Monday Monday

Happy Monday Morning in Mid January!  Welcome to a little bit of winter/spring? here in FLorida!  Two days ago it was in the 80's, and today it started out in the low 40's...and as the week progresses it will actually dip back down to below freezing again!  

The Robins have finally arrived on their migration from the north to the south for the rest of the winter!

They have been all over the place the last couple of days, looking for worms or bugs or berries or whatever they can find to help store up energy for the rest of their flight southward.

Matthew 6:26-27   

"26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 

27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

They actually got here a little bit later than usual. Normally we've seen them come through in late November, and in some times past this holly tree was loaded with berries just waiting for them. But sadly most of the berries have already been picked by other birds and/or squirrels, so there weren't a lot left for the Robins.

However, I know there are other holly trees all around the pond and I am sure they are finding enough to eat, because they are still out there, coming in swarms...and even covering the dry pond. So there must be something out there for them!

Anyway, it's always fun to see them as they pass through. We will look forward to seeing them again later in the spring on their way back north.

Even though it was a chilly start, the sun was coming up and brightening our day so it feels a little warmer.

It was a beautiful start to the day, and we are thankful for the sunshine, even though I'm still watching for that rain to come and refill our pond!

Speaking of our pond, someone posted these pages on Facebook from some old sales brochures from this community, from back in the late 1960's, when they first developed this area.  In the picture below, if you look at that half moon shaped pond at the bottom of this aerial view of our neighborhood,  that is our Still Waters Pond from back in the very beginning!  Do you see the two little islands that kind of look like eyebrows?  Those are the islands I can see from our yard as we look at the pond. That green strip of land on the east side of the pond is where our house is now. (it would be the top side as you are looking at the picture, with the street running at an angle, which is actually the street that runs in front of our house).  There were no trees around the pond then, or actually not many trees at all in the neighborhood.

I love that it says you will have "carefree outdoor living in an ideal climate"...LOL. They meant wintertime I am sure.  Anyone moving here in the summertime soon learned there was not such a great "ideal climate" in the summer, and you spent more time indoors with the AC, if you had it! Back then they didn't have central AC, so I believe a lot of these homes were built mainly for "snowbirds" who only spent the winter here.  "So Where the Sun Stays"..."You can escape from a teeming city atmosphere. Be free of winter's blizzards, smoke, smog, and pollution.  There's fun-in-the-sun living all year long".  LOL.   That's debateable for sure!

This picture below is another view of our pond, taken from the west side of it and looking across to where those two islands are with only a few palm trees on them. That chalet/A frame looking house would have been directly across the street from our house if our house was there,  but our house wasn't put here until about 2003. Just look at Still Waters Pond!!No lily pads, and lots of WATER!  But no real trees around it either.  It wasn't the lovely bird/wildlife sanctuary that we enjoy now.

Here's a more recent aerial view of the pond, taken from a different angle, our house is at the bottom of the picture, with the street running in front of it. Across that street is where that A Frame house used to be.  And yes, that is a 4 lane highway running on the south side of the pond. Back when this area was developed, it was just a two lane highway, and I'm sure it was much quieter.

This is a view of the pond from our back porch, as it looked when we still had water in Still Waters Pond:

Again, those A-frame houses would have been on the street across from where our house is now:

And this is the house that is in that location across the street from us now:  (Or rather the huge magnolia tree that is across the street! LOL)  I don't know what happened to those A-Frames, however. I think they were promotional homes back in the day, but for some reason they didn't survive the test of time!  

Yes,  it was a snowbird's paradise for the time, with inexpensive mobile homes, carefree living, lots of lakes and sunshine!  Sadly, now so many of those mobile homes are over 50 years old and they don't look quite as nice as they did then.   We are thankful for the house that we have that is much newer and more modern, but yes, it is an old time "trailer park" from the 60's-70's in most of the rest of the neighborhood.  There are quite a few newer manufactured homes throughout the neighborhood, but there are still a lot of the old, which I wish some could be removed...but it is what it is. We bought our house here because it was affordable and on the pond, and close to our kids who live in a different neighborhood about a mile away, and we love our community and church.  There are some things that I wish I could change about the neighborhood, but for the most part people are friendly and the community is quiet, except for a few loud trucks and cars now and then passing by, but we are thankful to have a place we can afford and enjoy our retirement. Oh, and we have some nice new neighbors next door to us in that new house I told you about many times before. They are sweet Christian people and we are thankful to have them as neighbors. 

Switching gears a bit...since the weather IS getting so cold, our little friend Lily Grace was hoping to go sledding! She got this nifty sled for Christmas (it was a thrift store discovery that was just the right size for Lily, so of course it couldn't be passed up!)  So she's looking for a nice snowy spot to take a sled ride.  

Since most of the winter scenery has been put away with the Christmas stuff, we had to discover some clever backgrounds to find just the right place for her to go sledding.  This place looks like it will do just fine. I see lots of children over there sledding down that hill and having a great time, so Lily Grace is on her way to have some winter fun!

Whee!  What a ride!! 

That was fun!!!

After all of that excitement Lily Grace went back inside and had some hot cocoa with her friends! That was a fun adventure for a chilly day!!

Speaking of cozy adventures...yesterday the "kids" came over after church and we had lunch together, and then these guys all snuggled up on the couch together:

Yes, that's Benton holding Sugar, and Rose holding Spice. One big happy family!!

And yes, Scott was here for the afternoon too, and you can see he's nice and comfy in his flannels...LOL. He finally set up the display case that Benton built for him for Christmas, and put his collection of Camaro cars in there.

Looks pretty neat!  Also his Aunt and Uncle gave him that book for Christmas that is displayed below about Muscle Cars, so he added that to his collection.  Yes, he keeps these things here at home in his room even though he doesn't stay here all the time anymore. He works about an hour + away, so has a room that he rents from a friend who is close to his work, but this is still his permanent home where he keeps his "stuff".   That's fine with us. We enjoy having him come home whenever he can, even if to do laundry! It's always a joy to have your kids come home.  

One last thing...I've been enjoying these poinsettias that I bought back before Christmas. Thankfully they survived the freezing weather a couple of weeks ago because I put them under the back porch where the frost wouldn't be able to touch them. Looks like I'm going to have to do it again this week!

The spots on the petals are actually rain drops, as it was misting rain a bit yesterday with the cold front coming through. They were sparkling like diamonts, but these pictures don't do them justice.

So please just imagine that all those spots are like diamonds sparkling in the sunshine, okay?

Thinking of sparkling or looking radiant...I will close today with this portion of Psalm 34:1-8

I 

"1  I will bless the Lord at all times;

His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

2 My soul shall make its boast in the Lord;

The humble shall hear of it and be glad.

3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me,

And let us exalt His name together.

4 I sought the Lord, and He heard me,

And delivered me from all my fears.

5 They looked to Him and were radiant,

And their faces were not ashamed.

6 This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him,

And saved him out of all his troubles.

7 The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him,

And delivers them.

8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good;

Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!"

Amen.

Have a blessed and beautiful week, my friends. And be radiant!!

Thankful Thursday-So Much to be Thankful For!

So excited to see Goldfinches visiting our home and Still Waters Pond

I can't believe a whole week has gone by since I came home from the hospital! I guess that should be at the top of the list of things that I am thankful for! To be home and recuperating more and more each day, feeling my strength return in so many little ways.  There's still a ways to go...haven't had the myriad of staples removed yet and my belly is still a bit tender...and my body's functional "rhythm" continues to be a bit "off", but all things considered, I am doing great, and am extremely thankful to God for His healing power and tender loving care. 

These Goldfinches remind me of the song "His Eye Is On The Sparrow, and I know He watches me"... I believe all birds are included in God's care, not just the sparrow...but more importantly, God cares for each of us even more so than the birds...

With all of the hype over the Corona Virus that is becoming more and more prevalent every moment, we need to remember that God is caring for us. Yes, we should be diligent to do what is right for our personal health needs and those of our family members, but we really do not need to panic.

I know I've  quoted this passage of scripture many times, but it still is appropriate for today. Think about this when you are tempted to panic over the lack of hand soaps and toilet paper...

Matthew 6:26-34 (NKJV)

26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 

27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Enough said? Okay, on to other things. While I have been sitting here comfy and cozy in our home resting and recuperating, some other nice things have been happening...

I received the loveliest card from one of our blogging friends who knows how I love tea. She also included a delicious Twining's Orange & Cinnamon Spice Herbal Tea bag, which was such a delightful added treat.

So yesterday I actually felt up to baking some of those wonderful Blueberry Bran Muffins,which recipe I shared with you previously HERE, and treating myself to a little pond side Tea Party. It was perfect! So thankful for thoughtful friends, (of whom there have been many!) and also for this lovely spring weather we are enjoying this week.

Meanwhile, on the front side of the house, something else was happening for which I am most thankful. Since moving to our new house here last summer, one thing we knew we really needed was a storm door for our front door. This serves two purposes...to actually protect the front door and all of the "cracks and crannies" surrounding it, from rain and storms. We do not have any kind of porch roof or overhang above the front door that is sufficient to keep the blowing storms away, and before the real rainy/hurricane season arrives, we wanted to add that extra layer of protection to our front entry. The other purpose is that it allows us to open the door and let in beautiful sunlight in what it is a dark corner of the living room, as well as the ability to open the window and bring in fresh air when desired!

The only thing now is that lovely big wreath on the door is too big/thick to fit between the glass door and the solid door when closed. So I need to find a slimmer version of this wreath to be able to keep something on the front door. Or should I hang it on the outside of the storm door? Not sure how to do that, but what do you do, if you have a similar situation? I am open to suggestions here!


Meanwhile, as I am sitting here writing to you, the same crew who installed our storm door yesterday are back today, applying some necessary weather protection clear coat on our front deck. We also need to do the same for the back deck, but one thing at a time, and this one needed it first! I have been debating for some time whether or not to paint or stain the front deck, but just couldn't decide and time is running out on keeping it protected from the weather. So we decided to go ahead with just a clear coat, which hopefully will look good once it is finished. I keep hoping they will get done with it before I finish writing this post so I can go out and get a picture of it completed. But I may have to wait and do that the next time. All those porch rails are making it a bit more time consuming than I thought!




These are just a few of the things I am thankful for this week. God has been so good to us, and we are exceedingly thankful. These "things" that I've listed are mostly that, just things, but behind all of that is the wonderful fact that I am here to enjoy these blessings that God has provided. Our health is nothing to take for granted, and every single day I give praise to God for His loving care for me and for my loved ones and friends.

Again I thank each and every one of you for your prayers and words of encouragement over the past weeks. You are all such a blessing to me. I hope to get around to reading your posts more consistently now that I am feeling much better. Visiting with you is something that I truly look forward to and another blessing not to be taken for granted!!

Have a blessed and wonderful week dear friends!

Mid-Week Breath of Fresh Air

 Remember a few weeks ago when these trees looked like this? 

And the blossoms looked like this:

And then they looked like this:

Well now they look like this:

And the myriads of blossoms now look like this:

Yes, those are tiny little wild plums forming where the blossoms once were! What an amazing transformation in such a little amount of time!

The picture doesn't do it justice...but all of those wild plum trees that were once covered with so many blossoms are now covered with pretty green leaves and tiny little plums popping out all over!  If the birds and squirrels don't eat them all up first, I just may have to go pick some this summer and make some wild plum jam! We shall see how energetic I am at that time.  If it is anything like when I make wild grape jam from our wild grapevines, I may reconsider! It was fun, but a LOT of work for not much jam!

Here's a few fruitful thoughts from God's Word, The Bible:

Colossians 1:10 (NKJV)

10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;

John 15:16  (NKJV)

16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.

Galatians 5:22-23  (NKJV)

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

Matthew 7:17-20  (NKJV)

17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

Switching gears for a minute here...I discovered these lovely flowers while walking in our usual walking place...and I had to find out what they were. There aren't very many of them, but those that are blooming are so beautiful:

Have you ever seen this before?

Well, after doing my research, I have discovered that this is what's commonly known as "Lady Lupine", or Lupinus Villosus  Here is a  link to a website that has a nice article about it http://www.flwildflowers.com/gallery/  (you just have to scroll down a ways to find this particular flower)  It is apparently related to the Texas Bluebonnet! I didn't know that!!

I brought some home with me and it is actually starting to bloom. But according to the articles I read, it can't be transplanted, so I guess I will just have to enjoy it while it lasts.

Matthew 6:28-34

28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Hmmm, those verses must be for me, as I am preparing for my upcoming surgery in about a week and a half. I had my pre-op appointment with the surgeon yesterday afternoon, and went over all the details and particulars regarding the surgery and what to expect. I wouldn't be human if I didn't admit that I have a few concerns about this, but these verses remind me that our heavenly Father knows all about what I need...and that I do not need to worry. I know He has me covered and that He will take care of everything. So I am going to just keep living each day as it comes, and trust God for tomorrow.

A little levity here:  As most of you know, we celebrated my hubby's birthday this past week. If you are a Facebook friend, you may have already seen this picture of my hubby with his favorite birthday gift:

Yes, it is a new toilet seat.  But not just any toilet seat...This is a "No Slam, Never Loosens" toilet seat! Something my hubby has been asking for because, well, he doesn't like a toilet seat that slams down...when least expected.   So, this gift was much appreciated. He also received some other nice gifts, but none as exciting as this! LOL.

We also had some fun visiting with my hubby's brother and family on President's Day, when we met them at a restaurant for lunch and to continue celebrating my hubby's birthday.  Here's a few fun pictures of their family, doing what they do...just being family and having fun:

 Our niece Shannon decided it would be fun to give her Dad, my husband's brother, a new hairdo. (No, he doesn't usually wear his hair like that)


 Then she decided to give her brother Nicholaus a similar hairdo:
 While her mother watched

and laughed.  I guess we didn't think about the issues of styling hair at the table and the ramifications of that while it was happening. But thankfully we were already done with our meal and the food and plates were already gone.   "Teen-agers!" was all I could say. LOL.

Here's the budding hair stylist. (Below left) I guess she takes after her grandmother (a.k.a. "Nanny") in more than one way. Nanny was a hair stylist for over 50 years. And Shannon actually looks a lot like her grandmother at this age...Although in this picture below on the right of Nanny, she was probably 10 years older than what Shannon is today, but there is definitely a close resemblance.

(and btw, Shannon plans to be a lawyer, not a beautician. I'm sure she will do quite well no matter what she decides to do in life).

And in this picture of "Nanny", she was actually carrying my hubby: 

So that makes this photo an appropriate birthday picture for my hubby...just a little "premature look" at his beginning of life!

Okay, I guess this is a good place to end this "Mid-Week Breath of Fresh Air".  Tomorrow will be another busy and wonderful day. Having some other friends/neighbors from our old neighborhood coming to visit, and they are also bringing lunch! Wow!!! We sure are blessed with friends "old and new". I think we are having an early St. Patrick's Day meal: Corned Beef and Cabbage, and all the trimmings! Should be wonderful! 

This will most likely be my last round of company for a while. I need to settle down and get ready for March 2nd. But it sure has been fun having  family and friends get together!

"God is so good...He's so good to me."  

Oh, well, what's a few more pictures?  I may not be writing as much the rest of the week, so I might as well share these with you. All the while I was writing the above post, I kept looking out my window above my desk and couldn't help but see the changing of the skies and sunset every few minutes.  So, I kept running in and out of the house, taking pictures of the sunset as it was changing. So I apologize if this has all seemed like I was distracted while writing. I was. God paints the most amazing sunsets in His skies! They are never the same, and I just have to stand in awe and give Him Glory!!

 Even the clouds were beautiful...

And then they transformed into this:

Okay, that's the grand finale for tonight. I hope you enjoyed this magnificent sunset with me.

Good Night dear friends.

May tomorrow be sunny and bright and beautiful wherever you are.