28 Birthdays!

I know I majored in Physical Education, I know that I am definitely "mathematically challenged", but it just doesn't add up.  I have celebrated 28 birthdays with you as either your fiancee or your wife.  But yet, you insist that you are only 29..hmmmm....

We have spent your birthdays with friends, at the beach, at home, cooking out, freezing, many of them with you at work, some with me at work. But each April 30th begins the same way for me.  It begins with a very thankful heart.  A heart full of love for you and gratitude to God for the man he has sent to me.  Also gratitude to his parents for giving birth to such a fine man. You really are a fine man!

Really friends, he gets a little sassy on his birthday, and tries to question my math skills, and sometimes I let him think he's right. And even though I know that we didn't get together as infants, I do know that every year I have with him is another year to cherish!!

So go on,  honey, trick me with your fancy math, but at the end of the day, you have given me 28 years of April 30 blessings, countless years of candles to put on countless birthday cakes, and 28 years of birthday smiles to carry in my heart...cant wait till you're 29 again next year, baby!!!!!

PA ROSS

I come from a long line of storytellers.  My  great Uncle Zeke has gone into the archives of Florida history for not only his fiddling ability, but his story-telling ability as well. My great Uncle Dell knew all of the true versions of the stories that Uncle Zeke made interesting. My Grandpa could tell some whoppers, too! Then, of course, my dad being the youngest of five, listened to everyone, took it all in and could tell stories with the best of them!

The tall tales in my family were called "Bull Stories."  One can only guess why.  Many of them were designed to scare children into doing what you wanted them to do.  There was the story of Epiminondis, which was designed to keep you near your parents.  There was Jose, which was to scare you into doing the right thing, and then the monster of all Bull Story heroes was PA ROSS!  I still shudder a little bit when I think of him.
And believe you me, all of us kids knew who PA ROSS was!!!!

He was supposed to be big and hairy, and hide in the woods.  Not just some woods, any woods. But he especially liked the woods near our house.  PA ROSS did, however have a home.  He lived in the Forestry towers along the sides of the road (you know, the ones with a thousand stairs and a big observation hut at the top), that was so that he could see all of us at once.  He was kind of like the "Boogey Man" if you were ever aquainted with him.  He was big, hairy,  kind of like Sasquatch and would "get you" if you wandered unattended into any woods, ever. 

Mom loved PA ROSS and thus, perpetuated him, making him a little bigger and scarier.  It worked for her.  If we were playing outside after dark, she reminded us that PA ROSS came out of the woods at night, and that small children were probably just a snack! He also liked to swim at night and would pass through our yard on his way to the bayou.  This way, she didn't have to hunt us at night and we didn't ask to swim at night. 

It also kept me quiet for a few minutes on long trips, too.  Because my dad would warn me when we got within a 5 mile radius of the " PA ROSS" towers and told me that PA ROSS could hear children and we needed to be quiet so he wouldn't chase us.

When I got older and thought I knew so much, I thought about how cruel it was to do us like that!  But then, I had kids!!! PA ROSS, though a little scary did achieve the desired result! And really..I don't have too many scars.  I just drive an extra 20 miles out of the way to dodge a forestry tower!

Don't Judge!!!

He is here....

All day today, no matter where you look, or what kind of media you are exposed to, there are scenes of utter devastation from the horrific tornadoes that destroyed huge portions of our state and neighboring states as well.  The images are horrifying- homes, vehicles, trees, are mangled and twisted beyond recognition.

In situations like this, we wonder, "why?". Where is God in the midst of this?

Two things come to mind.  The first is a picture on someone's facebook page. In the background is debris of all sorts, trees, branches, twisted metal, household debris.
In the foreground stands an Easter Cross with the resurrection shroud draped over it in stately majesty. The drape and the cross were untouched by the storms.  A reminder that our Risen Lord is still Lord of all.  He is in control even in the midst of this chaos, He will wipe every tear, soothe every broken heart, and receive those He has brought home.  He has known our pain.


The second thing that comes to mind is a song that was popular several years ago.  The title is,  "Sometimes He calms the Storm".  The lyrics go on to say, "Sometimes He calms the storm and other times He calms His child."  This time He didn't calm the Storm, but He is here, ever here, ever calming His children.

The God of the resurrection calms His children, heals His children, holds His children, welcomes them Home, be it in this world or the next.

He is here...

My Best "feel good" songs!!!

Aren't there just some songs that put you in a good mood? There are those songs that just get your fingers tapping the steering wheel or get you dancing around the house when nobody's watching (or even if they are!)!

My list is by no means inclusive of all my feel good songs, but check these out, if you don't know them, look them up on you tube and get your fingers tapping!..

Some of them are so old they are just used for commercials, or video montages, on Funniest Video Shows, or ESPN montages.  But that is kinda cool, too, because, there's a whole generation of kids that get a little exposure to some fun songs:

Here goes:

"Still the One" By Orleans(  ...We're still havin' fun and You're still the one!)
"Happy to be Stuck With You" by Huey Lewis
"Livin' on a Prayer" Bon Jovi
"Celebrate Good Times"-Earth Wind and Fire
"500 Miles-Proclaimers( I would walk 500 miles--a great treadmill song!)
"I'm a Believer"--Monkees
"ABC"-Michael Jackson
"Ain't no Mountain High Enough"-Supremes
"Down on the Corner"-CCR
"Joy to the World"-Three Dog Night"
"Sweet Home Alabama"-Lynrd Skynrd
"All-Star"-Theme from Shrek-Smash Mouth
"Don't Worry, Be Happy"- Bobby Ferren
"Brandy"--Looking Glass
"Mountain Music"-Alabama
"Meet in the Middle"-Diamond Rio
"Don't Pull your love out on me baby"-Hamilton, Joe, Frank and Reynolds


I'll let you fill in the rest...There are many more beautiful and meaningful songs in this world.  Lots of them have deep messages and intricate melodies and are so important that no one should miss..but sometimes, only a "feel good" melody will do!

Have a great day..and tap your feet a little!

From Peanuts to Pelicans

What a road trip! Left the beauty of the Wiregrass with just my hubby, the Garmin lady (boy is she bossy when you don't do what she says.."recalculating, recalculating..blah, blah, blah"), a couple of changes of clothes and some anticipation, nervousness, and anxiety!

 Destination...seashore and pelicans.

Not a bad drive. ... A little over 3 hours later, we arrive at our destination.  Lots of new sights, and new people....a new turn in our lives.  The smell of the salt air is familiar and comforting...waking up to the bay breezes and the sound of  gentle waves lapping on the sea wall was pure comfort.  It was nourishment for the soul, for the tasks in the days ahead.

A wink from God...The new people, the new places, the good-byes, the hellos. Then, the midst of it, the calming assurrance that He is even more constant than the winds and waves he created.

"recalculating, recalculating,...."  Here we go again!  Thank you Lord, for the ebb and flow, the new and the old....For your steady hand in our lives.

The six months rule

It is the Monday after Easter Sunday. The house is a mess...and in a clergy family, everyone is tired... When you are tired...well, you just arent at your best sometimes!!!
We had the younger two thirds of our family home for Easter and it was grand.  We are thankful for the ones away, and so happy for their wonderful Easter time as well.

One of daddy's favorite sayings when we would worry and worry about things was, "Don't worry honey, six months from now you'll be worrying about something else!" How stupid was that? That's what I used to think, anyway.  But I have learned the simple truth about that statement.   No matter how big something is, and how much sleep you lose over it, it does eventually get better, get resolved or lose its huge place of importance on our "worry list".

I look at my house full of sleeping bodies home for Easter. Major changes coming up in all of their lives in the next several weeks and months.  They all seem huge with lots of things to worry about. College Graduations, weddings, futures to plan, A new move for us..exhausting to think about! All good things, but big things! Oh boy do I want to worry!!!

But true enough, six months from now, there will be other things because all of this will be a part of the tapestry of their lives and will be a part of their past.

I guess I should remember how daddy handled things.  He kind of let the worriers swirl around him.  He was the constant in the eye of the storm.  I tend to be a "swirly" kind of person. But I want to remember what he knew so well.  Maybe I can sit back, have a sweet tea and remember, Six months from now, there will be something else... and be thankful for these busy blessings.

A new day

I wonder how I would have been if I had been one of the women going to the tomb to annoint Jesus body this morning?

I think I would have been one of the angry ones wondering who took him and why???
I would have looked for the sinister, not the holy. I don't know if I could have comprehended what had happened.

I can only imagine how Mary felt when He said, "Woman, why are you weeping?"
She probably thought, "who are you? leave me alone,". She didn't get it until she saw His glorious face.

I would have been Thomas, "Let me touch your hands."  And He would have been patient enough to let me.

How gracious our Lord is in our unbelief.  He loved us enough to suffer and die for us, He loved us enough to allow us to question his sacrifice. He loves us enough to wait until we "get it."  Until we look at ourselves in all our weakness and imperfection and know that one so perfect loved us enough to do what He did for us, we can't fathom that kind of love.  When we do, we truly know the meaning of A NEW DAY!

HE IS RISEN INDEED!

Batter up!

There are certain sounds and sights at home that bring a level of well being and comfort.   I love the steady drone of  the announcers, the crack of a bat, the "Strike".....called by the umpire and the fist pumping and yells from the living room. They are a sign of constancy in our ever changing lives. No matter how good, or how bad things are, there is always baseball.  It is always the same.  Somebody's gonna win, somebody's gonna lose and for two and a half hours there is something else to focus on and bring us together.

It wasn't always that way.  When I fist met my husband, he listened to Atlanta Braves games on the radio, or watched them on TV whenever he had the chance.  I admit I was a little jealous. It was actually a little boring to me.  I loved sports, but Baseball just seemed slow and dull. I just didn't get it.

Then, when we married, I didn't realize that the date we selected for our wedding was "smack-dab" in the middle of the World Series. That was a sacrifice that I didn't realize the significance of until many years later. With the change in scheduling, our anniversaries now fall during league playoffs... What a sweet husband to give up games for me.

When our oldest child came home, daddy picked him up and told him about the intricacies of the balk and fielder's choice and many other baseball scenerios.
He was hooked from a little guy. A couple of years later, his twin brothers had the same introduction to baseball.  I am really glad that they were all born during baseball season!

We have been baseball parents, coaches and scorekeepers.  Snack bringers, team party hosts, and regretfully, obnoxious fans in our younger years! But baseball is part of the fiber of out family.  Our kids have been Phillies, Yankees, Marlins, Diamond Backs, Reds, and Giants. Probably some more I forgot, too!

Even though our children are gone from home and living their own lives, dad still watches baseball , and somewhere along the line, it happened...I became a fan, too.  I watch, I cheer, and I find it as comforting and reassuring as he does.

The best thing about it now is that when ever our children are home, it is their universal language! They talk about trades, stats, percentages and fantasy leagues.  I watch their wives and fiancees look like I once did.  But the longer they are around our guys, the more they know it is a part of their lives.

So, whether you are a fan or not, the next time you see or hear a baseball game, just listen to the rhythm of the game, and know that there may be strikeouts, and lost games, but baseball is certainly a "home run" in my family!  "Batter up"!

Things you can't hear...

I have had a day with a lot of "quiet time."  It was a wonderful day, driving to see some of the ladies in my family.  We talked, and laughed,  and had a great time. But going home, the CD player in my vehicle malfunctioned and I didn't want to listen to the  available stations so my ride was a quiet one.  I began to think about some  of the most beautiful images I have seen lately whose message needed no narration or caption, the mere sight sends a message straight to the soul.

Last night, during a very moving service at church, there was a prayer flashed on the screen. While others were watching the screen and trying to take in the images, I looked to my left, and in the dark, a hearing impaired gentleman was signing this prayer in the most eloquent fashion.  He was touching his chest between signs, and praying so reverently.  With the gift of the words on the screen, he could worship along with everyone else, not waiting on an interpreter. Just he and his Lord.  An image I will  long remember.

Today, I had the opportunity to watch a great- great -grandmother hold her great- great -grandchild.  She doesn't have the words any more, and the baby doesn't have them yet.  That was okay, though. I couldn't help but notice the looks that passed between them.  What pure joy they had in one another's company!  Why are the rest of us so worried about a little silence?? What a beautiful image.

I watched the pall of  silence fall on a dark and quiet room full of people.  The lights were extinguished one by one.  Then, finally the last candle was carried out of the room.
There were no words. None to say, none to hear.  The symbol was clear, The light of the world was gone... dead and buried... but wait, watch in silence.. the loudest image of all, is about to burst forth!

from darkness to light....

I love the Sunshine.  When I am home, I open the blinds and they stay open from morning till night.  Overcast days drive me crazy.  When we spent a few years living in another state that had a real winter, I thought I would lose my mind from late February through the end of April.  My soul, and my body were ready for Spring.  It was" hard-wired" into me that by the end of February, we should have some warm days and lots of sun. But I also never appreciated Spring as much as I did  living in that cold climate because my every fiber felt the light so much more intensely. It  truly felt as though I were truly coming from darkness into light.

I was thinking about this today. It's Maunday Thursday.  The day Jesus had his Last Supper with His closest friends.  How the darkness must have pressed in on Him.  He knew what He had to go through, alone.  That He had to do it for His friends, His enemies, for people that hated Him and for people yet to be born.  How did He wash their feet, and break bread with them, knowing they would deny Him, betray Him, and run away?  Because He knew the end of the story. Yes, it was dark--in the next few hours it would become even darker.  So dark that the Sun would stand still and the sky would turn dark.

But that's okay, His body and soul were "hard-wired" for light, too.  The darkness wouldn't last forever, the friends that ran away would return and be even more faithful, the one that denied Him, would proclaim His name boldly.  And best of all, the grave didn't mean a thing but a place for Him to get ready for the light of a new day!

So, when you ache for the sunlight, or the Light of the Son, remember..it is in our DNA to go from darkness to light!

By the side of the road....

There are two options on my commute each day.  The first is a four-lane highway, with trucks, and fast cars and lots of opportunities to show off your bobbing, weaving and lane-changing skills. The second is a few minutes on the four-lane and a nice drive down a two lane country highway or two.  The second is my favorite.  I can mark time, and seasons this way.  I feel like I know the people on these roads, although I don't. 

I have learned a lot about life from what goes on along the side of the road:

I know when it is time to plow and plant.  There are dust clouds and tractors, and I've traveled long enough to know if it's cotton or peanuts or corn.

I pray for the farmers when the dust rises off the fields for too long, or the fields are too soggy.

I love seeing the plants grow, and I know the seasons are going to change when they begin to harvest.

Did you know that in bad weather the cows all face the same direction?

Did you know that the buzzards will eat anything but another buzzard? Buzzard road kill stays on the road forever.

Tan house, green shutters has a blue bow...A sweet little boy is born..New car, need more room for the baby. Thank you Lord for babies.

The dialysis car isn't here everyday at 4pm, now there is a purple bow. Lord, be with their family.

Some grafitti on box cars really is quite good.  Lord, show these would be artists a great outlet for their skills.  Also, improve their spelling skills except on the bad words.

That State troopers will sometimes wave when they should give tickets! Thanks so much!

That chicken houses smell all the time! Sort of like bread and butter, huh?

That deer really are beautiful, especially when they stay on the side of the road and not on your grill.

That there is an opportunity to see God's handiwork on the side of the road that you just don't see when you are trying to pass the Mississippi License plate or the Wal-mart semi.

Thank you Lord, for slowing me down, for showing me the work of your hands, and the opportunity to consider life on the side of the road.

How does a porch swing = Forever?

Okay, I have put it off long enough, I have to blog about you now, honey.

There you were, opposite of everything I was. You were quiet, I was boisterous (bordering on obnoxious),  you were shy, me, not so much.  I was a PE major, you were a criminal justice major.  You came to class everyday, prepared and ready. I didn't always come to class, and whether or not I was ready was always a gamble.  But from the first time I met you, your smile touched my heart.  Your head tilted to the side and gave me a smile that I knew meant more than any other smile.

Then there was that barn dance in Clio.  I knew it wasn't me you were looking for, but always up for a challenge, I bugged you  until you noticed me. I am glad you didn't run away (me being a PE major and all, I would have caught you!!), I am even more glad you looked my way, too.  And the rest, they say is history!

The night we first talked about marriage, the picture was us growing old, sitting on a porch swing, playing with children and grandchildren and looking at our lives from a porch swing. I was in love, it sounded romantic....

The swing moves once; we have said "I do." We are newlyweds, loving each other and finding our way as a couple.

It swings again- we realize what commitment and dedication to each other are when the Lord calls our first baby home and we cry the tears of the brokenhearted alone together.

It swings again-we are blessed beyond measure with children to swing and to watch play, we learn that life is bigger than just us and we need to step up and get ready to work!

It swings again- we learn about hard times when our house floods and nearly floats down the Flint river.  You taught me to laugh in hard times and to press in to Jesus and to you.

It swings again- We are called to something way bigger than us.  You taught me that saying "yes" to God means saying "goodbye" to the life we thought was so great. That it also meant saying "hello" to an even bigger adventure.  Again, we smile and laugh through the tears.

It swings again- a graduation, a wedding, a baby--that grandbaby to watch from the swing.  Now it hits me, this is what you saw all those years ago.

It swings again-more graduations, more weddings, one day more babies to watch from the swing,

It swings again-it is a quiet evening, I watch us swing, a little greyer, the swing moves a little slower under our extra pounds, but my heart still beats faster when you sit near me. We smell the gardenias, we watch the sunset, and I get it.  A porch swing really does = forever.

I love you, Honey!

A man of few words!

I love the show NCIS! Gibbs, the main character is referred to as a "functional mute." It isn't because he can't talk, it is because he really doesn't have to.  He can get his point across very well, with just a look, or a slap to the back of the head, or just by using silence to let someone else figure out their mistake or next step. He gives not only discipline, but approval and humor in the same manner.

Daddy was a lot like that.  He didn't need a lot of words to get his point across.  There was the time that both of my nephews had the chicken pox while they were staying with us. He decided to have a little fun with them, so the first night, he put feathers all around them while they were sleeping. They woke up and wondered what was happening, and he told them that when you have chicken pox you turn into a chicken.  The next night, he put feathers in their pajamas, and in their hair.  By then they were paranoid!!! He would just look at them and smile! The last night was the best, he put hard boiled eggs beside them while they slept and when they woke up, they knew they were finally chickens!  He never said a word!

Another time, I was constantly getting scolded about not cleaning the dishes before I put them in the dishwasher. I guess he had finally had enough because he said, "The next time you do that, you are gonna find those dishes in your bed."  So, sure enough, I came home one night, and what was in my bed, but a dishwasher full of semi-clean dishes! Mortified, I slept with them in my bed and put them up the next morning. Never realizing I was supposed to clean them first! But I never did that again!

Painting the picnic table was the same way.  He was gently showing me my mistakes and I was pouting, then I accidentally knocked the can of red paint over on his new shoes.  He didn't clean all of the paint off, he left just enough to remind me not to get huffy!

Love and compassion were shown the same way.  A wink, a quick hug, a note, or a tear.  His silence spoke more than most of the words I will ever remember.

He didn't need a lot of words to show love, or firmness, or humor.  It was all in the face of a fine man.  St. Francis of Assisi said, "Preach the Gospel and if necessary, use words." Maybe he was a "functional mute" too!

Ok, My Sons!

Ok My Sons,

Now that you are all over 21, and are grown men, I guess there are a few things I need to confess to you as a mom.  I really should apologize, but I feel that helping with your therapy appointments would be more effective! I really didn't mean to be such a bad mom, but in hindsight, I did the best I could!  I think the wheels fell off when you out- numbered us and let us think we were in control!!!

So here goes:

1. I may have in advertantly diapered one of you three times in a night and left the other two wet until morning. Sleep deprivation does crazy things.
2.  I believe that I used to wake you up at night just to make sure you were breathing!!!
3. I may have let two of you chase your brother around in your walkers and pin him in a corner a time or two. Glad you have forgiven me!
4.  I apologize for letting one of you sleep in a box and when the box got too small I let you cut holes in it for your feet and arms.  I thought it was adorable and took lots of pictures.  You really did have a bed!
5. I did buy a little more "Santa time" when I showed you the reindeer poop in the yard. Deceptive, I know.
6.  It really wasn't cool of me to try and run on the baseball field when each of you got hurt the first time.  Fortunately, dad protected your "coolness" on that one!
7.  I probably shouldn't have let you try out roller blades near railroad tracks!!
8. I didn't mean to yell so loud at football games, baseball games, track meets and oops, tennis matches!
9. I really shouldn't have yelled out your childhood nickname at your first gig with your band!
10.  I shouldn't have let you run away.  Big Brother, at least you left a map.
Little  brothers, I'm glad you changed your mind when you found out Santa didn't send Christmas to a forwarding address.
11. I didn't know the rules that the chauffer was supposed to be silent when driving you and your friends to the movies. Especially the female friends!
12. I am so sorry that it took me so many years to quit buying the same outfit in 3 different colors! You were all just so darned cute dressed alike and YES I know you weren't triplets! I still have to fight doing that at Christmas!
13. I was  quite certainly the worst passenger in the history of all passengers when you started driving!
14. I may have inadvertantly kissed your daddy in front of your friends...Yeah, it probably was gross when you were 9.
15. I am regretful about the guinea pigs, hamsters, fish, gerbils, lizards and frogs that did not survive our household.  We did pretty good with the dogs and cats though.
16. I should be sorry that I cried at every award ceremony, graduation, confirmation, baptism, moving day, engagement day, wedding day, wedding days to come, birth of your child and births to come. I also cried everytime the band played the national anthem at every football game!
17. I know that I will forever bring up silly things about your childhood and will probably tell them over and over and you will probably just grin and bear it because you are respectful and kind young men!

I am your mom.  I made a bunch of mistakes, too many to count, but you survived, thrived and always make me proud!! Thanks be to God for His protection.  I know  that somewhere in heaven there are three very worn out guardian angels!  So, If I need to apologize for anything, it will be for my inability to let go... But I will continue to try, because I know you all have made great choices in your mates and you are in far better hands than mine!

Love, Mom

The pretty one

She is up! So pretty and lovely. Much prettier than her surroundings with her dark hair and exotic amber eyes.  Every morning it is the same.  She puts on her make up, has a dress that matches her shoes that matches her purse.  Gloves are laid across the purse (just in case there is somewhere to go). She is beautiful and graceful.

I follow her around the house for a while.  She lights up a room when her friends are around, she smiles and laughs, but yet she is so sad...I want to tell her it will be okay.
Mama is happy today.  She cleans in her pretty dress, she fixes us lunch and I get to play dress up with her shoes and purses! What a fun day! Mama, you are so pretty!

Today she is up. Much prettier than her surroundings. She still has her dark hair and exotic amber eyes at nearly 80.  Today they search to remember.  I see it.. a spark of recognition...a little bit of sparkle in those lovely eyes! Today she smiles when I bring her shoes or a purse to dress up in! 

You are the pretty one!   i love you, Mama

Wakin' up the minnows

Fishing...for many of you it conjurs up the idea of leisurely sitting on a dock, or getting in a fast boat, using the best lures, trying different baits, and catching the elusive wide-mouth bass.  Not for me.

Fishing... it went something like this: 1. Wake up before daybreak (way before)
2. put on old clothes and wading shoes. 3. Get in our little boat, and seine for minnows (only rain minnows will do).  4. If they aren't feeding in place 1, 2, or three...Keep looking! 5. Once minnows are found, get in the boat and fish for trout, "speckled" only.  6.  All along the way, hear the same story of how Grandpa courted Grandma, here, here and here while he was driving the first mailboat across the bay.
7.  Hear the story of how Indians camped on this bayou, and how uncle Zeke says there is a ghost over here.  8.  Crabbing is good here, scallops are good here. 9.  Lets catch a fish or two so mama knows we were fishing.  10.  Catch a fish (maybe).   11.. Go home, clean the boat, clean the motor, clean the fish or two.  12. Roll my eyes and wish my sister would take a turn at this "summer fun". 

What about tomorrow? Repeat steps 1-12 all over again and secretly love every minute of it!

Full Circle

This year on her third birthday, I had a chance to watch her twirl on the makeshift dance floor in her yellow ballroom dress and pretty pink toes with her daddy. She was every bit the princess and he was every bit her prince!

Many years ago, a little girl was an Indian Princess named Tocumtah, Some days she would ride her spring horse all morning in front of her covered wagon (Picnic table with tent on top)  for hours until her Chief came home for lunch.  Then he would make her a headdress out of magnolia leaves and they would square dance around the yard and have epic adventures of bear hunts, pow-wows and all things Indian until his lunch time was almost over.

On New Year's Eve, Princess Tocumtah became Cinderella and waited for her prince to come home from his Music gig, she made confetti all night and waited for him to bring home the most sparkly paper crown filled with feathers.  They would throw confetti and dance in the New year!

The magnolia headdresses are gone, the paper crown is in a box of memories, but the princess still twirls with the prince in her heart...

....Dance on little girl, in your pretty pink toes and yellow ball gown, your prince with his grandpa's blue eyes will always be the prince of your heart! I love you sweet girl!

"Smell that bread and butter!"

One of the joys of growing up in a coastal community was the lovely smell of the local paper mill.  On most days it was tolerable, but on those cloudy, rainy, yucky days that scent couldn't escape into the stratosphere and it was awful!!!

Everyone would walk around gagging, and snorting and whining, and my dad in his usual glass-half-full wisdom would say, "mmmmm, smell that bread and butter."
What? bread and butter doesn't smell like that!  But, it was just a part of life.  I never really asked what he meant, I just knew he was going to say it.  One day, I asked him what it meant and he said, "To some people that is the sweetest smell on earth because it puts food on their tables and clothes on their backs."  I never quite fussed as hard after that.

So, as time would have it, everytime we would take our children home for a visit I would invariably say, "Ooooh, smell that bread and butter." and yep, they'd  roll their eyes too!  But like me, with age (and the proper explanation) we all understand that bread and butter has many beautiful aromas!

"If you lived here....."

Another one of daddy's sayings was, "If you lived here, you'd be home now." He loved that saying so much that he painted it on a plaque and hung it over our back door.
Never thought much about it, but it really is true. 

My kids live in various parts of the country.  When they leave to go back to home or school we always say, "Call us when you get home."  In order to function where you are, you have to make it "home".  It may not be your home forever, but it has to be "for now." 

There have been several homes in my life.  Each one bringing a nostalgia with it and a piece of my heart, but there are two real "homes"  for me.  The one that becomes  a home wherever my husband and I are; the home base for our children, so to speak,
and then finally the home of my heart.  The home where all will be perfect one day. The home where I am with my Lord, with those long gone, where all is well and I can almost hear daddy say, "Hey baby, if you lived here, you'd be home now, Come on in!"

The speckled puppy.....

My dad had a million sayings. One of his favorites was "He (or She) is as cute as a speckled puppy under a red wagon!"  Cute?   In my imagination that puppy always looked scared to death and needed rescuing!  Today, I can relate!

Here we go again....picking up and moving again! Life in the ministry isn't for sissies!
We are so blessed to a part of so many peoples lives, sharing their joys, tears, and sweet tea-We live life together, and then we say "good-bye"!  Would I change anything? Most days, I would say No! Let's meet new people, explore new places, and be on our way, but today is a "Speckled-puppy-under-a-red-wagon" kind of day!