six minus one is no fun

 

Every time we do a family vacation at the beach,

someone ends up in the hospital.

First it was Harry,

found at the bottom of the swimming pool.

Then it was me,

a bike ride disaster.

This year it was Jake,

downed by a stomach virus,

landed in the big house with dehydration.

 

He came home this morning to much jubilation,

Still not 100%,

but at least he is home to the beach house.

He and Mark are sleeping right now.

So very thankful that both of them are here.

 

Last day...

sitting on the porch watching a thunderstorm,

trying to decide if our last

"on the beach day"

will happen.

We have hoped for a thunderstorm all week

and on the last day we get it.

 

This porch has been the best thing ever...

already planning to come back here next summer.

They say bad things come in threes....

Hopefully next time we can avoid the hospital!

 

Love, love, love the beach life!

.

fishing bliss

 

or....sometimes girls just want to do some fishing

We didn't catch anything,

but it was fun trying.

 

Beach life is the best.....

especially when you are in a great big old house

with porches all around

and the sound of twelve little feet

 running here and there

 having the time of their lives. 

 

 

alligator alley

So, the creek that runs behind our beach house is full of alligators.
We have a screened in porch that runs the full length of the house.
Every evening when we come up from the beach,
we congregate on the  porch and watch the alligator show,
and what a show it is!!!
Evidently, people who stay in this house feed them in the evening.
We decided to follow suit.
Bubba, our brave patriarch,
sailed some whole slices of bread down toward the big one in the picture
who had come up almost to our lawn.
The bread missed its mark because of the wind.
Bubba....
went down there where the alligator was, emerging with a shovel,
retrieved the wayward bread slices,
placed them in the perfect spot,
and came back up to the porch.
Sure enough, Drifter, (of course the kids named him immediately),
came all the way up on the path to grab his treat.
What an amazing show!

#Salt life is the best life.
#Could stay here forever.
#Love!

salt life

Jake and Eli along with their Grammy held a conference in the ocean yesterday.
Eli presided over the group.
The point of the called meeting was to confer on why the water was so hot.....
we decided that the sun had a part in that phenomenom.
After that crucial issue was dealt with,
we spent the rest of the time swimming around looking for what we called "cold spots."
These "cold spots" are so refreshing,
but none of us could determine the reason for them.
I found an intact conch shell and Jake came out with a large hermit crab in its shell.
Nothing like being in the ocean!

just hanging around....

The blessings of God in our life are too numerous to count.

His goodness to allow a time of  fun, fellowship, and relaxation with our family

is accepted thankfully by this Grammy and Granddaddy.

The spot above is on one of the decks at our beach house.

We have never been here before,

so there is much excitement.

There will be fishing and crabbing.

bike riding,

kayaking,

baseball on the beach after dinner,

long walks,

sunrises & sunsets,

relaxing,

taking some new pictures for my blog,

reading,

but best of all THE BEACH!!

I love any time I can be at the beach.

Will take my chair and an umbrella and soak it all up!

Best of all,

to have everybody under one roof

laughing, and eating together, and having fun.

Amanda has called it a

"rustic beach experience."

Just shorts and bathing suits.

Don't plan to leave the island for a week.

This place is very isolated...

no crowds or traffic.

Far enough away from civilization.

The nearest grocery store is fourteen miles.

Surely it is paradise found.

Thank you Lord.

pizza & checkers

Lucy & I are eating pizza for supper

and playing checkers.

This is her second night with me.

We have had a blast!

Today was sewing class.

She has almost finished making my apron.

We had brunch at the Funky this morning with Nathan and Trish.

The longer we stayed,

the more elaborate the pancakes became.

We had flowers and butterflies,

hearts and a Mickey Mouse.

Such a fun place to go with kids!!

We are having a Dolphin Tale marathon at night.

Last night we watched Dolphin Tale One,

and tonight we will watch Dolphin Tale Two.

We have packed a lot in.

Love spending time with my granddaughter....

At the sewing studio today

we lost her for a minute.

When she emerged from under the table,

she looked like this.....

She found some white tulle from a wedding dress and put it on.

Her teacher loves her, that's why she could do this.

Where ever she goes

she creates fun,

makes me laugh,

thrills my heart.

I love her so much.

You can probably tell.

getting his eagles

I promised myself this morning that I would write today.

Ever since I have been sick, I have had writer's block.

Never been quite this bad before.

I could not think of one thing to say.

I do love to write though.

Thank you faithful readers for bearing with.

The summer of 2015 has been very different for me.

The Lord slowed me down.

He has given me a joy and contentment

that I have never had before.

Much time in God's word and Martyn L. Jones'

Assurance of Salvation.

Beaten down,

 He led me to reread this classic and be refreshed.

Bubba is reading it too.

We do a lot of coming together for discussion

on this one.

I have also been reading Bodie Thoene's 

Zion Covenant.

Six books ~ almost 3,000 pages,

I have been immersed in the Nazi culture.

Feels like I've lived through the end of the 1930's

in Germany, Austria and Poland.

I am truly addicted to this time period.

I constantly ask myself,

"How could this have happened?"

But I see the same types of atrocities 

going on in our great country.

Our freedom is going away....

A little every day.

So sad!

Above you see a newspaper clipping from

April 1, 1998.

Bubba is getting his eagles pinned on.

There is a big smile on his face.

I just showed him this picture and said,

"I think this was the happiest day of your life."

He said,

"No, the happiest day of my life was when I married you."

Forty five + years later!!

Made my day!!

at your wits end?

"Those who go to the sea in ships,

Who do business in great waters;

They have seen the works of the Lord,

and His wonders in the deep.

For He spoke and raised up a stormy wind,

Which lifted up the waves of the sea.

They rose up to the heavens,

They went down to the depths;

Their soul melted away in their misery.

They reeled and staggered like a drunken man,

and they were at their wits end.

Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,

and He brought them out of their distresses.

He caused the storm to be still,

so that the waves of the sea were hushed.

They were glad because they were quiet;

So He guided them to their desired haven."

Psalm 107:23~30

I read this passage this morning.

Such beautiful words of the ocean that I love.

More importantly,

what a powerful, loving God we worship.

Look at what our God did...

He spoke and raised up a stormy wind.

The sailors were in great distress.

They called out to Him,

He caused the storm to be still.

He guided them into their safe haven.

What storm are you in right now?

What is distressing you?

Cry out to God.

He is more than able to calm your storm.

Are you at your wits end as these sailors were?

They had the good sense to cry out to God.

He heard them.

He answered their prayer.

He saved them.

God, who created the ocean.

 who speaks and makes a storm,

Has already met all of our needs by sending

 His son Jesus Christ 

to fulfill His plan of salvation.

Thankful & joyful tonight because of this.

Lu and Gram

Lucy and I got back to sewing lessons yesterday,

She is making me an apron.

The fabric has ice cream cones on it.

If you look closely where the purple fabric is,

you will see the pocket to the apron that she sewed yesterday.

She is doing beautiful work.

I am so proud of her!!

I am back in the land of the living.

feeling better than ever.

It was a long run.

Sometimes we need those times in our lives

to be quiet,

to just be still and know God.

Thankful to all of you who were so kind

to keep in touch, 

help, 

and show love to me during my illness.

There was one major event that 

someone completely took over for me...

One very dear one who had to give up her birthday party,

and still has not gotten her gift.....

and one who sent essential oils so that I would never have

another kidney stone ever again.

One definitely knows who really loves her at times like these.

The little girl in the picture above 

holds my heart in her hands.

She makes me giggle.

What an absolute treasure she is,

a lovely young girl with a beautiful heart.

A gift from the Giver of all good things!

boiled peanuts

Its definitely a southern thing!

Go to the store,

buy some green peanuts,

bring them home and wash them good in the sink

until all of the dirt is gone.

Then put them in a big pot filled with water.

Let them boil all afternoon until they are soft and sumptuous.

Oh,

and don't forget to pour 

a half a box of salt in the water.

Unhealthy?

Yes!

Worth it?

Yes, Yes!!!!

My Moma always had a pot of peanuts cooking on the stove in the summer.

My Daddy loved them.

I was raised on boiled peanuts.

I even married a man who loves them too.

Today,

our house has that wonderful smell.

I put this picture on facebook earlier.

I was surprised at how many people"liked" the page.

People raised in the south,

really like boiled peanuts.

Boiled peanuts....

Its a southern thing!

Its a summer thing!

I love!!!

(I only just ate a few)

It does matter that I eat healthy!!

Don't want any more stones to form in my body.

sweetness

This is one of my favorites.

Our precious Lucy holding baby Charlotte.

"You, O God, 

have given Your son Jesus Christ

 power over all flesh,

that He should give eternal life 

to as many as 

You have given Him."

John 17:2

"This is a literal statement of fact.

God has given His Son Jesus Christ power over everything.

There is nothing that is not placed under Him.

You realize what this means....

The universe, 

the cosmos,

every star in its orbit,

the sun and moon,

every power,

every atom with its magnetic force and power,

all are under His power.

Everything in nature and creation,

man and all his power,

his devices,

 his machinations,

everything that He is capable of doing,

it is all under the power of God,

the power of Christ.

It goes even beyond that,

the whole of future history

 is in the hands of the Lord Jesus Christ.

You may be worried about the international situation,

the situation in our own land...

you need not be

because the whole of history is in His hands,

Of course, we do not understand it all.

He permits many things that we do not understand,

but the fact that He permits it means that it is still in His power.

There is nothing out of hand."

Martyn Lloyd Jones

Assurance of Salvation

Basking in the wonder of it all!!!!!

cc

happy fourth of july

Meet

 Charlotte Belle O'Quinn,

the newest member of our family.

All decked out in her red white and blue,

she came out ready to see her first ever fireworks.

But it wasn't to be.

God sent some much needed rain instead,

and we all thanked Him for it.

We decorated the golf cart and had it all ready to ride,

but the storms moved in quickly

and ended our plans.

That's okay though.

We had a jolly good time 

eating ribs and potato salad and all of the fixings.

The spirit of the evening was joyful fellowship.

So thankful!!

Bubba, by the way,

won the prize for putting his napkin to the best use ever......

As I sit writing this,

 I hear fireworks going off all over.

Party on Savannah!!!

I hear ya!

happy 4th!

One great thing about recuperating is...

you have a lot of time on your hands to do things like

look at old pictures.

Came across this super adorable shot and decided to share!!

I really am getting better.

Hoping to do the 4th again at Frankie & Sally's house tomorrow,

Tonight Bubba is taking me out to dinner 

and then on a golf cart ride.

Will be good to cruise by the marsh

 and smell the pluff mud 

which is music to my soul.

Keeping it short.....

waiting for my mind to clear itself 

of all the effects of the drugs and surgery.

Can't wait to really feel myself again!