day tripping

Just a few pictures from yesterday's jaunt.
Came home in a thunderstorm too tired to write.....
will try to do that a little later.

I do think that the chocolate covered cherry
blizzard that we got on the way home
was the best I've ever eaten.....
felt some guilt, but not that much.
cc

cousin fun

Just now I rode my bike in the rain
and stood under a rainbow with Jake and Eli.

To God be the glory great things He has done.

"an inexhaustible treasure of good"

This is my mom and dad and me.
It was taken in 1950 when I was two years old.
As you can see, I was a true blond.

I'm waiting for my babies, Jake & Eli, to arrive.

Amanda stopped in Florence, SC, for gas
and locked her keys, cell phone, and children
in the hot, steamy car.
After an all out panic,
the elderly couple behind her suggested
that one of the boys do the unlocking from the inside.
For some reason she never thought of that.
I guess when you freak out that bad,
you lose all sense of reason.
Anyway,
they are safe and back on the road.....
eight o'clock cannot get here fast enough for me.

Can I just say
bacon and tomato sandwich.
I just had one with lots of mayo....
delicious & yummy!

Psalm 65:4
the rest of the verse.....
"We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Thy house,
even of thy holy temple."

"We shall be so filled,
that nothing can be said to be wanting.
We shall have nothing to look for outside.
What can be wanting
in the house of Him who made everything,
who is the master of everything,
who will be all unto all,
in whom is an inexhaustible treasure of good."
Richard Bellarmine (1542-1621)

This is God everybody.
This is what we have now as believers
to look forward to when we are with Him.
My spirit soars when I read these truths.
cathyc

Psalm 65:4

"Blessed is the man whom Thou choosest,
and causeth to approach unto Thee."

"This verse comprehends both
election,
effectual calling,
access,
acceptance,
and sonship.

First we are chosen of God,
according to the good pleasure of His will,
and this alone is blessedness.

Then,
since we will not and cannot come to God of ourselves,
He works graciously in us,
and attracts us powerfully:
He subdues our unwillingness,
and removes our inability
by the almighty workings of His transforming grace.
This also is no slight blessedness.

Furthermore, we,
by His divine drawings,
are made nigh by the blood of His Son,
and brought near by His Spirit,
into intimate fellowship;
so that we have access with boldness,
and are no longer as those who are afar off by wicked works: 
Here also is unrivaled blessedness.

To crown all,
we do not come nigh in peril of dire destruction,
but we approach as chosen and accepted ones,
to become dwellers in the divine household:
This is heaped up blessedness......
vast beyond conception.

But dwelling in the house we are treated as sons,
for the servant abideth not in the house forever,
but the son abideth forever.

Behold what manner of love and blessedness
the Father has bestowed upon us
that we may dwell in His house,
and go no more out forever.
Happy men who dwell at home with God."

The Treasury of David
Charles Spurgeon

Powerful and profound!
Couldn't wait to share it with you.

at the airport last night

My pictures aren't the best...
I was so excited and trying
to take photographs at the same time.
Anyway,
I think you get the jist of what went on.

Gus is doing great.
He fits right in
and it seems as if he has always
been a part of our family.
He is crawling and teething.

David and Erika are very jet-lagged
and so glad to be home.
We just left them preparing to hit the hay.
Lucy, the short mother, is beside herself,
and Harry is just glad to have his mom and dad back.
Diane is standing in the gap
and Estelle provided dinner.

Yes, things are going very well indeed!
Thanking God
for His tender mercies
in their home tonight.

There has been such a mighty
outpouring of love and support from all of you. 
I have really never seen anything like it.
Every e-mail, phone call, post on facebook, word in person
has meant the world throughout this time.
Thank you.

"Sleep little baby
don't say a word....
Daddy's gonna buy you a mockingbird.
And if that mockingbird don't sing......."

#5

Words cannot express the joy we all just experienced.
Praise God from whom all blessings flow~

jungle lion

I will be at the airport at 6:41 this evening
because that is when Gus
will be in his hometown of Savannah, GA,
for the first time.
Please come and join us if you will
to welcome him home.
He has had a very long airplane ride
so our greetings will be brief.

I don't have a name yet because Gus will name me.
Can't wait to see him!

un-named jungle lion
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3:30 pm....Gus has landed on American soil.
He is a citizen of the USA!

I will try to post a welcome home picture
later after we get home from the airport.

never before seen photos...

of me as a ballerina!

I'm in the center of the third picture.....
that's Loucinda and Suzanne in the first.
This recital took place in May of 1959.
I was eleven years old.
It seems like I had grace and form,
but my recollections were of being told that I was clumsy.
Must be true as I was only allowed to be a ballerina for one year.

This costume was blue with a black bow tied around my neck.
Some kind of painter/art theme was going on.
The cocky beret gives that away.
Who knows what was going on with those curled up bangs.

Love seeing the 50's style furniture
in our living room on 35th street.
I have that table in my house today.
I really love that sofa!

Bubba, with a little help from me,
is moving out of the last storage house.
When we moved back to Savannah we had five of them.
As of June 30th we will be "storage house free."
So exciting!!!!

That's how I came upon the old pictures.
Of course I forgot how to scan,
so I just took pictures of them.

"Shout for joy to God, all the earth:
sing the glory of His name;
give to Him glorious praise!
Say to God,
How awesome are your deeds!
Psalm 66: 1~3

a little of this and that

Thanks to Miss Peggy at our church for these luscious tomatoes.

One/One/OneOne
On the first blog of the new year I wrote
that I wanted to leave from California on a cruise ship,
go to Hawaii,
cruise all around the islands,
and return to California on the same ship.
Don't want to do that anymore.....

Thankful for Diane Bookman,
Erika's mom,
who came last night
to stay with Lucy and Harry
for the duration.
I've been a little under the weather,
not feeling so good,
taking some antibiotics,
so it sure was good to see her!!!

David & Erika's flight is scheduled to get into
Savannah
Thursday evening at 6:41pm. 
I hear they are so ready to be home.
Please keep them in your prayers.
Traveling for that long on a plane with
such a small one will be exhausting for all.

Had never been to eat at Uncle Bubba's.
That's Paula Deen's seafood restaurant
down on Turner's Creek here in Savannah.
Went tonight....not impressed.
It's touristy like her place downtown. (never been there either)
Heavy food, and expensive!

"O God, you are my God:
earnestly I seek You:
my soul thirsts for You:
my flesh faints for You,
as in a dry and weary land
where there is no water."
Psalm 63:1

happy birthday amanda

My best "girl friend,"
my confidant,
the one who knows me best,
the only person I really enjoy shopping with,
the mother of my grandchildren.....
I love you today on your birthday
and always.....
You inspire me
when I watch you be
an "excellent wife" to Mark
and an amazing mother to Jake and Eli.
Can't wait for you to get here next week!

"Blessed is the one You choose and draw near
to dwell in Your courts."
Psalm 65:4

I never understood God and His plan of salvation
until I understood His doctrine of election.
Thank you God for imparting Your wisdom to us
and giving us Your Spirit to teach these truths.

in Him always,
cathy

ps....
smoke so bad tonight,
worst I've seen it.
91 degrees at 8:30

this happened

I heard it coming from far away....
I think it must have woken me up.
There was quite a storm in this town
last night...right around midnight.
A huge tree limb
fell on my dad's property....
took the deck out,
but spared the house.
He just got his new roof
from a hailstorm about a month ago.
They think this may have been a small tornado....
Saw lots of uprooted trees.

The second picture is Lucy.
She found the pink comb at my dad's
while we were surveying the damage.
Somehow within minutes
it became ensconced
as a permanent part of her hair.

I just finished cutting it out.
She now has some extremely
short bangs in that area.
Oh my....
Drama, everywhere!

David and Erika
got their luggage
and they got Gus.
Now we just have to get them home!

Happy Father's Day everybody!
Love,
Cathy

finding magic in the mundane

Some bubbles
turned our afternoon into magic.
Big,
colorful,
bubbles floating everywhere,
making Lucy and I laugh and laugh
as we chased them around in the yard.

My life
is filled with those moments.
It is a blessing I never take for granted.
The little,
unexpected,
mundane things of life that light my world.

David and Erika have arrived safely in Addis Ababa.
Two of their bags didn't.
When they got to their room,
their was a crib.
David said that tomorrow night that crib will be filled.
Praise God for this journey.
Praise God for how much we have all grown through this experience.

"I cannot change the world,
but I can change the world for one person."  Mother Theresa

"smoke gets in your eyes"

Somewhere south of Savannah a fire is burning...
has been since April.
We call the place Okefenokee Swamp.
Yes, it is a swamp fire,
mosaic in nature,
meaning it jumps around alot.....
it will have fuel whichever way it goes.
You can see the fire
on the satellite image above
provided by Don Staples.
(the picture was taken back in April
when the fire was much smaller.)

Savannah is misted with smoke from this fire.
Some days it is not here at all,
other days,
like today,
you can hardly breathe.
It's all according to how the wind is blowing.

Coupled with the high temperatures,
it has become very unpleasant to be outside.
No one sees an end in sight.

David and Erika left today to go get Gus.
God willing,
this time next week,
he will be here with his family.
Pray...
please.
cathy

tap~tap~tap

I love this picture.
One of summer's bounties
is sweet, fresh, corn on the cob
dripping with salt and real butter.
Who can resist such a treat?
Certainly not this crew.....
attendees at a recent dinner party.

Went back to the dentist today
to receive my crown.....
remember now, it's a three in one.
Temporary crown off,
more poking
and prodding.
Gums still extremely sore from two weeks ago.

Finally, it's time for the placement
of the crown into my gums.

"Doctor, do all crowns feel like Mt. Vesuvius in the mouth?"
"Oh, we just need to grind it down a little."

Grind,
crown jammed back in,
horrible pain,
tap, tap, tap.
Crown removed
grind,
crown jammed back in,
horrible pain,
tap, tap, tap.
On & on this scenario goes.

Doctor leaves, comes back and says.
"The model that they made of your mouth is backwards...
no wonder this thing doesn't fit."

Temporary crown cemented back on
causing more pain
and then I choked
while she was chipping off the dried cement.

Have to go back next week and try again.

I asked this question at the end,
"How often does THIS happen?"
"Almost never" was the answer.

anomaly...that's me.

Here's the latest on Ethiopia...
http://ethiopiancleland.blogspot.com/

tonight's full moon.....

is the strawberry moon
because this time of year
is the height of the strawberry harvest.
Those red,
succulent berries
are right now at the peak of their perfection
so they get a moon named after them.

Here is a list of the names
of all of the full moons of the year
in case you are interested.

Bubba and I
went out to eat
with some friends from Atlanta tonight
and I tackled a lobster. 
He (the lobster) almost got the best of me
but I perservered. 
It was absolutely delicious....
messy, but delicious!

Summer life is full
and sweet
and amazing.
I love it!
cathy

everyday blessing Him

A delicate work of art
is this flower made by God.
Man could never duplicate the
color,
texture or scent of this beauty.
The shops are full of human attempts,
but those silks and papers don't even come close.

Beach Day
Today Erika and I took Lucy and Harry
down to the beach to swim in the pool.
Armed with swim rings
and floaties
and water pistols
we made our way.
Lucy arose very early this morning
and jumped right into her swimsuit.
Beach Days
always carry a very high level of excitement!

Lizards
If you read regularly
you know of the inordinate amount of fear
I have for these baby dinosaurs.
Starting out this morning Harry said this to me.....
"Grammy, come, there are lots of lizards over here."

Oh my goodness little man....
thanks for the warning.
I will not be coming anywhere near the place where
"lots of lizards" are habitating.

Quote
"No day must pass,
though ever so busy a day,
though ever so sorrowful a day,
without praising God.
God is every day blessing us,
doing well for us; (I love this thought)
there is therefore reason
that we should be every day blessing (praising)
Him,
speaking well of Him."
Matthew Henry

what in the world is going on?

The Christian Perspective
on what is going on in the world at this time:

devastating earthquakes
tsunamis
sexual scandals
catastrophic tornados
wildfires burning out of control
economic disaster looming
floods of mamouth proportions

All seems to be out of control,
but it is not.
God knows exactly what is going on
and is allowing it to
accomplish His purposes on this earth.

Martyn Llyod Jones is my mentor.

Reading his books consistently over the past years
has helped me to learn to think biblically about things.
Here is a quote about this subject from his book,
Faith Tried and Triumphant,
a study on the book of Habakkuk:

"It is important
for the Christian
to keep up with the news
and to understand something
of what is happening in the world
and the significance of those events.

 It is essential
that the church
should not view things with a political eye,
but learn to interpret events spiritually
and to understand them
in the light of God's instructions to her. 

What to the natural person
is utterly abhorant,
and even disastrous,
may be the very thing God is using
to chastise us
and to restore us to a right relationship to Himself. 
So we must not jump to hasty conclusions." (p17)

Oh to God
that we will learn how to see things from God's perspective!
cathy

hi ~ i'm back

I love globes!
This is my old one....
it is kind of wobbly.
If anybody out there ever has a reason to buy me a gift,
I would love a lighted globe.
My highest dream would be one of
those that shows the progression of night and day on our planet.

Globes and maps fascinate me.
I don't really know why.
When I taught school,
my greatest joy was to get to teach geograpy.

God made the earth and
He made it good.
That's what He said when He finished creating.

Genesis 1:31
"And God saw everything that he had made,
and behold, it was very good."

FEATHERS

We had to do some maintenance in our condo
this weekend.  I know it's crazy,
but I have a white slipcover on the sofa.
It goes along with the beachy ~ cottage decorating
style that I love.
Every now and then it has to come off to be washed.

To get that thing off is a huge struggle.
This is how it works.....
Bubba does the struggling, and I cheer him on.

Well, evidently, the sofa itself is made of feathers.
By the time all of the covers were off
the whole condo was covered with feathers.
We were cracking up as they were flying everywhere.
Looked as if we had engaged in a major pillow fight.

I love, after forty one years together,
that life is still a hoot for us.
cathy

sunflower

"A flower that is bigger than me."
Sunflowers say summer is definitely here!

It was a beautiful day at the beach.
There were lots of dolphins for us to see.
Lucy brought home some sand for her shell display.
Grammy found a large snail out in the water
that scared Harry out of his wits
when it started emerging from it's shell.
We had subs from "Jersey Mike's"
up under the blue umbrella by the pool.
All in all it was a delightful summer day.

In regard to praising God....

"Though all preachers on earth should grow silent,
and every human mouth
cease from publishing the glory of God,
the heavens above
will never cease
to declare and proclaim His majesty and glory."
Augustus T. Tholuck

On awaking every morning
and drifting off to sleep at night....
may our first thought
and our last consideration
be to praise the God
who made us,
sustains us,
and gives us our next breath.
cathy

a change of plans

No trip to Ethiopia tomorrow.
Couldn't get a date at the embassy until June 20th.
Everything has been postponed.
Disappointed?
Yes.
Dismayed?
No.
Why?

"The mind of man plans his way,
but the Lord directs his steps."
Proverbs 16:9

God knows better than we do
what lies ahead and He has
everything under control.

The wheels of the adoption process
turn slower than slow.
Because of that we learn to be patient
and to wait for God's timing.

Your mom & dad
are coming to bring you home, Gus...
it won't be that long now.

http://ethiopiancleland.blogspot.com/

dreamin'

This is the current cover of Southern Living Magazine.
When we heard that Ross and Jean's pillows were on the cover,
we raced out and bought the book.
Ross just happens to be Bubba's good friend and
the best upholsterer in the whole USA!

The house featured is over on Daufuskie Island, South Carolina.
We used to take the boat over there when we were younger (much)
to water ski in the waters off the beach.
Even now, the only way to access the island
is by boat.

Well come to find out,
My friend Liz, who used to run the "At Home"
store in downtown Savannah,
staged this house for the Southern Living photo shoot.
I think it is a very small world.
See the rest of the house here:
http://vintagegeneral.blogspot.com/

When I dream of a house,
I think this is it...
A new house built to look old
on an island only accessible by boat.
Maybe one day!

i and love and you!

piggytails

This is sweet Lucy
watching the new Dora video I bought her today.
She and I had a grammy~lucy day...
breakfast for lunch
toys~r~us
the big swimming pool
(looking for some private lessons.)
She really needs to learn how to swim!

She encouraged me today with these words....

Lucy ~ "Grammy you are a lot older than I am."
Me ~ "How do you know that Lucy?"
Lucy ~ "Because your skin is jiggly and mine is smooth."
Funny, observant girl!

David and Erika leave on Thursday to go
back to Ethiopia to bring Gus home.
We are
praying,
hoping,
and
believing
that all will go well,
and thanking God ,
in advance for His tender mercies and His kindness
all throughout this time of waiting.

"Those who walk by faith
in the goodness of the Lord
shall in due time
walk in the sight of that goodness."
Matthew Henry

I cannot wait...
cathy

High King of Heaven

My Treasure Thou Art.

Tonight I am overwhelmed with what Christ did.....

"Have this mind among yourselves,
which is yours in Christ Jesus,
who,
though He was in the form of God,
did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
but made Himself nothing,
taking the form of a servant,
being born in the likeness of men.
And being found in human form,
he humbled Himself
by becoming obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross.
Therefore God has highly exalted Him
and bestowed on Him
the name that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bow
in heaven
and on earth
and under the earth,
and every tongue confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father."
Phillipians 2: 5~11

Why Scripture you say?
The word of God
is the only thing
that has power to 
change a heart.

Antique pink vase
filled with gardenias
scenting our home.
Sitting on the high deck....
the smell of the marsh strong and pungent
in my senses.
Blessing upon blessing....
cathy

flower raid

I raided my Dad's backyard this afternoon.
Finding a huge gardenia bush
and some hidden hydrangeas
set my heart a fluttering.
Armed with his small cutters
and sucking in my fear of lizards,
off I went into the
overgrown wonderland.
I came home with the bunches you see above,
minus the roses which I purchased....
I gotta have my fresh roses!

"Behold, days are coming,
declares the Lord God,
when I will send a famine on the land,
not a famine for bread
or a thirst for water,
but rather for hearing the words of the Lord."

"And people will stagger
from sea to sea,
and from the north even to the east:
They will go to and fro
to seek the word of the Lord,
but they will not find it."
Amos 8: 11&12

Please read
and reread
the two verses above.

Right now we are free to read
God's word
and hear it taught and proclaimed.
The day is coming,
soon I think,
that it will be
as the prophet Amos
proclaimed to the people
in the verses above.

God's Word....
seek it with all your heart while you still can!
cathyc

back river~tybee island.....

just a little while ago.

If you click on the second
picture you can see the ocean
tide coming into the river.
Notice how low the water is
by the markings on the sand.
This is always a beautiful spot.

My heart is always at the beach.
I am trying to talk Bubba into
clearing out the little condo
of all of the renters
and giving it back to me.
That is my favorite place in the world....
right there,
on the deck,
looking at the ocean.

Love this quote by Matthew Henry....

"We should take all occasions
to tell one another
of the great things
which God has done for
our souls,
the spiritual blessings
with which
He has blessed us."

*God called me
to be His in Christ Jesus.......
that is my greatest blessing.
cathyc

hello summer!

It's here,
it's finally here!
Summer!

long days
brilliant sunshine
warm air
ocean warm enough to swim in
fresh vegetables
watermelon
ripe blueberries
pedicures
clothes made out of linen

I love to look down and see
my tanned feet from
walking in the sunlight.

I love to ride my bike
late into the evening.

Today I cooked a huge meal
and asked some people over....
fresh butterbeans
okra
summer squash
ripe tomatoes
so good this rich bounty.

Decorated my hutch to reflect this season....
all of the shells were collected by me,
the sand dollars too.

Thank you God for summer.

four

shots,
then four more.
Back to the dentist today
for the
crown making.

The left side of my face
hurts so bad tonight that I
cannot
even think,
much less write.

not having fun...
cathy