"life is good at the beach"

I can't get in my head what day it is.

I think that is what entails a true vacation.

We are lolling away our days in the breeze under a big, blue, beach umbrella.

We are cooling ourselves in the huge, gray Atlantic ocean.

We people watch, we read, I listen to the music on my ipod, we talk about all of the important (and unimportant) things that are going on in our lives.

Next week and reality are still far away and we can truly relax. Nothing does it better than sitting on the beach listening to the waves beat against the sandy shore.

Some people like a lot of activity on their vacation, but not me.

You get really hungry at the beach......food tastes better.
You get really tired at the beach.......sleep is wonderful.

There's is a sign in the foyer of this house that says......
"life is good at the beach"That is so true.

Hope all of you get to come to the beach soon......love, Cathy

here in hilton head

We have arrived at our travel destination spot....that would be Hilton Head, SC.
We have been coming to this same house for about five years straight.
This year we were looking forward to getting here because we had heard that some changes had been made.

They completely renovated the back yard and put in a new pool. It is so beautiful. I will take some pictures and put them on my blog when I get back home.

We are looking forward to a week of total relaxation which we both need very badly. We have rented an umbrella and two chairs to be delivered and set up every morning at the end of the walkway to the beach. Last year our umbrella kept blowing away, so we decided to splurge this time.

Erika is getting a lot done in setting up her new home. We decided that the kitchen and the beds were the most urgently needed, so we concentrated there.

Lucy's first night in her big girl bed ended in disaster this morning at 5:45am when she tumbled to the floor. She was shocked, but not hurt. Erika was going to Wall Mart to buy bed rails this afternoon.

I praise God for His goodness and mercy to me this week.
He has taken care of every tiny little detail.
He has sent people to minister to me. My God is awesome and I praise him this day

Best of all He has brought my grandbabies to Savannah.

Cathy

11,033

My next sitemeter goal may happen tonight.....please let me know who you are if you can. On the other hand it will probably be tomorrow. I can't see myself getting 78 more hits by midnight tonight. Remember 11,111.

The weary travelers arrived last evening at just about dusk. I was standing in the driveway waiting for them to arrive. It was a long, hard trip and all were very glad to get out of the van (which was packed like sardines in a can).

Lucy had a bit of a hard time unwinding, but Harry went hard and fast asleep very quickly. I only had the books out last night and we did a little reading of the favorites.

I made the mistake of passing by Lucy's bedroom door with the shopping cart. She saw me pass by and started crying to get up and play. We were all too tired to loose her at that point.

We all had breakfast outside this morning. Maude the cat even got to go out and snoop around. I would not let her go out when she was under my watch. I have hearby abdicated her care to my very sweet daughter-in-law, Erika.

There is a friend that "sticketh closer than a brother " in my life. Her name is Sandy. She is having some real health problems and is going through some real trials. She knew that I had been down and out this week so she called and invited me to go to lunch and to see "Mama Mia."
What a wonderful time we had. We went to the "Toucan Cafe" for lunch and it was divine. We talked and laughed and had a wonderful time over our blackened chicken salads.

Mama Mia.....Let me just say I loved this movie......I want to live in the place that this was filmed.....a villa looking out over the Aegean Sea (supposedly). I loved the colors and the furnishing and the songs and the last scene was absolutely so beautiful to me that I wanted to cry.

Thank you Sandy for being so kind to me at a really difficult time in my life in spite of my failures on your behalf. I pray that you will soon be well!!!!!

What an awesome God we serve. What a tremendous blessing life is. I want to grab hold of every minute of it and make these the best years of my life.

I love you......c

11,111

"This is the day that the Lord hath made....let us rejoice and be glad in it!"

I took Bubba to the airport at 6:00am for a 7:00am flight to Nashville where he will meet up with Erika and drive back to Savannah all in one day. The stamina of that man is amazing.

We are very excited about our up-coming vacation to Hilton Head with Bubba's brother and his family....the timing could not be better.

I am going out to lunch with a friend and then to see "Mama Mia." I am very excited about this outing today.

Did anyone know that I made the DC blog list with my post on "crocs?" I mentioned that I bought them at Pentagon City and off it went. That is why my numbers increased so dramatically in the last couple of days.....can you imagine me in there with all of the political blogs?

I am better today and I thank you all for your prayers and support over the last couple of days.

From now on my blog will only be positive. God is in control and my thinking and writing has to reflect that.

My new goal is 11,111 on the sitemeter. It's not that far away. (thanks to the DC blog readers)

Cathy

crocs

I have always disliked them very much. I love cute shoes and the crocs that I would see on peoples feet I always thought were ugly.

I said....you will nver see me in a million years wearing a pair of those.

I did buy Jake a pair of green crocs and they are adorable on him. He has worn them all summer.

When Bubba took Amanda and I to Washington a couple of weeks ago I found the ones pictured above. I thought, "these are so cute." I bought them at the Nordstrom at Pentagon City. I have never seen a pair like them anywhere.

When I started wearing them a few days ago I discovered that they are the most comfortable shoes I have ever worn.

People stop me everywhere and ask me where I got them. Everybody wants them, but they are nowhere in Savannah. I think I have become a bit of a trendsetter here in my new gray crocs. That will be a first for me.

a glorius time

The furniture is in place. It was delivered on time. Bubba made friends with the truck driver/owner. He (bubba) is covered with black and blue marks. I have washed and dried all of the bedding. When Erika gets here, she and I will set up their home.

On Wednesday Bubba will fly to Nashville to drive Erika, Lucy, and Harry to Savannah. It would have been a long way for Erika to drive the whole way alone with two little ones who need attention. They will stay here with us for a few days.

I am looking forward to this day. I am studying the book of Revelation and it is so interesting. I long for the day that Jesus comes back. It will be such a glorious time for us believers. We will be able to praise God without the interference of sin.

My flowers are beautiful. I just love to be out there with them..... Most have fully recovered after the deer had their foray.

oops, we forgot about the attic

The moving truck full of David and Erika's "stuff" will arrive at Old Mill very early in the morning........between 6:30 and 7:00 to be exact.

The house looks pretty good and it is clean from top to bottom.

But.....the attic is still full and it is too hot to deal with that now. So it will have to wait for the fall.

David is in Bucharest. He arrived a few hours ago and said that he was very tired. His flight to France was not completely full and the seat next to him was vacant. That helps so much on a long, overnight flight.

I have never done a long, overnight flight and I hope I never have too. When I go over to Europe I will sail on the Queen Mary. I will stay a long time and see all I want to see, and then I will sail back home. Three or four days or maybe longer on the open sea is my idea of paradise. A good book and the sea rushing by is all I would need.

the house at old mill

Many good times of fellowship happened there.

Lots of good food was cooked and consumed there.

Our loved ones grew old there and became ill.

Now it is almost empty. (it's always interesting to see what the last things to be packed are.)

Today Bubba and two guys he picked up on the side of the road got most everything out and into storage.

David and Erika will live there until they are able to buy a place of their own.

Then it will be all ready to be sold to someone else who will live their life there.

Thank you Lord for Your provision in that house and for the years of blessings.

take my breath away

"I've learned that.........it is those small daily happenings that make life so spectacular." (AR)

knowing that God is in every detail
watching my flowers grow
getting a phone call from a friend
folding fresh clean clothes
listening to music that i love
taking a nap and waking up feeling refreshed
swimming with my grandchildren
reading God's word
getting encouragement from someone
seeing a real bluebird at my birdfeeder
having my daughter think of things to make me happy
reading "hand, hand, fingers, thumb" over and over because it delights the babies and makes them giggle
laying in bed with Amanda and watching an amazing thunderstorm
Watching Eli learn to stand up and walk
reading a really good book
A phone call from David saying "How's it going?"
knowing that you love me

These are the things that take my breath away!

Bubba got home at 11:30...safe trip....Thank you God.

the half and half

Last night Amanda convinced me that we needed to go to eat at the Crab Shack on Tybee island.

I had never eaten there before and we had the boys with us. She said, "We will eat and then go to the beach and take pictures."

At this restaurant you eat outside on the docks at tables with holes in the middle.

I loved the atmosphere as soon as we arrived. They do have inside seating, but who wants to eat inside when you can sit by the water?

As we approached the island we noticed a big black cloud, but convinced ourselves that the rain had already passed and the cloud was heading out to sea. We boldly asked for outdoor seating.

It was wonderful. We got the half and half.......half steamed shrimp and half crab legs with drawn butter.

The boys were amused by the cats roaming around and the funky decor.......part Key West and many parts romantic.

Our food had come when we started hearing the thunder. We had been told that they couldn't guarantee a place indoors if it started raining.

The food was delicious and I loved throwing the shells into the hole in the table. We both ate everything on our plate.

We paid quickly and declined a visit to the alligator pit for viewing.......I am definitely not going to pay to look at anything that so closely resembles a lizard.

As soon as we had buckled the boys in and started the car the rain came and it came in buckets full. We could only imagine what those poor people out on the docks were doing with their big trays of crustaceans.

No beach for us...............Jake got two glazed doughnuts from the Krispy Kreme which he ate in the car and Amanda and I got blizzards to bring home and eat after the boys were put down to slumber.

It turned out to be a good day after all......another example of how God takes care of the small details of our lives.

Amanda set that up to lift my spirits after all of the things that had gone wrong with me during the day.

Today so many friends have called to offer encouragement......thank you every one. Cathy c

just one of those days

Have you ever just thought, "I'm at the end of my rope?"

Have you ever just wanted to climb into the comforter and stay there?

Today has been one of those days........................for me.

I woke up very early and couldn't go back to sleep.

I think that it is Friday............but I'm not sure.

While I was changing Jake's morning poo-poo, Eli was, to my dismay, found having the time of his life playing in the toilet.

I made great effort to get to Kroger to get gas and I didn't have my Kroger card.

We (Amanda, Jake and Eli and I) visited with and told Aunt Dot and Daddy goodbye. The Hollinsworth's are going back home tomorrow.

I tore a favorite skirt to the extent that it cannot be repaired.

I locked myself out of the house when I arrived back home with two sleepy boys.

I put them in the yellow wagon to roll them around back for me to see if I could get in the house.

Jake started wailing because he thought I was taking him to the pool.

And then I found a blessing......the back door was left unlocked and we got into the house.

It's 2:30 and I am writing this blog (for relaxation).

This week has hit me like a ton of rocks. Just when you think you can take no more, another load gets delivered. But God has promised that He will give us no more than we can handle and in that I take my hope.

"Bless the Lord, O my soul, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits." Psalm 103: 1&2

and the wonder of all wonders........................

"God does not deal with us (believers) according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquites. Psalm 103:10

All I can do at a time like this is quiet my soul with these words of truth.

your friend, Cathy

down at the pool

The pool area where we live is luscious. The water is warm enough to be comfortable, but cool enough to be refreshing.

We went down after dinner last night. We rolled the boys and the towels in the yellow wagon.

The pool has a beach type entrance........you just walk right in. At first Jake was hesitant to go deep, but that didn't last long. Eli, on the other hand, went right in....under and over the water. They both loved every minute of the hour we spent there.

Bubba was our photographer for the picture above.

Speaking of Bubba, he is leaving at 5:30 this afternoon to fly to Chicago. The rest of the move will take place this weekend.

I Peter 1:3 - 5

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time."

What a verse! Do we believers need to know any more than that to be totally satisfied?

Cathy

under the garden hose

We were amazed at how the drops of water showed up on this picture

"More rain grammy, more rain please"

These little boys had a ball last night in our backyard.

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Please allow me to switch gears...........................

There is nothing about living the Christian life that is easy. I would never say to you if you were an unbeliever to come to Jesus and your life will be simple and easy. Once you become a believer, your whole life is a process of the Holy Spirit teaching a sinner to be compliant with the will of God.

We don't change easily......It takes a lifetime for us to be fit to enjoy God's eternal kingdom. We are all such gross sinners in God's eyes that he could never look upon us except through the work of Jesus on our behalf.

Not one of us ever reaches spiritual perfection. Even though we become "saved from the wrath of God" we never get to a place where we stop sinning and grieving our Holy God. There is not one bit of righteousness in any of us believers except that which is imparted to us from God through His Son Jesus Christ.

I say all of that to say this. Wisdom and knowledge is also a gift of God. We don't know anything about God's word apart from what he allows us to know. We must use His truth wisely.

I Corinthians 8:1 "Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up."

fishing in the backyard

I just have two things to say:

1. We didn't catch any fish
2. Jake wanted absolutely no part of the whole process

Addendum: My next goal is #11,111.

start at the bottom

Okay.....the pictures and the writings are upside down. Start with the last picture and work up to the first.

Jake found Maude again under the bed and is making her life miserable. And to think she is trying to recuperate from surgery.



This is Maude hiding in the chair under the table. Jake and Eli found her and she ran under our bed.

These pictures will be of particular interest to David and Erika.

This is the house at Old Mill with all, and I mean all of the shrubbery cut back. You can now see the house.

This is my ending statement......Little boys in the house make you forget about all of your troubles and cause you to be very, very happy.

ps sorry this is so confusing.................lots more later......g

just a short blog

Amanda, Jake, and Eli arrived safety this afternoon at about five o'clock.

Jake came in happily and ate a large bowl of spaghetti.

Eli was a little our of sorts, but regained them after eating his cereal.

Slumber is the next item on our agenda.

Please keep my extended family in your prayers. We are working through some hard times right now. Things get better and then disintegrate again. I never know what is coming next.

As I wrote earlier, God is the only hope that we have. He gives and has given much grace and mercy in this situation.

There was a bit of a turning point this afternoon that was a direct answer to prayer.

We keep in mind the most important thing...........to glorify the name of God in all things.

Take care to take care of your soul. Cathy

contending for a soul

The 10,000th visitor came and went without much fanfare.

I wonder if I can keep writing until the sitemeter reads 50,000?

Day by day........one blog at a time. We'll see.

This is a big day. Amanda, Jake, and Eli are headed this way. Can't wait to see them.

This weekend has been one of those times that has tried my soul....

I read this verse this morning:

Psalm 79: 9 "Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name."

My only prayer is that our great God will bring glory to Himself out of this situation.

That's it....that's all I ask. In all of the pettiness and smallness of our infinite minds we cannot see beyond our own sinfulness.

Four things:

Have compassion on those who may be suffering.

Don't let fear keep you from doing what is right. A man's eternal soul is more important than placating him while he is here on the earth.

If you feel you've been wronged, deal with it quickly.

and forgive at the speed of light.

To God be the Glory, great things He has done.

In love, Cathy

#9,982

It will probably happen tonight...the 10,000th visitor to my blog.

It may pass and I will not know who it was.

But please, please, please if you are #10,000 let me know.

It is raining and thundering and has been all afternoon. I love God's fireworks best of all.

Facebook is so much fun. If you haven't already joined up please do. There are pictures and comments and funny things......a good way to keep up with everybody. Most of the people I know have not signed up yet.....Please do.

Tomorrow I am going to write about freedom......from my perspective. I don't yet know how it will come together although I have some ideas. This is the honest truth......I never know what I will write until I sit down at the computer. I get ideas during the day and then sit down to write. that's how it goes and I love it.

Bubba just came in and proposed an evening out. I think I will take him up on it. The things he wants to do are strange, but it should be fun. Adventure thrills me so here I go.

I leave on #9,982.

From Andy Rooney to you:

Iv'e learned that.......................love, not time, heals all wounds.

Isn't that marvelous? c

ps......Amanda thinks she's going to be # 10,000 and that I am going to give her $50.

"the good of others"

Bubba is seen in this picture with some extremely long bamboo poles that he purchased just recently. Right now they are laying in the sun changing color from bright green to natural.

Amanda, Jake, and Eli are coming on Monday for a visit.

The ultimate purpose for these pieces of bamboo is to make fishing poles for he and Jake. Bubba's will be long and Jakes will be short. Just the right size for them to catch some fish from the pond.

I am very excited to see how this goes.

Looks like our Fourth of July will be stormy. We have set aside tomorrow to rest and veg out. On Saturday and Sunday we will pack and move the rest of the things out of the house on Ole Mill. I sure hope we can get it all done.

David and Erika will live in the house until they find one of their own.

Bubba made a big batch of shrimp salad and surprised Aunt Dottie with it this morning. She called later to say that it was the best she had ever eaten. (The food at her place is not very tasty so I know it was delicious to her.

One of the things I have learned throughout my life is that................it is in doing for others that we are most blessed. It is the cure for:

anxiety
depression
bitterness
brooding
fear
gossip
hate
jealousy
laziness
resentment
self-centeredness
self-pity..................and so much more.

I Corinthians 10:24 "Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others."

"no one is perfect until"

This is Lucy packing her own box of kitchen utencils.

This is harry showing off his big beautiful eyes.

I just want to say that I am overwhelmed by the grace of God......

That He would provide us with so many blessings is beyond my comprehension.

Do we stop and remember each day that we receive our next breath as a gift from Him?

O that we would have grateful hearts, that we would be in constant praise to our heavenly Father from whom all good gifts come.

There was a bull snake wrapped around the coils of the air conditioner. The repairman called me out to observe what the problem was this time. He told me that I should expect no less living in a swamp. Okay......God made snakes and I will praise Him for them. Someone reminded me today that snakes eat lizards so there you go.

Quote for today from Andy Rooney:

"I've learned..........that no one is perfect until you fall in love with them."

Have a good sleep...........c

show love

"When you are in love it shows"..............the quote from last night.

Why I love this quote:

If you love someone let them know about it. So much of our life is spent in sorrow and pain. What a blessing to recieve a word of love, a smile, a soft touch from someone who loves you.

more later and another quote.....c