Wordless Wednesday - Plates

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Callin' Me Home

I just thought this video and song by Barry McGuire was pretty so I thought I'd share it today. I'll be home tonight from my wonderful Florida girls vacation! I'll be back posting pics in a couple of days!

"Callin' Me Home"

Don't forget to pause the beach music on my sidebar before clicking on the video!

The Bottle of Wine

THE BOTTLE OF WINE

Sally was driving home from one of her business trips in Northern Arizona when she saw an elderly Navajo woman walking on the side of the road. As the trip was a long and quiet one, she stopped the car and asked the Navajo woman if she would like a ride. With a silent nod of thanks, the woman got into the car. Resuming the journey, Sally tried in vain to make a bit of small talk with the Navajo woman.

The old woman just sat silently, looking intently at everything she saw, studying every little detail, until she noticed a brown bag on the seat next to Sally.

"What in bag?" asked the old woman .

Sally looked down at the brown bag and said, "It's a bottle of wine. I got it for my husband."

The Navajo woman was silent for another moment or two. Then speaking with the quiet wisdom of an elder, she said...

"Good trade."

A Beach, A Bird, and A Challenge

Dana, Stone Rabbit, presented me with a photo challenge a couple of weeks ago. If you haven't seen her post for the photo challenge, do take a look at it. It's just really sweet!

The challenge is this:

Go to your photo files...

Select the 6th photo folder...

Select the 6th photo in that folder...

Post that photo along with the story behind it.

Then challenge 6 blog friends to do the same!

My photo was taken on a Florida beach in June 2008. I adore anything beach and I find the sea birds absolutely mesmerizing. I take lots of pictures when I'm at the beach so I can look back at them during those cold, snowy Michigan winters! Either this bird or I was in just the right place at the right time, because the camera captured him perfectly mid flight with the blue sea behind him. I love the detail you can see in the picture - the orange beak and legs, the black wing tips, the white surf rolling in over the sand. Yep, this is one of my favorite ever beach pics!

Now for the next six bloggers to participate in the photo challenge:

Blondie, http://blondiesjournals.blogspot.com/

Rechelle, http://walnuthavencottage.blogspot.com/

Ellen, http://happywonderer.wordpress.com/

Christine, http://christineshomeandtraveladventures.blogspot.com/

Catherine,http://catherinesteacups.blogspot.com/

Danette, http://handknitsthatblossom.blogspot.com/

Eights

Both Brittany, Sweet Nothings, and Leah, Live Life Simply, recently tagged me with this fun tag of eights. If you haven't visited them yet, do so today! They're both young and fun and a couple of dolls!

8 things I'm looking forward to:

1. spending the next two weeks on a Florida beach!

2. my son's wedding in June

3. going to Florida again with my husband in July

4. planting flowers in my gardens

5. hosting our next couple's Bible study at our house in May

6. having much of my family in town for the wedding

7. spending time with my brother in Florida

8. eating lots of fresh seafood over the next two weeks!


8 things I did yesterday:

1. tanned

2. worked out at the gym

3. put my Easter decorations away

4. put out my sea shell summer decorations

5. cleaned my guest room

6. shopped at Target for a travel alarm and luggage tags

7. packed for my trip

8. watched three straight hours of Andy Griffith with my husband!


8 things I wish I could do:

1. live on the beach

2. take better care of my parents

3. find my son-in-law a perfect new job - he's a victim of the financial crisis in our country

4. live in Mayberry!

5. lose 25 pounds before the wedding on June 20 - sure...like that's gonna happen!

6. REALLY clean our basement

7. make a mosaic table with shells and sea glass

8. paint every day


8 shows I enjoy:

1. American Idol

2. Andy Griffith re-runs!

3. Everybody Loves Raymond

4. Barefoot Contessa, Food Network

5. Shepherd Smith, Fox News

6. House

7. Dateline

8. 20/20

8 people I tag:

1. CeeKay, Thinkin' of Home

2. Pam, Gray Like Snuffie

3. G, Doves Today

4. Sandi, My Yellow Door

5. Mimi, Our Family Attic

6. Deanna, Timeless Things

7. Debra, Portrait of My Heart

8. Saleslady 371, Kitchen Favorites Through The Years

Lellow's Gone

From the moment I found out I was going to be a grandmother for the first time I had a deep bond with that precious baby girl. I was born to be a grandmother! I've always known it - even when I was a young mother. So imagine my joy in March 2004 when my dream come true was born! Sydney was a preemie and had to be re-admitted to the hospital when she was home for just a few days. Our daughter was just in miserable shape with a kidney infection so my husband and I convinced our son-in-law to take our daughter home to recover in bed and we stayed with our first precious grandchild for the first couple of days she was back in the hospital. She nearly died. She couldn't be admitted to the nursery because she had already been released. She was placed in a tiny room alone. Sydney had very little body fat so she could not maintain a healthy body temperature. I'll never forget how hot it was in that room! The temperature was set at 90 degrees in order to keep her warm enough, even though she was under a couple of lights to treat her jaundice. This poor baby was the most fragile thing I'd ever touched - it was like holding a bag full of marbles...all skin and bones. She was born before the sucking instinct is fully developed so she couldn't bottle feed very well. We were told we could not speak near her or touch her except for at specific times when the nurses unhooked her from some of the things attached to her in order to change her diaper and to have a bottle feeding lesson. They wanted her to have total sedation and rest in order to recover. So "Papa" and I sat in that room watching over our little baby bird for two days.

Sydney never opened her eyes or responded a single time - until the second night. The nurse asked if I would like to change and feed Sydney - you know I jumped at the chance! As I held her to my chest as tightly as I dared, two precious blue bird eyes opened up and met mine in a deep, knowing stare. Both my husband and I melted in a flood of tears. We KNEW at that moment she was ok. For the first time we could see life in that sweet baby's face. I said to Sydney, "there you are, Love" and she gently closed her eyes and slept in my arms. That moment remains one of the most precious, cherished moments of my life!

Now five years later, we celebrate Sydney's 5th birthday. She has grown to be a healthy, bright, inquisitively, busy little girl and we are so grateful to God that He brought her into our lives!

Sydney now has a PRECIOUS little sister whom Mimi also adores, but that's another story for July!

Oh! I almost forgot...about lellow. Sydney's favorite color has always been "lellow". I LOVE that she said lellow. I asked Sydney on her birthday what her favorite color is, just to hear her say it. And she said YELLOW. Oh, my...lellow's gone. Darn it, now it'll only be a week or two until my little blue bird wants a lellow car!

Here's a poem I wrote for Sydney as her first birthday approached.

I Always Knew You

As long as I can remember, I have waited for you.
I knew you would be the one to fill the garden,
To clear the clouds always from the sun,
To overflow the cup of joy.
The moment I was told you were coming, I knew you would fill any vacant place…
A baby button picture held my heart in it’s grasp.
Tiny shoes waited for your feet.
As I watched you emerge from your mother,
As I sat by your bed those first tenuous days and nights -
I knew it was you, as I watched and waited.
The moment of true recognition, of knowing, came as a gift in a dark, hot hospital room.
You opened your eyes, then deep pools of gray, and looked directly into my own tired weepy eyes
As if to say, “Yes, it’s me. I’m here. I’m your heart.”
At that moment, my heart continued to beat only because of the gray.
“There you are, Love” I answered aloud.
Our two hearts swirled and danced together as one,
In that ancient miracle of bonding between grandmother and grandchild.
It was a rare moment when the world stood still while a single bud opened to full, instant bloom - A moment of clear recognition, who you were at that moment and who I would be to you.
You, the one who would cause the birds to sing, the sky to be blue, the rose to smell sweet,
And I, the one to share them all with you.
You awakened the grandmother always in my soul.

The first year has nearly passed, just as the pages of a dearly loved book are turned.
Slowly at first, the story laying its foundation in a tiny body, a first smile, a giggle.
Then building intensity, sheer delight, as each page becomes more enticing than the one before.
Your head full of dark hair turning to corn silk,
And the gray pools which first held my gaze now dance in a melody of bright blue surf.
Your trade mark baby cheeks have softened to the delicacy of a tiny girl.
Arms and legs, once weak and helpless, are now strong and determined…
Climbing, crawling, standing, pulling, ringing, clutching, clapping, patting, wiggling -
Living.
Dancing to your own rhythm, demanding to be you.
Inquisitive play, excited chatter, a toothy grin, endless pat-a-cake, soft drooling kisses.
The pages of our book come alive each time you see me for the first time and your face electrifies.
A double toothed grin spreads your face to sheer delight,
Your eyes sparkling with yet unspoken baby-heart love, the story always holding me bondage!

New tales of wonder will read from a new chapter…
A second year prevails.
Days of sun and shells, perpetual motion, captured hearts, independent ringing.
It will all be laced with familiarity.
Because as long as I can remember - I waited for you, I wore you in my heart.
My girl.
And I always knew it would be you, my Sydney Bell.

Mimi & Sydney at the beach last summer

Happy birthday, sweet girl. You're my sunshine!

The Rules of Chocolate

The Rules of Chocolate

If you get melted chocolate all over your hands, you're eating it too slowly.

Chocolate covered raisins, cherries, orange slices and strawberries all count as fruit, so eat as many as you want.

The problem: How to get two pounds of chocolate home from the store in a hot car. The solution: Eat it in the parking lot.

Diet tip: Eat a chocolate bar before each meal. It'll take the edge off your appetite and you'll eat less.

A nice box of chocolates can provide your total daily intake of calories in one place. Isn't that handy?

If you can't eat all your chocolate, it will keep in the freezer. But if you can't eat all your chocolate, what's wrong with you?

If calories are an issue, store your chocolate on top of the fridge. Calories are afraid of heights, and they will jump out of the chocolate to protect themselves.

Money talks. Chocolate sings.

Chocolate has many preservatives. Preservatives make you look younger.

Why is there no such organization as Chocoholics Anonymous? Because no one wants to quit.

Put "eat chocolate" at the top of your list of things to do today. That way, at least you'll get one thing done.

Chocolate is a health food. Chocolate is derived from cacao beans. Bean = vegetable. Sugar is derived either from sugar beets or cane, both vegetables. And, of course, the milk/cream is dairy. So eat more chocolate to meet the dietary requirements for daily vegetable and dairy intake.

Every Woman Deserves A Little Chocolate!

The Ocean Floor

I am sooooo happy and feel sooooo blessed to be in sunny Florida this Sunday with sister-in-law Jeri! I love Audio Adrenaline and thought of this song to post today. It compares the depth of the ocean to God's forgiveness. When we receive forgiveness, it's forever - our failures never to be seen or remembered again by God. Just as if it's all been swept away to the depth of the ocean floor!

Don't forget to pause the beach music on my side bar before clicking on the video...

you tube

"Ocean Floor"

performed by Audio Adrenaline

written by Matthew

The mistakes I've made

That caused pain I could have done without

All my selfish thought

All my pride

The things I hide

You have forgot about

They're all behind you

They'll never find you

They're on the ocean floor

Your sins are forgotten

They're on the bottom

Of the ocean floor

My misdeeds

All my greed

All the things that haunt me now

They're not a pretty sight to see

But they're wiped away

By a mighty, mighty wave

A mighty, mighty wave

Your sins are erase

And they are no more

They're out on the ocean floor

Take them away

To return no more

Take them away

To the ocean floor

Please visit Charlotte and Ginger at Spiritual Sundays and Brittany at Sweet Nothings for more inspirational posts.

Easter Tablescape

Visit Susan for links to more Tablescape Thursday posts!

Wordless Wednesday - Tax Day!

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Mimi's Goodbye

Every once in a while you just get to do something great for no reason at all. That's what I'll be doing for the next two weeks. My sister-in-law and I are going to spend the next two weeks on a beautiful, warm Florida

Having lots of girl time fun! Oh, YES...

There are lots of fabulous stores to explore and I've got my shopping bag ready to go!

Sis and I planned this trip last summer and I've been dreaming of sand, sun, and seashells for months! And you know by now that

so my suitcase is packed with all my favorites - white with white roses on the toes, gold, silver, and black! Yep,

I've been dieting and working out for months and I plan to enjoy all my favorite seaside treats.....

AND

AND

And of course you know.....

.....so I'll be walking off all that fattening food searching for shell treasures!

Then I'll rest on the beautiful - tanning and reading and...well, just doing NOTHING AT ALL!

Oh...I

those wonderful

Dipping my toes into the warm Gulf waters

Since I have

I have scheduled lots of new posts for while I'm away and I'll be back in two weeks with pictures and stories to tell!