Virtual Garden Tour

The azaleas are blooming at Botanical Gardens, now I know the drive may be a bit far for you all but I wanted you to see how beautiful they are, so I thought I would take you on a little virtual walk with me...they really are lovely.

Our spring has been delightfully "spring like" with temps in the 60's during the day...kind of unusual for southern Virginia. The milder temperatures have prolonged the blooms on our trees and shrubs.

The Garden has an annual plant sale every Mother's Day weekend, it's been a great way to try native plants. I have managed to keep a butterfly bush alive as well as a rose of sharon that I have purchased through one of those sales

Our Ladies Group makes an annual trip to the Garden's when the Rose Garden is in bloom, that should       be in another couple of weeks. There were just a couple of roses blooming this weekend

Hope you have enjoyed the walk and hope you are enjoying spring where ever you may be. Does your city or town have a garden that you can visit?

Spring always makes me think of new beginnings

Secret Sister

Secret Sister is a little activity our ladies group has done the last two years. Many of you may be familiar with this or have done a version of it at Christmas time (Secret Santa)

This is how Secret Sister works in our group. Each lady was given an index card, we were then asked to list specific prayer requests and small items we might enjoy as gifts. All cards were then put into a pot, we then drew a card from the pot which had the name of our Secret Sister. We decided to do it for  two months...you can make the duration for as long as you want

The most important part of the activity was to specifically pray for your Secret Sister during the two month period... and to encourage with cards, notes and scripture.

Gifts were simple and inexpensive...some ideas are chocolate (of course), index cards with scripture written on them, recipes, pens, note paper, seed packages, speciality tea bags, book marks, plain or colored index cards (for them to write scripture on), magnets, a dozen home baked cookies or maybe some fresh sliced strawberries. Your only limitation is your imagination.

Cards and notes were always mailed anonymously. When it came to gifts, I had to get creative. I often brought mine to church and gave it to someone who knew my Secret Sister to give to her, (their husbands will work, just make sure they know not to tell who the gift came from) I have left gifts in her child's Sunday school class, and left gifts on her porch when I knew she would not be home. Remember the gifts are only a small part of this activity, the most important is the prayer and encouragement we give.

We need to encourage each other, we need to help remind each other of what God's truth is, we need to look outward instead of constantly focusing inward...okay that last part was for me. Hope you think this is a worthwhile activity....I find out who my Secret Sister is tonight.

A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed Proverbs 11:25
                                         
                                              Linking with Pamela at Sheltering Tree

Tea Party Birthday

Little Miss celebrated her fourth birthday recently with a Princess Tea Party.  Her mom and dad  decorated their house with balloons, ribbons and what seemed like five pounds of confetti. Got to love a mom that doesn't worry about the mess of confetti (and it was a mess, but what fun) We all helped with the clean up after the party but I think they will be finding confetti for months....I even found some in MY bathroom the next day??? Stowaways! The dishes used for the Tea Party were thrift store pieces that had been collected through the years...nothing matches but that's part of the fun. I got the privilege of  helping transform Little Miss into a princess before the party. (big thanks to DIL for letting me do that...too much fun)

This is Little Miss at my grandson T-Ball game. She loves "wishing flowers" (dandelions) and picks them whenever she sees them...a typical little girl. 

What To do When The Dog "Eats" Your "Homework"

Well it wasn't my homework and the dog didn't exactly eat it but let me start from the beginning.

We have a pretty old dog, he will be sixteen in July. His bladder control isn't what it used to be. This is not a problem during the day, he goes to the door (frequently) and I let him out. Night time is different....eight hours is much too long for his bladder, so we provide pads and keep him confined in the downstairs bathroom. Getting dog ready for the night is a job husband and I share

Last Thursday when I came down to start the coffee, the dog greeted me at the foot of the stairs...this was not a good sign...we forgot to shut the bathroom door. I did a quick glance, no sign of an accident, so I continued with my morning routine.... dodged that bullet or so I thought

Once husband was out the door I decided to take a minute to read my bible before I had to head out the door myself... that's when I saw it...my bible... sitting in a puddle right next to my chair (and yes it was me who left my bible on the floor)

I had a flurry of emotions (none good) as I quickly tried to clean the mess, but I also had an eight thirty appointment so would have to continue my emotional meltdown at a later time. I needed to talk to my husband, but when I called him it went to voicemail, so I called my eldest son (I seriously needed to TALK to someone) He was sympathetic and called his wife, who in turn called me back and PRAYED with me...I was able to get through the morning. PRAYER...why hadn't I thought of that? Thankful for my DIL who knew what I REALLY needed (and who took time out of her morning to call...school was just about to begin)

When I got back home I had time to assess the damages, wasn't looking good, several pages were wet and it had seeped into the bottom of many other pages but not all the way through the entire book. This is the bible I have carried for the last twelve years, it is heavily marked, scripture dated, and margins written in. I can look at certain scriptures that are marked and remember exactly what was happening in our lives and how God meet us. A lot of life has been lived in the past twelve years and that bible is a road map of where we have been. I had my emotional meltdown that afternoon over that ruined bible

I was finally able to reach my husband, he promised to try to clean it with some vinegar (He did just that, page by page) He wouldn't be able to fix it but he could make it better. The bible now sits on a counter a bit smelly and wrinkly waiting for me to decide what to do with it. Don't think I can use it, (it does have a unique smell to it) but have also been having a hard time putting up on the shelf.

You know the truth is I had been thinking about getting a new bible for quite some time, I just hadn't been able to bring my self to do it....ridiculous! Still trying to figure that one out!  A text my youngest son sent me was helpful...when texting about how I had twelve years of my life marked in that bible...his response was

        "could be worse though, at least you've got the rest of your life to mark better stuff"

I will miss my bible, but God will continue to speak to me through his word, and like manna it needs to be collected fresh every morning. All those markings and underlined scripture are a wonderful testimony to what God has done in the past and his faithfulness but maybe, just maybe it's time to start looking for a new bible, and look at things from a FRESH perspective

Spring Has Sprung

We went to the Botanical gardens last weekend and guess what?...Spring is here!...Well actually it was here for about two days.... then guess what?...... Summer's here!

Our temperatures for the last couple of days have felt more like July than April... Folks are pulling their slip and slides and their kiddie pools out...no kidding.. but not to fear, judging from the weather map, our temperatures will be dropping like a rock by the end of the week....but I have enjoyed the warmth.

The Cherry Trees were blooming at the Gardens...note to self...you didn't have to go any further than 20 minutes down the road to see them. I will have to say seeing those blooms made me think of the kindness of God, I got to see Cherry Blossoms after all this year..plus the Bradford Pears were at their peak last weekend...they were beautiful

and the daffodils were still in bloom

and there were potted plants full of flowers everywhere

A stroll through the gardens is one of our favorite activities

I know some of you are still shivering in cold and snowy conditions....hoping you too will soon see signs of spring 

Note to Daughter In Law

Dearest Daughter In Law,
Thanks for letting the girls come over to my house the other day, we had the best time. They're favorite activity was playing with the Swifer's.  I can't remember when my floors upstairs have been so clean, they even did under the bed!! (It was a pretty scary sight under there... the dust bunnies had been multiplying)
Pretty smart having two Swifer's don't you think? 
Maybe when they come back next week we could "play" downstairs...I'll have the Swifer's ready.
Love,
Mom

Assurance

Need A Change Of Attitude

I thought today might be a good day to stop and count my blessings. I need an attitude adjustment, I know I have been more aware of what is wrong in my life than what I have to be thankful for.

give thanks in all circumstances for this is Gods will for you in Christ Jesus   1Thessalonians 5:18 

For these things I am thankful

The nice hot shower this morning that soothed this not so young body

For my husband....my biggest supporter and encourager

For the delay of anticipated furlough of husband's job

For sleeping babies with dirty faces (I should have wiped the peanut butter off before she fell asleep)

For daffodils in the garden, enough to bring inside and brighten my table

For a physician that was so kind to Sweet Lady. Even though she was busy, she took time to listen to her stories of days long ago

For technology that helps keep me connected to family and friends, we were getting ready to do face time in above photo

For Missy Miss who has grown so much this winter. She is such a help with the children when they come to visit and is a willing student of about anything I want to teach her

For faithful friends that will call or text just because they were thinking of me...I need to do better at that  myself. 

For the smell of hyacinths, one of my favorites

For being able to have a couple of days away, and to be able to have time to see family and friends

For God's care in my life, for his mercies which his word says are never ending and are new each morning, it is hard for me to comprehend this but I am thankful for it.

I am thankful that HIS strength is made perfect in my weakness

As I have been writing this list I have become acutely aware of ALL I have to be thankful for. Thank you Lord for working in my heart even now,  cultivate in me a more grateful attitude

In Search Of Cherry Blossoms

When we made our plans a couple of weeks ago to see the cherry blossoms we weren't sure if the trees would be blooming or not. Last year the cherry blossoms were in full bloom the 23rd of March but it's been a cold spring this year and they are late. (the above photo was taken last year)

We knew when we left home that we would be too early for the blooms but there is more to see in DC then just cherry blossoms. There are other gardens, museums and of course family and friends

              As you can see from the above photo, it will be another week before the cherry trees bloom

 But the magnolia trees were beginning to bloom in the Haupt Gardens

Some of the magnolia buds got nipped by the cold. Last week DC had a couple of inches of snow

Haupt Gardens

We were gone for two days, Friday was reserved for sightseeing and Saturday was our day for visiting family and friends. On Saturday we started the day by meeting our youngest son for breakfast, we visited a little then headed south. We stopped at our friends house for a couple of hours, had some lunch, played some games, caught up on all the news, said our goodbyes and were home before dark

I wasn't really disappointed that I didn't get to see the cherry blossoms, I was just thrilled that it looks like spring might really be here!