hey grammy

I believe "hey grammy" was said over a thousand times today.

They all want your

extra-undivided attention,

especially in the pool.

The pool felt as good as it looks .

Memorable moments...

Lucy wrote to me a

love letter in the sand.

Jake told me that I look just like his mommy.

Eli asked me to be his partner on an early evening bike ride.

Harry clung to me as a life raft in the pool

and whispered

I love you grammy in my ear.

Just finished reading two chapters in

Charlotte's Web.

Their laughter rang out

as I took on the voices of the animals.

It's all going by too quickly.

They are growing and changing every day.

I hold on tightly to every memory

and cherish them in my heart.

Thank you Lord for the blessing of these little ones.

Call them to be Yours at an early age.

May they love You with all of their

heart, mind, and soul!

Watch over them

and keep them under the

 shadow of Your wing.

the house....

is filled with

flowers and laughter.

Today,

 in between rain showers,

I got into the

hydrangeas

in my dad's backyard.

After cutting an armload

I brought them home and filled up all my vases.

They look so beautiful.

Jake & Eli are vessels of laughter

and they have had me laughing all day.

Eli is constantly asking

Why???

about everything.

He wants to know how to spell words

and what words mean.

Tonight at dinner,

I taught Eli how to make and shoot spitballs.....

a skill he can use for the rest of his life.

Bubba and I,

to this day still have 

 spitball fights 

occasionally when we go out to eat.

(we do this very discreetly)

The goodness of the Lord abounds to us

and for that

 we fall down before Him

and praise Him

and worship Him,

because

He is the giver of all good gifts....

Flowers & laughter to name just a few.

Lu in her tutu

We wait all year for this one day....

when she looks like a little doll in her tutu.

I love you Lucy!

Forgive that I have neglected my blog.

Travel & little boys

have stolen me away.

I love to write for you to read..,

I am overwhelmed that you care.

thanks,

cathy

the little graduate

Fully prepared for his life ahead,

Eli Mark Hollingsworth

received his

preschool diploma

just a little while ago

 with much

pomp and circumstance.

We are all very proud of him.

here in lanexa....

with my daughter Amanda.

I love to be with people who make me laugh out loud.

She is one of the few.

We aren't together that often,

but when we are together we make up for lost time.

She.....

understands my humor completely.

I just made her laugh by saying one word.

I love that and her very much.

A big time blessing you are

daughter of mine.

I love the woman you have become!

when bubba became granddaddy

Today is Bubba's birthday....

Yesterday Jake turned seven.

They were almost birthday buds...

just one day apart.

Nothing can prepare you

for what happens

when your kids have kids.

Seven years ago

Jake came into this world

after making life miserable for his moma

 for nine months. 

I don't think she kept a thing down the whole time....

but oh

what a wonderful reward for all that suffering.

I remember the awe and excitement

of seeing Jake for the first time

and how funny those first few days of

getting to know him were.

Henry the Colonel

met Jake the tiny infant

 and his life has never been the same because of 

the joy

  of being loved by a little boy....

and then a girl and then three more boys.

Happy Birthday Bubba!

See you tomorrow Jake.

Can't wait to see you and Eli too!

"dancing till the stars go blue"

Today was Lucy's ballet recital.

Her mom is getting her ready.

She danced beautifully

and we were all so proud of her.

More pictures later.

I am beat!

"bird on a wire"

Love that movie!

It is one of the funniest of my favorites.

Aside from that,

I spotted these "birds on a wire" a couple of weeks ago

and was struck with this question.....

What is it about a wire

that causes birds to want to sit on them for long periods of time?

Seems as if it would be hard to

balance

among other things...

and what about the wind up there?

What keeps them on the wire on a gusty afternoon?

They look so calm and serene,

so utterly at ease.

Maybe that's it.....

the safety factor.

Not much that is harmful can reach them up there.

I love this picture..

the silhouettes.

The perfect beak and the little leg.

God made them beautiful,

 didn't he?

I like to watch the birds from my porch..

so much beauty to see in

God's world.

"Look at the birds of the air,

for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns,

 yet your heavenly Father feeds them." 

Matthew 7:26

Oh if we could trust like a

bird on a wire.

the greatest victory

Having No Fear of Death

"Christians no longer look forward to death with silent dismay,

as a horrible thing which they don't like to think about. 

Through Christ

 they can look this last enemy calmly in the face and say,

 'You cannot harm me.'

They can look forward to all that comes after death ~

decay,

resurrection,

 judgement,

and eternity~

and yet not be the least concerned.

They can stand by the side of an open grave and say,

'Where, O death, is your victory?'

'Where, O death, is your sting?'

They can lay down on their deathbeds and say,

'Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.'

'Not a hair on my head will perish.'

This is true liberty.

This is to be truly free.

Best of all.....

those set free by Christ are free forever.

jcryle

Profound words, I would say!

bubba's to do list

Bubba to me....

"If you want me to do something for you,

make a list."

Just now,

after over three weeks on the list

he hung my ferns.

I am so glad they are hanging..

to me, that's how ferns look best.

Bubba likes a list

because

he puts a huge check by what he finishes.

The "hang the ferns"

was a long time in coming,

but that finally got checked off.

I am so thankful.

My beloved geranium,

you have seen pictures of it here on my blog,

is biting the dust.

It does not like it's new home.

Not enough light...

it liked it much better at the other place.

I am taking it as a sign

that the mushrooms growing in the pot are a

 preliminary warning.

The geranium is saying..

."I am dying a slow death so get ready."

"The grass withers,

the flower fades,

but the word of our Lord stands forever. 

Isaiah 40:8

sittin' on the porch

I can't help it....

I just think he's cute.

Love, love, love this little guy!

I know of people who read

the newspaper

 every day from cover to cover.

They can converse endlessly

about what's going on in the world,

 but sadly,

they never read their Bibles.

David reminded us on Sunday last

 that we believers

should be constantly talking

 of what we learn from our private Bible study

 with those whom we come in contact. 

 The book is intriguing. 

It is filled with

truth. 

We should be excitedly sharing what we learn each day

with our spouses,

our children,

our grandchildren,

 our friends,

and our acquaintances.

The news of the world

 is mostly a report

 of what Satan is accomplishing on this earth.

The Bible answers every question

we could possibly have about

why we live and

where we will spend eternity.

It is a bottomless well that never runs dry.

The Bible fulfills

 and keeps me coming back every day for more.

"You do not err knowing the Scriptures."

Matthew 22:29

an island

In this house there is an island in the kitchen.

In all the places I have lived,

I have never had a

dedicated island.

To say the least...

I love it!

It is big and square

and sits right in the middle of everything.

There is a chandalier that hangs over.

It is the perfect place to do

everything!

Today,

 I found myself making all of these

chicken-broccoli casseroles.

Some to take to others

and one big one for us to eat tomorrow night.

Bubba and I work as a team in the kitchen.

He cooks

the chicken and broccoli 

and cuts it up.

I take it from there,

putting it all together

with seasonings and all of the things that

 make it good.

Hope everybody enjoys this bounty.

What a privilege to cook the good things God provides.

"Keep me as the apple of the eye;

 Hide me in the shadow of Thy wing." 

Psalm 17:8

That is just where I want to be...

hidden up under the shadow of His wing.

me and my mom

Not feeling so well tonight so this will be short.

That's my mom and me in 1953.

I was five years old.

Looks like she had some kind of tropical thing going on with the sofa.

When God created us He thought of everything.

He knew when we were young

that we would need a nurturer...

someone who would take care of us.

He knew we would need a mom.

I am so thankful for my mom tonight.

I have so many good memories of her....

in the kitchen,

cooking.

That is my most predominant rememberence

even when she was sick and could hardly go,

she made that effort to cook

"Sunday dinner."

I miss her so much...

I'm thankful I had her for almost sixty years.

blackberry picker

That's Lucy picking

blackberries

in my Dad's backyard.

Not enough to make a pie,

but a good experience for her.

I was praying the whole time that there was no

poison ivy.

There wasn't!

Looking forward to hearing

God's word taught 

in the morning with other believers.

 

roast cook-off....

here last night.

This area in the new home is 

for casual dining.

When we bought this set about fifteen years ago,

I knew it was something that would be with me for a very long time.

I like and enjoy it more now than ever.

Bubba and I spent the day yesterday

in the kitchen.

We had a roast cook-off and the guests were able to vote.

Bubba slow-cookered a chuck roast

and I slipped a rump roast

in the oven.

After the meal was over everyone voted.

His roast won.

I am not dismayed.

In fact,

I am glad for him.

He needed that victory.

Because he won,

I will be phasing out

and letting him take over all cooking.

I haven't told him this yet.

Right now I am just letting him glory in his achievement.

It's only fair I think that the better cook do all the cooking.

What do you think?

for this day i am thankful

It is raining.

Dark clouds hang low.

The tall trees are rustling in the wind.

It has been too long

since we had

rain.

I just,

a little while ago,

woke up from one of the best naps

 that I have ever taken

 in my whole life.

Peaceful...

completely relaxed.

That picture is one of my favorites.

The happy innocence of

childhood.

God have mercy on this country.

As man rises up to exalt his ways over God and His word....

as he contiues to take all of God's blessings,

but gives Him not a thought,

when marriage between a man and a woman is not

the foundation that holds us as a nation together....

What then?

tall ships, sandcastles, cheeze-its, & kisses

Went down to the beach today

to see the tall ships

make their way down the

Savannah River

and out into the ocean. 

 It was stormy

and sadly,

the sails were not hoisted,

but oh what a sight it was!

The beach was lined with people

who had come

down to the shore to see them off.

The call of

"Here comes another one,"

could be heard far down the beach.

The two little kiddos who went with us

weren't very interested in the ships, 

 but  they swam

and ran

and built sandcastles festooned with seashells

until they couldn't go anymore. 

There was so much activity

that the Cheeze-Its and Hershey's Kisses

 we brought for a snack

didn't even come close to reaching the hunger spot.

The big story here was their Granddaddy!

Bubba you make me proud!

I love how you love these children!

Who would have thought that you and I would be here.....

sitting on the beach,

playing with our grandchildren.

how the chairs turned out

Ross worked his magic and here they are.

The fabric

I showed you last week

has been transformed into 

these beautiful and comfortable seat cushions.

Thankful!

Last night God displayed His glory in the sky.

The moon was huge...

it shed glorious light for all to see.

One cannot deny the existence of God in creation.

No man could ever make such as the moon

and hang it there in space.

"The heavens declare the glory of God;

 and His firmament shows His handiwork." 

Psalm 19:1

Our God,

who made all of the things in the heavens,

loves you

and wants to have a personal relationship with you. 

 Seek Him now..

He will not turn you away.

now and then

Yesterday

I traveled down I-95 a bit

to Colonel's Island

 to spend the day with several friends

from my high school days .

Linda Bass Flake,

sitting in front of the group,

invited us all to her house on the river

for a time of catching up

and reminiscing....

and oh what a glorious day it was.

1968

The bride is Nancy Fountain Barber,

and we were all in her wedding.

From left to right we have

Linda,

Beverly Thompson Hathaway,

Nancy's sister Carol,

me and

Geri Woods Reid.

2012

Behind Linda and seated on the hearth...

me,

Beverly,

Geri and her dog Daisy,

and Nancy.

We talked,

and we laughed,

and we ate,

and we completely enjoyed each other's company.

All of our lives have diverged and changed,

but we came back together

and realized why we all liked each other so much to begin with. 

Good friendships last

no matter how long you are separated.

Blessings...each one of you are to me!

at the beach 2 day

No place in the whole world like the beach.

I always tell Bubba,

"If you want to take me somewhere,

just take me to a nearby beach

and

I'll be happy."

fine dining

This is for Sandy....

so that you can see the fabled linen runner.

Possessing an Eternal Perspective on Sickness

"You need not be cast down by sickness.

The eternal part of you is

safe & provided for,

whatever happens to your body.

You may well

look calmly on death.

It opens a door between you and your inheritance.

You may well

not sorrow exclusively over the things of the world~

over partings and bereavements~

over losses and crosses.

The day of gathering

is before you.

Your treasure is beyond reach of harm.

Heaven is becoming every year

more full of those you love,

 and earth more empty.

Glory in your inheritance!

It is all yours if you are a child of God.

"If we are children, then we are heirs."

jcryle