Thursday Thankfulness and More

 Happy first day of Summer!  Not sure how I really feel about that...summer is not one of my favorite seasons since we live here in the "Sunshine State", and summer is HOT, HOT, and MORE HOT! And HUMID too!  But if I can list at least one thing I am very thankful for, it would be our central air conditioning...and also the fact that since we replaced our old AC unit last June, we have noticed that our electricity consumption so far in these past few warmer months has been considerably less, and our electric bill has literally been cut in half from what it was during the same period of time last year!! Now that is a blessing I can really be thankful for! It also goes to show you how much electricity the older less efficient appliances really use, and when at all possible, it is worth the expense of replacing them with newer models.  

It sure beats having to fan ourselves with hand fans and other kinds of fans...Like I wrote about HERE a few years ago when our AC broke down.  However, we were thankful then and would be thankful now to have those fans if we needed them again.  

That hand made fan above belonged to my husband's grandmother, and I expect it is quite old, but it still works!  And those coasters that say "Life is BETTER on the porch!" would be true, if it wasn't 90 degrees outside! LOL. Our porch sitting season is actually in the fall, some of winter, and spring. But definitely not summer!

Because it has been so hot, we haven't been outside much. We did take an early walk this morning before it got too hot, and yesterday we went to Walmart and walked around the store doing our shopping for a while, so that was our exercise for that day! 

This week has been rather quiet compared to most weeks lately. Tomorrow we do have to travel all the way to St. Augustine for hubby's eye appointment with the Ophthalmologist. They are still trying to determine if he needs to have his cataracts removed yet, or if they need to treat another eye condition first that could be more serious than the cataracts. Hopefully we will get some answers tomorrow. Praying for clarity. (Hey! That's a good word to use in this situation! LOL).

Speaking of hubby, this past Sunday was Father's Day.  I've already posted these photos on Facebook, but not here.  

Here he is with his gifts from the kids...new lights for the yard. He LOVES these lights.  He has them all around the yard, and he loves to go outside at night and look at them. So they couldn't have given him a better gift!

2 Corinthians 4:6 NKJV

6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Our family gathered for lunch after church...Scott, Benton, Rose, John and yours truly. We had a Chinese Stir Fry dinner...partly cooked by me, and partly picked up at the local Chinese take out place. They provided the egg rolls, rice, and crab rangoons and fortune cookies. I cooked a chicken and vegetable stir fry, which was very good. We had that peach cobbler that I baked the night before for dessert.

Here's "Daddy" and his boys...well two of them. We always miss our dear son Matthew on these special days (and every day).

Here is a favorite very old picture of Daddy and his three sons, taken during the Bible Story reading time at bedtime each night.  This is a priceless and precious picture  to me. As you can see, Scotty was just a baby, and Benton and Matthew were in Kindergarten and Pre-school. Those were such sweet times. 

(Sorry for the reflections on the glass...I didn't want to take it out of the frame)

Proverbs 22:6 KJV

 "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, 

he will not depart from it."

I am very thankful that our sons have a Daddy who loves them and who took the time to teach them about Jesus from a very young age. They were given a strong foundation on which to grow and develop and build their lives. Were they always perfect? No, they were normal little boys and teens and young men who tested the waters and sometimes made wrong choices in life, but when all is said and done, they have a faith that still sustains them in their adult years, and also that carried our son Matthew into heaven when he was 41 years old.  I am so thankful that he knew and believed what Jesus said:

"6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."  John 14:6 KJV

I have no doubt that we will see Matthew again one day in heaven.

I guess I will sign off for tonight with those thoughts.  I don't have any new photos yet for "Friday Foto Friends", so we shall see what develops tomorrow. We have to take that ride over to St. Augustine for the eye appointment, but there won't be any time for doing anything extra as hubby will probably have his eyes dilated and we will want to come straight home after the appointment. The sun will be too bright for him to do any sightseeing! (And I will probably be driving home, so no chance for me to take pictures along the way!)

So, good night for now! I'll catch up with you later!

Happy First Day of Summer!

This was the end of the school year class picnic in 6th grade. I'm the crazy one on the left with the bubblegum cigar in my mouth and the feather in my hat. The other sweet girl is one of my best school buddies, Mary. We were both redheads, and when we got together, anything could happen.  "Those were the days, my friend. We thought they'd never end..."   Mary and I do still stay in touch via Facebook, but she lives in another state and it's been way too many years since we actually got to be together. Maybe one of these days we can make it happen. I hope so. We aren't getting any younger.