"...out here in the stillness, I find my house of worship
with column trees and canopy of stars,
Here in my cathedral." ~Chris Rice from the song, My Cathedral
It wasn't that long ago I packed our four daughters into our van and took them to see Chris Rice at a free day time lunch concert at Chik-Fil-A at the mall.
Now, over twenty-something years later our daughters are all adults, last month our second born dear daughter, Joycie had surgery. An all day surgery lasting 8 long hours...The kind of thing where you have your phone right there, waiting on updates from our son in law, making sure our loved one gets out of anesthesia alright and then we hear...They are trying to help her with the pain etc....It seems like forever before Joycie is in her room. Our loving family is sticking together taking care of their little boy, our precious grandson during this brief time. I will call him once again....Little Batman.
Here's some clips of a most countable day with Little Batman.
This could also be called....A Day in the Life of a Mimi and a Popo
I loved these shots...
.
Little Batman so blessed my heart as he asks...Would you like for me to carry that for you?
My favorite fabric store in downtown is sadly closing down...Oh my heart. This place is older, almost 50 years in business, there is a separate huge room attached to this one with all kinds of cottons and decorating fabric...The fixtures, oh my the fixtures! There are wood fixtures painted that beautiful ballet pink...Very vintage.
Waiting patiently for the cashier to check us out...
It's okay, Mimi...I've got it.
What shall we do now? Popo suggests as I twisted his arm ; ) How about some ice cream?
Life means so much...
Little Batman says like a little man...Are ya'll ready for some ice cream?
Oh how the camera in my mind and heart were clicking shots and recording here...Making the day count.
I am beginning to learn that it is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all. ~Laura Ingalls Wilder
I could paint these shots, it's so typical of little children, the dance they do in Life. May we learn from them?
While Little Batman was here, one of our other grown daughters, Zuzu who lives close by invited Little Batman over to play with our other two little grandsons, Christopher Robin and Little Jay Jay.
What's there not to love about three little cousins playing in a sprinkler? Maybe some of us should go out and play in the sprinkler? That would be so fun! I think we would laugh and laugh! We could march around and not care.
So sweet and carefree. How about we be like that too?
I hope you enjoy the Chris Rice song and our little adventure with Little Batman and that praise to the Lord that all is well.
Phillippians 2:3-5 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
I hope you all are doing well. God has shown me to just live slowly, not spend too much time online and live in His Peace. ...Making the day count.
Amen.
To be glad of life because it gives you the chance to love and to work and to play and to look up at the stars...and to spend as much time as you can, with body and with spirit, in God's out-of-doors---these are little guideposts on the footpath to peace. ~Henry Van Dyke
Our Sweet Liesl, who teaches us true and unconditional love many a day.
One of the sweetest memories of meeting a vet was of having the privilege of meeting 'Sy' (short for a Polish name) at the nursing home I volunteered at...Oh what a handsome thing he was even in later years within months of his death, blue eyes, tall like Jimmy Stewart sitting there in his wheelchair and a sweet, sweet humble spirit. He was missing part of one of his legs. He tells so preciously tells of the liberation of Normandy, oh what a love. He told of sleeping in one of the great cathedrals in Normandy with his fellow comrades...When he got home to our old town, his family did not have a phone. He got to the front door with his duffle bag over his shoulder...and knocked. Can you imagine? Our old office converted from an old convent of all things is probably right near his old home...Oh the prayers that must have gone up in that old town.
In our family we *love* our vets. When we see those hats we grab onto those loves!
Here are a few blogs on how we love our vets. The first is a "normal" day in smalltown with our secondborn daughter, Joycie when we used to go to the store together when she was single. (so fun). We spied our vet that day...You can read here and see the pics...
Some of you have probably already seen the following two, these are of Janie, our firstborn visiting Pearl Harbor on the anniversary there. She volunteered with the Greatest Generation. One of the volunteers, "Uncle Bob"....we loved talking on the phone with him, we'd sing Happy Birthday and he would sing to us "Frank Sinatra style" songs...And he was pretty good too!
It has been said that this movie is the closest hitting movie to how our vets felt and what they went through after WWII. Just the music score is beautiful.
May we remember those who gave their all for us. Please stay close to the Lord and may we lift our country up in prayer.
The other sunny afternoon out on our front porch, our son in law was telling me how Christopher Robin, one of our little grandsons, our first grandchild was sitting onthe steps of their front porch with his little wooden box with special things in it...You know how it is...The things little boys are made of...Special little rocks and gems and things from outside and special trinkets that are very special, held by precious little hands. Christopher Robin was humming as he sat on their front porch on the steps there looking through his wooden box...My son in law who is the same personality type as I am said it was just like the opening to the theme of: To Kill a Mockingbird.To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my most favorite movies. He said he just stopped to listen and it was uncanny and beautiful, the kind of thing where you stop everything and listen...You had those sweet little hands holding the opened little wooden box, hauntingly but beautifully Christopher was also humming just like the opening of the old movie above. The scene could not have been more perfect my son in law shares...
When our firstborn was around 18 months old, she was walking down my mother in law's hallway wearing my high heels. It was so cute, she was wearing a pinafore dress and her sweet little chubby legs were barely walking in my white pumps. My mother in law and I were walking slowly behind her, smiling knowingly, and my mother in law tells me...Remember this, hold this picture in your mind and always remember this scene. ....And I did.
In life there are things like that, we must be still and take notice though. We have to be still and take notice. Notice things. There is a lack of deep thinking these days. People get in a hurry and don't notice things and jump in on things they should not many times and all the while they are missing beauty of the heart, not listening to hearts and possibly missing out on discernment on things, perhaps even missing out on mercy to others, appreciating friends and family members, reaching out maybe to someone we don't even know. ...Missing out on snapshots of the heart. Gifts.
Do we miss out on sharing a word, a Gift of comfort to people who are grieving the loss of a loved one, a friend, a pet, maybe they are feeling picked on as the under dog? It just takes a minute many times to be a huge blessing to others.
These snapshots are so precious that were caught...This is Christopher Robin and his little cousin, Little Rosebud, two of our precious grandchildren. Christopher Robin is our grandchild who was humming with his little wooden box and Little Rosebud is our oldest daughter's little girl, yes, her mommy was the little toddler walking down the hallway...
The theme to the song by Elmer Bernstein: To Kill a Mockingbird is below and it represents my heart as I saw these snapshots of the heart.
Christopher Robin takes very good care of his cousin, Little Rosebud, he is very protective over Little Rosebud. It's so sweet...You can see the love these two little cousins have for each other here. Snapshots of the heart.
.
.
I hope you too will ponder beautiful things as you listen below:
.
For me? When Jem and I go to the zoo...I so love it there. It brings back snapshots of me, my mom and my dad there at the zoo back in the 60s...Some things have not changed there, the reflection pond, the very large brick round snack building with windows all around that is now a modern restaurant, the sculptures of the monkeys at the entrance to that particular area with the monkeys, now a much more natural looking area, it's a beautiful zoo with many trees, near the medical center, Lifeflight can many times be heard above and seen too as the hellicopters land atop the many hospitals, this is one of the things I stop and ponder as well. Someone is in trouble, they need prayer and I stop and pray, I tell Jem...Let's pray.
Sometimes, when I hear an airplane above? I think of my daddy, he flew, he loved to fly. I think of him buzzing low over our house yelling below...Hellloooooo to me and my mommy when I was very little, she was pushing me in a toddler swing in our large yard by the front door of our little home built in the 30s. My mother was wearing a lovely white sundress, with a gathered skirt, cinched waist with the zipper in the back with green vines and red, yellow and different colored flowers on it...She was wearing white wedged heel, backless sandals then. She looked lovely, like a young woman from a Better Homes and Gardens magazine... She was taking care of herself and life was good. It was good.
Life is full of these moments. Stop and take it in...
Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery that it is. In the boredom and pain of it no less than in the excitement and gladness: touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it because in the last analysis all moments are key moments and life itself is grace. ~Frederick Buechner
Every day we live is a priceless gift of God, loaded with possibilities to learn something new, to gain fresh insights. ~Dale Evans Rogers
It is the simple things of life that make living worthwhile, the sweet fundamental things such as love and duty, work and rest, and living close to nature. ~Laura Ingalls Wilder
Don't ever let yourself get so busy that you miss those little but important extras in life---the beauty of a day...the smile of a friend...the serenity of a quiet moment alone. For it is often life's smallest pleasures and gentlest joys that make the biggest and most lasting difference. ~unknown
Tuck this thought into your heart today. treasure it. Your Father God cares about your daily everythings that concern you. ~Kay Arthur
I appreciate comments very much, they are a Gift to me. Please feel free to share some of your snapshots in life too.
"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view...until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it."
~To Kill a Mockingbird
God be with you, take care, until the next time...Amelia
Howdy, Sweet Friends, this will be somewhat of a newsletter since it's been a while. Last month, surgery for Jem, he's doing great now thanking the Lord. Yesterday one of our daughters had a minor surgery and will have follow up surgery soon.
Yes,
my mom has dementia and it is many times on the back burner and a
matter of constant prayer but I must prayerfully go on in this delicate
dance of Life unto the Lord, living with no regret (EDIT:4.21.24 as far as giving my mom attention and so forth)...Making sure I'm
doing what I should be doing, leaving no stone unturned in the theatre of my conscience and heart.
I hope you will enjoy this newsletter of sorts...
Little Dresses for Africa
I make Little Dresses for Africa here and there, I try hard to make a Little Dress for Africa for every item I sew for myself.
I made 4 of these lately, all the same. I buy the cotton tshirts at Hobby Lobby, these little tshirt dresses are so comfy for little girls! I added a pop of bright yellow ric-rac to the bottom to cheer them up a bit and give a pop! I already had the lovely bird print cotton fabric on hand.
Hail Storms Oh my!
A Dreamy, Mysterious Evening After a Hail Storm.
Let's just say, this was different.
Maxis are Much of my Style
My style is a fusion of classics, black turtlenecks and scarves, pleated midi skirts, 40s-50s vintage and boho, many times I wear wide legged light-cotton ankle capris or loose fitting yoga pants in the winter with tunics....But maxis are fun to wear with a cinched in waist and a gently fitted top. I've recently found cotton sleeveless tops for the summer and cap sleeves as well at J.C. Penney from the St. Johns Bay brand. We live in a very warm climate and in the summer we need cool clothing.
My most recent maxi makes:
These lovely blue and white cotton fabrics are from Hobby Lobby. These photos just don't do the pretty colors justice...
Time for Supper, One of my Favorite Times
Time for a cozy supper and a quick peak out the window in the kitchen...Hauntingly beautiful old oak trees.
Soups are my Thing
Love to get a couple of onions, saute in a generous amount of olive oil til browned a bit. Saute lots of fresh garlic until fragrant, no more than a minute, usually 30 seconds or so. I never go over that, garlic gets bitter when browned at all and my Italian grandma from Naples stressed that! At least several tablespoons of dried basil, a sprinkle of red pepper flakes. Perhaps nutritional yeast for flavor. I add a good no sodium pasta gravy or good Italian tomatoes, frozen spinach and asparagus. Water. I throw in some lentils and low sodium white beans and oh my...This is a wonderful Mediterranean delight! I serve this with a good gluten free angel spaghetti, breaking that up into pieces before cooking. Bellissima!
Rest in Peace Dear Cousin, I Wish I Could Have Known You...
As many of you know I had been on the hunt for my cousin. I had miraculously found her seven years ago after years and years of searching for her but in the end she did not desire to communicate with me or our daughters, an unbelievable and great disappointment. I always hoped I would run into her at a restaurant in the city, I knew what she looked like through her social media. She did communicate with Janie and Joycie for a bit through social media and then went off radar. In one of her first communications she asked, How in the world did you find me?! She had lived within an hour of me for years, she lamented to Joycie in writing how she missed the country where she grew up with her grandparents on a ranch riding horses not far from here. I pictured her personality and even appearance much like Rosalind Russell in the old movie, 'Auntie Mame'. Seven years ago when our daughter wrote how old I was (EDIT: I was in my late 50s) she quickly wrote...A mere child. She had some salty choice words for my grandfather when told my grandfather on that German side had disowned me too, she then wrote gently...People don't have to be mean like that. She is an only child as I am also an only child, we're cousins on the German side, my father's side. We had never met, she was not mentioned hardly ever, her mother was estranged from my German grandfather after my Uncle Wesley tragically died when my cousin was a baby. She was a good nineteen years older than I and she had no children and was unmarried when she passed away. Though we had never met, we had many of the same characteristics, it's uncanny...She was an artist, majored in art history, loved animals and a conservative, she enjoyed writing, her reviews and marks are everywhere and prolific. She actually raised butterflies in the back of her home in one of the most expensive neighborhoods if not the most expensive in the city, fed the possums in her backyard, kept colorful garden clogs by the back door, a beautiful large lush yard, loved her large dog. Her achievements were great on this green earth, she designed and made many things, even opened up a factory in downtown where the plastics she used to design walls and ballroom floors in notable places were actually made. She at one time was a buyer for a major department store.
She was tall like her father, my uncle: My dad's brother. Uncle Wesley was ten years older than my dad and is pictured in this photo from a 1940 college yearbook. My dad and my uncle had a very similar handsome face but my dad was shorter than his brother, I am also shorter, and we had the same brunette features, her dad married a brunette much like my mom he met in college, she is pictured on this very same yearbook page.
This past year I was quickened by the Holy Spirit one evening to check on her online. When I looked her up I saw her obituary! Gifts were to be made to her animal foundation she created. Now Jem and I are in search of her grave in a beautiful, beautiful historic cemetery in the city, one of the oldest if not the oldest. Many prominent people are here, many of the old, old city families. It's one of the most unusual old cemeteries, it's huge for one thing, you can look in one direction and see beautiful old oak trees and yet skyscrapers hovering in the distance.
A physician's family below; their sons, a young man in his later youth, the larger angel. And a baby boy, the smaller little angel. Oh my heart...
Even though I haven't found my cousin's place of rest on the German side, I have found some of our Italian relatives who arrived here in the early 1900s. Oh, the little children, a beautiful toddler girl's portrait...Heartbreaking.
Day to Day Here, Back to the Forest
The real joy of life is in its play. Play is anything we do for the joy and love of doing it, apart from any profit, compulsion, or sense of duty.
It is the real living of life with the feeling of freedom and self-expression. Play is the business of childhood, and its continuation in later years is the prolongation of youth.
~Walter Rauschenbusch
Day to day to I go about my creative job of homemaking, and lately have done much gardening as well...That is play along with designing and sewing.
Bought a few extras yesterday, I love ivy, and things that do well in heat, moss rose, succulents, etc. I have a few miniature rose bushes and regular rose bushes as well.
Grace is making fairy garden items for her fairy garden...All from twigs and dried flowers.
The way I creatively and more stress-free-manage our home is in a very spirit led way...I seek the Lord and ask what to do first....First things first and He will show me what to do first. He hears even the smallest prayer! There is no prayer too small for God. Don't let anyone tell you any differently!
I ask for help and guidance from the Father what is most important and so forth...This makes for a confident and sweet homemaking experience. We know when to stop and rest, when to go and when to play. We may not have a perfect looking magazine or sterile home, but it will be kosher and more importantly a sweet home with a sweet cheerful spirit that honors God. A place that says: Peace.
Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is
the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in
the elimination of nonessentials.
A Thought From Jem and I
My husband and I were talking Sunday and we heard a favorite preacher of ours talk about the scripture about sitting at the seat of scoffers.
The Bible says not to sit at the seat of scoffers and I think many do this by allowing unsavory things that have a worldly spirit into their homes through television and so forth.
I love to play sweet music in the background many times from the 40s, we have an old fashioned Christian radio station that will also play beautiful Christian music. And of course I will keep tabs on events in our world from a trusted radio station that is in line with my values for the mostpart. But not too much! Not all day! I hear what I need to hear, I learn and turn it off. Although important we have knowledge of what is going on, that is wise, but too much stuff and news can bring us down and make us feel yuck.
God is so good, He truly answers prayers if we will seek his Face.
I love to wake up early in the morning and get my coffee and pray, I pray the Lord's prayer and I talk with the Lord about every little thing! He answers too, in His time He answers. He gives Grace and Mercy and Guidance.
I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands. ~Isiah 49:15
Prayer is the way to open ourselves to God, and the way in which He shows us our unstable hearts and begins to strengthen them.
~Teresa of Avila
Here's a sweet little thing for you sweet friends, it's a clip from the old 1944 movie: Hollywood Canteen during WWII. A time in our country where even many of our actors and actresses had a healthy fear of God and love for our country, they did what they could to serve and honor our country!
I Present Roy Rogers and Trigger, Hollywood Canteen (1944) Trigger is dancing and Roy is singing...Don't Fence me In. Enjoy!
.
Is this not the sweetest thing?
Some days we see that God's Creatures are kinder then humans and have more good horse sense too. ; )
It doesn't take monumental feats to make the world a better place. It can be as simple as letting someone go ahead of you in a grocery line.
~Barbara Johnson
Let's be Jesus with skin on to others, don't be that person talking about your wonderful church as you push others to the side to get a good deal as your grandchildren watch. Yes, this happened to one of our married daughters recently...Two ladies talking it up about their church waiting in line far behind our daughter pushed and shoved and actually took cherished things our daughter had patiently stood in line for, (she arrived early in the morning) out of our daughter's cart at a resale shop. Our little grandson now calls those women...those bad women.
We don't want to be known as "those bad women". The Bible says that even a child is known by their doings.
Have a sweet day, let's cling to the Father and talk to Him a lot, Helistens. If something doesn't register with your spirit, if it's not a pure and lovely thing, then be careful of it, there are some seducing spirits out there. We're shocked by how people are swayed as we sometimes overhear conversation, what people are accepting and what we are seeing people do. (As in the days of Noah) And it is many times people who should be old enough to know better. People are buying into the culture without a thought. Beware. Beware of even what you may apologize for, we do not have to apologize or make excuses for our Faith.
Let's keep things pure and sweet, real, insulating our homes and lives in godliness, not a cold, sterile home or life of course, but of kindness, smiles and laughter and holiness too. If we keep things sweet and godly our children should be able to spot the counterfeit because they will know the real thing if we know the real thing and live it. Our grown daughters still come to me and tell me little things that impacted their lives for good. I hope to share soon.
This is a photo recently taken at our little grandson, Christopher Robin's family birthday party. You see my mom's hand at the bottom, my hand, our daughter's hand and then her little 18 month old baby girl, our little grand daughter. I loved the way it turned out, Grace took the shot.
Christopher Robin's mommy and daddy have such wonderful writings as decor in their home also in the Forest...
This one is handwritten with chalk on a framed chalkboard...
We are Rich!
A pillow to lay our head
Four walls to protect us
A loving home
Love for one another
Food on our table
Clean water
And a God who loves
us beyond measure!
The most important work you will ever do, will be within the walls of your home.
If you want to bring happiness to the whole world go home and love your family ~Mother Teresa
Aren't those beautiful? I loved them. Beautiful Truths.
Christopher Robin had the sweetest little birthday party, just immediate family and his little cousins. Vintage spider man comic book images hung from red spirals and blue and red balloons adorned everything. Our daughter, Zuzu, Christopher Robin's mommy got his old Spider Man dress-up suit and attached it up on the wall and the little cousins played pin the web on Spider man with string. So sweet.. Zuzu made a big zucchini pasta gravy casserole and a huge salad along with a homemade birthday cake. So fun, and so good and so much love shared.
One of the most cherished things in the world is to be loved and respected by a child, especially when it's our own grandchild, this is from Christopher Robin, he wrote us a Valentine, drew us a picture and picked out little gifts for us:
Kazoos! He even wrapped them for us so sweetly in construction paper... Oh my heart! We called him later and played our kazoos!
Oh But This One....
"What constitutes success? She has achieved success who has lived well; laughed often and loved much; who has gained the respect of intelligent people and the love of little children; who has filled her niche and accomplished her task; who has left the world better than she found it;...who has never lacked appreciation of earth's beauty, or failed to express it; who has always looked for the best in others and given the best she had."
~Bessie Stanley
Our youngest daughter, Grace had this large print (below) done for me for my birthday and I just love it, as many of you know, we lost three of our precious fur angels in 8 weeks last fall.
We had little Muffie for many years, since 2008, when he found us. It's a mystery to how old our little guy was when Joycie found him in the intersection one day, he was just sitting and waiting for her.
Muffie
I put the art print in a grouping with his little paw and nose print and precious card with a prayer that the vet and staff sent to us.
Grace, our youngest adult daughter gave me this for Valentines! It's a tiny portrait of me holding little Muffie and precious Coffee-girl is on the left... We lost Coffee at the end of August if you recall, she was my little girlfriend and we lost Muffie in November.
My mom.
The physical therapist said she has become much stronger and that is a blessing. She has dementia so that can be heartbreaking but our family is trying to find good natured humor in funny little things she will do, and sometimes? She will snap right back to her old self, doing far better as a whole. A Gift.
As we go on to know Him better we shall find it a source of unspeakable joy that God is just what He is.
~A.W. Tozer
I must testify to God's faithfulness! He has gone before us. So many times I've been quite nervous about things (for good reason!), and Jem will reassure me, don't worry, don't be nervous, it's going to work out! And before the day is out he will say...See? I told you so.
The doctor who took care of her in the rehab could not see her until June. That was the Lord. I prayed one morning...Who can we bring my mom to for a well rounded checkup and wisely remove some of the unnecessary meds?In not much time at all, God gently put it on my heart, a doctor who is a Christian and one she had gone to 20 years before as well as me taking Janie our eldest to back when. What a blessing! Jem said that not only is he the nicest doctor he has met but probably one of the nicest persons he has met! He remembered me from 20 years ago, and quickly took her off some of the things that were not necessary at all before I even had to mention it. Hallelujah! He even loved my son in laws natural sleep aid for her!
Speaking of Dementia...
I would like to recommend a special program that PBS is still playing right now: Supercharger Brain, Maximizing Your Cognitive Abilities. This program is both fascinating and encouraging, this will help us all, I do believe. There are two very pleasant Italian ladies, one a neuroscientist, and one an associate Professor of Neuroscience at Cornell Medicine along with others. There are wonderful testimonies of various people in various stages of life. EDIT 3.6.24 Please check your listings, the above program is still playing in our area on pbs on regular antenna television.
This is not a special where there is one speaker on a dark stage, far more interesting than that. I'm so happy I dvrd it. You will see, things like a group of nuns who love to learn, a man who was diagnosed with Alzheimers who is beating it, very nice examples, all of them, it is highly encouraging.
Jem and I are going to learn to speak Italian together, there are so many resources we can get to learn, we purchased a cd for the car and there is an adorable youtube on it. I've joined a poetry site, I'm still sewing Little Dresses for Africa experimenting with trims and such. Any educational leaflet from say...Hillsdale College we receive in the mail I am carefully reading and learning from. When reading my Bible I am learning even from that in layers.
I'll close with this song Jem and I will hear in the car occasionally, I think it's just...so pretty. Oh the memories, oh my heart...
How we leave the world is more important than how we enter it. ~Janette Oke
Me, (a little tot) and my Mom
Oh how I miss my dad...There are days when I say...Oh Daddy, I soneed your help. The other morning when I was at the kitchen sink though...I could hear in my dad's voice...I'm proud of you.
Oh my heart...
Take care all, praying for you all, and I always covet your prayers. I appreciate you all.
Hello, Thank you for stopping by. I'm a middle-aged veteran home educator, happily married 44 years, mother of four sweet daughters, grandmother of 4 precious toddlers, three boys and a girl. We live in the forest. I design, sew, write, enjoy art, cook, and take care of our many fur angels. ...I'm also a hopeless romantic who wishes it were the 40s again. Follower of Christ, I cherish my personal relationship with the Lord. A pro-life advocate and ethical vegetarian. I laugh hard and pray hard too! Live, Laugh, Love...And pray hard...That's me.
.
.
.
