11 years...

...ago today was quite the day for us. it was a Saturday then too.

for Husband, it was graduation day for his 5 year degree. finely the end of 5 LONG years had come to an end. he had a job lined up that would require us to move 3 weeks later from The 'Burgh where he had lived for all 29.5 years of his life. and where i had lived for the last 5 years.

so at 8:30 am, the graduation ceremony started. i was there and stayed just long enough to snap a picture of him walking across the stage. then i darted out.

why did i leave before the festivities were over you ask. good question!

i had to go get myself ready for the next event of the day. our wedding!!! at 12:30, my daddy walked me down the isle so that Husband and I could say our "i dos."

and much like the weather here this weekend, it had rained on Friday and was a clear sunny day for our outdoor wedding.

the four years of dating prior to our "i dos" were not without bumps and some bruises. and our past eleven years have had their share of bumps and bruises. (all emotional, none physical!) there's still drama from time to time...we be human. esp ME! sigh.

however on this day...eleven years later, i am soooooo thankful that we have stuck it out through all the drama, bumps and bruises.

happy anniversary Husband. i LUB you!

and thank you for your hard work those 5 years of university to be able to provide for us over the past 11 years. today. and always.

dry no more...

...our lake is not dry any longer. i have not seen the lake in about a week, however i'm sure it's close to FULL! FULL!!! seriously, we have had so much gentle, steady rain since the first of the year that our lakes are about FULL!

thank you God for providing us with the much needed rain. even with our lakes full, the drought is not over. we still need to conserve and be cautious of our water usage. that's just good management of our resources.

my garden...mostly planted. however with the daily rain, the weeds may take over shortly. yikes!

and my heart...the month of April was difficult for me. i was DRY. dryer than the lake in November. and then May 1st hit. i love our mom's, but mother's day is not the easiest day for me. there are times that i want to be in "the club" on mother's day. then there are days that i'm content to have my freedoms that not being in "the club" allows.

my heart is not as dry today as it was last week. thank you God for filling my heart with joy. YOU are my daily joy giver. may i ALWAYS realize this.

thank you...

...for all the concerned calls/emails/comments.

last week was very interesting, to say the least. no changes have been made as of yet. i long for change; however there are ducks that have to get in the row first. and it may take quite some time for some of those ducks to hatch and get lined up in marching order.

thankfully i'm not sick to my stomach like last week, so functioning is much easier. my sleep is not the best, but better.

we also have a 2 year old in our home for part of this week, so he is a great distraction. said two year old LOVES being with my Husband and is quite disappointed that this is work week for Husband. i know his disappointment well.

changes...

after over 10 years of asking both man and God, i have come to the conclusion that many of my hopes, dreams and desires are not going to come true. it's a scary place to be for me. so scary that i am physically ill.

there are changes close at hand, however i don't know what that will look like. unfortunately, after not working for most of the last 11 years, i am headed back to the work force. please pray for me....most of my experience is in the child care/nanny area. i pray that God will direct my path, cause i sure have screwed things up in a big way.

eight...

consider it pure JOY tagged me. Here's how 8 THINGS works:
- Mention the person that tagged you.
- Complete the lists of 8's.
- Tag 8 of your wonderful bloggy friends.
- Go tell them you tagged them!

here goes.

8 Things I am looking forward to:
*completing my garden beds this week
*eating the fruits of my labor from my garden
*planting more bushes/trees in our yard
*warmer temps
*having a family room/kitchen combo
*being smaller next summer than i am this spring...i was larger last spring, i'm going in the right direction!
*getting some scrap booking done at the two crops next month
*menopause!

8 Things I did yesterday:
*napped
*searched realtor.com
*watched tv
*worked in my garden
*prayed for four families that are dealing with either health issues or the death of a loved one
(it was a very big slacker day for me...so not much else happened)

8 Things I wish I could do:
*retain more when i read
*manage my time better
*manage our home more efficiently
*go to Thailand every year (LOVE the food and company there)
*climb a ladder and not freak out
*say no, set boundaries
*sleep consistently at night
*submit to God's will, daily

8 Shows I watch:
*House
*Biggest Looser
*Gray's Anatomy
*reruns of Friends
*reruns of Everybody Loves Raymond
*reruns of King of Queens
*the Doctors
*Rachael Ray

8 Bloggers I'm tagging:
Angela
Lori
Charles
i have not been blogging a bunch lately, so my "regular read" list is really short.

off to a good start...

...this week is off to a good start. first i got a good nights sleep both Sun and Sat....OH how a good nights sleep makes all the difference in my 'tude!

and yesterday i was up early to go hang out with three of M&J's four young kiddos while she took one of the youngsters to his allergy appointments. the little guys is highly allergic to red ants. and here in the south-east...that is a major issue.

we then went to do some volunteer work in the afternoon for a project that our church does every spring....can't wait for the reveal!

today...i get to pick up the older three for M&J and return them to their home, fix them lunch and then wait for mom and baby to return home.

hopefully the ground will dry out enough for me to plant the plants i have. and then on to purchase more plants. (we have a rule in our home that Husband set...plant before purchasing more! he is sooo not fun sometimes. but saves us TONS of money with his rules.)

and while i am running around doing all these things....my heart and mind are with Baby Stellan who is having heart surgery as I type and Tricia who is not feeling well. Lord...please here our prayers!!

so i must go...it's a busy week with lots to do!

seven....

...things i learned (or re-learned) this week:

1) that if i don't plan ahead, my eating is TERRIBLE.
2) that i really enjoy being creative
3) that my dreams scare me to death
3) that i wish we had a pool and not a boat. both are lots of money, both need cleaned a lot, both are lots of fun. boat requires rain for the lake and Husband to have good weather when not working. pool can be used by me/us/others daily for months (longer if solar heated!)
4) that i really enjoy gardening
5) i like a freshly cut green lawn
6) i am naturally a night owl
7)that it's hard to keep readers on a blog if you don't blog often, have a focus or visit other blogs often.

this is me

During different times in my life I have wondered what I was created for. Due to some choices I made and the "cards that life has dealt me" there has not been a constant "THIS is what I was created for" theme to my adult life.

I do know this. God created me to be an encourager and to be creative.

Yesterday, I was able to do both.

the empty tomb....

with Easter this past weekend, there was much reflection around the world about what God has done for Christians.

for me, i celebrate Christmas and Easter daily. i celebrate the Trinity daily because God left Heaven to become man (Jesus), born to a virgin, the only sinless man. after 3 years of ministering to people, Jesus was crucified for all our sins. on the 3rd day, Jesus rose from the dead and walked again.

the "catch" if you will, is that just being a good person does not get you a ticket to heaven. you have to accept Jesus into your heart as your LORD and Savior. you become new. you don't want to do the same old actions that you did when you were not walking with Jesus....you are truly born again in your actions and heart. the Holy Spirit enters into your thinking/heart and guides your steps (well, as we allow with our human tenancy to control everything)

on march 18, 1999 i surrendered all to God...that does not mean that i am perfect, that i have been "all that i can be". all it means is that i was born again, accepted Jesus into my heart and thinking. daily. it has been a growing process. one that will never end until i die. on earth i will never be perfect, sinless. i am still human. i just walk with Jesus in my heart.

so on this day after Easter, i want to publicly thank God for loving me more than any person on earth has or will ever love me. thank you Jesus for suffering a horrible death for me. thank you to the Holy Spirit for living within me.

still processing....

...this past Thursday, Friday and Saturday. This WONDERFUL couple hosted me in their home:

Mr. Pat and Miss Brenda

The reason for my road trip to the Outer Banks of North Carolina was to celebrate with this family:

Nate, Tricia and Gwyneth

I have followed Nate's blog since December 2007. Tricia and Gwyneth are both miracles in the medical field. In the world of Christ followers, they are answered prayers.

I have tons to share, but need to continue to process the entire three days of traveling. It was a true honor to celebrate Tricia's one year with new lungs. God has really rocked my heart over the past 16 months while i have prayed for their family. I know that He is still doing a work on me through their story, my praying, and the trip to meet them. More of the story to come in the next several days.

A special THANK YOU to Pat and Brenda for putting me up in your home. You two are VERY special people.

this is where i am setting this afternoon:

this is the view with the door open looking over our back yard:


as i set here at my computer i am facing a great view. the sun is bright. the wind is blowing rather strong....allowing clouds to pass quickly around and under the sun.

as i look to our back yard today, it is beautiful! trees and the long grass are moving in the wind. birds are flying around. the grass close to the house were we mow all summer is a dark green, thanks to the many inches of rain we have been getting! (fyi: we don't mow the back half much....there's a lot of land back there and it sucks up the time and gas; so we keep it cleared, but not groomed.) the sun is shinning down on the landscape. then there are shadows that quickly pass due to the wind moving the clouds rather quickly today. it reminds me of a "wave" done in a stadium

the back half of the property is intriguing to me today. there's fresh new grass growing. there's some dormant grass that will grow in the hot winter. that area is tended to, but not often. the ground is saturated after a week of rain.

this is the way i feel today. some growth. some stuff that needs tended to. and shadows that attempt to cloud my thinking on a daily basis.

life feels great for the most part. as does my view.

pruning...

yesterday i spent part of the afternoon pruning some of our trees in the front yard. while doing so, i was thinking: what LORD do i need to prune from my life to allow me to be a stronger Christian? to be more like you. to do your will. daily.