I found myself at a funeral today... I went with my husband to support his longtime friend who lost his wife... I did not know the woman. I had not been to a funeral since mom died in February. I was sitting there minding my own business when I was overpowered by a cascade of emotions! Sneeky things...emotions! Just as I think I have some control they smack me upside the head once again. In keeping with the idea of counting blessings at ALL times I am trying to count these...

• Able to feel emotions at all
• had a mom worth remembering
• have a car that will get to a funeral
• have a husband to go with
• have someone to be with my son Andy so I can go
• 
  

There...that is how i get started counting those blessings and praising GOD for each and every one! 
How about you? 
What are you counting as your blessings today?? 

family laughter

No pics but day filled with blessings! Yesterday as I was running in 12 directions I decided to stop for a bite(spinach/shrimp salad)... when I slowed down chewing low and behold there sat my sister V! She was taking her lunch break and we got to visit for a change... it was nice. Then I got home and there was sister N from Oklahoma and 2 of her kids... there was picture looking and genuine laughter to be had by all.  It is so glad to get to reconnect. To top this day off at bedtime my youngest son called to see if I was ok "since you didn't call me today?" I think this touched me more than anything else all day to know that that this child from Ohio all grown up decided to check on his mom... Such blessings are precious... Did you count your blessings yesterday? Let's count them together today... ok?? :)

baking yard!

I  the midst of all the daily life challenges I have noticed that my yard seems to be baking... Leaves drooping on trees and grass crunching underfoot... window shades shut tight and  a/c humming along... cats and dogs laying in shade panting... sprinklers making rainbows as they scatter water over tomatoes and peppers that are standing tall trying their best to produce a bite or two... dirt, wall siding, cars, all hot to the touch... such is life in our corner of East Texas... We are so ready for a trip north to see family in Ohio and sit in lake Erie...hahaha!!
So now to count my blessings...

1. yard to bake
2. trees in yard
3. window shades
4. sprinklers (rainbows)
5. cats n dog
6. tomatoes n peppers
7. dirt of my own
8. walls :)
9. cars
10. and family in OHIO!!

Join me and let's keep counting those wonderful blessings together!!!

inspiration...

Where do we find the inspiration we need to become something more than we are at this time? Often mine is found in my family.  I am beginning to embark on a journey to restore my health.  It will take at least the next year and include several surgeries.  I need to concentrate on the results... not the challenges that I face.  Break it into manageable goals that will result in final goals being met.  It has been such a blessing to finally find a med(savella) that is controlling the fibromylagia pain after 20+years! Blessings abound with the addition of water therapy (started in April) and physical therapy (started in June) and the cortisone shots(first in June) as a stop gap until the surgery on my joints can be done.  Now to be stepping into the process for bariatric surgery(http://www.tylerbariatrics.com/ ) is an adventure with mixed emotions...but I am glad that it is available to me.  I crave the support of my family and dear friends... to be surrounded with prayers and positive thoughts and words of encouragement will be part of the secret of my success... I thank all who will join me.

mom with her "red honeysuckle"

stool grown in among the treesour new neighbor!

making choices to be here instead of spending all my time north with grandbabies and sons & DIL has not been easy... but days like yesterday with mom in her garden talking "teaching" me all about the plants she has gathered there and feeling that these days are not going to last forever make this choice feel like a wise one... not long before I will get to go north to share special days with the rest of the family... but for now this is where I belong...

life happens

am now getting a chance to rework and create my own spot here in Texas...I have bought my parents 1 acre homestead and inherited the 5 attached acres from my grandfather... may get to add another 5 if one of the sisters agrees she wants to sell her portion... so now to make it mine...
property is in much disrepair and needs to be cleaned up and made useable. House and property could be used for a hoarder series on the tv... So here we go...
biggest issue is how to simplify when my parents are still going to be living on the property and we must merge and work together to join our lives and not be in each others nerves ALL THE TIME!!

other than clean up and tuck away we are reworking an old camper into a potting shed greenhouse... will be posting pics

please wish me luck...and send up prayers...

misscathy

mom's day

today is mom's day...I know a lot of mom's and like most of them... haha. Life is changing as my mom needs more and my kids need less... it is my turn to clean and guard mom instead of her watching over me... this is a time to preserve memories and listen to clues so I can continue to please my mom as she becomes less and less of herself and more and more who she is becoming as she ages... I pray heaping blessings upon all the mothers that are a part of my life and my history...

a new joy filled year?

A new year and what will it hold... lots of hugs and grandbaby kisses... laughter and prayer... looking for joy where it can be found... I know sometimes we have to search for these simple things... some days they are harder to find than others... the world here is covered in snow and much is hidden just like the joy is sometimes hidden in our life... it takes determination sometimes to find it... a choice to seek the joy in our little lives... the taste of a strawberry, the breeze on a hot day, the snore of the one you love beside you, giggle of a child on the phone, "I love you" long distance from someone who means it... tiny things in this HUGE world but all can bring joy into my little life... I will search for these things and FIND them this year...

homestead at last!!

papa's shed on property
signed papers with mom n dad

deer in front yard

same deer

tiny flowers in back yard

mystery tree fruit mystery tree?

flowerbed?

front yard

lucky ladybugs...in bedroom window

So excited to be on our way to establishing a homestead for our family...ya know one of those places for family to come "home" to... Signed papers to take over Mom n Dad's acre and have inherited 5 more adjoining it from Papa... so it is really old family land and we have a chance to make it our own...Have been doing some cleaning and organizing but will talk more about that later...here are a few pics just to give you a glimpse... grand baby Chad in Ohio wanted to know what Texas looked like...so here it is buddy...

this is gonna be a great adventure for us...

perfect rest? yes, if my mind is set on GOD...

sister's love...pure perfection... decisions...decisions...decisions...

Setting priorities is a ways a challenge...

When my boys were little it was easy... They were first even when they didn't think so...they were... Now there are grandbabies and parent needs that are a part of the mix... I want to be helpful and available for them all... only kink is they are 1100 miles apart!!! So now I am working out logistics to be there for them all... I have a partner in all this. He is quite strong and knowledgeable, and available anytime I need a shoulder to cry on or a new idea or just to know someone is in this situation with me... no it is not my sweetheart (his is all those things as well). It is my GOD... He is always there and can watch over all my little family here and afar and keep all them tucked under his wing of protection. He is always ready with a new idea or plan if I will take the time to let him whisper it into my ear... I just have to remember that he is willing if I am ready. He can protect them all and lead them when I am not right there...he is... I often wonder how others do it all without his support...it must be so hard... well I will go get busy.

you be blessed today...

simple life?

pics show simple contentment at it's best...imho

where is my simple life? Hidden behind all the stuff my life holds... things, projects, plans, people... simplicity disappears behind life... so it is time to dig it out...

• set priorities
• purge unnecessary projects
• plan for simplicity
• ease away from the draining people (embrace the uplifting ones)

priorities... family, health(physical, mental, spirituial), food, clothing, shelter...that looks like a good place to begin... focus on these priorities...if it does not contribute to these things then ease it or throw it out of my life...

be blessed today

lost son...found...*:) shavin with grandpa in '76

lost son found...at the beach in'76

son lost in cleveland... search mapquest... son found in cleveland...

going for his second appointment to have the stomach surg in January...

he is braver than I am...

ain't these puters wonderful...

puttering around the house and looking to stay out of trouble...

will go get grandbabies and play at the beach this evening...

or that is the plan anyway...

be blessed today

naming property???

grand baby #6 chad took this pic of grandma laughing...he is 5...

this is mom & dad a few years back...

Years ago I was looking for a name for my property. I knew it came from GOD... just too many coincidences fell in place for it not to be a true blessing. I remembered a verse that says "GOD inhabits the praise of his people". I wanted him to be welcome and live at my place so it became "praise place". This has been the name of many physical places since then, and the name of my ministry, but truly I think it is the name of my heart. We will be moving once again and I know I will carry the name with me. It is interesting how a place will get a name. My dad lived in an area that the kids all called "rainbow" because of the HUGE rainbow bread sign on the tiny local store in that community. Where my parents live now...mom named "rainbow's end". I need to get busy today...taking a few more steps to get ready to move... be blessed today

july 09 grandma's job

the water was chasing her...

she will pose for this one...

sharing the great lake with grandpa

going for a trip with grandma...

moving is by nature complicated... so how do you simplify it?

plan, plan, plan... I am tired of planning...

I just want to be taking action!

I am ready to take action even if it is the wrong one...

just quit planning and move!

I guess that is why I am blessed to have my sweetheart here... he is the calm, slow, and steady type that keeps my impulsiveness in check... he is a good choice...

Today we start the taxi for taking the #1 grandson to band practice M, T & W night. Has to be there by 6. It is good that his dad is on days and can pick him up this week. Last week it was over there by 6 and pick him up at 9... of course if we picked up a baby grandchild for 3 hours it made the time fun...exhausting but fun...

Here I go to do more planning... you all be blessed today.

still mowing

grandbaby #6 chad and grandma resting in outdoor swing (bed mode)

Today my sweetie put a running board on our old van "bertha" (name provided by my son). Now I can get in from both sides!! While he was doing that I took on the mowing chore... (he made this suggestion...he is trying to keep me moving) I did it all without taking a break... (mind you we live in a trailer park...not much lawn) I am 43lbs lighter than my last mowing blog was written... I did work up a sweat (or glistened) but I did not have to go sit for a while to rest before I finished... I am getting stronger... I still have MILES to go before I reach optimum health but I am making progress... in a book I wrote years ago it said over and over...Progress not perfection... I need to practice what I preached... this pic is from our most recent visit with Chad... we were resting after he took grandma for a walk... he grabs my hand and pulls me all the way...to see every animal, leaf, and especially any worms that my cross our path... *:)

doctor report 7-09

me and my sweetheart...
he is still here even if I am falling apart at the seams...haha...

Yesterday I went to see a new doctor. He seems to be thorough and I like that. Wants to run blood tests and wrote refills for meds and made lots of notes as we talked. So for those of you who do not know. Here is my list:

• arthritis...hips, spine, shoulders, knees
  
• fibromylagia...all over, more than anywhere else...haha
  
• edema...feet and legs
  
• spurs in spine and knees
  
• morbid obesity...haha
  
• incontience...shush...don't tell

Now he wants blood to see if there is more... ain't life grand...

I know life is quite grand. Wonderful in fact...In spite of the fact that most of these problems have plagued me for over 20 years I still feel life is wonderful... I must just always remember to count my blessings and to praise GOD for each one... that is how I cope...

song stuck in my head...

this is one of my blessings...grandbaby # 8 miss zoe

old song...
"i am blessed"
"i am blessed"
"every day that i live i am blessed"
"when i wake up in the morning"
"when i lay my head to rest"
"i am blessed"
"i am blessed"
i guess this is one that is easier to sing sometimes than others...
i know if i can get this one stuck in my head my day always goes better...
what song is stuck in your head today?

grievance or miracle...

(This is an old post sent out on my space years ago...I am 52 now)

on my fridge is a sign that says:
every decision
I make is a choice
between a
grievance and a
miracle...
some days this encourages me and some days it haunts me...
at 50 now I can look back a bit and see those choices that caused grief...and the ones that ended up being miracles. I only hope others see my life as filled with more positive than negative... how do you ever know until all is said and done...
Well how about you? Is your balance sheet more positive or negative?
I have days that I feel completely negative...and others that I don’t feel i have done so badly...that is why i have to remind myself to always..."count my blessings and praise GOD for each one" like it says on the bottom of my emails. It is to remind me to do that, not necessarily tell anyone else to...*:)
All I know is that I have one more day at a time and many more choices to make things work out right...
I must...we must never give up!
Please join me and begin making those positive choices one at a time...
I do not not want to be in this alone...

pass it on...

This is my grandson Chad and his worms. We were learning about biology this day. I have heard it said you need to learn something new every day... I am trying to figure if you are doing all this learning when do you do your practicing. There comes a time to apply all that knowledge or at least take the time to pass it along... There are so many younger people (always someone younger) who need to know something that you know... If you have a skill or a trick of the trade or just a neat idea take the time to share it and don't let it die with you! Share your knowledge even if is just reading to someone or teaching someone how to do some little thing that will make their life a bit easier... Reach out and help someone else learn something new everyday...TODAY!

doctor visit...blessings?

Today off to see the doctor... great fun... I have had such a setback since my other doctor moved. I ran out of meds about 3 weeks ago and my body has quickly began to suffer. So here we are with a chance to fix all that. It is always a challenge to start over with a new doc. I need to convince him that I am a partner in my health care and not just a patient. I know more about this old body of mine than anyone. I need him to work with me not on me. Sometimes a doctor cannot see past the weight to know there may be other factors at work in my body. The weight is just one of the symptoms...not necessarily the cause. I have fought these battles for 20 years now and get tired of it from time to time...but I cannot give in or give up. I already tried that once and it just made things worse.So once again I seek someone with more education than I have to help me "get all better".

I pack up another box yesterday. My bathroom bookcase is just about empty. Just my jewelry boxes remain. T-my DIL is getting excited about all the plans. This is a big move for all of us. It will take a year of more to get us all moved and settled. It is a long way from Ohio to Texas...and moving 13 people will not be easy... I am ready to return to our neck of the woods. I do so look forward to being in the country again and building a life to share with my children and grandchildren. Of course having my sweetheart beside me and parents close is going to make things all fall into place. I am looking for blessings from this day forward. We have had enough trial...it is time to receive good and not evil, blessing and not cursing, and joy not sorrow... I am ready to sit in peace and enjoy the blessing of GOD...