Photos – Life – Thoughts

I can’t believe how long it has been since I posted…life has just been rolling along.  Here’s a quick update since the last post…

Hilary turned 22 on 6/11…

and that is a typical “Hilary” face.  Katie (my “baby”) turned 20 on 6/21…no more teenagers in the house.

That’s my girl… (can ANY of them make a “normal” face for a picture?  Oh wait, that IS normal for them…)

I am done with school for the summer – I had a GREAT year and I do miss my kids, but am enjoying playing around the house – even if it has only been a few days.  Friday I was adding trellis net to my garden and a man stopped by to ask about the garden – even wanted to come back and take pictures! Who would have ever thought…so here is what the garden looks like now…

Sorry – the sun was in the wrong place for a good shot.  The cilantro is growing so fast I’ve attempted to make salsa twice.  The first time was so-so…last night it was so hot you’d think a rattlesnake had bit your throat…but John kept eating it. Katie’s boyfriends Mom, Bobby, makes the BEST salsa, but so far she’s not sharing the recipe…oh well, with the cilantro “crop” it appears I’m going to have I’ll get lots of practice making it…maybe one with mango or pineapple should come next…hmmm.

Lindsey had a week long visit with her cousin, Erin, from CT.  Here’s a shot of the two of them enjoying being together in uptown Charlotte.

and in the Blue Ridge Mountains…

And Lindsey alone – I like this picture…

We also went to Shara and Jake’s wedding at Geneva Point…I have “borrowed” 2 pictures from Lacy M. since I didn’t take any…thanks Lacy…

I LOVE this shot…

and love this one too.  They are special people and God has blessed them with the gift of each other.  I “borrowed” the pictures because they have to do with what has been on my heart since their wedding.

Jake’s Dad spoke at the start of the wedding so that Roger, Shara’s Dad could give her away and then perform the ceremony.  He talked about Roger not giving Shara away, but that it was a changing of the guard.  I was captivated by that thought, I guess because I have 3 daughters.  I know Shara and Jake had high standards for whomever God had for them as a mate.  I applaud them for that and for not settling for anything less than God’s best – no matter how long the wait.  I watched these two during the wedding and pictured different acts of love/kindness I had seen them do for each other.  I felt that this really was the changing of the guard and that Jake was more than up for that task.  I could sense his belief that his God given job was to care for, protect,and  “guard” Shara for the rest of his life.  I am so happy for them and believe God has great things in store for them as the “Jamesons”.

As I continued to reflect on the “changing of the guard” I thought about my girls.  I want and always pray for God’s best for their lives.  I have prayed for years for God’s perfect, godly man for them, if HE chooses for them to marry.  I will admit to being a bit unsettled as I think about there some day being a “changing of the guard”…Will “he” be ready to guard my daughter? Will he be willing to give up everything to protect and care for my daughter? Questions I probably wouldn’t typically think about at a wedding, but hey, I now have daughters ranging in age from 20-25…

THEN Proverbs 4:23 popped into my head.  “Above all else guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” NIV.  I did an online search and found these translations/paraphrases.  “Guard your heart more than anything else, because the source of your life flows from it.”God’s Word translation. “Be careful how you think, your life is shaped by your thoughts.” TEV.  “Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do.” NLT.  The paraphrase that really grabbed me was “Above everything else, guard the affections of your heart; the emotional attachments you make determine the course of your life.” CWR (click the link to learn about this one – I had to look it up…)  WOW!! That really brings it to life for today, doesn’t it?  I pray that my girls, nieces, nephews, “adopted college kids/graduates”, and other kids I have “adopted” over the years heed that verse.  I’ve added to my prayer for my girls and their futures…now I want to be able to sit at their weddings (whenever those may be) and through my tears (and I know they will be there) believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that they have followed Proverbs 4:23 and that the new “guard” has God right there with him.

And I guess that is more than enough for tonight.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO US!!! 30 YEARS TODAY!

First, and most important…

God has blessed me…for 30 years and beyond!

I have been busy planting a garden, workshops and life in general lately.  I am using Mel Bartholomew’s Square Foot Gardening method this year because everything else I have tried in our BACKyard has not worked.  Here are some shots of the work in progress in the side of our FRONTyard.

I need to take some pictures later this week because things have changed/grown.  I am amazed by the comments I get from people at school.  I live on one of the main routes to school so people see it.  It does look neat and clean and I like that.  I have spent more time planting flowers and making hanging baskets.  I will be honest, for the past few years I have not planted anything other than a few herbs.  For the past few years I thought we would be moving, so why bother to plant anything; then I would regret not having fresh veggies or flowers.  It’s taken 7 years, (guess I’m a slower learner), but I decided to plant the garden and flowers and I feel really good about it.  We have done some work on the exterior of the house, plus a friend painted on top of what we had primed.  The deck floor is finally up.  Interesting story on that one.  2 weeks ago a few men and one woman from church dug cement piers(?) for the deck base.  John had dug the interior ones and the others were to dig the exterior and fill them with cement. (Later discovered they had dug one 10″ off line of the others…oops!) The rest of the week was spent watching cement dry. The Sunday after the holes had been dug there was a man in church (first time there) and heard about the deck project.  He told John he would come help – said he was a carpenter by trade! (Thank you God!)  Saturday came and not only was this guy there, his father, a builder, came too!!!  God sent us carpenter angels!  Thanks to Pete and Emo (Emile).  When they finished the floor Saturday they asked, “So when are we finishing this?”  After 2 years of waiting for the church trustees to get the deck built, John finally started without them and God provided non-Christians with carpentry skills to fill our need.  God is good!  I’ll get pictures up after the project is finished.

A girl update:  Lindsey is done with school on Friday (I have to go through the 23rd!)  Budget cuts are meaning changes in her school district…as far as we know she still has a job. Her cousin, Erin, is flying in to visit her for a week later this month.  Hilary is working for SOULFEST.  She is Assistant Director of Artist/Public Relations.  She turns 22 on Thursday – we are going to see her Friday for supper.  Katie is busy working at Danforth Bay and taking 2 classes.  She is taking Biology Monday and Wednesday nights through White Mountain Community College in Conway and is taking a Grad Course as an Undergrad through Eastern University online (so far she has gotten a 100 on every paper she has written for that class – you go girl!).

John and I had a turkey dinner at the house with Katie tonight.  I have to go to Conway tomorrow after school, so we are going to go celebrate our anniversary then.  God is so good – He provides in ways we can’t imagine – He blesses beyond what we deserve.  How great is our God!

Planting, Building, Working…

I hope to get some photos up tomorrow…hope life is treating you well.