Stop and Smell the Flowers

2013 has been a very busy and fabulous year for us.  So far, well at least after the spring semester ended, it hasn't been a stressful year, just busy.  Every small and big thing happening seems to come with a long list of detail to take care of.

I was reminded on our morning walk that sometimes in the middle of the busy times of life it's a good thing to just Stop and Smell the Flowers.

Beau and I take a walk every day and now that the Texas heat has arrived I've moved our walks to the morning so that his little piggy pads don't burn on the hot sidewalk.  One neighbor has a beautiful patch of flowers right next to the sidewalk and Beau always tends to stop and sniff the flowers.  In this picture though he finished flower sniffing and just sat down, almost as if to take in their glory.  By the time I got my phone out and camera app on he was ready to continue the walk, but this photo is close enough.

After we had walked a bit the revelation hit me that we can learn a lot from our dogs (really we learn a lot from them daily!) about life.  Stop, relax and enjoy this wonderful morning.  It truly is a gift.

Deep Thoughts:  "You're only here for a short visit. Don't hurry. Don't worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way."  Walter Hagen

Finding Joy In The Parking Lot

Sometimes it’s possible to have a good time even when you’re in a very mundane place – like a Big Box Superstore parking lot.

Have you noticed that so many of the people shopping have somewhat of a grimace on their face? I’m not here to throw stones at them, because goodness knows we all have things going on in our lives. But what I AM here to say is that it’s possible to bring joy to others in the most ordinary of places.

We had finished our Big Box Superstore shopping trip and were high stepping it out to the car to load our goods before the rain started. Our normal routine is to load, then I take the cart to the corral while Keith starts the car and gets the a/c going.

Since we had just finished having a great laughing conversation with the checkout clerk that mood carried us on to the parking lot. As I turned around from corralling my cart I noticed a woman heading my way, though with a bit of a frown on her face, about 4 car lengths away.

My sillies took over – I crouched down, patted the top of my thighs, held out my hands and hollered “Let ‘er rip!”

She stopped and looked stunned for a minute, then grinned and said “Seriously?”

“Yep,” I said, with a bit of a wiggle in my fingers.

She said “OK!” with a big grin, then yelled “WHOA!” and gave it a shove.

We both threw our heads back laughing, I caught the cart and put it away and started walking back. She had started walking towards me, still laughing, and said “Thank you for such a wonderful laugh.”

I got in the car with Keith, who had seen the whole thing and was laughing. As we passed her parked car we could see her on the phone laughing and talking.

Joy in the Parking Lot – it can be a beautiful thing.

* photo credit Robert Couse-Baker on Flickr

Card #1 - FTL122–Thank You Card

One of my high school friends recently posted on her Facebook page about a book that she was going to try and follow. It’s called 365 Thank Yous: The Year A Simple Act of Daily Gratitude Changed My Life by John Kralik (the link takes you to an author interview on NPR). This book chronicles the author’s decision to write a thank you note to one of his friends, family or even a stranger every day for one year.

I think this is a tremendously great idea and really goes along with the Friday Fave Five posts in that it helps you to focus on the positive. Honestly can’t you right now think of people that you could send a Thank You too?

However….that’s a rather lofty goal for me, so when I first read about it I agreed to myself that it was great, but not for me. But my thoughts keep returning to this book.

Then this morning I read somewhere that a person’s handwriting is fast becoming a lost art. I’ve mentioned before how much I love getting notes in the mail and when I read this about handwriting it gave me pause. A lost art? How sad that would be. Seeing a person’s handwriting can take you down memory lane faster than many things.

So all this leads me to my mutant version of the the book and the handwriting. In my version I’m going to try to send out a card a week – more if the situation warrants (I’d hate to put off a birthday card because I’d already sent a card that week!!!). There is *always* something you can send a card for and if there are no birthdays or anniversaries then it’s time to send a Thinking of You, Thank You or Missing You card. Can’t we all think of somebody that would fit one of those categories?

I’m hoping that I will also make the card I send so that I can justify my card making craft supplies. But I’m not going to beat myself up if it’s a busy week and I can’t get to it since the real point is to get a card sent.

** Edited to add - Apparently I'm not the only one that came up with this mutant idea! Today in reading blogs I found a link to 52 Weeks, 52 Letters where she challenges us to do the same thing. I added my link and if you've decided to do something similar to this post I encourage you to link there as well.

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Here is Card #1 using the FTL122 layout from the Clean & Simple Stamping blog. I do have a reason to send a Thank You card, so I’m off to a good start. Now all I need to do is handwrite a message on the inside!

• Stamps – Whimsical Words by Stampin’ Up
• Ink – Palette Noir Black
• Paper – Kraft (Stampin’ Up), Spring Moss (Papertrey Ink), pattern paper/blue paper Metropolitan Plaza (American Crafts)
• Size – 7x6 folded in half

* Linking to Get Your Craft On, Monday’s Blog Hop, Take-A-Look Tuesday

Sunsets From God

We were able to spend some time this weekend at the lake – just the two of us and the dog and our daughter.  Because the weather was mostly overcast and rainy it turned into a very relaxing respite from a busy week.  Even though we didn’t do much in the way of ordinary lake activities, we did have a great time together.

Saturday night we did take the boat out and while we were at the gas dock I looked across and saw the restaurant.  It’s on the 2nd level and the 1st level is just support for it to float.  Now interesting, to us anyway, the lake flooded in 2007 and this restaurant was under water.  When you go in now there is a line high up by the ceiling – on the 2nd level mind you – that shows how high the water got.  They rebuilt and it’s become quite a hub on the lake.

 

With the fall weather here we opted to sit outside on the patio while we had dinner.  It was so enjoyable to watch the boats below us and the waitress was telling us stories of some of the things she’d seen on the water.  :)

 

After dinner we headed home, seeing some of the boats coming in for the night.

 

And as we were riding in the boat, Lynne’ and I up at the very front to fully appreciate the incredible sunset, well to be honest we were a bit overcome.

The colors of the sunset were beyond stunning.  Lynne’ turned to me and said “Sometimes when you see something like this, you know that God has done this purely for us to enjoy.  And this is a perfect example of what the word awesome truly means.”

I couldn’t agree with her more.  Thank you Father for all the awesome things you give us to see and enjoy.  And may we never lose the wonderment and enjoyment of your creations.

 

* Linking to Spiritual Sundays

Slow Down – and Be Still

We went to the lake today, a fast trip to check on things.

And as often happens when I am there, time slows down, and stress slides off my shoulders.  It’s at those moments that you really notice things around you – and are thankful for the experience.

The berries on this bush were noticed as we drove by, so I set out on a short walk with camera in hand.  The red was so vibrant and it made me smile.

We drove down to the shoreline to see how things looked after the winter months.  Rounding a corner on the curvy road I saw a site that took my breath away – 9 deer were coming across the road into the field across the way.  We startled them…and their eyes became alert, tails quivered and they took hurried steps away.  But not before we had stopped and watched them for those brief seconds.

My heart sang as I watched them – and I rejoiced in the experience.

“"Be still, and know that I am God;
       I will be exalted among the nations,
       I will be exalted in the earth."   Psalm 46:10

AMEN!

A Woman Who Loves Life and Laughter

Honestly I wasn't even going to post about this event. But the thing is, when I started this blog it was kind of meant to document some of the exciting and meaningful events in my life. So even though there might be some kind folks out there that will roll their eyes when they read this, I'm going to have to take that chance.

This is the underside of the new 4-wheel drive fun machine we got this week.  Keith and I are on vacation and having a lot of fun just enjoying being together and that included picking up our new toy.  

And in fact, we picked it up yesterday and headed to the atv park to play with it.  What we were not totally aware of was just how easy this thing rolls over.  Now thankfully we had our seatbelts and such on, so when it went over, my side is on the sand, Keith was held aloft by his seatbelt, thus giving me the chance to get out. 

I had a little pain in my side, so we headed back to our truck so I could just sit still for a bit while Keith and his brother went out riding some more.  We got home and I still was kind of uncomfortable, so we did a little internet searching to see what we figured might have happened.

This morning I still hurt, so we headed to the doctor's office, where we discovered that I had broken some ribs.  Funny thing is that they do absolutely nothing for broken ribs any more, so I got a pain med prescription and was sent on my merry way.

It has been suggested to me that perhaps it's time for Keith and I to stop doing things like this and realize that we are getting older. But honestly, that's not us.  We truly love to live life to its fullest each and every minute of the day.  So much more fun than sitting around at home waiting and letting life pass us by.

The moral of the story is this - every person must make their own choices as to what they want to do.  We feel so blessed by our lives and being able to play together, especially celebrating me being in remission.  There are no guarantees in life and I do not want to sit around and just "be safe" without living life.  What a terrible thing to have as part of my final "sermon" - She was a very safe woman.  No thank you.  I much prefer She was a woman who loved to live life and laugh all the way.

I hope that all that read this are encouraged to have fun in life.  We never know how long that life might be, so we might as well enjoy every minute we have.  And when the good Lord comes to take us home we will leave this earth with a big smile on our face and arms open wide to receive Him.

AMEN!

Tell Your Family You Love Them

Sometimes things happen that make you stop in your tracks for a minute and ponder the things in your life. For me it all happened this week.

We've been kind of on a whirlwind at home the last many weeks what with Lynne' moving back home, going on vacation, Brooklyn's birthday, family reunion fun this weekend, etc. I've started to notice some dissatisfaction in my thinking, particularly in my house. Not the house itself, but the things I've been wanting to do with it.

Then a few days ago a very dear blogger friend posted that she wouldn't be around much as her son had been tragically killed in a car accident. The three of us at home have talked about this and prayed for her family. The natural order of life is that you should never have to bury your children.

Last night after doing the dishes I went to lay on the bed for a few minutes and Lynne' came in to chat with me. We talked about the state of the nation, healthcare, etc. Then we started talking about things that needed to be done around the house in preparation for family coming to town and Brooklyn staying this weekend with us. We laughed about how much organizing I need to do. I told Lynne' that I never want my tombstone to read "she had a clean house", but rather I would like to be remembered as always being there for my family.

This morning before work we actually chatted about it again. Lynne' agreed wholeheartedly that she'd much rather have a mom that enjoyed life and being with her than to be overly concerned with the house.

I went to Debby's blog and saw that she had posted about her son's funeral being tomorrow. He's a very handsome young man and again my heart aches for her. Her closing statement was:

"If you have kids, dishes can wait, hobbies can wait, sleep can wait. If they call, if come over, that's all that matters at that moment."

My grandmother always said "It's not odd, it's God". Really there is no such thing as a coincidence. I called Lynne' at work to read Debby's words to her and she said "You know mom, that is so true. We never really know how much time we have with anybody".

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance." Ecclesiastes 3:1-4

Now by no means am I advocating that we never clean the house, but the events of this week have shown me clearly that there are things way more important. I am hoping to always have my family and friends around and that they will be more of a focus than what my house looks like. Our time together is short on this earth and we should enjoy each other to the fullest.

AMEN!

Surviving The Storm

Instead of hearing the sweet birds sing outside my window today I'm hearing a cacophony of chain saws, power tools and men's voices. There is a lot of cleanup being done after a fierce storm blew through on Wednesday night.

Wednesday was a long day for me, so I asked Keith if he would mind if we went out for dinner. Of course he's always up for mexican food, so off we went...never knowing a storm was on the way.

After dinner we were on our way to pick up a prescription when the storm wall hit us. He turned into a grocery store parking lot just in time for a light pole to snap and come down. He parked next to a store building, yelled get out and we ran over to hunker down. We stood and watched (and I prayed out loud the entire time) as 2 more light poles came down, trees were uprooted, a part of a roof flew by, the grocery cart corrals came undone and went flying and even the hard top of a pickup bed flew by!

The photo shows the light pole and tree down in front of the Starbucks that we go to. Doesn't look so scary when looking at a picture, but it was awful to not be home during this.

Coming home there was a power line not totally down, but leaning, so we went a different way. Fences and trees were down everywhere. The tree between our house and the neighbor snapped up high and landed on their roof. I sat with the mom playing with her two little ones to help calm them down and Keith went on the roof with the guy so they could check for damage. Their roof ok, but the limb too big too move without cutting it in pieces.

This storm has been on my mind a lot the last 2 days, especially since yesterday morning the entire area was hit with torrential rains again. Lots of street flooding in Dallas and high water rescues. A tree across the street got struck by lightning and it's the strangest thing - it didn't burn, but there is a burn mark all down the side of the tree. Later in the day there was door bell ringing and all the neighbors getting together and comparing stories.

It made me think of how we are hearing so many stories of people not relating to their neighbors like they used to. Honestly I won't argue that as I feel it is true. But somehow I am a little more comforted knowing that in times of trouble we all still turn to each other for help and assistance.

And that's a good thing.

"Carry each other's burdens, and this way you will fulfill the law of Christ" - Galatians 6:2

Joe to the Vet and Screen-free til 8:03

Today was the day we dropped Joe off at the vet for his 'comprehensive' exam. He has epilepsy, thyroid problems and his terribly overweight. Bless his heart, he takes more pills than we do. But he's such a sweetheart and we love him, so we think it's worth it.

And actually he enjoys this day as he is kind of the baby of the office. He spends the day there since they do a bunch of blood work and all the people there enjoying talking to him and petting him. I'm thinking he's got a pretty good life. :)

Screen-free til 8:03 : Usually when I come up with my hare-brained ideas for self-improvement Keith just kind of nods and goes on. He really is supportive, but bless his heart he has to listen to me all the time deciding that something else will work better!

Today on The Southern Housewife's blog she talked about how so many people are so tuned in to 'screens' that even relationships are starting to suffer. She of course said it very eloquently and her phrase was 'screen affairs'. :) I've thought about her post all day and while I've cut down on my computer time in the evenings dramatically, she also mentioned tv and her blackberry. I'm not a tv person, but I do stay connected to my cell phone at all times.

So while we're having dinner we talked about how all the 'screens' in our house were starting to become way too important in our lives. Our focus going forward is to have no screens on in the evenings until about 8:00. No tv, no computer, no cell phone. And that would actually be a challenge when I consider just how much I enjoy reading blogs!

But let me tell you about our evening tonight. When we got home from getting Joe at the vet we went in the backyard and started doing yard work...together. Side by side in that awful humidity tonight, with sweat pouring down our faces, we worked together. When we came inside we looked at the clock and it was only 7:10.

We brought out the Pente game that we used to play together all the time when we first were married. We played and laughed and had the best time. In fact, it reminded of why we fell in love in the first place.

I can't say with certainty how long we'll keep this up. But while we're doing it we're having fun together and getting things done that have been neglected for too long, so how can it be a bad thing?

Biggest Loser: Again this week I was not happy with who was sent home. Felipe seems like such a nice young man and really I'm not fond of the players that are left. Except for Tara, she's the one I'm hoping will win.

But I won't be able to watch any more because I'm starting a new Bible study next Tuesday night. And we're the couple that doesn't have HDTV or DVR. ;)

Grating the Cheese

The other night for dinner we made a Tamale Pie for the first time. It was such an enjoyable thing to do as we both worked in the kitchen together preparing our meal.

As I stood at the counter grating the cheese a deep feeling of nostalgia washed over me. I remember being young and standing in the kitchen with my mom and grating the cheese just as I did now. I'll admit though that I probably didn't fully appreciate the experience at that age. :)

Now I usually buy the bags of grated cheese at the store since it is so much faster. But this time we went to Sprouts (a great grocery chain here) and they don't carry that product, so I bought a block of cheese to do myself.

I grated what I thought I might need, then busied myself getting the rest of the meal ready. And each time I passed that plate I sneaked a few pieces "just to try." Keith caught me once and laughed - and I laughed along with him.

I think it was the cheese sneaking that brought back the memories. And I learned that grating it yourself really does taste so much better. Modern conveniences are so wonderful. But sometimes doing it the "old-fashioned" way is so much more satisfying.

Stamp Club - Sympathy and Thank You

Sometimes things just work out so well. I usually have kind of a mental list of cards that I need to send and at Stamp Club we just happened to make two of the cards I needed. In fact, the first card is easily one of my favorite cards of all time.

We recently got word that the wife of the pastor of our church back in OKC had passed away. She was the kind of person that absolutely everybody loved and so this was really hard. A gentle, kind soul that truly loved the Lord, we rejoice that she no longer feels the pain. And yet she will be sorely missed by all.

And this card will be winging its way off to somebody that recently sent something to me. Her kindness is much appreciated.

This is the year that I want to send more cards, both for real reasons like above and for some "just because" type of occasions. I went through an entire year of Stamp Club last year and for the most part kept the cards because they turned out well and I wanted to use them for examples. But in reality they have sat in a box and haven't seen the light of day. That is just silly as they could be bringing joy to somebody's mailbox, so this is the year for that.

Remember the days of getting a letter or card in the mail? I especially loved handwritten notes. I would open the envelope and hurriedly read the letter or card. Then go back and read it slowly and savor every thought that was written. My grandmother was probably my best "pen pal" as she often sent letters and cards for no reason at all other than she loved me.

Reading this blog shows how much I love computers and quick communicating, but a part of me pines for the old-fashioned way too. I had a special wooden box that I saved cards and letters in and even today could go and look through some of those notes. It's kind of hard to do the same thing with email, though I suppose we could print them out.

I challenge everybody to send a note or card out this week to somebody you care for. I guarantee you'll bring a smile to somebody's face.

Morning Routines

Depending on the day of the week I use one of three of my daily routines. And lucky for you I’m going to share my week day routines in this post. =)

All mornings I get up and do the shower routine, then head to the kitchen for a large cup of coffee. I go to one of my two favorite spots in the house and have my Bible reading and prayer time. If you are needing a Bible reading plan I highly recommend this one as you read part of the Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs each day. The readings take about 15-20 minutes a day, so definitely doable. I finish getting dressed and leave for work on the days that I am in the office.

Days that I work from home I am blessed with the extra 30 minutes that I usually spend driving. Those days I listen to my now favorite podcast, Revive Our Hearts by Nancy Leigh DeMoss .  The Revive Our Hearts podcast is produced M-F and is about 20 minutes long and she has done several different series’ lately that really touched my heart. One of them was on the Titus 2 woman and loving our husbands – just great. And the end of last week she had a few days of finding comfort and peace in today’s economy. Great reminders of looking upward during these times.

While listening I pull out my knitting and just have such a relaxing start to my day. This morning I started knitting a new hat for a homeless project and hearing the needles click and feeling the yarn slide is just magic for me. On top of that I hear Nancy Leigh DeMoss telling me that all is going to be ok. The cherry on top is my cup of coffee sitting next to me.

And the pictures of Joe and Meeko? That's because they are always in there with me. I guess they want to have a relaxing start to their day as well.

Good times…..

He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will never be shaken - Psalm 62:2

Being Still

This is one of my absolute favorite Bible verses and one that I struggle the most with.  I think many times we get so caught up in being busy and trying to fix things and make things perfect that we really don't hush long enough to listen for Him to give us direction.

In the morning during Bible time yesterday was when this verse came to me again.  It has cooled off here in Texas so I took my coffee and Bible to the backyard for reading.  After my reading was finished and I'd made notes of some new favorite verses, all of a sudden this verse just came at me.  The timing was interesting too because Friday one of my favorite friends found out her "position had been eliminated" at work and I was just devastated.  And not too long after that many of us in our family received an email that my brother/sister-in-law's dog Harmony had passed away.  Sadness - and an entire post coming on that.  But my mind had been a whirl about things happening and wanting to make things better.  And yet, God stepped in and told me to be still.  So I did.

And looking around I noticed the birds, oh so many different varieties.  My first thought was to jump up and come get the camera, but He reminded me again to be still.  And a dog barked in the distance.  And more birds flew in the yard, including a brilliant red cardinal.  And the tears started to flow silently.  Those few moments of beautiful peace and a clear mind and the Lord brings such  wonderful things.  I started to pray and the tears still flowed.  How awesome is our God who loves us no matter what.  Who listens to the words of our hearts.  And who just wants us to be still sometimes and to listen to Him.

"And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."  - Phillipians 4:7

Priority Realignment

Today is a new day, as Sundays many times are. A time to refocus our energies, realign our priorities and step forward in confidence.

I'll admit that I've struggled with priorities lately. It should be Faith, Family, Friends, Finances (ok the last one is really work, but I like having all the same letter). But I have a new position at work and while learning the ropes it hit me that work (finances) has slowly been creeping up on the list and moving other things out of the way. My mental energies have been focused on work and even when I lay down to sleep at night I feel my mind attacking some of the work issues that need addressed. When I realized last night that this was happening I took some time in prayer and have asked God to help me realign my priorities.

Because we all only have "x" amount of hours available to us there's always something that has to give. It hit me that I haven't spent much time at all with my friends lately because of worrying about work. And that will not do at all. I'm not sure how to make it happen, but luckily I don't have to figure it out alone. God will let me know what to do and will put opportunities in front of me.

My prayer for all is that we take the time to look at our priorities and be certain that they are in the right order. If not, take the time to figure out what changes need to be made. And feel free to drop me a line and give me hints on the best way to do it! :)

"Cause me to know Thy lovingkindness in the morning, for in Thee do I trust. Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk, for I lift up my soul unto Thee." Psalm 143:8

Fear

Eleanor Roosevelt is credited as having said "face something you fear every day." I heard this quote a few weeks ago and was so taken with it that I sent it in an email to several people at work. Apparently they were not nearly as smitten as I never heard anything back. ;) But the quote has stayed on my mind and this past weekend I was able to "put my money where my mouth is" so to speak.

I love the concept of the quote. By facing that which we fear we are able to conquer it and fear no longer has any power over us. Between that and having God as my co-pilot it stands to reason that I am king of the world!

Except not so much. There are things that I'm afraid of. And it's a funny thing about fear - those that don't share your fear seem to tsk tsk at it. Sometimes facing a fear is really, really hard. I faced several this past weekend and it wore me out!

The first has to do with the boat. I love the lake and was practically raised on its waters. But at some point in the last couple of years I have developed a deep fear of being on the water. Keith asked me why I'm afraid and really who can ever pinpoint the cause of a fear? So when he asked me if I wanted to start learning to drive the boat the inner me ran and hid in a corner. Exterior me looked that fear in the face and decided to count it as my fear for that day. I sat behind the wheel and I kid you not I had locked elbows and legs! My chin was quivering and I was reciting the 23rd Psalm over and over as I sped up. But God and me, we got through it. His gentle whisperings of encouragement helped me to slowly relax. I can't say that I got to the enjoyment phase of that boat trip, but at least a large part of the fear was faced. And the next day, with water smooth as glass, I drove again and did actually enjoy it!

And then that evening after dinner Keith suggested we go out and ride the motorcycles. Mind you, I've ridden these things for probably 30 years and always enjoyed them. But having the wreck almost two years ago changed the enjoyment to fear. "But Lord, please don't make me face two fears in one day!" "You can do it little one." ~ sigh ~ I walked out to the little scooter and got on. We rode for a while and again, I never got the enjoyment back. But the terror that I've felt each time I think of riding them has now passed.

With all the fear facing this weekend I was glad to get back to work today and relax! :)

Joe and a Work Lesson on Time

My sweet old doggie, Joe, relaxing in the hallway. Not sure if you can tell, but his eyes are looking off to his right at our cat Meeko, who came walking over to see why both Joe and I were laying down in the hall.

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I learned an interesting thing this afternoon at work. On days that we don't go out for lunch a bunch of us girls sit and knit and chat for that hour. Today we got back to our desks and before I knew it I looked up and it was 2:30 already.

"My word I can't believe how fast today is going!", I exclaimed.

"Yes, isn't it a shame", said one of my co-workers.

"A shame?"

She went on to explain that she used to spend so much time saying she couldn't wait until the party next week, or vacation next month, etc. that she missed out on living that day. Now one of her personal growth choices is to slow down and enjoy each day for what it is. Really every day has so much to offer, so why not enjoy it thoroughly?

By the way, these deep thoughts came from a wonderful young lady in her mid-thirties. So wise.

And when I told this story to Mom today she said it's called "wishing your life away".

"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened." - Dr. Seuss

True Light and Atlanta

As I flew in to the DFW airport at night this week I was struck anew by the sight of millions of lights for miles on end. The sheer beauty of the silver and gold lights fills me with awe each time I see it.

I don't fly much. In fact, I can only think of two times in all our 28 years of marriage that Keith and I flew for vacation. The rest of my flights have all been business related through the years. And that's not to say that there have been a lot of them. But each time I'm in an airplane I am just amazed that humans can fly through the air with such ease. Truly a modern wonder.

As we hovered over DFW waiting to land, and as I watched all the lights below with such glee, it made me remember the book I recently read - True Light by Terri Blackstock. The premise of the book is that some sort of pulse knocks out electricity worldwide. It follows one family's struggles and triumphs and actually this particular book is #3 in the series (I just read that #4 will be released 4-18!!!). We live in such times that we take for granted such things as hopping on an airplane and dashing off to Atlanta for a meeting and don't give it a second thought. Or hop on the internet to find the answer to any question with only a moment's effort. A picture of my precious grandbaby can be shared in an instant.

And I sat in that plane as we landed and taxied to the airport where my beloved waited to take me home, I bowed my head in a prayer of thanksgiving. I was back from my trip safe and sound, the meetings went very well, and I was back home to my family. Truly God has blessed me yet again.

Amen.

Farewell 2007

We're sitting here watching the hockey game on tv and suddenly it hit me - I better go post on the blog because people - it's the LAST POST OF 2007!

In our usual Party Animal way of life, we're sitting here wondering if we'll still be awake at midnight to usher in the new year. And admitting that we're ok with our fuddy duddy selves.

I'm going to take this opportunity to regale everybody with my brief overview of 2007...as it would be seen riding by on a fast horse:

Without looking at my blog cheatsheet, I'd have to say that the single biggest thing that happened in our lives this year was the birth of our first grandchild. When we knew she was on the way I was of course very happy. But I never fully grasped just how happy and complete this child could make our family. Grandma love is a whole different feeling than mama love. Not saying one is better than the other, but I will say that Grandma love is a lot more relaxed. :)

Another very big event in 2007 was our daughter moving out. And how amazingly proud we are of her (the emergency room visit a couple of weeks ago notwithstanding!!!).

And how about me going into remission? That has made a huge impact on our family's life.

We truly are abundantly blessed and I give all the glory to God. He has seen me and my family through some rough times the last couple of years and shown us that from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen

That's about the end of my philosophizing for this year. And the people say Amen! :)

Be safe y'all.....

5 Random Things....and Brooklyn!

I have been tagged by Jeanie to list 5 random things about me. It's been fun running around different friends' blogs reading their answers, so hopefully mine will be just as much fun!

1. I have not read any of the Harry Potter books or seen any of the movies. This makes me a member of a very small group of people!

2. Speaking of books, I used to love to read Stephen King books. But then, I kid you not, while reading one of his books one day I literally heard a voice telling me to stop reading those books. Not one to question the voices in my head, I did and haven't read any since. I'm not saying it's bad for anyone else to read them, but when I've been told to stop I'm not going to argue! It reminds me of the verses in the Bible (and I'll have to look it up and post later) that talks about how if a person isn't supposed to eat something and you make them eat it then it's wrong for you. That's how I feel about this - reading his books are wrong for me.

3. Speaking of Stephen King - my family read his book The Cell and they all tease me and tell me I'm doomed. The premise of the book is something along the lines of a pulse going through the cell phone system and everybody that's on the phone at that time turns in to zombies or something like that. And since talking on the phone is my absolute favorite hobby....yeah, I'm doomed.

4. Speaking of cell phones, I use the standard "off the rack" ringtone on my phone always. The only exception to that is at Christmas time when I change my ringtone to the BC Clark jingle. Those familiar with Oklahoma City are probably singing the song in their head right now, but for the rest - BC Clark is a jewelry store in OKC and you always know it's the Christmas season when you see their anniversary sale commercials come on tv. In fact, this year at Thanksgiving at the in-law's house we saw (and heard!) the commercial come on and there was much rejoicing. :)

5. Speaking of sounds, when I am by myself I prefer total silence. At home, in the car, whatever. I don't have the tv on, I don't listen to the radio, etc. I just love the Sounds of Silence.

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And since no entry is complete without either a picture of or a story of Brooklyn, here she is! She's wearing the silly hat I made for her and she's only minutes away from being sound asleep.

Love those kissable cheeks!

Talimena Drive

What an amazing day we had! Keith, Joe and I headed up to Talimena Drive (a 54 mile stretch between Oklahoma and Arkansas) for a day of sightseeing and geocaching. There were times that a person could almost forget exactly where they were when standing in the awe and splendor of the Ouachita Mountains. God must surely have smiled when making this area.

Sometimes there are words that become overused and for the most part "breathtaking" is one of them. I'm going to claim that word for this area of the country though.

Driving along we just loved looking around. The trees were so much different than what we have around here and that made it enjoyable to look around. And there was still enough color in all the leaves that it was so beautiful to look at.

Joe had a grand time as well. We didn't see a lot of people the entire day, but at one geocache site there was a secluded field. We let him off leash and the three of us ran around and laughed and just enjoyed each other.

The last picture will be one of those memories that will be retold time and time again. On the way to our very first geocache of the day the GPS told us to turn right at CR-54938 (or whatever the county road number was). We did and this picture shows the road we followed. Now, the funniest part is that we followed this dirt and rock road for seven miles.....seven miles along sometimes the edge of a mountain. I wish I would've taken more pictures to show the vertical road and even more impressive the vertical drop had Keith not been such a good driver. But instead of picture taking I was busy being

the passenger driver and I was holding my invisible brake pedal down for all I was worth! I know that we had a bevy of angels helping me to hold that brake pedal down, you know, just in case Keith wasn't able to brake on his own.

We were on the road long enough that we started to get a little bit of a nervous chuckle between us. Keith turned to me and asked if I had told anybody where we were going, just in case. No honey, not a soul knows where we are, but I'm trusting in those angels to keep us on this road and DON'T STOP PLEASE cause it's a little creepy up here!

When all was said and done and we made it back amongst the civilized world we checked to see where we might've messed up. And we discovered that had we stayed on the highway we had been on we would've just followed the winding road about 20 miles around and ended at the same spot. But our trusty GPS wanted to save us about 13 miles, so it sent us off into the wilderness. We had blind faith that all would be well and of course it was. Following the road less traveled can sometimes be a lonely thing, but it will usually provide you with some deep insights.

And does anybody see the parable here? Blind faith in our GPS brought fear to our hearts. Being reminded of our faith in our Father and the angels surrounding us brought comfort. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!

"He changes times and seasons." - Daniel 2:21