front porch urn extravaganza

Look what happened while I was in Florida last week!

I sprinkled some 10/10/10 fertilizer on these babies and

Viola!

Beauty in a pot!

The creeping jenni came alive!

I love my flowers and ~

no deer!

Honestly, now I will tell my secret.

Every time I clip my fingernails I throw them in the flowers.

The smell of humans does the trick.

So, today I saw my surgeon.

He exclaimed over the good pet scan.

He checked me out again with his telescope

and couldn't find a thing wrong.

"Such good news," he said.

"Oh by the way," 

"I have something that may help your mouth feel better."

"It's a pill that causes your salivary glands to work better,

it reverses the damage caused by the radiation.

but it may cause you to sweat."

"Thank you!

Bring on the sweat!

I can shower more often!

Anything to enjoy eating again!

I'll let you know how it works.

God is so good all of the time!

Even if it had been bad news today, God is still good!

I love Him!!

good times

Just home again....

this time from a mother/ daughter week

at Amanda's.

We had such a good time and got so much done.

Bubba stayed here & Mark went on a little trip,

so we dug right in and got lots of things accomplished.

One of my gifts is organization.

The Hollingsworth's EBay business needed a bit of help.

I jumped into the "book project" first thing.

All are back in order and alphabetized.

One of our days we spent shopping at IKEA.

We picked out new desks and desk chairs for Jake and Eli.

(chairs not pictured)

(Mark did not have time to put them together before he left.)

I bought both of them desk lamps for the new desks,

These boys are now ready for school to start.

Amanda and I moved their beds to the other side of the room,

vacuumed and cleaned,

rearranged their closet,

unloaded their back packs from last year and ran them through the washing machine,

and set up their new desks.....

ready for homework which will start in a few weeks.

One night we set aside to watch a movie...

The Greatest Showman.

The boys are eating popcorn.

So good!

We sang the music for the rest of the week.

So what is that large architectural piece that we are sitting in front of in the first picture?

Amanda and I have been working on decorating the living room for two years.

The only thing missing on this trip was something to go over the couch.

While we were in Home Goods looking for the desk lamps,

we walked by the piece that you see in the picture.

It was hidden behind some other pieces, but it caught my eye.

We thought about it overnight and were back the next morning when the store opened to purchase.

It was perfect,

just the right size and shape,

pleasing to the eye.

Mark helped us hang it right before I left yesterday.

So much was accomplished.

Three rooms are almost completely done.

The boy's room and the guest room still need pictures hung,

but hey....we can do that next time.

The best was all of the fun that we had,

all of the "laughing till we cried,"

time out for pedicures,

all of the Dairy Queen runs,

the hugs and the love!!

So thankful!!

❤️

afternoon thunderstorms

We who are lucky enough to live in beautiful coastal 

Savannah, Georgia,

have been blessed with some very potent afternoon thunderstorms this summer.

First it gets very dark.

Then you see a streak of lightening.

Next comes an explosion of thunder and then the rain.

This is all very exciting to me!!

Above is a picture of the

Tybee Lighthouse

with a large bolt of lightning off in the distance.

*Photo credit to Bravo Sierra.

This violent episode is how God chooses to water the earth.

I always feel His power very intensely.

I love to sit on the back porch and take it all in.

I especially love to be staying at the beach during a thunderstorm.

No man can produce this phenomenon....

only God.

Thanking Him tonight for the rain that makes the grass and flowers grow.

Thanking Him for revealing His power this way.

Thanking Him for His word so that we can know Him.

Thanking Him for friends and family....

for His comfort.

Thanking Him for physical healing.

Thanking Him for opportunities to serve Him by loving others,

Tonight Harry and I are watching Peter Pan together.

So good to snuggle up with a grandson.

Blessings abound!!

at spanky's with this boy

Harry is doing World War II camp at the Mighty Eighth Museum this week.

At night he is bunking here with us.

He chose chicken fingers for dinner.

Of course that means going to Spanky's 

because they have the best in town.

This chicken graces the front door of the restaurant....

always calling for one of the kids to come ride him.

One more casualty of my radiation....

My pierced ears grew back together.

I could no longer wear the beautiful diamond earrings that Bubba gave me.

So, today I got them pierced again.

Seems as if there have been a lot of painful things in 2018.

Yes, painful.....

 but I missed being able to wear earrings.

They are part of feeling like a "girly" girl.

Six weeks before I can wear the diamonds,

but at least the deed is done.

This summer is moving on.

Already the end of July.

The kids are talking about going back to school.

Thanking God tonight for loving me in spite of myself.

He doesn't love me for what I've done or how good I am.

Everything I've done in my lifetime that is worth anything at all

was enabled and brought about and sustained by Him.

And, I am definitely not good...

According to the Bible, every thought and intent of my heart apart from Him is wicked.

He loves me because He chose me to be His in Christ.

My faith is in Christ alone....

In what He did for me on the cross for my future.

That is grace.

In Him I am righteous, not by anything I have done.

goodbye to norman

Norman, the Hollingsworth's kitty has died.

He was just shy of being two years old...

still a baby.

He succumbed to a myriad of problems,

primarily caused by the food he was ingesting.

My heart is broken.

This was a good one.

His last best days were spent here while his family was on vacation.

Soon after he returned home he got sick, never to rally.

I just want to remember him as he was.

He loved to sit here in my grandmother's chair

and look out of the window.

He had a perfect view of the birds and squirrels and rabbits.

I loved how his eyes matched the fabric on the chair.

Norman had a beautiful, glossy coat.

He was a sleek, beautiful guy who loved his people.

Amanda and Mark, Jake and Eli took his early departure hard

as did all of us here in Savannah.

There were lots of tears shed for this special kitty,

one of God's creatures.

😭

God gave us animals to enjoy.

He created them in the beginning.

I am thankful for knowing this one.

"This one's Baghera"

🐱

random shots

Picnic on the beach.

Everything tastes better there,

slightly sprinkled with sand. 🌊

Lu and Arch posing on the cannon.

Jake relaxing on the pier.

I am such a sucker for blue, blue eyes.

Archie, Gus, Lucy, and Harry

at the very end of the pier.

What's down there? 🐠

I can only imagine.

Beach wildflowers. 🌻

I have such a love of photography.

I guess you could say it is one of my hobbys.

In and around the beach is a perfect place to enjoy taking pictures.

I had so much fun chronicling our family vacation.

Beauty abounds in south Florida.

snorkeling at blue heron bridge

There is nothing quite like looking under the sea.

You never know what you may see.

Tropical fish,

an old shipwreck,

barracudas,

shells,

and so much more.

These guys were not afraid...

in fact they couldn't get out there fast enough.

Amanda and I stayed back on shore to watch the littler ones and to take pictures.

Mark and David and Erika

forged ahead to accompany the big boys and Lucy

on this super exciting trip.

Some used noodles.

There is nothing like the sun shining down into the water.

Everything looks magical.

This starfish was the find of the day.

God's beautiful world!

He let's us enjoy every bit of His creation.

Thank You dear Lord for making everything so beautiful.....

for giving us eyes to see Your majesty all around.

"You spoke and it was done."

loggerhead marinelife center

This turtle's name is Caitlyn.

She is a resident of the Loggerhead Marinelife Center

in Juno Beach, Florida.

They found her in an old shipwreck in a lethargic state.

She has a big, blue pool all to herself.

In this picture they were taking her to the clinic for a check-up.

Hopefully she will recover and be set free.

Love to visit this turtle rescue center with the kids.

Here is Lucy looking into a large tank.

A turtle named Grant resides here.

He was hiding under a shelf to stay cool.

Here we are posing in front of the

"How Do You Measure Up" poster.

The Leatherback turtles are bigger than any of us.

What a beautiful place to visit.

The kids loved!

They have a really extraordinary gift shop.

The sad thing was,

Grammy didn't have her wallet full of money

so no one got to purchase.

Next stop....

snorkeling at Blue Heron Bridge.

By the way....

Eli, the guy with EPIC written on his shirt.

decided to give me a new name....

Gram Cracker.

I like it!!

back in the ocean again

It felt so good to be back in the ocean again.

I love it so much.

Soft & warm.

Gentle swells.

Bright sun.

Buoyant.

When I got up to get in the water the children all cheered...

"Grammy's getting in."

That warmed my heart just like the sun was warming my body.

They were showing off,

finding shells and sea glass for me,

holding on.

Their smiles were wide and sweet.

I'm just glad to be alive...

to get to do these simple pleasures one more time.

God is so good all the time.

He is constantly sharing His mercy and grace.

He is faithful and true.

His ways are perfect.

Juno Beach ~ Jupiter, Florida

family vacation ~ 2018

Just back from Palm Beach Gardens.

Had a lovely time with the whole family enjoying all that is good in south Florida.

Thanks to our host family ~

the Hollingsworths,

for showing us all the good places to have fun.

I have lots of pictures to chronicle our trip in future blog posts.

This one is short because I came home

"good tired."

Thank You Lord for safe travels.

Thank You that I get to do life with these people.

Thank You for improving health.

Thank You for Jesus from whom all these blessings flow.

❤️

Jupiter Inlet ~ Jupiter Beach