Show and Tell

A Strong Refuge... and... Merry Christmas Gift Bag

Today is Saturday, December 17. And, once again, I'm having a hard time getting going. Here it is, nearly 7:00 pm, and I'm just now starting today's post. So — I suppose you won't see it until nearly 11:00. Sigh. I really wish I were more efficient.

Ken and I did go on a walk this afternoon. I was trying to walk off this...

Well, not ALL of it. But last night I did sample each item... and then I had a little more at lunch today. And I think I may have some tonight, too. What can I say? I've been in the mood for pizza and this Pizza Hut commercial about their Big Dinner Box keeps coming on TV... and so Ken was kind enough to go out and pick one up. And, I must say, it is as delicious as it looks. :) 

And, back to the topic of the walk, I've been wanting to show you these trees that are on the next street over from ours. 

We've lived in Charlotte for almost 25 years, but I've never noticed the Crape Myrtle trees — and we have them all throughout our neighborhood — looking quite so lovely. I think the coloring of the bark is just so interesting. 

 

Today's scripture is again from the Old Testament.

Nahum 1:7

"The Lord is good, a strong refuge when trouble comes. He is close to those who trust in him."

I love how scripture in the Old Testament is so applicable even now. And, you know, it's always been that way for me... I just love the Old Testament. And I love pulling words from it and applying them to my life. Like here: I trust in the Lord. He is my refuge. My strong refuge. And He's oh, so good to me. I don't have to look far to see His goodness in my life... Ken & I have been so cared for over the past nearly five months. We're so grateful! God has definitely been good to us! I bet He's been good to you, too... just look around and you'll see. :)   

 

Here is another gift bag like the one I showed you yesterday, made with PTI's Front & Center die. 

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Cute, isn't it? Kris used it to put her stamp in for our Stamp Club stamp exchange last week. 

AND TELL: stamps are from Papertrey Ink (Wreath for All Seasons, Tag-its #9); cardstock is Stampin' Up (Old Olive), Paper Source (a discontinued shimmery red), and PTI (Stampers Select White); patterned paper is My Mind's Eye (I Believe: Wreaths); ink is SU (Old Olive, Wild Wasabi, Baja Breeze); baker's twine is Divine Twine (Cherry); ribbon is PTI (Pure Poppy satin); also used PTI's Mat Stack 3 die, Cuttlebug's Birds & Swirls embossing folder, a glittery miniature ornament from Target, and lots of miscellaneous ribbon scraps.

Well, that will be it for tonight. I appreciate you stopping by and spending some time here — and I hope you have a wonderful evening! Love and hugs to you! 

Real Love

Today is Sunday, December 4. It has been a good day. I took two good walks. The Panthers won. Ken & I worked on getting Christmas cards ready for mailing. And I got our tree decorated. I'll have to take a picture of that to share another day.

On our way to church this morning we saw a big hawk sitting on top of one of our neighbor's cars. 

He apparently wasn't interested in posing for a picture, because by the time I got the window down and my camera ready he was taking off.

He didn't go too far, though.

Just to the top of the house. I think I remember that hawks mate for life, so I'm thinking this pair may be husband and wife. :)

And I'm calling them hawks, but I don't know that for sure. Here's a closer photo.

Maybe you know if they're hawks or not and you can educate me. We see them around our neighborhood quite often, but I don't remember ever seeing them this close — just down the street from our house.

 

Today's scripture is from the New Testament.

1 John 4:9-10

"God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love — not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins."

Because of God's great love for us, He made a way for us to live forever with Him — and that is by believing that Jesus came to die for us... to take away our sins. There is no greater love and there is no greater gift.

 

I'm sorry, but I don't have anything crafty to share with you today. And I'm not sure that I will tomorrow or the next day either. All of a sudden my life has gotten a bit out of control — not in a bad way... but in the way it used to when I just had too much on my plate. So, it's a good thing this isn't a chemo week because I really don't have time for that and the lethargy that goes along with it. :)

I'll plan to be back tomorrow to give you an update on the day. It's going to be a busy one, I think. Thank you so much for stopping by here and keeping up with me and what's going on in my life. Pretty boring stuff today, I'm afraid. And I guess I'll consider that a good thing. :)

Hope all is well with you! I'm sending you love and hugs! 

Delight... and... Flower Fusion #10

Today is Wednesday, November 30. Tomorrow a new month begins. Wow.

I went to work for about an hour this morning — really just put in an appearance. I was there during morning opening time, though, and got to see and talk to some of the moms that I hadn't seen in awhile and meet some of our newer moms that I hadn't had the pleasure of meeting yet. Oh, and even lay eyes on a few babies who were born over the summer. Very precious! So, I guess that even though it was short, it was a good work day. :) After all, I've always considered getting to know the moms an important part of my job. I love being able to encourage them as they are doing the important job of raising their young families. Hopefully I'll be able to get back to doing more of that soon... maybe in January.

This might be a fine time to show you photos from our visit to the Christmas tree lot. The youth at the church where I work have a tree lot as a fundraiser for the first time this year and we decided that it would be good to support them... so while Britt and Kenneth were still here last weekend we did a little tree shopping.

It's not a very clear picture, but these are my hams... always ready to cheese for a photograph. I'm skulking around, trying to take candid shots and they just can't seem to stop themselves from hopping in. :)

This is the tree that Ken & I selected for ourselves. It's about 7 feet tall and narrow, so it fits in the corner of our family room nicely.

And, here are Britt & Kenneth sizing up a tree.

They had two vehicles with them in Charlotte and since one was big enough to accommodate a tree, they helped to support the youth group that Britt was in as a middle school-er by taking a tree back with them.

 Their tree is about the same height as ours, but much more full... perfect for their house. Awwww... their first tree in their first house. How fun is that? :)

And, speaking of fun...

Cute picture, huh? Did you notice the bunny ears that Kenneth put over Britt's head? Sigh... boys just don't really grow up, do they? :)

I just love a Christmas tree lot at dusk, don't you? It's just so festive. (If you're local, this tree lot is at Sharon Baptist Church, in case you want to check it out and purchase a tree that will benefit youth missions.)

 

Here is the scripture that I chose for today. It's actually very much like the ones for the last few days... still from Psalm 119. Still a cry for rescue.

Psalm 119:174-175

"O Lord, I have longed for your rescue, and your instructions are my delight. Let me live so I can praise you, and may your regulations help me."

Once again, I echo the Psalmist in my longing for rescue. I do want to live so that I can continue to praise the Lord and lift up His name as the One who saves. Jesus is the ONLY One who can save our souls. Reading the Bible and knowing His laws it keeps me on His path... which is a tremendous help. Having a rule-follower type of personality, I've always liked knowing what is expected of me... so I'm really glad that the Lord has clearly outlined it in His word. I've said it before, I think, but that is a good reason to read and know your Bible. You, too, can know what God expects of you!

 

I mentioned a couple days ago that my stash of cards to give to those who bring us meals was getting low, so here are two more cards for the pile. 

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Being the impatient sort, I couldn't wait until the light wasn't shining through the cards to take the pictures. Oh, well. You'll have to ignore the text showing through from the inside. And, I should really pay more attention to when my stamp pads need to be re-inked, too (as evidenced by both cards, but especially the one on the right). Oh, well... again. :)

AND TELL:  stamps are from Papertrey Ink (Flower Fusion #10, Flower Fusion #4); cardstock is inexpensive office store white and PTI (Stampers Select White); ink is PTI (Simply Chartreuse, Berry Sorbet, Melon Berry, Summer Sunrise, Dark Chocolate); also used PTI dies (Flower Fusion Stem, Flower Fusion #10).

One more picture from today. You may remember me mentioning before about how pots of flowers just appeared on our front porch. And how when those mums had run their course, they were mysteriously replaced with pansies? Well, we did find out who was doing all that sneaking around in our landscaping... and she's been at it again.

Ken was working in the garage when Sara Gwynn drove up and began fertilizing the pansies she had planted earlier. What a sweetie! I was getting ready to go on my second walk of the day, so she joined me. It was fun to have a walking and talking partner. :)

That should be it for the day. I'm hoping that tomorrow my energy will be increased even more... especially since the parents are hosting a luncheon for the weekday school staff the next two days and it would certainly be a shame to miss that! :)

Thank you so much for visiting us here and for your continued prayers. We so, so appreciate them and you. Sending you big hugs!

Beauty from within... and...Thanksgiving Dinner Placecards

Today is Thursday, November 24. Thanksgiving Day in the USA. As I write this, the smell of roasting turkey is wafting through the house. Michael (who is a talented classical guitarist) is playing the guitar in the living room. Sounds from the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade are filtering in from the family room. Oh, my... it's a beautiful day at the Hayes house!

And last night was pretty beautiful, too. You know, when I'm writing a blog post I'm just sort of talking. Like I'm talking to friends (which I am!). So, it seems that I must mention going to Pinkberry quite often. So often that Ken's sister Lynne expressed interest in trying it while she was here. Well, the only time we had was last night... so, even though we had eaten frozen yogurt at the mall earlier in the day, well... we had to make sure that Lynne had some Pinkberry. It was the right thing to do. :)

 Don't you agree? :) I had the chocolate and peppermint yogurts swirled and then topped with white chocolate shavings, chips of peppermint bark, and magic shell chocolate. Oh, so refreshing. Mmmm. But, really, sharing one of my favorite spots with my family was the most fun of all. 

 

Today's scripture is, again, from 1 Peter. I think you'll see that it's quite appropriate for my situation. 

1 Peter 3:3-4

"Don't be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God."

I must admit to smiling a bit when I read these verses. Of course, I like to look nice and stylish but I've never been consumed with having lots of the latest clothes and perfect hair and makeup. Good thing, right? Because here's what I look like today when I'm not wearing a hat.

Nothing like losing your hair in a weird sort of pattern to keep you humble! But, I figure... it's just hair. I think it'll grow back. But, even that's not that important to me. I just want to continue living. And I'd like to live my life with a spirit of love and gentleness... and, well, all of the Fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control — Galatians 5:22-23). I'd like my life to be a positive example to others... not because of anything I do, but because of what God does through me as I surrender to Him. He is my strength and my protection (Psalm 71:7) — and He will be yours, too, as you learn to live for Him. Something to be thankful for on this day of thankfulness, isn't it?    

 

I've been making placecards for our Thanksgiving table for a few years now. It's fun for me, but a bit of a challenge, too. The challenge is that when we registered for china in 1980, I was a pastel sort of girl... light blue, light pink... those were colors that I loved. Um... not so much anymore. But, of course, I still have the china. And we still use it on special occasions. And I still do like things to coordinate. But working with spring-y colors in the fall is a bit of a challenge, I think. Anyway, here are our placecards from the past two years...

And here are this year's...

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The only way I've figured out to marry autumn colors with my china pattern is to use a blue and a purple in the design. Well, this year, I forgot about the purple (must've been a brain tumor moment)... but I did use some blue so I think it'll be OK. :)

Those are the placecards for all who will be attending our Thanksgiving dinner. 17 people... ranging in age from 2 to... well... let's just be non-specific and say over 80. I love having several generations together. It just makes for a rich, fun gathering. Don't you agree?

AND TELL:  stamps are from Papertrey Ink (Places, Please) and Stampin' Up (Straight Up Alphabet & Numbers); cardstock is PTI (Stampers Select White, Rustic White); ink is SU (Not Quite Navy, More Mustard, Basic Gray); rhinestones are Kaiser (brown); also used the PTI Placecard die.

So, I thought I'd leave you with some Thanksgiving inspiration from the preschool. First, in the way of artwork...

 

Then in the way of feasting...

  and preciousness...

 and plain, old fun... 

I hope your Thanksgiving Day is filled with many, many of the Lord's richest blessings. Thanks for spending a bit of it here with me. Sending you lots of love and prayers for a blessed holiday!

Don't just listen, do!... and... Warm Happiness

Today is Friday, November 18. Wow. Over half-way through November already. And a week from now Thanksgiving will be over. Time is marching on.

Today after lunch, I forced myself to take a walk. I'm really more of potato couch type of person, but I know that the only way for me to get stronger is to actually do a little activity, so... today I walked our street. And then came home and ate a muffin. Somehow, I think that may negate whatever good I accomplished. :)

It was a chilly, but beautiful day. Look at that Carolina blue sky.

The sky doesn't show well on this next picture, but there's another sort of pretty tree.

We're getting toward the end of our colors for the year, but it has been a nice autumn. 

Thought I'd try again to show you the pretty, sparkly bow that the neighbors put on our mailbox. In the last photo that I took, it just looked white.

This one shows the silver glitter a bit better. We're so thankful for all of our neighbors. They've been more than wonderful to us as we've been navigating my health challenges.

One more photo...

Do you remember back some time ago when I mentioned the two big pots of mums that appeared on our front porch one day? Well, we've had a frost or two and the mums were looking a little sorry... so yesterday they were replaced with these pansies (which will most likely last through the winter... if we remember to water them as needed!):

This time, Ken caught our secret gardener (Sara Gwynn!) and brought her inside to confess... and to visit for awhile. So great to see her and spend a little time together. And to find out who has been sneaking around our front stoop. :)

 

Today's scripture that I'm sharing is from the New Testament.

James 1:22-25

"But don't just listen to God's word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don't obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don't forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it."

OK. I don't have a lot to say here, other than... this is why we need to read the Bible and remember what it says — so we can apply His principles and thus be blessed by Him. Don't we all want to be blessed by God? 

 

Today I have more cards for the food-deliverer stash. They're very much like yesterday's cards... just without the cup being popped up.

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What fun colors for these coffee cups. I'd like to have a polka-dotted set of ceramic mugs just like these. Maybe I'd add one in each color of the rainbow. That'd be fun, wouldn't it. :)

 

 

 

AND TELL:  stamps are from Papertrey Ink (Warm Happiness Too, Fillable Frames #5); cardstock is office store white; ink is Stampin' Up (Daffodil Delight, Real Red, Chocolate Chip, Sahara Sand); also used PTI's Warm Happiness Too die.

Well, I suppose that's it for another day... a little personal info, a little scripture, a little craftiness... the only thing we're missing is a little health update and since there is really nothing new to add there, well, I guess we won't say anything. And that makes it a good day, don't you think? :)

I hope you have a lot of fun planned for your weekend. We'll be getting ready for Thanksgiving and our house-full of company that will start arriving on Monday night. Thanks so much for stopping by here today. I'm planning to be back tomorrow with more of the same... some personal stuff, some scripture, and, instead of a card, I think we'll do some bookmarks again. Hope you have a fantastic weekend! I'm sending you big, big hugs!

Star Prints

Today is Wednesday, November 16. I've been moving a little slower today — just pretty tired... which they say is to be expected after chemo. I did eventually go into work and stayed for a couple of hours. That's always good for me... so, while I resist it, I know it's best to go in and be with people. I always feel so much better afterwards and am glad that I went. Today, I didn't have a whole lot of written work to do, so I walked down to the music room and watched the classes prepare for the Christmas program. It's hard to believe that Christmas is basically here already — although it's unfortunate that Thanksgiving often gets lost in the shuffle.

Speaking of Thanksgiving... what are your plans (those of you in the US, anyway)? It's just one week from tomorrow. Yikes! We always have large crew for the day — well, really for the weekend — and this year is no exception. It looks like our guest list includes Ken's mom, two of his sisters along with one husband, Britt and Kenneth... those are all the multiple-day overnight guests... then for the meal, we are planning for Ken's cousin who lives in the Charlotte area and our next door neighbors — all eight of them. If I counted right, I think that's 17 for the meal. We'll also see another of Ken's cousins along with her husband and daughter later on in the day. They'll come and have dessert with us — and maybe left-overs — after they finish with other family obligations. So, that's our usual Thanksgiving dinner. And the best thing about our Thanksgiving, for me, anyway, has always been Ken does the entire meal... the planning, the shopping, the preparing, the cleaning... yep... the whole thing. Maybe some day I'll tell you the story about how all that came to be. Not today, though. I'll let the suspense build....(haha!).

 

Today's scripture passage is a little long and pretty convicting, I think. I tried really hard to go another direction, but kept coming back to these verses — so these verses it will be. (It was way too much to copy, but I encourage you to read verses 1 through 20. It'll give you the whole picture.) 

Ezekiel 33:7-10

"Now, son of man, I am making you a watchman for the people of Israel. Therefore, listen to what I say and warn them for me. If I announce that some wicked people are sure to die and you fail to tell them to change their ways, then they will die in their sins, and I will hold you responsible for their deaths. But if you warn them to repent and they don't repent, they will die in their sins, but you will have saved yourself.

"Son of man, give the people of Israel this message: You are saying, 'Our sins are heavy upon us; we are wasting away! How can we survive?' As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live. Turn! Turn from your wickedness, O people of Israel! Why should  you die?"

I've had this passage underlined in my Bible for quite a few years now. It's rather convicting, I think. And it's something I'd like to gloss over and not share. But, this is no time to avoid sharing the truth. And, besides, those are not my words, they're the Lord's... so anyone who has a problem with them should take it up with Him and not me. Right?

Now, I realize we are reading from the Old Testament and some things are different in light of the New Covenant — but God's holiness has not change. His desire for people to repent of their sins and live upright and righteous lives is still the same. And, His inability to tolerate sinfulness is still intact. Fortunately, I suppose, His patience is, too. However, there will be a time when He has had His limit — and woe to all of those who have not turned to Him before that time.

So — if you are living your life without a thought to Jesus and His ways, I urge you to take a good, long look at Him. Read the Bible (the book of John is a great place to start). God loves us so much that He made a way for us to live with Him... even after we die. It is the greatest hope of all and I pray that if you don't already know and haven't already acknowledged God's great gift to you (which is Jesus), that you will spend time seeking Him. He will fill all the voids in your life and replace them with unimaginable peace and joy as you surrender your life to Him. I've always been thankful for how God tangibly shows His love for me, but now more so than ever. How I long for you to know that love and have that peace, too. What do you have to lose by investigating Jesus?

 

Today I have a couple more cards to show you that I made for the food-delivery stash.

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Two metallic star cards. Now that I look at them, they look a little Christmasy. Oh, well. Christmas will be here before we know it. :) Really, though, the people who are bringing us food are shining stars in our book. I say it all the time... we are so, so thankful! 

AND TELL:  stamps are from Papertrey Ink (Star Prints); cardstock is office store white; ink is Encore Ultimate Metallic (Copper, Silver) and PTI (True Black); also used Stampin' Up's star punch.

Usually I start ending our time together here, but I'm feeling better than I was when I started writing today so instead of going back and inserting stuff there, I'm going to carry on here. Today we're trying to reduce the steroid dose again so may be that was part of the problem I was having earlier. I've been taking 6mg a day for a week or so and today we were going to try going down to 5mg. The plan was 2mg at 6 a.m., 1mg at 2 p.m., and 2mg at 10 p.m. But after the 2 p.m. dose I was feeling progressively less focused, tired, and over all "not right". So we took another 1mg, making it 2mg for the middle of the day, and then tonight we'll try taking just 1mg and hopefully I'll sleep through any unpleasantness and my body will wake up with an intact mind. If I wake up "weird", taking the scheduled 2mg dose will hopefully remedy the situation. Anyway, we'll give it a try. And, if you're of a mind to, you can pray along with us for a smooth transition. And, we thank you for that! :)

Now a couple of photos from yesterday. How about one of the infusion room?

Not very interesting. Since I'm not the most social person, I prefer to be in a corner or at an end. This time I was at the end directly across from a pretty messy storage room. I know that it would probably be good to be more engaged with the people around me, but I really prefer to just hang out and do my own thing. But, back to the room — isn't the ceiling interesting? The sky panels with the light behind them go quite a ways in cheering up the place. It's always a beautiful, sunny day at chemotherapy. :) 

And, of course, since we were (almost) in the neighborhood we had to stop at Pinkberry.

This time we had their latest seasonal flavor... peppermint. And we opted to try it in their suggested way — with white chocolate shavings and some "magic shell" chocolate. There might have been something else on there, too. I don't know. I just took the picture and dug in. It was delicious. :)

Well, that's probably more than enough for one day. Thanks for hanging in there with me and for all your love, prayers, and support. I hope you know that you're the best! Big, big hugs to you! 

The Foundation of Wisdom... and... Heartfelt Thanks

Today is Sunday, November 13. We went to church this morning and then, after a brief time back at home, headed uptown to...

Bank of America Stadium for the Panthers game!

We've had season tickets for well over 10 years now and have always attended every home game. With the brain tumor and all, though, this year has been a bit different. We've seen every game, but this is the first one that we've actually been able to go to.

We were pretty excited because there is nothing like the energy of a professional sporting event.

And, of course, it's always fun to cheer for your favorite players.

But, this week, it was like our favorite players didn't show up. Talk about a terrible game. The crowd was flat, the Panthers played uninspired and mistake-ridden football... really, it was an awful game. There was one bright spot, though...

This guy, Sir Purr, showed up in our section. It's pretty sad when you're over 50 years old and the highlight of the game for you is when the mascot shows up. :) Actually, the people whose seats are behind ours know "Sir Purr" so he comes up to visit every now and then throughout the season. In fact, they have an annual party at their house that Sir Purr always shows up for and it just so happens to be next Sunday... so you may get to see another mascot picture or two next week.

Since the game was so bad, we did something we've never done before. We left at half time. Even during the Panthers 1 and 15 season several years ago and last year's 2 and 14, we stayed for each and every moment of each and every game. My philosophy has always been, if you're going to be a fan be a loyal fan and support your team from beginning to end. (Besides, those tickets are expensive and I believe in getting my money's worth!) But... well... I guess my feelings have changed a bit. Today I did not feel compelled to suffer through a boring game of uninspired football. So we didn't.

Instead, we left the stadium and walked back to our car...

enjoying the fall foliage along the way...

along with a partial skyline view. And we got a good walk in, so I think it's OK to sit on the couch for the rest of evening now. :)

 

Now, how about some scripture?

Psalm 111:10

"Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true wisdom. All who obey his commandments will grow in wisdom. Praise him forever!"

Nothing like attending a professional sporting event to cause you to wonder if the fear of the Lord has been completely forgotten by all of society. Oh, my goodness. Between the emotions of the game (especially when your team is losing) and all the alcohol being consumed... well, you see and hear a lot of things that wouldn't exactly make the Lord proud. I choose to live my life a different way... and I challenge you to do the same.

The verse I chose to focus on (verse 10) is the last verse in the Psalm, but the previous verses tell us why we are to fear the Lord... His deeds are amazing... everything He does reveals His glory and majesty... His righteousness does not fail... He has done marvelous works on our behalf... He is gracious and merciful... He gives us food... He remembers His promises to us... He has great power... all He does is fair and good... His commandments are trustworthy and forever true... He is holy and awe-inspiring.

So, that's why we fear the Lord and, while this passage doesn't really tell us how to fear the Lord, I think that probably involves having a holy respect for Him and what is important to Him... which must include things like loving and respecting others. And, that probably includes paying attention to how we behave at sporting events... and everywhere else, too.    

 

Now, I think I'll show you more of the cards that I made for us to give to those who are bringing us meals on a regular basis.

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These may be a couple of my favorites. I like the design, I like the colors... I just over-all like these. And, here are the two colorways shown together... pink and yellow — such a refreshing combination.

 

 

AND TELL:  stamps are from Papertrey Ink (Everyday Classics); cardstock is inexpensive white and a bit of PTI's Stampers Select White; ink is Stampin' Up (Regal Rose, Melon Mambo, So Saffron, Daffodil Delight, Crumb Cake); also used SU's Modern Label Punch.

Well, we're now finished with dinner and it's getting close to time for us to watch The Amazing Race — so it certainly must be time to wrap this up and settle in for the evening. Thank you so much for stopping to visit with us a bit. We appreciate your support and your prayers (chemo is Tuesday...). We're sending you hugs!

Artful Elegance

Today is Friday, November 11. Since it is Veteran's Day and the public schools were out, we got to see many of our former students when the parents brought the little ones to school. That is always fun — to see how the kids are growing beyond their preschool years. And, of course, I love those hugs that I get from them, too!

My first big excitement of the day was that I wore my contacts for the first time since August 1. At least, it was exciting until I got to work and found that when I tried to read I couldn't decipher a single thing due to, I suppose, a change in the bifocal portion of my vision prescription. Kind of up a damper on my ability to get things done! haha! Still, I did what I could and ended up being there until noon or so again. So, praise the Lord!, I was able to get to work all five days this week! For next week, the plan is to be there on Monday and then on Tuesday I have my second chemo session at the infusion center. Hopefully, it will go as well as the first and I'll be back to work at least by the end of the week.  

As I was going through some photos on my phone, I realized that I didn't post any of my now five year old neighbor's family birthday celebration that took place way back in early October. We have the very best next door neighbors and they are always so good about including us in their family events. Gosh, we love that family! Anyway, here are two of the party-ers...

big sister Chloe and little brother Hayden... eagerly awaiting the presents and the cake. (Must've been "hat day"... :) )

And, here's the birthday girl, Nora Grace, sporting her birthday crown from school.

Cute cake that my neighbors made, isn't it? Perfect for the mermaid lovin' birthday girl!

But, I really, really love this picture...

Maybe I should get a pink wig, too. I think it really makes a great statement on Nora! :)

 

Here is a bit of scripture for you today.

Psalm 109:21

"But deal well with me, O Sovereign Lord, for the sake of your own reputation! Rescue me because you are so faithful and good."

I'm so fortunate. The Lord has been extraordinarily good to me and I pray that you have seen that, too. I pray that through my situation His reputation has only been enhanced and magnified in your life. He is so faithful and so good! 

 

Hope you're not tired of bookmarks yet, because here are a couple more.

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Two more little tokens for the kind folk who are making sure we're well-fed. :)

 

 

 

 

 

 AND TELL:  stamps are from Verve (Artful Elegance, Psalm 46:10, 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18); cardstock is Papertrey Ink (Stampers Select White); ink is Stampin' Up (Baja Breeze, Lovely Lilac, Elegant Eggplant) and PTI (True Black); also used an SU die (Two Tags).

That's about it for today. However, I do have one more bit of "excitement". As I was writing this post I decided to take a little break to go for a walk and I made it all the way to the end of our street and back. Ken tells me that's about four-tenths of a mile. Woohoo for me! 

And here is how our street is looking today.

I just love the colors of autumn. When I was younger, spring was my favorite season and I loved all the pinks and purples of the flowering trees. As I've gotten older, though, I find myself much more inspired by the oranges, yellows, and reds of the fall. I've seen some really pretty trees as we've driven to work and back this week, but didn't think to take pictures... so this may be my one and only fall leaves photo of the year. Not the most vibrant colors and not the best trees I've seen, but still a memento of Autumn 2011.

Hope you have had a fabulous week and that your weekend is looking to be full of fun. Our pastor's daughter is getting married tomorrow and we're looking forward to helping them celebrate the blessed event, so that's what we'll be doing in the early afternoon. What about you? Do you have great weekend plans? Let me know... I'm always up for a vicarious experience. :) And thanks so much for stopping by for a visit with me... I do so enjoy your company and am sending big hugs your way! 

bend down and hear my prayer... and... thank you for your kindness

Today is Monday, October 17. I'm going to try to get back on schedule with the blog posting today. Funny how easy it is to get off track... and then to get kind of lazy about the whole thing. Hopefully I'm not so out of practice that it takes me until after dinner time to get this done!

The weekend was fairly uneventful health-wise. The last couple of days my legs have seemed to be getting weaker and weaker. Not sure what that means. I've been told that steroids can make your legs weak so maybe that's it. I have been on steroids for quite a long time now — I guess well over two months. Tomorrow my dose is being reduced again so perhaps that will help. Hard to say. In the past reducing the steroids has has made me very nervous because at times it is accompanied by confusion and the inability to think clearly. But that hasn't happened for a long time so I'll just pray and trust. :)

So, Saturday was a special day. We celebrated my birthday at King's Kitchen — maybe my new favorite place to eat. Britt was here and her in-laws drove in from the eastern part of the state. Our "adopted daughter" Brittany came to eat with us and Kenneth was able to work it out to surprise us all by arranging his work schedule a bit for a quick trip to Charlotte. I'm very touched that both Kenneth and his parents would spend a total of six or so hours on the road just to have a birthday meal with us!

I know that some of you like to check out the cuisine and this time it was just good ol' southern food... biscuits and cornbread...

... and, of course, southern fried chicken...

with a few sides — mashed potatoes and gravy, cole slaw, macaroni and cheese for me. (In southern speak, that is called meat and three — from the menu choices you select a meat and three vegetables... down here, macaroni and cheese is a vegetable. :) ) Looks pretty good, doesn't it?

And here we all are...

my mom, Kenneth's dad Eddie, Kenneth's mom Jackie, Kenneth, Britt, me, Ken, and our adopted daughter Brittany. After dinner we briefly separated and the out-of-towners went on a little walking tour of uptown Charlotte, while Ken and I drove past a couple of my favorite Charlotte spots. I'm hopeful that one day I'll be able to get out of the car and enjoy a stroll through the city again.

 

Well, it's been awhile since we looked at some scripture together. 

Psalm 86:1-4

"Bend down, O Lord, and hear my prayer; answer me, for I need your help. Protect me, for I am devoted to you. Save me for I serve you and trust you. You are my God. Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I am calling on you constantly. Give me happiness, O Lord, for I give myself to you."

This was actually a passage from yesterday's scripture reading, but I decided that I needed it today because today has been a little tough. I'm tired. I'm crabby. My right side is kind of numb and my foot is pretty swollen. I'm not very good company at the moment; I don't even want to be with me.

So at times like these I just have to focus on scripture and make it my own. Today I'm begging the Lord to hear my prayers and answer me because I desperately need His help. Lord, I'm devoted to You — protect me! Save me because I trust You and I serve You! You are my God — be merciful to me! I call on You constantly, Lord; don't tire of hearing from me. Give me happiness, Lord, because I am devoted to You. 

This is making me a little teary today. You know how sometimes you just need a good cry? I'm thinking that maybe this is one of those times for me. And I know that if I give in and cry that as soon as it's over I'll feel better. And, really, I have so much to be thankful for. I know that the Lord loves me and is with me. I know that, no matter what, He will always be with me. But, I also know what I want — and what I want is to be healed right now. What I want is to be able to live a normal life. What I want is to be happy. So, I'm begging the Lord to bend down and heal me so that I can continue to serve Him. I'm praying that the Lord sees fit to answer my prayer. 

 

Maybe something crafty will lift my spirits a little. Here are a couple of cards that I made to add to the stash to give to those precious people who are bringing us food.

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I made two cards with this set — one multi-colored and one monochromatic. Such a simple card... especially the monochromatic one.

 

 

 

AND TELL:  stamps are from Papertrey Ink (Iconic Images); cardstock is inexpensive white; ink is Stampin' Up (Old Olive, Kiwi Kiss, Certainly Celery, Pear Pizzazz, Calypso Coral, Pool Party, Basic Gray).

I have more that I could share, but I think I'll stop there today. After all, it will be after 5:00 when I get this posted and I'm kind of in the mood for some mindless TV watching. 

Thanks so much for suffering through with me today. Let's hope that tomorrow will be a better day. I really appreciate your visit and, especially, all of your prayers.

God's will for you... and... Heartfelt Thanks

Today is Wednesday, October 12. And it's been a pretty good day. Increasing the steroids has made me feel better. Which is good, I guess, but I also find it sort of disconcerting that I can't seem to get the dosage down as far as they want me to. I think they're planning to give me a few more days at this level and then are going to try decreasing me again, maybe next week, but administering it in smaller amounts three times a day instead of just two. Hopefully, that will work and we'll get back on track. But, right now, I'll just celebrate that I'm able to function without any major issues.

This morning Ken, my mom, and I went to the mall to do a little shopping.

 At the Apple Store we bought one of those cover-case things for my iPhone. I think that I'm one of the rare Apple users who absolutely hates the Apple Store. I find it completely intimidating and I can't count the number of times I have gone in to buy something and left almost immediately because I am so overwhelmed. Today, though, I stuck it out and left with a pretty case for my phone.

 Maybe it was the promise of frozen yogurt at Yoforia that made the difference. Can't believe I almost forgot to take a picture. Dark chocolate and pumpkin spice yogurt with blueberries on top. Gotta sneak in those antioxidants, you know. And there's my really colorful cover for my phone, too.

After that we went to Baby Gap to buy a gift for neighbors celebrating the birth of their first child (a little girl) and then stopped into Anthropologie — where I really intended to buy something, but all the things that I thought may work were dry clean only and that is just not a good idea for me right now. I'm way too uncoordinated and messy. I think I'll continue looking online. I have my birthday coupon from them and I just can't stand to pass up a discount. I also have a neighbor who works at Pottery Barn and she dropped off a friends and family discount card today, so I'm kind of thinking that a lot of shopping is in order! After all, my birthday is tomorrow so I'm entitled... right? :)

 

Today's scripture is from the New Testament:

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

"Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus."

I don't know that there is a lot to say about this because it's laid out so plainly. Always be joyful (always means always... even when things aren't going your way, even when you don't feel good, and, of course, when everything in your life is perfect, too). Never stop praying (never means never... pray all the time, pray about everything, pray when you're happy, pray when you're sad... pray, pray, pray). Be thankful in all circumstances (God has provided you with LIFE!, be thankful at all times and in all circumstances!). This is the way God wants His people to be — joyful, prayerful, thankful. 

 

So — I've been busy making cards to put in the stack to give to people who are bringing food to us. Here are a couple more. 

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When I have a stamp out, I generally make at least two cards using it. That just seems like the right thing to do. Of course, since it's me though, I can't make two cards that are exactly the same. I need a little more variety than that... in color, if nothing else!

When I look at these I see that I still have trouble centering things, but — if you've been around me awhile — you know my policy... "no do-overs". :)

AND TELL:  stamps are from Papertrey Ink (Big & Bold Wishes), ink is Memento (Tuxedo Black) and Stampin' Up (Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink).

 

 

 

Thought I'd show you one more thing... something that was delivered today. It made us smile. Maybe it'll make you smile, too.

It's from my sister-in-law Lynne — a cupcake that won't add calories to my diet. :)

Unbeknownst to her, though (insert evil laugh), some anonymous person is taking care of my need for sugar...

yes... cinnamon sticks from Bojangles. Yum, yum! (And, yes, they come in pairs so I already ate one... but just one!.. um... so far...)

My presence has been requested at work tomorrow, so I'm planning to make a trip to the school — visit with the staff and pop in on a few classes. I'm also planning to get a pedicure tomorrow. It's going to be a bit on the wild and crazy side — especially for me — so you will definitely want to come back to take a look at that.  

And, that's the Hayes update for October 12. Thank you so much for stopping in for a little visit. I really love hearing from you and so appreciate your faithfulness in visiting and in praying. Big hugs to you!