God in the ordinary

 

hydrangea disaster

Yesterday, on an impulse, I decided to cut my beautiful hydrangeas,

put them in a vase,

and set them on my kitchen island.

My theory was simple...

I would pass by there multiple times a day 

rather than having to go out front and gaze upon their beauty maybe twice daily.

I made a homemade concoction to keep them fresh, 

trimmed the stems,

 and popped them in the vase.

Lovely bouquet,

right?

Sadly, the hydrangeas wilted immediately.

I told myself to give them a minute,

they would pop back up when the concoction started working.

They didn't pop back up.

After about four hours I knew I had dealt my first hydrangeas to bloom in years a death blow.

The concoction of sugar and vinegar took them out.

I was so upset.

So mad at myself for being so stupid.

If I had left them outside they would still be putting on a gorgeous display

All of a sudden I thought to myself,

"Turn them over and hang them upside down."

They will make a nice showing and then they will dry to perfection.

Oh, and I put a purple satin bow at the top.

Ingenious!

Beautiful!

💜

While I was waiting for the hydrangeas to revive,

I made a pecan pie from scratch.

It's best to be distracted while waiting for flowers to come back to life.

💗

 

when the green comes back

I think that's why I love the spring so much.

Everything comes back to life with such a flourish.

Brown and gray become green and bright blue.

I have joy in my home just by looking out of the windows.

God, the way you do the seasons...

Well, it's just perfect.

Thank you for allowing me to experience the beauty of your creation.

This is my pink geranium.

It sits out on my front porch in all of its glory.

It welcomes my guests.

It always gets compliments.

Bubba loved the red geraniums best but I like the pink ones more.

I have added so many touches of pink to my new home.

It's peeking out in many different places.

This hydrangea surprised me this spring.

I've had it out back since I moved in.

It would never bloom.

This year I brought it to the front.

I placed it behind the shrubbery in the early morning sun.

A few weeks ago I noticed tiny blooms.

Now look.

These beauties have appeared.

I hope God lets me have a flower garden in heaven. 💗

 

80

Bubba would have turned 80 years old yesterday.

I can't wrap my head around 80.

In my mind,

 he will always be 75.

Last evening we went to Cancun Mexican Restaurant.

We spent a lot of time remembering him.

We laughed a lot as some of our funny memories were shared around the table.

Who has binoculars this big?

Where are they now?

I would love to take them on our next cruise.

Erika sent these pictures of happy times with Granddaddy.

🠟

I always loved his smile.

Party chaos!

Definition of chaos...

complete disorder and confusion.

Amid the chaos, Grammy rests her eyes.

Bubba greatly loved his Grandchildren.

They will never forget him because we talk of him quite frequently.

Oh, the memories.

I'm just so thankful for all of the happy memories of Bubba in my heart.

💙💗

remembering Bubba

This picture was taken on May 21, 2019.

It would be his last birthday celebration with his family.

Today is one of the harder days.

Lots of memories of lots of birthdays with the one we cherished.

I'm very thankful for the years we had together.

We miss him so much.

💗

 

happy birthday Jake #19

This young man will sit for hours telling his stories to me.

Old Grams like me like that a lot.

Hope your day is filled with blessings!

💙

 

God wrote a book

I love God's Word.

This so describes how I feel about His amazing book.

I can't wait to read it every day...

many times during the day.

I just finished studying the book of Ezekiel.

Ezekial was a major prophet of God.

God showed him many things about future events.

He wrote them down for us to study and be amazed.

The book of Daniel is next.

You can tell I'm deep into the end times.

I use study notes for further explanation.

I am using The John MacArthur Study Bible this time through.

In these perilous times, we need to live in reality.

We need to know and understand what God is doing and why.

Nothing that is happening in the world is random.

All that is taking place was planned by God before time began.

God is sovereign over all things.

He did not hide the future from His people.

It is all written there in His Word.

God has given us everything we need for life and godliness in His precious Word.

Search for truth constantly.

He freely gives wisdom to those who ask.

"God wrote a book.

That reality blows me away

every time I stop to think about it."

💗

 

from kindergarten to high school graduate

Congratulations Jake!

🎓

You did it! 

I am so proud of you!

I can't wait to see what God has for you as you step out into the future!

I'll see you in a few weeks to celebrate.

I can't wait to hear all of your fun and exciting stories.

Always seek God in His Word and you will find His truth.

Pray and ask for wisdom.

He will give it freely.

Strive to be like Jesus in all of your ways.

I love you!

Gram

💗

 

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

and do not lean into your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge Him,

And He will make your path straight."

 Proverbs 3:5&6

 

mother's day, house guests, cooking, planting

The David Cleland

 family is in the midst of having their kitchen remodeled.

This past weekend. was crunch time.

The space was completely empty.

They had to set up a temporary kitchen with minimal meal preparation methods.

Erika's sister and her husband came from North Carolina

 to start putting everything back in working order.

The David Cleland 

family moved in with me for a few days.

They moved back home yesterday.

The kitchen is still not done but it is getting close.

It's going to be amazing.

Who can guess what is planted above in my beautiful blue planter?

It is a blueberry bush.

My Mother's Day gift from the David Cleland family.

I am so excited to grow my own blueberries.

Lucy,

who knows what I love,

gave me a gorgeous rose bush with pink roses.

They will appear soon I hope.

The bush is a climber and she envisions it growing up,

spreading,

and covering my green fence with masses of pink roses.

I can't wait to watch this extravaganza happen.

What could be a more exciting gift?

The best!

I cooked these marinated pork tenderloins on Monday night.

For our sides, I made my famous red rice and honey-infused cornbread.

There were no leftovers.

What a fun Mother's Day to have my family here.

Lots of laughter and good conversations.

💗

I've been busy!

Good busy.

 

Happy Mother's Day

Mom and me.

 

Jake graduates from high school this week

Jake is our firstborn grandson.

Bubba took this new role very seriously.

Jake and his granddaddy were tight from the start.

Bubba spent a lot of time imparting wisdom.

Jake listened very carefully.

 Bubba's death had a tremendous impact on Jake.

He credits it with being a turning point in his life.

Jake honored Bubba at his baptism last year by mentioning him in his testimony.

What a blessing Jake has been.

He has worked diligently to finish high school well.

He is a hard worker at Chick-fil-A.

He is always on time,

polite,

and eager to serve.

He loves our Lord Jesus and never misses an opportunity to attend church.

He loves his Mom and Dad and his brother Eli.

He is respectful.

He is neat and orderly.

He loves spending time with his friends.

He drives a black 2013 Honda Pilot.

He is a good driver and is Eli's favorite chauffeur.

God has richly blessed Jake.

I am so thankful that he is my grandson.

What joy he brings!

💙

 

the last of the "little" guys

I feel strongly like I'm constantly throwing a party.

Actually, I love throwing parties.

Have an occasion?

Call me!

We'll make a plan.

Walter's real birthday was on Monday.

His family party was last evening.

In the meantime, he got sick with a fever.

He came anyway but was definitely not himself.

We canceled lawn darks in the backyard.

He just couldn't eat much of all of his favorite food.

🤒

Some scenes at my house yesterday...

Cooking a big pot of rice.

Bring it to a boil and then turn it down to simmer for 20 minutes.

I add my special seasonings and butter.

They love it and it fills them up.

Broccoli-chicken casserole cooking in my oven.

They 💗 it too.

Always a crowd favorite.

Drink station.

I offer up sweet tea and lemonade.

I didn't bring out my Vietre dinnerware and goblets.

Walter likes my multi-colored plastic cups.

And, we just toss them in the trash.

For dessert,

Chocolate Surprise by request.

Chopped pecan and butter crust,

Cream cheese filling,

Chocolate pudding,

Whipped cream topping.

Always has been a crowd-pleaser!

👏

My loves!

Happy # 9 littlest guy!

💗💙💙💙💙

 

just a reminder...

 

walter turns 9 & cooking with gus

On Monday, Walter turned 9.

I didn't have his birthday party at my house

 because some important family members were out of town.

But of course, we couldn't let the day pass without a celebration.

He chose Bow Ties because he felt like eating chicken fingers and they have good ones.

After eating, he was allowed to pick a dessert we would all share.

He chose banana pudding.

We sat outside and enjoyed the beautiful weather.

Walter has a great love of small, die-cast metal cars.

We found this one online many months ago.

I wrote it down and ordered it for his big day.

It is a vintage 1953 cherry red Cadillac.

He loved it!

His real Happy Birthday party will be at Gram's house this Saturday night.

He wants a Broccoli-Chicken casserole for his main course,

and my famous Chocolate Surprise for dessert.

There will be lots of lawn darts in the backyard,

presents to open in front of the fireplace,

blowing out of the candles,

and a hearty rendition of "Happy Birthday to You."

Today Gus and his class hosted a Roman feast for the 5th and 6th graders.

It's a huge deal.

Lots of Roman togas and head wraps.

Yesterday afternoon he came to my kitchen to cook his dishes.

He made Barley Porridge and Pyramid Cakes.

 Everything turned out well.

The pyramid Cakes did not look like pyramids but they tasted delicious.

He is making the cakes in the picture above.

I hope it all made it to school today warm and delicious.

He is quite the conscientious cook.

He measures well and can double recipes.

We made a mess but that's okay.

Messes can be cleaned up!

Two boys ~ two joys!

💙💙