a week in south florida where....

 ........hibiscus plants grow into trees...

 bougainvillea spreads for miles.

Where regular green lizards 

grow to be over two feet long,

 with huge bodies,

and red blow out thingys as big as balloons.

They make your backyard their home

and act as if they own it.

Got home last evening from helping

Amanda and her family move into their new house.

I loved every minute I was there.

We were definitely on beach time,

but I never set foot on the beach....(no time to).

Up early,

quick coffee,

get to work.

Second breakfast,

McDonalds,

bacon biscuit~extra bacon....

cut in two and shared,

three oatmeal raisin cookies.

Load ~ unload Baby Girl,

never enough shelf paper,

"Don't leave the townhouse without a load!"

Quick lunch....

Pei Wei twice.

lots of Chick-Fil-A

.A pedicure for tired feet,

a spin spin around Nordstrom Rack,

a Walmart stop....no more shopping at Target.

Pick up the boys at school.

Home for a rest time...

catch up with facebook,

maybe sleep ~ maybe not, read my book.

Back to work...

"Where shall we go for dinner?"

"Want to go to Dairy Queen?"

A little more work,

get the boys tucked in and prayed with,

fall into bed exhausted.

Millennial Falcon,

pool party,

watermelon,

swing at the new house,

last day of school,

Doris's bakery.

Eli gets sick 

Mark wanting to do a low country boil,

didn't get to Carmines.

Never got caught by the bridge.

Strawberries in his peanut butter smash.

 Laughing till we cried.

granola,

"THE PINEAPPLE."

Packing up the kitchen on the first day.

"Do we have any mayonnaise?"

New bed for Jake.

Getting to meet Paul.

Eli going into the wrong house by mistake on move in day.

Stanley and the kitchen floor.

God is so good...

no one hurt,

lots of energy,

wonderful sleep,

waking refreshed and ready to go.

Thank You to the One who holds everything together!!!

Very, very, very thankful ~ very thankful!

happy birthday Jake and granddaddy!

Big birthday bash weekend at # 6.

Grandaddy & Jake had quite the celebration!

This picture was taken right after 

Darth Vater, the black pinata, 

was knocked for a loop.

spilling his candy and money

all over the yard.

I will share pictures of his party,

but not tonight.

I am going home with Amanda and the boys

early in the morning.

Will be helping them move into their new home

for a whole week.

God's richest blessings to me are standing up there.

Invest your life in your children.

The rewards are overflowing.

finally today.....

....as if in a rush of madness,

the heavens opened up.

It rained as 

if it would never rain again.

The sky darkened.

the heaviness of humidity descended

 causing a sensation much like suffocation.

 Then the rain fell in buckets....buckets and buckets of it

falling angrily from the sky.

The streets flooded quickly ~ no where for the water to go.

Dusty dry earth,

gray, 

powdery...

not accepting the rainwater

which has to run off down the street.

Catch it!!!

Catch it quick.

We need it so badly.

The grass is brown and crunchy,

the leaves on the trees have wilted,

the flowers can't drink enough from the hose.

Rain is life giving,

essential,

things die from lack of it.

Thank You God.

Your word tells us that You

open the heavens and send the rain.

We really needed it.

Lots of rejoicing is taking place.

Above is my little garden.

It gets watered every night.

I have some squash,

cucumbers,

bell peppers,

tomatoes,

along with the flowers.

Managing the deer with some

stinky grossness

sprinkled around the perimeter of the yard...

so far, its working.

Let all the earth praise the Lord

for He does amazing and wonderful things!!!!

praise the Lord because.....

"He counts the number of stars;

He gives names to all of them.

He covers the heavens with clouds,

He provides rain for the earth.

He makes grass to grow on the mountains,

He gives to the beast his food.

and to the young ravens which cry.

He gives snow like wool,

He scatters the frost like ashes,

He casts forth ice as fragments.

Who can stand before His cold?

He sends forth His word and melts them.

He causes the wind to blow 

and the waters to flow.

He heals the brokenhearted,

and binds up their wounds.

Great is our Lord,

and abundant in strength;

His understanding is infinite."

Taken from Psalm 147

Sharing with you tonight a few things

the Bible tells us about God.

I choose to believe them and worship Him

for all of His kindness & mercy.

His power is limitless and His grace is forever.

new chair....

I got a new desk chair.

It is off white and very comfortable.

Got it at IKEA.

Bubba put it together with very little trouble.

This chair makes me feel important...

just a little joke.

Computers....

a necessity or a nuisance?

both I guess.

Last week I had my hard drive replaced.

This week I woke up to a completely black screen.

It was two sleeps before Chris could

come check it out.

Of course,

the problem was simple

(although we could not have fixed it.)

He was in and out in ten minutes.

All that to say...

Computers are SO frustrating,

but, I missed it terribly while it was broken down.

I couldn't work on my blog, 

  write posts on facebook,

  check my favorite weather,

answer my e-mails.

download pictures.

Ebay was lost to me.

Bubba got an Apple laptop.

He has been working on learning it for a week now.

This morning he told me that he was

100% checked out on it.

We will see.

Computers....

love/hate relationship.

Cathy admit it,

you cannot live without!!

Like my chair?

johnny harris

Saying goodbye to a Savannah landmark.

On Saturday, May 28th,

this place that has been a lifelong establishment

will close its doors forever.

Filled with history,

memories of fun times with friends and family,

good food.....

it will surely be missed.

Bubba and I went for dinner last evening.

We had the fried chicken

and that wonderful house salad.

Feeling nostalgic,

we had our waitress snap this picture

of us in one of those large, paneled booths

where so many tales have been told.

One of the sons of the owner is

supposedly

opening a new restaurant on Waters Ave.

It will be called "Bow Ties."

They will have the fried chicken and other favorites.

Also, some of our most liked wait people 

will be going there as well.

It won't be the same though.

There is nothing like walking into that large, round room,

being seated at one of the wrap around booths,

 looking up at the murals on the ceiling,

the twinkling stars.

It was here that my mom and dad 

used to dance the night away

when they were very young.

Thanks for the memories,

Johnny Harris.

mother's day flowers....

When this bouquet came through the door,

it took my breath away.

White hydrangeas and pink peonies...my favorites.

Somebody knows me quite well.

From the bottom of my heart I thank you.

Perfect, just perfect.

A gift of love in a pitcher of flowers.

Thank you David & Erika,

Lucy, Harry, Archie, & Gus

happy mother's day...

from one happy mother

seen here with her first born son.

so thankful for this man,

his life,

his family.

What a joy they are to me.

We had steaks here at the house...

and a great time of fellowship.

Harry is still recuperating from having his tonsils out.

He got to have ice cream.

Amanda couldn't join us,

but she called.

she will be coming here soon.

Can't wait.

I've been thinking about my mom a lot today.

We used her china at our celebration.

She made me laugh.

She made the best fudge in the world.

So glad for the memories!!

Love this picture. Lucy 

with her mom and grammy.

To be a mom is a gift from God.

He opens the womb....

gives life,

sustains us through it.

Thankful tonight 

that he brought us all together at this time

to live as a family,

to enjoy His blessings.

first swim of the summer....

....for Lucy.

at our condo on the beach.

Even though the water was freezing.

she jumped right in....

no hesitation.

I do not know how she does that.

Meanwhile,

I'm wrapped up in a sweater,

pilfering a little heat from the brilliant sunshine.

Lucy and I love the Crab Shack on Tybee Island.

We sit outside by the river

eating shrimp and crab legs

with all the other folks who enjoy such.

They have many animals, birds, and alligators.

Lucy named this cat CJ about a year ago.

She was just a tiny kitten. 

She remembers Lucy.

 who is one of the few people she will allow to pick her up.

Notice Lu's new bathing suit and cover-up.

This is Gilbert...

Gilbert is a hoot!!!

As soon as he sees us he starts putting on a show.

He says "Hello Gilbert" over and over.

I could watch him forever.

The view from my lounge chair last evening.

The soon to be setting sun

was gorgeous.

You can see the rays,

and look at the diamonds on the pool.

What a blessing....

summer will soon be here again.

The beach is my favorite place in the world!

we have.....

...a perfect spring day.

My windows are open,

cool breezes blowing in,

baby blue sky,

breathing fresh air.

Gus is riding his new bike and not getting sweaty.

Playing with some plants,

spraying for deer exodus from this yard.

The deer never chow down on Bubba's crown of thorns,

probably because of the abundance of thorns.

My firecracker plant was spared as well.

The deer didn't bother my front porch flowers.

With "Bashful Girl," a gift from my mom,

they seem to be safe.

Look at that sky!!!

My first two Gerber daiseys were a tasty morsel,

but another one is raising its lovely head.

These have all been sprayed with

deer repellent.

Beautiful, gorgeous day.

It calls you outside to play.

God is very good, all of the time.

He gives us such precious, magnificent gifts.

Do you know Him?

Most importantly,

Does He know you?

music takes you back...

It rained last night....

several thunderstorms moved across the sky.

It was stormy!

Upon arising this morning,

when the sun came up and I could see,

I noticed that most all of the blooms on my flowers were gone.

I mentioned to Bubba

that I thought the rain had beat down

 most all of my new plants.

On closer inspection I realized it wasn't the rain at all.

The deer are back to their old ways.

Almost every bloom you can see above 

was chomped off.

It kinda makes me angry,

but I should have known they'd be back.

Gus is here.

Tucking in time is so sweet with him.

"How many books should we read little guy?"

"Three tonight

 and all the others in the morning."

"Can I have a kiss??"

"Have I told you lately that I love you?"

Heard this song today.

Love it.

Reminds me of a summer in Arizona.

I bought a Rod Stewart greatest hits CD and listened

to it out by the pool every day.

Music takes you back, makes you remember.

absorbing read......

Infrequently in my life

I possess a book that changes everything.

Many months ago in the midst of an ongoing trial,

someone mentioned this book to me.

It was purchased 

and so my journey began.

I am still not to the end

due to astonishment at the truth it contains.

I am re-reading page after page

then going back to underline with my trusty yellow marker

words to go back to....

to think about at a later time.

I stop to share with Bubba

paragraphs and pages

that I think he should read so that we can discuss.

Have been wanting to share this book on my blog.

It contains....

Joy for the soul,

Understanding for the mind,

Reasons for suffering,

Hope for the future,

Answers for your doubt.

You will understand the book of Job,

the character of Job,

like you never have before.

When I read the last page in a couple of days,

I will start through it again.

I want to grasp the teaching in it's pages,

and try to retain, 

remember.

Thank you someone

for mentioning this book to me

way back last summer.

It has been a great source of help and hope.