For just a little while longer I will enjoy the peaceful sounds of the lake ~ it is beautiful outside, the doors and windows open, all the little critters singing their bedtime songs, the lake splashing against the sea-wall ~ what a tremendous blessing it has been to have all of these years here...
Any minute, Randy and Josh will be back from the grocery run, Kate and Wes will arrive with their sisters and our home will be filled with the conversations and laughter and the familiar, easy ways of the lake. This is certain to be a wonderful weekend with many new memories to add to our hearts.
Our home is beautiful, but it is that instant sense of comfort, that familiar place we can always unwind and just enjoy one another ~ I wish I knew how to express the gratitude I feel that this has been a part of our life for nearly 15 years.
So today I thank my generous and loving God for the amazing and loving ways He provides for us - healthy children who love their Lord and Savior, a strong family -knit together with bonds that cannot be broken, and for a season, this place we have come to call home.
I am not certain if this will always be a part of our lives, so I will savor every beautiful moment, every amazing sight and sound, every memory being created - really, I just love it here...
Friday, September 3, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
b thinking: lay your heavy burdens down...
b thinking: lay your heavy burdens down...: "So, my cup was jostled and I'm not too happy with what spilled... My great grandparents died in their late 90's. I knew them, but not well..."
Saturday, August 21, 2010
it's a granddaughter!!!!!
The most incredible, life changing, take my breath away joy I have ever experienced was laying my eyes on my beautiful firstborn daughter ~ make no mistake, all of my babies had a profound impact, immeasurable joy really ~ but my first, well, I just had never known anything like it before then ~ never known I could be so overwhelmed...
Today, the one who gave me such happiness got to see her baby for the first time... and I had the fantastic honor of being there....
And this is just the ultrasound! So much technology has changed in 22 years, the picture so clear, but the emotions are the same ....
Thank you Katie and Wes, for sharing this with me, for being best friends and thank you for being wonderful parents for this beautiful baby girl ~ this joy is only a taste of what's to come!
Today, the one who gave me such happiness got to see her baby for the first time... and I had the fantastic honor of being there....
And this is just the ultrasound! So much technology has changed in 22 years, the picture so clear, but the emotions are the same ....
Thank you Katie and Wes, for sharing this with me, for being best friends and thank you for being wonderful parents for this beautiful baby girl ~ this joy is only a taste of what's to come!
Thursday, August 19, 2010
goodbye...
standing at the kitchen window almost always makes me think of my grandma, especially if I have a great view of trees, almost always I think "grandma would love this!" since I was 5 I've known that anything less than this view would mean I had an inferior kitchen ;)
you must have been a beautiful baby, you must have been a wonderful child, when you were only startin' to go to kindergarten', you must have drove the little boys wild, oh, you must have been a beautiful baby, 'cause baby look at you now! - seriously, this may be one of my earliest memories, because I believe I have always known this song <3
pretty dresses, matching purse and shoes, perfect red fingernails - such a lady in every way, but I remember being on her lap, a lot too...
and the roses, grandma loved roses ~ so fitting for a women who loved with the love of her Savior ~ openly and freely, grandma loved...
freezing strawberries, canning apples, snapping beans, washing dishes I am back to the visions of her standing at the sink, with the window with a view...
I never remember her angry, ever ~ but I remember her strong, the strength of a feisty woman, but nothing in her countenance gave it away...
folding tea towels for the church, I ran in to a few that were hand embroidered on the corner ~ another memory of grandma, and now that I think about it, I have a flaw in my kitchen that must soon be remedied <3...
and the booties - every grandchild had a pair or two ~ she taught me to knit, but I don't remember if I ever made anything, I just remember sitting there with her feeling so proud that I could actually knit!
grandma took me to church, North Court Baptist Church, where I made my decision for Christ, where I felt led to go forward during the alter call ~ it was my grandma that I talked to, my grandma who encouraged my to follow my heart, my grandma who recorded this very important date ~ when I was older, we visited First Baptist, she would take me there when she was working with ladies on decorations or other church matters ~ I remember most that I just loved being there...
holding hands around the table as grandpa said grace, walking around their dark apartment with only the lights from the Christmas Tree and the candles we carried singing Silent Night reminds me that I had a grandma who prayed for me...
it's been years since she could drive, but I still can't see a Volkswagen Beetle (bug) without thinking of my petite little grandma :) It just suited her...
a grandma who read to me, sang to me taught me and loved me - a lady if there ever was one, gentle and sweet but as strong as they come, a grandma so easy to love ~ 43 years with my grandma, an endless stream of memories ~ I will miss you grandma...
'till I see you again grandma, thank you for being a wonderful example of who I should be, thank you for the beautiful memories...
you must have been a beautiful baby, you must have been a wonderful child, when you were only startin' to go to kindergarten', you must have drove the little boys wild, oh, you must have been a beautiful baby, 'cause baby look at you now! - seriously, this may be one of my earliest memories, because I believe I have always known this song <3
pretty dresses, matching purse and shoes, perfect red fingernails - such a lady in every way, but I remember being on her lap, a lot too...
and the roses, grandma loved roses ~ so fitting for a women who loved with the love of her Savior ~ openly and freely, grandma loved...
freezing strawberries, canning apples, snapping beans, washing dishes I am back to the visions of her standing at the sink, with the window with a view...
I never remember her angry, ever ~ but I remember her strong, the strength of a feisty woman, but nothing in her countenance gave it away...
folding tea towels for the church, I ran in to a few that were hand embroidered on the corner ~ another memory of grandma, and now that I think about it, I have a flaw in my kitchen that must soon be remedied <3...
and the booties - every grandchild had a pair or two ~ she taught me to knit, but I don't remember if I ever made anything, I just remember sitting there with her feeling so proud that I could actually knit!
grandma took me to church, North Court Baptist Church, where I made my decision for Christ, where I felt led to go forward during the alter call ~ it was my grandma that I talked to, my grandma who encouraged my to follow my heart, my grandma who recorded this very important date ~ when I was older, we visited First Baptist, she would take me there when she was working with ladies on decorations or other church matters ~ I remember most that I just loved being there...
holding hands around the table as grandpa said grace, walking around their dark apartment with only the lights from the Christmas Tree and the candles we carried singing Silent Night reminds me that I had a grandma who prayed for me...
it's been years since she could drive, but I still can't see a Volkswagen Beetle (bug) without thinking of my petite little grandma :) It just suited her...
a grandma who read to me, sang to me taught me and loved me - a lady if there ever was one, gentle and sweet but as strong as they come, a grandma so easy to love ~ 43 years with my grandma, an endless stream of memories ~ I will miss you grandma...
'till I see you again grandma, thank you for being a wonderful example of who I should be, thank you for the beautiful memories...
b thinking: just one more day...
b thinking: just one more day...: "just one more day to hold your hand, to say I love you, to hear your voice just one more day to sit and watch you, to remember our time tog..."
Friday, June 25, 2010
what a beautiful sound...
Two days ago the most beautiful, amazing sound was heard <3>
Watching Kate and Wes experience this incredible journey with such excitement, such joy and such love for one another and this child they will raise makes my heart soar with joy!! This is how it should be, and I am so happy for them - I feel completely inadequate to express this, and profoundly grateful that this is the life they are living - devoted to God, devoted to each other and now, devoted to this baby...
Watching Kate and Wes experience this incredible journey with such excitement, such joy and such love for one another and this child they will raise makes my heart soar with joy!! This is how it should be, and I am so happy for them - I feel completely inadequate to express this, and profoundly grateful that this is the life they are living - devoted to God, devoted to each other and now, devoted to this baby...
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
our lake home...
20 years together and we have had such a life - work hard - play hard - challenges and rewards and oh so many changes ~ different homes, different jobs, different roles, different goals - but one thing that has been there, almost from the beginning - the lake!
Since our first summer with our youngest child, we have been coming to the lake - my nieces and nephews, my sister in law and I - so many, many memories - many at grandma and grandpa's lake home - but newer memories at the house next door, the house we bought to fix up and call our own...
I could write a novel on the trials and heartaches of the renovations, but I won't - they are officially behind us now -New memories are being made, and after almost 15 years of coming here, our kids have no real memory of not having the lake be a highlight to their summers ~ yesterday hitting our favorite restaurants, playing a couple of rounds of goofy golf and now, as I sit here savoring this moment, Lexi and her aunt Stephanie and cousin Brian are swimming off the neighbor's dock, Josh is fishing and I am enjoying a little peace and quiet in my new favorite chair :), and then tonight, I am certain -movies, popcorn and stretching out on the big sofa <3>lake house has officially been upgraded to lake home...
Since our first summer with our youngest child, we have been coming to the lake - my nieces and nephews, my sister in law and I - so many, many memories - many at grandma and grandpa's lake home - but newer memories at the house next door, the house we bought to fix up and call our own...
I could write a novel on the trials and heartaches of the renovations, but I won't - they are officially behind us now -New memories are being made, and after almost 15 years of coming here, our kids have no real memory of not having the lake be a highlight to their summers ~ yesterday hitting our favorite restaurants, playing a couple of rounds of goofy golf and now, as I sit here savoring this moment, Lexi and her aunt Stephanie and cousin Brian are swimming off the neighbor's dock, Josh is fishing and I am enjoying a little peace and quiet in my new favorite chair :), and then tonight, I am certain -movies, popcorn and stretching out on the big sofa <3>lake house has officially been upgraded to lake home...
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
so very blessed...
So. my beautiful daughter is about to be a mommy! And I'm about to be a grandma <3
Although I got a bit of a late start on things, I've truly desired to be a Proverbs 31 wife and mom, and have committed myself to this for more than a decade now ~ I make no claims to having achieved success in this, but I have tried ~
Based on how my children are doing so far, I can truly see God's hand and His grace in my life and theirs ~ I don't know how I could be more pleased. I am so completely filled with joy for them and with gratitude to my merciful God for the way He answered the first prayer I ever prayed for my children...
My life has been full and blessed and rarely without challenges. A faithful, hardworking husband and 4 completely different children :) ~ we've never known a dull moment. Our oldest is now married and expecting their first child ~ and although we still have 3 at home, I know this time will fly by...
So, as I near the end of one beautiful season of my life and begin another, I have decided to try to hold on to these memories, savor the moments and treasure all that God has for us in the coming years, and this journal will be a small part of that...
Although I got a bit of a late start on things, I've truly desired to be a Proverbs 31 wife and mom, and have committed myself to this for more than a decade now ~ I make no claims to having achieved success in this, but I have tried ~
Based on how my children are doing so far, I can truly see God's hand and His grace in my life and theirs ~ I don't know how I could be more pleased. I am so completely filled with joy for them and with gratitude to my merciful God for the way He answered the first prayer I ever prayed for my children...
My life has been full and blessed and rarely without challenges. A faithful, hardworking husband and 4 completely different children :) ~ we've never known a dull moment. Our oldest is now married and expecting their first child ~ and although we still have 3 at home, I know this time will fly by...
So, as I near the end of one beautiful season of my life and begin another, I have decided to try to hold on to these memories, savor the moments and treasure all that God has for us in the coming years, and this journal will be a small part of that...
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