Sunshine

Often, when you set off on an adventure, you don't know what you are going to find ....

You may turn a corner and be almost blinded by the sun shining on a whole field of sunflowers

You may stand at the edge of the road and just breathe and breathe and breathe in the sunshine, ignoring the neighboring dog who would like to have you for breakfast ....

And then you may pull yourself away from the splendor .... turn another corner and find a new friend

a whole new type of sunshine ....

Awwwwwwwww .....

Goodbye, Sweet Goat ....  thank you for adding sunshine to my day

“Just because an animal is large, it doesn't mean he doesn't want kindness; however big Tigger seems to be, remember that he wants as much kindness as Roo.”

(A.A. Milne)

Did you find a touch of sunshine this weekend?   I would love to hear about it ....

Wishing you a sunshiny week (although we really, really need rain on the outside, we can always use sunshine within)

(top and bottom images by Holly Hobbie)

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Playing With Butterflies

She turned to me & whispered, "don't you just love it when you get so excited you forget to breathe?" & the thought of her smiling eyes still makes me laugh ....

(Storypeople)

"I only do this until I get dizzy & then I lay down on my back & watch the clouds," she said......"It sounds simple but you won't believe how many people forget the second part."

Reminder:   Don't be one of the people who forgets the second part ....

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Weekend Memories

Things we saw this weekend ....

Loving the front porch .... located in the tiny community of Frenchtown ... Population 98

these are boat stands ....

tiny little house

big church ...

beautiful cemetery fences

"Look up, for your Redemption draweth nigh"

mimosa blooms ... memories from childhood

And to end on a light note ....

Every weekend, I come home from our travels with at least 200 photos.  It's difficult trying to just select a few to show you.   I usually make Picasa albums for my sisters.   If you have any interest in seeing them, let me know and I will share them with you.

As always, click on individual photos to enlarge for better detail

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A Picture of God's Grace

On Saturday, July 3rd, Gary and I will have been married forty years!   Forty years?  I was looking through an old photo album and found some really bad-quality polaroids from our wedding.   I was seventeen, fresh out of high school.  Gary was twenty-three, fresh out of college.  My family had eight children and could not afford a wedding, so Gary and I paid for our very inexpensive ceremony.  I wore a gown I had bought for my Senior Prom. I wore the same veil my sister Bonnie had worn for her wedding.  The only photos we have are these old polaroids.  I tried to fix them up a little with modern editing software ... and I thought it would be fun to share a few  .... I know my sisters will enjoy seeing them.

July 3, 1970

My sister Bonnie, helping me get dressed. 

My sisters ... Bonnie, Georgia and Nancy   ... a lady from church made the gowns.

My mother ....

My father ...

My Beloved ...

What I looked like at that time .... if I could be this thin again!   Big hair was in style in the 70's ....

This picture was almost completely black .... I was able to bring out a little detail, but I apologize for the poor quality.  Still .... a moment in time, captured.

And here we are ... forty years later ... this past Fall at our son's wedding reception

CAN YOU BEAR ME?

Can you bear me when I show you who I am

When I tell you my worries

And the guilt that follows me?

Are you prepared to love me

Even though you don't understand much about me?

Are you prepared to share my past with me

Because it is also part of me?

Will you be able to endure

When you come to know that side of me

Which is unknown to you,

Which is hard to bear?

I cannot guarantee you happiness,

But much pain

And much poverty

And much being human

And much helplessness before God.

Therefore, consider everything well

Before entering into a deeper relationship with me.

(Author unknown)

For Gary .... who has been bearing for forty years ... a picture to me of God's amazing grace.

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