A Day at the Beach

What do people do on a beautiful 77 degree day at the beach on the last day of April?

Some fish... even if they don't catch anything, it is the joy of the sport.

Some go boating... enjoying the experience of really being ON the water.

Some soak up the sun, relax, and... talk on the phone.

Some go off taking pictures... like me!

Some walk... and pray...  Mary Kay was walking when she got a phone call from her pastor, who had some tests done today because of some heart problems.  I heard her praying for him while I was snapping pictures nearby, so I stopped & silently prayed right along with her.  Later she got a call from his sister & she prayed with her.  Since I was still nearby snapping pictures, I stopped again & silently prayed along with her.  Afterwards, she smiled at me & I walked over to her... "Sound really carries on the beach, so I overheard your conversation & I prayed along with you," I told her.  In her prayer she had used the Scripture about two or more agreeing in prayer & we both said that there were two on the beach agreeing in prayer right then.  We talked for a while, sharing a bit about our home locations & our churches.  Then she hugged me & said, "If I never see you again here on earth, I'll see you someday in heaven."

What a blessing to meet a perfect stranger, share in prayer to our Heavenly Father, and know that we will spend eternity together!  That could only be orchestrated by the One who created all this beauty.

"THE" Dress: Found!

The day began bright & beautiful...

with 5 gals excited about shopping for "THE" dress...

First stop in Raleigh with ideas in mind,

The "girls" begin the search...  

& the bride-to-be tried on a few dresses...

Then on to Smithfield....

A little girl's dream world come to life!
 

Not the "styles" we're looking for, but what fun to feel glamorous for a few minutes!

The bride-to-be looked beautiful in every single dress she tried on... but "IT" just wasn't there.  

So though I usually avoid shopping on Sunday, out we went again to search since she had to go back to Virginia by Sunday evening.

And she found "IT"!!!  

The one in which she feels most special. 

The one that she feels is just right for her.  

The one that she looks forward to wearing as she walks down the aisle to see "his" eyes light up when he looks upon her in it for the first time.

On August 22, I can post it on here for you to see...

But until then, you can only see the joy on their faces.

Sunday Reflections

 

"The desert and the parched land will be glad;  the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.  Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom;  it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy."

Isaiah 35:1

"Consider how the lilies grow.  They do not labor or spin.  Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these."

Luke 12:27

"The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the Word of our God stands forever."

Isaiah 40:7

Not only does God give us the beauty of flowers, but He talks about them in His Word!

Time for a Change, Part 2

No, these are not a bunch of little turtles...

They are the brass pulls from my bedroom furniture!  I wanted to change out the look, but replacing all of these would break the bank...  So, I decided to get out the spray can...

A bit of a mess, but what a quick, easy, inexpensive change!

Not a very good picture, but it totally changed the look of these.

Note to self: wear gloves when you paint, like you usually do... especially when you use metal paint!

Time for a Change

We have never lived in a house more than 6 years, & we now have been in this one 8 years.
So I'm ready for some changes...

When we moved in, I put up these drapes (minus the topper)...

I later added the topper for some "wow"...

I loved the fabric, but I was ready for a change...

My decorating-savvy daughter had purchased this beautiful silk fabric, then decided not to use it in the room she had planned to...

So I found a great place for it & got an entirely new look...

Going from cute to classy changed the look of my dining room!  The fabric is the color of 2 picture frames in the room, yet I still was able to use the brushed nickle rods that go with my light fixture & lamps.

Stay tuned for more "little" changes...

Patience...

As I look out on my somewhat barren landscape where there are bits of green poking up & beginning to fill out with lots of brown still showing, I look forward to the "full bloom" time like these hydrangeas from last summer...  But I know I need to have patience until that time.

In how many other areas of life do I also need to practice patience?  Ooooh, too many to name.  What are the hardest things for you in which to practice patience?

Bridal Shopping

This is not THE dress.....





And neither is this...





Nor is this....


They are all beautiful, but did you REALLY think I would post  THE dress on here?!


She is narrowing it down though & this weekend will probably order THE dress.  What a fun time it is!

Another Generation

What can give a mother's heart such joy?  To see her "little ones" grow up & grow in the Lord; to see the next generation pass on their spiritual heritage; to see yet another generation developing a love for the Lord; and to see her family expand.  What a privilege it is to experience Proverbs 31:28, "Her children arise and call her blessed" and Proverbs 17:6, "Children's children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children."

We can be "prim and proper" for a special picture...

but we can also be downright goofy and have fun!  Do you think these three could squeeze in any closer to the uncle they love so much?  They were already sitting this way when I grabbed the camera... but of course Uncle had to make a silly face to add to the picture.  How I love them all!

Sunday Reflections

"But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him.  He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.  It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.  It has no worries in a year of  drought and never fails to bear fruit"
                                                                 Jeremiah 17:7, 8

Spring Again!

This is a welcome site of spring that is still lingering somewhat in the Raleigh area...

But the Bradford pear trees are finished with their blooming... not so in the mountains!

The cherry trees are also flourishing here in the mountains....

I realized that I've never seen this bleeding heart bush blooming...

The blooms are so delicate, graceful, and colorful.

The lilac has been in full bloom when we have been here during May in previous years, but I've never seen the buds...

But one of my very favorites is the blooms on the ornamental peach tree in our yard.  This was such a surprise because last Oct. it looked like this tree had a disease & was dying.  We planned to dig it up this spring...  Though it still doesn't look really healthy, there are enough beautiful blooms that it looks like it may make it.

So I've had the opportunity to enjoy spring twice this year: once in the "flatlands" and once in the mountains.  The beauty of God's creation is such a gift to us!

The Hills Are Alive!

This is the  ridge across the street from our house in the mountains ...

It doesn't look steep from this angle, but it is not as sloping as it appears...

 The kids have fun on this hill...

  And love to climb it....

It is actually a "ridge" & the slope is straight up when you get going.  While riding scooters, the kids decided to climb the ridge.  After getting about 1/3 of the way up, we heard LOUD cries from this little fellow: "HELP! HELP! HELP! HELLLLP!!!!  He had gotten into some briars, lost his footing & began to slip.  He even yelled, "I'm SCARED!"  Since we were sitting on the driveway watching, Mama ran to help him, climbing the ridge... in her clogs.  Mama's don't think about their apparel or lack of good climbing shoes when their "little chicks" are crying HELP!

That was the end of the ridge for him that day, but the girls made their own little "campsite"...

Taking a snack up there makes it a home....

Amazing what a plastic tablecloth, an old blanket, & a great imagination can do!


I am so thankful to God for this special place He has provided for our family to share so many wonderful memories!

Tears of Joy

Being at the right place at the right time with the camera is the key to those precious once in a lifetime pictures.  So I stepped behind the couple as they told his sister what had just taken place...

They got engaged!  Knowing full well what her reaction would probably be, I was ready with my camera...

to capture those tears of joy!

Then I made a swift move around the other side to see these new "sisters" embrace...

With 4 1/2 years difference in age, my "children" have 15 years difference in marriage status.  But God's timing is always perfect & we are thrilled to welcome our darling daughter-in-love-to-be into our family.

The fun part of the story is that big sister's two daughters knew about it earlier that day, but kept it secret until she could be surprised by her brother.  They rode up on their bicycles just as he was loading the car that AM, heading out to the hike where he was going to propose.  He knew if his "sweetie" came out, she would invite the girls to come along.  So he told them to go home fast because he was going to propose to her, & they needed to keep it a secret from their mom!  That made them feel very special that they knew before she did, & they kept the secret very well.

As soon as they came back, all smiles, we KNEW what had happened!  We knew in advance it was going to happen, but not exactly when or where.

What a weekend it was!

Yellow Everything

No, it's not yellow snow... not sawdust... it's NC pollen at its very finest!  The usual "count" is 1000 & it is at 3000!

These are our chair cushions on the deck before the pollen storm...

This is the cushion after the wind blew off much of the pollen...



 And after the rain (which we hope is on the way), it will look like the first picture again.







The thing is that you leave "footprints" outside wherever you walk...
Then track much of it in... yes, yellow tracks in the house.
It's in all the grooves & crevices, covering everything that doesn't move & some that does...

But I love the changing seasons, & this is just part of it.
So, Lord, bring on the winds & rain to wash away the yellow vestiges of spring!