gus our soccer player

Last Saturday morning I took off early to go watch Gus play soccer.

I had to walk a mile to get back to the soccer field.

It was well worth it.

To see this boy and his team play...

what a joy.

They are just learning their skills.

They are not very aggressive.

They are easily distracted.

That's okay.

They are a team, all working together for the win.

I love to see these little guys at play.

For the first half of the game Gus was the goalie.

He stopped some balls and he let some balls come in.

He was mostly watchful and alert.

That's what it takes to be a good goalie.

For the last half of the game he kicked and he tried to get the ball in the net.

The black shirts outplayed our boys in the end.

They had lots of spare players that brought in "fresh legs."

But it was so great to see their effort 

and their improvement 

and just their pure excitement to be in the game.

🎃No trick or treating tonight.

They are going to stay home and hand out candy.

The end of another era.

I'm a little sad!

fall leaves are the best

What do you do when the leaves start to fall?

Why you rake them of course!

Walter has been staying here with his Grammy & Granddaddy for a few days.

We went outside to rake some leaves before the rain settled in.

He said he didn't know how to rake leaves,

so I showed him.

We filled a whole bag before he started to wane on the task.

We sang and we laughed to make the work go faster,

and we were done in a flash.

He earned $1.00 for a job well done and his afternoon nap was much appreciated.

What a joy this little guy is.

I love him!

🍁🍂🍁🍂

grandboys in the house

Here we are on the way to church this morning.

It had rained earlier but ended up being a beautiful morning.

The tall one is Archie ~ the short one is Walt.

They are spending a few days with us while their mom is on a trip.

We fixed them bacon and eggs for breakfast and sent them upstairs to get dressed.

Archie came down looking like a million dollars.

Walt looked great too when he came down,

except that he had buttoned up his shirt wrong.

I fixed that minor infraction, smoothed his cowlick down, and we were on our way.

Archie is full of stories to tell.

He is trying to figure out how to conquer a Rubik's Cube.

He is working hard and I have promised him a prize if he does it.

Walt is very alert and knows a little something about just about everything.

He sang songs all the way home from church.

We stopped by Wendy's and got them cheeseburgers and fries for lunch.

They loved it.

Tomorrow is school for both of them so I will get some clothes washed.

I have always loved children.

It's the way they think.

They can challenge me when I least expect.

We had a full discussion about Botany at the breakfast table this morning.

I have offered a monetary prize to the one who can identify the flowers pictured below.

I bought them and planted last week.

They have drawn a blank so far.

Do you know what these are?

🠋

cross country

So, according to Harry, cross country running and track are two different things.

Shows you how much I know!

In cross country you run distance outdoors over a natural terrain.

In track you run shorter distances on a track inside or outside.

We always knew that Harry could run.

He is fast and he has endurance.

This year he hit middle school, (so hard to believe).

He made the cross country team.

He came in second for his school (Veritas) at every race.

This was all new for his Grammy.

You watch them take off, go out of sight for about thirteen minutes, and then reappear.

It is very exciting as you watch the runners come in.

So very proud of our boy!

Oh, and he will be running track in the spring.

Our lemon trees

The lemons are ripening quickly.

Where are the leaves is everyone's favorite question.

The bigger tree has been without a full measure of leaves the whole year.

Sadly,

 according to our favorite horticulturist at Hester and Zipper,

Bubba put too much fertilizer too close to the root ball back in January

which caused a lack of leaves.

I was dismayed and thought that the lemons would not produce.

Evidently,

they were not troubled at all by the lack of shade.

As you can see, they are thriving!

Come Thanksgiving we should have a bumper cropc

I will be able to make yummy lemon pies and fresh squeezed lemonade for our quests.

Lucy can make me some lemon curd which is my absolute favorite.

You've never tasted lemons until you taste them just picked from your own backyard.

Bubba and I learn as we go with this whole gardening thing.

So, an award winning runner grandboy and luscious lemons growing in the yard.

Life is sweet and I am so thankful!!

.

"Your love astounds my feeble mind"

The beauty of our God is more that I can fathom.

His wonders are everywhere for us to see and enjoy.

If this earth is this amazing what must heaven be like...

you know, the place He is preparing for us.

This world is not the home we are destined for.

We are but pilgrims and strangers here.

We just have a passport...we're just passing through.

We're only here for a short time.

God warns us not to get too cozy with the things of this world.

We are His chosen ones and He is fitting us for eternity.

God is holy and He wants us to be holy too.

We cannot do that on our own.

Only through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son can we measure up.

Read God's word.

Know it personally from back to front.

Get the whole picture.

God is very specific.

Seek God, strive to know Him and what He desires of you.

We who are called to be His will want to become like Jesus...the One who died in our place.

If you find that you are becoming too much like the world...Stop.

There are many false teachers out there so... Beware!

Make sure those under whose teaching you sit are the real deal.

Make sure you are hearing the truth.

Living the Christian life is not easy, you will suffer,

but it's what we are called to.

He will be with you always...He will never forsake you.

❤️

We were singing in church this past Sunday.

I came to the words printed in the title of this post.

Those words!!

"Your love astounds my feeble soul."

*from...Before the Throne of God Above

cheering them on

Volleyball.

Last Thursday night at Savannah Country Day.

Veritas (Lu's school) played Hancock.

Granddaddy and I chauffeured Lucy to her game.

Archie and Charis (a friend) came along as part of the cheering section.

Actually, the most favorite part of the game for the cheering section

is to go to the snack shop and spend some big money

on some way overpriced potato chips and candy.

But, I digress.

Veritas had won only one game before last Thursday night.

The Middle School team is new to the game.

They have come a long way.

They are still learning and getting better.

A "game" consists of two games of 25 points each,

and one more to 15 points if there is a tie.

The one game they had won was just "one" of the 25 points game.

They have never won a whole game.

That in itself brings MUCH excitement!

Thursday night they played the first game of the set and lost kinda bad.

That's okay...they tried hard and the points they did score were well done.

The second game started badly and they fell behind.

We prepared the pep speech and settled in for another loss.

Well, lo and behold, they got hot and started scoring.

Lucy got to serve and was able to hang in there and bring the victory.

We all went wild with excitement.

Now we just needed to win the last game in the set.

We went ahead stayed ahead until the very end.

They had never done this well!

Looks like our first "real" win of the season.

All of that to say...

We lost.

By two points.

It was a barnstorming finish.

We cheered until we were hoarse.

So proud of our Griffyns.

Win or lose there is always a smile on their faces.

Tournaments this week. 

Ya think?

the storm from inside

If you can't be down on the beach in a tropical "stormish" storm,

the next best place is behind a magnificent

floor to ceiling window,

a favorite in this particular condo.

When all the kids and their parents left to drive back to Savannah,

I grabbed a coverlet and my book and took up residence in this swivel chair.

There was lots to see.

The wind was blowing and the waves were pounding and it didn't stop until bedtime.

I was warm and cozy,

in the middle of an amazing book,

and completely mesmerized by the storm.

There was lightning and thunder,

dark, heavy clouds,

 an empty beach.

All of the people had been forced inside.

The chairs and umbrellas were tucked away.

No bikes, no kites, no walkers, no swimmers.

only rain and wind and blowing sand.

To me a storm is a fantasy,

a dream come true,

a showcase of the power of God.

I had a front row seat to all of this majesty and wonder.

This large hawk had taken shelter in the tree right outside of the window.

He stayed for quite a while.

Sure enjoyed watching him.

I think this picture is beautiful.

I have salt water and sand and the sea in my soul.

To be able to live this close to these things for a week was bliss for me.

God made all things pertaining to the ocean so beautiful.

Thank You for this blessing!

*Looks like we are getting Tropical Storm Nestor all day tomorrow.

This one came out of nowhere!

Could be very interesting!

happy birthday to gus ~ #9

Whoa ya'll...these grandkids are growing up so fast.

Gus turns nine today.

We celebrated on Monday because Lucy has a volleyball game tonight and

everyone wants to go watch her play.

Plus,

Monday was Columbus Day.

There was no school.

Seemed like a great day to have a party.

This boy is smart and I think he looks cool in his brand new aviator sunglasses.

He is playing soccer this year and they won big time recently

which made him and all of us super happy.

He is sweet and kind.

He always seeks me out for a hug.

And...he is doing really well this year in third grade.

This year he asked his Grammy for a really large Lego set.

It is the Avengers and it has 838 pieces.

That should keep him busy for a while.

He also got a big box of new clothes which is not the most thrilling

but is absolutely necessary for a growing boy.

Birthdays are huge around here.

We love to celebrate them.

Thank you God for bringing Gus our way.

He is a delight!

Can't imagine life without him!

I ❤️ Gus!

the day the storm came

It was Saturday ~ our last full day at the beach.

Our grandkids had spent the night.

David, Erika, Gus, and Walt were on their way.

Gus had an early morning soccer game which prevented all of them from coming sooner.

I just couldn't wait to get down to the beach.

Our chairs were waiting...

the umbrellas slightly fluttering in the breeze.

It was a beautiful morning.

The weather man had predicted rain, 

but it had been SO LONG since we had any that I wasn't worried at all.

I sent Lucy and the boys ahead to get the kites up.

Oh what a fun day lay ahead!

We had a great life guard all week.

He set up the chairs for us every day.

When I got down to my chair he stopped by to say,

"The rain is right down the beach (to the north)...

we think it's going to get kinda rough today."

I think,

"But we have a big day planned...

a little weather won't bother us.

We'll just stay under these nice big umbrellas when the showers come.

The kids will love playing in the rain."

Wrong!!

 I had barely gotten settled in my beach chair before the rain came sashaying down the beach,

we could actually see it coming.

 👀

Thankfully the kids started frantically getting the kites back to earth

and quickly took cover under the umbrella.

You can't see Lu,

 but she is sitting in the sand building a quite beautiful sand castle.

This is Harry...

the brave one.

The one who is not afraid of lizards.

He had been trying to build a shelter for me with his boogie board and some towels.

He ended up hiding under this towel and soon left the beach for higher ground.

Lu, Arch, and I stayed on.

Soon after Harry departs, the wind gets up,

the rain is blowing under the umbrellas from every direction,

and the fine white sand is slicing into our bodies.

It wasn't a minute after I took these pictures that two of our umbrellas launched

in a gust of wind and went blowing down the beach.

One landed out in the ocean and Lu and Arch chased the other one and brought it under control.

Sadly, our day on the beach ended before it got started.

The three of us waited for a break in the storm and headed back up to the condo.

We were carrying all of our stuff...

Towels,

kites,

boogie boards,

my book of course,

my beach bag,

my phone,

my good and very expensive camera,

a basket of sand toys for Walt,

and tons of kite string that got tangled up in the frantic kite bring-down.

When we finally made it to safety and got dried off and warmed up it felt really comforting.

What an adventure!

Wouldn't trade those memories for the world!

I 💙 grandkids and the beach and really awesome storms all rolled into one.

I also love seeing 💗s in the clouds.

beach pictures ~ three

Low tide beach sunset.

Every day of our stay was beautiful...

until the last day when we got the most awesome storm.

More about that later.

Archie flying his Batman kite while the sun sets in the west.

Granddaddy bringing Spiderman in for the night.

Beach flowers ~ so pretty.

My Lu ~ having fun on the beach.

The pool is gorgeous.

We love Shorewood ~ the memories go way, far back at this place.

I think it's my favorite.

Bubba eating crab legs at our "happy" place.

(See next photo)

A night to remember!

I had my first crab legs since before my cancer ordeal.

They were good, but not the same good as they used to be.

I'm just so thankful I can taste them "a little bit."

Right after I took this picture a lady literally fell at my feet.

She tripped over the curb and landed with a thud.

She seemed to be fine ~ declined all offers of help.

Poor thing I know firsthand all the anguish ones feels after a fall,

This one's for the birds!

🐦

beach pictures ~ two

This shrimp boat got right in front of my chair and did a complete turnaround.

Wish I could have gotten some of his fresh caught shrimp.

Before the sun popped up.

The beach chairs after a long day.

The sunset through the seaoats.

I found this wine bottle washed ashore on one of my late evening beach walks.

Some light blue and orange shells had affixed themselves to various places.

The label on the screw cap said Havana Club.

I told the kids I bet the jet stream brought it up from Cuba.

I have cleaned it and written a note,

put my phone number and a Bible verse... John 3:16.

We will go to the end of the pier at Tybee, throw it off, and send it on its way.

Love a bottle with a message.

The moon from the beach.

God hung it there you know.

I really, really 💙 the beach!

beach pictures ~ one

Just outside of our condo.

A sunrise...

I was up for all seven of them.

So beautiful.

We serve an awesome God who paints pictures in the sky!

Shore birds ~ always around waiting for food.

The path to the beach.

Couldn't wait to get there every morning.

Wild beach flowers growing in the dunes.

The first sunset.

Each one took my breath away.

My little place on the beach.

I read a wonderful book that Amanda surprised me with in the mail for my trip.

Perfect days.

Harry finally getting to fly his dragon kite on the beach.

Harry, Lucy, and Archie came over on Friday after school to spend the night.

It was a magical week at the beach.

More pictures to come.

a pink lizard & my two front teeth,

I'm scared, really scared, of lizards.

They make my blood run cold as ice.

I don't know why I'm so scared of lizards...

have been since I was a child.

The other day after dinner I was in our bathroom decorating for fall.

I opened the linen closet and noticed a flash of what looked like a lizard.

"It can't be," I thought. "Lizards are green not pink."

I went to get a can of insect spray and a fly swatter.

"I will tackle this myself," I thought.

Bubba was watching the Braves game upstairs and that wasn't going well.

On the way back to the bathroom with my weapons I chickened out.

"I can't do this.

What if I miss and it goes scurrying away 

and I have to wonder for the rest of my life in this house where he is and what he is doing?"

So,

I crept quietly up the stairs to tell Bubba my predicament.

He is up like a shot from his chair and his game to come and rescue me from my tiny dragon.

He told me to leave immediately and I did...

I went to the backyard to put some water on my flowers.

He took care of everything quickly.

The pink dragon is gone for good.

I can breathe easy.

My two worst fears for this situation and why I ultimately decided not to handle it myself...

1.  He gets away and I don't know where he went and I have to live not knowing where he is and when I will see him again.

2.  He procreates in this house and produces more and more pink lizards and they are everywhere and I cannot sleep for fear that they will crawl on me or jump out at me in unexpected places.

I hope he didn't already reproduce!

I have no idea how he slithered into our bathroom closet.

I have to believe that he was the one and only one.

I am very thankful for Bubba's willingness to intervene in this very stressful situation.

I looked this up and found out that he is actually an albino lizard.

🦎

This post went long and I have to save my two front teeth story until another day.

just back...

...from a whole week spent at Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

One fabulous, sun-filled week just steps from the beach.

Even though this island is right across the river from Savannah,

(we could see Tybee from our condo)

It was miles and miles away from real life.

The weather was absolutely beautiful...

Bright sunny days with a constant cool breeze blowing in from the ocean.

I only left the premises once,

and that was to go eat crab legs at our favorite place,

Main Street Cafe.

The rest of the time I was never unable to hear the crashing of the waves on the shore,

to see the sparkling ocean and the rolling waves.

I sat on the beach every day reading and soaking it all in.

Much more more later.

Just wanted to check in here on my blog since it's been a while.

My spot on the beach.

🏖