BLESSED...

A blessed life
Playing house on the rock
Venturing to the creek nearby
Hearing Indians playing their drums
Only to find out it was the oil well in the next field

The big cottonwood tree

Finding treasures from years gone by

The tire swing and the teeter totter
A tree house

All lovingly made by my Dad
Railroad ties for landscaping

Cats and pet rabbits and just one dog

Even a baby squirrel we tried to nurse back to health

Pet funerals

Falling out of a tree, flat on my face

Black eyes where my glasses hit me

Walking on cable spools

Cable spool outdoor table

And cable spool nightstand

Yardwork

The zigzag tree

Picking strawberries what seemed like hours

Taking the scraps to the compost

Helping Dad rototill the garden

Meals Dad proudly proclaimed all from our garden

Having weinie roasts

The sunflower kitchen with the bay window

Cathedral ceiling in the living room
The face in the wood of the door
The sparkles on the ceiling
The mysterious nail in the living room beam

My pink bedroom

Mom's pretty decorating with each season

Cleaning on Saturdays

My parents disgusted with my room

The trauma of a dog bite

The fear of the neighbor with the dogs

The neighbor who taught me piano
Countless neighbors who hired me as a babysitter

Making neighborhood friends

Gravel roads
Appalled at the lack of sidewalks

Our big hill

Bike wrecks

Growing up with plenty of space

To explore, live and dream

Running the car into the air conditioner unit

The trampoline
My date who split his pants on it

And a proposal a few months later
Years of holidays and celebrations

Living there again, a few months with my family of five

While our new home was being finished

Dad's final days

In the front bedroom

Mom alone,fifteen more years

A good place, a loving home
Enhanced by Christian parents
Consistent in love
Blessed

My reflections of my childhood home as I help my mother move out of it after living there 43 years!

LIFE FAST FORWARD...

This has been on my heart lately, contemplating the crazyness of life and its twists and turns.  October has proven to be very full of big life events, with hardly a chance to take a breath!  But that's the way it is sometimes.  So far this month I've been involved in a wedding, seen fulfillment of a women's retreat in the planning over a year, am helping my mother prepare for a move Wednesday from her home of 42 years, and we've had two extended family deaths last week.  One death was my aunt, which was expected, and another a surprise.  Both funerals are tomorrow so I'll be traversing from one side of the OKC metro area to the other.

(A bouquet from my yard I took to my aunt the day before she passed)

Good to remember God's promises that He will be with us through good times and bad!  I love Paul's words of encouragement:

I have experienced times of need and times of abundance. In any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of contentment, whether I go satisfied or hungry, have plenty or nothing. Philippians 4:12

SENTIMENTAL WEDDING TOUCHES...

One thing I love about weddings is when the couple chooses to incorporate family traditions or things from their parents' weddings into their own.  It's such a sweet way to honor their family and in a sense, thank them for bringing them to this point in their lives!

I don't have many pictures yet, and didn't ask anyone to take candids for me at the wedding, so those are still to come. Here's a few we took and a glimpse into some of the sweet ways they honored the family:

I made all the bouquets/bouts/corsages for the wedding except for her bouquet.  She wanted us to tie on as streamers some lace taken from her mother and grandmother's wedding dress! 

In the actual ceremony, the song, "Sunrise, Sunset," was a recording of her grandfather singing it acapella, recorded in 1981 for her parent's wedding!  It was awesome!  He didn't even recognize it was his voice at the rehearsal.  A piano song she composed a few years ago was recorded also, and all the wedding party entered on that song.  We sang congregationally "Come Thou Fount," as the couple took communion during the ceremony.  I loved it!

I wore my grandmother's pearl necklace and earrings that my aunt let me borrow.  My grandmother Flora passed just about 5 years ago, and she really loved my son because he has a special way of acknowledging older people.  The Hubs wore a polka dot tie our son got him.  It's the first time he's ever worn polka dots and I loved it - made him look youthful!

Our gorgeous daughter - just because!

My son had taken his bride out a few times in this classic convertible Corvair that belonged to my Dad - although he's been gone 15 years, my mother has lovingly kept it and driven it occasionally.  Our friend got it repaired so they could leave the wedding in it!

It was special to us that these friends came from Tennessee and Tulsa to celebrate with us!  We were all married the same summer and were in a Bible study together for years (one couple is missing because they are teaching in Europe this semester).  As each couple moved away, we continued our friendship by vacationing together every other year, with all our kids.  We all try to attend the weddings of our children and continue to support each other however we can!

This is from Rehearsal Dinner (my previous post).  All the cobalt blue glass decorations were part of my mother, aunt, and friend's collection.  I was so excited to get to use it, and I think they enjoyed the fact that it was used in this way.

What fun/hardwork it's been - but totally worth it!

OUR GARDEN PARTY REHEARSAL DINNER...

Just got a chance to sit down for a moment after a whirlwind of events:  hosting our son's rehearsal dinner and then helping with the flowers for the wedding!  It was crazy but fun. You only do this once!

We wanted to have the rehearsal dinner in our backyard, and were so pleased that the weather cooperated.  I tried all summer to get grass to grow in some of the shady spots, paid special attention to all the flower beds, etc.  I figured out closer to the date that it would be dusk and none of that would matter!  Ha!  I also decided if there were weeds showing in the flower beds that it would be time for a little mulch.  Other than that we hung lots of lights, I borrowed almost everything, including lots of cobalt blue glass from my mother, my aunt, and my friend to make some beautiful tables!  We had the food catered:  Italian chicken, pork chops, salad, fancy mac-n-cheese, vegetable medley, and bread and butter. I made all my son's favorite desserts since his bride had no preferences:  banana layer cake, lemon bars, and blonde brownies!  I was pretty pleased with the cakes!  Take a look:

I HOPE YOU DANCE...

Sorry to borrow the cheesy country song title, but it just fit the evening last night.

With 24 hours till the the wedding frenzy begins...hosting of the rehearsal dinner here in the backyard, praying the rain stays away, making sure every detail inside and out is taken care of, the desserts are all made (7 of them), the making of bouquets for the wedding is beginning.  My kitchen is a wreck with dirty dishes and buckets of fresh flowers on the floor, rehearsal dinner decor overfloweth on the dining room table.

My handsome son, the groom-to-be, comes in, decides he better eat something and makes what he calls his "last meal to make in this house," a quesadilla, of course!  So sentimental.  And he asks me to dance.  What, with all this mess around me?  YES.  So we did!  We danced in the kitchen.

Just wanted to document this moment in the midst of all the stress (which I know, I put on myself by wanting to host and bake and be their florist!).

WHAT REALLY MATTERS IN A GATHERING...

Oh, we're in a busy time right now, with a wedding in 6 days and a women's retreat in 12 days...two events I've been very involved with for a while now!

But my oldest and her husband have birthdays about a week apart this week too. Thankfully no BIG birthdays!  Our family gathered and we did the simplest meal we could think of on the patio:  rotisserie chicken!  Everyone brought another dish, and I made chocolate sheet cake.  It was a good relaxed time and reminded me that what really matters when you are gathering together is the fellowship, not the food or fancy decorations!