coming back to life

Yes!!

This little moma bird decided to build her nest on our front porch.

She has laid her eggs and is waiting patiently for the arrival of her offspring.

In the fleeting moments that I have seen her,

she looks like a tufted titmouse.

She is very small hence the tiny little eggs.

They don't always pick the safest of places.

We will be in her space watering these flowers.

And in a few days the pressure washers are going to descend.

I will keep it a secret from the boys who will arrive in a little while for our Saturday night supper.

They may not be able to be discreet. 😏

That moma bird likely would choose to move her brood.

Honestly, if she knew what was coming,

That may not be such a bad idea!

🐦

A comment from one of my favorite blog readers...

"I am enjoying your continued improvement as evidenced by your blog."

I'm coming back to life just like everything else.

my favorite view...

It never gets old.

I never get tired of seeing...

the view from our tiny little beach place.

Yesterday...

windy and cold,

too blustery to go down to the sand.

That's okay though.

Perfectly content to sit and stare from three stories up.

We are always making improvements.

This year we added this flat screen television to the bedroom

along with the full length mirror.

After Hurricane Matthew we added new flooring and paint...

Sea Salt it is called.

Just a month ago we installed a new fridge.

That's it for this year as we await the "summer season."

What a blessing this little place has been.

Here is a quite interesting shot of the whole of Tybee Island.

picture @julianlnorth)

"Isn't she lovely?

Isn't she beautiful?"

march...you gotta love it!

What can I say about the month of March?

I say it is a pure gift.

Summer has not yet come...

winter's still hanging around.

I have my windows open today.

The sun is shining bright.

There is a slightly smoky smell in the air.

Rain is expected this evening.

There is just something mesmerizing about March.

Every living thing is coming back to life.

The lawn is greening up.

We have gigantic geraniums that outdid themselves all winter long.

We have white azaleas blooming that have never bloomed before.

There is one pink azalea peeking through the forest out back.

And, lovely of lovelies...

our lemon tree is loaded with blooms and smells absolutely divine.

Thank You Lord God for the month of March.

It fills my senses with wonder and causes me to praise You even more!

You are life more abundantly.

baking today for tomorrow

It's my turn to bring goodies to church tomorrow. 

I have spent the day baking.

So relaxing!

The above is a lemon bundt cake with fresh lemon glaze.

I also made a batch of oatmeal raisin cookies.

Still to go...

My famous Christmas Eve blueberry muffins.

I will make the batter tonight and cook them early in the morning so that they will be super fresh.

Today is a special day for me.

It was on March 23rd last year that I finished my course of radiation

and started the journey back to the land of the living.

I really cannot believe that it has been a year

.

I am getting some taste back but I still don't enjoy eating.

Case in point...

I tried one of those made from scratch oatmeal cookies and it wasn't good at all to me.

Bubba says they are delicious.

I believe him!

What a journey this has been!

Nothing can prepare you.

Truly the grace and mercy of my God gets me through.

I've slowed way down...

stopped trying to please people,

worked on slowing down my thoughts...

keeping them focused on God and His word.

I read this today...

It struck me as Scripture always does.

"For whatever things were written before were written for our learning,

 that we, through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures, might have hope. 

Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus,

 that you may with one mind and one mouth

 glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Romans 15: 4~6

A couple of things...

"the patience and comfort of the Scriptures"

 How beautiful are those words.

Scripture teaches us but at the same time is patient.

God who wrote all Scripture knows our frame.

He knows how weak we are.

He knows our frailties

He gently guides us into His perfect will.

And O what a comfort His words are.

Where would I be without them.

"May the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, 

according to Christ Jesus."

There is nothing in the world to compare with being with people 

who are liked-minded according to Jesus.

The love of God in the heart of man!

And then to share fellowship together!

O the joy!

Our God is the God of patience and comfort.

What more could we ever need!

Thank You!!

"With one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!!"

❤️❤️

booked

Next year!

Bubba and I will celebrate 50 years of marriage.

Trying to get my head around that truth.

Anyway,

we have been saving for quite a while to take the whole family on a cruise.

Yes, that's thirteen souls.

Well, this week we booked!

We are all so excited.

In the late eighties my mom and dad took all of us on a cruise.

There were eleven then.

That was way back when "cruising" was just getting popular for us common folks.

It took a little while but we were able to find a ship that would visit the same ports of call.

Needless to say we are all over the moon excited.

Bubba and I have a suite...

all of the others have balcony rooms.

Cannot wait!

🎈🌴🌅

"I really don't know why it is that all of us are so committed to the sea,

 except I think 

it's because in addition to the fact that the sea changes, and the light changes. and ships change, 

it's because we all came from the sea.

 And it is an interesting biological fact that all of us have, in our veins, 

the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean. 

Therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. 

We are tied to the ocean. 

And when we go back to the sea ~ whether it is to sail or to watch it ~ 

we are going back from whence we came."

John Fitzgerald Kennedy

happy first day of spring

It must be the first day of spring.

Bubba was able to stand this egg on end on his very first try.

For all who love longer days and warm temps,

this is very good news.

Just think...

Spring and summer are both all ahead of us...

every perfect day.

All the way until October when everything changes again.

Savannah is just beautiful right now.

Most of the tress and flowers are blooming in all of their glory.

The greenest green, the most vibrant pink, pure white, and buttery yellow.

This is God's beauty on display!

What joy it all brings!

I can always tell when my favorite kids have been around.

They happily add their touch to my decor to surprise me.

This is our foyer.

Somehow the Lego whale is perched on the mirror, and,

the balancing hawk has landed on the lampshade which is slightly cocked.

They are funny!

The Harry Potter viewing went well on Friday night.

We got settled in to watch about 7:00 PM

after a delicious meal at Papa's.

Harry, who put off watching the movie for months because of a frightening character,

was pleasantly surprised that the visual depiction of Voldemort

was not nearly so bad as the written description.

We had no gasps of horror, no bad dreams.

Lucy, Harry, and Gus came back on Sunday night.

Archie had an early appointment at the hospital for a quick procedure,

so he didn't get to come.

After ingesting chicken fingers at Spankys

we watched

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,

which is one of my favorites.

Narnia is magic...

Yes it is!

On Monday I took them to Get Air,

the trampoline park

to jump their little hearts out which they did.

Sometime during those stays was when the whale and the hawk became a part of my decor.

😉

new life

This, my friends, is one of my most favorite verses in the Bible.

The story of being "in Christ" is one of my most exquisite thoughts.

To dwell upon this verse is life-changing to say the least.

When Jesus comes to dwell in our heart.

 all of our old wishes and dreams, hopes and aspirations change. 

We are no longer what we were before. 

We are made new.

What we previously wished and hoped for changes.

What we dream about and aspire to shifts.

The old is discarded...the new comes to be.

This process is most of the time slow, 

but it is always sure.

This is the wonderful, mysterious work of Christ on a poor sinner's heart.

It is nothing I do.

It is all His work.

As winter shifts to spring I see new life all around me.

What makes the seemingly dead spring back to life?

It is His work.

All creation belongs to it's Maker.

Only He can make a caterpillar become a butterfly...

a sinner become a saint.

As in all things we must die,

but we are risen again to life in Him.

Praise God for Jesus.

For His work of salvation.

This is for everyone.

No one is too bad as to exempt himself from this divine work of our Creator.

He loves you precious one.

swan lake

These swans reside at the Embassy Suites Hotel down in

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

Their names are

Bach & Beethoven.

They live in a small lagoon in the lobby of the hotel.

One can eat breakfast and watch their graceful antics at the same time.

Amanda and I first met these guys about six years ago

 when we went down to find a place for the Hollingsworth family to live.

It was good to see them again.

All of God's creatures are so fascinating.

Tomorrow night is Harry Potter night at this house.

Lucy, Harry, and Archie are coming out for a movie watching.

Harry told me a while back that he had finished reading book 4 in the series.

But, he said,

"I'm not ready to watch the movie yet."

There is one character that is very dark and scary.

He just wasn't sure he wanted to see that character played out on the screen.

So, I said,

"Of course! Just let me know when you ARE ready."

A couple of weeks ago he said.

"Grammy, I think I am ready!!!"

So,

I set the date of Friday, March 15, 2019.

We'll see...

Last Sunday when I saw him at church he hugged me and said,

"GG don't forget about Friday night!"

"How could I forget our date?" I said back to him.

I'll let you know how it turns out.

🎥

Voldemort

t

happy birthday eli

Eli turned 12 last week.

This boy is handsome,

smart,

creative,

funny, 

and filled with lots of stories to tell.

His birthday started with breakfast at Ihop.

Lots of silver dollar pancakes and bacon to start the day.

Then we visited the Manatee viewing area.

Sadly there were no Manatee to be seen.

The last time we visited,

 there were about 75 of the large mammals known as sea cows.

As the waters warm up they start to migrate north.

Next stop was the movie theater.

We had a completely private showing of

How to Train Your Dragon

which Eli had looked forward to for over two years.

We were the only people in the quite magnificent theater.

After a short rest it was off to the Longhorn Steakhouse for dinner.

He loves the food there,

but he adores the Molten Lave Cake.

That became his birthday treat.

Just watching him eat this delightful desert is worth the price.

Home again after that for his party.

We opened gifts.

Grammy always brings a huge box full of new clothes.

The clothes are not his favorite gift,

but his mom loves them best of all..

All in all Eli's birthday was a great, all day affair.

He pronounced it his best birthday ever.

Thank you Lord for this boy!! I love him so much!

He is such a joy to be around.

Happy # 12 sweet boy!

🎂

spring forward

We just got home from spending almost a week in 

Palm Beach Gardens.

It was Eli's birthday so we had to go celebrate.

I cannot even convey how much fun we had.

Kinda tired.

This will be short.

Just wanted to update so you wouldn't think I had abandoned.

Don't you like my flamingo shirt?

Very Florida"ish."

Don't forget to Spring forward tonight.

Yay!!

Finally!!

More daylight in the evenings.

Yard work.

All is well and good.

exercise the mind

I am so thankful that I love to read.

When I tackled Gone with the Wind as a young girl I knew I was hooked.

I visited my favorite...Barnes & Noble the other day

where I received this book tote for free since I am a bookclub member.

I love this quote.

Reading keeps the brain sharp and the mind occupied well into old age.

My main read is, of course, God's Word.

But I also enjoy other books as well.

Here are my three current reads...

Educated ~ Tara Westover

Bubba gave me this one for my birthday.

It was a complete surprise.

Normally he doesn't pick out my books for me,

He had seen this one advertised and just knew I would love.

He was right.

I couldn't put it down.

It seems to be at the top of every list right now.

If you enjoy true stories of people overcoming tremendous odds to achieve their dreams,

this book is for you!

Last Hope Island ~  Lynne Olson

David and Erika gifted me this book for my birthday.

They know of my love for everything written about World War II.

I haven't read this one yet but here is a synopsis...

"Lynne Olsen is a master storyteller, and she brings her great gifts to this riveting narrative of the resistance to Hitler's war machine. 

You will be thrilled and moved - and enraged, saddened and shocked  - by the courage and steadfastness, human waste and stupidity, carelessness and nobility, of an epic struggle. 

 Last Hope Island is a smashing good tale." 

Evan Thomas

Where the Crawdads Sing ~ Delia Owens

Earlier this week a package came in the mail.

Amanda sent me this book.

She had loved it and wanted me to have the pleasure.

This one is lyrical

The words are so beautiful.

They take me right to the beach and the marsh that I know and love so well.

Another tale of loss and perseverance,

this story will have you in tears.

Magical!!

So, little post on reading.

Being taken away into another place and time.

Of having the pleasure to meet and know another person who struggles and makes it through.

O where would I be without my love of books.

Again, so thankful!

❤️📕