THANKFUL FOR SO MUCH

I wasn't going to do my Thankful Thursday post today as I have been in a "weird" frame of mind. I am not sure why...I think there has been soo much going on for soo long that suddenly now everything seems strangely quiet. I think it struck me on Sunday as I sat in church listening to my son give the message, with my DIL and my little granddaughter Capri sitting next me (she wanted to "see" her daddy ~ how sweet is that?) that I have traded places in life with her as it seemed like just yesterday it was me working all the kids and busy ALL the time. She'd hurried through her morning alone as my son had to do the early service as well, getting 3 little ones fed and ready for church not to mention herself, and having to pull together her house enough that she would be comfortable having her "in-laws" over for the day as well, haha. She never mentioned that, I just know how I would have felt if I had been her. Well, the house looked wonderful and the kids were ADORABLE. How I have missed them. Donatella looks and reminds me soo much of Melody when she was young it is downright overwhelming. Her hair is the same white blonde her's was and her eyes the same ice blue. She has the same little body and many similar mannerisms as well. Now Donatella has her mama's Italian skin and is as brown as a little berry which Melody NEVER had, haha, but still....soo similar. Larissa talked about school starting in a few weeks and getting together Capri's uniform and back pack and school supplies. She will start KG this year. And it made my mind wonder back to when I was busy with very similar things. JD was busy talking about the plans they have for his "pirates themed" birthday and it is amazing that he is already to be 4 years old in September. Time truly does fly by. But again, it made my mind wonder back to when I would begin planning for my kid’s birthday party in advance as well; gave them something to dream about. And then yesterday I was feeling like I felt like a day with my other grandkids so I called my son Joe who was busy with his pack and tried to get together a plan. As it turned out he had already made swimming plans with some of their school friends. Joe is taking care of his kids during the day as he does not have to be to work until 4. Leah is off at 3 so it is working well for them. But it is funny to me (you'd have to know Joe) to watch my son working "play dates" with the older ones around naps for Cody. He does a good job with them. His days are long and busy. Mine in comparison have become quiet and often slow. Though my hubby pointed out this morning his are a LONG way from that yet, haha....But today I am grateful for all the years I enjoyed being a stay at home mom. For busy school years and schedules, and long, lazy summer days getting kids to the beach and swimming and afternoon matinee movies. I am also grateful for my grandkids that brighten up my days occasionally with their sweet presence and for my kids who are busy taking care of them. I am grateful my son John got a new job that he is quite excited about. I am grateful for the absolutely BEAUTIFUL weather we have been having and the NO need to run the air conditioning. I am grateful for the home He has provided us with and that I am enjoying decorating and adding little homey touches to. I am grateful that I was FINALLY released on Tues from the surgeon’s office, even though it is to be ANOTHER 6 weeks before I can finally be fitted for the prosthesis. Again, I am grateful I am done with treatment and can enjoy my summer without the stress of radiation or chemo. I am especially grateful for this time and season in my life with my husband where we can enjoy each other and our time together WITHOUT anyone else sharing our home with us. I realized the other day that this is happening for the very first time in our 35 years of marriage. Even these last two years since Melody married our middle son John has been back at home while he got his life back together after his divorce. Now he was RARELY home as he worked soo much, but he was still there. I am sure I could on, but I will stop here. Sometimes I wonder just how much I could come up with if I just let myself go on and on, haha. Hope you are all enjoying your summer, and get the chance today to spend some time counting up your blessings. To join the other grateful hearts, click HERE

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MELODY JOY

Mel & her beloved dog Baxter

Mel & her hubby Mike ~ how does she ever walk in those shoes??

My pretty girl...

Such a happy day

Sooo happy

It was 24 years ago today, July 24, 1986, that Melody Joy made her appearance into this world and changed mine forever…

Anyone who knows me well could tell you without hesitation that I talked about wanting a daughter of my own since I was a very young girl. I longed for the day when it would become a reality, and dreamed of all it would entail. I wanted not only the little girl and all the fun stuff that goes along with that stage in life, but also the woman she would eventually become, sharing all of life’s ups and downs with me in all the ways only a mother and daughter can.  After having had 3 wildish, energetic and active sons, whom I loved to death but also pushed me to the limits of my abilities, I was not very hopeful when I discovered myself pregnant again for the fourth time, that yet another son was not on his way. I was overcome with morning sickness and feeling like I might finally be in over my head.  One day as I was praying and asking God to give me strength, I felt He was telling me to look up Psalms 37:4. I did and it says…Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart….From that moment on, I knew my daughter was on her way…

I can honestly tell you that Melody has truly brought me nothing but joy and happiness since she first arrived. As a little girl growing up, she was just so easy. Obedient and eager to please me, she wore the little dresses and things I made for her and let me do her hair up in ribbons and bows even though she was a total tomboy at heart, haha…As she grew older her interest in ALL sports grew and eventually we found ourselves so involved in her world of sports, it dominated a lot that we did. She played on a travel softball team for years, and we covered a lot of the country going to her various tournaments and games.  What a fun time in life that really was.  But eventually she gave up softball as it took way too much of her time, and settled in a played only volleyball for her last couple of years of high school. As a teen-ager Melody and I enjoyed a closeness that I think most women dream of having with their daughters, but I’m not sure many enjoy. We talked for hours on end, and she seemed to not only truly listen to my advice and guidance, but shared most of her hopes and dreams with me as well. I think I was definitely the first to know of her love for Mike, who was to eventually become her husband. Her college years went by so quickly it seemed, and shortly after graduation she married and moved a thousand miles away from me. These last 2 years have definitely been a lot of adjustments for us both, but I think we have both settled into our life on the phone, facebook, and occasional visits. 

I am soo proud of Melody and love her with all of my heart.  I pray the Lord blesses her and makes His face to shine upon her now and always…HAPPY BIRTHDAY my beautiful girl and may God Bless you always and forever…..mom

MY THANKFUL HEART

Col 3:15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.

I haven't done a Thankful Thursday post in a while, but it certainly isn't because my heart has not been thankful.  There has just been soo much going on in the last couple of months it has been hard to find the time.  But I promised myself that today it was happening, even if it didn't get posted until the end of the day.  Well, here it is only7:15 (as I start this anyway) and I am all ready to go.  There is just soo much recently that I am thankful for it is hard to know where to start.  Do I mention the biggies like how grateful I am for my family and friends?  Because as I sit here looking around at my new home my gratitude for my sisters and all they did to help me can hardly be described.  Or maybe it should be my husband who has proven to me with everything we have been through these last couple of months that I am soo blessed in the husband department that I feel guilty sometimes...like maybe he didn't fare quite as well as I did....Or maybe I could talk about my new house and how happy I already am with my new surroundings.  Everything just seems soo much easier here.  I did several loads of laundry yesterday (finally all caught up ~ YAY) and it was soo nice to have an indoor laundry room where it was nice and cool and was only a few steps away from my bedroom where I could put everything away in neatly organized drawers AND the most spacious closet anyone has ever seen.  Seriously, it is the size of an ordinary bedroom, haha.  Or...maybe about all of the places I have managed to find around here (OK maybe Melody told me where some of them were, haha) like the new BEAUTIFUL two story Target (love that store) or the Christian book store, Party City, Michaels, Bed, Bath & Beyond, & SEVERAL yummy restaurants just to name a few.  I did find a new Jenny Craig center and have an appointment for first thing Monday morning.  I took a brief break what with the surgery and the move, but it is back to business next week.  Or then there was the 6 day Melody visit.  How I enjoyed her even if we were pretty busy with the shower and all.  We had our morning cups of coffee chatting away like always, and even got to celebrate her birthday coming up this Sat. with dinner at Taps.  It is her favorite restaurant and just happens to be about 5 minutes from our house now.  I am going through the usual "Mel withdrawals" as she went home Tues. afternoon, but I know her hubby was waiting anxiously for her and I am soo grateful she is able to come as often as she does.  I might mention that I am going to see some of my grandkids today and I am downright excited about that.  I have just not seen as much of them as I would like recently. But we have got the WHOLE day today, and Grandma can't wait.  Or maybe I could talk about the fact that my son Jimmy is doing the Sunday morning services at his church this Sunday.  Such a privilege.  He is being asked more and more to do the services in the "big" church.  Who knows what the Lord might have in mind for him.  We will go down for the 10:30 service and then lunch with them afterwards and hang out for a while.  We have not seen these grandkids in almost two months (I did get see sweet Capri at the shower, but not for nearly long enough) and Grandpa and I are almost giddy.  You can catch him live Sunday morning for either the 8:30 or 10:30 service at maranthachapel.orghttp://maranathachapel.org/  It is somewhat overwhelming when he does a Sunday morning (makes my heart beat soo fast) as literally thousands of people attend this church, but the Lord seems to really bless his efforts.  And then of course there is always my gratitude that I seem to be back to my old self.  Took longer than I would have liked, but my energy is back and I am feeling good.  I am soo grateful of course as well that I did not have to do anything else for treatment.  Soo grateful.  I could go on and on, but I will stop here.  I have a few things I need to get done BEFORE I can go and play with my grandkids and I am anxious to get started.  But I would be remiss if I didn't mention my gratitude as always for a God who loves us and cherishes us and keeps us all in the palm of His mighty hand.  Hope you are all enjoying your summer.  Take just a moment or two today and count your blessings, you will sooo bless yourself if you do.  Check out the other grateful hearts HERE...http://unequalmarriage.typepad.com/

Psalm 17:8 Keep me as the apple of Your eye; Hide me under the shadow of Your wings,

HAPPENINGS

The last few days have rushed by in a blur, but I have enjoyed every moment.  Melody and I had our work cut out for us as we had to pull together a bridal shower for my niece in just two days time.  Now of course we had our place reserved, thanks to my hubby.  A wonderfully nice man who works for him is the head of the Elks club on the Harbor in Newport Beach and made arrangements for us to have the use of one of the little rooms at a VERY reasonable price, and the chef who did the food is one of the best around (or so we had heard, which certainly proved to be true, but I am getting ahead of myself as usual).  Melody had the games organized, but everything else needed to be done, including a fitting for her dress for the wedding.  It was a little big (she didn't listen to me and order the 0, one would think I didn't buy her clothes for 21 years, haha) so we had to take it to a seamstress for alterations as well.  It is just going to be adorable though, and I am getting soo excited for the wedding.  I had ordered the cake from Kristi of course (who else after you have tasted and seen one of her cakes) and everything began to finally fall into place.  My sister Diane arrived here early and we headed down to Newport.  We did all of the centerpieces ourselves which was NO big deal as they were quite simple, but really kind of fun.  My hubby made several poster pics and a banner from her engagement pictures, and in no time we were ready.  The day just couldn't have been nicer.  The weather was perfect and everyone seemed to have such a good time.  Jessie got soo many nice things.  We had a WONDERFUL sea food pasta salad, (which I ate a shameful amount of) and fresh fruits and veggies, cheese and crackers and bread, and HUGE shrimp.  I have to say as well that the lemon cake with a citrus cheese cream filling was the MOST delicious cake I have ever tasted.  It will DEFINITELY DEFINITELY be my new favorite Kristi.  Sooo good.  Larissa and Capri came over for a while after the shower and it was nice to catch up with them.  I put together a little slide show so you can see how things were, but my sister Diane is DEFINITELY the photographer in the family and has such a good camera.  I really just took a few token pics counting on her to get the good ones.  So mine is missing several important people and some good shots, but you will get the basic idea.  ENJOY....

Photo slideshow personalized with Smilebox

Melody is visiting her MIL this morning and Mike's grandma this afternoon.  Tonight her daddy & I will take her out to dinner to celebrate her 24th birthday which is Sat.  She goes home tomorrow afternoon.  I have soo enjoyed my time with her as usual.  She really likes the new house, but it is a little weird for her still of course.  It is a little weird for me too I guess.  But I LOVE LOVE LOVE it....Soo many little extra's that make it soo much more convenient for me.  Starting with no stairs.  Which when you have arthritis like I do and need both knees replaced, it is really a help.   I will show you a few more pics of the place...

My new kitchen ~ I love the curtains, but the sink? It will have to go eventually, haha

The view from the sink towards the rest of the kitchen and the everyday eating area.  We got some new barstools which you can just barely see

Another view of my new buffet ~ you can see the tile too

The family room ~ I love my new rug it's the perfect size

Our new bedroom ~ I LOVE it

A closer view ~ notice your pillow Janette.  It matches PERFECTLY!!  Janette from Janette's Sage made me the pillow my bear is sitting in front of.  It is a prayer pillow.  Visit her blog (if you haven't already) and see more about it and meet a WONDERFUL woman...

One of the bathrooms

Well that about ends my tour for today...Hope you all enjoyed it....It is soo wonderous to feel back to normal ~ whatever that is...

THE NEW HOUSE ~ PART ONE

Well, believe it or not, 6 days later we are moved and almost completely unpacked and set up.  Now make NO mistake, this would have NEVER happened without the help of my wonderful wonderful sisters who have worked on this with me sooo far beyond the call of duty it could never be expressed.  Towards the end as Diane and I were hanging pictures and putting all of my decorations around, we became almost slap happy and would have had each other rolling on the ground laughing if we would have had the strength to do so or a way to get up once we were down there, haha.  But parts of the experience were really very enjoyable and no doubt a memory I won't soon be forgetting.  It is has all come out soooo far beyond my hopes and visions for it.  I TRIED to take pictures of everything, but I quickly could see the pictures just really don't do it justice.  Now maybe if I had a better camera and the ability of some of you to take GOOD pictures (not naming any names Genn) it could be shown better.  But I am going to post what I can and take you on a little tour.  The thing that has just been amazing was how well all of my things moved and found just the perfect place at this house.  Like I had gone out and bought them to fit in a certain area. 

The view as you enter the park.  It is soo pretty here with lots of green belts, tress, and flowers, plants etc.  You really do forget it is a mobile home park.

Our pretty new door...come on in

Porch/patio to the right side of the front door.  I am dying to get out there and get flowers and plants hung and set around.  It will happen eventually.  See the view off in the distance of pretty hills etc.  I have always wanted a front porch.

To the left of my front door ~ under my kitchen window.  I had 4 of these HUGE Sega Palms around the pool at the old house.  We brought one and my jasmine and bird bath.  Lots of possibilites here.  I am seeing wind chimes, and hanging plants for sure.  Bambi had to come.  I have had him since Melody was 4 and got hooked on the movie Bambi. 

The view as you walk into the house.  To really appreciate this you would have needed to see it BEFORE the remodel.  The fireplace was soooo horrid, haha.  My brother did a wonderful job with this one with travertine that he had left over from other jobs.  I LOVE it.  My bookcases look like they were custom built to go there, and my Kincade looks wonderful there.

Another view.  There are 3 windows across the front of the house and 2 to the side.  I just happened to have 5 matching valances, so it worked out really well.  Another perfect spot for another one of our Kincades.

The view as you turn to your left upon entering the front door.  Formal dining room off to the right as you can see.  We created the walk way with tile.  It goes into the kitchen and family room areas.

I will have to stop here as the pictures are taking FOREVER to download and I need to go to the airport and pick up my Melody (yay) as she is arriving today for 5 days for my neices bridal shower which is on Sun. afteroon.  We have soo much to do I doubt I will get back to this any time soon, but you never know.  I appreciate all of your prayers more than you can know.  I am feeling almost 100%....PRAISE God..I have soo much to be thankful I could never EVER properly express it.  I am soo happy and blessed to have this house.  I have soo much more I want to share with all of you.  Hope you are all doing well.  I have read around when I could but haven't had enough time to comment much, but know you are all in my thoughts.  GOD BLESS YOU ALL. 

GOOD BYE TO DIANA CRT!

It's FINALLY happening!! Yes, that's right we have finally spent the last night at Diana Crt. The move is officially on....It's 5:20 and I just woke up and threw our sheets into the washing machine and decided to write a QUICK post before I jump (not that I really "jump" anywhere haha) into the shower and begin what is certain to be a REALLY LONG DAY. You will never know how grateful I am that we did not move last Sat. Now today we will make the move with my new house COMPLETELY done (with the exception of a little touch up painting here and there) WONDEROUSLY clean and both bathrooms totally put together, all of our clothes hanging in the new closet, AND the ENTIRE kitchen put away complete with rugs on the floor and darling new curtains hung at the window....What a good feeling. I am sooo excited. I am pretty sure it will harder than I am thinking to fit some of my furniture into it's new smaller places, but one way or another the "new" look is about to happen. I am soooo grateful to my wonderful sisters Diane and Danae and to my mom who have helped me like you just can't begin to imagine. 4 women (counting me even though I wasn't totally up to snuff) worked in that new kitchen yesterday for almost 4 hours getting everything put away into their new places. When we were done with the dishes and pans etc., we took turns arranging my "decs" trying to "create" the new feel. How much fun that was. OK, I guess I will say ~ Diane's arrangement won, haha, and everything sits waiting over there for all the memories yet to be made. My WONDERFUL WONDERFUL WONDERFUL husband went over to the house last night when everyone had gone but Diane and I and got down on his hands and knees (something with this arthritis I could have NEVER done EVEN if I wasn't still recovering) and scrubbed every last inch of our new tile, which let me tell you is extensive. It took him over a hour and a half. How beautiful it looked when he was done. I felt bad after he was done as there is sooo much heavy lifting and work to be done today and we didn't get home and into bed until 11 o'clock. But he knew it was important to me so he never really even complained. The man is soo good to me ~ how blessed I am. All 3 of my sons will arrive at 8 today, along with one of my BIL's, and a nephew. The truck sits in our drive way waiting. The women will all be here to help make decisions as to where the furniture should go, and begin the massive putting away chore. My heart is soo FULL of gratitude this morning it is hard to express. Yes, it is FINALLY time to begin this new season in our lives and I am excited, curious, and sooo looking forward to it. God is soo good! I will try and take pics of all of this happening, and some pics of the new place. I want to not only show all of you, but document it to go along with the memories. Good bye to Diana Crt ~ you have served your purpose well and held all the times of our life for the last 25 years within your walls. I will NEVER forget this house and all that has happened here ~ it will rest in my memory forever. Hope you all have a wonderful week-end. I don't know how much visiting I will get done in the next few days, but I will try. Surely I will take a break now and then, haha. God's blessings to you all. 

GOD HAD OTHER PLANS

Pro 19:21 There are many plans in a man's heart, Nevertheless the LORD's counsel ~ that will stand.

God had other plans...Soo many times in this life we make our plans and move forward only to realize as we begin the journey that God had other plans...We did NOT move. I could begin to list all of the problems we ran into but it would take WAY too long and only serve to dwell on issues that we just didn't have any control over. Soo many LONG LONG hours were put into this effort and the bottom line is nothing has gone to waste as it all accomplished what needed to be done sooner or later anyway. Now we can not only VERY easily finish up all of the little things that still need to be done, we can also spend some MUCH needed time cleaning and putting some things together BEFORE the actual big move day; always a good feel. To say that I am excited and pleased over how it is all turning out would be putting it very mildly indeed. I am almost giddy. And I am soo grateful to my family who has gone soo far beyond the call of duty to help us out I honestly could just never express it enough. My sisters are truly just the best women in the world, and my husband borders on sainthood. Unless something totally unforeseen happens we will move for sure next Sat. It has both its perks and its points I was trying to avoid. For instance, now Jimmy can help out on the move. If you knew this guy you wouldn't have to wonder why I had this soo large, haha. He is BIG AND STRONG and just such a good worker. Plus I would have just missed his presence on the day. He makes me happy. And then my other son Joe has some of his students and friends that can help out as well on this day. ANOTHER large bonus as the more hands the better. We have some REALLY heavy furniture which includes an entertainment unit made of SOLID oak (whatever were we thinking?) that took 4 grown men to get into our house 8 years ago, and a piano (beautiful, but soo heavy) and leather couches which are super heavy just to name a few. I guess in my heart I really wanted ALL of my kids present for the move out experience from our home of many years. Now of course I will have to do it without my Melly, but while I will definitely miss her I think this is probably for the best too as she is definitely having the hardest time of all of us letting go of her memories of this house. As I have said before she has never known another house for us having been brought home from the hospital while living here and remaining until the day she married two years ago. But it does mean less time off for Jeff to be here after the move, and only 4 days to try and get ALOT put away before Melody comes for my niece Jessie's bridal shower. Mel is her Matron of Honor and together we are giving her a shower the following week-end. I want my time free not only to work on all we have to finish up for the shower, but time to just enjoy her. There is just a lot to do. Her last visit of course was spent with me laying in a heap following my surgery. Not much fun for either one of us. But in the scheme of things, the good far outweighs the bad, and I do believe and trust the Lord knew best. Soooo, Jeff & I are working at the new house doing MANY things this week-end, and I praise God I am feeling as good as I am; still not 100% but getting closer every day.  This whole experience has had me working on my patience, haha, but goodness knows it needs working on.   I hope everyone has wonderful plans for this 4th of July. I am sure we will probably look for fireworks somewhere tonight when it is time. I can't bear to miss them. The 4th of July has always been my favorite holiday. This one will be very different from ones in the past for sure, but no less memorable. GOD BLESS YOU ALL....

Jam 1:4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

THE MOVE IS ON!

This will be quick as I am REALLY busy but just wanted to let you all know that the MOVE IS ON!! YAY... I am really excited. Jeff is over at the new house right now and the carpet installers are there. My brother installed all the new appliances last night and there is just some odds and ends to finish up. My sisters are on their way over to help me get the last few things together I need and then we are headed over to the new house to begin cleaning and readying everything for the move tomorrow. I am sure it will be a LONG day. I am STILL not good for much. I can't lift anything heavier than 10 pounds. My arms are not completely mobile (though they are getting there and he tells me I am doing better than most) I STILL tire way too fast (I think anyway, the doc thinks I am doing great...I just want to be 100% I guess) so I will have to be careful not to overdo. The side that has the "drain" problem is NOT doing well either and I don't think I am going to make it 2 weeks before he will have to drain it again. But all of these "things" do not take ANY of the excitement that I feel over all of this away. And yet....I am very nostalgic as well. I keep thinking ~ tonight will be the last time I will sleep in this house and wake up in the bedroom that has been my home for the last 24 years and hear the birds outside of my windows singing. Last time I will put on a pot of coffee in this kitchen and sit in this chair doing my devotions as I look out at the swimming pool in my back yard where all of my kids and grandkids have swam a million times. All of the school days, holidays, birthdays, graduations, weddings, and major life's events that have happened within these walls, will never be forgotten. This has been a WONDERFUL house and our roots go deep. How I praise God for blessing us with everything we have come to know and love sooo well. But this is a new season in our life. I am looking forward to the change and all that He has planned for us. I do ask that you might pray that all goes well with the move and that I find the strength I need to not only get what needs to be done accomplished, but that my emotions do not get out of control either. May you all have a WONDERFUL 4th of July week-end with your families and friends, and may we all remember and appreciate just how blessed we are to be living in this GREAT country where we enjoy the freedoms that we do. GOD BLESS THE USA...