sleeping in the laundry room

I absolutely love my laundry room.

It is one of my most favorite places in my home.

Part of the joy comes from having a Speed Queen washer and dryer there.

Best money I've ever spent.

Speed Queen is the best,

like the good old days when appliances were made to last and easy to operate.

When I have big parties or a large amount of people over to eat,

I set up my drink station there.

Everybody loves it.

Most of the time I wash and dry clothes there,

but this past week I found a new use for the space.

Anna and baby Sadie spent a couple of nights with me.

I had the bright idea to turn my laundry room into a baby nursery.

It was perfect,

dark,

 cool, 

quiet.

It was the perfect place to tuck her away just across the hall from Anna in the guest room.

Sadie had just opened her eyes on the new day.

She is six months old.

I guess you can call my laundry room a flex space.

It made a perfect sleeping room

Sadie loved it.

💤💤💤💤💤💤💤💤💤💤💤💤

 

the eleven mile lagoon

Erika and Lucy kayaking down the lagoon on a Friday afternoon.

A very cloudy day at the beach.

Harry and Walt head back to the dock.

A warning sign on the dock.

Didn't see any alligators.

Scary!

Palm trees swaying and storm clouds moving in.

Hungry boys looking for supper.

So much fun!

I didn't have a clue about the eleven-mile lagoon.

I've been going to Hilton Head since I was a young girl.

 Fascinating!

 

God commands and raises the stormy wind

Those who go down to the sea in ships,

Who do business on great waters,

 They see the works of the Lord,

 And His wonders in the deep.

For He commands and raises the stormy wind,

Which lifts up the waters of the sea.

They mount up to the heavens,

They go down again to the depths;

Their soul melts because of trouble.

They reel to and fro and stagger like a drunken man,

and are at their wit's end.

Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble,

and He brings them out of their distresses.

He calms the storm so that the waters are still.

Then they are glad because they are quiet;

So He guides them to their desired haven.

Psalm 107:23~30

💗

We went to Hilton Head Island on Friday to visit with our family.

It was a wonderful time.

We took the kids to the beach to ride the waves but the ocean was closed.

There was a stormy wind.

There was a red flag that said danger.

The kids left for kayaking and pickle-board.

I stayed for a dreamy walk on the beach and took some pictures.

I found this passage in the Bible the next day.

God commands and raises the stormy wind. 🌪

God calms the storm so that the waters are still.

Our God is Awesome!

 

bird-watching

"Look at the birds of the air,

 they do not sow,

neither do they reap,

nor gather into barns, 

and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.

Are you not worth much more than they?

And which of you by being anxious can add a single cubit to his life's span?"

Matthew 6:26&27

I got this close and then he flew away.

He was shouting out his annoyance that I had invaded his space.

💗

 

4 this time

My beautiful climbing rose bush produced 4 blooms this time.

It is rich.

green,

growing tall like a weed.

I rush to the window every morning to see what it has done overnight.

Another source of Joy in my life.

"Consider the lilies of the field,

 how they grow; 

They do not toil nor do they spin,

 Yet I say to you, 

 Even Solomon in all his glory

 did not clothe himself like one of these. 

Matthew 6: 28&29

🌹

Only God can make a flower!

I just finished watering my flowers.

I need to check my calendar.

It may be Fall outside.

🍂

 

plotting my attack

I hardly ever use the front door in my house.

Most everyone including me comes and goes through the garage.

One day last week I decided to go that way to get my mail and check on my flowers.

Before I opened the door I saw him...

a black snake,

extremely long and skinny,

enjoying my front porch,

happy and content.

I stood there for a moment and then,

started plotting my attack

First, I will get my camera because I want a picture of him for my blog.

Brave!

Anything for a picture!

A peek out the window assured me he was still there.

I stealthily opened the door,

stepped out,

got my shot, 

and came back into the house.

When I looked again he had moved up a bit.

Okay, he's on the move.

I remembered that Bubba always killed snakes with a shovel.

That's what I will do!

When I got to the garage I decided on a kid-size hoe with a short handle instead.

That will give me more control.

When I got back to the front door he was gone.

Thankfully, I wouldn't have to kill him and haul him off.

Now that I know he is out there though,

I am afraid I will encounter him and he will bite me.

Fear of the unknown!

He is always in the back of my mind when I step outside.

Does heaven have snakes and lizards?

I hope not!

🐍

 

annabell...

...thank you for feeding the latent poet in me.

The odd/uneven time...

definitely fitting!

💗

 

back to school ~ 2024

These three boys started back to school a couple of weeks ago.

Archie is 16 ~ ninth grade.

Gus is 13 ~ eighth grade.

Walter is 9 ~ fourth grade.

We only have three at Veritas Academy now.

Harry is homeschooled and is working at Chick-fil-A when he is not running Cross Country.

With backpacks full of new school supplies, 

they were excited and ready to go even if it was still fully summer.

Jake is 19.

He starts college on Monday.

He will be attending Palm Beach Atlantic.

Eli is 17 and he will be a senior this year.

Lucy graduated this year.

She is taking a year off to work and save some money.

She wants to pursue nursing.

Bubba, you would not believe our grandkids.

 

living, active, sharp

I love this.

Read God's Word Aloud.

Speak the Words of God you have memorized.

Sing the Psalms.

Share aloud a passage of Scripture with someone who needs to hear it.

Pray God's word with a strong voice.

"For the Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, 

And piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit,

 Of both joints and marrow, 

And able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart."

Hebrews 4:12

The Bible is all we need to live the Christian life.

Love it,

Read it.

Speak it aloud.

Share it with others.

And thank you to the One who wrote it and gave it to His people.

What a gift!

💗

 

as grief subsides...

...memories fill the void.

I have been a widow for over four years.

All I have now are the memories we made.

I am so thankful for my excessive picture-taking through the years.

They are here on my computer.

Some days I scroll through them and remember our life together.

I never thought it would end.

We were blessed.

It was Bubba and Cathy.

We weathered lots of storms and we climbed many mountains.

Who knows what we were talking about here.

To lose a spouse is to lose a constant companion.

Nothing replaces that loss.

It has caused me to seek God fervently and depend on Him to fill my heart with joy.

He has.

It's a daily battle requiring much time in His Word and much prayer.

Waiting...

waiting to see you again Bubba.

💗

 

Happy Birthday Erika

Amid Hurricane Debby we celebrated Erika.

The power stayed on and I was able to make her favorite pie.

We even got to the Outback to get a steak.

Thank you for all you do for me.

If I need a picture hung,

a roll-out trash can apparatus installed,

a new DVD set up,

a tutorial on how to operate anything electronic-related and so much more,

you are the one that comes to my rescue.

Lucy and the boys are getting so big.

You have five lively kids.

Your husband is a pastor,

Your plate is so full but you always take time to help me!

I am so thankful!

💗

I'm still getting notifications about the long-gone storm named Debby.

Now the Ogeecheee River is cresting.

All that rain she dumped north of us is heading to the ocean.

And,

According to Enki,

another storm is forming in the tropics.

I will be watching.

👀

 

"Little Debby" is almost gone

This morning dawned on a beautiful, washed clean city.

The sun is shining brightly.

The sky is baby blue.

Not a hint of wind.

With lots of crazy hype, phone alerts, tornado warnings, and rain,

we survived to live another day.

Debby is wreaking havoc on places up north,

She still has lots of rain to dump,

but it won't be here.

Not to be stopped, the alerts keep coming.

These were on my phone this morning.

Somebody in the higher echelon of weather notifications wants to keep us fearful for a little longer.

There will probably be more storms that come our way.

August and September are peak months for them.

I'll continue to watch the tropics.

They come with living on the coast.

We have weathered many a storm.

Debby this morning!

Back to the truth...

God controls the storms.

He has a purpose for them. 

He spares some places and devastates others.

Thank You, God, for sparing us from the worst this time.

I am in awe of Your power and Your loving kindness, which is new every morning.

💗🌪

 

 

eye of the storm

The beautiful city of Savannah woke up this morning in the blissful calm of

the eye of the storm.

I don't recall ever being in the eye.

After a night of rain and wind, 

It was like the storm had disappeared.

Actually, it was surrounding us.

It's still calm, but I'm getting alerts on my phone that say,

"Showers and breezy conditions will continue through the afternoon."

I know nothing after that.

Looks like South Carolina is getting hit pretty hard.

Hilton Head is taking a pounding.

Today is Erika's birthday. 

I'm busy making my Atlantic Beach pie.

We'll always remember this one.

My pie kinda matches the hurricane graphic above.

God spared Savannah.

Yes, we had lots of rain and tornado warnings,

but as far as I know, we escaped the "Catastrophic amounts of rain"

 that were forecast for days before  Debby got here.

*Just got another alert,

"Flash flood warning for your location."

Now that's scary!

 

bullseye (I wrote a second post on today's blog)

Monday morning dawned dark and breezy with light rain.

Debby is a bizarre storm...

unpredictable.

I really don't know what to expect but God controls the storm.

In Him I will trust and send up my prayers.

I am tempering my extreme "There's a storm coming" excitement with a huge dose of reality.

This could be catastrophic in so many ways.

More...

It's been raining steadily all day.

It's 3:00 pm now and the winds have started gusting.

Very humid outside.

Very much a tropical storm.

I still have power.

For that, I am so thankful.

Most of Savannah shut down at noon today.

They are encouraging people to stay home and avoid the flooded streets.

More clarity is needed on whether the storm will stall over our town 

or move up into South Carolina.

It's kinda beautiful right now.

I really do love storms.

More...

The tornado sirens started going off at 4:30.

Just got an alert on my phone that there is a tornado warning in my area.

It is very still right now.

Quiet.

Praying that the Lord will watch over us tonight in Savannah.

 

looming doom

Should we be worried?

Hurricane/ tropical storm Debby.

 

I started writing this yesterday...I'm finishing it today

Does this verse not totally thrill you this afternoon?

I am sitting here at my computer getting ready to write this post

surrounded by thunderstorms coming from every direction.

They are loud and striking close.

They make me wonder, "How does God do that?"

We see evidence of His power in the storms,

but what keeps them from setting the whole earth on fire and burning it up?"

(I just got a text from David,

A house in the neighborhood next to me got struck by lightning.

I heard the close sirens.

So scary!)

 Anyway,

 back to the Bible verse.

God gave us His Word so that we can know Him,

But  His Word says,

"God's greatness is unsearchable.

Psalm 145:3

 

We can only know God on this earth as He has revealed Himself in His Word and creation.

In eternity we will search His wonders forever and ever.

God will be an endless fount of wisdom and knowledge.

There will be no sin to hold us back.

Until then we are thankful for what we can know in this life.

That's why our Bibles are ragged and torn and all marked up.

We are searching to know more and more about our awesome God.

In heaven our knowledge will be perfect.

Oh, what a promise.

What a day that will be.

💗