the magic hour

It was Saturday evening.

Amanda and the boys and I had just gotten back from the Dairy Queen.

The house had that tell-tale glow.

Could it be the magic hour?

I grabbed my camera and ran outside.

Yes!

Just look at that sunset!

It warmed my soul.

The Pet Scan

I had it today.

Nothing to eat but protein since yesterday morning at ten.

You know me and protein right now.🚫

Nothing to eat at all after 12 midnight.

Bubba bought me 4 grilled chicken nuggets from CFA

and I had 5 shrimp leftover from our Low Country Boil the night before.

That was all I had.

I went to the doctor's office this morning starved and just a little

"out of it."

Preparing to find out if the cancer had returned.

Felt kinda anxious but not too much.

Learning to trust God and what He wants for me rather than what I want.

He knows the plans He has for me; I don't know them ahead of time.

They called me back.

They injected me with radioactive isotopes.

I had to sit still for an hour not moving.

I couldn't read, look at my phone, or scratch my nose.

The nurse told me to stay away from children for 5 hours after the test.

Said I would be radioactive for that long.

Nobody said I couldn't pray....so off I went.

If I know you I prayed for you this morning.

It hardly seemed 15 minutes had passed when she came to get me for the test.

It was over in 10 minutes.

Had to wait a couple of hours to see the Doctor.

He said that everything looked great...no recurrence.

everything healing....."see you in three months."

So thankful for this good report.

So thankful for all the prayers.

I am so blessed.

these guys ~ this life

This will be short tonight.

Jake and Eli are passing through on their way home from 

The Great Smokey Mountains.

We had a low country boil (I ate 5 shrimp)

and then took off for the Dairy Queen.

We sat outside and laughed till our insides hurt.

We saw a double rainbow. 🌈

God puts His promises on display everywhere!

He wants to remind us that He is in control.

I love Him!

*Eating 5 shrimp was a major accomplishment for me.😉

I got my hair cut! 

happy birthday to amanda

My daughter ~ my friend!

She is filled with laughter, filled with fun!

She makes great scavenger hunts!

She lights up the room.

For her I am thankful in so many ways.

She loves her husband, her boys, her family.

she loves shoes, her fitness job, her cat.

But most of all she loves her Lord Jesus Christ.

And that love of Jesus shows through in what she does for others.

She has seen me through my cancer journey in so many ways....

quietly being there for me,

letting me cry,

making me laugh,

carrying me through the rough patches,

praying always.

She spent last week with me.

Every morning she took me on a little outing which always ended with lunch at

Panera Bread.

Each time she ate broccoli cheese soup with me in solidarity.

As many of my faithful readers know,

broccoli cheese soup is my mainstay.

She is vacationing in the mountains this week with Mark's family.

We are keeping Norman, the family pet.

He is on my bedside table.

He wants to send Happy Birthday wishes as well.

Thank you Lord Jesus for putting Amanda in my life.

I know it was by divine design.

Happy, Happy Birthday!!

Always,

Mom

creeping jenni and a riot of blooms

I have looked all over for the plant with the little button like blooms

called Creeping Jenni.

Yesterday Bubba and I went over to Bluffton for a

Father's Day outing 

and I found it at a nursery there.

Now it graces the urns on my front porch.

I just love!!

This is one of the deep red Crepe Myrtles that we planted a couple of years ago.

They are in full bloom.

Nice contrast with the green, green grass.

I forget the name of these beauties

but they remind me of daises.

I designed this gathering of lovelies.

Bubba lined this antique fire grate with moss

and I filled it with flowers.

The little birds have already found it and tried to build a nest.

Maybe they are drawn to beauty too.

It is sitting on my antique sewing machine.

The back porch is a riot of geranium blooms.

So far no deer have come to devour.

What a blessing.

These flowers bring me so much joy.

"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you;

I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh

and give you a heart of flesh."

Ezekiel 36:26

When I finish Ezekiel 

I will have read the whole Bible through since January.

Usually it takes me a year.

What a joy!

In July I will begin again.

It never gets old.

It always thrills my soul.

I never tire or want to stop reading.

It is God's word.

It is living and powerful to change the heart.

It keeps me hanging on.

It is beautiful.

Thank you God for Your word.

a wild & wonderful week

Amanda came last Sunday with Jake & Eli.

She came to get me out and about some.

Since the radiation I have tended to become a bit of a hermit...

content to stay here in the house,

safe and warm,

cocooned.

Bubba and she decided it was time to get me going again.

It has been good for me.

Each morning we had a planned activity.

Example...

today we got pedicures.

I have done well.

I come home every day after lunch exhausted,

but that's okay.

Sometimes I feel like I may be normal again.

Last night we celebrated Amanda's birthday with the family.

Harry had been planning to put on a play for weeks.

It happened last night.

All of us have to go upstairs and pile in the kids room.

Above you see the whole cast in costume.

All I know is...

Archie said something really funny

and I laughed my head off.

So good for me to laugh like that!

Thanks to everyone who is helping me get better.

My family is the best blessing.

They are everything to me.

God knows just what I need!!!

these grandboys are so much fun

Giggling,

 laughing,

telling Knock-Knock jokes.

There is never a lack of fun when these boys are around.

So....

I have to have Dairy Queen chocolate milk shakes in my fridge.

They are my go to when nothing else can go down without pain.

They have carried me through the rough times...

no taste,

painful mouth,

psychological comfort.

Bubba keeps me stocked.

He is best friends with the Dairy Queen guy.

Jake and Eli love the Dairy Queen.

For special treats we take them there when we are together.

Amanda and the boys are here now helping me get better.

Eli's confession.....

Last night while riding along in the van going to the Dairy Queen,

 Eli said,

"Grammy, I have to tell you something.

I saw your DQ shakes in the fridge.

They looked so good.

I decided to take one little taste.

(It already had a straw inserted).

One little sip led to another.

I couldn't stop.

I almost drank the whole thing down.

I feel really bad about what I did."

I didn't even notice.

I just thought I had sucked up that much.

But O that confession.

We were all in the car.

It came out of the blue.

24 hours had passed and he just needed to get that off his chest. 

He could have drunk the whole thing and I wouldn't have minded.

As I always say...

Kids minds are the best of everything!

I love him and he is completely forgiven.

If all of us could be so quick to confess our sins to our Lord and be forgiven.

What a wonderful life would be ours.

more flowers

Back in the yard planting again.

Bubba is helping me.

I wore out before he did.

Beautiful evening.

No deer so far...

(watch them come tonight).

Getting a bit elaborate with my flower designs.🌷

Thankful for the energy.

God's Phone #

"Call to Me, 

and I will answer you,

and show you great and mighty things, 

which you do not know."

Jeremiah 33:3

God reveals Himself to us in His word.

Everything he wants us to know about Him is there.

He made these flowers to delight us as we delight in Him.

some things....

"Did you know 

Harbor Town Yacht Basin 

was inspired by a harbor in Portofina, Italy?  

Charles Fraser's vision 

was to attract mariners to Hilton Head Island

 while preserving the natural beauty of the landscape."

www.seapines.com/marina

So nice to live so close to this magical island.

Lucy sewed this bird for me for Mother's Day.

I am going to have it put in a little frame.

I love Lucy and her thoughtful ways.

She is very dear to me.

I found another one.

"Based on the experience of real-lifeAuschwitz prisoner

 Dita Kraus,

this is the incredible story of

a girl who risked her life to

keep the magic of books alive

during the holocaust."

I cannot read enough about the survivors of the hell that was World War II.

Their bravery and grit inspire my soul.

I love this bookmark that I found in an old book.

I cannot wait to go to bed each evening and fall asleep reading.

One of my life's greatest pleasures.

I made this pie on Saturday for our family.

Vintage Atlantic Beach Pie it is.

So yummy!!!

My favorite designer of all time passed away today.

Kate Spade allowed me to wear and carry

her whimsical designs which so coincided with my personality.

She will be missed.

Lastly....

a real breakthrough!

Bubba cooked a roast, scalloped potatoes, green beans and okra for dinner.

For the first time since all of this started, I actually enjoyed.

I could taste the food and it wasn't like ashes in my mouth.

Thanking God tonight for this progress.

I'm getting there!

So,

That's me today.

@cultivating thankfulness in all things.

fragile

At the nursery, the flowers look strong and healthy.

They look like they will be hearty enough to make it through the summer.

But I know the truth.

The heat and the deer will begin to take their toll.

They are really very fragile, susceptible, easy prey.

In a few months these flowers will fade and the leaves will turn brown.

Sometimes the deer come overnight and eat every single bloom.

Such are the things of summer.

I always plant though.

There is hope!

I will do my best to protect these beauties.

I will water them and feed them.

I will make sure they are in a good place.

I will diligently use  my "Deer Away" spray.

Cathy

I am fragile.

The cancer journey is fraught with unknowns.

The walk is a battle....

a war zone.

It leaves you battered, beat down, silent.

There are no promises for a good ending.

Everything you thought was important before loses it's appeal.

Like the flowers I have become

fragile,

susceptible,

easy prey.

Fragile...

Getting back out into the world is hard.

I want to stay cocooned, safe, protected.

Susceptible....

Feeling sorry for myself,

wanting to give up, 

overthinking 

being sad.

Easy prey....

Believing Satan's lies.

He knows when I am weak. 

He moves in quickly causing me to doubt God's precious promises.

There is hope!

God allowed this cancer.

He has a plan and a purpose for my life.

I need to keep trusting in His goodness to me.

In the power and strength of His Spirit

I will stay in His word!

I will keep believing every one of His good promises.

I will cultivate thankfulness in all things.

I will pray without ceasing.

I will resist and flee from Satan and his wiles.

I will relish in friends and family that love me unconditionally.

I will look forward eagerly to Jesus' second coming in the clouds.

I will keep heaven as my focus and my eternal home.

I will rejoice always and forevermore.

The above paragraph is my protection plan.

Just like I will protect my plants, I must protect my heart or else I will lose the battle.

"With God all things are possible."

He made these flowers you know.