Brady's Birthday

His first camo outfit

Surrounded by bluebonnets

Just having some fun!

A little fish.

With Daddy and brother Noah

 

Boys being boys

Thomas the Train
was serious stuff back then





He wants to be a baseball player

With Jumpy,
his favorite monkey.

Brady always gets up early to come visit with me when we are together.
He knows Nonnie will be up and ready to talk and hear what he has to tell.
Today he had a bowling party and got lots of
presents from his friends.
His brother said, "Are all those toys yours, Brady?"
And Brady said, "No, this one is for you."
He gave his brother one of his gifts.
How special is that?
I love you, Brady. So many wonderful memories
and what a blessing you are in our lives.
Happy 6th Birthday to you, Brady.

You are one extraordinary boy!

Blindsided!

The other night as I was in the kitchen preparing to cook dinner,

Dear Heart joined me to see if he could help.

As we worked together there,
and talked,

POW!

I was overcome with the realization that YES,

things are settling.

We are getting back to our "normal."

There are scars that say things are not as they were entirely.

But that is never to be expected anyway.

What is in the past is water under the bridge.

No turning back.

 

Life is full of twists and turns.

Bumps in the road for everyone.

Sometimes the bumps cause you to hit the roof
and leave a bruise.

But you do come down.

And you do get over.

Scars can be like stones of remembrance
reminding us that:
 

Life is good.

God is good.

Thanks be to Him for His mercy and grace
to bring us through.

 

My cup runs over.

 

 

 

Flying Fonza Feathers (Part 2)

I did NOT know there would be a Part 2 to the chicken chase.

After Bible Study Fellowship this morning,
I made my way over to have lunch with Bettye,

and retrieve my dog, Trudy.

Chicken fried steak at the Sugar Hill Country Kitchen
in Farmersville, Texas was sooooo good!

Shopping on the Square:

Found two cake plates
for all the cakes I think I will bake

and back to Bettye's house for my dog.

(who was still barking and yapping at  her fine feathered friends!)

Bettye then made her confession that the

"end of story" was really NOT the end of HER part of the story.

Trudy and Fonza's big chase scene took them

through the poison ivy patch in the woods.

Bettye's reward for capturing my sweet Schnauzer resulted in

the poison ivy oil rubbing off on her.

She swelled up like a balloon :-(

and is having to take steroids. Bless her heart.

I feel like a crummy friend to have such a pesky dog.

Trudy is feeling somewhat crummy now, too.

She had a scrubdown bath upon her return to our house.

"What kind of a welcome is that?" she asks.

It wasn't all for nothing, though.

We made it home with a dozen fresh eggs

and a feather for Trudy's bed.

Sweet dreams.

Flying Fonza Feathers!

It was with some apprehension that I left Trudy over a week ago

with my friend Bettye and her chicken friends.

I knew the day would come that Trudy would have a chance at the chickens.

Bettye convinced me that Trudy would lose interest in that henpen.

This little Schnauzer says

bunnies, squirrels, chickens, were made for the chase.

First peek at the chicks!

I have no pictures since I didn't get to witness this firsthand.

So here's what happened as Bettye tells it.

 

She forgot!

Bettye FORGOT to close the chicken coop after feeding the chickens.

Her favorite chicken Fonza saw the open door and

seized the opportunity for freedom.

Trudy was also out!

 

Can you say Uh-Oh?????

 

Trudy saw Fonza and the chase was on.

Bettye was in a panic.

She couldn't catch Trudy or the chicken.

Round and round the yard.

I think you could say she was

panic-stricken for her chicken,

...

Fonza remembered:

I've got wings!

 

So, up, up and away. She flew over the fence

and hid behind some boxes in the open garage.

Whew!

I'm sure Trudy was mighty surprised and disappointed

to see that bird disappear.

(She has no clue that her life was also spared that day.)

 

It took a while for Bettye to coax Fonza out and soothe that fluttering heart,

but she managed to get her back to the henhouse.

Fonza ran back to the farthest corner.

And promptly laid an egg.

End of story.

 

Something good did come out of the wild chicken chase after all!

 

 

Love me some chicken!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anticipation!

 

Meeting up with the family.

Kids and grandkids.

Rented a lake house that promises

some water, rest, relaxation.

 

 

Weather forecast promises blue skies and sunshine!

Packin' up lots of food!

 

Gonna spend some time with these cuties:

I'm ready!
Are you?

They really like monkeys.

 

These kids know all about

fun, resting, adventure, silliness,

and love.

 

It's beginning to look like a GREAT week-end!



Can I Just Say It?

I am Soooooo proud of my nephew, Chase.

Sweet boy

One fine young man

West Point graduate

Army Ranger

Green Beret

Yep! So proud of him. 

I know his parents, my brother,

And his wife,

Are bustin' their buttons today!

Wednesday

Psalm 19:1-4 

The heavens declare the glory of God;the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 

Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. 

They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. 

Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,their words to the ends of the world.

In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun. 

Ride for Life

The time has come.

 

 

Puttin' on my big girl panties helmet!

Suckin' it up!



Gonna ride for life (and Dear Heart) today and Sunday.

 

 

We will ride for the unwed mother, the scared teenager, the grieving widow,

the rocky marriage, the jobless, the lonely, the anxious, and the hopeless.

Ride for Life is a ministry outreach of Hope for the Heart.

http://www.hopefortheheart.org/about/who-we-are/

 

 

 

Jason, Jack and Kate
think it's gonna be a great ride!

 

What say you?

Could you ride on this for about 6 hours?



A Visiting We Did Go

This has been a busy week.

My niece, Robyn, visited us for a few days.

It was a good week of resting, visiting, shopping,

and being together.

(She needed a rest - she is a NICU nurse.

Pretty intense job.)

Thanks for coming to see us, Robyn.

 

 

After we took Robyn to the train station,

we headed out to Farmersville to visit with a dear friend ...

and take Trudy for a visit with her buddies.

There was a new kid on the block.

They had to get acquainted with each other.

Cowboy and Trudy

Trudy is going to stay for a couple of weeks while we

do our motorcycle ride and spend time with kids and grandkids.

Fun, fun, fun.

 

Here is a pic of Bettye, the best friend you could ever have.

She is fun-loving and would do anything for you.

As she has proved many times.

Bettye is a person of spunk,
a real spitfire.
Can you tell? ;-)

Trudy got to meet Bettye's chickens.

They all have a name.

 

(Bettye names everything - cars, computers, etc.)

 

Biddy was not in the above pic.

She was on the nest.

Voila!!!

Biddy delivered - warm and fresh out of the chute. ;-)

 

 

Scarecrow

Monarch butterflies everywhere today.

So lovely.

 

 

 

 

Honor to Whom Honor is Due

Last week I posted that our church would be honoring military,

firefighters, rescue personnel and police officers in our Sunday service.
Our pastor's thought is that youth living in this generation and
especially in the area where we live,
are not given ample opportunity to thank those who make sacrifices
necessary to secure the freedoms we enjoy here in the U.S.
Servants

I did not mention in that post that a replica
of the Vietnam Memorial Wall would be on display all weekend at our church.

Much bigger than I imagined

over 53,000 names inscribed

The American Legion was there to
assist finding familiar names
and provide paper and pencil to
trace the names of loved ones.

The American Veterans Travel Tribute
brought in the Wall and put it together.
They guarded it day and night.


What a wonderful tribute this weekend as our church

gave "honor to whom honor is due." Romans 13:7.
 

 

The Honor Guard from the Plano West High School ROTC

presented the colors,

We sang the National Anthem.

Congressman Sam Johnson

(a former POW at Hanoi Hilton for 7 years)

led all of us in saying the Pledge to our flag.

 

 

 

We cheered and applauded those who had gone forward to be honored.

We prayed for them.

 

It was an outstanding tribute to the people who make sacrifices for us daily.

I wanted to cry out somewhere (where??)

 

"People! Don't forget how much has been given and

how much blood has been shed

so that you can have freedom to even be here,

to live the standard of life you have,

to learn, to work, to vote.

Let's don't lose it!"

 

 

 

Most appropriate especially this week

as we remembered the tragedies of 9/11,

the victims, the heroes, and the families and friends of both.

 

 

 

 

 

No Whar But Texas!

Today marks the 26th year since Dear Heart and I met.

A day for which I will always be thankful

and still remember as though it was yesterday! ;-)

Having been widowed for one year and X-tremely lonely,

my friend, Sandy, invited me to attend her church which had a singles group.

(I WAS the single adult group at our small church)

On Sunday nights, several of the singles would head over to a
country western place for some fun and to do a little two-steppin'

now this was a shocking thing to my Mom who

could not believe that Baptists would dance on Sunday nights!

 

So, I reluctantly headed over there early to take a few lessons.

(Country Western dance had not been part of my repertoire, doncha see?)

After seeing my choices of partners at the lessons, I found myself an

obscure place to hide and keep away from the "weirdos."

Sandy informed me that I had a bad attitude and how another friend of hers

had actually met her husband in a "place like this." HA! I said.

After being invited to dance with a few exuberant dancers,

(maybe a few too many?)

a nice-looking man came over and said, "Would you like to dance with me?"

Oh yes! He was a sweet talker indeed and talked all the

time as he guided me around the dance floor.

Felt like I had been 2-steppin' all my life.

We danced and danced and went out for a bite to eat together.

After giving him my office phone number, we said our good-byes,

(not telling him where I lived.)

and then I drove home at breakneck speed.

hoping he wasn't a crazy who would follow me home

He called the next day. We set a date.

In a few days, he called again, asking me to go to a movie
with him and "his boy."

Okay! Now this is crazy.

Only a few weeks before,

as I sat at a red light staring at a man and his son in the truck ahead of me,

I distinctly remember my prayer,

.

"O God, that's what I need. A man and a boy."

All I can say is, God works in mysterious ways, doesn't He?

He knows, He hears, He cares.

Those eyes still spark with a sweet mischief.
You gotta love a guy like that!

Turns out, the little boy had a sister.

So, second date finds me with Dear Heart, his son, and his daughter.

Two of the best kids. Ever!

I not only got the cake, but the frosting AND sprinkles too.

 If you have time to listen, this is Willie Nelson singing
I Could Waltz Across Texas With You.
 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Y7YuDRO5d0



Servants

Our church is doing something really nice this week-end to honor

and say "thank you" to the men, women and families

who have served our community and country in the present or past

in the military, as firefighters, police officer and rescue personnel.

A big thumbs-up to Grace Outreach Center.
 

 

In addition to honoring them in the service Sunday,
and the gift of a little packet of goodies,

lunch will be served to them and their families.
 

Now I say "little packet." Last night I stayed after church to help

put the "little packets" together. A painstaking task of putting together cards,

special medallions, gift cards, books and drawings

and sweet messages from the children in our church.

All of this was sealed, stamped, tied together with red, white and blue ribbons

and put in a little bag and sealed up. Wow!

My stiff fingers struggled with tying the ribbons together

and just trying to get those stickers off the pages.

 

Now, on my way home I thought over this.

I put in a just little over an hour on this project.

I have no idea how much time was spent prior to this by others

(obtaining/making and separating all the goodies)

and how much time will be spent by staff and volunteers

to finish the project before Sunday.

And how much time will be put in by the volunteers who prepare
and serve the lunch Sunday?

 

But my thought was:

"Will anybody fully appreciate the efforts

or know what it took to put together those little goodies?"

 

Aha! Light bulb moment!

Can anybody ever fully appreciate what is involved in the life

of someone who serves our community or country
day after day in sometimes thankless positions?

 

I don't think so.

We say very sincerely that we do.

But, unless we have actually been there,

we really don't know.

 

Servants.

They are almost always invisible, humble,

and focused on meeting the needs of others.

 

Thank you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Doin' the Roomba

Over the last 9 years, floors have become a big issue around here.
Probably because we have more floor space than we did in the 30 years prior.

 

I.Can't.Stand.A.Dirty.Floor.

 

So after having purchased various and sundry vacuum cleaners,
steam cleaners, big vacs, little vacs,

shark vacs, brooms, mops, etc.,

we have finally come to this.

 

 

Dear Heart ordered this as a gift to make my life easier
and keep floors cleaned on a daily basis.

Except for the times he must eat, sleep, go to church
or tend to necessities of life,
(and time the Roomba spends on the charger)

he has not stopped watching this thing perform
and presenting to me the evidence of his wisdom
in purchasing this little robot guy vacuum.

He saves the dirt for me to see.

Dirty dirt!

 

 

As we get older, I guess we are more easily entertained!

I can tell you that this Labor Day Week-end has been less labor intensive for me!
I.Got.Me.Some.Clean.Floors

Hope you have had a fabulous weekend.

 

 

Ticket to Ride

Yes sirree!! Dear Heart and I got our tickets to ride!

Thank you FreeDigitalPhotos.net

He said: "Oh boy! I can hardly wait!"
(big smile and rubbing his hands together)
She said: "I think this means it is really gonna happen."
(biting her nails and fighting back fear)

Two more weeks. The countdown begins.

When I signed up for an overnight motorcycle trip,

the date seemed far, far away.

you know ... something that might never really happen.
Things do change day to day, don't they?

(Maybe something would happen like not enough people signed up,
maybe snow, maybe rain
it would be cancelled, etc.)

What this means for me?

I will be sitting behind Dear Heart on a big Can Am Roadster

riding from Dallas to Jefferson, Texas.

(suffering helmet hair again, small space for packing, and the like)

Whee!!

Another First!

So far, I have ridden in various

modes of transportation including, but not limited to:

Airplane (with Dear Heart as pilot), train, floatplane,
canoes, rafts, jet boat, ship, gyroplane,
(camel, horse, elephant)

Am I a sucker or what?

This one is for a great cause. :-) 

2012 Ride For Life — Re-Union Ride

We will ride for the unwed mother, the scared teenager, the grieving widow,

the rocky marriage, the jobless, the lonely, the anxious, and the hopeless.

Ride for Life is a ministry outreach of Hope for the Heart.

http://www.hopefortheheart.org/about/who-we-are/