Guy Night

Our Grands live far away so we don't get to see them as often as we would like but thanks to technology we can still spend time with them.

My husband got a Video game player for his birthday, not coincidently it's the same game player my son and grandson have. We found out which games my son and grandson like to play and we got 2 of their favorite gamers. Now my husband and Grandson (or his Dad) can have a Game Night over the internet. I loved hearing my husband whooping and hollering while he was playing video baseball together (they have mikes, so can actually talk to each other)

Thankful for the opportunities God provides for interaction with family even though they are far

Winter Beauties

Given the current weather conditions we have been experiencing the last week or so, I thought it might be nice to remember what it WAS looking and feeling like around here

We have escaped the snow that a lot of of family is experiencing, but the temperatures have been cold enough to nip these little beauties.

 The first couple of nights the temperatures dipped to below freezing, my husband and I went around the yard and covered plants and shrubs that were starting to bud and flower. We did it for three nights, thinking that this was just a temporary thing. We gave up last night, what will be will be, there is more freezing temperatures in the forecast.

We are keeping our eyes on the Cherry Blossoms in DC, will there be blossoms or not? Still too early to tell says the Parks Service. It been an unusual spring to be sure.

We got spoiled, February was so warm, we thought for sure it was going to be an early spring, winter was over. Obviously that thinking was premature, winter still has a firm grip. Guess I won't pack away those winter clothes just yet, Keep warm y'all.

February Moments

Another month has flown by, I'm convinced time goes by more quickly the older we get. Once again it's time for me to put together my "moments" from the month before.

February is always a crazy busy month for us, mainly because it's our birthday month. We generally celebrate our birthdays together and this month it seemed like the celebrating went on for over a week.  (not complaining)

We took a little excursion to Richmond, believe it or not we had never been, and we couldn't have had a nicer time. We had planned on doing some museum touring, but honestly, the weather was so gorgeous, we didn't want to be inside. We found some outside activities, put the top down on a car we had use of, and went with Plan B. 

Weather here has been crazy, spring is about three weeks early for the plants and trees, Last weekend we had a couple of nights below freezing so we tried to protect by covering some of the more sensitive plants with plastic, not sure how successful we were.  This weekend is promising to be much the same. I guess it's not time to put the winter clothes away just yet. One day 80 degrees the next day 40 degrees, crazy!

February was a good month for us, family made us feel very loved and blessed.Lots of cards and adorable letters written by each grandchild. I loved it and will keep them forever. We been doing a lot of talking these last couple of weeks about the future, birthdays will do that and have had some discussions on the future and what it may or may not be. None of use really know do we? We are not promised tomorrow, how does this effect our livest and choices today

Coincidentally (not) I was reading Psalm 90 the other day, it echoed many of the things my husband and I had been talking about. There are so many verses in this Psalm that are resonating with me right now but I will leave you with the one that is directing my thoughts right now

Teach us to number our  days  that we may gain a heart of wisdom  Psalm 90:12

Without further ado, this was our month

Changing Seasons

It's not spring yet but you wouldn't know it from the way the gardens are looking around here. Several days of 70 degree weather has brought all the daffodils out. I am not complaining at all!

With the warmer temperatures we spent the afternoon walking the Garden's and snapping some photos. There was yellow everywhere you looked, it was a beautiful sight.

Just a s the seasons seem to be changing from winter to spring, our "life" season continues to change. I've been   debating on whether or not to continue with my blog, I wondered whether the time for it ended?  I have not been able to devote as much time to it as once did, but there are still things I want to remember, and photos that I don't want buried on my phone.

I asked for some feedback and the response was a surprising, yes, please continue, so I am.
The blog may look different going forward, there may just be a memory of the day, or a photo, or a scripture. It will still be a reflection on what is happening in our lives, how the Lord is working, but sometimes it may just be something I saw and want to remember. Something beautiful or ordinary that makes up the stuff of life.

The photo below is a clue as to what has been taking up all my time. Our room over the garage has gone from being a playroom for my grandchildren to an office/storeroom, I never saw this one coming!

January Moments

Well January is over, doesn't it seem to have flown by? I continue to be behind on my blogging but if nothing else I will try to continue to post photos as I am able.

One of my goals for this year was to participate in a 365 photo challenge, I didn't even make it a week. There are different seasons for different activities and this doesn't seem to be the right time for me to do this so I've abandoned this project for now. I am however going to try to take more photos with my regular camera and rely less on my phone camera. Taking photos is easier with the phone, I don't have to lug the big camera around, but I just don't think the photos are as good of quality, so thats something I will continue to work on.

January was the month I saw my oncologist, all continues well, Very thankful to the Lord for his continue grace on or life, and my continued good health. We had some snow that closed the city down for about three days and we had several days that saw temperatures in the 60s and 70s. My poor plants don't know what to think. We started on a business venture, the pocket watch is our logo. That is another blog post all in itself and we made a trip to Williamsburg for the day just to get away.

Our grandsons also sent us a "traveling" journal that we had fun taking around town for a day, we took it to Cape Henry Lighthouse and First Landing

January was a time for my husband and I to reconnect a bit after the busy holiday and to explore some new interests. One is going to the driving range on the Fridays he has off, the other is going to estate sales. It was a busy month but in a good way. Here is a sample of what our January looked like. What was yours like?

Thankful Thursday

It seems like forever since I have done a Thankful Thursday and since I was inspired last night by a friend to focus more on being grateful, I thought it was time to do one again.

I have struggled the last several weeks for a variety of reasons and have found myself focusing more on what is not than what is, and the many things I have to be grateful for. I want to see the blessings each day and to praise God for them.

So this week I am thankful for

1. The ladies in our small group. our group hasn't meet in several weeks because of the holidays then the weather. I was encouraged last night by these women as they pointed to various scriptures and truths. We need fellow believers in our lives to help point us to God's truths. I am thankful for these ladies.

2. For the visit we had with our youngest son during the holidays. We were able to see a movie together and play some Top Golf, plus I had a chauffeur whenever we had to go anywhere during the day

3 Safe travels for my son. He left for his home right before the storm

4.The gifts we got from our children for Christmas. One gave us a gift card for Airbnb because as my daughter in law stated "We know how much you like staying in other peoples houses" I think she was trying to be humorous but we are going to use it and I love how they got us something that was personal for us. My other son took some of the old movies from my in laws and made it into a DVD. My husband was surprised and very touched, we enjoyed watching my husband as a boy and his sister chasing chickens. I am thankful for my sons and my daughter in love.

5. Health and strength to do what we need to do each day. I don't think about it much until someone I know is struggling with an illness or we are having problems, but it is something I want to be more thankful for.

6.Sweet Lady's continued health and how happy she is where she lives. She loves to sit in the Lobby/Living Room area and when anyone comes in for a tour she will be one of the first ones to ask if they are looking to live there and if they say yes she will "talk up" the place. Hearing that makes our heart happy.

So that's some of what I am thankful for today and I hope have a change of focus as time goes on. How about you, what can you be thankful for?

Oh, did I mention the snow is all gone, it was close to 70 today...I can be thankful for that!

Snow Bound

We don't have snow often but when we do it shuts the city down. The weather people had been hinting at snow all week, but we tend to take all predictions of snow with a grain of salt, most of the time the warnings of impending frozen white precipitation never materialize, this however; wasn't the case last Saturday. Friday night it sleeted for about two hours, before it started snowing and then snowed all day Saturday. The temperatures then dropped and have stayed below freezing since. We have a few snow plows in the city but not enough to plow all the roads, mostly the snow melts on the streets when the weather warms up, so it could take days to clear things up. We are a Beach Town, not a Ski Resort, so we don't do snow well. (and we had a lot of snow)

Schools have been off, church was cancelled, our BSF was cancelled and many businesses were closed yesterday (husband did not have to go into work) Things are beginning to look up today, the temps will be above freezing, lots of places will be open at noon but conditions are still bad and if you don't HAVE to go out you need to stay home. (husband did go to work today, but late)

The "forced" home confinement has been good, I've tackled tasks that needed to be done around the house. I am still in the downsizing mind set, which means I need to clean out closets and drawers. We have been debating for about eighteen months on whether to move from our home or remodel to suit our needs as we age. We are leaning very heavily on the move option at this time, which means cleaning things out. Something that needs to be done regardless.

I'm getting a little "Cabin Fever" at this point, today will be day four at home. You don't realize how much running around you do until you can't. I am out doing things that need to be done several times a week.

The truth is, I need these "breaks", I think we all do. We are all so busy, with lists of things to do and places to be. God's plan can get lost in midst of all of it, at least in my life.

I am tending to household tasks during this time but I am also using this time physically and spiritually recharge. Trying to look at this time as a gift, sovereignly orchestrated by the Lord for me.