Summertime

Summertime Favorites

Sunshine

Pool

Beach Vacation

Warm Sand

Cool Ocean Waves

Homemade Ice Cream

Picnics

Cook Outs

Hamburgers, Hotdogs, Potato Salad

Fresh Flowers

Lightning Bugs

Fireworks

Garden Vegetables

Fresh Peaches

Summer Storms

I'm not right in the head....

As we go through life, we all do things that make others look at us with that "ARE YOU CRAZY?" look. Sometimes we do things that are challenging to us. Sometimes we handle things like they are no big deal, when someone else would freak out if they had to do what we do.

Other times, we do things that make us wonder "Am I insane?"

Well, dear friends, I'm going to do something tomorrow that will probably cause many people, myself included, to think "ARE YOU CRAZY?".

I am going to spend the day with all FOUR of my grandchildren. That's right FOUR. The ages are 11, 7, 5, and 21 months. They are wonderful children and I have a blast being with them. Spending time with all four of them is never a problem. But this time, I spending time with them by myself. No Papaw, no parents, no aunts and no uncles. No help....at all.

Still, you may think, big deal, who couldn't handle four kids at once. Here comes the "am I crazy" part. I am taking them all shopping with me. Not just a quick run to the store, but my entire normal shopping Saturday. I want to go to Joanne's Fabric, Etc. to pick up some quilted material for tote bags. I want to go to Target to get a 12 x 12 Shadow Box frame for a scrapbook project. I want to go to Sears to look at braided rugs. I want to go to Staples to get a file organizer for my office. I want to go to Walmart to get.....well, it's Walmart, it's hard to tell what all I will end up with.

Then to make it even crazier, I want to do all these things at Turkey Creek in Knoxville. I want to take them all four to Steak & Shake for lunch. I want to spend the day just having an absolute blast and proving to myself, that even though I'm 53. I'm still cool. I'm still energetic and I can still handle four kids at one time AND I can take them all to the toy department and survive. Of course, the only thing I'm probably going to prove is that yes, I AM crazy.

Is it okay to ask that you pray for me tomorrow? I'm sure I'll need all the help I can get.

Welcome

In Hawaii, it's E komo mai. In France, it's accueil. Swedish say välkomna. But here in the U.S., we say Welcome. However you say it, it is a form of receiving someone with pleasure and hospitality into your home. We work hard to make our homes a place of comfort, a place where family and friends will feel welcome and enjoy visiting. The pineapple has been a universal symbol of hospitality and welcome for many centuries all over the world. To the Carib, the pineapple symbolized hospitality, and the Spaniards soon learned they were welcome if a pineapple was placed by the entrance to a village. This symbolism spread to Europe, then to Colonial North America, where it became the custom to carve the shape of a pineapple into the columns at the entrance of a plantation. Many of us today still use a pineapple motif in our home to show that our guests are welcome. I am one of those pineapple people. I want my guests to know they are also welcome to cross the threshold into my home. I needed a new rug at the front door (which is actually in the kitchen). I was at Family Dollar today and found this for $5.00. I was ecstatic.

My guests will always know they are welcome to come on in and sit a spell. This triggered me to realize that I have pineapples in several rooms in my house. Here are some of my favorite pineapple decorations.

So if you are ever in the neighborhood, drop on by. Guests are always welcome.

May your day be filled with joy.....

Do you ever have days where your life is just so full and your plans are so many that you just LOVE being alive. I have these days so often. God has blessed me with so much that I will never be able to thank Him for everything He does for me. Sometimes, just sitting at my desk, driving down the road, or reading a book, He just fills my heart with joy and my cup runneth over.

It's nothing elaborate or nothing huge. It's the little things. It's getting excited about taking a trip with a dear friend to go to my Mom's. It's knowing my Mom and sister will be coming back with me to spend a week. It's the gladness in knowing kindergarten graduation is coming for my granddaughter. It's knowing the summer will be packed with fun and exciting things to do

with the grandchildren.

J-O-Y. Such a simple word. Three little letters. But such depth of meaning and such peace and contentment you can find in Joy. Here are some of my favorites quotes about joy.

And my soul shall be joyful in the LORD: it shall rejoice in his salvation. - Psalms 35:9 Enjoy life. This is not a dress rehearsal. - Unknown They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. - Psalms 126:5 Joy is the feeling of grinning inside. - Melba Colgrove Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls. - Mother Teresa of Calcutta Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. - Isaiah 12:3 Joy delights in Joy - William Shakespeare When you wish someone joy, you wish them peace, love, prosperity, happiness... all the good things. - Maya Angelou For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. - Psalms 30:5 One joy shatters a hundred griefs - Chinese Proverbs Joy is the holy fire that keeps our purpose warm and our intelligence aglow - Helen Keller

But this is my all time favorite:

Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. - Habakkuk 3:18

Being comfortable in your own skin....

I have always heard people talk about being comfortable in their own skin. What exactly does that mean? I think it means that you love the way you look, the way you feel, the way you are. You are happy with the person you've become. A person comfortable in their own skin does not worry so much about what others think. We all know people like this. I've always envied someone that is content with their style. They wear what they want to wear and feel good about. They don't bow down to what fashion dictates. They do not let being over or under weight affect the way they dress and carry themselves. As a child, I think we all that inner peace that simply lets us be us. I was watching Caleb yesterday as the rains were coming. He had on his galoshes and my umbrella. Did he worry about what he looked like? Did he stop to think "Is this a good look for me?" Obviously not. You can tell by the natural grin on his face that he was as happy as a lark. He had on his fire boot galoshes and he was allowed to be out playing in the rain. It doesn't get any better than that for a 7 year old boy. We should all take a note from his attitude. It's not how you look or what you wear, but how you enjoy your life that makes you comfortable in your own skin.

Yesterday

Do you ever have one of those days that is just full. Full of blessings, full of fun, full of life? I'm recuperating from one this morning. The day started off with a quick trip to the grocery store for the pop for Caleb's party. Then Shelby and I went to Sunday School and church. I got to help out in Shelby's Sunday School class. Our church service was awesome. The choir sung one of my favorite songs and the sermon was fantastic. Then back to Diana's to change for the birthday party and head over to the park. It was a beautiful day and the weather was so nice. We got everything set up and about time to eat, the rains hit. It was a downpour and it was coming in sideways. The wind was blowing and it turned really cold. But we were under the picnic shelter so we survived, a little damp and a little wind blown, but not to bad. The kids had a great time. Garret was cold for awhile in his sleeveless shirt, but once the rain quit and they hit the playground, they soon warmed up. Alexis must have dried off every slide there. Her shorts were soaked from going down them all, but she didn't care at all. They had a blast. Michael took his motorcycle over for the party, since it was a motorcycle theme. I took this picture of Shelby and Caleb on it. If you look closely at her face, you can hear her thinking "Come on Caleb, just one ride. Daddy will never know." The party ended at 4:00 and I rushed home for a quick clean up and headed back to church for choir practice at 5:00. And I mean quick. I got home at 4:15 and was ready to leave again by 4:40. But I made it back on time. We had a real good practice and are learning several new songs. The service was awesome again tonight. For those of you who also follow Debbie's blog http://www.jeremiah-2911.com/ , you will remember when she hit her 100th follower she had a giveaway. Lucky #8 was the winner...and it was me! I got my gift package last night and it was fantastic. As you all know, I am really big on FAITH. It's what keeps me going day to day. Debbie really knows me 'cause look what I won. Plus they were perfect for my new room.

She also knows how much I love the beach and that I incorporated my beach stuff into my new room. Check out the seashell dish. That was part of my prize. I love it. The gifts were absolutely perfect for me. Thank you Debbie from the bottom of my heart.

So all in all, yesterday was a wonderful day and I need a day off to rest up from all the excitement!

Wonderful Memories

Seven years ago today, God blessed us with our second grandchild. He is a miniature copy of his father in so many ways, but many things he does reminds me so much of his mom when she was little. He is a mixture of both and it has combined to make him a true joy to be around. He has elected to have a motorcycle theme for his party this year, complete with Daddy's motorcycle at the party. He has even talked his mom into providing "tattoos" for all the kids attending. Should make for an interesting day. Happy birthday, Caleb Michael, thank you for providing us with many hours of entertainment and adding joy to our lives. We love you.