God is in Control....always.

Got a phone call from this guy! So very very good to hear his voice again. The SAT phones break a lot, so calls are still sparse.

Their time there is winding down and oh so close....not too much longer before they will be boarding trucks to head back towards Leatherneck.

We pray constantly for him and all of those great guys and wait expectantly to get that message saying they are out of the combat zone. The last days are almost as hard for us over here as the first days... of course it will start all over for another battalion full of guys taking their place, .. whose families will wait and pray... God keep them all.

So much is going on right now. Life events here in our home keep us talking to God often, which is a GOOD thing. We are glad to know that there is ONE who is in total control of all things....and we can lay the burdens and desires of our hearts down before Him, and trust that all will work out for good.

Blessings and Courage to all who drop in here today....

A New Favorite Pillow

Joining Cindy for her Favorites for Friday Show and Tell here:

http://romantichome.blogspot.com/

As some of you know, I am part of a group of mamas who make up a Military Mom Prayer Group. The first Saturday of every month, as many of us as can will get together and share and pray for our sons or daughters serving in the Military.



We have Marine Moms, Navy moms, Air Force Moms, and Army Moms. All branches!
One mom actually has a son in the Air Force, one in the Navy, and now she has one in boot camp becoming a Marine at Parris Island, SC.

Today, I want to share with you about this special Air Force mom. She is the founder of our group and she is a dear friend and dedicated prayer warrior sister. Her name is Paula. Here she is at her son's graduation from the Air Force Academy.



This past meeting in August, she pulled a bag out when I walked in, and said she had something for me. She had made me a "Marine-Hugger Pillow." Girls....this is just the most touching thing to my heart. Paula had found a Marine Tee, and while sitting in the hospital with someone who was recuperating, she sewed that tee shirt into a pillow and then stuffed it.



She told me I was to hug it until my real Marine got back for me to wrap my arms around.

I'll tell you something. This pillow has gotten a LOT of squeezin' and some tears too. Thank you dear Paula. Love you muchly, and I will always cherish and KEEP this pillow. It is helping me through this looooooong deployment. You are a very special lady.

So, until this guy gets back...


There will be a whole lot of this!!!


Thank you Paula. Love you!

Hugs to all dropping by. Thanks for continuing to pray for our heroes...

White Wednesday

Well, Before I start anything, I just want to shout YAY!! because it was time to renew my license, and I dreaded going over there to the DMV. I got in and out in 30 minutes flat, the shortest visit in the history of my experiences with that division of the government. YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! Okay, I feel good. :-)



Now ...I am doing a quick little "white" post and joining Kathleen for her usual Wednesday gatherings of White Collectors....or maybe it's not a collection, it just happens to be a white treasure you found. Here's her link if you want to jump over there from here.

http://fadedcharmcottage.blogspot.com/


This is my latest "playtime" addition. A trio of thrifted finds from different places. Glass pedestal, cloche, and my little adorable baby in a bunny suit.
She was from Salvation Army...and I saw her on the shelf and went bananas. I think it she is just precious. I nestled her in a dried hydrangea. Her face is so sweet.


A little bit closer, so that maybe you can see her features. :-)



Another little sweet thrift find, a cottagey rose frame surrounding my four treasures on this earth.


And a very unusual??....unique??...candle holder. It caught my eye because I had never seen another one like it. This will be another "one day screened porch" item. For now, I will not burn candles, but display it here... (also was in the Salvation Army store). That store seems to get some really neat things donated to it.

Thanks for dropping by my blogpost if you are here today. I hope that your day is bright and you have a smile in your heart....and that cooler temperatures are coming your way. Just for fun, closing with a "white" to get you in an Autumn frame of mind.


God Bless America and all her Troops....

It's a DOG day...

I am linking up with Tam today for "Three Or More Tuesday" here:

http://www.thegypsyscorner.com/



Last night I saw a video clip of a dog being pummelled by a mama doe who was instinctively protecting her fawn. The dog was just minding its business, and the deer were in the neighborhood (out of THEIR element) and I felt so extremely bad for the sweet unsuspecting dog. It made my stomach turn.

It made me once again realize how very very much I love our four-legged family members. They add so much to our family. (yes, including much fur....) but I can't imagine life without them now.



If we ever have to pick up and move, they WILL be with us. NO dog left behind...
Whereever we would go, fencing would be at the TOP of the list. Funny how your priorities change when you DO have pets as family members.

I thank and credit my Jonny for the photos of the dawgs.


Kobe, my Renegade Cowboy yard digging boy.


Rob Roy -"Woobie" Justin's "LoneWolf" Marine padawan...


Gideon - my Angel sweet velcro marshmallow...

If you are a dog lover....then you know. I'm just sayin'...
Hugs to all stopping by to visit. God Bless you!



Thanks to all of you for praying for our military heroes as they defend our freedoms and courageously attempt to defuse terrorism for people all around the globe.

Playing....

Remember the childhood days of school? Getting up early, off to school, back home to homework, chores, family life...bed....and then all over again the next day.
Preparation for REAL life... Routine....Learning responsibility, endurance, unselfishness...finding out the world didn't revolve around us and what WE wanted to do...
But amidst all of those routine days, there was "play-time"...a time to check out of the DAILY, and have some fun...do something that was NOT required, something we enjoyed...took little thought or effort,...just FUN. Art, Etch-a-Sketch, Lite-Brite, Bike riding, a game of kick the can with friends, a hobby... and it was GOOD! Very healthy.

As Mary Engelbreit puts it...



Every morning and evening I go through the same mental checklists to make sure I have done everything that needs to be checked off for the daily to-do list. It makes the operations of this household stay on task...run more smoothly...cuts down on stressful moments of something left undone...

It involves house-work, people, and pets. Then there are petsitting jobs... And it never ends...

That's why I need a play-time...yes, even as a grown woman. I need something that I enjoy, have fun doing, requires so little intentional thought, it is just a natural escape from the DAILY...

And playing with my nest...my cottage on Woodberry, whether inside or out, is my play-time. Just a little escape every few days, to put off the backpack of tasks that sometimes burden me, bring some stress and worry, and simply let it all go. When I am out and about running errands, shopping for groceries, petsitting, taking another person to drop them off...I will take time to hit a Thrift store I am passing. It is fun, and a small moment in the day, that I drop the urgent and step outside the circle of "required"... If I do find a treasure, it gives me a smile...a cheap thrill, yet so valuable in this hurry up and wait lifestyle... a tiny moment of playing.

And later I will find a place for it at my nest. My haven from the outside world.
My place to walk into and feel comfort. A release. A letting go. Love...Family...Faith...Fun.

Playtime...

Do you have it?...If not....GET SOME! It's healthy. It's a necessary part of WeEkLy LiFe.. if only for a few moments. Remember those childhood days and the respite that it gave.

Escape.






pretty birdie plant stand...courtesy of Salvation Army store... It was brown wrought iron. I dry brushed it white...- Play-time...


hydrangeas (last of this season) courtesy of front yard.


White birdcage - courtesy of little resale shop...vendor shutting down her booth said name your price!...Been sitting in the back corner of my walk-in for months. Another one of those "for my someday dream porch" items. Got tired of seeing it sitting in there unused...


Put my favorite "whimsy" lamp inside. (dancing frogs on a lily pad) Put Green, Blue and White beach glass from the dollar store around it to look like water...
Play-time.... By the way, see the little girl holding the birdie...under the bird cage? Another one of the statues my mama gave me....clearing out her house...


Bird nest with pretty blue eggs...One of many around my NEST!... Iron cage, courtesy of local Goodwill store...Pretty china plate with blue flowers...Goodwill...White Flower Pot...garage!


Whimsy...and Play-Time.

I'll end today's "play-time post" with this little vintage game. Does anybody remember these little toys? Both of my grandmothers had them at their houses. We used to love playing with them. ( roll all of the little balls into the indented holes) I came across this cute bunny/egg one and could not resist it. Memories...and Playing. :-)


Thank you all for visiting and popping in. I have not had much time to post lately, and miss it. It seems like every day is filled with duties, petsitting work, and helping where I am needed...


I am going to connect with Kathleen today...since it is her weekly White Wednesdays postings. I seem to have whites today.


"Lone-Wolf" Woobie...seriously missing Playtime with da Marine....


Thank you again for continuing to remember our military heroes and for prayers lifted for our Justin...among others. God has kept him from serious injuries, and for this we are grateful, and we ask God to bless YOU!!!

Join Kathleen here for more whites, if you fancy seeing more ....
http://fadedcharmcottage.blogspot.com/

5:45 AM Fast Wake-Up!

Got a wake-up phone call this morning! I was just ecstatic to hear that sweet guy's voice again! THIS time I handed the phone to his dad who was home!!!! There was only one other guy there to talk on the satellite phone. Justin got to talk for almost 25 minutes with only one drop...but he called back immediately.


Justin said it was quiet.....the first day of Ramadan.
As they were talking, a very large herd of goats went by, and Justin commented the man must be wealthy.


He has been eating a variety of the foods and fruits from the area. So he will have a colorful life experience in many ways from this deployment. He enjoys getting to feed and water and pet the donkeys....and of course loves having the company of a dawg!
Bandit is their black lab bomb-sniffing doggie.

Here is one photo - courtesy of Bill Ardolino a reporter with the Long War Journal who was embedded with the 1/2 for a brief time. This is actually a photo of some members of Justin's platoon. No telling who they are. In full gear, it is impossible to identify them. I like to think maybe one of them is Justin. :-)


Time is winding down for this deployment. Thank you all for continuing to pray for Justin and all of his battalion as they finish this long scorching stay in Afghanistan.
They are not done YET!... but they can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
God Bless them, and GOD BLESS YOU!!!!

Humidity+HEAT+Rain =Jungle Fever

Can we say Zero to Sixty in less than two weeks??
That's about how fast these wild vines and OTHER weeds have taken off in a very short time...

No KIDDING!



Although these wild (not planted by MOI!) vines are pretty enough to make beautiful little photos out in Mother Nature...all of their wild and wily friends coming up in every square inch of my yard are....NOT!!!



Oh my...can NOT...keep up...

Wouldn't DARE show you the ugly side of this jungle like growth...but, for today, here's a semi-pretty side of it...before I go and tear it out, and it starts ALL OVER AGAIN...

Life is What You Make of It!!!

Hugs to all. Thanks for all your encouragement and prayers...So GRATEFUL!