'round here today....

things are moving sorta slow 'round here

it feels like we're trying to come up for air

but know we have to go back under the water for a while

i'll be honest,

it's very hard to see my 6foot4 tender yet strong husband 

with a broken heart

although we are grieving

we realize

we have much to be thankful for in the timeline surrounding the death of dan's daddy

each family member was able to say goodbye

he was not in pain & he went peacefully

he was a good man who loved Jesus

so we have no doubt of where he is

now its just the hard part

of learning to live everyday while missing a wonderful man

i think for Dan having lost both parents

the finality is just hard to wrap his mind

 & his heart

around

so we will just stand beside him as time begins to heal his heart

thank you

thank each of you

whether you sent a comment, or a text

a phone call

a tweet or a note

a pound cake or lasagna

a plant or a plate of cookies

thank you if you stood out in the 100 degrees for his service

took time out of your busy day

thank you for loving me

& thus loving my family

words can  not express how thankful i am for each of you

~

one of my favorite bloggers, melanie, has a two beautiful etsy shoppes

one is filled with her original paintings

she just recently listed several inspired by the ocean & the lakes near her home

one in particular took my breath away

i think someone grabbed it while i was pondering...

but they are all gorgeous & speak to my heart

i told her i could just get lost in her paintings

she & i had spent some time on the phone the day before

& i felt even more connected to her art after

hearing her sweet voice

she has shared so much of her own personal loss

through her blog

some days she writes about hydrangeas

some days about her gorgeous home

but other days she just shares her tender thoughts

i love that

not that she has had loss, but that she doesn't deny it exists

i told her she surely has ministered to countless women

& now her art touches my soul as well

this past weekend i opened up her link over & over just to look at these beautiful pieces

dan's daddy was in the coast guard & he loved to sail

i realized one of the paintings just completely reminded me of him

his love of sailing

his love of the water

& his crystal blue eyes

i ran upstairs & told dan i was so excited

i had purchased a painting that would surely be a beautiful reminder

to me of just a few of things we loved about our pop pop

i can hardly wait to see it

( i borrowed this image from melanie's site )

her other shop is lettered threads

 she creates beautiful hand painted pillows

& other canvas art

i love every piece

below is one of the two pillows i recently purchased

here are some more glimpses of life around here today....

home grown tomatoes from a wonderful neighbor

my new board purchased at Rosemary Beach

love these words

some of my favorite clock faces from my sweet friend kasey

& some from faded prairie

a card from Jeanne's shop

& fresh flowers

what a luxury to have fresh flowers

every day

that's all
just some random thoughts & some random
images from today

& once again
i thank you again my friends

thank you

xo

Pop Pop

this weekend our precious Pop Pop went to be with Jesus

oh how we love that sweet man

& how blessed we are to have had him in our lives

he was loyal to his bride of 52 years

who he loved deeply & selflessly

he taught his three children to be kind to everyone

he had a twinkle in his crystal blue eyes

& the lines of his face showed a perpetual smile

he proudly fought for his country in World War II

& probably never said an unkind word to anyone

he could do just about anything

& always had a joke to tell

he truly loved the Lord

& loved others well

it was no suprise

to hear how smitten the ICU staff

was with Pop Pop

the last few days of his life

everyone loved him

my sweet tender hearted husband, who has the same spirit as his daddy

told me this morning he was thinking about his daddy

& how certainly he was  reunited with grammy in Heaven

how in Heaven since there is no concept of time

it's probably as if they've been together all along

Pop Pop had told us yesterday

he was ready

ready to meet his Maker

& ready to be with his sweet bride

again

forever

we sure do love you Pop Pop

~

beach faves part 1

what they teach me...

probably the most important goal i have

on this blog

is to be authentic

i've said before that i never want to come across
as anything other than just who i am
i want my written words
to also be my spoken words
i want the person you perceive me to be
to be just that....
me
not some fabrication of who i long to be



a friend of mine posted a quote yesterday
that really convicted me
she talked about having grace with our children
& how the Lord responds to us with grace

His mercies are new
each morning
a clean slate

i stink at grace
i stink at patience
darn it

i'm a bottom line
let's fix it quick & move on kinda girl


there's no doubt in my mind
that the lord sent me the world's most patient man
to help compensate for my complete lack of patience


while we're not a door slamming
'i hate you' screaming family
on any given day
i usually have at least one daughter that has had it with me


all i really want to say
is i don't ever want anyone to think
that i think i'm a perfect mom
or let's make it even more realistic...a great mom
because i fail miserably
on most days

i want to be authentic
i want to balance the things i write
not just the happy cartwheel throwing days
but the times where i mess up
i love sharing about sneaking spinach in your child's morning smoothie
i love chatting about great books
and my white furniture
or beautiful scriptures that heal my soul
& i surely don't mind sharing areas in my life that need some help

this morning i began to think
about how i have so much to learn
but how the Lord often times
uses these four precious children
to teach me the most important lessons


my beautiful girls
are merciful with me
each morning their mercies are new to me
they forgive me
& their spirits are resilient

they've taught me more about grace
than anyone i've ever known
i guess it's because
i need it from them
more than anyone else

period

these fun images
are great reminders to me
that i have four daughters
who are strong
who are brave
who are beautiful & athletic
four daughters who teach me so much about grace & mercy
each morning

i love you girls
i wish i were more like you
i want to be a great mom to you
to be a mom that you are proud of
a mom who wears cool jeans
& never hurts your feelings
who has cowboy boots that you want to borrow
fills up your love tank
a mom who cheers you on & has your back
and most importantly
gives you grace
just like you've taught me

i'm trying
i promise.....