And then there were three . . . .

This was taken in January of this year when the four of us siblings were together at my sister's home.    We don't see each other as a group very often since Kevin (far right) lives in NY State.  Rick (far left) and Sandie (second from right) lived 13 miles apart at this time.  I live five hours from them in TN.  We had a great visit that weekend but did not know it would be the last picture of the four of us.

 Our brother, Rick, age 59, died this past weekend.  It was a terrible shock to us because it was very unexpected.  It was a horrible few days for us.

Rick was proficient in many things.  You wished he was your gardener because he had a "green thumb" that was evidenced in the many beautiful flower gardens at his home.  His favorite hobby - - a passion - - was meteorology.  He wasn't a storm chaser in a vehicle but you could count on a text from him if weather was bad in your area.  Of course he was checking on our welfare and safety but he also wanted to know some of the details of the severity of the wind and precipitation.  We still have the weather station on our wall that he gave to us years ago.  It gives good readings on the barometric pressure, temperature, and humidity.

Rick,

You should know the sunshine left us this weekend and lots of precipitation fell - - - from our eyes.  You were loved and will be greatly missed.  I am anticipating our reunion in heaven where we will have all eternity together.

 Love,
Lynn

A time to be born , and a time to die . . .  Ecclesiastes 3:2a

Catch-Up

Benjamin is back!!!  His mom had to report for work on July 24.  Her agency had to be back a week and a half earlier than the other county teachers in her school.  She and Benjamin spent the night with us four nights while our SIL was in Haiti on a mission trip.

In the pic below, Benjamin is eating out of a reusable food pouch.  He does not want anyone to feed him but will eat well with these.  Foods that can be picked up with his fingers make him happy.  He can get a toddler spoon and fork to his mouth but the food falls off about half the time.

 

We are going to have lots of fun this year because he is capable of doing so much more - - - like learning to draw with markers!  You can see he got some on the paper but he also thought they looked good enough to taste - - which I discouraged immediately.  (Paint smock was found at Michael's Craft Store.)

In addition to regular indoor play with musical instruments, blocks, bouncing balls, etc., other great fun has included going to the playground, walking inside the mall on the hottest day, going to the public library and enjoying visits to Smoothie King.

 Instead of baby seats and exersaucers, this year we have added this set from Step 2.  I am so very thankful my daughter was here to assemble it when it arrived.  Working with pre-K, she knew the puzzle of putting the chairs together as well as having the strength to stretch the back supports apart in order to snap the backrest in place.

 Our covered screened back deck is on the second floor.  To make it safer, we stapled plastic fencing around the bottom today.  It probably would have been easier with an electric staple gun but we strengthened our muscles and bones using the manual one (trying to put the positive spin on this labor of love in the heat and humidity).

Our carpets needed cleaning, too, before "school" started back.  Our previous machine had said, "Enough," so we got another from the same company - - a better machine for less money than we paid years ago.  We were very pleased at how well it extracted the water.  We shampooed over a couple of weekends.  The carpets were completely dry within 1 - 2 hours.

In the midst of everything else, my windshield got a small "ping" with cracks.  It was down in the lower left of the windshield - - not in my line of vision.  Safelite was a great company to work with on this.  They were here - - at my house - - I didn't have to go to a shop - - within two days, confirmed appointments times, and even sent a picture of the man who would do the work.

 I did not know that cleaning all the windows was included as well as vacuuming my front carpets.  He told me that I would probably still see the small cracks but they wouldn't spread - - - but they are barely, barely visible.   It was one of the easiest repairs ever to our car.

And that about catches you up with our life.  We are all adjusting to and enjoying our schedule - - and maybe - - I might have time to catch up with many of your posts from this past week!!!

Show me how you work, God; School me in your ways.  Psalm 25:4

Splendid Saturday

With all the rain we have had, Saturday, July 13 was a perfectly sunny day!

The Crepe Myrtles are blooming in profusion all over the area at this time.  These two pictures were taken in front of stores in outdoor mini-malls.  Don't you love it when business owners landscape the parking lot area?

 

 

Our destination was Copperhill again.  This view is "on the left"  when you are almost at our daughter's/son-in-law's home.

 

The celebration of Benjamin's birthday was the reason for the trip.  He turned ONE on Monday!!!  His parents invited quite a few people for a delicious lunch.  They know how to set out a buffet.  The menu included (homemade) barbequed/smoked pork and chicken.  Various salads - including broccoli (yum), - - fruits, and dips were also offered.  There was something for everyone and no excuse to go home hungry!  You could eat inside the air-conditioned cabin or outside under the canopy tents with the slight breeze.

My "job" for the day was to make sure Benjamin was well-rested for the party - - so I had the HUGE blessing of holding him for his nap - - with his mom's permission!  Such a precious, precious time.  While rocking and cuddling, I went down Memory Lane and also prayed for his future.

As you can see, Benjamin moved outside for his cake.  Even though his cheeks are pink, he is under a tent and not in direct sunlight.  It looks like he trying to figure out what the object on his tray is!  Obviously not real cake - -  but he guzzled the water in the cupcake cup.  He likes drinking with straws.

 

His cupcake had a Cool-Whip type icing but guess he figured it looked like an ice cream cone and this was the best plan of attack!  You may notice the white shirt was removed during chocolate indulgence!   He did not eat all that - - got satisfied with a few bites and quit.

It was a wonderful day for everyone in attendance.    I know I post more than enough pictures of Benjamin because he is our first grandchild and we are still utterly fascinated by him.  You don't ever have to go over to his mom's blog - - - but this post she did was really, really cute.  She is creative in writing and this gives her definite memories of his activity level.  (And no - - she did not let him eat the rocks and grass.)

Let me tell you what God said next. He said, "You're my son, And today is your birthday."  Psalm 2:7

Scrumptious Saturday

Yesterday afternoon, I saw a bunch of these displayed near the front entrance of the store.  Smart marketing!   If you didn't have a pair when you walked in, you were probably quite enticed to add them to your wardrobe.  You can definitely say we are not having drought conditions!

As I have mentioned, I don't get bored being stuck in the house because I have too long a list of projects to complete.  Today seemed like a good cooking day.  Here's fruit salad that will last through Friday.

Although the picture doesn't do it justice, this Spanish Rice is excellent.  It has enough chili powder seasoning to give it flavor but not make it too spicy.  It is supper for Sunday and Monday night.

Tonight we are having Taco Soup - - - and five more containers are now in the freezer for that many more meals.  I finally started an Excel Spreadsheet to show what's in the freezer.  Each line has the food name.  The horizontal cells beside it show the date it was frozen.  The entire line is filled with a color.  As I take food out, I will delete a cell.

 

And even though I don't have a picture, the below link is what we had for lunch.  It is one of our absolute favorite recipes of all times.  You will not know you are eating Weight Watchers.  The things on it I do differently is serve it over rice rather than noodles - - use two apples - - use an additional teaspoon of brown sugar - - - and just shake the salt, pepper, and cinnamon rather than measure it.

http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=346418

 For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God;  Hebrews 6:7

Lynda Loves Pizza

Go to this link for a very yummy Pizza-fied Chicken recipe.  I made it for our lunch today with just a couple of modifications.  I used Pizza Quick Sauce (rather than crushed tomatoes) and Italian Cheese Blend (rather than mozzarella).  It was delicious and fulfilled my pizza craving without the crust made of bread.  I only had peppers and onions but they were still enough toppings to make it very delicious!

Hungry Girl is one of my favorite shows.  She has high energy and good tips for cutting fat and calories from recipes we enjoy.



 

July 2 & 3, 2013

This is one of Bill's vacation weeks - - and on vacation, a person should do what he chooses - - right?  He and I chose to go and visit our daughter and grandson for two consecutive days - - but this doesn't look like Benjamin!

Neither does this!

 

 Here he is - - taking a break from playing peek-a-boo - - one of his very favorite games now.   This is one of the few times Bill has gotten to play with him for hours rather than just seeing him on a lunch hour.

 

Amanda's Blackeyed Susans are blooming beautifully.  They were one of my mom's favorite flowers and also one of ours.  Their golden color is like sunshine on the ground.

Do you see the swing at the far end of the porch?  If you are sitting there or standing anywhere on the porch, you have a wonderful view.

This is that view - - one that I have shown you before but I never tire of it - - - even on a cloudy day.  It is so very relaxing and peaceful at their home.

 

Today we have enjoyed being inside the air-conditioning and working on sorting and cleaning the basement a bit.  It may not be exciting to anyone else but we enjoy having time to do that!

Tonight we are watching the nation's patriotic celebration on public television.  We just saw the last thirty minutes and are now watching the beginning!  Praise God for our precious America!

And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great ; and thou shalt be a blessing:   Genesis 12:2 

June 30, 2013

Benjamin is happy that his church library has

a table and chairs just his size.

He gravitated to them immediately when he entered the room.

This was their library's grand opening day and I got to be there for it.

His mom is showing him a book.

We have both read to him since he was a little baby.

Both our daughters were on vacation last week - - leaving the same day, June 22 - - - traveling 1,200 miles apart from each other - - returning on the same day, June 29.  I got to feed and play with the cats once a day at the older's house - - and of course, clean cat boxes.  The younger will most likely post some of her pictures soon.

Tonight was another of my "girlfriends' night" to celebrate a friend's birthday.  This friend LOVES July 4th and the patriotic decorations.  We were asked to wear red, white, and/or blue.  The table had a centerpiece appropriate for the season.

Although we all LOVE to eat, most of us are trying to be calorie-consumption conscious.   So tonight's menu was tossed salads with assorted meat and vegetable toppings contributed by those in attendance.  It was delicious as usual.

 

Check out the dessert.  I know you wish you had a bite!

After supper and before we left, our hostess had bought LARGE fireworks sparklers

and so we 40- 60 aged women went in the back yard and twirled them!

 

Praise God for the happy times in life where we can celebrate good things with others!

It gives us a diversion from the events and "decisions" in the news last week.  The grief in my heart is miniscule to what God's heart must be experiencing.  It would be wonderful if people would actually read the truth of our country's Christian Birth and the ideals of those who were some of the first founders. 

On the flip side though is our worship service yesterday at church with the wonderful patriotic and Christian music.  Our military men were recognized - - and some saluted each other during that time.  Many of us were overcome with tears realizing what their sacrifice in the armed services has given us.  So as we celebrate this week, I am thanking God for our precious nation and praying for revival in that land.

Wilt thou not revive us again : that thy people may rejoice in thee?  Psalm 85:6