It's June Already!

So much for slower days in June.

My sweet husband has been to Turkey and back. 

I did get a lot done around the house while he was away,

but thought I was capable of getting much more done. 

Sometimes I forget I am not 25 any longer. 

Hydrangeas are in full bloom!

Just wish they lasted all summer. 

I will be helping my boy move from Charlotte this weekend. 

My little ones are coming to visit this next week.

That is sure to mean a busy week!

Temperatures are well into the 90's here, and the humidity is something else!

It seems like not too long ago we were complaining about how cold it was,

but we definitely have the heat   now!

Rehearsal dinner is planned!

My boy has a new job, and this is what they are working on.

He is working for Holder Bros Timber Frames.

want to see more of their unique projects go here.

We have a wedding to attend in Maryland, wedding showers,

and who knows what else will be happening. 

It is looking like a busy summer!

Would love to hear what you are up to this summer. 

Blessings, 

Jackie

Busy

Things have been busy around here for the past couple of weekends, 

 but, a good kind of busy. 

The last weekend in April, we headed to Augusta to help with this.

My son's fiance organizes this event for children with varying disabilities.

Their own race where they bike, run and swim.

What a joy it was to sit and watch as their smiling faces crossed the finish line. 

Then this past weekend, it was on to Florida, so this little guy could have a camp out.

It was a little rainy, so fortunately they have a huge covered porch, and we set the tent up, 

were able to roast hot dogs, and have a fun time camping out .

Here he is totally excited about the tent!

You can also get a good look at his DIY haircut.

This little girl had so much fun,

 she bounced herself to sleep quite quickly on more than one occasion.

and here's Papa with his two happy campers!

Tomorrow it is on to look for a place to hold the rehearsal dinner for out

upcoming September wedding. 

April Showers and Random Things

Wow, I can hardly believe that it has been a month since I last posted!

I guess I can catch you up on a few things, and hopefully begin regular posting again.

It has been steadily raining here for the past day, and this morning as well.

I am amazed at how beautiful and green everything turned overnight! 

First time this Lady Banks Rose has bloomed like this.

Our Cherokee Rose that is always in full bloom.

For us who live in South Georgia, we have had a long cold winter, and we are welcoming Spring!

Last weekend was a very productive one for us, and we spent all of Saturday on outside projects.

The Adirondack chairs have been cleaned, stained and resealed.

Front porch swing got the same, both porches pressure washed. 

All of my Christmas cactus' have been re-potted and some geraniums started. 

Came across this picture of my two favorite guys that I thought I would share.

My sweet husband will be headed to Turkey in a few weeks. I would appreciate your prayers.

and in other news, these two will be getting married in September, and we are very excited for them. 

Next post I will show you my little bird nest project. 

Praying you all have a blessed Easter as we celebrate our risen Lord!

Jackie

Lately

Here's a look at the past couple of days. 

Watching the rain.

Judah decided he needed to take a few photos with my phone while we were out shopping.

He took 32 of this shot today while we were in Sams, before headed home.

Another important shot of our purchases. 

He is especially fond of taking pictures with my phone or can't you tell?

Enjoyed loving on my babies, and looking forward to the weekend.

Is It Cold At Your House?

It's cold at my house!

 I will admit that I have been guilty of complaining that we never have winter here. 

When you live in South Georgia and have as many days of below freezing weather as we have had, we can definitely say that we have had winter!

This is not normal for us. We are so used to having some days that you can wear shorts, even during the winter. 

We missed the big snowstorm that we were all looking forward to. 

In spite of the cold weather, I have been trying to get some things painted for my booth.

Here's a little before and after.

It sold less than an hour after putting it in my booth!

Annie Sloan Chalk paint Old White.

Slightly distressed with clear wax. 

Have a wonderful weekend!

Un-Stuck

Today I am joining in and sharing my un-word for 2104.

Un-stuck:

Caught or held in a position so that you cannot move. 

There were lots of words I could have chosen, but I think stuck adequately describes what I have felt, and where I have been this past year. 

I simply allowed circumstances to get me to a place where I felt paralyzed.

For one who is all to familiar with depression, I know all of the right things to do. I know that God is sovereign. I know He is in control, but we live in a fallen world. People make bad choices, and people do bad things.

This year is the year that I want to trust HIM more and not allow myself to be controlled by my circumstances. His word tells us that  trials and unpleasant circumstances will come, but they also have a purpose for our good.

2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various [c]trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces [d]endurance. 4 And let [e]endurance have its perfect [f]result, so that you may be [g]perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

James 1:2-4

Hope you will join me this year being Un-Stuck.

Yes, It's Been a Long Time

Since I posted that is. I had great plans to start posting much more consistently come the new year. Well here it is, and I have been away for a while.

 Part of the reason for being away is that I have been a little under the weather. Finally went to the Dr. last week after trying to take care of thing. myself for a couple of weeks, and that just wasn't working out for me. Dr. said bronchitis, all I know is, I have coughed more than I hope to for the rest of the year. It is still hanging on, but feeling much better.

I had high hopes of posting a few pictures, but it seems that blogger is no co-operating tonight, so I will try again tomorrow.

I have finished my first project of the new year, and excited about how it turned out. I will be replacing the current table in the breakfast room, with the one I just completed. I had some chairs that I have had for a while, and as it turns out I was accidentally able to finish the top of the table to match the chairs. Pictures will explain this one better.

Everyone has been picking a word for the year, and I will be sharing my "word" as well. I'll give you a hint: It is really neat when you listen to what God is trying to tell you."

OK, enough said, since I am not too fond of posts without pictures I will close for now.

Goodnight to all.

Hunting for Heels and other ramblings.......

This picture is totally unrelated to my post, but two of the three most handsome guys I know.

Once again I have been missing. Since I last posted things have been busy.

*We closed on the townhouse! YEAH!

*Got better news about my feet!

*Judah came and stayed for a week. I must say that was a busy one!

*Got a cold while he was here, that turned into an awful sinus infection.

Now I have mostly been hanging around the house trying to get a few things done to go to my booth, and take care of my feet as the Dr. has recommended....

which involves hunting for the right pair of heels!

Who would have ever thought that heels would take away all of the heel pain that I have been experiencing!

You heard me right. I have something called Rear foot varus, aka crooked feet.

This in turn has caused Haglund's Disorder, which has something to do w/ Achilles bursa.

The tissue around my Achilles tendon is inflamed.

To relieve the pressure, heels with a 1 1/2 height more than the platform of the shoe will relieve the pain.

I am icing my heels and using a cream for inflammation, and praying by the time I return to the podiatrist, there is enough improvement to start doing exercises for my feet, and getting an insert to correct the crookedness. Not even sure I have this all correct. However, you will see me walking around in my gym shorts wearing heels during the day. I do cheat a little when I go out so I don't look quite so ridiculous.

For this flip-flop, flat shoe girl this is quite an adjustment, but it beats surgery any day. The Dr. who gave me the 2nd opinion says we will proceed conservatively to try to correct the problem, so I am trying to do my best!

I was looking on Zappos.com tonight, and think I may have found some Teva wedge flip flops that fit the bill.

That's about it for me. How about all of you. How has your summer been?

Counting Down ( in more ways than one!)

This summer is already turning out much different than I had planned. There has been lots of busy! We have already vacationed, which is a good thing. Just a little less than 4 days until the closing on our townhouse!

Packing up an artist is quite a challenge, especially when you are trying to be sure you don't damage anything. This is my husband's van (both back seats removed)  and by the time we were finished, it was completely full of one small piece of furniture, and the rest was artwork. Canvases, stretchers, ceramics, supplies, etc!

Edgar, waiting to pull out Saturday AM. We saved a space for a dog in each vehicle

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After all the packing I had to have a little fun. Wondering if this chalkboard would look good in my breakfast room?

This little guy will arrive before I return from the closing on Friday. He will be staying with me for a week.

After a week with the little one. The busy will come to a screeching halt!!!

I will soon be counting down days until I have surgery! Found out today that I will be having surgery on one of my feet. ! I have been having a lot of  pain for quite some time. While we were on vacation my boy pointed out to me that my feet are not normal, and I should definitely have them checked out. They pain has gradually increased, so much so, that I cannot even walk for exercise.  I went and had them checked out today. Let's put it this way. The Dr. would not even talk to me about what my left foot needed, because the recovery time for my right foot will be approximately 6 weeks in a cast!!!! Boy was that a shock to me! Seems like at some point in time I have actually had a break on the top of my foot, and there is a bone fragment sticking up, not to mention the large bone spur above my heel due to, too tight tendons. Will have the right foot done, and then see exactly what may be needed for the left foot. Still processing the news.

Packing

This picture has absolutely nothing to do with this post.

Today I am headed to Augusta to pack up our townhouse. After a long year and a half we are set to close next Friday. I did not realize what a burden taking car of 2 places had become. It can be mentally exhausting.  

I had sort of kept holding on to the townhouse. It was nice to have a little place to get away. It was ours and it could be fun. It is a lesson to me, that sometimes when we hold on, the Lord will let us do just that....hold on. It is only when we let go of the situation  and allow him to have control that He will things work for our best. In the past couple of months I had come to the realization, that this was a luxury for us. It was not a need. Once I made the decision to let go, and do what we needed to do to sell it, God did it all!

We had let the advertising expire, so the plan was to advertise again, and begin working to have it in top notch shape to sell when we returned from vacation. Well, when we returned from vacation, there was a message from the Homeowners Association President and Treasurer, that they knew of someone that would be very interested in possibly buying and were already pre-approved. I literally sat my suitcase back in the car and headed that way to show it. We had an offer that evening, and signed the contract the next day!

The next dilemma would be what to do with all the furnishings and stuff left. My son is living in a place that is furnished and has no need for any of it. We don't have the space to store it, and my little booth will not hold it to sell. We immediately saw this as an opportunity to bless someone that has been a wonderful help to us in trying to sell it, my son's former roommate. He probably showed it for us 20 times. Always willing to help. He had moved into a place to  take care of some property for the school where he teaches, and I now understand that he has very few furnishings. We have chosen to offer almost all of it to him. He will be loading it up and moving it to his place, which will leave us with the small stuff to pack, and just a few very small pieces of furniture. Being able to bless him has been a fun part of this letting go process.

If there is something that you are holding on to today, I challenge you to let go and follow God's leading. He always knows best!

Have a blessed weekend.



Showers, Showers!

Several of us had the opportunity to bless a sweet couple that is getting married in August.

The shower was yesterday.

A friend shared a template to make my own cupcake liners out of scrapbook paper.

I decided to add the little pennant on top. 

 Those that attended also addressed envelopes for the thank-yous. Someone had done this for my daughter and I thought it was a great idea. The bride-to-be loved it.

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In the way of other showers, we are getting a lot of much needed rain. In less that 2 weeks our rain gage shows 12 inches! The plants are loving it!

Have a blessed week.

Trying Not to Think About It

Right now, at this moment the townhouse inspection is happening. I would like to say no big deal, but we have been trying to sell for over a year now, BIG DEAL. Do I know that God is in control? YES, absolutely! I still have a tendency to worry, and have to keep reminding myself,

"HE really IS in control"

So with that being said, I am trying to work on other things, for example the shower that I am doing for my best friend. Her second son is getting married.

Here are my good ole standby decorations. I have learned from the many showers I have given and helped give, it is best to keep it simple so I can actually have fun doing it.

This is a church-wide shower, so the menu will be simple:

Cupcakes

Cheese Wafers

Nuts

Lemonade

I like to practice my decor a little before hand so I don't end up w/ surprises. There will be some aqua gingham on the tables as well, and the tables are larger so the gingham will actually just be a square topper. I love being a part of blessing a new couple as they start their life together.

Now I think I will go clean some in the kitchen, while I am trying not to think about IT!

A Lot of Coming and Going!

For two whole weeks I got to see this every day! This picture was actually taken during the time Beryl was out in the Atlantic. Great waves!

Rows of these...

blowing in the breeze...

and this little guy loved the ocean!

I am missing this already! I came back feeling more relaxed and having more clarity than I have had in quite some time. Lots of time to think read and enjoy God's wonderful creation.

Here's where all the coming and going comes in. We arrived home Sunday afternoon with a message that someone was very interested in our townhouse that we have been trying to sell for over a year! My husband sat my suitcase (which I had not unpacked) back into the car and I headed for Augusta to show it. The couple made an offer that evening and we have a contract!

This was definitely a God thing, because we had not been advertising for several months and during vacation we had decided that it was time to really get diligent and go at it again. Clarity came concerning this while we were away. Sometimes I think God is just waiting for us me to let go.

Inspection is tomorrow at 9:00 AM. Please pray that all goes well.

I traveled back to Augusta this Sunday afternoon, picked up a table and chairs that I will be putting in my booth, then yesterday traveled to Athens to surprise my Mom for her birthday, have lunch with her and my Sister, visit for a little while, then 3 hours back home Monday evening.

After we hear that all is moving forward to close on the townhouse I will be headed over there to pack, and hopefully sell a few things on Craigslist. We would like not to have to rent a U-Haul to bring it back here.

I will be keeping the little fella above at the end of June, which will involve a little more traveling. Needless to say, I have got to focus on a some organization, and have a plan to be more  productive in the coming weeks. Hope you all are having a blessed summer.





On The Road Again

This year seems to be one where I have constantly been on some sort of road trip. This past week I took this sweet boy's Mama for a Dr. Visit. He is growing like crazy and no longer the little baby he was. He is always on the move, and doesn't like to sit still. Afraid of nothing.

 He loves Edgar and is constantly trying to pull him by the tail, kiss him in the mouth, you name it, Judah is trying it. Fortunately Edgar tolerates it very well. Stella on the other hand is another story.

I

I have another upcoming road trip and can't wait! This should something that I will see soon. My boy will be coming from NC, as well as Judah and Ansley. There's nothing like long days listening to the tide roll in and out.

When I return I plan to be more regular with posting. Sharing some thoughts with you and hopefully a little inspiration as well. I am looking forward to this being a productive summer with all sorts of projects happening around here. Hope you'll join me.

Annie Moses Band

Tonight I had the opportunity to see this band perform at our church. They are truly amazing, and have such a  unique style in their performance. The story of how they began was told throughout their performance and truly a testimony to our amazing God.

Take a listen at this sample. It was a great evening.

On Getting Older

Today, I am one year older. I haven't fully embraced this aging process with open arms. What I have decided is... I am getting older therefore I need to:

• make healthy choices
• start exercising.... again
• break my diet soda addiction (yes, addiction!) by the way,  today,8 days with no soda
• I have a good bit of weight to lose, and NOW is the time to start the process

"Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body."
                                                                                                                              I Corinthians 6:19-20

It's Been a While!

In January I had decided that I would be posting more often, and now you see how that has been working out! Here is what I have come to realize. I compare myself to others, much more than I would like to think,  their blogs, their projects, their ideas, their life, well you get the idea. I started feeling like I had nothing to say, so I did just that...said nothing.

When we make the wrong comparisons we can quickly become discouraged. God tells me that I am fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14).  I am His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works (Ephesians 2:10).

He is reminding me that I need to be careful to whom I am listening. Will I listen to what Satan has to say to me and about me, or will I take every thought captive (II Corinthians 10:5) and listen to what God has to say?

How about you, who are you listening to today?

Happenings Here

     Just a little of what has been happening at our house. Not that I have mentioned it before, but we still have a townhouse for sale in Augusta, GA. Our son was in school there, and we purchased it when he went to school. Purchasing seemed like a good idea, and was actually cheaper than rent. The problem was is that we purchased in the height of the housing market, and well, we all know what it is like now. So needless to say, a year later we still have it for sale. We have had many lookers just no buyers. This is and old picture, but thought I would share with you. I would love it if you would be willing to pray for it to sell. We know God has a reason even if we don't know what that is.

     Last night started the Beth Moore study on James: "Mercy Triumphs".This is very different from the previous studies, and challenges us to move beyond just the normal Bible study. There are 5 different levels that you can choose to participate at and level 5 being to memorize the entire book of James! We will have a project to participate in each week, so we can be not just "hearers of the word", but "doers" also. This weeks project is to "Feed the Poor". When we left we each were asked to take a paper grocery bag, and given a list of staple items to fill it with. There are probably at least 100 or more women combined in all of the sessions, so that will be a lot of bags of groceries. I hope to get a picture next week . What a great idea to incorporate w/ each study. We will not know what the next project will be, until the next week. Looking forward to sharing with you.

     I am feeling a little under the weather, so that's all I have today. I am trying to be more consistent at posting, one of my goals this year. What's been happening at your house the beginning of this new year?

Blessing to you all.

Edgar has arrived!

We picked up Edger Tuesday, and he is making himself right at home. Stella is still trying to figure out why he is here, she has been the top dog since Nick died this summer, so she has been a little bit ornery on occasion, but they seem to be adjusting well. Edgar is a mixed breed with some spaniel and retriever. He seems to be very loving and gentle. He has been a little homesick but hopefully he will come to know this as home.

How could  you resist this face?

In other news the kitchen is coming along, still slowly. I painted the first coat of paint on the outside of the cabinets and it will take a little longer to dry. It has been a topsy turvy mess here, and I am ready for things to be in order once again. I have been reading this and I am ready for some simplicity around here.

 Organized Simplicity by Tsh Oxenreider is worth reading. Her approach to simple living is realistic for everyone. After cleaning out my kitchen for the work that needed to be done, it became very obvious to me that it was time for a little simplicity. We had the huge yard sale about two months ago, but it is time to go a little deeper. She addresses the energy and time that it take to care for all of the accumulated stuff, and determining whether or not it is worth it. I encourage you to get a copy, especially if you are sensing the need for more simple living.

This will probably be my last post until after Christmas, so here's wishing everyone a blessed Christmas!

Snow?????

It snowed today, here in my little bit of the South!

The snowflakes were swirling, and for just a moment we had our own little winter wonderland.

It's cold outside and just right for this.

Both of these are earlier this year.

Pardon my excitement, but just remember how rare it is that we see snow here. It just occurred to me that we have had it twice this year! That is unusual!

Have a blessed evening.