My husband is away on a rare outing with the men of our church today. I have a car and money, but I haven't left the house, finding I enjoy the quiet and solitude on an absolutely beautiful day and doing whatever I want to do!
The weather has turned wonderfully cooler, about 20 degrees lower than it has been; while admittedly it is not exactly cool, the wind has been in the north and the humidity must be lower. It was so nice I couldn't resist taking my grilled cheese sandwich and applesauce to eat at our wicker and ratan table on the porch where I could admire my garden flag we hung just outside the screen door.
When we were shopping for the hardware at Lowe's to hang the flag yesterday, I couldn't help noticing a beautiful young woman wearing a Lowe's vest energetically wheeling herself around in a wheel chair. She positioned herself in the aisle with us as she assisted another employee find what we needed. When she finished and the men were still talking, I turned to her and asked, "Are you a veteran?" She had no legs, and I thought she might have lost them in the line of duty, as so many of our service personnel have.
"No, nothing like that," she smiled, "I wish it could have been that. I was in an automobile accident." It was heartbreaking to see someone so young and beautiful in that condition, but she had an amazingly positive attitude. "Oh, that's alright," she said when I told her I was so sorry. (My husband told me later that she was an excellent parts person and had waited on him before.)
I shared with her about our beautiful 15-year-old granddaughter's recent unfortunate accident with a four-wheeler. She was so sympathetic about her injuries. I knew she could relate. I couldn't help but think of our Corrin's positive attitude, too.
"Mama, she is handling this so well," my daughter told me on the phone yesterday. "She has her moments, of course, but she realizes how blessed she is to be alive." She said her doctors are amazed both at her attitude and her remarkable progress. We talked of how God has given her and all of the family grace and favor in getting through this.
"You know Corrin wasn't wearing a helmet," her mother told me. I had wondered about that and how it might have helped her, but I was surprised at what Amy said next, "They said if she had been wearing one the chin guard would probably have caught on the pole she hit and it would have been fatal." I caught my breath.
She also told me that since she was wearing braces, more of her teeth were protected. This was a surprise, too, for I had pondered whether or not they had made it worse. We are so grateful to God for being merciful in this near-tragedy. "This will be her testimony," I said to Amy. I can only wait to hear how God is going to use this in her life. One thing I know, she went riding that day as a young girl, but she came back a young woman.
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Friday, June 28, 2013
Gardening Angel (Flag)
How can hanging a simple little Welcome flag be so difficult? "I think we should go to Hobby Lobby," I told my husband as we set out to find a flag holder. Oh, there were plenty of flag kits--for the American flag, especially since it's almost the 4th of July! Other than that, Hobby Lobby had nice, tall poles, but they all had a shepherd's hook at the top.
The picture that came with the flag showed a round, wooden rod with a finial at each end, kind of like a curtain rod. After we had given up at Hobby Lobby, I suggested we go back there and look in the craft section. But Howard had forgotten something at Walmart, and he wanted to look in their hardware department.
"I just need to find a male employee," he said, "Somebody who knows what perpendicular means!" (He was a little put out because all the flag mountings were set at an upward angle.) He told me to go look in hardware while he took care of his errand, but the young lady was no help in hardware, and steered us back to the patriotic flag displays.
We were getting tired and hungry, so we grabbed a bite to eat before we headed to Lowe's, where he was sure he would find the right components to mount my flag he had gotten me for my birthday. Everyone kept pointing us to the red, white and blue kits of Old Glory, with poles included. I decided to look in curtain rods, while he trailed off after a knowledgeable-looking, white-haired sales associate.
I looked at the varied items he laid on the counter. Evidently, the salesman fixed him up. There was a dowel rod, a floor flange, pole tips, and a sheath of pipe to hold the dowel rod. "$12.65?" He exclaimed when the total was rung up. The flag was only $5.99, on sale! Well, at least we could quit shopping, I thought.
I lay down on the sofa to rest when I noticed my husband heading determinedly out the door with the flag and rod in his hand. I had dozed off when something woke me up and I saw him standing there. "Did you get it put up?" I asked. He told me to come see.
I loved it! He did a great job! "Now I'm taking this stuff back and getting my money back," he said. I think all he used was the dowel rod and other stuff he had in the garage! I think we are both ready to raise the white flag of peace around here!
The picture that came with the flag showed a round, wooden rod with a finial at each end, kind of like a curtain rod. After we had given up at Hobby Lobby, I suggested we go back there and look in the craft section. But Howard had forgotten something at Walmart, and he wanted to look in their hardware department.
"I just need to find a male employee," he said, "Somebody who knows what perpendicular means!" (He was a little put out because all the flag mountings were set at an upward angle.) He told me to go look in hardware while he took care of his errand, but the young lady was no help in hardware, and steered us back to the patriotic flag displays.
We were getting tired and hungry, so we grabbed a bite to eat before we headed to Lowe's, where he was sure he would find the right components to mount my flag he had gotten me for my birthday. Everyone kept pointing us to the red, white and blue kits of Old Glory, with poles included. I decided to look in curtain rods, while he trailed off after a knowledgeable-looking, white-haired sales associate.
I looked at the varied items he laid on the counter. Evidently, the salesman fixed him up. There was a dowel rod, a floor flange, pole tips, and a sheath of pipe to hold the dowel rod. "$12.65?" He exclaimed when the total was rung up. The flag was only $5.99, on sale! Well, at least we could quit shopping, I thought.
I lay down on the sofa to rest when I noticed my husband heading determinedly out the door with the flag and rod in his hand. I had dozed off when something woke me up and I saw him standing there. "Did you get it put up?" I asked. He told me to come see.
I loved it! He did a great job! "Now I'm taking this stuff back and getting my money back," he said. I think all he used was the dowel rod and other stuff he had in the garage! I think we are both ready to raise the white flag of peace around here!
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Birthday Doings
What a memorable birthday! I had in mind to look for a garden flag for my birthday, so I looked in Tuesday Morning in Stillwater. They only had a couple, but I finally decided on one, although I was afraid it was a little big. But when I got home, it was perfect, and so pretty, in a homespun sort of way!
While we were in Stillwater, a bustling little college town, we had lunch at Olive Garden with our favorite soup, their wonderful salad and garlicky breadsticks. Although I knew I would have birthday cake that night at our son's house, I noticed a delicious-looking dessert being served at another table and thought how good it looked!
"What is that cake?" I asked the server when she came to our table. It wasn't on the dessert menu we had. She told me it had a chocolate cookie crust, a layer of chocolate cheesecake with a white layer of vanilla topped with another chocolate layer with chocolate icing! Yum!
"It's my birthday," I told her. Do you do a complimentary dessert?" The young lady said she would check, and said it was usually one of the little ramekins of pudding. Pretty soon she came back with a big slab of the chocolate cheesecake. "I just went ahead and brought you this!" she said. Wow! That was a $6.00 dessert! That was a blessing! (which I shared with my husband.)
I had been wanting to see the new Superman movie, having been a Superman fan since childhood comic book days. We made it just in time for the 2:00 o'clock showing. "It's so dark I can't see," I said to Howard as we made our way into the screening room. Then I heard voices and could see the picture in progress. Good, I thought, no coming attractions to watch. But it seemed to be the end of the movie! Superman was all grown up! Thinking it would soon be over, we sat down.
After half an hour of dramatic scenes that I was pretty clueless about, I checked with a hostess, and she said, "That is the 12:30 movie. You should go to the end of the corridor to the 2:00 o'clock showing. Don't worry, it's just beginning, since we have 20 minutes of coming attractions."
We watched for about 45 minutes of mostly violent action and disjointed flashback scenes, until things started to look familiar. "This is where we came in," I said to Howard. "Let's just go, since we have seen most of the rest of it." This was a little too edgy for me, without enough of the nostalgic portrayals of the hero's childhood.
We hurried home to rest up before we would go to a birthday supper our daughter-in-law was having for me. Just as we got home, our son Jamie skyped with us for a half hour with our beautiful little granddaughters. "Happy Birthday!" the girls chorused, then chatted with us, Anne-Marie showing her gap-tooth smile where she had lost a tooth, and Maddie asking me how many old I was. This was a birthday present dear to a Mimi's heart!
"Mom, bring your Scrabble game when you come over," Greg said when I answered the ringing phone. After a wonderful dinner and a luscious chocolate/strawberry/whipped cream cake, four of us enjoyed a gripping game where I was ahead. "Come look at this weather!" Greg called from the front door. Unreal! Trees were bending, dark clouds were lowering and thunder was rolling from a storm that had come up so quickly we were unaware.
We dashed home to find we had no power, and neither did our neighbors! The house was hot and dark. We sat on the porch and watched flickering flames and smoke billowing from what seemed to be a house fire on the next street! What else could happen? Turns out it was only the flames from a refinery which were flaring because of the loss of power. "Lord, please let the power come on," I prayed after an hour of darkness.
I suddenly realized how tired I was and went to lie down on the sofa in the dark house. A few minutes later, blessed light filled the room! Thank you, Lord! This was enough excitement for one day!
While we were in Stillwater, a bustling little college town, we had lunch at Olive Garden with our favorite soup, their wonderful salad and garlicky breadsticks. Although I knew I would have birthday cake that night at our son's house, I noticed a delicious-looking dessert being served at another table and thought how good it looked!
"What is that cake?" I asked the server when she came to our table. It wasn't on the dessert menu we had. She told me it had a chocolate cookie crust, a layer of chocolate cheesecake with a white layer of vanilla topped with another chocolate layer with chocolate icing! Yum!
"It's my birthday," I told her. Do you do a complimentary dessert?" The young lady said she would check, and said it was usually one of the little ramekins of pudding. Pretty soon she came back with a big slab of the chocolate cheesecake. "I just went ahead and brought you this!" she said. Wow! That was a $6.00 dessert! That was a blessing! (which I shared with my husband.)
I had been wanting to see the new Superman movie, having been a Superman fan since childhood comic book days. We made it just in time for the 2:00 o'clock showing. "It's so dark I can't see," I said to Howard as we made our way into the screening room. Then I heard voices and could see the picture in progress. Good, I thought, no coming attractions to watch. But it seemed to be the end of the movie! Superman was all grown up! Thinking it would soon be over, we sat down.
After half an hour of dramatic scenes that I was pretty clueless about, I checked with a hostess, and she said, "That is the 12:30 movie. You should go to the end of the corridor to the 2:00 o'clock showing. Don't worry, it's just beginning, since we have 20 minutes of coming attractions."
We watched for about 45 minutes of mostly violent action and disjointed flashback scenes, until things started to look familiar. "This is where we came in," I said to Howard. "Let's just go, since we have seen most of the rest of it." This was a little too edgy for me, without enough of the nostalgic portrayals of the hero's childhood.
We hurried home to rest up before we would go to a birthday supper our daughter-in-law was having for me. Just as we got home, our son Jamie skyped with us for a half hour with our beautiful little granddaughters. "Happy Birthday!" the girls chorused, then chatted with us, Anne-Marie showing her gap-tooth smile where she had lost a tooth, and Maddie asking me how many old I was. This was a birthday present dear to a Mimi's heart!
"Mom, bring your Scrabble game when you come over," Greg said when I answered the ringing phone. After a wonderful dinner and a luscious chocolate/strawberry/whipped cream cake, four of us enjoyed a gripping game where I was ahead. "Come look at this weather!" Greg called from the front door. Unreal! Trees were bending, dark clouds were lowering and thunder was rolling from a storm that had come up so quickly we were unaware.
We dashed home to find we had no power, and neither did our neighbors! The house was hot and dark. We sat on the porch and watched flickering flames and smoke billowing from what seemed to be a house fire on the next street! What else could happen? Turns out it was only the flames from a refinery which were flaring because of the loss of power. "Lord, please let the power come on," I prayed after an hour of darkness.
I suddenly realized how tired I was and went to lie down on the sofa in the dark house. A few minutes later, blessed light filled the room! Thank you, Lord! This was enough excitement for one day!
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Voices
We had a wonderful time at the wedding of our grandson, Grant, and his bride, Jessica. The ceremony was lovely, with both our son Mark, and my husband having a part. Mark opened in a heartfelt prayer (he only choked up once) for his son's marriage, and Howard closed in a moving prayer that included the Numbers 6, or Aaronic blessing. He had been a little nervous about it, but his voice rang clear and strong over the microphone.
Later, as we were mingling at the reception, we saw several people we had known when we were part of that church about 15 years ago. As Howard was being introduced to someone's friend, the stranger said, "I didn't know you were a disc jockey!" (He isn't.) Many commented on Howard's radio-quality voice. One person said, "Your voice just made a sense of peace come over me!"
"I'm just going to call you 'Silver Throat,'" a voice behind us said as we sat at one of the tables. We turned to see a fellow minister who had served on staff there with Howard way back when. Another old acquaintance said, "I remembered that voice when you prayed!"
It's true. Howard does have a remarkable speaking voice. Perfect for a minister of the gospel. God surely gave it to him for that purpose! He has used it in ministry for the last 25 years, only slowing down a little lately. With all the wonderful compliments (including a few of "Don't you guys ever age?" that made us laugh), it made me say to him, "Maybe you should try to get a radio broadcast again!" He has preached on the radio before, in Mississippi and Virginia.
Yesterday the car radio was on and I tried to identify the familiar-sounding voice as names and faces ran through my mind only to be discounted. Then the speaker began to tell a story about "dream day" at school and I recognized it as the voice of Dr. Mark Rutland, minister and college president.
He was recalling a time in fifth grade when a teacher had the kids share their dreams for the future. He blurted out that he wanted to write books, although he didn't know where that thought came from. She encouraged the children in their dreams, having him write a short story. He now has 14 books, the latest on the New York Times Best Seller list.
My husband always knew he was called to preach, but it took him many years to realize his dream. Now maybe it's time to dream again, for that God-given voice to go out over the air waves to preach the gospel! I'm claiming the blessing of Numbers 6:24-26, "The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace."
Later, as we were mingling at the reception, we saw several people we had known when we were part of that church about 15 years ago. As Howard was being introduced to someone's friend, the stranger said, "I didn't know you were a disc jockey!" (He isn't.) Many commented on Howard's radio-quality voice. One person said, "Your voice just made a sense of peace come over me!"
"I'm just going to call you 'Silver Throat,'" a voice behind us said as we sat at one of the tables. We turned to see a fellow minister who had served on staff there with Howard way back when. Another old acquaintance said, "I remembered that voice when you prayed!"
It's true. Howard does have a remarkable speaking voice. Perfect for a minister of the gospel. God surely gave it to him for that purpose! He has used it in ministry for the last 25 years, only slowing down a little lately. With all the wonderful compliments (including a few of "Don't you guys ever age?" that made us laugh), it made me say to him, "Maybe you should try to get a radio broadcast again!" He has preached on the radio before, in Mississippi and Virginia.
Yesterday the car radio was on and I tried to identify the familiar-sounding voice as names and faces ran through my mind only to be discounted. Then the speaker began to tell a story about "dream day" at school and I recognized it as the voice of Dr. Mark Rutland, minister and college president.
He was recalling a time in fifth grade when a teacher had the kids share their dreams for the future. He blurted out that he wanted to write books, although he didn't know where that thought came from. She encouraged the children in their dreams, having him write a short story. He now has 14 books, the latest on the New York Times Best Seller list.
My husband always knew he was called to preach, but it took him many years to realize his dream. Now maybe it's time to dream again, for that God-given voice to go out over the air waves to preach the gospel! I'm claiming the blessing of Numbers 6:24-26, "The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace."
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Grand Ole (Soap) Opry
"Please! I don't want to hear any more of 'Days of Our (Chickens') Lives!'" my son Jamie groaned over the phone when I reported the latest drama with our poultry the other day. And every day it gets worse! Something broke in and decimated our flock last week. Today we found only 7 chickens left of the 100 or so birds we had up until recently!
Anyway, I have had it! We saw a chicken hawk sailing low over the farm and scanning the area today, as if there were anything left! I think it all started with our giving them a little freedom from their shelter where they were protected by chicken wire to go into the fenced, but topless, enclosure.
A few began to escape, alerting wildlife to their existence, then something bigger (Bobcat? Fox? Dog?) breached their pens and wreaked havoc, death and destruction. Feathers are everywhere. Even our prized guineas are gone.
So when I heard my husband talking to our son (his partner in crime, or should I say chicken business) and saying, "I'd like to get a few more hens and build it up again," I strongly protested.
"What did Greg say?" I asked at the end of their conversation, and I was deflated to hear, "He said he's going to build the pens back stronger than ever!" I give up! Howard was calling to me that the mail had come and there was a new Guidepost magazine.
The first story I read was from a woman whose husband was determinedly hanging on to a failing farm. She saw no hope as disaster after disaster plagued their cows, their crops and their water system. It seemed as if all he did was read the Bible, much to her impatience. She sounded like me! (Don't get me wrong, I love the Bible, too, but I am a fast reader...not so good, I know.)
Anyway, after his stolid perseverance, their cows got well, the rain came and things turned around. Their milk sold, they could take showers, and contentment settled in. (They even opened craft stores and such on their property!)
Was God speaking to me through this story? The timing was astonishing! Maybe it was a sign. If so, God will surely give me peace. Our granddaughter is good at painting rustic signs. I can just see one with "Gregory's Egg-ery" or some such slogan in my future!
Anyway, I have had it! We saw a chicken hawk sailing low over the farm and scanning the area today, as if there were anything left! I think it all started with our giving them a little freedom from their shelter where they were protected by chicken wire to go into the fenced, but topless, enclosure.
A few began to escape, alerting wildlife to their existence, then something bigger (Bobcat? Fox? Dog?) breached their pens and wreaked havoc, death and destruction. Feathers are everywhere. Even our prized guineas are gone.
So when I heard my husband talking to our son (his partner in crime, or should I say chicken business) and saying, "I'd like to get a few more hens and build it up again," I strongly protested.
"What did Greg say?" I asked at the end of their conversation, and I was deflated to hear, "He said he's going to build the pens back stronger than ever!" I give up! Howard was calling to me that the mail had come and there was a new Guidepost magazine.
The first story I read was from a woman whose husband was determinedly hanging on to a failing farm. She saw no hope as disaster after disaster plagued their cows, their crops and their water system. It seemed as if all he did was read the Bible, much to her impatience. She sounded like me! (Don't get me wrong, I love the Bible, too, but I am a fast reader...not so good, I know.)
Anyway, after his stolid perseverance, their cows got well, the rain came and things turned around. Their milk sold, they could take showers, and contentment settled in. (They even opened craft stores and such on their property!)
Was God speaking to me through this story? The timing was astonishing! Maybe it was a sign. If so, God will surely give me peace. Our granddaughter is good at painting rustic signs. I can just see one with "Gregory's Egg-ery" or some such slogan in my future!
Monday, June 24, 2013
Dear to the Heart
It all started during prayer time at church yesterday when the pianist asked for prayers because she and her husband were facing putting down their beloved aged and ill dog. A common sympathetic nerve was touched among members of the congregation with the brother taking the prayer requests digressing into a memory of his one and only cat.
"I never liked cats," he said, "But this one adopted me." He told how the cat would rush to meet him at night. "Then he would ignore me," he said, but it was obvious how much the cat came to mean to him over the next seven years. Then one night he felt something under his tire, and went to remove a grandchild's toy, only to find it was the cat. "I prayed that God would take Buddy-cat to heaven," he said, tearing up.
The organist then interjected a testimony that she had founded a wounded dog on the road in front of her house. "It was groomed and had a collar, so I knew it belonged to someone," she said. She washed its cuts and tried to feed it, but it was hurt too badly to survive. After calling all her neighbors with no clue to its owner, the next day she called the vet's number on its collar to find out it belonged to a new resident who had just moved into the community.
A sad story ensued of how the 15-year-old blind dog had gotten out in the unfamiliar area and was hit by a car. "But I met my new neighbor and made a new friend!" she exclaimed. "I think it was a witness to her that I had compassion on the little dog. I had placed it in a box and she took it home to bury it."
A man read a scripture from Proverbs 12:10 that says, "A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast." The pastor had to finally stem the outflowing tide of animal stories, but it reminded me of something our son had shared at breakfast.
We were eating with them at Braum's that morning before they left to go back to Texas after having been here for a family wedding the day before. In his inimitable story-telling way, Trevor told of the family's coming home from shopping one evening to find their little dog, Jack, missing. They called and called him to no avail, and after a search around the neighborhood, they gave up for the night.
Then, sitting down to his computer, what should appear on Facebook but a comical picture of Jack, looking a little uncertain and like a deer in the headlights, his mop of bangs awry as if from a shampoo. An explanation was posted underneath that someone took him in, fed and bathed him and was searching for his owner. (I quipped, "Maybe he said, 'I'm not telling!'") They lost no time in retrieving their funny little dog.
(That brought to mind a memory of when Howard lost a favorite hat, and after searching for it all week, I noticed I had an e-mail from our son in Houston. I opened it, and there was our 5-year-old granddaughter wearing the missing hat! "Did you forget something?" it read. No wonder we couldn't find it! It was 500 miles away where we'd left it on a recent trip!)
Last night at church when the pastor asked for a few short testimonies, an octogenarian took the mic and told how his visiting grandson had found a baby bird that had fallen from a nest. Despite the parent birds diving at him, he managed to put the fledgling back into the nest. Makes you realize that His eye really is on on the sparrow. Like the poem by Cecil Francis Alexander, "All things bright and beautiful, All creatures great and small, All things wise and wonderful, The Lord God made them all."
"I never liked cats," he said, "But this one adopted me." He told how the cat would rush to meet him at night. "Then he would ignore me," he said, but it was obvious how much the cat came to mean to him over the next seven years. Then one night he felt something under his tire, and went to remove a grandchild's toy, only to find it was the cat. "I prayed that God would take Buddy-cat to heaven," he said, tearing up.
The organist then interjected a testimony that she had founded a wounded dog on the road in front of her house. "It was groomed and had a collar, so I knew it belonged to someone," she said. She washed its cuts and tried to feed it, but it was hurt too badly to survive. After calling all her neighbors with no clue to its owner, the next day she called the vet's number on its collar to find out it belonged to a new resident who had just moved into the community.
A sad story ensued of how the 15-year-old blind dog had gotten out in the unfamiliar area and was hit by a car. "But I met my new neighbor and made a new friend!" she exclaimed. "I think it was a witness to her that I had compassion on the little dog. I had placed it in a box and she took it home to bury it."
A man read a scripture from Proverbs 12:10 that says, "A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast." The pastor had to finally stem the outflowing tide of animal stories, but it reminded me of something our son had shared at breakfast.
We were eating with them at Braum's that morning before they left to go back to Texas after having been here for a family wedding the day before. In his inimitable story-telling way, Trevor told of the family's coming home from shopping one evening to find their little dog, Jack, missing. They called and called him to no avail, and after a search around the neighborhood, they gave up for the night.
Then, sitting down to his computer, what should appear on Facebook but a comical picture of Jack, looking a little uncertain and like a deer in the headlights, his mop of bangs awry as if from a shampoo. An explanation was posted underneath that someone took him in, fed and bathed him and was searching for his owner. (I quipped, "Maybe he said, 'I'm not telling!'") They lost no time in retrieving their funny little dog.
(That brought to mind a memory of when Howard lost a favorite hat, and after searching for it all week, I noticed I had an e-mail from our son in Houston. I opened it, and there was our 5-year-old granddaughter wearing the missing hat! "Did you forget something?" it read. No wonder we couldn't find it! It was 500 miles away where we'd left it on a recent trip!)
Last night at church when the pastor asked for a few short testimonies, an octogenarian took the mic and told how his visiting grandson had found a baby bird that had fallen from a nest. Despite the parent birds diving at him, he managed to put the fledgling back into the nest. Makes you realize that His eye really is on on the sparrow. Like the poem by Cecil Francis Alexander, "All things bright and beautiful, All creatures great and small, All things wise and wonderful, The Lord God made them all."
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Happy Anniversary!
Fifty-five years! Our fifty-fifth anniversary is today! For our fiftieth anniversary five years ago, our whole family got together in Nashville for a stay at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Hotel. But today is a relaxed, private day of celebration, since we have so much else going on right now. Tomorrow our son Trevor and family will come in so that we can all attend a grandson's wedding in Kansas on Saturday. We will see our son Mark, father of the groom, and the rest of his family.
Mark is in the process of relocating to Austin, Texas, from Smithfield, NC. It will be so good to have them back in the midwest again! After his flying trip to Tennessee as wedding photographer, son Jamie and family have accomplished a move to a bigger home several miles away from their former residence. I'm so glad for them, but I can't help feeling nostalgic about their house where they brought home their newborn daughters. Maddie, 4, and Anne-Marie, 6, have never known any other home. No wonder Anne-Marie cried during the night last night, their first ever in the new house.
Besides all this activity, our week has been filled with the anxiety, hope and joy of the ups and downs of our 15-year-old granddaughter's accident and recovery, and vicariously experiencing through pictures the event of another granddaughter's wedding a few days ago. Howard's 75th birthday and Father's Day were a part of the mix, also.
So it's no wonder that we had a quiet, but nice, anniversary. "Do you want to go to McDonald's for breakfast?" Howard asked when I awoke. He's always up for that, but it takes me a little longer to get moving in the mornings, so I would rather eat at home. We enjoyed berries, pancakes and turkey bacon at "The Breakfast Club," (our front porch) in the cool, clear morning overlooking our dew-sparkled lawn. Then we had our walk at Cann Gardens amid more beauty of God's creation.
Getting out of the truck when we got home, I noticed in the back a 12-pack of flowers we had bought a couple of days ago. Howard had seen some planted in a bird bath at the park, and he wanted to do that at home. We got out the plants and potting soil and went to work.
First, we had to bring the heavy, unwieldy bird bath from the back yard. When I fretted over that, my husband allayed my fears by saying he would use the dolly to transport it. After we got it set up with the flowers looking lovely, it toppled over and spilled everything, necessitating doing it all over again. "It looks off balance," I announced when I viewed it from the porch. He leveled it by digging at some of the dirt under it, and after considerable adjustments, pronounced it level. Then I noticed that the bowl was off center, but finally we finished our "little" project.
After a good rest, we went for an early dinner at "The Rusty Barrel," the premier steak house here. Now he dozes in his chair while I write. Maybe our 60th anniversary will be a bit more celebratory!
Mark is in the process of relocating to Austin, Texas, from Smithfield, NC. It will be so good to have them back in the midwest again! After his flying trip to Tennessee as wedding photographer, son Jamie and family have accomplished a move to a bigger home several miles away from their former residence. I'm so glad for them, but I can't help feeling nostalgic about their house where they brought home their newborn daughters. Maddie, 4, and Anne-Marie, 6, have never known any other home. No wonder Anne-Marie cried during the night last night, their first ever in the new house.
Besides all this activity, our week has been filled with the anxiety, hope and joy of the ups and downs of our 15-year-old granddaughter's accident and recovery, and vicariously experiencing through pictures the event of another granddaughter's wedding a few days ago. Howard's 75th birthday and Father's Day were a part of the mix, also.
So it's no wonder that we had a quiet, but nice, anniversary. "Do you want to go to McDonald's for breakfast?" Howard asked when I awoke. He's always up for that, but it takes me a little longer to get moving in the mornings, so I would rather eat at home. We enjoyed berries, pancakes and turkey bacon at "The Breakfast Club," (our front porch) in the cool, clear morning overlooking our dew-sparkled lawn. Then we had our walk at Cann Gardens amid more beauty of God's creation.
Getting out of the truck when we got home, I noticed in the back a 12-pack of flowers we had bought a couple of days ago. Howard had seen some planted in a bird bath at the park, and he wanted to do that at home. We got out the plants and potting soil and went to work.
First, we had to bring the heavy, unwieldy bird bath from the back yard. When I fretted over that, my husband allayed my fears by saying he would use the dolly to transport it. After we got it set up with the flowers looking lovely, it toppled over and spilled everything, necessitating doing it all over again. "It looks off balance," I announced when I viewed it from the porch. He leveled it by digging at some of the dirt under it, and after considerable adjustments, pronounced it level. Then I noticed that the bowl was off center, but finally we finished our "little" project.
After a good rest, we went for an early dinner at "The Rusty Barrel," the premier steak house here. Now he dozes in his chair while I write. Maybe our 60th anniversary will be a bit more celebratory!
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