New Beginnings

The beginning of a new year, a new decade, a new adventure and a new season of our lives is what this post is all about. But how do I begin at the beginning of all these new beginnings when I haven't been at this blogging thing for such a long time? I never imagined getting so busy I couldn't keep up with this blog, but I also never imagined going back to work full-time after being mostly retired for the past 10 years!

Maybe I should start with last year's Adventure #1 and say that financial relief finally came with the beginning of my new job (what a blessing and an answer to prayer!). Even though the finances were better, my husband's body was taking a beating with those 10 hour days in shipping (a young man's job, to say the least, and not for someone in his 60's). So . . . . after much discussion and prayer, we made the decision for Jim to retire in time for my two-week winter break!

So . . . . we begin this new year with a new adventure and a new season of our lives - me working full-time (great benefits, by the way) and Jim staying home (at least for awhile - more on that in a future post). On January 22nd, we will be celebrating Jim's 62nd birthday! He's been working since he was 16, so I think he's earned a bit of a break, especially after the last 11 months of heavy, physical labor. We stand amazed and in awe of God for giving him the strenth to survive.

Thanksgiving was spent with our very best friends, David and Corinna.
Here we are, just the two of us - girls!
We never planned to dress alike. It just turned out that way. :o)

There they are, just the two of them!
Gosh, we love you guys!

And here we are, just the two of us!

No explanation needed. :o)

We spent Christmas eve with family and friends, singing and praising our Lord at a special service at our church. What a wonderful evening it was too, and then we went home by ourselves - just the two of us!

We spent Christmas day with our children and grandchildren, at their house, eating and playing all day long. What a wonderful day that was too!

And here they are, Billy and Cathy . . . .

and Lincoln, the basketball boy . . . . Head in the Game! . . . . don't ya know?

Darling Emma, our gorgeous princess, singer and dancer . . . .

and Will, who is as tall as his Mimi and as handsome as his Papa & Daddy . . . .

and last, but certainly not least (as long as my sweet hubby is in the picture), here we are again, just the two of us!

Jeremiah spoke of a new beginning that we can all enjoy on a daily basis, not having to wait for a year or a month or a new adventure to begin. These are his words, recorded in Lamentations 3:21-24:

This I recall to my mind,

Therefore I have hope,

The Lord's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,

They are new every morning;

Great is Your faithfulness.

"The Lord is my portion," says my soul,

"Therefore I have hope in Him."

Every single day is a new beginning and a chance to be re-newed in our walk with our Lord! So, for this child of God, there will be NO new year resolutions or even new month resolutions, but my daily hope is that I will walk closer by His side in the shelter of His love and seek to fall more deeply in love with Him. And . . . .

I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13

Amen!

Catching Up . . . . Part Two

August was the month for spending time with friends. Unfortunately, we didn't always have the camera ready, but we sure are thankful for the shots we got. These are our closest and bestest friends . . . . . David & Corinna!

And this, of course, is me and my best friend . . . . Corinna.

And these are some very special friends that we had not seen in a very, very long time . . . . John and Tess. Hopefully, it won't be so long before we see them again. We love you guys!

God has surely blessed us with some wonderful, Christian friends - some we get to see alot and some not so often. But no matter how short or long it's been, there's such a special, common bond that binds our hearts together. We cherish each and every special friend as a precious gift from our Heavenly Father. For after all, we are all . . . . . together, in the embrace of the Lamb!

Catching Up . . . . Part One

July . . . seems so long ago . . . and I've already posted something about the celebrations we had on the 3rd and 4th. But that's not all that happened in July! The truth is, July was my birthday month, and while I don't feel the need to celebrate anymore, my family and friends won't let it go by without doing something special for me . . . because they are ALL very special people, who wouldn't think of ignoring my birthday, even though that would be fine with me :) In any case, the day started at French Press, with coffee and breakfast, provided by my daughter and youngest grandson. Afterward, we walked through a downtown farmer's market and then browsed an antique store. It was wonderful, and I can't say enough about how much I enjoy my daughter's company. It's just something we don't get to do very often, so when it happens I cherish every moment of it.

My best friend, Corinna, took me out for lunch, and we just took our time and had a good visit, and I'm ashamed that I forgot to take my camera and snap some pictures. I'm still such an amateur at this blogging thing, but I love it, even though I'm lame with it :)

Later in the week, our families got together for a special dessert, and I have no idea what Will is doing in this picture.

But here I am with all the 'pupcakes' they made for this special dessert. They were a special tropical blend with toasted coconut sprinkled on top. Yummy!

The cupcakes were soooooo good, but the hugs were the best!

Happy Birthday to me! Or, as Lincoln would say, "Happy Birthday, Mimi-ah!"

Grandkids are the best!

We never get tired of spending time with our GRANDKIDS!!! There's always some fun to be had and some memories to make, whether it's all three or just one. Those one-at-a-time overnighters are so very special, because there is no sibling rivalry and we can really work on our relationship with that one child. But . . . . when we have all three, there's never a dull moment and lots of adrenaline flowing. Either way, we love it and never get tired of spending time with our precious grandkids.



Our grandkids are very creative, as you can see by what they've done with cheap paper plates!

When the weather is nice, though, forget the crafts, because they love to be outside. What a bunch of happy faces!

Creative minds and good looking :) God is soooooo good to us and has blessed us sooooo much!

Emma, our little dancing queen!

It's a shame that our digital camera does not record sound, because if it did you would understand how talented our little granddaughter really is. She's got the moves that goes with any kind of music. Here she is dancing to a song from High School Musical, and she's hoping that some day she will be able to sing and dance just like Gabriella! She absolutely loves that movie!

Lincoln's Dribbling Practice

How cute is that? :)

June . . . and the 4th of July!

June is just a blur (that's what I get for not writing things down to help me remember), and somehow we were into July before I knew what happened. My hubby and I had a discussion about how this once-a-month blogging thing is working out, and we determined that for the most part, it's not! So now, once again, I'm playing catch-up, and I've decided to follow our daughter's example and just do a blog post when there's something to share. Cathy is so good at this, and looking back through her posts I remembered that at times pictures can be quite enough. I don't have to put so much pressure on myself of writing something eloquent (not that I ever could anyway), but there are those wordless posts she's done that really don't need a bunch of writing to paint the picture. The photos do that all by themselves. So without further ado (and a lot less stress) I'm sharing some pictures of the 4th of July, and I'm not going to worry about what I can't remember of June.

We've never before had the experience of seeing fireworks from a boat on the lake, but this year we did! We were invited by our wonderful friends to experience the 4th of July boat/lake experience on the 3rd, and we were still able to spend the 4th with our kids/grandkids the very next day. So here goes, the pictures that paint a thousand words, and what a spectacular sight it was!

The next day, on the 4th, in our kids neighborhood, eating bbq and watching the kids play.

Don't ya just want to kiss those sweet cheeks?

Stay tuned for my next blog, where you'll see Lincoln dribbling in motion :)

Such a little lady, and growing up way too fast!

Pictures of Will are often blurry, because he doesn't stand still long enough to get a clean shot!

So, there you have it, and as I sign off I'm already prepping the next post. Moving pictures of little boys dribbling deserves a post all their own, don't ya think?