 

Whatever her intent ~ she's quite taken with the new arrivals.

Spring Break

It's

SPRING BREAK

in our neck of the woods!

And

DON'T IT FEEL GOOD!