Monday, May 31, 2010

Let’s make a memory…

It’s a wee bit stressful around here.  Our stuff is packed up in boxes and will be moved out into a POD tomorrow.  First the upstairs will be painted and recarpeted, then the downstairs will be painted and get new wood flooring.  I am not good at living in mess and chaos.  I have to keep reminding myself how wonderful the house will look when it’s done.  (Then we will more than likely be putting it on the market and relocating closer to the church!  This is almost like a practice move!)

But its moving Mama that’s on my mind.  We are moving her to a beautiful assisted living facility.  However, there’s piles of paperwork to do, red tape to work through, and much to do to get her little condo ready to sell.

This weekend my two sisters came to town to help with some of the stuff for Mama.  We wore Mama out, so while she napped, my sisters said, “Let’s go make a memory.”  And so we did…

     

We rode this elevator…

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We saw a man who grows vertical gardens on walls and buildings…

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We went to the National Cemetery to visit our dad’s graveside…

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And drove over this on our way back home…

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A few weeks from now my house will be all put together and look clean and fresh and beautiful.  Mama will, hopefully, be happily settled in her new place.

The stress and mess will be forgotten, but there will be some memories we have made that won’t be…

memories for my sisters and me to take out, unwrap, and enjoy over and over again. 

 

Still following,

Elizabeth

linking to Tuesday Unwrapped at chatting at the sky

Memorial Day thanks…

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Today we honor and remember
Those who have served our country
Because they believed in a cause bigger than themselves
A cause, not just worth living for
But even worth dying for
We remember
Thank you
 
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gratitude list #429-439

-Traci for all her help

 

-a Jesus Date” here

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-finally, after days of rain, a beautiful red sky sunset

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-a beautiful, huge, full moon

 

-time with hubby at a park by the river

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-evenings getting to know new friends

 

-time with my sisters

 

-wild bunnies

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-wonderful worship

 

-my granddaughter and grandson’s big hugs

 

-baby granddaughter’s kisses

 

Gratefully yours,

Elizabeth

Saturday, May 29, 2010

I'm a guest writer today!

Happy Saturday Everyone!
I am excited to be a guest writer over At the Well today!
I hope you will click over there and join me!




Join me over At the Well!

Friday, May 28, 2010

Blog button with code giveaway winner!


Using my totally impartial and highly scientific method of putting your names in a hat and drawing one...
the winner of last Friday's giveaway is Sherry@Lamp unto my Feet !
CONGRATULATIONS!

Thursday, May 27, 2010

I simply remember my favorite things…Friday’s Favs…I’m lovin’ photography!

I didn’t know it was only a naive school girl crush when I wrote this blog post.
I thought I was in love with this…
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Oh sure, we had some good times.
But, then I met tall, dark and handsome…

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You know how these things start…so innocent.
“Honey,” I nonchalantly said to the Hubby, “I am really starting to love photography.”
I began to entertain thoughts of what it would be like to be like to try a different camera.
I even began to sneak peeks at the Nikon on the computer.
I read all about it and what it could do that my Samsung couldn’t.
I knew I was getting in pretty deep when I started to look for the cheapest place I could get it.
It turns out Best Buy had the best buy.
Go figure.
I talked the Hubby in taking me “just to look”.
The Nikon had me at hello.
I just couldn’t leave without it.

The Samsung photo…pretty great!
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The Nikon D5000 photo… be still my heart!
This picture could might actually make someone think I know what I’m doing!
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So, now I’m all inspired to learn more about my new camera and about photography!  Believe it or not, I’ve been reading the camera instruction manual!  I’ve  also been reading and studying about photography online.  Thanks to the Pioneer Woman for her photography tips!  She writes in layman’s terms that even a newbie amateur photographer like me can understand.  She helped me understand aperture and shutter speed! 
It started with my little Samsung, and now with my new Nikon…photography has inspired me to notice the beauty that is all around me in my daily life. 
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  Happy Friday Everyone!
Elizabeth

I’m linking here today…

All things work together for good…

ALL things…

…even stinky hard boiled eggs left simmering away on the stove for four hours, forgotten, while you are gone

and then you return to a very smoke damaged stinky house…

ALL things…

…because then the insurance is going to pay to repaint and you can finally try this soft beachy gray color

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…and there’s even enough insurance money for your handy man son in law to put this wonderful beachy white beadboard up in your bedroom

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…and handy man son in law found some wood flooring for only $1 a square foot, so instead of having all the carpet “destinkified”,  the living area is going to have some of this…

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Now if only it came with this view!

Still following,

Elizabeth

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

No other gods…

holy experience



We were married at the ripe old age of nineteen, which wasn’t all that uncommon back in the olden days…you know, the seventies.  (The nineteen seventies that is.) Hubby went to college in the mornings, worked the evening shift at a factory, and was the church janitor and volunteer youth leader on the weekends.  At the ripe old age of twenty I was a stay at home mama with a wee little brown eyed girl who had  the biggest dimples you ever saw.  We had one car.  We lived in a city located between the town where the college was, and the town where the church we attended was.  I had no car, and no friends who lived anywhere near by.  Day after day, night after night it was just the baby and me.  An exciting outing was putting the baby in a stroller and walking down to the corner gas station for a “Tab”. ( That was a  Diet Coke type drink popular in the olden days.)  I was lonely.  I was cry yourself to sleep lonely.  In all my 20 year old wisdom, I decided it was his fault.  Once you got married you were never supposed to be lonely, right?  Your spouse was responsible to meet all of your needs, right?  So, I told hubby that we needed to go to our minister for counseling. I was looking forward to the pastor straightening that man of mine out.

 

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On the day of our appointment, we sat in front of the pastor’s desk.  I was all decked out in my indignant self-righteousness.  When the pastor turned to me and asked me what I thought was wrong with us, I emphatically, accusatorially, said, “He is not meeting my needs.  Blah, blah, blah, whine, whine, whine.”
The pastor didn’t turn and correct my weary, overworked husband.  To my surprise, he dared to correct me. It changed my life.  It saved my life.  He said, “If another human being could meet all of your needs, then you wouldn’t need God.  That person would then become god to you.  God will never let another person meet all of your needs.  You need to use this opportunity to really get to know God, and let Him meet your needs.” 


Not that I didn’t occasionally still have pity parties after that, but I began a journey.  I began to really seek to know God.  While hubby was at school, I made a nice meal for us to have before he headed off to his job.  After he left for work, I would listen to Christian teaching on the radio, I would read and study my Bible, I would talk to God, I would sing, worship and pray as I fed or rocked the baby.  I sought the Lord and He heard me.  He began to fill me up as I went to Him with my loneliness.  Month after month went by and that was my routine.  While my husband was at work, I was mama, laundress, housekeeper, and God seeker. 


One Sunday, a young couple began to attend church, with a cute little baby girl, just a couple of months younger than our baby.  The husband was also a student by day, and worked evenings like my hubby.  His wife and I became the best of friends.  Many evenings, while our husbands were at work,  I would go to her house or she would come to mine.  Our babies became toddlers, and were as inseparable as siblings.  To this day, I believe God sent me a wonderful friend as an answer to prayer.  But first, He taught me the most important life lesson ever…nothing and no one can meet my needs, fill my emptiness, silence my loneliness, love me, like He can.

Still seeking, following, loving Him,

Elizabeth

Don’t forget to click here and enter my giveaway for a free blog button with code for your blog!

Winner will be announced on Friday!

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Unwrapping some promises…

Just an ordinary Tuesday, but I choose to notice the extraordinary gifts it contains. 

Like He often does, God uses these things in my life to remind me of the things He has spoken.

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Matthew 6:28-30

“And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are.  And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow,

He will certainly care for you.

 

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John 15:5
“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in Me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing.

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Psalm 102:28
The children of your people will live in security.Their children’s children will thrive in your presence.”

 

Still following,

Elizabeth

I’m joining others in Tuesdays Unwrapped at Chatting at the Sky.

Click here to enter my giveaway for a blog button with code for your blog!

Monday, May 24, 2010

Thank You…

Thank You, God that You are God
You cannot lie
There is no darkness, deception, dishonesty in You
When You say that You will bring something to pass
It will surely happen
It is impossible for Your Word to fail
Forgive me for doubting
Grumbling and murmuring
You said that all things work together for good in my life
All
And You mean what you say
You are constantly using even negative situations and circumstances in my life
To set me up for success
To propel me forward in Your purposes
To make me more like You
You have not forgotten me
You cannot
For my name is engraved on the palms of Your great hands
And You have set me as a seal upon Your great heart
How it must hurt Your heart for me to ever doubt Your kind intentions towards me
My love is so weak, so fickle
Like a drop compared to the ocean of Your great love
And yet still You love me
Always, forever
Thank You, thank You, thank You.



holy experience



My continuing gratitude list #418-428

-being lazy on Sunday afternoon

-vanilla ice cream with fresh strawberries
 
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-the way baby granddaughter laughs so hard at her cousin(my grandson)

-the way my oldest granddaughter and only grandson think my mama’s Meals on Wheels are the greatest thing ever
and how Mama always shares with them if they are at her house at lunch time

-a meeting cancelled plus a break in the weather equals a beautiful walk

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-a good talk with my daughter

-good news from the insurance company regarding coverage for the smoke damage in our house

-the grandkids excited to spot a big beautiful blue jay in our yard

-hot soup on a cold, rainy day

-a wonderful Pentecost Sunday at our church
 

Gratefully yours,
Elizabeth
Be sure to click here and enter my giveaway for a free blog button with code.

 

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Nana’s house…

Baby granddaughter had a sleepover at Papa and Nana’s house so her mama and daddy could celebrate their anniversary.

 

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It appears that she enjoyed her stay immensely.

 

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Hope your weekend is fun too!

(Nana) Elizabeth

Click here to enter my giveaway for your own professionally designed blog button with code

from graphic designs by traci

Thursday, May 20, 2010

I simply remember my favorite things…Friday favs…I’m lovin’ my blog makeover!

I’m lovin’ that the peonies are blooming!
I think they are just about my favorite flower!
 
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I hope if you’ve been on my blog before, you noticed my blog makeover.
I’m lovin’ it!
When I found my free swirly blue background on leelou’s blogs I fell in love with it.
Then I began to play around with html codes and figured out by trial and error how to change my column widths, add and remove borders and things like that.
I figured out how to do a picture header.
I found I liked not only writing my blog, but “tweeking” my blog look.
However, there were some things I just couldn’t figure out.
How do I add a horizontal menu tab bar?
I googled, I tried, I failed.
How do I make and add a cute blog button?
What about cute framed sidebar photos?
Sidebar titles?
Categorize my posts?
I decided there were some things I just needed help with.
But I was scared, because by now, I was personally invested in my blog.
I wanted it to reflect me and my tastes and what my blog was about.
And along came Traci…
She was one of my first blog followers.
You can find her here…
or here
She listened to everything I wanted.
She tweeked and retweeked things until everything was just the way I wanted.
 
So to celebrate my new blog makeover I’m giving a lucky follower the chance to have Traci make a personalized blog button for your blog!
If you are already a follower of my blog, just comment on this post for a chance to win.
If you aren’t a follower, I’d love to have you follow, and then add a comment!
I will announce the winner next Friday, May 28th. 
I hope YOU win!
 
Happy Friday everyone!
Elizabeth