Wonderful Celebration of Life

Dear Blogging Friends:
It appears that I am becoming a "once a week" blogger these days. Seems like we have been staying so busy (in our retired life) that I just don't have the time I used to have to read and write.  Maybe that's a good thing, but then again, I miss my time with you! I do try to get around and read what you've been writing a little at a time, but it seems like I just can't keep up...so please know that I value each and every one of you and look forward to hearing about your events and projects as well...so please don't give up on me!

This past weekend we had the joy and pleasure of traveling north to North Carolina for a family reunion.  This is the second year in a row that we have made this trip to where my brother Clifford and his family lives within a mile or so of each other...and we have had such a great time that it may become an annual event...as long as us "old folks" can keep going!  It was fun to see the younger generation enjoying being together, so we hope they will keep it going even when we are no longer "available".

Here are some highlights from our trip and gathering:

The whole gang gathered together around the firepit (before the fire was lit...that came later...), and here was where we shared a lot of special memories...

A special part of our gathering was to have a "celebration of life" for my older brother Russell, who passed away this past April after battling leukemia for several months. This casual family setting is exactly what Russell wanted us to do. He knew this reunion was planned before he passed away, and he suggested that this would be the time for his memorial rather than some other time. And so we honored his wishes and gathered together to enjoy being family, doing the things that our family loves to do together:  (Warning: Lots of photos to check out!)

Making homemade ice-cream

Some people really get their whole body into the action...

 Everyone has to take a "turn", literally, if you want to eat some of the ice-cream!

We also celebrated my brother Clifford's 75th birthday,

along with a viewing of the old family slide show...a family tradition from way back when...

Where it all began... The Mursch Family circa 1953 (I'm the redhead in front) We were all dressed up in our Easter finery, having dinner with family after church

A Horseshoe Competition:

 Again, this is serious business and strong tradition:

And then a newer addition to the traditional competition is Corn Hole...

Something for all ages...ping-pong competition:

Also hammock "hiding"..

Hello!

Lots of visiting, preparing food, eating the food...

And of course, eating the ice-cream...

Firepit time and s'mores...

And time to let the fire burn down and say good night...

Yes, it was a celebration that my brother would have loved, and we truly missed his presence...but we felt his presence there with us in a way...in the way his children/grandchildren laughed and played...his wife relaxed and enjoyed the time with the extended family...everyone knew it was exactly right. 

Here's a few pictures of my brother enjoying life with us in the past:  Playing corn-hole (with my hubby); (2012)

Cooking the Christmas turkey in his smoker (2012)

And the beautiful boat he was building the last couple of years of his life...it was almost completed, but now Russell is sailing away in the glassy seas of heaven. 

Yes, it was a wonderful celebration of life. I found myself rather tongue-tied when it came time to share special memories, and I only told one silly story from childhood.  But in reality, I truly appreciated the man my brother became. He was a person who truly enjoyed life and accomplished many wonderful things. He was a man of integrity and what I'd call a man with "true grit".  He is truly missed by all who knew and loved him.  I look forward to seeing him again someday on heaven's shores.

I guess that is all for tonight. We've had some other special things happen this week, but I think I will save that for another post...maybe I'll actually write more than once this week!! Thank you for hanging in there with me in this very family photo'd post.   As you can see, it was a special time, and we are so thankful to have such a loving family. We don't always agree on everything...does any family? But when we come together, we know how to laugh, love and live like families should. I give all the credit to our godly parents, who set a very strong example of Christ-likeness in how they taught us and raised us.  They would be proud to see that we honor them in this way as well.

Good-night...and go hug your family while you can...

The Week in Review and Into the Future!

Hello Friends!! I hope your week has gone well since we last visited. Ours has been busy and interesting to say the least, but I won't go into ALL the details...just hit some of the more pleasant highlights.  Number one, I am very thankful to finally be feeling MUCH better and getting back to wanting to do things again. It seems as though the last few weeks have been a blur of illness, hubby also having some physical issues, and both of us just praying that we will regain our strength and be able to get moving in a more positive direction in our new home and life.   Praise God we seem to be on the upswing, and looking forward to better days ahead.

That being said, I wanted to show you a few things that have been going on.  

I acquired this lovely little wicker table from my son, who found it somewhere, and he and his wife were going to just try to sell it in their business or re-purpose it somehow...but I had a plan that kept bouncing around in my head and made them an offer they couldn't refuse...so now it is mine.  

This is in our kitchen, in an area that seems to be a kind of wasted space.

(This was my first option, between two regular dining chairs)

It is kind of a long narrow area on the other side of the sink/island, with not enough space for a big table or any real wall space because of the windows for any other kinds of furniture...so I've just kind of lined  up some extra chairs there and wanted some kind of little table to break it up a bit...

My first option was here at this end, and please note the needlepoint sign on the wall, created by my paternal grandmother many years ago, which says:

"Come into my kitchen and chat with me while I prepare a pot of tea."

And then at the other end of the area there is this favorite old painting of two sweet little old ladies, sitting in their chairs and visiting. There used to be an engraved title under the picture, which is worn off now with age, but it said "The Gossips"... one of my most favorite pictures which came from my maternal grandmother's home.

 I've always loved having a rocking chair in my kitchen, so that anyone who comes to visit has a comfortable place to sit and visit with me while I am preparing our tea or supper or whatever...and actually I find myself sitting there frequently while something is cooking on the stove that I don't want to venture too far away from...so it is a good spot to sit and read or drink  a cup of tea while I wait for the "pot to boil", so to speak...therefore I moved the little wicker table down beside the rocker, so that there is actually a place to put a pot of tea and a tea cup for my guest or even myself...and even though it may feel a little crowded in that space...it is a comfortable place that hopefully will be welcoming to whomever wishes to visit a while...

 I will leave it there for now and see how that works out. But don't you agree? It really needed to come home with me.  Yes, I know I'm supposed to be downsizing...but sometimes we have to compromise with our ideas...And this was all in the spirit of being more hospitable and practicing hospitality...

Speaking of words that are similar to hospital...hubby actually made a couple of visits to our community hospital this past week...well maybe more than a couple now that I think about it. Once for some x-rays because of some severe back pain (which has now subsided, praise the Lord, but may need some further investigation and treatment in the future), and then one evening via ambulance because of what felt like a heart attack...which turned out to be nothing wrong with his heart, praise God, but apparently some kind of spasm of the esophagus that very much felt like a heart attack...and caused his BP to escalate severely.  Folks, any kind of pain in the chest is worth checking out.  I'd rather have a false alarm but be in a safe place than to ignore the pain and find out it really was something bad and it be too late to get help.  And then the third visit was to have a scheduled colonoscopy:  Which turned out fine...here he is in pre-op waiting his turn.

 One thing we have both agreed upon this past week: we are thankful that our new home is within about 11 miles from our community hospital, and it is a very easy straight ride to get there.  We hope that we don't have to visit there quite as often as this past week, but we are thankful that when we needed it, it was easy and convenient to get to.   Our previous home was at least 25 miles from the nearest hospital. 

Switching gears a bit...this morning I was rejoicing in this beautiful new day, and then even happier when hubby was able to come out on the deck and enjoy the morning with me.  We are truly blessed and very thankful that the Lord has given us this time together. This is nothing to take for granted.

Switching gears once again, we had to drive into Palatka today (our county seat), and we parked near this old Coca Cola bottling building.  I know there are many such old Coca Cola bottling buildings in many cities throughout the south. This one is no longer used by Coca Cola...but the engraved signs still remain on the iconic brick building:

 The sign in the window above says Azalea City Brewing co., and I noticed some big vats in there, so maybe a brewing company is taking it over...not sure, but I just thought it was interesting.

We went into town to pick up a lease vehicle, because we are getting ready to go on a little trip this weekend for a family reunion.  We have discovered that we are better off to lease a vehicle when we have any long-distance driving to do than to risk our thirteen year old vehicle breaking down on the road somewhere.  We were pretty amazed at this fancy hi-tech vehicle...doesn't even use a real key...I know many of you have these already...but for us it was like something out of the future...it has so many fancy buttons and screens and things that I hope we can manage to drive it without flying into outer space...

So, now I need to concentrate on packing and getting ready to leave early in the morning.  Thankfully our kids are traveling with us so we have a spare driver if we need it.  These young "whippersnappers" understand these new-fangled modern vehicles better than us old folks from out in the sticks. LOL.

With these thoughts in mind I will leave you to contemplate and consider your blessings, as I have been doing mine. This week could have turned out very differently than we'd like, and I want to go on record giving thanks to the Lord for His gracious mercy and grace toward us, His children. None of us is guaranteed tomorrow, therefore we must be prepared for the future and eternity at any time.

Here is a verse that gives encouragement and hope:

"For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, 

plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."

Jeremiah 29:11 

Thank You, Lord, for Your great love and promises.

Amen!

Just Catching Up-Happy October!!

It's October!  Have you noticed any changes in your "neck of the woods"?  I am noticing subtle changes in the position of the sun as it rises and sets each day...I loved how the setting sun was glistening like gold on the pine needles beside the pond last evening...

It just really caught my eye...

And so did this tiny little green gecko (chamelion) as he worked his way around my patio table...

He wasn't too sure which way to go...

And he was very curious about me sitting there watching him. Eventually he climbed up the umbrella pole, and I lost sight of him...and I also got up and moved because I didn't want him to drop down on top of me from the umbrella...

So I came inside and decided to get into the October spirit by lighting a candle on the table...

I love these battery operated candles, don't you?  You don't have to worry about them burning your house down when you forget to blow them out...

Which is what could happen with this jolly jack o' lantern if I go off and forget him...so we'll just watch him for a minute...

While I tell you how decorator savvy I've become in my "old age"...  Remember when I showed you pictures of my kitchen HERE a few weeks ago?  Here's another picture taken today of this wall of hanging plates....Well...I did this several weeks ago, right?

And then THIS came in the mail this past week:  The November edition of "Country Living" magazine:

And I was astounded to see that even the sophisticated decorators from Country Living thought it was a great idea to hang blue and white plates on a wall! Of course, they suggested putting them in the shape of a wreath...which is fine if you have that much space to fill up and want to put that many holes in your wall, but the point is, I thought of this idea all on my own before I ever saw this magazine cover...and when it arrived I felt quite clever to have already done something very similar to what they were suggesting!!  I don't consider myself to be a very savvy decorator very often...I just use whatever I have to make do, and if I like it, and my family doesn't complain, then it works for me!  But it's kind of neat to see that my idea was magazine cover worthy!  (I just noticed something else on that cover..."Embrace that old brown furniture (it's baaack!)"  Well, that's a good thing, because that is pretty much what I have...old brown furniture!!! Especially the "old" part... Ha Ha!

Speaking of "old"....I did have another celebration last Friday with some friends and family to celebrate my birthday:   I know you are thinking, "why would she share such an unflattering picture of herself on her blog?"  Well, because it's a tradition...in our family you have to have a picture of you blowing out your candles on your birthday cake, (in this case, pie), and I was happy to be able to do it. I mean, when you get this old, you are quite fortunate if you can blow out your candles...even if there are only two candles to blow out! So there...I'm telling on myself how old I am too...so you know next year will definitely be an even bigger blowout! LOL.

Okay, so much for all that "old" stuff.  I haven't been around much lately because after my big birthday week last week I came down with laryngitis, which developed into a bad cold/virus something that knocked me for a loop for this past week...and I am just today really even beginning to feel  like doing something "fun" again.  Not sure just what that will be, but I'll think  of something.

Meanwhile, it's good to even feel good enough to sit here and write to you again, dear friends. I've missed you. You are a breath of fresh air and sunshine to me, and I am sorry for not being more attentive lately. These past few months have really been difficult for me since we moved...being this "old" really does take a toll on you when you undertake something as big as this move has proven to be...and I believe my resistance/immune system has gotten a little down...so hopefully over the next few weeks and months the cooler fall weather will help me get back into some healthier activities and more refreshing exercise...like walking again. We really haven't taken many walks since our move, and it has affected both my husband and I...so hopefully we will get back in the walking groove here real soon. We did discover a State Forest nearby with walking trails, and so I am eager to check it out as soon as we get a real fall day. (cooler, that is)

We were reading in our morning devotions this morning from the book of Nehemiah 8:1-12.  The Title for this chapter in my Bible says "The Great Revival Under Ezra, The Law read and explained."

The people of Israel had been in captivity for many years and the city of Jerusalem had been pretty well destroyed, especially the walls of the city.  Nehemiah had been sent (by his request) by the King of Persia, to rebuild the walls.  The people had not heard the  "Book of the Law of Moses" read to them in many years, and they really didn't know what it said.  So Ezra the priest brought the book of the Law to the assembly and read it in the open square to all the men and women who could hear it with understanding. (verse 2-9)  And when the people heard all the words  from the Law of God, the people began to weep and mourn...for they knew they had not been keeping the law as they should.  But in verse 9, Ezra told them not to mourn or weep, because this day"is holy to the Lord your God."  And in verse 10 he told them,

"Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."

I want to close with that thought today.  Do not sorrow, for the JOY of the Lord is your strength.  When we are feeling sad or grieving for the loss of someone dear to us, or even the loss of something that was important to us...a home, a job, our health,  or a special treasure...we are reminded not to sorrow...but to remember that knowing the Lord and having His presence in our lives gives us strength and JOY.  These people, when faced with the truths of God's Word, grieved because of their sin, but they also, when Ezra blessed the Lord, the Great God, the people answered, "Amen, Amen!" (see verse 6)  and "lifted up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground."

Let us embrace this beautiful new season of autumn with JOY, knowing that we can march forward with the JOY of the Lord as our strength.  Whatever we may be facing in the future, God is already there...and He will give us the strength to do whatever we need to do...and He will also help us to have JOY in the midst of it all.  

Happy Fall, Y'all!!