happy days

We are just back from a wonderful trip to South Florida.

The sun shone the whole time until we got ready to load our cars to come home.

That was when God sent a deluge of rain.

It was long and hard and delayed us for quite a while.

This picture is our annual Jupiter Inlet setting,

always taken on the last night of our trip

We have duplicated it every year.

Everyone is in the same place...some wearing the same outfit. (me)

My grandchildren have grown so much...

most of them changing from kids to young adults.

Jake turned 21 and is now legitimately an adult.

Coming home yesterday,

David drove my car, and I rode shotgun.

On the last leg of the journey, we listened to his Spotify playlist.

I felt young again,

gloriously happy,

singing along joyfully.

The best of times!!!

💗

Erika drove their car with 3 kids and Daisy the dog.

We kept up with them all day and had lunch together at Culver's.

More pictures later.

We graduated Harry out by the pool at our Airbnb.

🎓

 

remembering Bubba's birthday

He would have turned 82 today.

I can't even imagine what we would have been like.

We always had a big party.

He loved having his family gathered around him.

Sometimes, when I see other couples living their "old age" together, it makes me sad.

Being alone is hard.

I've outlived him by six years now.

I never thought about being without him.

But this is what God had for us.

He would go ahead to heaven, and I would learn the hard lessons

of what it means to trust God in the wilderness of widowhood.

I have to learn to walk by faith and not by sight.

I am so thankful!

I have learned so much.

I look forward to heaven and seeing him again.

I picture him among the great crowd of witnesses cheering me on.

Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus.

💙

 

hearts and ruffles and bows

This is one of the blooms on my Mother's Day Hydrangea.

I went out to water the plant and saw this heart smiling up at me.

I still "see hearts" quite frequently.

God does this!

Through His creative handiwork, He sends a beautiful message.

"I have always loved you, and I always will.

💗

Of course, I cut a few blooms and made an arrangement for my kitchen island.

A  constant reminder!

This is my pink blueberry bush.

It is also blooming.

We picked some of them Saturday night and enjoyed them with our meal.

Another beautiful example of God's creative genius.

This is me on the way to church yesterday morning.

We celebrated with the children out in the courtyard.

We completed another year of Sunday School with a fun cereal party.

The children and teenagers loved it.

In the courtyard, they can run, play, and be messy.

My shirt is all ruffles and bows.

I bought it on one of our cruises at St. John's Island.

 

plastic grocery bags and flying money

 

This originally happened a couple of weeks ago.

It was a cool, rainy, and very windy day.

I shop for most of my groceries at the Hunter Army Airfield Commissary.

It feels like home.

I know where everything is.

It is small and comfortable except for the music, which is tinny and awful.

I do self-check out and bag my purchases myself.

Nothing ever changes.

Except for that windy day,

When I went to check out, I was informed that I would have to pay 5 cents per plastic bag.

I became dumbfounded, discombobulated, and angry all at once.

The checkout process was a disaster.

I confronted the sweet helper who came to my rescue, disgusted.

After checking out,

bagging my groceries.

getting some cash from my debit card purchase,

I stuffed the money in my purse without securing it and headed for my car.

(I did apologize to the girl to whom I vented my displeasure.

It wasn't her fault that the government had decided to charge for the bags.)

As I was putting the bags of groceries in the trunk,

A strong gust of wind lifted the newly acquired cash and blew it through the parking lot.

I took off running after it, but it was much too fast for me.

I thought to myself,

 "It's what I deserve for getting angry about having to pay for the bags."

Happy Ending...

As I was making my futile and slow run to catch the flying money, 

a car stopped in the middle of the road.

A  young and very kind serviceman jumped out in his uniform

 and in just a moment had caught my money.

When he handed it to me, I thanked him profusely.

He even took my grocery cart back for me.

💗

Yesterday...

I went back to the commissary to do my weekly grocery shopping.

They were no longer charging for the bags.💗

A bunch of angry shoppers must have changed the minds of the powers that be.

I was surprised, but not really. 

I knew that wouldn't last very long.

A shout-out to the young service members who fight for our country.

We owe so much to them.

Thank You!

Walter turns 11

Yesterday we had another birthday celebration.

They come quite often around here.

Walt is doubles ones now for a whole year.

By request, I served tenderloin steaks cooked on the grill by David. 

A baked potato bar with all the fixings.

A super yummy mixed green salad.

And yes,

 The birthday person, whoever that may be, is "Always Special."

After a rousing game of "Spoons,"

Walter had twelve gifts to open.

He was richly blessed with lots of small metal cars which he loves.

Oh, by the way,

He won the "Spoons" game and took home the $10.00 prize.

For dessert, I made the ever-popular chocolate surprise.

Always a hit...always!

Happy Birthday, Walt.

One of his gifts was a supersized backpack.

One big enough to hold all of the books that a rising sixth grader will need.

Lucy is coming home on Saturday.

💗

 

 

new life

This is that little tiny rose bush that Lucy gave me for Mother's Day two years ago.

It has taken over the fence just outside the sunroom in my house.

It didn't thrive during this year's deep winter freeze.

I was contemplating cutting it all the way back.

As soon as the days started getting longer and warmer,  it decided to put on a show.

The miracle of Spring.

New Life!

Needless to say, it is thriving.

Sunday evening, I sent a text to Lucy along with this picture.

She loves to hear how our rosebush is doing.

This is what I told her...

"It's like you send me roses every day, sweet girl."

🌹

 

the last of my cruise pictures

Letting the wind dry my hair on a windy day.

It didn't take long!

Warm sun and a strong wind did the job in a flash.

Leaving the port of Nassau.

I always love seeing this little abandoned lighthouse standing guard.

David and Gus sunning on the top of the ship.

Our big, beautiful ship.

God paints pictures in the sky in the morning and at sunset.

Another picture, just before the sun popped up.

Our cabanna on the top of the ship.

When the sun got too hot, it was a lovely place to retreat.

Amanda and I at the front og the ship leaving Port Canaveral.

God never paints the same picture twice!

All praise and glory to our Most High God.

The Giver of all good gifts!

💗