Birthday Girl!

There was once a little blonde girl with big brown eyes and a very stubborn personality.  She was a handful.  She was a mommy's girl as a baby and then her own person as she grew.  She wore a stoic, expressionless face when she was being punished and was loving and happy when things were going her way.  She loved her big brother and they were best buddies growing up in Guatemala.  They played in the yard with their German Shepherd named Kazan and their kitties named Ricky and Smoky.  The little blonde had Chapina friends and they all played in the street jabbering Spanish.  Her friends loved to play with her hair as it was so different from their own jet-black hair.  Up until age 9, this little girl saw much poverty first-hand but loved her friends and adapted to them and their ways.

 At the age of  9, she moved back with her family to the United States and had to adjust to the American culture and schools and new friends and family close by.  She did! She excelled in school, learned piano, played soccer during her middle school and high school years and ran cross-country during her freshman year in high school.  She was a dedicated Christian student during those years, attending camps, mission trips, and church activities.  She graduated with honors from high school in the top five percent of her class and attended University of Georgia her freshman year.  Then BRAD interrupted and she transferred back home where she got engaged, got married, and completed college in 3 years total.  Right after graduation she got pregnant with a sweet baby girl who was born March of last year.  Now a little boy is on the way.  That little stubborn strong-willed girl knew exactly what she wanted and she got it.

I'm proud of that woman who is my daughter.  She loves her husband and children and her parents and grandparents and brother and most importantly, Jesus, and has a very rich life for which I'm so thankful to the Lord.  Happy 24th Birthday, Erin!  You've made life JOYFUL for your parents.

Love,
Mom

Dog Days

Just not a whole lot going on.  Good thing, too, considering the heat and storms we're having every day.  I'm actually glad to be working in my office in the basement of the church....so nice and cool.  In the spring and fall I love to escape for a few minutes every few hours to enjoy the sunshine and breezes. But not right now!

We've got seven weeks until we meet the sweet grandson. Can't wait to hold him and smell his little head.  There's just something about that sweet baby head! I'm thankful that his mommy is doing so well and I thank the Lord that things are going smoothly.

 We'll have a busier week next week with our choir singing at the Braves game and then a BIG baby shower for my girl and her cousins who are also having boys. That'll be fun!

 We had a nice unexpected visit from our son this weekend...just for an hour or so. He seems very content and happy in his job as a motorcycle mechanic and we really like his sweet girlfriend.  We hope to visit him in  a few weeks as he'll be moving into a new apartment.

So that's it! Just earth-shaking stuff! Life in a nutshell around here.  Get up, go to work, come home, read, play on the computer, watch the weather forecast, eat a bowl of cereal for supper (poor hubby), go to bed!

More later....I hope!

My Shepherd

From my devotional study today:

"I am a woman who walks with the Lord.

I do not stumble about or live in confusion.

My steps are guided by the One who goes

before me and prepares the way.

He leads me gently like a shepherd leads his sheep.

He does not drive like a herdsman drives cattle.

 He sets the perfect pace for me.

 He knows when it is time to move ahead 

 and when it is time to rest.

 He walks beside me to help me,
encourage me, and support me.

 I do not lag behind or try to get ahead of Him.

 As He leads me, He straightens the crooked places and

 makes the rough places smooth.

 As He walks with me, He talks with me 

 and guides me by His Word.

 I love to begin each day by committing it to Him,

 knowing that He will lead me in the paths of peace

 and direct my steps in what is good and right.

 Because I walk with Him, I do not live my life
with regrets."

The Good Shepherd is my favorite way to think of Jesus and how He relates to us.  

A Short Getaway

We decided to have a short little 3 days away in Gatlinburg since we haven't had any other time for vacation and we have quite a busy fall coming with work and little baby boy coming along in September.  It was very nice and a good change of scenery for hubby and me.  We stayed at the end of town and walked down the strip at least twice each day for shopping and food.  The mornings were cool and beautiful and the afternoons were pretty much unbearably hot.  Couldn't stay out much during that time. Evenings were great and we spent time out on our balcony looking at Mt. LeConte and the moon and a planet....I think it was Venus....who knows.  But it was pretty.

There were lots of people in the mountains...maybe because the beach is not the best option this summer because of the oil spill.  But I have to tell you....I have never seen so many really HUGE people in one place. Goodness! I was just plain skinny there compared to those folks.  We seemed to always be seated by a window while we ate our meals. Just made me want to go home and get on the treadmill after I people-watched for a while during supper.

Seemed like on every corner there were small little bands playing.  Usually a man with a fiddle, a man with a banjo and a woman singing or playing a washboard. Haha. It was nice though. They all were quite talented.
We bought fudge from the Ole' Smoky Candy Kitchen for the pregnant daughter..and some for us of course. I also had my traditional caramel apple. I have to do that once on each visit.  And, of course, we had to visit the Pancake Pantry for breakfast. Wonderful buttermilk pancakes and hot chocolate (diet coke for me also)!

We visited Cades Cove down near Townsend.  It's always gorgeous in that valley.  This was a village of about 600 people back in the 1800s. The government bought all the land from the settlers and they moved away. Now it's a park. There is an 11 mile loop that you drive through to see all the old buildings and beautiful scenery.  Here are some pics from Cades Cove:

    Such an isolated place, so peaceful though. But driving through helps you imagine the hardships those settlers in the valley had especially in winter there in the mountains.

 So we're back now to the real world.  Can't wait to see what the next few months hold within our family.
                                                                                                                                                                              

An Observation of Madison

Time to write a little on the sweet granddaughter. I haven't been on the blog much in the last month or so. And she's been growing and blossoming and becoming quite the little toddler.  Maddie has a mind of her own already but is a very sweet, usually obedient little girl.

Her hair is a beautiful bright copper color.  She is getting more in the back and on top but there are still some thin areas in front. I think that she makes people smile with that little red head of hers and as we pass people in the store she leans forward, smiles, and says "Hey!".  No one can resist that smile and those beautiful clear blue-gold eyes.  Going shopping is always an adventure and if I'm not feeling really outgoing or friendly, too bad! She makes me behave!

 Her personality is a lot like her father's.  Outgoing, rambunctious, active, always happy, good sport, easily adaptable.  She is very stoic when it comes to being told "no" however.  Her favorite disobedient thing to do is look at me with no expression and drop her food off the side of her high chair. I can speak sharply to her, tell her no, and the expression doesn't change.  Oh...did I say this reminds me of her mother back in her baby years?? Ha! And manipulation is her specialty. If she is doing something she's not supposed to do and I call her on it she looks at me, leans forward and says "hey!" with a beautiful smile. Hmmm.

Madison is an affectionate child who likes to kiss both cheeks now when she gives us kisses.  She hugs, she runs to us to be picked up, she is overjoyed to see us.  Needless to say, on a down day, that is our pick-me-up.

She has a few fears...the new one is thunder.  When she hears thunder or a loud noise, she'll run and put her head in your lap. Aww! Her favorite things are balls. Balls of any size, color and if we happen to go through the produce aisle, everything is a ball. Oranges, apples, grapes, even watermelons pass as balls. She gets so excited! The best way to make the picky eater eat is to say "you want some of these balls?"  Peas, baked beans, etc., get scarfed down that way!


She knows where baby brother is and points him out to us saying "ba-ba".  She uses that term for baby...don't worry...she's not saying "bubba"!  We'll try to avoid that!

Let's just say that I'm in love with this sweet baby girl of almost 16 months old.  She is a true JOY to us and we are thankful to God for blessing our family with this little girl.

In her beautiful bikini at the pool!

















Modeling for her mama!











She loves walking around the "Avenue".  She's been strolled there since she was about 4 weeks old. Now she wants OUT of the stroller.

Interesting Quote!

Hmmm....going to have to think on this one!

The long dull monotonous years of middle-aged prosperity or middle-aged adversity are excellent campaigning weather for the devil.

-- C. S. Lewis

Our Fourth of July

Stole this pic from my daughter's blog! I love it. Great-grandfather with great-granddaughter.  We had such a relaxing few hours at the square in p-town last night.  Of course, I had to have some funnel cake and frozen pink lemonade. I shared with the baby.  That blue tongue is from italian ice her daddy fed her.  We sat around with family and saw friends and watched all sorts and types of people walk by. The weather was perfect with no humidity and in the low 80s.  The fireworks were slow but pretty...you can tell there's a budget crunch around here. But, regardless, we had a great time.  Traffic was a bear getting out...p-town must have had a record crowd.

Our patriotic musical yesterday morning at church was pretty amazing.  The congregation numbered about 1700 and everyone was in a clapping mood! Not only was the choir dressed in red, white, and blue, but so was most of the audience.  The giant flag that was rigged up to rise during the National Anthem...DID!! Hooray, I was a little nervous about that.

My boss was the narrator and soloist and did his usual excellent job. We never have to worry about him.  We sang "This Land is Your Land",  "Livin' in the Homeland", "Doxology", "We Shall Overcome" (which, by the way, was written in the 40s after WWII), and "Lean on Me".  Everyone had fun singing along on that last one...."call on me brother, when you need a hand", etc.

The media presentation showed pictures from the World Wars and Ellis Island and civil rights marches as we reflected back on our history as a nation.  The states were called out one by one and people cheered for where there were born.  And, of course, we could not go without our "Salute to the Armed Forces" represented by each branch of the military. There was much cheering and a standing ovation.  At the end the orchestra played "Stars and Stripes Forever" and everyone was given a flag. We listened and waved the flags and then capped it off with confetti guns that literally sounded like gunshots! Ha. I believe some folks were startled. Unfortunately, two of the guns didn't work and it was comical seeing the folks in charge of them trying to make them work.

Our pastor ended the morning by preaching a mini-sermon about the state of our nation.  He encouraged us to vote God's word, not political parties. America is at a crossroads with the leadership we have in Washington.  Stand up for what's right! There was much cheering and amen-ing all through the sermon.
Overall, just a wonderful day.

Today's agenda is celebrating my dad's 76th birthday! Our family is blessed through his faithfulness to the Lord throughout his life!

Been a While!

My sweet daughter said to undelete my blog so...okay, here I am again. She's kind to say she missed it but I really haven't had much to say and I get writer's block a lot.  I think it's time I took a creativity class in writing. They do offer that and since I'm trying to keep my teacher certification up, maybe I'll go ahead and take it so you won't have to suffer through my attempts. I'd love to write some fiction installments.  My life is not very interesting but I could embellish my adventures, right??

Well, I am very excited that in about 9 weeks I could be holding my little grandson! Seems like the time has gone by so quickly.  I'm loving the time I spend with my baby granddaughter and I guess between those kind of busy days and my non-stop working, the days speed by.

Looking forward to a fun weekend to celebrate the Fourth!  Then my dad's birthday is the fifth and we'll party together that day.  So on to a weekend of rest and relaxation, time with family, flag-waving church folks, a huge "Star-Spangled Banner", singing songs like "We Shall Overcome" and "Lean on Me" in our concert, hot dogs, hamburgers, ice cream, and finally fireworks on Sunday evening.  LOVE IT!!

Have a happy FOURTH!

Grace

God's hand of favor on us....undeserved.

Zinnias

My devotional this morning was about violets and zinnias. A very simple and interesting comparison for our daily spiritual lives. Flowers are beautiful and brighten our yards and homes and are a wonderful uplifting sight in the spring and summer. Violets must be constantly encouraged though. Roses tend to bruise easily, azaleas have to have just the right conditions, and gladiolas will break.

The zinnia, however, is brightly colored, pretty, and needs no special attention. It blooms day after day after day without any encouragement, pampering, or special care.

Am I like the zinnia in my spiritual and physical and emotional daily life? Depending only on God and rooted in Him and just taking one day at a time? That's a new goal for me...to be like the zinnia and not like the violet that must be constantly encouraged.

Life Has Loveliness to Sell...

A portion of one of my favorite poems....

BARTER
by Sara Teasdale

Life has loveliness to sell,
All beautiful and splendid things,
Blue waves whitened on a cliff,
Soaring fire that sways and sings,
And children's faces looking up,
Holding wonder like a cup.

Life has loveliness to sell,
Music like the curve of gold,
Scent of pine trees in the rain,
Eyes that love you, arms that hold,
And for your spirit's still delight,
Holy thoughts that star the night.

Riding in a Vette at 9 Months Pregnant (A Memory)

Seeing an old friend this week brought back several memories of seminary days and pregnancy days. I had two babies during our three years of seminary in New Orleans. My friend, Lucy, and I were pregnant at the same time and actually were due just a week apart. Back in those days we didn't find out the sex of the baby. Not done at all. But it was quite nice for both of us as we ended up having boys about a week apart.

Now, let me tell you, being pregnant in New Orleans in the summertime is hard work and miserable. For the most part I felt good but I had to get in the shower several times a day with totally cold water...no hot at all added to it. It was refreshing and gave me a little break.

Lucy and I loved going to the pool on the campus because, even though we were SO big, we could float in that pool in the smooth cool water and feel like we weighed only 100 lbs. NOT 150 lbs. Haha. One day we had to use her husband's car...it happened to be a Corvette, of course a convertible. We drove up to the pool and all anyone could see was two 20-something girls with long red hair (Lucy is a redhead also). There was no view of our huge pregnant tummies. Oh I wish I had a video of that moment when we huffed and puffed and pulled ourselves out of that low-sitting car. The men's faces were quite funny...not what they expected to see. We waddled over to the pool and got in (making quite a big wave in the water) and sighed with relief. One bad-mannered seminarian chose to say at that moment something about "whale on the beach" as if in warning everyone else.

Ah well, fond memories. Lucy and I babysat for each other and spent much mommy time together and then even proceeded to get pregnant again at the same time and have our second children just a month apart...she had another boy and I had my girl. That little boy is getting married this weekend. Hard to believe 23 years have passed so quickly.
Here we are at not quite our biggest point...but big enough!!

Stream of Consciousness II

Just a lot of different little things going on this week. Most exciting is the kids naming the baby boy coming in September! His name is Landon Michael Evans. Sounds so nice together. Now I can go from "Sweet Pea" to "Sweet Boy" to "Landon".

This past Sunday night I had my first experience of allowing harm to my granddaughter...turned my head for a millisecond and she fell on concrete and scraped her nose up to where it was bleeding. Ouch! I felt terrible and she did, too! Ha. She's better now but that was traumatizing. I know it's the first of many little accidents. I just don't want them happening under my care.

On Monday we got word that a dear co-worker's daughter-in-law had died of cancer. She left behind teenage children after a year-long fight with the cancer. According to her mother-in-law, she was the heart of the extended family also. I've been praying for them so much this week. I just can't imagine.

On Tuesday I talked to my son on the phone. He's going through some trials I think with finding the right job. He has a fine work ethic and has never had problems finding a job. He has one he likes right now but just needs a little more dinero. I continue to pray for him and hope to see him on Mother's Day.

My folks are adjusting to their new home and just turned off the old phone number...that was somewhat hard for me. Been dialing that number for 36 years. Just a strange feeling.

I've been faithful on the treadmill this week. Now I'm up to 45 minutes a day, 5 days a week. Hope to see some improvement soon. I'm also pretty well into my online course on childhood language development and am enjoying it. Having to take that to keep up my teacher certification. Of course, if I ever wanted to go back I wouldn't be hired! No vacancies and too many cuts. Who would have ever thought that this would happen.

My problem in the previous post has improved somewhat. I'm having to discipline myself (or rather depend on the Lord for His convicting prods). Hopeful to have victory over this soon.

Loving this beautiful spring weather and this sweet little face that I get to see every week!

Struggles

To struggle is to proceed with difficulty. That's what the dictionary says anyway. I am in a season of struggles. There are various things going on in my life and I pray about them as I should. Some I can do nothing about. Others I can do something about and this is where the sin lies. This is where I choose to obey or not. God gives us the power to obey. I have to want to give the problem to Him. Sometimes I just want to hold onto it and dream about it and think about it.

Lately there has been one particular problem that I'm feeling overwhelmed with. It's an area of weakness that the enemy enjoys making worse. Even now I'm struggling as I write this. I had a particularly rough time this week with it and it's amazing how daily devotionals can be used by God to zing us with the Truth at just the right time. I was reading one by Marilyn Meberg. The reference is Romans 7:18-25.

I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Sounds confusing? It is...I am just as confused. But the Truth is this...Jesus, in His perfection, paid the price for our imperfection. As Marilyn says, "Behind this huge relief effort is God's love, a stubborn love that will not let me go, a love so tenacious, so gracious, so unfathomable that He willingly made a new covenant with me at the highest price. That covenant is designed to assure me that in spite of poor performance, I am His and He is mine."


It's just one of those things that I will daily turn over to the Lord or try to do so anyway. There will be days of defeat and "poor performance" and other days of relief and victory. The problem may go away for a time but then return when I am at my weakest or least expect it. He will still love me in spite of it all.

Stuff

This week consisted of:

1. Doctor's office calling with the bad cholesterol news. Ha. I knew it was coming...I talked them into letting me diet some and exercise more to get it down on my own in the next 3 months. Then we'll see. I am trying to avoid the medicine. My blood pressure stinks, too. I've been on the treadmill 3 days so far and have good intentions to keep at it.
2. Seeing my son and his girlfriend on Sunday and a nice impromptu family gathering at my parents' new house.
3. My parents DID move this week to their new house. Amazing to think that I won't be going to the house I lived in for 5 years and visited them in for 31 years after I married. Crazy stuff. No more Christmases there, Easter egg hunts, Friday night visits, etc. But I am happy for them as the new house is beautiful and fits them well. We will continue the family traditions in a new setting. I'm up for that!
4. Little granddaughter has been sick all week with tummy troubles. I hate it. Can't stand it when she's sick. She's on the mend now, thank You, Lord.
5. Started a new online course on language development to keep my teacher certification.
6. Struggles in another area of my life. I can't even begin to go into them but let's just describe it with these phrases: confused emotions, conflict, compassion, aggravation, "stuck in the middle with you"...I'm desperate to have some quiet, peaceful off-days and take time to breathe and get things in perspective. I pray I will be willing to let the Lord lead.

So, hallelujah, now for my long weekend of time alone, time spent with family, and some extra sleep.

Little Baby Boy

This week's events included a physical for me, an ultrasound for daughter and extreme busyness at work. I just can't wait to get my blood tests back to see how bad the ol' cholesterol is. Ugh!
Anyway, the bright spot of the week was this:







We are the proud grandparents of a boy! Everything looks perfect right now...all measurements, heart, etc. We are so happy and feel very blessed to have now a grandson as well as a granddaughter. I pray for continued good health for mom and baby.

Easter Weekend

What a wonderful, busy, and beautiful weekend we've had! I'm so thankful for little things and the big blessings. I spent the day on Good Friday with my sweet granddaughter as her mother was out doing the wedding festivities with her best friend. They had hair appointments, lunch, dress, makeup, pictures, etc. So I got to spend some good, quiet, quality and QUANTITY :) time with the baby. We spent some time outdoors walking around looking at sunshine and flowers.





Then it was off to the wedding. Hubby and I dressed Baby up and went to see her mom be a matron of honor. Mommy was gorgeous and the wedding sweet and so happy a time. The reception was fun and, even though the baby had not had a nap, she had a great time running around on the dance floor. We didn't leave until 11:30 pm and the grandfather and I just crashed at home. We were exhausted. That's why the Lord plans for YOUNG couples to have babies...



On Saturday, we tried to recover and then went on for lunch to........MY PARENTS' NEW HOUSE! I'm still just amazed that my folks, at their ages, have decided to move from the house they have lived in for 35 years. We are so proud for them and proud of them. I jokingly say that most folks in their 70s are looking for assisted living homes not buying another house. The place is gorgeous and fits their personalities perfectly. I can see them being very happy there and the whole family enjoying the beautiful place in special times and ordinary days!

Today, we spent the morning at church in worship of our Lord, the Risen Jesus. Amazing music as the choir sang "Were You There?" and "We Shall Behold Him". The church was packed with 1700 people who sang loudly, joyfully, clapped, and just enjoyed the morning.

Again, I'm so thankful for my life, the blessings God has given me in family, church, health, but most of all, salvation and eternal life. I don't understand it but I receive it gratefully.