perfect picture

I'm always looking for the next picture.

Here it is!

📸

So, a few days ago the lot across from my house was excavated.

Then they laid the footers for the foundation.

Then they dumped nine truckloads of sand into the space they created.

And just like that, a new house was born!

When I saw those beautiful mounds I thought to myself,

"That will make a perfect picture."

Last evening my wonderful family came to dinner.

Walter and I had bought a big bag of limes at the grocery the day before.

I made an Atlantic Beach Pie.

I also made a big pitcher of fresh limeade.

Both were delicious.

⤵

I used all of the limes.

I asked the kids if they would pose on the mounds for me.

They thought that was the best idea ever.

I'll soon have new neighbors.

It is going to be such fun to watch a new house being built right outside my bedroom window.

Notice one side is still available.

Wanna be my neighbor?

*Monday afternoon addendum...

I looked out of my bedroom window just now and

the hills on the lot across the street are gone.

The ground was leveled.

So glad I got the above pictures Saturday evening.

Also,

if you look back,

on Saturday the other side of the duplex was Available.

Today it is Under Contract.

Things move very quickly around Herb River Bluff!

 

hey bubba

There is no way you would believe the country I live in now.

The scariest thing is how fast it happened.

You went to heaven about a week before Covid hit.

You escaped all of this, and I'm happy you don't have to experience,

fret, and worry,

to watch our country be destroyed day by day.

My hope is in Jesus, nothing else.

He takes such good care of me in spite of this evil world that I have to endure.

I am staying in His Word,

depending on the promises He has made to me,

sticking with other believers,

being encouraged by them.

I know the source of all of this evil.

I know, ultimately, it will end.

God is sovereign.

All of this is part of His plan.

He is accomplishing His will.

We are safe in Jesus.

The end is victory bought with His blood at the cross for all that put their faith in Him.

Two years and 5 months you've been gone.

Missing you continues.

I loved our life together and the security I felt when you were by my side.

Widowhood of life is a very hard and lonely time.

I haven't been the same since you left.

I'm learning so much,

Experiencing the tender mercies of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,

Waiting till I see you again,

Looking forward to that day.

If anyone asks how I hold life together now that you're gone, I always say,

"It's Jesus."

 

coffee my way ~

This is true. 

Always has been.

I strongly dislike being mocked and made to feel like a lesser person

because I like cream and sugar in my coffee.

To me, 

coffee is bitter and needs to be "doctored" up a bit.

The caffeine effect is the same with or without the cream and sugar.

I go for the caffeine high.

I just like it light and sweet.

I found the above sign at the Tulipan Cuban Bakery and Cafe down near where Amanda lives.

For the record, they make the best coffee I have ever tasted.

I beg to go there when I visit.

Come to think of it, there was a coffee shop in Puerto Rico ~ La Bombadara ~

that had fabulous coffee.

The Tulipan and La Bombadara are tied for the best coffee in my mind. 

They both whip it up in a cool machine and it comes out amazing.

Oh, by the way, their pastries are to die for.

My favorite is the Vigilante Stick.

I am going through my closet getting rid of some of my clothes.

This was Sunday morning on my way to church.

 

@ vintage april cornell skirt

@ black Birkenstocks

@Target Tee

@black glasses

Some old, 

some almost new.

I think I like this look.

Keeper!

You can barely see the @vintage kate spade purse.

I think I'll run take a picture of it.

Be right back...

Here it is...

I've had this cute little wicker bag forever.

It's still in perfect shape.

I added the green ribbon this summer.

It's my church purse.

💚

 

david and harry in israel

Harry is 14.

He has toured Israel.

He loved it!

 

David led a tour group in conjunction with the 

Fabulous Equinox Orchester 

which hails from right here in Savannah, Georgia.

By day they saw all of the sights, by night there was entertainment.

The Orchester played for the Holocaust survivors.

Mostly descendants, sadly.

The weather was beautiful, the food delicious, and the scenery breathtaking.

Harry was in awe.

He and his dad made memories that will last a lifetime.

Invest your life in your children.

Travel with them.

Teach them about Jesus.

What an amazing opportunity.

My treasure!

Harry brought me a heart carved from olive wood.

Olive trees grow profusely in Israel.

I collect hearts.

He couldn't have brought me anything I would have loved more.

Now Harry is off to our church camp.

Lucy too.

I am praying that God is working in the hearts of all the kids there.

Hopefully, all of the teaching is made more real because of having seen the Holy Land.

I probably won't get to see it until I see it on the new earth.

But you never know.

I may still get to go.

 

"you fill up my senses...

...like the sleepy blue ocean"

They left yesterday,

they went home,

they left the house.

We always have morning talk time.

We drink coffee and rehash the fun times from the day before.

We laugh,

we read silly things that someone posted on Facebook,

we talk about Bubba,

we plan our day.

Yesterday was leaving day.

I said, "Thank you for coming.

You fill up my senses."

Then I remembered the John Denver song.

I have lots of lonely days.

When they come,

 they fill up my senses with wonderful things 

like love and laughter, good food and fun.

It's hard to say goodbye.

But, I have to till next time.

💙

 

silly faces

I took them to Defy yesterday.

Defy is a huge space filled with various and sundry trampoline activities.

This was taken right before we left.

I said funny face time.

Lucy photobombed while jumping.

Fun...

funny!

All great kids!

How did I get so blessed?

 

afternoon shower

I need gutters.

My duplex neighbors got their gutters last week.

You can see where they end.

I just put a large amount of money into a root canal and a new crown for my tooth.

Gutters will have to wait a while.

Some Decorating Pictures

My kitchen.

It makes me very happy!

Glass doors.

All decor is summer/beach right now.

I have my black framed church pictures

 and some pink and red flowers as an accent color.

There's a fish lamp there but you can't see it.

My old favorite hutch holds my prized Vietri dishes.

It fit perfectly on that wall.

Here is a better perspective of where the hutch sits in relation to the kitchen.

The doorway leads into my bedroom.

The front entry.

Open and wide and inviting.

My new barn picture!

I love this area.

I have mostly used what I had to decorate.

I love all of it so much.

It's been fun seeing everything in these new spaces.

I am so thankful for this blessing!

I still have trouble believing I get to live here.

Amanda and Jake and Eli coming tomorrow for a visit.

💗💗💗

 

everything is from God

This is a game changer, 

a reason to never give up!

Everything that happens in the life of a believer

 is from the very hand of God for His glory and our good.

Such a guard against murmuring and complaining and living in fear and depression.

He is fitting and molding us for heaven with every trial and sorrow.

He tells us to rejoice, to give thanks in all things.

God knows what we need.

He richly provides.

The good and the not-so-good.

All praise be to Him who made heaven and earth.

Everything is from Him

💗

 

don't miss a single word

My hope is in Him who made heaven and earth.

God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.

Three Gods in One.

The Holy Trinity.

Read about God in His Word.

The Bible is God's perfect word to His people.

In it, He tells us everything we need to know for life and godliness.

It will get you through these dark days by revealing His truth, His plan.

Ask Him to give you wisdom and understanding.

He will!

.

 

my family blessings

David & Erika

Lucy 16

Harry 14

Archie 14 

Gus 11

Walter 7

Amanda & Mark

Jake 17

Eli 15

💗💗💗💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙 

Harry worked hard to find all of these treasures for me.

Shells, sea glass, polished stones.

Magnificent!!!

 

root causes

I had a root canal on Thursday morning last,

It didn't go well.

I am fine and mostly alright,

but the experience was a comedy of errors from start to finish.

I just got finished writing the whole thing out for this blog but,

 I got muddled down because there was so much to tell.

Feeling frustrated,

 I walked away and decided to try again...

a much-shortened version

At the end of the three-hour ordeal, I had a full-blown panic attack.

I don't know if I had an allergic reaction to the pain shots

or if it was caused by fear.

More than likely it was a combination of both.

There was a lot to be afraid of that's for sure.

 I couldn't stop shaking,

 my teeth were chattering, 

and I couldn't stand up.

My family came to the office to rescue me and got me home.

I'm so thankful for them.

While I was lying there in the dental chair,

I thought of these weeds that I pull up out of the ground in my backyard.

I'm intrigued with the ones that have round roots.

I decided to photograph them for this post in honor of my very scary root canal experience.

Sometimes life is just really hard.

Jesus said to His followers "Peace be unto you."

I'm praying that the Peace that comes from Jesus would be in me tonight.

I pray that for a friend of mine who is suffering right now as well.

"Even so, Lord Jesus, come!"

 

there's a sweet memory tucked into this post

This is the only picture I took at our July 4th festivities yesterday evening.

I am realizing that I can't put on a big spread and manage it and take pictures.

Actually, looking back, Amanda took most of our family vacation photos.

Also, our teenagers have become resistant to any snapped likenesses of themselves.

So,

I give you a still shot of how festive our table setting was.

The new grill worked perfectly.

You can see it out of the window.

The hamburgers and hotdogs cooked perfectly.

I kept it simple.

Outside time was short because of the humidity and the bugs.

It really felt like a sauna out there.

I served brownies with ice cream and a cherry on top for dessert.

All in all, it was a very special day.

Bedtime was rocking!

I tried to sleep with the fireworks exploding all around,

drifted in and out,

felt like I was in a war zone!

I guess it finally ended after midnight.

 I was able to drift off and all was quiet when I woke up this morning.

Hooray for the USA!

Here's a sweet memory that popped up on Facebook today.

Wish granddaddy could have shared this love with me.

💙💗💙💗💙💗💙💗

I will end with this picture of my July 4th outfit.

New red shoes.

They are beach shoes but I wore them to church.

 

hooray for the USA

For now, we are still free!

Let us rejoice and be glad!

Let us thank our Holy God that he has us here at this time.

Let's pray that in His mercy and compassion He will sustain our land,

that He will show His glory,

and that His plan for this country will come to pass whatever that may be.

Prayer is our only weapon against evil.

May we pray daily and more that we will trust Him in these uncertain times.

To God be the glory in all things.

He is sovereign.

God makes no mistakes, 

His plans cannot be thwarted.

He is in control of all of the details.

He sees us not by the color of our skin or our political leanings.

He sees our hearts.

Love God!

Love His word!

Love each other!

Be kind, 

generous,

compassionate,

thankful

joyful in all things,

exceedingly glad.

Pray without ceasing.

Tell others the good news about Jesus.

Read God's word and find out what he loves and do it!

💗💙💗💙💗💙

@david's famous "selfie" shot.