Baby Blanket

This is the blanket I'm working on right now, using Caron Simply Soft yarn. When we were at the lake I talked to mom and she reminded me of one of my new favorite blogs - Wishing I Was Knitting At The Lake - and told me to do this picture. I thought it was a brilliant idea as that's where I got the blanket pattern! Cathy does beautiful baby things and I'm glad I found her blog. And since she seems to also be a lake rat (!), it's almost like we're soul sisters. :)

Ronda T., not sure if you can see them in the picture, but those are the stitch markers you gave me (at the beginning and end of the row)! Thanks - I love them!

A Joyful Message

You know how sometimes your day just kind of plods along, kind of blah like? Nothing bad at all, just nothing to jump up and down over? Then lo and behold you receive a cell phone picture like this one and suddenly you're just filled with joy! The message that came with it was "I love you this much!"

I have a smile a mile wide now and a skip in my heart. :)

A New US Citizen!

Last night I had such a special experience. A friend became a US citizen and another friend had a party to celebrate. It was so fun to share this with her and really it was quite touching.

All the gifts were red, white and blue and we all wore patriotic colors as well. It was just so nice to see a positive celebration of America.

"Ask not what your country can do for you…Ask what you can do for your country." - John F. Kennedy

Brooklyn and Her Knitted Socks

James and Loni brought Brooklyn over one evening this weekend. I always love to hold her and love on her. This evening I don't believe I ever did see her eyes. :) They had spent the day at Loni's sister's house, so this baby received lots of loving and I guess it just wore her plum out!

I took the opportunity to bring out the socks I had finally finished knitting and tried them on her. Note to self - measure the foot instead of just blindly following the pattern. These ended up looking like elf shoes on her with the good half inch to inch spare room at her toes. The top fit well though.

You can see just how excited she was to be wearing socks that her Grandma made for her. I, of course, think she's looks precious. Some day she'll be awake and be able to more fully appreciate this sort of thing. :)

If your baby is "beautiful and perfect, never cries or fusses,sleeps on schedule and burps on demand, an angel all thetime," you're the grandma. ~ Teresa Bloomingdale

A Respite at the Lake

This weekend Keith, Joe and I did one of my absolute favorite things in the world - we went to the lake. Our original plan was to dash up there and do a "mow and go" since we just had to get home and get things done. You know the drill - life now is just a constant go, go, go for everybody. But God had other plans for us.

Before anything else we checked on some of our favorite spots. The picture of Keith and Joe shows The Point and while it doesn't show much in the picture we were astonished to see how much less there was of it after the flood. The waters have receded quite a bit, though still a ways to go, and the erosion definitely left its mark on the land.

When we got back to the cabin and saw the grass in the backyard we were a little disheartened to see it so high. We haven't been up there since before Brooklyn was born, so really it had gotten a little out of control. Keith grabbed the weedeater and I grabbed the mower and off we went. It took hours. Honestly though it was so satisfying to do the physical labor side by side with my beloved. We worked, we sweated (a lot!) and we took several water breaks.

After we took showers we decided to run to town and get something to eat. On the way we saw this sight in the lawn of a medical clinic! I really think it was the hot pink that made me notice it in the first place. :) As soon as we noticed it Keith turned to me with a sigh and said "Let me guess - you want to go over there a take a picture." Yup, sure do dear. He's pretty understanding about this sort of thing. And this pink toilet and flamingo is just one reason I love the small towns by the lake. :)

After dinner we stopped by a few more of our favorite spots to check and see how they fared after the flood. This picture shows that the lake is still quite high - that's a handicap parking sign on the pole...in the water. There's also a new walkway built with sandbags and plywood just to get to the original walkway to the docks. Lots of cleanup and repairs to be done.

At this point it was getting late in the evening and we were both so tired from all the yardwork, so we finally admitted that we didn't need to be driving home and would stay the night. What a relaxing time we had! Headed back out to the point and took some pictures of Joe. I never think of him as an old dog until I see his little white face in pictures. He was a little miffed at us for not letting him go swimming, but he does like the hiking.

It really turned out to be such a relaxing afternoon/night. We slept in a bit the next day before heading home to all of our obligations. This brief respite that the Lord granted us was so rejuvenating and how blessed we are that He watches out for us this way. When we slow down and listen to our souls and hear what the Lord says to us we can learn so much.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." - Jeremiah 29:11

Peace

Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you. - 2 Thessalonians 3:16

As I sat thinking last night the word Peace kept coming to me. Right now I am in a wonderful state of Peace. Things are so good - GOD is so good. Way too much turmoil and sense of unbalance the last 2 years and now we have entered a period of beautiful Peace.

It is so good to have a loving husband and good relationship. We can be so silly together (yes even at our advanced age!) and yet the quiet times are so good. Peace. The feeling that it's ok to be quiet and comfortable together and enjoy it. To bask in the glow of our togetherness and praise that we have found one another.

The children are doing well. They all have good jobs, good homes, good lives. Peace. When you know that your children are happy and well. The grandbaby is well and beautiful. Holding her gives me an enormous sense of peace and contentment. Truly there are few things as wonderful in life as holding a grandbaby. Listening to her sounds of happiness while having a bottle bring back so many memories of my babies. I wish I could bottle those sounds and play them often.

Friendships are blossoming and fulfilling. Being with my friends fills a place in my heart. Having girlfriends to talk to, giggle with, hug when either side needs it - God is so good to bring these women into my life. Peace. When you know that your friends are there even if you get caught up in your busy 9-5 life. Seeing a friend's number on your cell phone as it rings brings a sense of delight to your heart.

And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. - Philippians 4:6-7

I know that there are so many places where there is no Peace, but I praise Him who brings Peace to me. And a song from long ago just popped into my head...

Let there be Peace on earth and let it begin with me...."

Thank you Jesus for bringing that Peace to my life right now.