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

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?

August Moments

Can you believe that it's September already, summer has flown by for us and it's time again to put together a monthly memories post.

August was a kind of settling month for us, after our youngest son left in the middle of the month, we started to find our routine again. The house was quiet, it was just my husband and I.

My oldest son and wife continue to send photos of our grandchildren on their family outings,we love getting updates from them. Have you guessed that their favorite Baseball Team are the Orioles. Shortly after they got back home from visiting us,they went to another baseball game closer to their home. I heard they had a lot of fun. My son went with his two oldest children, all three ended up getting all ball, which excited my granddaughter most of all.

My husband and I took a little get away in August to the mountains of North Carolina and once back home we tried to enjoy the many little free outdoor events available in our city.

This past August marks the two year mark since our oldest son and his family moved across the country. The children have grown up so fast, they are now all in school full time. I still ask the Lord why they have to be so far away but I am much more at peace with it. There are times when I wonder what's next, but because we have been so busy, those moments don't last long.What I know to be true is that the Lord is faithful in all things, he has been in the past and he will be in our future.

Our life will continue to change, there will be disappointments, grief, joy, successes and failure( a fact I'm really aware of the older we get) but I'm trusting God (who never changes) to see us through and direct our paths along the way. Aren't you thankful we don't have to do this on our own strength.

July Moments

 I didn't do much posting in July because our days were busy. Our house was full of some of my favorite people. Here's a little preview of our July memories.

There was an unexpected visit from my siblings and an unexpected opportunity to watch my youngest son perform. There was lots of beach time with all of our visitors, trips to ballgames and lots of good food, including some Blue Crabs, a treat from my oldest son and my daughter in law.

Our CSA was going strong, with tomatoes, corn, squash, melons, berries and most recently eggplant. I'd love to hear your ideas on cooking with eggplant, so far we have mastered Baba Gnoush.

My flower garden has about peaked and we are now getting ready for the August heat. Lantana and Black Eyed Susan's are blooming now, with the last of the Day Lilly's done.

We did a lot of running around while family was here and the time went by way too fast. I loved every minute of it though and will treasure the memories made. How about you,

what was your July like?

June Memories

Our days have been so busy, that it's been hard to get back to my blog but I wanted to post my June memories, so here it is, better late than never, this is a glimpse of what our June was like.

 Our 41 Anniversary was this past June and we decided to take a long weekend to Charleston. It's a charming place to visit and there was  a music and arts festival going on called Spoleto while we were there Lots of music events going on in town as well as some art shows. It was an added little benefit we hadn't planned on.

Our garden really came alive in June. We have had quite a wet spring and it has really made our garden flourish this year, plus I didn't have to water as much. That's always a plus.

Our youngest son paid us a visit for a couple of weeks before he had to head off to his summer job. He helped do some organizing of the Mountain House items and joined in some cooking, including making a delicious carrot cake that we devoured in no  time. Thats one way to get our veggies. 

Of course I had to include some photos of my grands. They attended a Daughter Daddy dinner, and sent us some pictures of the girls all dressed up, they are getting too big, too fast.

It was a busy month and July is following suite. How does the time go by so quickly?? I'm afraid summer will be over before I know it. What kind of things have you been up to?

March Moments

It's been awhile since I have put together photos that told the story of the events of the previous month, but I've always enjoyed looking back on them, so I thought I would give it another try.

When March shows up, I feel like we've made it through the worst of the winter. The trees begin to bud and the bulbs that had been planted, sometime years before, begin to pop up out of the ground and bloom. I get excited when I see my first Daffodil, I know it's only a  matter of time before they will be joined by Tulips and Magnolias and Bradford Pears. It's official Spring is here.

Easter was early and rainy and cold for us and of course holidays make us miss our "Fab Four" even more. They had a family weekend at the Mall of America and sent us photos to enjoy. It's not as good as being up close and personal but it brought smiles to our faces as we watched them having fun.They are getting so big!

We got to join up with our youngest son this month and my husband took us all out to see the farm where he and Sweet Lady grew up. We brought boxes and boxes of letters and photos to sort through and it's been fun sharing photos and memories with with Sweet Lady. Her short term memory may not be good but she can name every person in those photos, it's been pretty amazing to be a part of it all.


So here's a little sampling in photos of what our month looked like. Did you all make any special memories last month?

The three of us down on the farm. My guys managed to dig up a clump of daffodils (with an old piece of metal found on the property) to take home to plant in my garden, thats love!                            

December Moments

Since I was negligent on posting my November Moments there are a few November photos included in my December Moments. The last couple of months have been a blur for us. Having Sweet Lady in Rehab has knocked me off my routine a bit and taking photos, let alone putting them together for a post was real low on the list of things to do.

December gave us lots of opportunities to celebrate the season with friends and family. We made a trip to visit my extended family and my youngest son came home for Christmas. There was also plenty of face time that was done with the "Prairie Family"

Sweet Lady continued in Rehab with physical therapy six times a week

I made several trips to FedEx to ship packages to loved ones far away. They may not know me by my first name yet but I am recognized when I come in and they know all about my far away family.

We walked the Million Bulb Walk at the Garden's again this year, it really is a pretty site and I love the lights that are set to music.

Our December was the warmest in decades, I still have flowers blooming in my yard. Folks were Christmas Shopping in shorts and sandals....for the record I pulled my flip flops out.

With my youngest home for a bit we were able to spend some time playing games and the guys enjoyed flying their new quad copters all over the place. (it's a bit unnerving when they fly them right above your head but my son and husband seemed to get a lot of pleasure from doing just that)

December was a busy month to be sure and even though I've enjoyed it, I'm ready for routine again...can you relate?

Here are some glimpses of our December Moments.

October Moments

October was quite the month for us. We were kept busy by things planned and unplanned. The two big events that were planned were a trip to see our Grands and surgery for Sweet Lady. Add a trip to the mountains to pick apples and another unplanned surgery for Sweet Lady and you have one hectic month.

Sweet Lady is out of the hospital and recovering but she is not able to go back to her home yet. It has been difficult for her and us but I have seen God's hand in so many aspects of this journey. She ended up staying in the hospital a bit longer than expected, physically she was ready to go sooner, but there was paperwork that needed done that kept her longer. The bonus in that little delay was, that it gave her more time to heal in the hospital setting and us peace of mind in making the decision on whether or not to travel to see our Grands.

I don't know what the days ahead hold concerning her care and recovery but, I will trust that God has got this, he was not surprised by this event. I heard an analogy in a sermon the other days that perfectly describes me. I wish I could remember who exactly said this but he was talking about how we all want a floodlight to see what's ahead of us, but most of the time God's gives us a lantern. Can you identify? He has given me grace for each day and the challenges that have been a part of that day. I trust he will continue to do that.

That was the hard part of our month but there was so much good. We were able to go to Charlottesville to pick apples, spend a couple afternoons in Williamsburg and make that long awaited trip to the Great Plains to see the Grands....The feet in above photo belong to my teenage Grand. There will be more photos of that visit in another post.

Well I've gone on long enough, here are some photos of our October Moments.

September Moments

September was a month of preparation, and a month of settling in.

Our youngest moved even further north to go back to school in September, instead of four hours away, he's now about eight. There is a bonus though,  this school's  performances are able to be viewed online. We have already been able to watch the orchestra perform last Friday, which was pretty cool.

I'll have to admit, it was hard when we first heard our youngest was moving further away, but God has given much grace and life has gone on, just as it did when my oldest moved with his family. You adjust, adapt and find things to be thankful for. A comforting thought for me is knowing that the God is sovereign over all the details of our lives....even family moving far away.

We spent a good part of the month with appointments getting Sweet Lady ready for surgery in October. Praying for wisdom for every decision and good results from the surgery.

This past weekend had been designated for cleaning up summer items and storing them away for the winter, but the rain put a little wrinkle in those plans. We woke up to rain on the day we had planned to cleanup and it continued through the weekend. There was so much rain and wind that the annual end of summer beach festival was canceled, with the exception of the Sand Sculpture Event. (that was held under a well secured tent) We've been trying to put things away bit by bit since, as we get a dry evening, but I think it's going to be another week or more before the weather gets dry enough to continue the job.

The last of the summer vegetables are done and we started getting fall vegetables like winter squash, apples and greens in our CSA basket. The season is over the week before Thanksgiving but we decided to sign up for the Winter CSA and next Summer's CSA this month. We talked briefly about whether we wanted to continue because it can be a lot of work, (you do have to cook) but we did the math and it still made sense, plus we love the fresh produce. It forces me to be a little adventurous with meals too, I'm cooking with vegetables that I didn't used to eat. September means apples are in the basket, so I made Apple Scones and Apple Pie, the first of the season.

We did Face Time with our grandchildren and gobbled up any photos we could get. I still put together "Happy Boxes" for them every month, it helps me feel connected. Thankful that we have the technology that helps make long distances bearable. There is also a trip planned to see our faraway family, so I'll be hugging and kissing those sweet faces soon!

That was our month, it was a mixture of ordinary days, harder days and a couple of amazing days as we saw the Lord work in our lives and the lives of those that we knew.  One day there will be an end to all those harder days, that's the hope we live with. What was your September like?

August Moments

Life has been busy around these parts, so blogging had to be put on the back burner while we attended to the stuff of life.

We started the month on the road, visiting family after both father and MIL were hospitalized. It was a whirlwind trip, three states in four days, nice to be able to connect with family but not under the most ideal circumstances in which to do so.

I wish I could say things were back to as they were before, but that's not quite the case, but both are home now, which is good, and we are taking one day at a time.

The Lord has reminded me often these last few weeks, that he directs our steps, that we are in this circumstance by his providence. That he is always doing a work and that I need to look at each circumstance that I encounter through eternal eyes and respond accordingly. It has been and continues to be a process.

We were also able to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary this past month. Our anniversary was officially in June but the Grands were here and they will always trump any kind of travel plans.
We spent a week in Asheville (where most of photos below were taken) and enjoyed exploring the Gardens, The Blue Ridge Parkway and Biltmore House not to mention the outstanding restaurants that are located in Asheville (lots of farm to table type of fare)

To make the trip a little interesting we stayed in an Airbnb. With an Airbnb people list spaces in their home for others to rent out by the day. Kind of like a Bed and Breakfast but much less formal. Every listing is different, and offers different amenities. We stayed with three other guests(we each had our own rooms) in this lovely old Victorian Home with a very interesting host. This is not for everyone, your going to be sharing some of the common spaces,  but we are pretty laid back and social so it worked beautifully for us. We enjoyed it so much we are going to try another Airbnb space when we go pick apples this fall....did I mention it's pretty economical too.

So that's our month in a nutshell, lots of changes and some celebrating. My husband and I have felt that we have entered a new season in our lives, it will be interesting to see what's ahead. One thing that has not changed though is our faithful God, he is the same today as he was yesterday and will be tomorrow. That is a comfort in all the unknowns of our lives, don't you agree?