Happy New Year

From my house to yours. 

Wishing you a New Year full with what brings you joy and laughter. With family and friends near.  I wish you health and happiness and I wish you Jesus..  

Should old acquaintance be forgot

And never brought to mind?

Should old acquaintance be forgot,

And auld lang syne!

The new year brings us hope for peace,

A new day for mankind,

Where we can all live hand in hand

And leave all hate behind.

For auld lang syne, my dear.

For auld lang syne.

We'll take a cup of kindness yet

For auld lang syne.

When dreams they seem so far away,

Your soul can feel so low.

But love is never far away;

Your heart won't be alone.

Let's make a world where people care,

A world that knows no fear,

Where we can open up our hearts

And hold each other dear.

Our children grow, they need to know

The Future's theirs to hold.

If we can teach them how to love

Then the world can carry on.

For auld lang syne, my dear.

For auld lang syne.

We'll take a cup of kindness yet

For auld lang syne.

Hallelujah

HALLELUJAH!

Hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah

hallelujah hallelujah

Hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah

hallelujah hallelujah

For the lord God omnipotent reigneth

Hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah

For the lord God omnipotent reigneth

Hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah

For the lord God omnipotent reigneth

Hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah

Hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah

Hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah

For the lord God omnipotent reigneth

Hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah

For the lord God omnipotent reigneth

Hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah

Hallelujah

The kingdom of this world;

is become

the kingdom of our Lord,

and of His Christ

and of His Christ

And He shall reign for ever and ever

And he shall reign forever and ever

And he shall reign forever and ever

And he shall reign forever and ever

King of kings forever and ever

hallelujah hallelujah

and lord of lords forever and

ever hallelujah hallelujah

King of kings forever and ever

hallelujah hallelujah

and lord of lords forever and

ever hallelujah hallelujah

King of kings forever and ever

hallelujah hallelujah

and lord of lords

King of kings and lord of lords

And he shall reign

And he shall reign

And he shall reign

He shall reign

And he shall reign forever and ever

King of kings forever and ever

and lord of lords hallelujah hallelujah

And he shall reign forever and ever

King of kings and lord of lords

King of kings and lord of lords

And he shall reign forever and ever

Forever and ever and ever and ever

King of kings and Lord of Llords

Hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah

Hallelujah

Great Day

Girls,

It was a great day at my house last Saturday.. a great day... I am waiting on my son to send me some pictures. He took all the pictures and I need to remind him to send them to me..

It was a crazy fast day and one that I wish had lasted a bit longer but how it thrilled my heart to have my family together... There were some missing and I hope that next year they will be able to be here.. I have waited for this day for so many years.

There are things that have been lost in all those years apart and I understand that they cannot be retrieved, but I can rejoice in the knowing that me and my son Darryl has been reunited and I know that from this day forward we will not look back at the lost years. It was a joy to my heart to see him sitting around my table laughing and talking with his brother Chris, his uncles Paul and Larry and it was though all time had ceased and life was good. Two of the three grandchildren were there. Blake and Bren. The older grandson had finals this week and he just could not make it, but maybe next year. There were many highlight of the day as you can imagine but there is one that I have to share.....

We were all standing around talking and my grandson Blake called me grand mom. Grand mom.. I have waited many many years to hear that.. It almost made me cry... He is a senior in high school and I have missed his life but never the less, he called me grandma. That was the highlight of the day... You grandmothers out there will understand that...

Things are much slower here now and my sweet husband has been sick with the flu since Wednesday.. We are looking forward to a very quiet Christmas and that is fine. One big get together each year is good enough for me.. I think me and hubby and brother and SIL are going to do some traveling during the Christmas season from now on.. That will be fun...

Well, I wish I had some picture to share but as soon as they are sent to me, I will post them...

Hope all is well and each of you are getting ready to celebrate HIS birth... after all HE is the reason for ALL seasons..

Sooooooooooo Excited

Well girls.... just three more days and both my boys and both my brothers and my grandchildren will be in my home for Thanksgiving/Christmas.. I am EXCITED more than I can tell you..... This will be the first of many holidays that I can spend with my sons. I cannot tell you how excited I am and very very Thankful....... I am so busy.....  too busy I think, but I will finish up everything tomorrow and Friday I will cook and they will be here Saturday at noon...........  OMG both my boys both my brothers and their wives, my sweet husband and cousins Tisha and Harold..  (that is a lot of people)  Hope I have not forgotten how to cook for that many.. :)  ...... OMG......... God is good so very very good... I did not think this day would ever come   I promise to take pictures......... Talk to you next week!

Giving Thanks

Hard to imagine that Thanksgiving is on our doorsteps again... I just have no idea where this year went.

I hope you gals do not get tired of listening to me talk about Mom and Dad but it is told me that it is good for healing. I think that is the truth. My sweet husband has been my listener for 16 months now . Even saying that is hard for my mind to comprehend. 16 for Dad and 14 for Mom. I can say this with all sincerity that it does get better. I have a wonderful friend that is also a counselor and she says 18 months is very common for the grieving process. That is true.

My memories of those two little people have gone from the mistakes that I made while taking care of them to the wonderful times throughout my entire life that they were there for me. My memories of them while sitting here at home alone has brought smiles and out right laughter with no one to hear but me and perhaps them but I think not. Of course the Father God has shared those memories with me and I think that HE smiled just to see or here me laugh.

Have you ever given any thought to how the heart heals? I mean really give it some thought. I have. Twice in my life I have been cut to the spirit and all life seemly drained from my body. Twice in my life being broken would be an understatement and twice in my life I seemed to be broken beyond repair. In those times I just did not see the value of tomorrow and really did not believe that tomorrow would bring anything but yet again much sorrow. BUT tomorrow came and with it healing.

I have once again this past year given much thought to the wonders of this God that we serve. The heart, it can be broken but with no wounds for the eye of man to see only God. It breaks and it bleeds out and yet we continue to breath and yet we only breath but we do not do much living. Grief and sorrow are visible on our face and our countenance shows the world that the invisible fissures of the heart are just below the skin and bone in this body of our. We grieve. 

I really had no understand of the magnitude of grief until I experienced it first hand. It is not something that is expressed with any words I know, maybe you do but I find it impossible to express.. What does the bible say... with groanings that cannot be uttered. There it is.. How smart is our God. HE understands our groanings. Not for the ear of any man to understand, only groans, but to the Father God it is grief and sorrow given over to words that only HE hears. Then the healing begins.

Healed in my heart and wounds replaced with laughter. How in the world does HE do that. Groaning for a season has ended and now words of Thanksgiving have replace the sobs and tears. My heart where God resides they say. My heart that feels sorrow and pain and joy and laughter. Invisible to the human eye are the scars of many a wound yet HE sees and understands. It is a strange thing this "heart" of ours that only the Father God can reach. There are no scalpels or lasers or x-rays or any other human effort can touch and heal a heart. Only God. I am thankful that HE is here and HE is able to do such a thing. I am thankful.

Our Thanksgiving is going to on Sunday this years because of scheduling problems getting every one here but it is going to be very special for me. Both brothers will be here and it has been years since one of them could be here...... Of course Chris and his sweetie Tara will be here. HOWEVER there  is one other things that has my heart jumping with joy....  My oldest son will be here with my three grandchildren.OMG It will be the first time that he has celebrated a Thanksgiving with me in many many many years and I am THANKFUL. Once again the  Father God has wiped away those tears of the years lost and replaced them sounds of laughter of the good times. That is the God we serve.

I give thanks today for my sweet husband Dennis where would I be had it not been for the  patience he has afforded me this past 16 months. He has been the ear to listen to my sorrow, and he has been patient, he is a gift from God. I give thanks today for my son Chris that has been a stead fast presence in my life for many many years and has made me laugh more times that I can count, he does not just bring joy to my heart, he is joy. I am thankful for my son Darryl, it has been a long road back to where he and I have needed to be and he is happy to walk that path with me. I give thanks for the two older brothers, each so very different but each so very very special in my life. we are very close and I am thankful that they are a big part of my life. There is still a missing part to this family  but I am believing God that those wounds will heal and forgiveness will take the place of her hate and her heart will begin the healing process.

Then I give thanks to my Father God. Always there regardless if I feel that or not. Always there to bring healing and comfort. Always there to listen and bring guidance, Always there in the good times and always in the bad, Never judging, only loving, always understanding even when we are so very very foolish in word or deed. HE is steadfast and faithful and that my friend is something that we each and every one should be most thankful for this Thanksgiving season.

Happy Thanksgiving Mom and Dad, I know you are well and happy and enjoying the fruits of your faith. I am guessing that the feasts that you enjoy overshadow the feasts here in homes across this land like light overshadows darkness.  While we enjoy our feasts here on this earth we wait patiently and sometimes not so patient to feast once again with you in a place that knows no grief or sorrow, only laughter and hearts that are healed and whole and full of joy unspeakable. Love you both a lot..........

Happy Thanksgiving girls! I am so glad to call you friends......
Thanks for letting me bend your ear one more time to talk about Mom and Dad. I needed to share these feelings. 

..

What a year........

Now we get to add earthquakes to our list of things that have been blasting Oklahoma this year....... Earthquakes......... what a trip that was....... I felt all three of them and the third one just unnerved me. That was three days in a row... Then the NEXT day, strong storms and a violent tornado with flash flooding and baseball size hail across the state. Our weather radio woke us up on Monday night at 12 midnight with flash flood warning. Kinda hard to get away from that as well as an earthquake. Whew! I am ready for a nice quiet winter with some snow and cold snuggling weather. 

We are still so busy painting the outside of the house and my sweet husband has made some beautiful shutters. I will take pictures soon. 

I have decided that for the next couple of months, actually through the winter  I am going to go to the fitness center at the University. They have a wonderful health club and with Dennis being employed there we get a big discount. They have all the machines and treadmills and bikes and weights and people there to help and coach me on the machines.  I have been out here a year and half now alone and it is time for me to get out of this house and get busy with life.  Come the Spring Semister at the college I am thinking of taking a class. Not sure what but maybe something fun like pottery or something serious like Religious Debate. (My husband says that they will kick me out after the first day)  I have strong opinions and I hate the word religion!   hahaha.......... We will see....  I need to get out and about. 

Just watched the debate. I will be glad when they begin to narrow that field down a bit. I know who I would love to see on the ballot and who I think would beat Obama but not sure if he is going to make it to the ticket or not. That is Newt Gingrich. He is very very intelligent and he would give Obama a run for his money in any debate. He has some baggage but he knows what he is talking about and he talks straight regardless of who is listening. I pray about it every day. Hope you are praying also. We need that man out of the office. We cannot afford another 4 years of Obama Nation. I like Herman Cain real well, but I am not sure he will survive this attack.  It is a shame as I think he would make a wonderful president. 

Well not much else going on here. Planning on a nice Thanksgiving with older brother PE and wife Alpha and son Chris and gal  Tara.   I think the 6 of us are going to plan some type of Christmas vacation this year instead of staying here... Not sure but we are talking  Florida maybe. Who knows...  

Hope you gals are all doing well, I miss my blog buddies ..   

Hugs ........

Good Morning America !!!!!!!!!!!

We got rain, real rain, down pouring rain. Gutter gushing, ditch runnin', cats and dogs rain. It came with thunder and lightening and bit of hail and RAIN... Not sure how much as my rain gauge is broken but my brother PE will call me here in a minute and he will share with me how much rain we got! Thank you Lord.

Now, rain on southern Texas where they are having dust storms......

I have not been here in a while. Power cord to my laptop quit and finding another one was a bit of a chore. Hubby thought he had one in his box of tricks at work, nope, could not find one here in town so we went to the only source we had left. Ebay. Yep, they had one and it must have been in China and on a slow boat here.

I still do not have one so I have slipped out into my shop to at least post a little sompin'.

I do not go much on the internet on my business computer as it holds so many design files and business information. I do not use it much at all but for work, but today was a needful thing. But no email till the laptop is running so if you have sent email to my denisewalden account and have not heard from me give me a few more days.

Hubby has been off and we are finally getting the outside of the house finished. We started painting early Spring but when the heat started we had to quit as it was too hot to do anything outside. Weather now is perfect and we still have the trim work to finish and paint the brick on the North side. People thought I was crazy when I told them I was painting the brick but now we have people stopping as they go by to give us a nod of approval. Some even wanting to know what color........ The two doors will be dark Hunter green. So many people paint their doors red so I am doing something different. The doors will match the shutters.

Sweet !!!!!!!!!!So as soon as I finish I will take pictures and let you see what we did......

Time to start putting up Christmas lights. I usually do that two weeks before Thanksgiving, so I need to drag it all out of the storage next week and get things together. I am looking forward to the holidays this year more than last. My heart is healing and I am thankful. I will take pictures when finished.

I am painting the inside of my house from front to back but have not decided on a color yet. Every room one color throughout, so when I decided on the kitchen color that will the the color for the entire house. Going to try and do that this winter. I have several projects for the winter, I need to stay on track.

I have found my mojo and feeling pretty good, I am on track with my diet and that is going well. Talked to a young man yesterday that used to weigh 285 with his cholesterol at 270. He bought a Champion juicer and started living on veggie and fruit juice and one year later he is running 50 miles a week and weight 145 with his cholesterol at 140. Now that is a success story.

Did I tell you that I found a Champion juice at a garage sale this summer for  $2.00. !!!  (Retail $265.00) and it works like a charm. This thing is HEAVY. 

I have been praying and praying and praying about my weight and asking the Lord to please help me. Finding that juicer I think is part of HIS answer. 

While talking to this young man he told me about soft serve ice-cream made with my juicer!  I gave it a try last night while watching the third game of the world series.

2 Frozen banana's (I keep bananas in the freeze for just such occasion)

Hand full of frozen strawberries and hand full of frozen dark cherries, 

I broke the bananas into 4 pieces and one into the juice with strawberries on top 

of that then some cherries. I alternated them until all the bananas were used. 

What I got was a delightful  mixture of banana and cherry and strawberry out the other end in a perfect soft serve consistency. Frozen bananas are very sweet so I did not need to use any sweetener at all. It made enough for me and Hubby.

It was perfect. We are closet ice-cream junkies so this is a wonderful substitution with no fat, no sugar all natural. I am going to buy some frozen peaches and mango's and blueberries and blackberries and see what kind of concoctions I can come up with. Who knew you could do that with a juicer !

I juice one pound of organic carrots every day mixed with different veggies and fruit every day. I want to be 100% raw by the end of the year. Trouble is, I am a meat eater! I love meat.  So right now I still have my roasted chicken and grilled salmon. We might have to keep that in our diet. I do not see me never having that again, so I am guessing that I will level out at 99% raw with the occasional piece of chicken or fish.

 I am busy in my shop and business is growing. I decided a few months back that I would go back to work so to speak and help with the finances. Dennis has 6 more years before he retires and I am healthy and have this wonderful shop here in my house. Might as well work.  People are hearing that I am back to work so I am getting busy. I am still working on my web site and now building my brother a new one. That is all on my agenda for this winter.  

Well I think that has got you pretty caught up.

Hope you gals are enjoying the beautiful fall colors. 

Hugs

Me Myself and I and a Vita Mixer

Finally got rain.... a little over 3 inches...Thank you Lord....... It watered the plants and the trees look happy......Now Lord just send a bit more rain and fill up the ponds for the critters and farm animals.......

Trying to figure out my life right now is tough. I change from day to day. Finding out who I am now is something I have never faced. I am coming out of the depression and I find that I have neglected a great many things. One being my health. If anyone out there is reading this and you are a caregiver, remember to take care of your health.

Today I am ordering me a Vita-Mixer. If you do not know much about this, then Google it and read up. It is quite the machine and it will do wonders for my raw food diet that I am struggling with.......... There are a ton of recipes on the internet for raw food so this is going to be a tool to help....... one web site that I just love is 

Blend It and Mend It

It has some wonderful ways to regain good health and feed the body good food.  If you get a chance go and take a look around her site. You will enjoy her humor. 

Had a scare the other day with Dennis...... Had to take him to the ER with right arm and leg numbness, bad headache and very high blood pressure. After many tests and one night in the hospital he checked out ok. No idea what was going on but he is now on a low dose blood pressure medicine...... You look at life so much different when health comes into the picture. 

Things at the shop is getting busy and I guess that is ok..... keeps me busy.  Working on the web site and updating my brothers web site and moving it to a new server.  Just stuff going on here, not too much just life.  

I have learned how to make my own fermented veggies and Dennis eats some every day and his acid reflux is gone. The fermented veggies are full of good probiotics.  A lot of people take medicine every day to reduce the acid in their stomach but in fact there is not enough acid in your stomach thus the food is not digesting and it is rotting and causing the reflux.  Anyway, the good probiotics adds back to our system what antibiotics and other medicine has striped away........  Walla !  Now our digestion is working better and no more acid reflux..

There is sooooooooo much information on the internet. Time to be proactive about our own health.  This year I am changing from Mammograms to Thermography.  I have been reading about the difference for over a year now, and this year am making the change.

My sister in law is recovering well and when she is able we (me and Dennis and PE and Alpha) are planning a little road trip, I am looking forward to that.  Then we, the 4 of us and my son Chris is planning a Christmas trip this year instead of a big Christmas dinner.  That should be fun.  

Hope you gals are enjoying the beautiful colors of fall and are you making any plans for the up coming holidays? 

Hugs

October !

Where did THIS year go............ 

I am sad...... 

Had to cover up that pool today. It always hurts my feelings when they roll that green tarp over my blue water.....

Thank you Lord for the summer just past but please do me a favor..... turn the fire down just a bit for next summer....

This one was just a bit too hot for me....BUT I am not complaining.... you know how I love the summer......

but alas.....

Here comes winter and I will do my best to enjoy the short days and the blanket of snow that I hope we get.....

BUT 

I will be watching the calendar and counting the days till that green tarp is rolled back and that beautiful blue water shimmers in the warm summer sun! 

I Thank Each of You.......

Thank you girls, each of you that sent emails and left comments on my post on the 15th of September. I have always tried to be real here in my blog and that is what I hoped to do with that post......

I have always believed that if we share our stories whether they be good or they be bad, others can relate and understand that they are not alone in their feelings.

I always want to be transparent and real here in the blog and talk about what hurts me and what makes me laugh or cry........

It has been a learning time for me this past year..... and the Lord has taught me many things...... HE is a loving God that cries with us when we cry and laughs with us when we laugh. HE is never angry with us and HE is patient. HE rejoices over us with song and we are the reason that HE sent HIS son Jesus........

Thanks again girls for all the sweet comments........... Love ya' each one...

In Their Honor - I Forgive Myself...

Go over to Samaritan Women to read.........

In Their Honor

Changing My Blog Name

I am thinking about changing the name of my blog.....

I am wanting to start showing off and selling the primitive items that I make. I have a web site about finished that I will sell a lot of embroidery files and gift items but I think I would like to turn this blog into my Sew Very Prim blog. I will share my life but then I will also share my crafts...... What ya think? I do not like change but I think that if I try to start another blog I will not get much done on any of them... I am going to start posting on my Samaritan Women blog on September 15th and the Lord has given me much to say on that blog. So, I do not want 3 blogs so do you think changing this one to the craft blog will work?

Love all of ya girls and want to get back into blogging and leave FB

...... And I think that combining my Life At My House and Sew Very Prim will work for me........ Let me know your thought and I will make the change the first of October.......

Have a safe and fun weekend. 

We are going to have one last cook out and pool party before the weather changes.. The temperature are supposed to be in the upper 80's which is WONDERFUL and a few night in the 60's. The pool will cool off real quick with those temps at night and we do not have the money to heat it every day. The month of September we will heat it on Saturday and Sunday morning so we can swim on the weekends and most likely close it the first of October......

Anyway, that is what is going on at my house and having both brothers and a cousin over tomorrow will be so much fun!

Passion for Change

Making changes in our lives is tough. 

There is no magic wand, no fairy dust to be sprinkled over our head and no miracle pill that will change everything over night. Change comes on purpose. Sometimes as Christians we expect the Father God to just 'zap" us and walla there is change.... That does not work, I know I have spent the last 35 years of being born again testing that system.

Change is not the product of will power we all know how quickly that fades and then fails. 

We have all been there. Change, something that we all desire and something that eludes us day after day after day. I say that because I stand right in the middle of my "want to". I have taken this past year since losing my mom and dad and have reevaluated my life. Mercy, when we allow the Father God to come into the darkness that we have hidden in our hearts, HE does just that and when HE begins to reveal the areas that need change, OMG. There it comes, the word change.

I have a TERRIBLE time with discipline. Terrible terrible time. There I have confessed it.

Soooooooooooooo here it is " I LOVE ice-cream......... I LOVE TV......... I have NO discipline in my life...... I need to find discipline...."

In my life now, it is a BIG deal and each day when I get up, I pray.......... Father God help me with my discipline. BUT there are days I do not pray. "Sigh"

But you know what I have learned.......

That discipline comes with passion. Once we find the passion for our lives, discipline comes right along with it. Will power will fail you but passion will drive you. In thinking that, I have changed my mind concerning discipline. Christ taught us that very well, HIS passion was for doing the will of the Father and HE followed that passion right to the cross.

So each day now I pray, God fire up the passion in me to do those things that you have called me to. Rekindle the fire that once burned in my soul. Change, yes, but it comes when passion is ignited......... It is not without sacrifice but the sacrifice comes with the passion.

Passion (from the Ancient Greek verb πάσχω (paskho) meaning to suffer) is a term applied to a very strong feeling about a person or thing. Passion is an intense emotion compelling feeling, enthusiasm, or desire for something.

God, fire up the passion that lies within me and show me the beauty of the gifts that you have given me. I pray that with that passion change will come and in that change, I will be standing right in the middle of your will for my life.......

I pray that you find the passion that burns within your soul......

with that passion comes all the tools that you need to accomplish those things that the Father God has placed within your heart.

Fun Pictures from July 4th and Fast and Pray for rain...

We have a wonderful time on the 4th. As many of you know, the Lord healed a relationship through the death of my father. My brother Larry and I had not spoken in so many years, years that we cannot get back but we have promised each other to make up for them every day! Anyway, Larry and his wife Marty and PE( older brother) and his wife Alpha, Christopher and his main squeeze Tara and my sweet husband and myself had a wonderful time on the 4th. I invited everyone over for a pool party and a hot dog!

Here are a few pictures!

This picture here is my son Chris and his sweetie hiding  from the down pour under the floatie!   I kept telling them to get out of the pool in case of lightening but you know how far I got with that!

We had no more than got started when it clouded up and it came a rain like the heavens were opening up! Straight down rain!  No one complained and we just waited it out. It only lasted about 15 minutes but that was such a wonderful 15 minutes. It was 6 pm and the temp was 104 and after the rain shower the temp was 90.  Perfect for an evening swim!  The Father God knew what we needed. 

THIS IS MY FAVORITE PICTURE!!!

 Is this just not the cutest picture you have ever seen. The rain is coming down in sheets and my sweet husband was standing faithfully at the grill watching those hotdogs!  Look at the water splashes in the pool!  I am going to get this one framed!

This is Chris and Tara again.....it was pouring on them...... seems they were just enjoying their selves! Don't really blame them, it has been so hot!

This shows the water just pouring off the house......... I wish it would rain like that again TODAY!

Bless his heart, he was a real trooper!

Aweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee  they are just too cute!

Is that too cool or what!  Underwater camera, I have got to have one!

Look at that face!  I love that boy!

They had a good day!

                                       I love this one....... May have to frame this one........

Larry, my sweet brother, don't you think he looks like he is having a good time?

Noodle boy!

Noodle hog!  Like she really needs 4 noodles to hold her up!

That big splash is my brother PE....... Show off!

That is PE...... oops, chopped his head off...........  BUT he is having a great time! 

That would be my son Chris...  got to hold his nose......

I love sharing my life and the things that the Father God has blessed me with.  I love my family and just to sit back and watch them enjoying their day made me smile........... The hot dogs and chips were sooooooooooo tasty!  

Girls and guys, pray for rain for Kansas and Oklahoma and Texas.... and any other state that you might know is in drought.  We are expecting temps up to 120 next week..........  We need rain from heaven...... The Father God will answer if we pray.............

This was at 2:00 today..........  going to be hotter tomorrow..........  Time to get serious and fast and pray...

So Depressed....THEN......

I was so depressed the other day, we were out in the pool and I told my husband that I had no idea what was wrong with me. I am NEVER bored, lots to do and my time is my own. So why in the world would I be feeling depressed!

THEN, my quiet husband said......... I think we are not grateful enough for what the Lord has done in our lives and we do not thank HIM near enough!

THERE

it was! The secret to real joy in our lives, inner joy, not the joy that can wash off, is gratitude! An attitude of gratitude is where we should live.

I am

reading that book "on thousand gifts" by Ann Voskamp. I need to read it a bit more slowly, maybe start at the beginning again. It is the job of the enemy to pull our focus onto the things that we do not have and it is the job of the Holy Spirit to bring our focus on to the blessings.

Oh Lord

For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. Isaiah 50:7

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. Psalms 121:1

Oh Lord

Help me to keep my eyes like a flint turned toward you from whence cometh my help.

Have a blessed day girls....... it is still so hot here..... no break in sight.. BUT I will turn my eyes........

Oh My Gosh !

Oh my gosh!

What was I doing when praying for summer to get here......... Be careful what you pray for! haha

That forecast is for Oklahoma City and we are about 4-5 degrees hotter....... It was 112 in the shade in my back yard yesterday. I don't know for sure but I think this is into our 3rd week of over 100! 

Pray for rain for southern Oklahoma... and Texas panhandle...!!!

 July 9th - 15th 

Ours will be 107- 111....... 

This needs to end.... Lord........ 

July 8-14th

One Year Today

One Year Today

Today is one year since I lost my Dad. After two long weeks in the hospital he slipped away at 4:20 am on July 2nd. 2010  Where in the world did this year go.

I had been by his side for the entire two weeks and if I would leave the room he would begin to call out my name.  My sweet sister in law Alpha told me that even when we thought he had slipped into a coma, he would call out for me.  

The Lord has taught me a great many things this past year and I can tell you that it has been an emotional journey. There were so many things dividing the family and after losing Dad,  it all came crashing in. I have much to share but not just yet......  just a little more time and I will share a journey that the Lord has taken me on. 

 BUT for today..........

  I honor my father  Paul E Walsh. He was a son and a husband. He was a father to 4 children. Paul Edward Walsh Jr, Larry Wayne Walsh, Helen Denise Walsh and Kathryn .  He served his country in WWII and as my older brother stated at the funeral service...... He gave back more than he took.    

He was a giver to a fault and was taken advantage of by many people in his life but as the word of God tells us, it is better to give than receive.  He gave.........

Dad, today even after a year...

I still have  fleeting moments that I need to walk across the yard to check on you and mom. I still wake up in the middle of the night thinking that you need me. There are moments in my day that I want to hurry over and ask you questions about my garden or how to prune my roses. 

Or just to sneak a couple of your Hershey kisses. 

You have been gone one year....... my heart still weeps as though it was just yesterday. They say that as time goes on the pain begins to ease........  I hope so.......

I love you Dad and I so look forward to seeing you again.

HOT !!!!!!!!

OMG!!!!!!! It is hot here girls..... 

We are having temperatures that we usually have in August. we are in the be triple digits and have been for over a week now.  Those temps are for Oklahoma City, we are about 80 miles south east and we are about 4-5 degrees hotter than OKC.  Yesterday my porch was 109.  No rain and trees are dying.. Weather forecast is no rain till Labor day. We will lose trees by then. I have stopped watering the garden or flowers and putting all the water on my trees. Whew....... Lord send us some rain. 

We had a wonderful Fathers day. 

Both brothers and their wives came over and we cooked hamburgers and hotdogs on the grill. It was such a wonderful day. We sat and talked and laughed and it just warmed my heart... I was not looking forward to Fathers day but it turned out to be just what I needed.. It was 105 outside so we moved into the house to eat........ then I headed to the pool...... 

We are painting the house this week 

and we really chose a bad week to do that.. We only paint in the mornings..... then it gets too hot to do anything.. The house was red brick and we are painting it sage green. A lot of folks told me I was crazy and should not do that BUT I have people stopping and asking for the color that I am using...... I will not give it to them!!! I looked for 3 years for the right color so am not going to give that away... Do you think I am terrible?

The back side of the house looked like a checker board. 

I would find a color that I wanted (I thought) then after painting a 4x4 square, I did not like it...so off to the paint store to try another color. Three years of that and the back of my house was a checkerboard.

 Excuse the mess.. This was 4  years ago when the pool was going in, but you can see the paint on the house. There are about 4 different colors up there.  So it has been like that for a while.

It just took me forever to find the color I wanted.  Seems that every color looked good on the little paint example but when on the house turned to baby poop mustard color......... Eweeeeeeeeee ! hahaha.

ANYWAY....

I finally found the right color and it is beautiful. We are trimming it with a lighter shade of sage as the trim and then the shutters (which my husband is making) will be dark dark dark hunter green... I have not yet decided on the doors (front door and shop door) I was thinking of barn red but am kinda thinking the same color as the shutters? Anyway, that is what we are doing. I work in the yard mostly as I cannot get up and down off of the ladder and my right shoulder will not let me paint very long.. We are enjoying out time together and spend most of the afternoons in the pool. 

We are thinking about another hot-dog and pool party for the 4th. 

Not sure, it is going to be so hot. We have not had a night party in a few years so thinking about doing that. Our pool has a strobe light underneath the water that changes colors slowly and it is really pretty at night. It is certainly warm enough. I will take pictures. 

In the mean time, have a wonderful week!

Happy Fathers Day ------- My Dad........ My Friend

 

Dad is in the red check, Uncle Ed is standing behind him. Uncle Ed went to be with them on April 28th.  

By this time last year Dad was in the hospital. It was right around Fathers day that we realized that he would not be coming home. Hard to imagine it has been a year.........  Just wanted to remember him and all the wonderful qualities he instilled in me and his son's. He was kind and thoughtful and giving, and he was a giver to a fault. There were many that took advantage of him. They ened up on the losing side. 

Happy Fathers Dad my sweet Dad.  Enjoy your day.  You are still so very very missed.  

Love