Last Post of the Year

I really can't believe it's already December 31st.

Really, where has the time gone?

Am I that old that time seems to go by so quickly?  Nah, I didn't think so either.

But it does seem to go by a lot faster than it use to.  So fast, that I find that I don't have time for blogging.  But I do seem to make time for Pinterest.

Hmmmm, sounds odd doesn't it?

Anyway, with a new year starting, I am going to try to make more time for things that 
I have been neglecting.

So with that said, 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

I hope 2015 is filled with blessings and good things for all of you!

His will or yours?

This weekend I heard the best analogy of God's will.

I have to admit I am one of those people who had a fear of what God's will was for me and my family, this story explains it in such a way that anyone can understand, especially mothers.

There is a mother who has a son, and he is the only child so as you can imagine, he becomes her whole world.  There is nothing that she loves more than spending time with him, playing and reading to him, she cannot imagine her life without him.  So she is very protective and won't let the boy do much of anything. 
A friend approaches her and tries to tell her that she just has to trust God, the boy will be fine, but the mother is afraid.  She is afraid that if she isn't there to protect him that God will let something bad happen to the boy.
The friend says, what if God let you control the boys life, if it were your will be done, then what kind of things would you have happen to him?  Would you wish bad things on him?  
The mother said No, of course not, I only want what is best for my boy.
The friend says, surely God loves him more than you do, you should know that God doesn't want any harm to come to him, he only wants him to be happy, and blessed, and for him to love God as much as God loves him.

When it is put like that, how can we not ask that God's will be done.  Even in the worst of times, his will is not to hurt us, only to bless us.

Happiness

Recently, as I was browsing through blog land I came across this TED talk.

Source

It is amazing!  

Have you watched TED talks before?  They have some pretty good ones on there if you look.  

But this one appealed to me because of some of the things he said about how to program ourselves to be happy.

My favorite was being grateful.

Which led me to this.

Source

This man, David Steindl-Rast, tells us to be happy, you have to be grateful.

Awesome video!!!

How grateful/happy are you?

His awesome power!

Recently we took a semi-vacation to the river for a few days, and it just so happened that there was a hurricane coming in as we got there.

Yea, I wasn't thrilled about driving into a hurricane either but the Mr. was insistent that everything would be fine.

Famous last words huh?  Kind of like, hey, watch this!

So, while we had lots of rain and wind, we were very fortunate that we didn't have any downed trees and we still had power.  Having the power was great because the humidity was unbearable, and I have been there after hurricanes and not had power so we felt pretty fortunate to still have it.

After getting up the next morning and making sure everything was OK, we decided to go ahead and get our stuff ready to take the boat out for the day.  

That's when Mr. Wonderful came in and said "Everybody get in the truck, you have got to see this."  

So, as you can imagine, we all jumped in the truck to see what he was so excited about.

That's when we saw it.

The water seemed to have just gone away.  It was an amazing site to see what was just full of water be so dry that we could walk into the river.

This is the view looking back to the beach area.  

WILD!!!!!   

I think this must have been what the Israelites' must have felt like when they walked through the Red sea.  

There were places that still had water, the deeper spots I guess, but it was still shallow enough that we could walk through most of it.

Isn't it amazing what God can do!!!!

Just a short time earlier we were full, and then a storm and we are empty.

One of the things that come to my mind when I see these pictures, one is just how powerful God is.  He has control over ALL things and if he can do this, there's nothing he can't do.  

Also, just in case you were wondering, we did walk out into the river, mostly because we were simply amazed, but we didn't stay out there but a few minutes because we had no idea how long it would stay out or how fast it would come in.

We went back to the house for maybe an hour I don't really think it was that long, and by the time we got back down there it was almost all the way back in.

Amazing, isn't it?  

Well, it was to me.

The gift of light

I have had a Home Depot gift card just burning a hole in my pocket for about a month now, and this weekend I finally used it.

I have been wanting to change the lights in the dining room and kitchen for a while now, and since I had some funds available then I decided to go for it while I was able to get my husband to help me.

We started off with these standard brass chandeliers in the dining room.

I know, don't look at the mess on the table.  It's the light you should be focusing on.

So, here is what we have now.

Isn't it amazing?  

I absolutely love it.

So we went ahead and took down the chandelier in the kitchen and put up one of these beauties in there also.

Ta Da!!!!

I know, I really do need to clean off my tables.  

That will be next on my to do list, I promise.

Changing times

Whew, where does the time go, right?  I know, it's been too long, and honestly I don't really have any excuses except that I have had some changes which I am about to tell you.  I also didn't really feel like I had anything worth talking about.  

As I was saying that yesterday, I read a blog about something random that happened and it was so funny I laughed my head off.  Really funny.  So that made me think what happens to me might just be more interesting than I thought.

So, since I've been gone my sweet baby boy has gotten married.

And it was awesome!

His bride wanted a beach wedding, so guess what?  

She got it!

It couldn't have been any more perfect.  It wasn't too hot, it was around 78 and a little breezy, but it was just perfect.

This is the sweet bride with her parents.  I can't tell you what great people they are, it was such fun helping all of them with the wedding.  

We were so lucky that our Pastor was able to marry them, he is such a great person and he is retiring this month and I hate to see him leave.  He has been such a great teacher and inspiration to me.

They look so happy don't they?

We were so lucky my mom and my Aunt (who is like a second mother to me) were able to go.

My son's best friend since birth practically was with us also, and I would just like to say some girl will never have a dull moment with this guy.  He is awesome!

These last ones are just some family pics that we took, and some are just because.

Mr. Wonderful's family

Baby boy's family

My people

We had such a great time, it was truly a celebration!!!!

We are blessed to be such a close family and I love that about us, the new bride loves it too.  

While it was sad to let go of our sweet boy, we gained a wonderful daughter and we love them beyond measure.

One of the things that stands out the most in my mind about the day is when we were all at the house getting ready to leave for the beach and my husband wanted to pray for the new couple and it was so sweet.  

So, that's what I've been doing, letting go of the past and moving on into the future.  I had a boss once who told me young people shouldn't have a problem with change it's the older ones who have a hard time moving on.   I suppose that's true, but I guess I was ready for a little change.  I am learning to celebrate the now, exactly where I am at this moment, and it's pretty good.

It's that time again

I can't believe it's already time for me to head back to the Dr. for my yearly physical.

Yes, I know, I can hardly wait to see what kind of paper gown we have this year, and the probing and all the fun stuff that comes along with a physical.

It's just mind blowing how much fun it can be, right? 

And I know that when I am done with that little adventure, I will be scheduling the
annual mammogram.

And who doesn't love that?

But it does save lives, so we keep on doing it.

So if you haven't been to the Dr. lately, make an appointment.  Prevention is
the best medicine, after laughter of course.

And please don't deprive yourself the joy of a mammogram, it's an experience
everyone should get to enjoy.