what are you going as?

A couple of weeks ago,

when Jake & Eli were visiting,

I bought them four new books....

all about

 Clifford the Big Red Dog. 

I read those books

over and over

while they were here. 

It was no wonder,

then,

that Jake

 would choose to be Clifford 

for this big, wonderful dress up night. 

Here he is along with little brother Elmo posing in all of their glory.

Last night I posted

Lucy

in her Snow White costume.

Just a little while ago she called and asked, 

"Grammie,

what do you think about me being 

 Minnie Mouse

instead of

Snow White

tonight because my

Snow White outfit is

itchy?"

I told her that I thought it would be fine....

especially since Gus was going as

Mickey Mouse.

Guess what Harry is going as?

The cutest little

Peter Pan

I've ever seen!

We pick them up to start

Trick or Treating

at 5:15. 

Hoping for lots of treats and no tricks.

Happy Halloween everybody!

cathy

ps....It's 8:30

we just got home from

trick or treating.

Lucy went as Snow White after all.

Thanks

Frankie & Lindsey

for a wonderful time!

snow white

This is really Lucy,

not

Snow White.

I think that she could go right down to

Disney World

and get the job of playing

Snow White

without any trouble.

She may be a little short,

but hey,

that's only a minor problem.

Lucy's spending the night on

Tuesday

and we will watch the movie of

Snow White

together so that she

can get all her moves and her lines memorized. 

After that,

the sky is the limit.

georgia 24~florida 20

Just watched the end of the game with Bubba.
This was a very important win so I was told.
I am not a generic football fan,
but I do like Georgia,
and I like to watch the finish of an exciting game.
Go Dawgs!

So,
I got my wish today...
a day to stay at home,
to not back the car out of the driveway,
to work
and organize
and decorate
and cook
to my heart's content.

I made shrimp creole for supper.
Luscious tomato sauce concoction
with fresh sweet shrimp
served over rice.
Loved every minute of that!

The cold blew in today.
I washed my soft warm blanket
and will use it tonight.

Do we ever stop just to count our blessings...
to remember how much we have
and Who gave it to us?

the rocking chairs at high hampton

WISDOM

First of all,

 God

says in the book of James

that if you don't have any

wisdom

you should ask for it.

"If any of you lacks

wisdom,

let him ask of God,

who gives to all liberally and without reproach,

and it will be given to him."

"But let him ask in faith,

with no doubting,

for he who doubts

is like a wave of the sea

driven and tossed by the wind."

James 1: 5&6

Now keep in mind,

 this is written to and for believers....

those who have His Spirit and read and study His word.

Wisdom

comes from the truth of the Bible.

God gives His wisdom liberally,

generously.....

there's plenty for everyone.

But notice...

we must ask in faith,

without doubting.

How many of us

pray to the great

God who made heaven and earth

and at the same time are doubting

that He can do

what we ask of Him

 revealing in our heart of hearts

our lack of faith?

The writer

compares one who doubts

while at the same time asking

for wisdom 

to a wave in the ocean

driven

and

tossed by the wind.

I've seen this analogy at

Tybee. 

A wave is up

and then down

 in and out...

it goes here and there.

 

A wave crashes and fizzles out....

so does a believer who doubts

while asking for what he/she needs.

David blogged about Cornerstone Church today.

Though you might like to read his thoughts...

http://savannahblog.wordpress.com/

for Jake tonight....

Because you

kissed the girl....

There you see her

Sitting there across the way

She don't got a lot to say

But there's something about her

And you don't know why

but you're dying to try

You wanna kiss the girl

from

The Little Mermaid

Kiss the Girl

Also

from last night's post.....

It was not a

"fish bowl"

 that got broken.

It was a

bowl

in the shape of a fish.

and lastly....

I love

honey crisp apples

caramel sauce

watching the sun rise while taking my shower

McDonald's coffee

watching a movie with Harry curled up under the same blanket

seeing Lucy dressed up as Snow White

&

reading God's word.

What a blessing life is

cathy

bubba's bungees

A couple of weeks ago

when

Jake and Eli

were here,

Bubba

 took them out on a

grandfather~grandson

outing.

Upon their return here to the house,

Jake

was holding a red bungee cord and

Eli

a blue one.

At this point

I should have known

that trouble was pending,

but remained oblivious.

Later in the day

I heard a very loud crash 

coming from the family room. 

Racing down the stairs,

 I found Jake crying

and Eli

with a very sheepish look on his face.

There is a picture of it

somewhere in all of these blogs of mine. 

It came from Anthropologie,

my absolute favorite store. 

 It was a green fish bowl....much loved by me. 

And there it was,

in several small pieces on the floor.

Evidently

the bungees had been hurled

toward the shelf

holding the fish bowl

with great gusto. 

One of the bungee hooks

 scored a direct hit

 and plunged that fish bowl

right to it's permanent demise.

Jake is still crying hysterically and Eli asks this question,

"Grammy, are you mad?"

Here is what I told him while holding Jake close in my arms....

"No Eli,

I am not mad...

just a little bit sad because my bowl is broken,

but I love you guys

much, much more

than I liked that bowl

so I'm giving you grace."

God gave us

grace

when we deserved to be punished for our sins. 

He put our sins on Jesus

and He bore the punishment for us. 

That is grace friends,

pure & simple.

I bought the replacement today...

It is pictured above.

By the way.....

Jake kissed his girlfriend this morning 

during science class. 

Way to go,

little man.

creativity at its best

The pumpkin tractor.

Just one

of the many beautiful things

we saw in the mountains on Saturday.

I love pumpkins.....

because

they are orange

and shapely

and

heralds of autumn.

I just feel good when I see them.

I like pumpkin spice muffins

and jack o lanterns

and little babies dressed up as pumpkins

at Halloween.

I like

the four pumpkins

that are sitting on my front steps

and the pumpkin fields

set up by the side of the road.

I always want to jump out of the car and buy the biggest one on the lot.

Walked on the beach today....

a perfect ten

kind of day it was.

God is so good,

so perfect in all of His ways.
cathy

sleeping in the car

We had eaten lunch

and were heading for home

after a wonderful weekend getaway.

 I was sitting in the sunlight with my book.

Reading had made me drowsy

and I gave in....

reared my seat back,

 propped my feet up on the dash,

put my camera bag behind my head

and to dreamland

 I went.

For some reason,

my head kept rolling off of 

the camera bag

over and over again

But I never fully woke up.

Strange that one can

sleep

 under those conditions.

Bubba said

when we got home

 that he had slept some

on the way home too.......

He was driving.

Don't ask me why we are

glowing gold

in the picture above.

I just don't know.

cathy

in cashiers, north carolina

with my sister Teri
outside of Sweet Treats
just before eating a luscious ice cream.

We are in Greenville, South Carolina,
for my Dad's World War II
Tenth Mountain Division reunion.
Spent the day up in the mountains,
looking at all of the beauty.
Absolutely awesome weather
and wondeful sweet fellowship
and lots of good eating.

Thanking God for all of His blessings....
for all of His good provision.
cathy

swinging

Oh

for simpler times

when going out for a good swing

could solve

 all of the complications of life.

cc

beach dune wild-flowers

Sad today.

Been sad since early this morning.

can't shake the sadness.

These

are the things

I wrote down in my prayer today

about God

from Psalm 85.

God forgives my iniquities

He covers all my sins

He revives me

God is

lovingkindness.

(I love to think of Him that way)

Salvation

The Glory of the Lord

He is Truth

He makes me righteous

Peace

The Giver of what is good

He makes me fruitful.

All of these in just one Psalm!

This is my antidote to sadness...

being in God's word

remembering

all

of His attributes and promises.

How then can I be sad anymore?

cathy

a new church in savannah

The cornerstone

or foundation stone concept

is derived from

the first stone set

 in the construction of a masonry foundation,

important

since all other stones

will be set in reference to this stone,

thus determining

the position of the whole structure.

Three years ago

David moved his family back to Savannah

with a vision and a passion in his heart

to establish a church built on the foundation, or

cornerstone

of the truth of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

Praise God,

on Sunday,

November 13, 2011,

The Cornerstone Church of Savannah 

will meet as a body for the first time.

Jesus said to them,

"But who do you think that I am?"

And Simon Peter answered and said, 

 "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

Jesus answered and said to him,

"Blessed are you,

Simon Bar-Jonah,

for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you,

but My Father who is in heaven. 

"And I also say to you

that you are Peter

and on this rock I will build My church,

and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it."

The rock

that Jesus chose

as the cornerstone of the church

was this statement......

"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

The rock

or cornerstone

of this church

will be one and the same.

More details later.

Please pray.

cuteness

Not writing tonight.

My

brain

needs

a

rest.

"Therefore

let us pursue

the things which make for peace

and the things by which one may edify another."

Romans 14:19

party girl

That's me having fun at

Frankie's

birthday party

last Thursday night.

Great food,

fun,

and sweet fellowship!

Beautiful fall decorations

adorned the O'Quinn's fabulous home.

It was so good

to have

so many family members

together all under one roof. 

That doesn't happen very often.

The quiet

after the boys have been here for a week

always takes me by surprise.

Don't quite know what to do with myself for a few days.

I did take a

"quick as a wink"

nap this afternoon.

That was very nice.

Glad to report that....

Erika and the children are seemingly fine

from the accident,

Mark made it home safely from India,

Amanda and the boys made it back to Richmond in perfect time to pick him up from the airport,

And they are all safe at home.

Thanking God for this and so much more!

cathy

very thankful

They were on their way here
to fly the kite that we bought at the pumpkin patch.
It was a beautiful day to be outside,
to take some pictures of the kids,
before Amanda
heads back to Virginia in the morning.

Their van was broadsided
and probably totaled
at an intersection just a few blocks down the road.
Miraculously,
everyone walked away mostly unharmed.
Erika had a cut on her nose and some aches and pains.
Harry was seated at the point of impact...
we are watching him, he seems okay.
All airbags deployed on the left side of the car.

"Through the Lord's mercies
we are not consumed,
because His compassions fail not. 
They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness."
Lamentations 3: 22&23

God protects us and keeps us safe!
Thank you,
O Lord
for what You did just a little while ago.
cathy

a cute little fella

a little bit of business:

first:  Some of you write the sweetest comments on my blog....
I thank you so much.
Most of the time I do not publish them
unless I am absolutely sure of the source.
I have let viruses into my computer this way in the past,
so I am extra careful now.
I especially want to thank the reader from Jerusalem who commented today.

second:  What I mean by "thinking spiritually."
To me "thinking spiritually" is this...
reading God's word and trying to do what it says.
My natural tendency is to follow my own instincts
which are sinful & selfish.
God's way is always best because
He is sovereign and
He knows what we need and what is best for us.

third:  Please pray for Bubba.
His cancer has returned
and he will be commencing with radiation treatments
in the very near future.
We are completely trusting God in this and all things relating to.

"But the wisdom that is from above
is first pure,
then peaceable,
gentle,
willing to yield,
full of mercy and good fruits,
without partiality,
and without hypocrisy." 
James 3:17

Love this kind of wisdom!
cathy

hayride

This trailer

filled with bales of hay

was pulled by a tractor

back into the woods

into a clearing filled with pumpkins. 

We all got off and chose our favorite.

How much fun is that?

As in Harry's case,

not all pumpkins are perfect.

Beauty

is always in the eyes

of the beholder.

Last evening

I wrote about thinking spiritually 

in all things.

Today,

I want you to know,

I have failed miserably in doing that.

Not giving up...

will keep trying until I get it right.

God knows my heart

and my desire

and He blesses that.

Life is very sweet at the pumpkin patch.

Cathy

bike riding momas

It finally stopped raining
long enough
for us to get in a bike ride.
We have been deluged with rain the last few days.

Hopefully,
the sun will be out tomorrow
as we head over to
South Carolina
to the "pumpkin patch."

I'm thinking tonight
how good God is
to hold us up
during the times
when things get really hard in our lives. (now)

I'm learning about
"thinking spiritually"
at all times and in all things....

"Everything in the Christian life
 must be regarded from the spiritual angle. 
The whole of this life is spiritual. 
Everything about us
must therefore be considered spiritually,
every phase,
every stage,
every interest,
every developement. 
 Ultimately,
 the problems and the difficulties
of the Christian life
are all spiritual,
so that the moment we enter into this realm
we must think in a spiritual way
 and leave the other mode of thinking (rational) behind." 

Martyn Lloyd Jones
Faith Tried and Triumphnant

Trusting God completely in the trials of life
require a mind trained to think spiritually in all things and at all times.
I'm working on this....
not easy,
but attainable with the help of the Holy spirit.
cathy

say hi to snookums

Snookums

lives

at the fish,

reptile,

and amphibian store

here in Savannah.

Snookums

is a girl.

Snookums

is a tortoise

that lives on dry land. 

If you put her in water she would die.

Snookums

is eleven years old

and can live to be one hundred and twenty.

She has free range in the shop. 

She struts around like she owns the place.

At about four o'clock in the afternoon,

Snookums

runs out of steam,

 gets in her cage,

and crashes.

She is very costly.....

$20,000

We've been by the shop two different times to see her.

Eli

is bold to step forward,

get close,

and even touch

 this lovely creature.

I included the picture of Jake to show his reaction.

 He came so far and would come no further. 

The look on his face says it all.

He kind of liked Snookums,

but there were snakes in the room.

"Not for me," he said.

"No way."

a day in the life...

cathy

guess who's here?

Jake & Eli!

Mark is in India

so Amanda

decided to come for a visit.

Of course,

 that makes me very happy!

We were going out

for a bike ride,

but it is pouring down rain.

Savannah

is being inundated

with a tropical thing

that is moving up from Florida

 for which

we give many thanks!

Maybe we can ride in a little while through all of the puddles;

the boys will love that!

Just bought some

beautiful apples & delicious caramel sauce.

We will be dipping in just a few minutes.

Dipping & listening

to the falling rain.

Fall is coming but it is not here yet.

Still warm & humid.

"Blessed

are those

who put their trust in Jesus."

Psalm 2:12

me and my shadow

Some people think

that we are all we will ever be

in the here and now.

That's not what the Bible says.

Here on earth in this life we are

mere shadows

of what we will be for eternity with God.

In heaven we will be perfect,

as God intended, 

 before man's fall into sin.

"And

I heard a loud voice from heaven saying,

Behold,

 the Tabernacle of God is with men,

and He will dwell with them,

and they shall be His people

and God Himself

will be with them

and will be their God. 

 And God

will wipe away every tear from their eyes;

there shall be no more death,

nor sorrow,

nor crying;

and there shall be no more pain,

for

the former things have passed away."

Revelation 21: 3&4

What joy!

every sunrise is different

Each sunrise,

since the day that

God

created light,

has been different.....

God's great creativity on display.

If you rise early enough,

 you have the privilege

 to observe

His masterpiece

for the day

painted across the eastern sky.

cathy

the sunrise this morning...

Let me say this about this....
Bubba was the 50,000th visitor to my blog.
He heard all of my hullabaloo about who it would be,
and he signed in and and got the honor.
Kinda sweet,
I think.

Just so you know,
I have no idea who reads my blog.
(I do only if you tell me)
The sitemeter only counts,
it does not reveal identities of readers....
so,
I write and you read,
and I don't know who you are.
Again, thanks for reading!

David leaves Israel in just a little while.
He is so ready to be home.
He has learned a lot
and has enjoyed  his time immensely,
but it is,
according to him,
an arduous
and very tiring journey.

Looking forward
to being taught
what he has learned
in his Old Testament Survey class
during Sunday School in the coming weeks.

Tumultuous wave action this afternoon.
Choppy seas as far as I can see.
Sun making the foam look like shining white snow.

Wish I could stay here forever.

Bubba.....
No more long, tiring trips for me...
just take me to some beach,
preferably not far from home,
and let me bask in the beauty that is before me right now.
satisfied,
cathy

49,999

When I signed on just now
Mr. Sitemeter was at the number in the title.
I wonder who will be # 50,000?
Thank you all for reading my blog.
It is my creative outlet and my witness.

I have found my summer again...
sitting here looking out at the ocean
and listening to the roar of it's waves.

Peaceful,
already feel my body relaxing.
Vast,
it reminds me of how big God is
and the smallness of myself.
Unrelenting,
it rolls in and out...
powerful & beautiful,
every day and night
without fail.

God made the ocean...
He controls it.

"And I (God) said,
"Thus far shall you come but no farther;
and here shall you proud waves stop.' "
Job 38:11

God tells those
massive,
powerful,
waves
where to stop and they obey.

That is my God!
The God I worship and love.

All praise is due His name!!!!

chasing summer

Can't say goodbye yet to

Summer.

Going down into

Florida

tomorrow looking for

one last glimpse

of her

before she slips quietly away.

Taking the bikes

and a couple of beach chairs

and a good book.

Sitting here with the door open

looking at the sun go down on the marsh.

Green,

gold,

and brown

with a ribbon of blue.

Amazing beauty.

God is so good

to let us glimpse His glory

in the things that

He created.

Please pray

for our friends Sandra and Robert Rushing

and their family

as they deal with the cruelty of Alzheimer's. 

Very hard struggle....unrelenting stress. 

That God

would draw them close

and comfort them at this time

as only He can.

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!

october one

That's me in the mirror
taking a picture of Bubba
who is taking in the scenery
at our condo.

Some things I love about this month...

The windows and doors are open wide.
There is a slight coolness in the air.
(don't want it to get any colder than this)
The sky is a brilliant blue.
I am beginning to see orange pumpkins around.
The sun casts beautiful golden hues on the earth.
Looking forward to the coming holidays.
Excited to decorate the house for fall.

I am struggling a little bit right now.
Won't go into any details,
but just to say what saves me....
Being in God's word and
keeping Christ preeminent in my thoughts.

"...casting down arguments
and every high thing
that exalts itself against
the knowledge of God,
bringing every thought into captivity
to the obedience of Christ."
2 Corinthians 10:5

Hard work doing this.
Impossible without God's Spirit.
cathy