Pink Saturday

It is Pink Saturday in Blogland with Beverly at How Sweet the Sound. Here in North Texas, it is gloomy and stormy weather is in the forecast today. We will be driving north to watch Jack play baseball, (weather permitting) and bringing him home with us to spend the night.

Azaleas

My Peonies

Just some happy flowers from the State of Washington

Cherry blossoms in Washington

Aspen Lake in Yakima, Washington

Happy Friday

A beautiful sunrise

and sunset!

I never can resist stepping outside to take a picture of the sunsets because they are so gorgeous and then I step back inside and the sunset instantly changes. I go back and forth and each time they get more beautiful and I lament again because the pics would be so much better with a real camera.

Yesterday I took DH out for breakfast, which is one of his favorite things to do. After that, we took the Volt over to see why the tires are wearing out too soon and discovered that something called struts needed to be adjusted, I don't know what that means, but I'm glad we didn't put off taking the car in to be checked. After dropping off the car, we went over to Costco, came back home and I talked DH into a short walk. Yay, me! Yay, him! The sunshine was just perfect and made the tops of the trees at the park look like silver.  

Pink Wildflowers (weeds)

Noah is growing up. Here he is at school with his mom for Leadership Day. The K through 2nd graders did all the talking in the assembly and parents got to tour the school learning about all the school programs. We are proud of you, Noah and your accomplishments are great! But we love you just because you are our Sweet Noah.

And who is this little catcher?

Why, it's Jack, of course!

I cannot look at this boy and not smile!

He is so precious.

My favorite store had a 40% off EVERYTHING in the store this week and because I somehow got dropped out of their system, I ended up getting 50% off the things I bought. I did not go crazy, but was pleased to get a few things I needed. I had to go 1/2 size up. Ugh! So what did I do today? Made bread!

That is butter on top and the shot makes my bread look like a rectangular tortilla.

But it was good. The recipe was for Amish Sweet Bread. It is good, but I

know I will get better with practice.

Thankful Thursday

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will bring to pass all that He has promised, for He is faithful. Has He not said and will He not perform? We live in hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before the world began; and Jesus Himself said, "Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away."

"Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments ... The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness ...  He is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them--he remains faithful forever. ...  His mercies are new every morning; great is His faithfulness. ... God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. ... The one who calls you is faithful, and He will do it ... the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one. ... if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself. ... Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful."

Jesus is the only constant. He never changes and is the same yesterday, today and forever. We can rely on Him to take care of us until the day of His return. Over and over we are reminded of our God's faithfulness. You are the One who is FAITHFUL AND TRUE! May the knowledge and remembrance of that bring us Your peace today.

My heart rejoices when I read the promise

'There is a place I am preparing for you.'

I know someday I'll see my Lord face to face,

'Cause my Redeemer is faithful and true.

My Redeemer is faithful and true.

My Redeemer is faithful and true.

Everything He has said He will do,

And every morning His mercies are new.

My Redeemer is faithful and true. ~Steven Curtis Chapman

Showers of Blessings Hodgepodge

Here are the fun questions for this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge. 

1. April showers bring May flowers or so the saying goes. Has your April been filled with showers? Do you carry an umbrella, wear a slicker, or make a run for it? Besides rain, what else has filled your April?

We have had plenty of April showers, enough to flood behind our back yard. We've also had hail with the showers, although not as bad as some of the surrounding cities. I'm very t hankful. Hail the past two years has been brutal, busting car windshields and windows of people's homes and roofs.

I buy umbrellas and keep them in the car and somehow they always end up in the trunk so that I have to get out in the rain to grab one. I always kept a big umbrella on the patio for use when I would take my dog Trudy out and stand over her holding the umbrella to keep her dry in the rain. Spoiled doggie. And I also have a little rain jacket.

April has been filled with fun, company, Bible studies, time with family and friends, and MOST important of all,

my DH's surgery for the abdominal aorta aneurysm! Had the follow-up visit today (Tuesday) and doctor says he looks good. He will do a CT scan in a couple of weeks to see what it looks like and he said the aneurysm should begin to shrink. And now DH is free from that ever present possibility of rupture. Thanks be to God, this makes April a very happy month! Showers of blessings!

2. What's something you could you give a 30-minute presentation on at a moment's notice and with zero preparation?

I don't know about it being a presentation, but I think I could speak for at least 30 minutes about God's love for us and His grace.

3. Share with us a favorite food memory from childhood.

Pinto beans, fried potatoes and cornbread were an all time favorite (and still is), and another was pot roast with all the vegetables and loads of gravy. My mom used to make homemade rolls and I could easily eat half a dozen of those with the pot roast meal.

4. What's a song you thought you knew the lyrics to, but later discovered you were wrong?

Louie, Louie!

5. According to one travel website, the most overrated tourist attractions in America are-
Niagara Falls (NY), Hollywood Walk of Fame (California), Times Square (NYC), Epcot (FL), Seattle Space Needle (WA), and Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market (Boston). How many of these have you seen in person?

Niagara Falls, Times Square, and Quincy Market.

Did you feel like a tourist? Yes. Did you care? No.

Tell us about a place (not on the list) you've visited that might be considered a tourist trap, but you love it anyway.

Jerusalem - there were all kinds of vendors trying to sell jewelry and items made of olive wood.

6. Your signature clothing item?

Tee shirt and jeans.

7. What's an experience you've had you think everyone should experience at least once? Why?

I loved visiting Israel and seeing the places I'd read about in the Bible all my life. In fact, I enjoyed it so much, we went back a second time and, given the opportunity, would go back again. When asked in a job interview what my dream job would be, I said I would love to be a tourist guide in Israel.

Why?

If you love our Lord and the Bible, you would love visiting Israel. Even if you aren't a believer, it is an ancient place with loads of interesting things to see and history to learn.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

The storm has passed. We've been flooded with showers of blessings. Thank You, Father.

Jack is 6

The weekend was filled with family and fun. On Friday, Sara and the boys came to visit for the two-fold purpose of visiting Papa and Nonnie, and for Jack's birthday party (mostly that 😉)! We had a great time playing at the park, having waffles and cinnamon rolls for breakfast, playing Hearts and, of all things, they wanted to watch Old Yeller! So we did!

Saturday was happy birthday party time for Jack!

Pancakes first thing!

At home, opening gifts from the family.

The big box contained the Rip Razor from us.

He had to try it out first thing!

Kids always love a big box.

Jack likes to cross his eyes.

Then, lunch at Braum's Ice Cream!

Celebrating Jason and Amy's

11th wedding anniversary!

DH with daughter Sara

And finally! Fun at the Obstacle Warrior Kids and everybody LOVES this place. What a workout for these kids!

He came!

He saw!

He conquered!

This was funny. Jack had told everybody he wanted a Rubik's cube.

He now has several and when he opened this Rubik's cube from a buddy, he looked at it

and said, "I already have one of these - here, you can have it!"

I think he's gonna need a little lesson on accepting gifts, although it was generous of

him to give it away.

Taking a break from being Ninjas to having a little

cake and ice cream.

Sweet kids!

Jason treated all 15 of us after the party for dinner at a Mexican Restaurant! It was truly a wonderful day!

They couldn't even make it up the stairs. So tired!

(Kate got a little gift, too and she tried it out last night!)

Friday Foto Friends

Friday Foto Friends!

We weren't with the kids for their respective Easter Egg hunts, but I'm saving the pics given to me.

This was the beautiful cross at Amy and Jason's church. Everyone brings flowers to place upon it. I think that is a lovely idea and had not seen it before but apparently, it is something many churches do.

Sweet Kate

Amy and Jack

Jason had to work on Saturday and Easter Sunday so he isn't in the photos. That is one of the drawbacks in the life of a firefighter. Their schedules go regardless of holidays.

Brady

Noah

Brady and Noah were with their cousins for Easter. I kind of edited the photos to spotlight them, but I see that there was no way to edit them all out. Tate (the kid with the Easter basket on his head) had to remain! Lol! Funny kids. They do have a great group of cousins who all live nearby. Their Grandma there is blessed to have all her little chickens live so close.

Below is a photo of a new car dealership on the tollway we travel frequently ... uh, more like every day! As we have watched so many buildings going up, this one caught our interest as they built it and we guessed what it would be. We wondered about whether cars would be displayed in this tower and, sure enough, there they are. My pic is crooked because I was driving as I held the phone up running the video. It somewhat resembles the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It is lit up at night, but I don't dare try to take a picture of it then.

As we see the changes happening so quickly before our eyes, the countryside is changing. It makes me sad to see the landscape change and the animals are being run off the land for hotels, shopping and restaurants. Below is a picture of fields where there used to be mesquite trees everywhere. They have been bulldozed down and afterward, we saw several mounds. It dawned on me (duh) one day that the trees had been turned into mulch.

One tree left.

Happy Friday!

The above is from a Facebook page I follow ... PeacefulMomentsForWomen. Her pics are always so sweet and so are the thoughts she shares.

We will be celebrating Jack's 6th birthday this Saturday. So hard to believe. Don't you dare blink because they go from this:

 to this in a flash!!

 Happy Birthday to you, Jack. We love you!

Oh yes! And we love your Mommy and Daddy

who just happen to celebrate their anniversary on your birthday!