Pray

When times are good pray.

When times are hard pray.

Pray without ceasing to the One who is sovereign over all things.

He hears our prayers.

Our future is full of hope because our Savior Jesus Christ is alive.

Praise God from whom all of our blessings flow. 

💗

 

flying home

My flight home from West Palm Beach Airport was at 8:00 am last Monday.

Amanda got me to the airport with plenty of time to spare.

I bought a bottle of water and a Nature Valley oat and honey bar in the gift shop

and settled in with my book to wait for boarding.

Singer Island is our "go-to" place when we visit with the Hollingsworth family.

I mentioned it in my last post. 

As we taxied down the runway  and turned out toward the ocean,

I had a thought...

"I wonder if I can spot Singer Island?"

I got my camera ready and was glued to the little window by my seat.

I took about 20 shots.

By this time I knew we were passing right over the Island.

The above picture was the last shot I took.

It couldn't have been more perfect.

Singer Island itself is on the left side of the picture.

You can see the high-rise condos right along the white sand beach.

Notice the darker waters of the inlet at the top of Singer Island.

We drive along in front of the condos all the way to the end of the island, middle left,

looking at all of the sights.

I love the vintage motels and the old beach cottages the best.

Then we take a right turn and circle around until we get to the bridge that takes us home.

We call it "doing the loop."

All snorkeling is done under that bridge.

The little Island in the middle is called Peanut Island.

Amanda and Erika kayaked over there last summer.

All that to say.

Wow!

How in the world did I get that perfect picture of our favorite place from high up in the sky?

Thank You, Lord!

It was You!

 

happy birthday jake #18

Another reason I was compelled to fly to South Florida last weekend...

It was Jake's 18th birthday.

How could I not be there for that?

We went to Long Horn for an early dinner then back to the house to open presents.

Most everything in the wrapped packages contains something pertaining to running.

Jake did cross country and track this last school year.

It has become his passion.

He got two pairs of running shoes.

One pair from me and the other pair from his parents.

He will be training all summer.

After present opening we went to Dairy Queen and took the loop through

Singer Island.

(more about Singer Island in another post)

We also found out while I was there that he got a job at Chick Fil A.

First job!

Also during the month of May, he finally got his driver's license.

He drove himself and Eli to a graduation party at the beach.

It was his first time driving without a parent in the car.

Mark, Amanda, and I were all nervous wrecks.

Couldn't go to sleep until we knew they were home safely.

This boy will be a senior in high school next year.

I am so proud of the young man he has become.

I 💙 Jake!

 

Jake and Eli got baptized

On Sunday, May 21, 2023, in Jupiter, Florida,

I got to watch Jake and Eli make their public profession of faith in our

Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

I was compelled to be there.

Jake wanted to get baptized on his Granddaddy's birthday.

Bubba would have been 79.

He spent a lot of quality time with these boys.

He made quite an impression on them.

Jake honored him in his testimony before he went under the baptismal waters.

There was not a dry eye in the crowd.

Eli's testimony was equally as moving.

These boys being older were able to articulate so well what Jesus has done in their hearts.

Eli, being the consummate entertainer,

Had some interesting things to say.

He too had everyone teary-eyed.

Granddaddy would have been so proud of these boys.

This is a picture of their church and their mother, Amanda.

Eli talked about in his testimony how much he loved his church and all the people.

He said the first time they went that he thought it looked like a Taco Bell church.

I agree with his assessment.

I wouldn't have missed this for the world.

It was worth every bit of the hassle I went through to get there.

(another post)

 

i'm home

John Wayne famously said,

"Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway."

In the past few years after Bubba left me,

I have struggled with anxiety.

Among other things,

I decided that I would never fly on an airplane again.

Just could not see boarding a metal tube and leaving solid ground.

I don't understand how that thing stays in the air.

It doesn't make any sense to me.

Also, I heard stories of brawls on planes caused by angry people.

Horrifying!

Definitely not for me.

Then, I found out that my grandsons,

Jake and Eli, were to be baptized on Sunday, May 21st.

The date was chosen because it was their Granddaddy's birthday.

Time was short to decide, but I knew that I had to be there.

The only way was to fly.

I was compelled to be at that momentous occasion.

David came over on Monday afternoon and we looked at flights.

My one request was that it be a direct flight.

There wasn't one.

My only choice was to fly to Atlanta, change planes, and fly to West Palm Beach.

I had to make up my mind in a hurry.

There was no way out.

I would fly.

David booked me for Thursday and it was done.

I will write more about the flights at a later time.

It wasn't easy.

But God gave me peace and rest.

"Be anxious for nothing" is a command, not a suggestion.

To believe this and be afraid means that I wasn't trusting in my God.

🛬

I was scared 😟 but I "saddled up anyway."

Glad I did!

 

photo dump as I take to the skies

Amanda and her boys.

My sofa full of boys

On the beach by my condo.

Grammy and her grandboys

Jake the thinker.

Driftwood on the beach.

I planted my pink Mother's Day geranium and set it on my front porch.

A made-from-scratch dish of lasagne.

Clouds over the beach.

That about covers the last two weeks.

 

eli is better

So, I told you in my last blog that something amazing happened with the sunset

while we were at the beach last Tuesday evening.

We had plenty of fodder for picture-taking.

The shrimp boats were lighting up the beach.

The big container ships and the dolphins were putting on quite a show.

But Eli came to take pictures of the sunset,

and it didn't look like there was going to be a sunset.

I had turned away,

heading back up to the condo.

Then someone shouted, 

"LOOK!"

Sitting on the horizon,

peeking through the clouds that had suddenly parted,

 was the sun in all of its glory.

Just before it disappeared from view, 

it was a blazing ball of fire,

setting the whole western sky on fire.

It was gone in a split second,

We were stunned, slack-jawed, and unable to say anything.

God did that.

The above is Eli's picture.

He was quick and got the shot of the ages.

Eli is better than most photographers and he is only sixteen.

Not yet professionally trained, he has taught himself.

What must be ahead for this extremely talented young man!

And...the birds!!!!

💙

 

happy mother's day

These Mother's Day plaques come out every year.

I am thankful to the ladies and gentlemen at Calvary Baptist Temple who made them happen.

They are over 40 years old as are David and Amanda.

They have withstood the rigors of time.

The pictures are kind of faded, but not the memories.

I work in the Sunday School nursery every Sunday.

This morning my Lucy came in with this gigantic bouquet of flowers.

I made both of the arrangements above out of her one bouquet.

She also gave me a box of chocolate marshmallows.

I was taken to the Bow Tie Restaurant for lunch...

shrimp salad with fresh fruit and a muffin

David and Erika gave me these beautiful pink geraniums.

They will go on my front porch.

I know I've already posted this picture,

gorgeous roses gifted by Amanda and Jake and Eli,

but I'm posting it again here on my Mother's Day blog...

also the little bouquet from Gus.

I am so humbled by this family God gave me.

The love and care they show me knows no bounds.

I am so very thankful that God made me a Mom and a Grammy.

Highest calling on earth.

💗

 

opening day

Tuesday evening at Tybee.

There was so much going on.

We had no idea what we were walking into.

So many shrimp boats were anchored in front of my condo.

Come to find out,

 it was opening day for the shrimping season.

The fishing vessels were putting on a show.

Lit up and freshly painted, they were a gorgeous sight.

Because of the shrimp boats, there were dolphins everywhere.

They were jumping out of the water,

over and under,

playing in pods with their young.

Everyone on the shore was mesmerized.

I love this one.

Birds were perched on the lines.

To the left is the tiny Cockspur lighthouse.

To the right is Fort Pulaski.

The birds and dolphins were having a feeding frenzy

on the things that the shrimp boats were throwing back.

Big container ship heading into the port of Savannah.

Fuel tanker heading out to sea.

It looked like they were going to collide.

Georgia Grace

It was just such a magical time.

A show,

pageantry,

birds and dolphins,

the sea.

But it was cloudy.

You couldn't see the sun.

I'll tell you what happened with the sunset next.

 

late evening at Tybee

Amanda and Jake and Eli left to go home this morning.

My house seems quiet and feels very empty.

It was a whirlwind trip.

I become super animated when we are together.

These pictures were taken on Tuesday evening at the beach in front of my condo.

We were waiting for the sun to go down.

It was magical.

I will write more about the state of things down there another day.

They left me with these Mother's Day roses.

I put them in my Grandmother's antique vase.

The orange and yellow beauties were brought to me after dinner last night by Gus.

All of the boys had gone down to the lagoon.

He brought them to me with such sweetness and love.

For dinner, we had pizza and antipasto salad from Bellas.

I bought a lemon cake from Nothing Bundt Cakes for dessert.

When Amanda comes she leaves me no time to cook.

This was a delicious, easy alternative.

We were missing Mark and Lucy.

Looking at all the dolphins play. 

I have never seen so many at one time.

Eli has on shorts, not a skirt as it looks in the pic.

When I'm on the beach it is always the best of times.

💗

 

see the dolphin?

The fin is in front of the shrimp boat.

Last night at Tybee Island.

🐬

 

at the beach

They're here!

We headed straight to Tubbys for fried shrimp and then to the beach,

💙💗💙

 

but the greatest of these is...

...Love

This afternoon Amanda and Jake and Eli are coming for a visit.

💗💙💙

 

the color is purple

My grandsons, Jake and Eli, had Prom last weekend.

For these sheltered students,

 Prom involves 200 teenagers crammed onto a dance floor at the local Marriott 

jumping up and down and having the time of their lives.

Lots of adult supervision was involved.

Amanda and Mark were chaperoning.

These boys had two important events on back-to-back weekends.

I'm sure those who read my blog have noticed their mode of dress.

Eli's choice is rather outlandish.

Jake goes for the more traditional attire.

Eli's suit was my gift to him for his birthday back in March.

He choose the look he wanted and sent me the link.

This one is called Suave Sunset.

The company that makes them is Oppo Suits in case you want to see all the varieties they offer.

The dark shade is purple although it looks blue in the photo.

He wears this look with Disney Vans and sunglasses.

This was the Protocol attire.

Eli is wearing Juicy Jungle this time.

Jake is wearing his fedora which he hardly leaves home without.

Amanda encouraged him to go to the prom without his hate.

He did, but he was not happy.

Jake has a phone interview with Chick Fil A on Monday.

Pretty soon all of my grandkids will be working there.

I 💙 my crazy, delightful teenage grandchildren.

They make life so much fun.

 

soul work

💗

"God has things to do in our souls that we are not interested in."

 

happy birthday walter # 8

Walter turned 8 on Saturday.

He came ready for his birthday party.

He had requested a broccoli ~ chicken casserole and a sundae bar.

Eating always comes first.

They come hungry and excited!

I made cornbread.

They loved it!

After dinner,

 I had planned outside games...

our first lawn darts competition of the season with cash prizes.

I had been watching the weather hoping the forecast was not true.

I set everything up, 

 But,

the weather forecast was right.

Outdoor games were put off until another party.

Thank goodness we had a most amazing ice cream sundae bar!

I bought Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla.

Erika brought a tray full of delicious goodies for toppings.

It was such a hit!

I put one big candle out for Walter to blow.

Best birthday dessert ever!

The birthday boy was well pleased!

Lucy had to work.

We missed her a lot.

Not the best birthday group shot I've ever taken.

They look sad or maybe they didn't want to have their picture taken.

Too bad.

Not taking pictures is not an option.

Happy Birthday, Walt!

Grammy 💗 loves you!