Feeling Full Up....

Just a quick pop-in to say, I am happy! I am here....Just away from the screen for now.
Hugs to all. And I will return.

My most beloved man went out and got me flowers this morning. I am feeling VERY cherished.
Not to brag, not to show-off, not to be proud...just to share, with all my sisters...The presence and love of the man God made for you and gave to you is a gift to behold and ponder indeed.

Through their rougher points and their shining-knight gleaming accomplishments...they are what complete us. The good AND the bad will BOTH work on us and in us to make us the beautiful and wonderful women that we are meant to be.

God knows all this and HE does ALL things well....

Blessings and HUGS to you ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Missing In Action....

This should be my blogger page lately...Hoping that all glitches are fixed now. The "techie" guy from AT&T really couldn't find the problem, so he just ended up putting in new wiring...We shall see....

In the meantime...this would be my screensaver about life here...missing my honey...


All outgoing messages from NC to Iowa Always end with ...


Today, My MAN is flying in...coming back to his home in Charlotte....


NOT for a weekend...but for a WHOLE week...and that's an AWESOME thing, because it has been 8 LONG WEEKS since I have been with him...missing his presence here immensely!


So I will be missing in action AGAIN....but this time for a GOOD reason..


So to Da Man...I'll be watching that escalator at the airport with eagle eyes...


And the WHOLE family is here this weekend...My Marine got a 72 for this weekend!!! His battalion is on Air Contingency for at least February and March ..if not longer, which limits their time and distance away from base, in case they are called up to go anywhere in the world that the USMC is needed. They have to be ready to leave within 24 hours of a mission given to them. They were "called up" to leave for Egypt, and the day the leader of Egypt finally stepped down, Obama gave the "call down" and they didn't have to go. *** SOOOOOOO glad.

So needless to say...we will be enjoying "FAMILY time"...

I will be missing around here in Bloggy World...but may peek in a few times....


This girl is gonna be feasting this week...

Hugs to all bloggy sisters, and may you have merry hearts yourselves!

Blessings.

Happy Birthday.....Valentines Day!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ROB ROY!!! Our little Woobie....7 years old and still looks like a puppy....SOOOO glad we rescued this little sweetie, Now the Marine's Devil Dawg pup...It was fitting that his birthday was Valentine's Day as he has a little heart on his head. :-)


















Treat coming your way little Furry-man.....

And CAN'T close without sending out a measure of LOVE (SUPER-SIZE it) to my man so far away.
Babe, you're the best. LOVE and HUGS to you, the one that holds the key to my heart... So glad you are mine. xoxoxoxoxoxo






****** been having computer problems/glitches....grrrrrrrr. had a tech out this weekend to check it out...hope the errors and shutdowns will get worked out of it...makes trying to blog, load, and comment uber frustrating!!!!! Hugs to all my bloggy sisters out there. Hope that soon my comments will be typed and posted...and not disappear into the black hole out there.... argh...

Happy Birthday to My Dad...

Today is my sweet Dad's Birthday!



He is 77 years YOUNG!! (sure doesn't look it!!!)



We are waiting to do a party when my sister comes, and maybe Kurt will be here when we do it, but until then, I'm thinkin' something like this might tide him over.....



My dad has always liked Chocolate...and....Lemon, so it's always his choice...
This year he said CHOCOLATE. :-)

Happy Birthday Dad!



Kat and her Granddad.

Sunshine and Mondays

Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead.
Louisa May Alcott



" Light is sweet; how pleasant to see a new day dawning." Ecclesiastes 11:7




"The Lord is my light and my salvation—so why should I be afraid?The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble?" Psalm 27:1



But friendship is precious, not only in the shade, but in the sunshine of life, and thanks to a benevolent arrangement the greater part of life is sunshine.
Thomas Jefferson



To all who drop by today...Have a beautiful day...whether sunny with blue skies, or cloudy and snow flurries...remember what the real sources of Light are in your life...let them warm you and give you hope and smiles....HUGS to all for a warm Monday...
God Bless...

He Makes ALL Things Good...

Joining Charlotte and Ginger here:
http://bloggerspirit.blogspot.com/

For everything there is a reason...and a season.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28)

I believe in the God who sent His only son
to walk upon this world and give His life for us
With blood and tears on a long, dark night
We know that He believed
That there is a reason
There is a reason....

He makes all things good
He makes all things good
There’s a time to live and a time to die
A time for wonder and to wonder why
'cause there is a reason
There is a reason. (There Is A Reason - lyrics)

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven...He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end...I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him." (Ecclesiastes 1:1,11,14)

"For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people."(Hebrews 2:17)

"For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant." (Hebrews 9:15)


God is GOOD...and it is GOD and God alone who makes ALL things good. I believe that.
Do You?

Just For Fun..

Today I am just doing a post that is all fun.. Tete has passed an award my way that one must tell 7 things about herself that others may not know in order to receive...

Well ...I try to stay an award-free blog, even though I SOOO feel the happiness when another sister from Blogland would choose to send one my way... THANKS Tete!!!
http://tete-beyondthegardengate.blogspot.com/

Now, like I said, just for fun, I am going to try and tell 7 things about myself that are unknown...(to some of you, anyhow.) * okay, I did TEN!!

1. I was born in South Carolina, and raised in North Carolina, and attended college in Columbia, SC. I have lived in the South all of my life...(thus my slight trepidation to know I may be in Iowa in the next year...wowzers...) The state motto of my birth state is:



Dum Spiro Spero - while I breathe...I hope. *I like that because it's true. When I no longer am breathing...My need for hope is unnecessary...I shall be where ALL my hopes were resting.



2. I was raised in a Christian home, and my dad was a pastor, so I was "preacher's kid" in school and got called that more times than I care to remember....



3. I met and married a man from the Midwest...Michigan. I told him when we got married to promise me he would never move me North of the Mason Dixon line...oh my...what kind of a wicked wife was I??? I think if I had known about this quote, I probably would have handed it to da man when he married me....doh!!....so glad I didn't!...vanity vanity)



4. I am afraid of going over bridges that stretch out across water and you can not see the other side connected to land.... Somebody tell me when we are OFF!!!!!!!!



5. I was involved in Canine Rescue for 3 years. I helped found a new Rescue here in our county and sat on the board for a year. Our family was an approved Foster home and fell in love with many many wonderful furry creatures who deserved way better than the hand they had been dealt in life, and we made SURE that the home they got would be their forever one. The adopting families STILL keep in touch with me and send photos...It's awesome...and a stretching and valuable experience for myself as well as my kids.





6. I am in love. The man I married is THE man I was created to complete. And I am so thankful for him. He's not perfect, and he knows that I know it, but heaven knows, neither am I, and God gave him an Enormous amount of patience to deal with the woman who was to be his helper...



7. I love kids, and more than anything MY 4 KIDS...I wish I had been wise enough to have at least 4 more... They are the best blessings ever to come to me and da man.




8. I love God so much. ..for letting me know about Jesus. ..giving me a way to bridge the gap between us because I was a dirty rotten undeserving sinner....when I was born, (and didn't know it)...but God gave me Christian parents , and grandparents, and greats.....I have a rich heritage of people who made sure that their faith got passed to the next generation.


9. I LOVE Jimmy Stewart movies. My favorites!!!!



10. I love Duncan Donuts coffee, and M & M's candies!






So, there ya have it Tete!...a fun post...and some "stuff" maybe you didn't know.

Hugs to ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Have a great Thursday..

Wonderful Wednesday...

"Great is his faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning." Lamentations 3:23


Uhhhhhhhh..Kobe...ppsssttt...she's pointing the little box at us again....


Soft as a baby bunny...sweet little Woobie...snoozing...soon to turn 7, when else?...Valentines Day!



Hey ma...are these edible????


They don't smell good...I'll get Kobe to try one first....


Beautiful, irresistable reminders that Spring will come....just...not....yet!


The simplest of beauty is sometimes the most charming...Clear glass milk bottles from my Grandfather's farm...now gracing my cottage house as vases for lovely flowers...**repurpose! Thanks to my sis Debbie for the 3rd one.


A few of my favorite things....sparkleys....wrought iron....chippy whites....and FLOWERS!


This is my latest and Greatest treasure find. For 18 years I have waited for this..a really well built Island that was SMALL enough to fit in my kitchen -(18x36), and inexpensive enough to fit my wallet contents. It is a solid wood base and a thicker true butcher block top. (HEAVY!) Because I serviced some wonderful and generous clients over Christmas and New Year's...I used my TIP money to get this deal off of Craig's List from a young couple moving to D.C. She was quite sad to see it go. I searched on line and found that I paid below 25% of the retail price. I love Craig's list!!!


Of course...yeah...I embellished ...with GW finds...




All of us are enjoying the extra surface space and drawers...

On a separate note...my front brakes have been making a grinding sound, and my dad had asked me to let him check them out. So this week I took my van over, and while he was checking out the brakes, I was upstairs going through my mom's cd's and all of her jewelry once more. The first time was too hard to really concentrate...cried again...thankful my dad was oblivious in the garage...I picked out some more pieces just because..and then I went in her bath...looking for ......THIS.


Found it! My mom made this (she dabbled in ceramics when we were little!) in 1967. I consider it vintage. :-) I was seven, so, not even gonna think of what that makes me!
She had painted the date 11/11/67 and her name~Zoie...on the bottom. I love this. Anybody else remember these??


I thought of this little treasure one night when I was laying in bed thinking of mama...remembering all the little things she said...and of course you have heard me say, She always stated, JUST wear a little lipstick and you'll look JUST fine. :-) I wanted to find this delicate little handmade pretty. She is more than just a memento. She touches my memory and my heart. If my sis reads this...I hope she didn't want it.
And of course...you KNOW how I love blue and white.

I will close my lengthy returning post with this...


Moving objects around like a bird rearranging twigs and feathers in her nest. This sweet feathered friend and her pedestal were pulled from other locations and placed on my dresser. I added a pin made out of thin metal, with white paint and mini pearls. It was one of my mom's. I wanted it out to look at. I thought it pleased the little bird and it surely pleased me. :-)

I am learning...learning...God is pushing my buttons...teaching me many things through circumstances, sometimes hard moments, as a mom and a lonely wife... missing my hubby ...TERRIBLY...(okay enough of that...my blog is not here for whining and snuffling....) A fellow bloggy sis, Dianna, and I have shared about God using tough times, trials, and hard paths to strengthen us and grow our faith. He is, so to speak, "PUSHING OUR BUTTONS" spiritually. (We push buttons to activate a mechanism...well when someone pushes our buttons emotionally, we usually get angry...) When God pushes our buttons, spiritually... HE is activating our hearts...to test and forge us...if we are soft and pliable and not stubborn or resistant. Dianna and I came up with our own button! Okay, we came up with the idea, but Kat my daughter created and put it together for us. RAH FOR MY KAT! *you see this on my sidebar, so I am explaining it to all of you. :-)
PS EDIT *****Mari you asked, and OF COURSE! Anybody can use the button... :-)



That's all my bloggy sisters...Thanks so much for stopping in today to visit, and I will have a cup of tea for you if you wish...

To my wonderful Dad...I am so grateful for his love and support and helpful hands to my family. I appreciate his abilities and gifts to be a Mr. Fix-It for just about ANYTHING, and always the hard-working Honey-Do man, for all his girls...Love you dad. Thanks so much for fixing the brakes on my van!!!

And to my dear husband, the missing other half of me, STILL......



Say goodbye Gidgy.... "Goodbye Gidgy"