putting it back together again

Yesterday,

beach condo,

Tybee,

work day.

🐬🐬🐬dolphin-sightseeing boat,

beautiful sailboat,⛵

low tide,

not really work with this view.

Next Wednesday we will have our first rental guests

in our beach condo since

 Hurricane Matthew.

We were almost finished a couple of months ago,

when a torrential rain came,

(I don't think it has rained since then) 

and crashed through the newly painted ceiling

landing on the just laid new flooring. ☹

 What a mess and a setback. 

We are almost back!

A few more days!

It is kinda like on Fixer Upper when 

Chip Gaines does all the hard work 

and then  he hands it over to JoAnna to add the beautiful touches.

Bubba has worked so hard!

He has truly felt the weight of all that goes with 

restoration and renovation.

Now I get to go in and make it look lovely.

Example....

these seahorse lamps I found at Target.

It's the little touches,

like this lamp,

that make a dwelling come alive.

*I decorate with love. ♥

My last post was about some things that help my depression.....

another is hard work.

So thankful to have this project

in this most amazingly beautiful setting.

I still have to hang drapes and pictures

 and place the pretty things around,

but it is almost done.

New slip-covered sofa. ↓

😊

sunrise & sunset

"God makes the sunrise and the sunset shout for joy."

Psalm 65: 8b

🌄

Depression...

what helps?

There is no cure for depression.

First of all you have to be okay with that one truth.

It may get better for a while.

but it's always there,

lurking,

ready to ponce.

Funny...

even when I am in a good place,

I still feel it's presence.

Someone to talk to helps. 👂

Mental health issues are still in the dark ages.

Depression and anxiety are conditions that one keeps hidden away.

When you find someone who will listen and not judge,

you have found a great treasure.

Christians especially suffer because many believe that a

"true Christian" 

would never struggle with depression or anxiety.

God's word helps. 

It is my lifeline.

I cling to the gospel.

It is my lifeboat in a stormy sea.

Jesus said,

"It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, 

but those who are sick;

I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

Mark 2:17

I am of all the worst sinner and for that reason Jesus came for me.

I need Jesus.

He didn't come because I am perfect already,

He came to make me perfect in Him.

We don't pick our trials.

We don't choose how we suffer.

Hope helps.

One day I will not suffer with depression and anxiety anymore.

When I go to be with Him he will wipe every tear from my eyes.

We must endure hardship for a while on this earth.

Hope is knowing without a doubt that it won't last forever.

Jesus will come again and end all suffering.

That is where my hope lies.

❤

hilton head

On Friday....

It was infusion day~~~~~

I have CVID.....

Common Variable Immune Deficiency.

This is one of the most frequently diagnosed primary immunodeficiencies, 

especially in adults.

It is characterized by low levels of serum immunoglobulins and antibodies,

 which cause an increased susceptibility to infection. 

While CVID is thought to be due to genetic defects, 

the exact cause of the disorder is unknown in the majority of cases. 

I was well into my sixth generation before I was diagnosed, which is not uncommon.

The treatment of CVID is a monthly infusion of immunoglobulins 

extracted from a large pool of human plasma.

It consists mostly of IgG

 and contains all of the important antibodies present in the normal population.

(So....I may have some of your plasma and antibodies.)

Once a month,

a very sweet nurse comes to my home and administers my infusion.

I am very thankful for this procedure...

for far fewer infections and sicknesses.

Needless to say though, it is very taxing on my body

and causes my chronic, treatment resistant depression to flair.

It also makes me extremely tired and lethargic.

Many think that my constant struggle with depression and anxiety

 is directly related to this disorder 

that has been with me since early childhood.

My husband lives with this person (Me) when this happens.

So,

Friday afternoon he asked me....

"You want to go to Hilton Head tomorrow?"

I said, "Yes, I would love to."

First stop was Jim & Nicks for lunch.

{Lou, our table was occupied by five young girls talking away,

and I saw our waiter.}

I didn't order well....grilled catfish,

Bubba tried to warn me, but my appetite is also diminished.

I did get my lemon pie though.

Next stop was Harbor Town.

They are making progress on the repairs to the pier and the yacht basin.

Some of the yachts had returned as you can see in the picture.

Then we drove slowly back down the road closest to the beach and on to Coligny Plaza.

Bubba went to look in the hardware store and I headed for the beach.

Spring Break had all of the crazies out,

but only one or two were actually in the water.💦

God is so good to provide what we need.

A day on the island,

a walk on the beach,

a piece of lemon pie,

a sweet nurse,

an understanding, caring husband,

medicine for the body and soul.

"Your love never quits,

It never runs out,

It never gives up on me.

Your love...."

a pelican

Do you ever think about how creative our God is?

This is a pelican.

Look at that beak.....

perfectly suited for fishing.

Look at his eye....

able to spot his catch and retrieve it in a blink.

Look at his feathers....

He can fly wherever he needs to go.

Look at all the colors God painted him with.

Amazing.

I took this picture at Jupiter Inlet.

A beautiful place where the land meets the ocean.

We have seen so much beauty at this sight.

Eli was by my side taking pictures.

I think he got a shot of this guy too.

"Look at the birds of the air,

that they do not sow, neither do they reap,

 nor gather into barns, 

and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.

Are you not worth  much more than they?"

Matthew 6:26

an afternoon at the beach.....

with my Lu.

The temps soared into the eighties yesterday.

Lucy and I stopped by Target to buy a beach chair and headed on down.

The beach was absolutely beautiful.

I sat in my chair and she dug in the sand,

then we walked and walked seeing all of the sights.

Of course the big cargo ships always put on a fabulous show.

There were several fully loaded mammoths 

making their way out into the ocean.

Nothing like seeing them turn the corner and disappear.

I never tire of this sight.

There were thousands of jellyfish

 littering the edge where the sand and water meet.

Lucy tried to rescue some of them by pushing them back into the water,

but I think that was a fruitless pursuit.

When a jellyfish is dead there is no coming back to life.

Lucy made a footprint heart and wrote "I Love Gram" in it.

The big wave from the ship that passed quickly washed it away.

That's what happens on the beach.

🌊

We found this piece of driftwood.

Wonder where it came from/ where it has been?

We saw this seagull 

chowing down on a dead jellyfish 

and were kind of grossed out.

That's the way of the sea though.

Beautiful blue sky...not a cloud in sight,

just enough sun to turn our skin pink.

We were lulled by the gentle waves and left feeling

happy and content.

Lu and I stopped by the Crab shack on the way home.

Shrimp and crab legs by the river;

and, oh please, throw in a deviled crab.

"Gram, while you pay, I'm going to say goodbye to the birds,"

(they have a room full of exotic birds on display.)

"Okay Lu, I'll meet you there."

What a wonderful day.

the big beautiful blue.....

 Atlantic, Ocean.

It never fails to make my heart go flutter.

The vastness of the ocean always reminds me of

how much God loves us.

Tonight I am thankful for my husband who

continually points me to the cross of our Savior Jesus Christ.

♱

eli's acrostic

Grammy

Greatest storyteller I've heard

Really great at making me laugh

Awesome friend to everyone

My hugs are found here

My favorite person to shop with

Yelling is not her thing

Grandaddy

Great big lovable giant

Really good at grabbing me (the grabnabber)

An awesome driver

Never yells

Does not hurt anyone

Always happy

Does everything to help people

Dislikes no one

Yes is the answer to almost everything

Well there you go...

through the eyes of our grandson,

very special words.

Here is one for you

Eli

Everything we could ever ask for in a grandson

Lovable

Interesting to talk to

Thank you sweet boy for all that you are...

for all that you will be In Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.

e

• 
  

grandparent's day...

Jupiter Christian School.

2017.

Just back, again, from south Florida.

This time we celebrated Eli's tenth birthday

and were honored at Grandparent's Day.

Grades K-3 through Fourth Grade sang for an hour.

They sang their little hearts out.

They sang praise and worship songs.

It was so good and so honoring to God.

I cried with joy.

We were truly blessed.

Eli and a friend sang together at the microphone.

We were so proud of him and all of the children.

Eli was so excited to get his "suit."

That would be the sharp, navy blue blazer he is wearing.

He insisted on the red tie....

"No bow tie please," he said.

In his classroom, still in his "suit,"

he was seated at his desk waiting for me 

with that red rose I am holding and his book of poetry,

 which I brought home to enjoy.

I will say this....

whether it is watching Eli sing,

or kissing them goodnight,

or giggling in the back seat with them while driving to dinner,

or eating ice cream at the Dairy Queen,

it is an honor and a privilege to be a grandparent to these boys.

They are truly God's blessings for us in our "older" age.

❤

throwback

When they were very little, 

and I was younger, 

and the sun was setting.

Oh be still my heart...

you have so many blessings.

💝

my very first gerber daisy

She survived what little winter we had

and has risen up out of the dirt to say hello.

No one but our God can make a flower.

So, I've been sick.

A little over a week ago I started coughing.

I coughed constantly for five days,

and then I finally went to the doctor.

By that time whatever bug I had contracted with

turned into a full-on sinus infection.

Needless to say, I was "laid quite low."

Haven't been that sick in a while.

Had a shot and lots of meds to contend with.

Just today I am beginning to feel like I'm turning

the corner into wellness again.

All that to say....

I started reading The Zion Chronicles by Bodie Thoene....

five books in a series about all that took place over in Jerusalem

after World War II in the late 1940's.

I must say...I am obsessed.

I had read the six books of The Zion Covenant last year

and was equally mesmerized by that series.

Thank you Stacey O. for giving these books to me.

For the last couple of days I have been sitting outside

soaking up the sun and reading my 

"can't put this down" books.

That's when I noticed my first gerber opening up her petals.

It is good to be feeling better.

It is so good to find a book that is unputdownable.

God sends blessings even when you are sick!!

🌻

for somebody i talked to this morning....

Rejoice!

God has given you a job like no other, sweet mother.

To raise children is indeed an honor and a privilege,

a high calling.

And yet it is a hard, tedious, often harrowing job

with sleepless nights,

highs and lows.

gut wrenching decisions.

little reward.

But O, the job is worth more than any other

when you see how God uses your hard labor

to produce the sweet fruit of righteousness

 in the hearts and minds of your children.

God uses your prayers,

your hard work,

your faithfulness to teach His word,

everything you do on their behalf,

 to make your little ones

just what He wants them to be.

And then, in the blink of an eye,

they are grown,

 using all of the skills they learned from you

to raise up another generation of children for His glory.

These will be YOUR grandchildren,

and you will not be able to believe how much you love them.

"To God be the glory great things He has done!!"

WALKINGWITHGRACEWEB.WORDPRESS.COM

Grace's blog today.

I love the humor!

eli is ten

I cannot believe that half of my grandchildren

 have already reached double digits.

On the other hand,

it is those very same grandchildren,

all of them,

that keep me young at heart.

Eli turns ten today.

He started out as a preemie,

tiniest baby I had every held in my arms.

I ran out to the store to buy some little clothes for him.

They looked like doll clothes to me.

This year for his birthday he has asked for a blazer to wear next week 

for Grandparent's Day at school.

He calls it a "suit."

He has a solo part in the program.

We will be among the proudest grandparents there!

I love this boy.

The picture above captures his personality.

"Sunny & bright."

We were at the manatee viewing area.

He had asked to use my camera.

He took over a hundred pictures over the course of our stay.

I begged him at the end to let me get a picture of him. ⬆

He has asked for a camera for his birthday too.

📷

Eli,

the bluest of blue eyes,

conversationalist,

witty,

beachy blond hair,

smart,

loving & kind,

a sprinkling of freckles.

Thanking God today that He blessed us with this very special boy.

momentous moment for grace

WALKINGWITHGRACEWEB.wordpress.com

For my post today I share with great joy Grace's post...
I think you will enjoy!!
💝

restless heart

This is my favorite quote.

I go back to it so very often.

If anyone ever had a restless heart it was me.

Always looking for something....never knowing what.

Never realizing it was God Himself

that was the object of my search.

All of us have a place in the depths of our souls that only God can fill.

We were created that way, made for Him.

When sin entered His creation,

 we started looking elsewhere for our satisfaction.

We were convinced that this world,

 with all of its pretty trinkets,

 could satisfy that longing in our heart. 

The truth is though, 

we can spend our whole life searching for what we think will bring us satisfaction,

 and we will never find it until we find it in Him.

 God completes us,

 He satisfies our deepest longing, 

He fills up our emptiness with His perfect Love.

Seems as if it has taken me my whole lifetime to realize this truth.

I work it out day by day in ways I would never have imagined.

I find Him in His word.

He never ceases to amaze me.

He is very patient.

This is a truth for all of us who call ourselves believers.

If you read my previous post,

 you saw my excitement that Mama Goosy was back sitting on her nest by the side of the road. Yesterday she was gone and this pile of feathers was all that remained.

Made me sad.

😢