Tuesday 4 September So Far

September So Far....

Welcome once again to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4. I hope you are enjoying taking part and as always, if you have ideas for topics please let me know here or in comments on

Hello Friend!
Cottage by the Sea.


1. How has your September been so far?
So far so good...I am finally over the infection that I had and hopefully I will be able to enjoy the rest of the month (what's left of it!) with a lot of joy!

2. What events are coming up next on your calendar or have there been any special days so far for you?

So glad you asked!  My birthday is coming up on Friday, the 25th.  We unexpectedly celebrated with the immediate family on Sunday, since Rose won't be available next weekend.  And bless her sweet heart, she surprised me with cooking our whole Sunday dinner, complete with a birthday cake! It was very impromptu when we talked to each other on Saturday evening and discussed our plans for Sunday dinner since she was off for the day and would be able to attend church, etc.  I had said that I would pick up some fried chicken on the way home from church and we could put things together for a good meal since Scott was also going to be coming down for the afternoon.  Lo! and Behold! I received a text from Rose when I woke up Sunday morning saying that she was bringing the whole dinner including dessert and salad and that I wouldn't have to do anything!  Wow! Am I blessed or what? 

What she made was this very delicious Boston Butt Pork Roast stew in the crock pot, with potatoes and carrots and celery. It was so very tasty and tender and delicious!!

We also had a wonderful side salad to go along with the stew.  It was all so good! (and I didn't have to cook! What could be better than that???)

And of course we did the traditional happy birthday song and blowing out the candles routine...

Yes, I am 76. I can't believe it either. LOL.

Maybe you'd like to hear a little bit of the song...

And here's my piece of cake and some Blue Bell Ice Cream! Can't get much better than that!!

I forgot to take any pictures of the kids, shame on me, but there's Benton in the background eating his cake. I was taking a picture of the beautiful card they gave me.

And the celebration isn't over yet. We will be traveling to my brother-in-law/sister-in-law's house on Friday, the real birthday, for a gathering of the extended family. My sister and her hubby will be there too. The reason we are going there (which is about a two hour drive) is not only to celebrate my birthday, but also our niece Shannon has decided that she would like to be baptized, and she wants her Uncle John (my hubby the retired preacher) to baptize her, and it will be done in their swimming pool. I know this is not the traditional way to be baptized, but their family is not currently active in any particular church, and Shannon is 22 years old, in college, and a very busy young lady. Some of you who have been blogging friends for a long time may remember way back when she was a teenager she was involved in a bad car accident that caused her some serious hip/pelvic injuries and I had asked prayer for her. Many of you who were "with me" then did pray for her, and I know you'd be happy to know that she is doing very well physically now and I believe God is truly at work in her life spiritually as well.  We are very pleased and excited that she has asked to be baptized, and we will continue to pray that the Lord will direct her steps and give her His wisdom as she faces her future. She is on track to try to get in to law school once she completes her degree as a paralegal.  

Link to post about when Shannon had the accident
Link to post about Shannon's graduation, which was just a few months after the accident.

When my sister in law invited us to come there on Friday she asked if I minded sharing my birthday with Shannon's Baptism, and my response was that I could think of NO better way to celebrate my birthday than to be a part of Shannon's special day. To me, that is the BEST gift ever!!

3. How's the weather been in your neck of the woods?

Well, this week is promising to look a lot like the beginning fall! Our temperatures are moderating a bit each day, and by Friday it will be in the 60's in the morning and low 80's in the afternoon, which is pretty much perfect for us! Hopefully Friday will be a sunny day, and the pool will be warm at my brother-in-law's house, because my hubby has to get in the water to baptize Shannon, and he doesn't like cold water! LOL.    

We did have a nice thunderstorm yesterday afternoon (Sunday) while the kids were here. Little by little the puddle in the pond is getting bigger!  Praise God!

4. How can we be praying for you or sending our good thoughts your way?

Thank you for asking! What a nice thing to do.  Pray for our trip on Friday, and that everything will go smoothly that day. Thankfully Benton will be driving us there since hubby doesn't like to drive in traffic, and we have to skirt around Orlando to get to my brother-in-law's house.  There's no easy way to get around Orlando, so prayers are always appreciated for traveling mercies.  

Speaking of travel...this past week our son Scott ended up getting a "new to him" car. Last Sunday when he left here to drive the almost 2 hours back to his house in Jacksonville, his car starting having some major transmission issues. The car had a lot of mileage on it and he had been having some other issues with it, and he said he barely made it back home, but thankfully he did get there safely. However, he knew he would have to do something about getting a different vehicle because that one was going to be too expensive to try to fix and not worth it.  So he took the day off and went car shopping and found another vehicle just like the one he had before, but with a LOT less mileage and in far better condition...and so he was proud to show us his "new to him" new car yesterday.  

It looks practically brand new inside and outside, but it's a 2004 Lexus...(I think?)

Leather interior...all the good stuff, and at an unbelievable price, so he was very happy.

Well, that's about it.  I look forward to hearing how you all are doing. Still trying to get caught up since that Blogger glitch that hopefully is fixed for good now.  

Here's a little benediction and prayer for us to close this post...

Psalm 121:7-8  NKJV

7 The Lord shall preserve you from all evil;

He shall preserve your soul.

8 The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in

From this time forth, and even forevermore.

And here's a little reel I saw on Facebook that I enjoyed so much...not sure if you can see it or not...maybe not if you don't have Facebook...but if so, just enjoy this little cabin in the woods with me. Looks like a perfect place to spend the fall...and maybe longer...

 https://www.facebook.com/reel/1258465113076019  Little Cabin in the Woods