Still Playing Catch up!

 We'll  start out this post with some scenic views on the St. John's River from today...but more about that later...

Thank you all, for your kind and encouraging words on my most recent post about my experience in the hospital, etc.  It's been an interesting journey, but one that I am so thankful to God that it really wasn't as bad as it could have been! I am still playing "catch-up", both here in Blogland in reading your posts and trying to keep up with what's been happening in your lives, as well as here in my own little world and trying to keep up with what's going on in our own family/church/friends, etc., as well as trying to regain my strength and energy so I can keep up with daily routines.  

It reminds me of this song, which I'm sure many of you will remember from back in the day..."One Day At A Time"

Linda Randel, Gaither Homecoming

One day at a time, sweet Jesus

[Chorus]

One day at a time, sweet Jesus

That's all I'm asking from You

Just give me the strength to do everyday

What I have to do

Yesterday's gone, sweet Jesus

And tomorrow may never be mine (Ooh)

Lord, help me today, show me the way

One day at a time

[Verse 1]

I'm only human, I'm just a woman

Help me believe in what I could be and all that I am

Show me the stairway I have to climb

Lord, for my sake, teach me to take one day at a time

[Chorus]

One day at a time, sweet Jesus

That's all I'm asking from You

Just give me the strength to do everyday

What I have to do

Yesterday's gone, sweet Jesus

And tomorrow may never be mine (Ooh)

Lord, help me today, show me the way

One day at a time

[Verse 2]

Do You remember when You walked among men?

Well, Jesus, You know, if You're looking below, it's worse now than then

There's pushing and shoving, and it's clouding my mind,

So for my sake, teach me to take one day at a time

[Chorus]

One day at a time, sweet Jesus

That's all I'm asking from You

Just give me the strength to do everyday

What I have to do

Yesterday's gone, sweet Jesus

And tomorrow may never be mine (Ooh)

Lord, help me today, show me the way

One day at a time (Ooh)

I am very very thankful to have been given the blessing of another day to keep living and praising the Lord, and celebrating the good things in this life...like our 56th Anniversary, which was Saturday.  I'm sure many of you already saw the pictures on facebook, so I will spare you the details from 56 years ago...Here's a link to last year's anniversary, which has a link to previous years, so you can go back and look as much as you want. LOL.  In looking at last years', I just realized that we did the same thing then as we did today, and I even wore the same top! LOL.   Here's what we did today to celebrate belatedly since I really wasn't feeling quite up to par on our actual anniversary on Saturday. (but we did do something then, which I will get to in a minute).

We went to our favorite restaurant on the St. John's River, Corky Bells!

Here's hubby...(which again, I am very thankful that he is feeling better these days as well, and he was willing and able to take us out to lunch)

And here's your's truly today:

 

And here I was last year...yep, same top, necklace, glasses...just had shorter hair, which, if I recall, was a mistake by a new hairdresser that I never went back to! However, in both pictures, it was a windy day, and you really can't tell much about my hair as to how it should look! (I think I was also a few pounds lighter last year...something I need to work on)

This was my food today...broiled shrimp and grouper, baked potato, and coleslaw (which I had already eaten when this picture was taken, and it was sure good!) Oh, and hush puppies, which I probably shouldn't have eaten, but they were so good!

And here's hubby with his food...same fish/shrimp, only he prefers fried.

I didn't spend much time down on the deck/dock today as it was too hot, but I took this one selfie mostly because I wanted to get the blue skies and clouds in there too. That one cloud looks like a big duck! I should've worn a hat...that hair! LOL.

I couldn't stay long because I was unsupervised. Hubby had already gone back into the building, and as you can see, some of us need more supervision than others. LOL

We are very thankful indeed that we were able to go out today and do this, as it is our tradition, and last week things were so crazy I wasn't sure if we'd ever get to do this again! Yes, I am very thankful.

On Saturday, our "real" anniversary day, our sweet kids came over and brought us some supper...

Rotisserie chicken, salad, and some boiled potatoes that we buttered and smashed with our forks and added cheese and sour cream.  

I had actually decided that we needed some dessert, since it was our anniversary,  so I made a peach dump cake, which is so easy. You just take a white (or yellow) cake mix, and I melted a stick of butter and poured it in a 9"x13" pan, dumped the cake mix on top, added the 3 eggs and instead of the cup of water I used the juice/syrup from the large can of peaches. (I drained the peaches first, reserved the syrup, measured out 1 cup to use). I also added a teaspoon of cinnamon and a teaspoon of vanilla.  I stirred it all up until the mixture was completely moistened,  and then added the peaches and stirred them around. Then I baked it at 350 for 30 minutes.  We put whipped cream on top, and it was so good.

That was the extent of my activity for the day! I was still kind of weak and wobbly from my hospital stay, and just had to pace myself and do things a little at a time.

We don't usually buy gifts for each other on our anniversary, but the Lord provided these flowers for us from our own garden of zinnias. 

On Sunday we did go to church, and it was so good to see people and get hugs and thank them for their prayers, and also to give thanks to the Lord for His protection and healing.

On Monday I had an already scheduled appointment with my PCP for a follow up, and so it turned out to be perfect timing so she could hear the whole story of what happened to me last week. She checked the records that were sent over from the hospital, and gave me a good check up and said she really thinks I'm going to be just fine, but she is referring me to a cardiologist for further monitoring of this condition, which appears to be very mild and in the early stages, praise God!  Here's a passage from Psalms that gives me hope and encouragement.

103 

Psalm 103:1-5

"1 Bless the Lord, O my soul;

And all that is within me, bless His holy name!

2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,

And forget not all His benefits:

3 Who forgives all your iniquities,

Who heals all your diseases,

4 Who redeems your life from destruction,

Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,

5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things,

So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s."

I like that part about "your youth is renewed like the eagle's".  Wouldn't that be nice? 

So anyway, this is the latest update.  Thank you all for your friendship here. May God bless each and every one, and may He "satisfy your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagles!" Amen.

Here's another link to a previous anniversary (51), and it shows me wearing the same top on our 50th anniversary!! LOL. I guess when you like something, you wear it until it wears out!  There's also a lot of OLD memories from our wedding, etc., if you want to go back down memory lane, for those of you who are new here.  I like to add these links so I can go back and find them again myself. The older we get, the more help we need. LOL  Good night!

More Family Celebrations!

 As I promised you yesterday, I am back with more exciting times of celebration with the rest of our extended local family.  I say "local", as we gathered in the middle of  our two hour radius, so we each only had to travel about an hour or so to get together, which makes it easier for all of us to make the trip.  Our car's AC has been acting up lately, so thankfully our kids were able to take us in their big quad cab Dodge Ram truck.  Rose and I rode fairly comfortably in the back seat, but we both decided that we wouldn't want to travel very far in that position.  

So anyway, we all gathered at a nice restaurant that we have used many times before for such gatherings. They were very accommodating for our large group of 11 people today, even though they had a "full house" with a poker tournament going on! (Pun intended).  Thankfully they did allow us to make a reservation ahead of time, so we had no problem getting a table.

So here's the roll call of family, some of whom are also celebrating August birthdays and/or anniversaries:

We start out with my sister Doris and me, with her husband Art, of course.  The reason being, it is because of my sister and I that we join these various families together to celebrate.   

So here comes my side of the family...My hubby John and his brother "Billy".  "Billy" really goes by Bill now that he's grown up,  (and he just celebrated his 70th birthday earlier this month)

Well, maybe he's grown up...

You see, that's "Billy" on the far right, when he was just barely 15 years old and my hubby's Best Man at our wedding 55 years ago.  And that's my sister Doris on the far left, who was my Matron of Honor.  

And that's her little daughter Debbie, my niece, who was almost 3 years old when she was our flower girl.

And here Debbie is now, with her handsome hubby Darrell.  Debbie will celebrate her birthday later this month, and they just celebrated their anniversary a week or so ago as well.

Now this might get confusing...This is Peggy (below) on the left, "Billy's wife", and they will also celebrate their anniversary later this month.  And you know Rose, our sweet daughter in law, below:

And even though Rose isn't seated next to her hubby, our son Benton, you know they belong together.  And Benton will also celebrate his birthday later this month!

And last, but certainly not least, this is our nephew Nicholaus, the son of "Billy" and Peggy.  "Nick" will also celebrate his birthday later this month, on the same day as our son Benton.  It's interesting to note that our first child and Billy and Peggy's first child were both born on the same day, but 31 years apart.  Some people just take longer to figure things out than others I guess. LOL.  Just kidding.  

Nick is starting his senior year at college this week! So please say a prayer for him!

So that's the birthday and anniversary roll call for August! I hope it wasn't too confusing for you!

A couple more "outtakes" just so you know how much fun we were having...

some people never do grow up it seems. LOL.

I think I will close this happy family celebration with this card that my sister sent me one year for Christmas:

Proverbs 17:22  NKJV

"22 A merry heart does good, like medicine,

But a broken spirit dries the bones."

Good Night!

55 Years and Counting!

 Some of you "old timers" like me will remember when there was a slogan, "Drive 55 and Stay Alive" or something like that.  I looked it up, and it was back in 1974, when the national speed limit was 55 MPH.  I don't think it lasted long, but anyway, I digress...

I woke up this morning and told my hubby  "we arrived at 55 and stayed alive", (or something like that).  Yes, today is our 55th Wedding anniversary!  If you are a Facebook friend, you are already well aware of that from all the pictures I posted.  Here is a link to a few pictures from the past anniversaries so I don't need to post them again.  

Anyway, this morning I took a look at our dresser in our bedroom and thought to myself, "there's the result of 55 years of marriage":  

I poured myself a cup of tea, using the teacup and saucer from our "good wedding china", Noritake "Thea" pattern...and enjoyed looking at our family...

This picture on the left was taken in 2014, the last family portrait where our whole immediate family was still together: Front: John, Pam, and my MIL "Nanny Steiner", Back: Our grandson Noah, our son Benton, son Scott, and son Matthew, and his wife Nicole.  Matthew would leave us for heaven's gates just three months later after a 4 year battle with cancer.  He was 41.  This picture was on his birthday.  Of course the picture on the right is on our wedding day, cutting the cake...55 years ago today!

A few years later our family was blessed to add a new member, our sweet daughter in law Rose. Here below is our current family, although this was taken on their wedding day in 2017: 

Our daughter in law Nicole, grandson Noah, our son Benton and his wife Rose, yours truly, hubby John, and our son Scott.

And here's an oldie picture of our three sons, taken way back before they all went their separate ways to college, marriage, work... (excuse the reflections in this picture).

We are blessed and thankful for the life God has given us over the past 55 years, even with all of the heartaches and sorrows, trials and tribulations and sometimes downright disappointments...but God kept us together...

Ecclesiastes 4:12 says:

"Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him.

And a threefold cord is not quickly broken."

I have often heard this verse used in regards to marriage.  I looked up the significance of it to help explain it better:  (You can check on this link for more information from Tassel Depot.com)

"What Is the Cord of Three Strands Ceremony?

The Cord of Three Strands ceremony is based on a verse from the book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible, which says, "Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." This verse speaks about the strength of numbers and how the bond between two people can become even stronger with God at the center of their relationship.

The Cord of Three Strands represents God, the groom, and the bride. It symbolizes the joining of one man, one woman, and God in marriage. By keeping the Lord at the center of their relationship, the couple believes that their love will continue to grow and bind them together."

I do believe this to be very true.  Without the Lord in our marriage over these past 55 years, I don't know how we would have withstood all the trials that came our way.  We truly give God the glory for  our "arriving alive at 55".  

So, what else did we do today?  Well, we went out to eat lunch at our favorite restaurant in the next town, "Corky Bells" on the St. John's River.  Here's a few pictures from our day:

We asked our waitress to take our picture:

And then John took mine...yes, the wind was blowing my way too short hair. That is the result of a "bad haircut" about 2 weeks ago.  They say it will grow. But I was not happy because I had finally gotten my hair to a length and style that I liked, and even though I told that to the stylist, and even though she was the one who had cut it that way in the first place, she still basically just cut my hair whatever way she wanted. I don't think I'll be back, but meanwhile I deal with it.  

Here's hubby.  He sure is handsome!

Our view from the table:

More view from the table:

And more view from the table:

After we finished eating I took a little walk down on the dock, even though I wasn't supervised: 

LOL.

And from a distance I wasn't too sure what this funny looking thing was:

I guess this is how a turtle sun bathes!  Look at those hind legs! That was just so funny to me!

Uh Oh, someone's dock collapsed!

It's so peaceful and calm and beautiful...

Hey! Wait a minute! What's this I see swimming along in the water???

It looks like an alligator!!!

It IS an alligator!  (No wonder the turtle was keeping his feet up out of the water! LOL)

Hello there Mr. Gator!

He was just a cruising along...

I really wasn't this close to him, trust me.  I have a good zoom lens on my camera...

Now you know why children have to be supervised on the dock!!  And feeding these guys is a definite NO-NO!

However, I think he was hopeful...

He's really just a "baby"...maybe 4' long...

He kept coming closer and closer... 

Why, Hello Mr. Gator!  So nice to see you there!  I'm glad I'm actually way up on top of the dock where you can't reach me!!

I talked to him for a while, but I think when he realized I wasn't going to feed him...

He basically decided to just go on his way...

And this was the last I saw of him before he dove down under the water and swam away.

Sure made for an interesting anniversary dinner!

Later this evening the "kids" came over and we ordered PIZZA for supper, and then we played that "Deer in the Headlights" Game again.  Meanwhile, The Sand Hill Crane Family came on shore of Still Waters Pond and serenaded us and sang "Happy Anniversary"...at least that is how I interpreted their loud raucous singing!  LOL.

And because they were being so sweet to sing to us on our Anniversary, I did throw out a little bit of bird seed for them. I know, I broke my own rule, but it's our anniversary and they did sing to us...

And with that I will say good night!

The party isn't over yet.

Tomorrow we will be traveling to meet up with our extended family to celebrate all the August birthdays and Anniversaries.  There are a few. So stay tuned for the next episode of family celebrations!

Here's another link to a previous post written for our 50th anniversary

Wedding Memories

Here's the words to an old hymn that perhaps you may know and can sing along with me:

1. Happy the home when God is there,

And love fills every breast;

When one their wish, and one their prayer,

And one their heav’nly rest.

2. Happy the home where Jesus’ name

Is sweet to every ear;

Where children early speak His fame,

And parents hold Him dear.

3. Happy the home where prayer is heard,

And praise is wont to rise;

Where parents love the sacred Word

And all its wisdom prize.

4. Lord, let us in our homes agree

This blessed peace to gain;

Unite our hearts in love to Thee,

And love to all will reign.

Amen.