A Pajama Mama

One year ago today.  I miss her...we all do. I think of her often...when I see her picture on my dresser, when I see the bowl from her kitchen, when I remember our summer vacations together...I smile. She made me giggle at something every time I was with her. Laughing is a good thing. It's the good things I remember. She was loved so much. My beautiful Grandma at our wedding almost twenty years ago. The day our long, sweltering summer turned to the cooler, welcoming days of autumn is the day our beloved Grandmother went to spend eternity with Father.  September 23, 2010. The significance of this day and the changing of the seasons has not gone unnoticed. At the end of our blistering summer, our flower beds were a mess. The day after Grandma's homegoing service, my Hero cleaned out the dried up, floundering plants and replaced them with straw until spring. The last few years of Grandma's life were hard on her. We watched our beautiful, fragrant flower begin to wit...

Recently, I spent the evening with a group of my most favorite ladies. Collectively, these strong ladies have experienced the highest of highs, the lowest of lows and everything in between. Lots of wisdom and faith to move mountains...I just sit and listen. I've been pondering some things shared that night...some real and raw things. One friend felt she had a big "C" plastered across her head when she was given a C diagnosis. At first, she felt like all people saw was the BIG C. Not her.  Another felt she wore a scarlet letter of shame because of a terrible accident involving her son that led to jail time for him.  Carol Kent , an author/speaker/mom whose words have inspired many of us, speaks of feeling like she had "Mother of Murderer" branded across her forehead. So, this is what has been rolling around inside of me... Our circumstance does not equal our identity. Two completely different things.  Satan knows where we are vu...

The happy couple... On Saturday, August 3, 1991, I married the love of my life.  My hero. My best friend. My protector. My encourager. My sweetheart. Fast forward  TWENTY YEARS . I wouldn't change a thing and I'd do it all over again. We wanted to do something special to commemorate this 20 year marriage milestone.  Our dear friends generously shared their beach home so we kissed the kids goodbye and took off for the week.  Special dinner...gift from friends He knows his steak's coming... This beach house is special to us. Our friends have owned it for about a decade and they've shared it with us since day 1. Hero actually helped move the furniture into the house when it was brand new. My favorite spot in the house is way up on the third floor balcony in the wicker swing. So, at 3:00 p.m. on August 3, 2011 - the exact time we got married twenty years before - we made our way to the swing. We had written letters to each...

So...continuing my whole Catch Up On the Summer blog fest... July was great! Here's a smidgen of what happened! The Boy turned 12!!!  Pirate teeth! Rayray went to Worldview Academy for the 2nd summer. What else is there to do but use up eyeliner in July? I kept my 3 plus BeachMama's 6 at the beach for the week while BeachMama and BeachDaddy went on a great trip. FOUR twelve year old boys.... that was a LOT of twelve-ness. Bodysurfing in the rough, red-flag water... This day took approximately 2.5 years off my life.

I love to blog. I really really do. But I apparently have regularly scheduled stretches of days...or months...when we are living life so much that I don't have (or don't take) the time to chronicle the happenings. So, here's my attempt at catching up. June Grimy and sweaty, but happy! Love Your Neighbor Campaign 2011 Girls spent the week at the grand's stables. First time Doodlebug's been away for that long but she had her sissy and grandparents...and horses. She didn't miss me at all! The teen took an intensive week of Driver's Ed at a local college. Family ministry project with some neighbors. We were blessed to be a part of this.  I painted. But I already blogged that h ere.