CLEANLINESS IS NEXT TO...

Godliness?  Well, not in my books.  Cleaning happens when company is coming.  Therefore, we have company over frequently to keep me motivated.  I do keep things pretty picked up, but that is a whole other thing to me.

Today I'm vaccuming the "don't know how many years they've been there" cobwebs out of my son's bedroom windows.  They have shutters on them so they aren't opened often, especially since he's been in college for almost 2 years now.  And the dust is horrendous since we are STILL in the bathroom remodeling mode. BUT, we are opening our home to an intern this summer, so I don't want to scare her off when she  moves in, so I'm in a little cleaning frenzy!

Our daughter mentioned to us recently that she had a friend from HU who was interning in Edmond and she needed a place to stay, and since our daughter is headed to Colorado, I told her she could offer her room.  So there you go.

Looking forward to meeting Hannah and having another female in the house this summer!

OUR DAYS ARE NUMBERED...

Strange how that hits you in the face sometimes!  Lots of things have been going on with our extended family lately.  Health problems.  Life, and death.  My sweet father-in-law is still hospitalized.  My grandmother, despite some recent scares, celebrated her 96th birthday today. An uncle passed away and his funeral is Wednesday.

It really makes you wonder how long you'll be given on this earth.  There are no guarantees!  I am grateful, though, that I've been able to live this long to see my children almost to adulthood.  They all came to a dinner last night at my sister's house without much prodding.  I know friends are much more important to them right now, but they came.  I'm grateful for a loving husband who encourages and pushes me in the right direction.  I'm grateful that this life is not the end, if you are a child of the King!

Happy 96th Grandma Flora!

Don't stand between this lady and her chocolate!

Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be.  Remind me that my days are numbered—
how fleeting my life is.                                                              Psalm 39:4

TRAINING DAY...

We are about 3 weeks away from taking a small group of kids from our youth group on a Wilderness Trek in Colorado!  So it's time to get prepared!  I've got to start drinking more water and adding a weighted backpack to my exercise regimen.  And drink beet juice (see previous post)!

A sweet friend of mine who lives and breathes mountain adventures has been bugging me to train down at the Wichita Mountains with her, so I finally did it yesterday!  Not that I haven't been there before, but it's been a few years...

I decided I DO need to use a walking pole or whatever they're called.  A cotton t-shirt is not the best option in this hot sweaty weather, and a Camelbak is probably better for me for drinking.  For some reason I have had an aversion to the whole Camelbak thing, probably because you have to put that whole mouthpiece in your mouth.  And I've cleaned out my husband's moldy one.  But I was fumbling a lot getting my backpack off and pulling the water bottle out.  So this little adventure helped a lot.

My daughter laughed at me too, because nature just inspires me to "OOH" and "AHH!"  I really need a better camera, but here's some nature for you to  ooh and ahhh over:

Whoa - this guy greeted us as we were driving in to the parking area...

Ooh...blooming cactus

Wildflower beauties

Ahh....gorgeous!

  And finally - my daughter's pose for the camera - she calls me the paparazzi!

DID YOU KNOW...

that drinking beet juice helps in red blood cell production?  Well, I didn't either.  My daughter bought a juicer last semester and has been educating us on all the benefits of it. She says I could use a few more red blood cells before going up into the mountains of Colorado next month.

 Never mind that beet juice tastes like dirt...

but if you add in a few oranges, it's pretty tasty.

HOW TO GIVE THANKS IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES...

Give thanks in all circumstances; 

for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

I Thessalonians 5:18

This scripture is part of my devotion time today.  It comes the day after my sweet FIL, Charlie was diagnosed with a tumor behind his right eye.  They took him to the hospital the other night, noticing weakness in his left side.  We were all thinking mild stroke.  His health has been declining the last couple of years, due to treatment for prostate cancer.  But his mind is still pretty good;he loves his old western movies and playing dominoes.  Anyway, the symptoms are the effects of a tumor, that looks to be inoperable.

(My sweet in-laws, a few years ago, being honored at their 50th Anniversary trip in a wedding skit!)

So, giving thanks...how do we do that?  Right before that, in verse 17, it says, "pray continually."  If I am praying continually, then the thanks will come.  I am confident that if I am connecting with the Lord of Life, I will be able to give thanks in ALL circumstances.

Actually, there are so many reasons to give thanks:  I give thanks for a clear diagnosis.  No wondering for days and days just what the problem is, getting frustrated with the doctors.  I can give thanks because he's a man who has shown his family and many others how to live and preach the Word.  I can give thanks because there are numerous relatives nearby to help my MIL during this time.  Yes, it's easy for me to give thanks, BUT I'm not his wife.  I'm not there every day dealing with all the ugliness serious illness brings.

So I'm giving thanks today and praying for those that are sick AND their caregivers.  Help them to see through the ugliness and give thanks.

FACE TIME...

We had lots of thing going on Saturday but interestingly enough, I got some face time with all 3 of my kids...SEPARATELY...and I don't know when the last time that has happened!

My daughter and I had planned to shop some garage sales Saturday morning.  A neighborhood near us was having a "neighborhood garage sale," so we decided we would get some exercise and walk through there and check out the sales as well.  I think we probably got about 4 miles in and had lots of fun seeing new houses and yards we don't usually see.  Got a few bargains too!
In the afternoon we went to a graduation party accompanied by our  college son.  One of his best friends graduated from high school and he means a lot to all of us.  Such a great kid, a valedictorian too!  We will miss him.  But we had a lot of fun sitting and chatting with the boys.

Then for dinner we ended up getting some fast food with our youngest son, so that was nice!  I never know who's going to be around for dinner lately - just the life with college kids and teens!

But I'm thankful for the moments...

MY CAT LOOKS LIKE SHE HAS TOILET PAPER STUCK ON HER...

but it's just my attempt to bandage her tail which is wounded from some critter.  It amazes me how wounded animals don't cry.   They just go somewhere and heal.  And lick and lick.  Or die.  Or get eaten, I guess.  Sorry for being so morbid this morning.

I'm sure that bandage won't last long but thankfully she let us clean it up and doctor her a little this morning after us looking at it for several days.  This is the kind of cat we don't do a vet visit very often with because she just comes to visit us about every 3 days.  I have gotten her shots, though.

Anyway, we are currently wondering if whoever got her tail is living under our shed!

It's a fairly large hole and twice in the last week we have seen a fox in our backyard.  He actually growled at my daughter who was out there reading.  Kinda scary!  I did my research and foxes don't ordinarily eat cats but you never know...so we will be "fox hunting" this weekend!

ISN'T SHE LOVELY...

NOT SURE WHETHER TO LAUGH OR CRY...

when my daughter informed me these are the same, THE VERY SAME, cleaning supplies I got her when she moved into the dorms in the fall of 2008...

so I guess little dorm rooms and little apartments and little houses don't get very dirty???

A HARD THING...

I've been thinking a lot about RESTORING.  Gently restoring.  It's a hard thing.

At the moment we are restoring our pool.  We are bringing it back to a "normal state."  When it was uncovered, it was green and the GROSSEST it has ever been.  So gross I was embarassed to take a "before" picture.  (And if you know me, I am always taking pictures!)

I think it had something to do with our warm winter - not many freezing days and that algae just went wild!  And we are do-it-yourselfers - not willing to pay someone else tons of money to clean up this mess.  Anyway, after draining, scrubbing with gallons of muriatic acid, and power washing, it is RESTORED.  It is ready to be filled and used.

I've been thinking and praying a lot about some children of God who need to be restored.  The word "gently" is key - Galatians 6:1.  Just how to go about it is the hard part!  We need to be do-it-yourselfers.  Do-it-yourselfers with knowledge of the Word and the gentleness of the Spirit.  It cannot be ignored any longer.  The gross, green algae of sin has grown until there's a big, slimy mess and the person is no longer recognizable.  Just help me not to splash the muriatic acid of judmentalism on them, Lord.

                                 Ahhh...nice and clean and ready to be used.

I WAS CURIOUS, SO I'M SURE YOU ARE TOO...

about what a university apartment of 19-20 year old men looks like...

Manly man poster - pretty sure that's not my son's but it's the lone art in the living room - could be worse I suppose but the university has rules about that, thank goodness!

A galley kitchen between the bedrooms/bathrooms - pretty clean but they've only been there a week...keep your fingers crossed!

Bunkbed over the desk - I've never had one of these but always thought it looked neat!

ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BACKYARD WEDDINGS...

Here we go again with the wedding report!  :)

I tell everyone I take pictures of the details at wedding to show my daughter who is away for most of them but who am I kidding?  I love events and keep notes stashed in my head as I continue to coordinate women's activities at church.

A very good friend of ours daughter was married this past weekend, and we got home from our daughter's graduation just in time to attend!  We didn't want to miss because of our friendship but also because I knew it would be outstanding, and they didn't disappoint.  It was held in their backyard which is already beautiful and looks out onto a common area and pond, but they made lots of improvements to their property for the occasion.

                  Sign-in table - this and the ceremony was in the side of their yard.

Look past the lovely groomsman and you'll see the pretty arch that the wedding party entered under.

                                    Two little ringbearers both named Max!

Beautiful, huh?  I love the way the lace scalloped on the back and front of her dress!  They stood on a rock "stage" under a willow tree that had hanging baskets coming down from it.  To the right is a pitcher they used for a foot washing ceremony.  Another sweet thing they did was to have their immediate family gather around for a moment of private prayer.  The minister asked us to pray silently during that time.

The reception was held in the back yard.  The cakes were served on the left, the wedding party entered the reception and crossed the bridge built over the pool, and several food and drink stations.  Lots of seating was beyond that.  They actually had to have a stage set up for the tables and chairs since their backyard has a steep drop off.  It was really amazing!

They have 2 more daughters still to be married, so who knows?  All those improvements might actually pay off!

GRADUATION AND TOAD SUCK DAZE...

Only in Arkansas!

Well, we now have a college graduate.  Yes, it is UNBELIEVABLE.  We can't let an event go by without a celebration, but I wasn't sure just how to do that when the graduation is out of state.  Anyway, we did it and I think we all enjoyed it!

We went over Friday and helped her pack up her things from the ugly  little rock house!

Then we drove to Conway, checked into a hotel, and cleaned up for a nice dinner at Mike's Place...thank goodness for Tripadvisor it was as classy and delicious as everyone says!

To our surprise, it was also TOAD SUCK DAZE, a fair that takes place in downtown Conway.  It was right by our restaurant.  So we couldn't let this photo-op pass by...

We continued our celebration at one of our daughter's favorite places, Starbucks.  While she was inside ordering, my son and I set up for a surprise party with gifts and her favorite Eileen's cookies!

The next morning was graduation and the whole time was a blessed time of family working together and celebrating together - as it should be.

If you ever get the chance to visit Harding University, check it out!  It's a beautiful place with a great mission to serve students and the world!

Thankful today for a wonderful college experience for our daughter!

MY DAUGHTER'S TO-DO LIST THIS WEEK...

You know, just in case she forgets...love that girl!

OH, WHAT A BEAUTIFUL MORNING...