Celebrating My Mom

So happy to celebrate my sweet Mom's birthday with her

this last week!

She is a blessing to us, and we are so glad to have

this special time with her!

Here are three generations of us :)

I hope this year is a wonderful year for her!

Celebrating...

Wednesday was my birthday, and we went to

Shady Maple to celebrate!

We took Phil's dad and my mom

(She wouldn't let me take her pic--so I snuck the one below)

We had a great day!

We did a little shopping downstairs of course!

 Beautiful!

This giant hand below was alongside the road on the way home-

it was so interesting I had to snap a shot! ;)

I was thankful to have such a lovely day!

Happy 88th Grammy

We had the opportunity to have a little get together for my mother in law's 88th birthday

a couple of weekends ago...

Her daughter brought her a cake from her fav bakery...

A nice time for some of the family to get together and visit

I hope she enjoyed her day!

Time...

Yep, today is my birthday!

I can hardly believe how fast time has flown...

especially this year. It's been a very eventful year for me, and I feel like it has practically gone by in a blur.

Someone sent me a birthday ecard today. It talked about TIME being God's gift to me for my birthday.

I was thinking about how true that is. No matter how rich you are, you can't buy yourself one more minute of time. Only God can gift you with time.

Do you think when my parents snapped the pic above, I was thinking about how quickly my 52nd birthday would come? :)

TIME- An earthly trust which, if invested wisely, will produce eternal treasures.

"So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom" (Psalm 90:12).

We don't tend to think about how limited our days are. We plod along doing what's in front of us on most "ordinary" days.

I was thinking this morning that on my last birthday, I was blissfully unaware that my life was about to be forever disrupted with a cancer diagnosis and celiac disease.

I just kept on planning for tomorrow--never realizing that there might not be a tomorrow.

The above pictures were taken almost exactly one year apart. Who knew how much would change in one year?

TIME-A limited resource extended only by giving the first part back to God.

"Honour the Lord...with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty..." (Proverbs 3:9-10).

Do you think that I value time more this year? You bet I do! I am much more conscious of it now.

TIME-A daily treasure which attracts
many robbers.

"Redeeming the time, because the days
are evil" (Ephesians 5:16)

And so, I intend to cherish the "ordinary days" -because I have found that each one is actually

extrordinary! I pray that God finds me faithful with each day that He gifts me with.

And I am thankful for the blessing of each one!

June Blessings

June has held it's share of blessings for our family :)

For one, I am feeling pretty good these days (for which I am thankful)

Also, our garden is doing so well! (The flowers above are from flowers grown in our yard)

I have thoroughly enjoyed this lettuce! I eat salad 3x's a day and never tire of this one!

It is Amish Speckled Butterhead and it doesn't bolt in the heat!

We are now getting squash, zucchini, and we had our first cuke!

But, alas, no pics yet.

My herb barrel is doing great! I slip that apple mint in

when I juice-yum!

Our pastor's family has the church over during the summer so I snapped some pics one night :)

We have a devotion (brought to us by one of the young men)

we have a covered dish supper, singing, and lots of fun and fellowship

We were blessed with this lovely rainbow after some rain earlier in the month.

Brad celebrated his 19th birthday!

Bri celebrated her 22nd!

Mommom brought them an ice cream cake to celebrate

We celebrated Father's Day with dinner and gifts

It has been a jam packed month so far,

we been to several graduations, parties, and events.

 and it's not over yet!

We are thankful for the fellowship, milestones, and blessings that June has held for us

in our family.

Psalm 75:1
Unto thee, O God, do we give thanks, unto thee do we give thanks:

for that thy name is near thy wondrous works declare.



Sugar and Spice...

Twenty two years ago we added a little Sugar and Spice to our home :)

What a precious privilege it was for me to become a mother!

And, to have a daughter :)

Bri is often known as the "quiet one"...

but, don't let that fool you! She doesn't miss a thing!

Bri has always been very adventurous!

She's the only one in the family thus far to have broken a bone

As she has matured, she has tempered that a little :)

She is growing into a lovely young woman - who is my right hand!

Bri is also known as an ardent animal lover!

She also loves children :)

We are so proud of the young woman Bri has become...and we

are amazed at what God is doing in and through her

We love you Bri and wish you a happy 22nd birthday!

May God bless you in this new year of life, and give you the desires of your heart

according to His word and will.

...that our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace

Psalm 144:12b

Puppy dog tails...

Nineteen years ago we added a new baby boy to our family...

boy did that shake things up around here! lol

Brad was born with such energy and zest for life

but, the little boy days are over!

He is now a hardworking man in his last "teen" year

We love you Brad and are proud of you

We look forward to seeing God continue to work in your life as you seek Him

We hope that this birthday is the beginning of an amazing new year in your

Christian walk Brad!

We love you!

HaPpY BiRtHdAy #19!