Saturday in Review...and a "Gender Reveal"

 Well, I bet that title got your attention! NO, we're not having a baby, nor is anyone in my family that I know of. But we did get some surprising news today.  It seems that "gender reveal parties" are all the rage these days for expectant parents.  Back when our babies were waiting to be born we  just had to wait and see what "gift" God was giving us, whether it was a boy or a girl.  We had no clue until the moment of birth, and then it was always a wonderful surprise when the doctor would announce, "It's a Boy!"  or "It's a Girl!".  In the case of my babies, it was the same announcement all three times, "It's A Boy!"    When I was born my mother said the doctor said, "Oh! A Little Redhead!" I'm not sure when he also added that I was a girl, but my mother remembers him announcing that I was a redhead, and she was awake enough to say, "Oh! Let me see!!".  I don't know that she cared one way or the other whether I was a boy or a girl. It was just the fact that I was a little redhead, the only one in the family, and the last of her babies.  My Dad was a redhead, but the other three kids were either a "towhead" (son #1), or brunette, (son #2 and daughter #1).  So the fact that baby #4 was a redhead and another baby girl was quite a surprise.  

Anyway, I digress...you are wondering why I am talking about gender reveals today, I am certain.

Well....suspense, suspense...as I am sure most of you are aware we were waiting for the return of our kitty-cat "Blackie Sue" from her appointment to be "fixed".  She left here on Thursday afternoon, and the surgery was to be done yesterday, and then she would be returned to us this morning by the dear volunteers who round up these "stray cats" for "Operation Catnip". 

Here's "Blackie Sue", with a shaved belly...kind of looks like Shamu the whale now! LOL.

  Between me and sweet Sunshine, our other kitty-cat, I don't know who was the most anxious for Blackie Sue's return. 

It was really a sweet and "touching" reunion. 

   Finally after lunch the lady arrived with Blackie Sue in her carrier.  I know Blackie Sue was very anxious to get out of that contraption, as she had spent the past almost 36 hours locked up in that thing. Can you imagine?  Anyway, so we carried her around to the back porch and opened up the carrier and she very happily jumped out and the first thing she did was go look for a place to go to the bathroom. Can't say as I blame her. That's surely what I would do!  However, while she was settling back into her home environment, the lady and I were going over the paperwork that came with her, showing that she had been given a rabies shot and treated for fleas, etc., etc.  and then I noticed THIS up in the top corner of the paper:

MALE????? What???? Did they get the right cat??? There must be some mistake!!! This is supposed to be a FEMALE cat...the one everyone thought was possibly pregnant...the one that I started out naming "Blackie", because my neighbor had said she thought it was a male, but after a few others looked at "her", it was thought it must be a female, just because...there didn't appear to be any evidence of her being a male that we could detect...and she looked pregnant, for goodness' sake! LOL!   So I renamed her "Blackie Sue", thanks to the suggestion of one of our favorite blogging friends, "Your Friend from Florida", Terri, who came and visited and said that she also thought she looked like she was expecting, and so we should call her "Blackie Sue" instead of Blackie.  I mean, Terri has had a lot of cats, so she should know! LOL.  Just kidding you, Terri. Several others agreed with you that she was a female cat! And I have NO experience with cats, so I didn't know one way or the other. And to me, she just seemed more like a sweet female kitty.

But according to the veterinarian who did the surgery, "Blackie Sue" is definitely a "Blackie", and so now I am having to relearn calling HIM "Blackie" instead of "Blackie Sue".  He doesn't seem to care either way...just call him to dinner and he'll be there! LOL.

So now all is well in the cat kingdom here...Sunshine and Blackie are back to being good "boy-friends" I guess! LOL.  Just good old pals!   And I don't have to worry anymore about having kittens! And I never DID have to worry about it...and I hate to tell you how many nights I fretted over whether or not we would discover that "she'd" had kittens in the morning. LOL.  

I am reminded of this favorite old hymn, "What a Friend we have in Jesus".  I'm sure you know it too...we could probably all sing it together:

1

What a Friend we have in Jesus,

All our sins and griefs to bear!

What a privilege to carry

Everything to God in prayer!

O what peace we often forfeit,

O what needless pain we bear,

All because we do not carry

Everything to God in prayer!

2

Have we trials and temptations?

Is there trouble anywhere?

We should never be discouraged,

Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Can we find a friend so faithful

Who will all our sorrows share?

Jesus knows our every weakness,

Take it to the Lord in prayer.

3

Are we weak and heavy-laden,

Cumbered with a load of care?

Precious Savior, still our refuge—

Take it to the Lord in prayer;

Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?

Take it to the Lord in prayer;

In His arms He’ll take and shield thee,

Thou wilt find a solace there.

You may ask yourself if Jesus really is concerned about whether or not a cat is a male or female, or whether or not it's having kittens...and yes! He IS concerned, especially if it is something that concerns us, His children.  He does care about these things...If He cares about the sparrow, then I know He cares about the cats and kittens and our concern for them as well.  I am still guilty of not always taking all of my worries and cares to the Lord in prayer as I should.  This was a good lesson for me!

If you read my last post, you are already aware of these beautiful roses...but you haven't seen these three all grouped together. This was today!  Aren't they just so gorgeous?  I wish you could smell them ! They have a heavenly fragrance!

Speaking of "heavenly", yesterday would have been my parents' 83rd wedding anniversary!  I'm sure they had a celebration in heaven, even though we aren't really "married" anymore in heaven, but we still know and love those we've spent our lives with here on earth, and I think there are all kinds of heavenly celebrations going on all the time!

Here's a link to a post I wrote a few years ago about their wedding anniversary.

I was truly blessed with wonderful, godly, loving parents. I thank the Lord for them and their faithfulness to each other and to God and to their family every day.  I know not everyone had such a blessing, and I've learned over the years just how unique and special their love and faith truly was. I am extremely grateful to God.

Lily Grace says hello. She had a little tea party with some of her "fairy friends" and her puppy dog Bailey.  She likes to stay in touch with you all and let you know that she's still here and having a great time! 

And I had some overripe bananas and decided to bake a banana nut bread yesterday.  We love to eat it for breakfast with a little cream cheese on top, (for me), or butter for my hubby.

You can find the recipe HERE, if you are interested.

Speaking of my hubby, please just keep him in your prayers. He is going to be having some more tests run next week, trying to get to the bottom of why he's not feeling so well.  We know God is in control and we place our faith and trust in Him, but it's always nice to have some extra prayers at the same time. Thank you.

We took a little ride this morning down to Salt Springs, which is the town where we used to live before moving here.  Our son Benton was set up at the new flea market down there, and so we wanted to go down and say hi.  There used to be a flea market there all the time and he used to sell all kinds of things there back in the day when we still lived there, but it had discontinued for a while and now they are starting back up, so it gives him another venue where he can "peddle his wares".  He did sell a few things, but expects it will do much better there in the fall when more snow-birds and weekend campers/tourists are back in the area, so he may wait and go back in the fall. It's getting too hot to do these markets in the summer time. It was almost 100 degrees today! Yikes, and it's only the middle of May!  

I didn't get any pictures of Benton there, but we did drive by our old house and this is what I saw in the back yard as we drove by on the side street behind the house:

I was SO thrilled to see these deer in the back yard. We used to have deer and bears and so many other wild animals come through our yard when we lived there, but these new people have changed so much about our old house and yard that I wasn't sure if the critters would still go there.

It's hard for me to believe that this area is where my "Secret Garden" used to be, because they have cut down all the big trees and flowering plants and shrubs that I planted there. It looks very very different.

I wonder if those deer remember me? 

This is how that same area looked back when we lived there, and this was my Secret Garden:

AND HERE's a link to some of the DEER that we used to see in our yard there and all around us.

And HERE is another post, with deer, bears, and MORE!

Back to the Present, and here in our current yard...

"Trumpet" came by for a "Tea Party" in the yard. LOL.

And the Bluebirds have been VERY busy going in and out of the birdhouse again...I still don't know if they are building a nest or what is going on. It's so hot now to be thinking of sitting in that hot little birdhouse, but birds gotta do what birds gotta do. It they feel the urge to build a nest and lay some eggs on it and raise some babies, then who am I to question their plans?

Time will tell. They are out there again tonight, and it's still 91 degrees at 7:13 p.m.!  Yikes!  So we shall see what they are doing in due time.

Well friends, I guess it's time to wrap this up. 

Speaking again of the "Gender Reveal" and all things pertaining to who we are...here's what the Psalmist says in God's Word about that:

Psalm 139:13-18

13 For You formed my inward parts;

You covered me in my mother’s womb.

14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

Marvelous are Your works,

And that my soul knows very well.

15 My frame was not hidden from You,

When I was made in secret,

And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.

16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.

And in Your book they all were written,

The days fashioned for me,

When as yet there were none of them.

17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!

How great is the sum of them!

18 If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;

When I awake, I am still with You.

So whether we are a boy or a girl, redhead or brunette or blonde,  (or a "Blackie Sue" or a "Blackie"), God already knew from before we were even formed...He had already written about us in His Book, and He knew everything about us and who we would be and where we would go...He wrote it all down and it's like the very best book ever...a true "Best Seller".  To us it reads a lot like a mystery right now, but when we finally get to the very end of it all, it will make perfect sense. We'll understand the whole story, just as the Author of our Faith has written it to be.   We are "fearfully and wonderfully made", and His works are "marvelous".  What a mighty God we serve!  Amen.

Good night my friends.  Thank you for hanging in there with me in this very long saga of a lot of different things. I hope you enjoyed the "story".  Be blessed.