just saying....

We have had a lovely, warm winter.

I can't complain.

For Lou my special friend....

Bubba and I crossed over the big bridge into South Carolina today after church.

We went to Jim and Nick's for lunch.

Lo and behold, we were seated in "our" booth.

I sat on your side and thought of our long "catch up" talks,

of all that goes into being life-long friends.

Thinking good thoughts of you tonight.

hmmmm....

I could use a vacation.

🌃🌃

winter roses

Monday was David's birthday.

Tuesday we found the ceiling busted out at the beach condo.

Wednesday I told Bubba that the new sofa 

delivered to the condo last week 

was not the color I bought,

Thursday night the plumbing at #6 Pinebrook started acting funny.

By Friday morning everything in the house with a drain stopped working.

Roto Rooter came,

removed one of our toilets.

searched diligently,

finally found the problem....

Three and one half years ago,

when the plumber plumbed our new house,

he failed to put a cap on the main drain.

During that 31/2 years,

 dirt has been falling into the drain slowly building a little dam.

On Thursday night the drain reached its limit....

nothing was going anywhere.

And,

yesterday morning,

while Jerome was here, in the stinky house,

the home health care nurse came to administer my infusion.

At one point Bubba, Jerome, Sheila (the nurse), and I

were all gathered around the island 

while she was getting the infusion ready to go.

So, we just came back from the beach.

Nothing has been done with the ceiling at the condo

but it does seem dry in there.

The sofa...

They delivered the wrong one.

My sofa is still sitting at the warehouse.

We will deal with that switch

when the second round of work is complete.

The plumbing is working perfectly.

Bubba bought a new cap for the drain and installed..

The house doesn't stink anymore.

(I worked all day cleaning toilets and such.)

I got the infusion.

(Jerome never asked why the nurse was there

 or why she had all that medical equipment in my kitchen.)

All that to say...

there is never a sane moment in our life.

🚾

at the beach yesterday....

...we found this tranquil scene,

and we also found this....

That 24 hour rain over the past weekend,

the one where I was so excited to wear my new red boots,

caused the ceiling of our newly renovated,

 almost back on the market,

 beach condo,

 to bust open,

spilling its contents on the brand new floor. 

Needless to say,

we have a major setback!

Bubba has "packed up his bats and gone home"

for the time being.

The big, industrial fans are back in place drying everything out.

Much will have to be torn out to check for black mold,

then all will have to be

repaired,

 replaced.

repainted,

relaid.

Thankful that while all of that is going on,

we can still see this....

...and we can still thank God for all of our blessings.

He is in control of all things.

He is pleased when we respond with thanksgiving rather than dismay.

God is good ALL of the time.

To Him be the glory.

happy birthday david

Lots of love around this yummy pie.

Davids turns 43 tonight and we helped him celebrate!

So thankful for him,

for Erika and the children and the life they have made together.

Never would have dreamed, 

when that little baby was put in my arms that night 43 years ago,

 of all the great things that were in store for Bubba and I.

Thank you Lord for David!

ps...

two words,

gold shirt!

rain gear

Thank you to Amanda 

for my new, red, rain boots.

It has been raining here for twenty-four hours straight.

I have been waiting for a day like this to wear them.

Thankful for the rain,

a dry, cozy home,

a great time of worship this morning,

an afternoon of rest.

The storms are starting up again.

I hear the rolling thunder.

We are under a tornado watch and a flood advisory.

Hoping for the best for all.

lucy's cooking class

Lucy spent the night last night 

so that I could could take her to her first cooking class this morning.

We ate dinner last evening at the Chick-Fil-A.

In with her Kids Meal was a package of 

table conversation starters.

One of them said this....

"If you had a day on which you could do anything you wanted to do, what would that be?"

She replied,

"I would go to the beach condo and cook all day long."

This young lady loves to cook.

Tucked in her overnight bad was a jar of homemade lemon curd.

She knows how much I love it.

She has gotten it for me at Trader Joe's before.

Well, now she makes it from scratch.

It is more than delicious.

I was thrilled and overjoyed with my gift.

Today,

Williams Sonoma,

American Girl Cooking Class.

They made chocolate chip waffles with all kinds of toppings.

I got to sample the finished product.

Delightful.

Lucy is eleven.

She is growing up fast.

She fills my heart with joy.

She is a gift from God.

Thanking Him tonight for all of my grandchildren,

Six boys and one girl.

I'm so glad I got one little girl.

God knew I would love all of this!

Grace is home

By the grace of God,

skilled doctors, nurses, and therapists,

a devoted husband and family,

Grace is home from the hospital.

To God be the glory great things He has done.

With much healing still to come,

 lots of physical, occupational, and speech therapy,

a strong determination to get better,

 the help of Ivan and her family,

Grace starts the next phase of her journey.

This is not the pathway that Grace thought she would be walking

on that Saturday afternoon at the beginning of December.

Never in a million years would any of us have guessed

where that walk across the street would lead her.

But we rejoice to see God's faithfulness,

goodness and lovingkindness 

as He has led Grace and Ivan along His path for them..

Along His "way" we learn to trust Him....

that is the most important lesson we learn in this life.

Please continue to pray.

The prayers of all of you have been heard by our Father in heaven.

In His way and timing He is bringing good,

because God is good All of the time.

Grace is home!!

🏠

back "in the begining"

What do we do in January?

We start reading the Bible over again.

Love getting back in the book of Genesis....

the book "of beginnings."

We get to read about the creation,

Adam & Eve,

Man (and woman's) fall into sin,

God's promise of a Savior,

Noah and the flood,

Abraham,

the covenants,

and on we go....

through many kings and battles

reading each book thereafter,

watching how God weaves it all skillfully together

until Jesus is born.

If you've never read the Bible all the way through,

you ought to do it.

Now is a great time!

It is fascinating.

Ask God for understanding...

He will provide what you need.

Stick with it.

You will be glad you did.

The Bible endures through the ages,

it never changes.

It is God's true word.

It will answer all of your questions about this life we are living.

Thanking Him tonight that He wrote a book,

that He gave it to us.

We have the very words of God.

He explains everything.

It is good.

God is good all the time!

the view....

....from our condo just now.

I kinda like all of the lines and angles

of the scaffolding.

Work is slow, but steady.

The tide was dead low.

The temperature was perfect.

The water was like glass.

The beach was glowing, along with that palm tree.

We always have the same view, but it is never the same.

Such a blessing to live close to the ocean....

that great, vast body of water to which God said,

"Thus far you shall come,

but no farther;

And here shall your proud waves stop."

Job 38:11

⛵

a quick note

Love from Cathy

baby it's warm outside

That's life in the deep south....

the temperature goes from 26 to 76 in just a matter of days.

We get a "taste" of really cold weather,

but for the most part it's super nice outside.

I have been working in the yard these last few days.

We allowed the trees to completely shed all of their leaves

before the clean up started.

As you can see in this picture,

the lawn was covered with dead leaves and pine straw.

If you look closely ~ middle, left,

you can see the discarded Christmas tree.🎄

You can also see a pile of leaves waiting to be bagged,

Love the slant of the late afternoon winter sun.

By the way,

have you noticed the moon in the last few nights.

It rises early and brilliantly in the eastern sky,

and then in the very early morning

 it is still shining brightly in the western sky.

God's handiwork on display.

He hung it there you know!

One last picture of what is left to do.

Great exercise!

I feel so good when I'm working outside.

Thanking God today for the beauty of this earth.

For the seasons...

I can already see tiny buds on some of the trees.

It won't be long before they spring forth with new leaves.

Spring is right around the corner.

Another by the way...

now I am sure that the days are getting longer.

Last night confirmed that it was still light after 6:00.

that makes me very happy.

Off to the beach in a little while.

Want to see that moon over the ocean.

I think I'll get some fried oysters for dinner.

Yummy!

🐟

(these tiny pictures that I put on here....

I have to draw a likeness and the site gives suggestions.

I cannot believe what they think that I've drawn.)

I tried to draw an oyster,

no luck,,,

settled for the fish.

Kinda fun!

🐬🐬

I tried again to draw an oyster.

Got dolphins instead.

At least the computer knows my general vicinity is the ocean.

about grace

photo @aerial_lifestyle_productions

Grace loves Tybee.

She loves our little vintage condo.

I hope one day soon she & Ivan will be able to come and stay there.

But, in the meantime, she has some work to do.

After almost six weeks in the hospital,

there is talk of her being released to go home.

She has been in acute rehab since Christmas Eve.

They have done about all they can do for her there.

She still has seven more weeks before she can bear any weight on her legs.

At that time she will have to learn to walk again.

Any further therapy will be done on an outpatient basis.

I talked to my sister Teri this afternoon.

She was on her way to prepare Grace & Ivan's apartment

for Grace's arrival possibly as soon as this Saturday.

Please continue to pray as this will be a major adjustment.

Her pain level is still very high.

She is having to bear all of the hardships of a traumatic brain injury

while waiting for healing.

Teri said that her spirit is very sweet and thankful.

We talked about all of the prayers that have gone up on her behalf

and how God's Spirit is working in her heart to keep her calm.

So much for this young, newly married couple to bear.

I sometimes wonder how they cope,

but I know that God's grace is poured out in abundance when it is needed.

All glory goes to Him for what He has done and will do with Grace.

Love the picture of the Tybee Lighthouse above.

I have walked that stretch of sand many a time.

When we lived there, I would walk around the bend,

marvel at the convergence of the Savannah River and the ocean,

and then sit on the big rocks 

and ponder the vastness before me.

The same God who controls the vast ocean

is the One who heals.

Nothing is too difficult for Him.

Grace will land exactly where He wants her to be,

and He will be with her every step of the way.

To God be the glory.

Thankful!

🐳

always follow THAT star

Jesus wants us to seek Him...

to look for Him diligently.

Just like the wise men followed THAT star to Bethlehem

to find the new born King,

we can find Him in the Bible.

His word contains all of the words that God wrote to us,

the words He wants us to read and study and listen too.

"....and lo, the star, 

which they had seen in the east, 

went on before them, 

until it came and stood over where the Child was."

Matthew 2:9

some things....

The beach condo is continuing in major repair mode.

They finally decided that the whole roof needs to be replaced,

so on we go.

We still have a large, gaping hole in the roof of the deck.

Scaffolding surrounds the whole beach front building.

The inside is ready.

The new flooring is down and all painting is done.

We're just waiting on the outside now.

Aiming for March 1, 2017, to get back open for business.

We took the grandkids down there Friday night.

They cannot believe that grandaddy sat the toilet

(temporarily) in the shower.

Giggles abound.

Baby its cold outside!

Winter decided to make its first appearance in the deep south yesterday.

We needed an extra blanket on the bed last night.

I got to wear my boots to church for the first time today.

Sunday afternoon nap was perfect under a silky, warm comforter.

The fire is burning in the fireplace warming things up.

Bubba is making fresh crab stew ~

So many lovely ways to make winter nice.

The shooting at Fort Lauderdale

really unnerved me on Friday.

So close to my babies,

so senseless, 

so tragic.

We really don't know when Jesus will come for us.

Are we ready?

Are you ready to face eternity?

Have you put your trust in Him?

Have you accepted His free gift of salvation?

Daylight

Is it just me

 or do you detect

 that the days are getting just a little tad longer.

 It is probably my imagination,

but I think there is a little more daylight at the end of the day.

☀

God is good all the time!

down and out and starting a new one

The 2016 tree has been taken down and hauled outside.

Notice...

I have lovely geraniums in full bloom,

and Bubba is dressed in a T-shirt.

So far we have had a spring-like winter

But...

I hear that cold weather is roaring in tonight.

So....

Maybe I will get to wear my new red rain boots

that the Hollingsworths gave me for Christmas.

I have wanted rain boots for so long.

Now I have them.

☔

So the year 2017 has started.

Always nice to have Januarys...

the quiet after the storm of the holidays.

I love to organize,

do some deep cleaning,

catch up on some correspondence,

write important dates in a brand new calendar.

rest,

start over reading the Bible through again,

get started back selling on E-bay,

you know,

things like that.

It is nice to have the whole year ahead to look forward to.

I don't make resolutions.

My main desires are to love God more,

to love and study His word more,

to pray more, 

to show more love and kindness to my husband and family

and those people who God has in my life.

I have come to understand 

that nothing in life is more important than the above.

Please continue to pray for Grace.

Just living is a struggle for her.

She is in constant pain.

She is working hard to relearn basic skills that we all take for granted.

My heart breaks for her and those who are ministering to her.

And yet we know this....

God's grace is sufficient!

His mercies never cease.

His Spirit abides in His people.

Thanking Him for His strength & power

in situations that are humanly almost impossible.

To 2017!

It will unfold just as God has planned.

No surprises for Him.

Happy New Year

from

Cathy & Bubba

💖