Ever lose anything?

A few days ago when I posted about Timothy when he was 6 years old, I knew JUST the perfect photo that I wanted to use. But...
I. could. not. find. it.
It was lost. I was a picture of him, wearing a wine-o cap, standing in front of the gecko tank at the zoo.
You know the one, right?
It's adorable.
It was lost.
Well, today I went through my backup discs from way back...and I FOUND it!

And you know what? He's wearing a ball cap. And he's standing in front of the Mudpuppy tank. At least I was right about him being at the zoo. He's still adorable, though.

I do have a picture of a gecko at the zoo. It's one of my all-time faves. Maybe that's where I got confused. It doesn't explain the hat mix up, though.
And you know what? I'm not even sure this is a gecko. Does anybody know what this critter is? Obviously I have lost my mind.

Then I got to looking through the rest of the lost pictures that I hadn't yet missed.

A summer vacation at Lake Erie:

Where we went fishing, of course.An April vacation in Florida. Oh how beautiful the white sand beach and the blue, blue water. This was the year that dolphins came around while we were there.Christmas 5 years ago.

My oldest playing soccer.

And as I strolled down memory lane the rest of the family crowded around the computer. As we relived some of our adventures it occurred to me that I need to make a bigger effort of taking pictures. I'm not one to carry my camera with me everywhere I go. I *LOVE* my digital for the fact that I can see right away if I need to adjust exposure, lighting or focus. I wish my 35mm did that! Do you know how much film that would have saved me?

Anyway, we agreed that we need to go back to Lake Erie...maybe this summer. And we'll all miss our Florida vacations now that Mom and Dad have moved back to Ohio. Maybe one day we'll venture out with our camper and visit a beach closer to home. Until that time, I still have my pictures. I know where they are.

Now, if only I could find my lost brain cells.

The hopper is empty!

One of the features that I like about this blog setup is that I can write a few posts and either tell it to post it on a certain day or I can save it as a draft and work on it again later. I like this because sometimes life gets in the way and I can't find time to play. This week has been one of those weeks for me. I've had to run here or dash there. And yesterday I worked most of the afternoon and part of the evening making props for our puppets to use Sunday.
I had told the Puppet Team that we were going to do it together...but the only one who has a crafty bone in her body had to make an emergency trip to Kentucky this week. Instead of torturing the rest of the team, I tackled the project myself. So, with my family offering words of encouragement, I painted and crafted until we have three nice props that hopefully will last a few years.
And guys...I KNOW you don't mind that I went ahead without you this time. You can thank me tomorrow.
Speaking of tomorrow...I'd better get to writing it's post!

Reflections

One night, when he was six years old, Timothy appeared at my bedside. When he saw I was “awake” (more like startled into consciousness by the feeling that someone was at the bedside, WATCHING me) he climbed into bed and snuggled in close. Very close…like a second skin. He said he “just wanted to sleep with me.” Uh-huh. Since he is my third child I knew there was another reason.
After a while of snuggling I told him that he had to go to his bed. This is where the truth came out. He wailed, “My bed is broke!”
Now, once upon a time it alarmed me when he said his bed was broke, but the child’s mind was still learning the language…and such a hard language it is! You see…when you get up in the mornings, you must make your bed…therefore, when it is unmade, it must be broken!

…aren’t we this way with our Heavenly Father. When something is wrong, we go into His presence, but hem-haw around—as if He didn’t know something was wrong. Sometimes He must prod us to get us to tell Him what is bothering us. He cannot help us unless we ask.

Yes, I went into Timothy’s room and he turned on the light to reveal that the sheet had come undone at the foot of his bed. As I tucked it back into place, he heaped praises on me and thanked me for fixing his bed.
Thank you, Lord, for helping put the “undone” things back in place in my life.

You only WISH it were Wordless Wednesday.

Tip o'the Day:
When you're on a diet and your pants are getting loose...don't wear the silky underpants.

Note to self: Buy a belt.

Stop me if you've heard this one..

Years and years ago...when we first got married...I couldn't cook. I just "never" had time to tag behind Mom in the kitchen to learn the ins and outs. Truth was, I had no interest in being domesticated. I was a country girl. Dirt under the fingernails. Hair cut short so it would be out of the way.
I am not the same girl.
I truly enjoy cooking for my family. I love cooking from scratch and using fresh produce. I like to experiment with new flavors and textures and create new dishes. I just never write any of it down...so it's all lost. Remember, menopausal hormones are eating my brain cells.
A few years ago we made friends with Fred and Jane. As it turns out, Fred has a thing about dull knives. He hates them. With a passion. So one day Fred took my knives home with him and sharpened him. My life has never been the same since. WOW, what a difference a sharp knife makes! So every few weeks Fred would drop in and collect my knives. Then Fred got smart and loaned my husband a knife sharpener. Very soon afterwards we bought a good knife sharpener of our own. Since then both of my teenagers have bought a knife sharpener for themselves. We've all been converted to the Sharp Knife Club. (Remember, we're a Boy Scout family--there are lots of pocket knives floating around here.)
Fred is also the one who invited us to learn to butcher deer. We'd help, bring home some meat, and eat venison for a while. Now, as a family, we have butchered two deer on our own and helped another friend butcher a cow. (Remind me later to tell you the "I'm cutting up a cow" story.)
So...I'm not doing too bad for a girl who couldn't cook and didn't eat red meat all those years ago.

Is it hot in here or is it just me?

I can remember my Mother telling me how HOT it was in the room. I didn't think it was hot, but she insisted. I never really understood that...until a few years ago.
But now it is all too clear. Sadly.
But I try not to insist that it is hot. I just look around the room and gather the clues before I open my mouth. I know--it's shocking to think I've learned to do that, isn't it? Usually I just blurt out the first thing that comes to mind. But the thing about menopausal hormones is that they eat up brain cells faster than you can replace them--so now I've forgotten what I was going to say before I get a chance to say it. So, you see, it's not that I've learned to hold my tongue. It's that I'm forgetful. Severely forgetful.
But I digress.
As I was saying, I look around the room to see if anyone else is sweating buckets before I comment on how immensely hot it has gotten. Usually the answer is...no. But if I'm in a room with my closest friends, who are also going through this journey, then I can feel free to say what's on my mind and they will sympathize with me. Friends are that way. At least mine are. God has blessed me with some of the most wonderful girlfriends who encourage and uplift one another. I hope that He will do the same for you. And to my friends I say...THANKS for being there for me.
Excuse me now while I melt into a puddle. Are you sure it's not hot in here to you?

I am a C-H...

I am a C-H-R-I-S-T-I-A-N

And I have C-H-R-I-S-T
in my H-E-A-R-T

And I will L-I-V-E
E-T-E-R-N-A-L-L-Y




This song has been running through my head since I typed it up for our Kid's Choir songbook. (I'm the secretary at our church.)

It occured to me that I haven't properly introduced myself. In my profile it says that we're active in church...but I didn't make it clear *what* church. We are followers of the Christ. We are Christians. And we are offended by all the political-correctness going on that completely excludes us.

Prepare yourself. I will share more on this later.