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Tuesday, December 31, 2013

A Blessed New Year ...

It's that time of new beginnings once again ... time when we look back at the year just ending and look forward to the year just beginning.  This has been a very difficult year for our little family.  Our oldest son passed away suddenly in June.


It has been a trying time for me, my husband and our younger son but with the grace of God and love of each other we are making it through this time of loss.  And we are looking forward with hope to the year that is arriving.

On this day 41 years ago I gave birth to my youngest son.  It was during a massive ice and snow storm in the Boston area -- so slippery that I had to slide down the walkway on my butt to get to the car so I wouldn't fall.  And it took over two hours to drive to the hospital that was normally only fifteen minutes away.  Then when I arrived the contractions that had been getting progressively more insistent ... stopped!  And I was told I could go home.  You must be kidding; it took me two hours to get here and now you tell me I can go home and wait for them to start again.  No way, I'm staying.  And eighteen hours later I was blessed with this young man.


Happy Birthday, Jeff ... and a Blessed and Happy New Year to you all.




Sunday, November 24, 2013

Peace and Sunshine

No words ... just pictures from the Corpus Christi Botanical Gardens ...












Blessings & Peace, 




Thursday, November 7, 2013

Oops ...

Lake Havau has more than its fair share of wind and our house is located in "wind alley".  Last winter this is what happened to our neighbor's boatport (like carport only for boats?).  That was a full metal roof mounted on those steel beams that are twisted.  It was just a freaky burst of wind on a sunny, windy day.


We live on the high side of the street across from this house and the wind that did this comes right around the end of our house and races down our driveway right into theirs.

Well, this summer we had another one of those sunny, windy days and this time the wind came right up our driveway and around the end of our house and took our beautiful mesquite tree with it.




This big root grew right up to the foundation but fortunately not under it or we might have had more damage.



The branches slid right down the side of the house without causing any damage.  It did, however, take out the cable TV line but that was easily fixed with a call to Suddenlink.


Now we have a rather large space and an opening into the back yard that we didn't have before.  No idea yet what we're going to do here.


The sad thing is we lost all that shade which is precious here in Havasu.

We're off to Corpus Christi, TX early tomorrow morning to meet my sister and her husband for a week of family time.  Looking forward to good food, good drinks and happy memories.

Blessings,

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Healing

What a difficult period of time this has been ... learning to live without the presence of our precious older son.  Even though I know his suffering is over and he is at peace, it is small compensation for my sense of loss and finality.  We all know that death is final ... that there is no coming back to this particular time and place ... I believe that I will be with my son once again in the Kingdom but for now we are separated and he is asleep in death.  I cannot call him to chat about his day and tell him I love him; we cannot spend the day together; I cannot tell him that Serena (his kitty) is loved and happy; I cannot tell him that we're keeping his beloved truck and enjoying it ourselves; I cannot hear his voice or see his special smile or receive a tender hug.  Learning to deal with this loss is heart wrenching -- some days are good and some days are very very hard.  But it is getting more manageable.

I want to start blogging again but it's been hard to write.  My emotions overwhelm my thoughts and crowd out what I want to say.  Our lives are pretty simple and not very exciting so often there is not a lot of stuff to write about.  I love my home; I enjoy decorating very much but once it's done for a while, it's done.  I'm not one to change decor just for the sake of doing so.  I don't like to store a bunch of stuff I'm not using (even though our garage is full to overflowing and it would appear otherwise!).  I do have a husband who likes to keep lots of things -- just in case -- sometime -- somewhere -- we might, just might have need of it.  And, truthfully, sometimes we do need what he has squirreled away.

I read a lot -- finally got a Kindle last year and although I really like real in-your-hand books the best, the Kindle does make finding and purchasing books easy as can be and it's always around and waiting for my few minutes or an hour to sit and read.  I read light fiction for entertainment and I've been studying biblical prophecy all summer.  Got hooked on a couple of prophecy books and find them eye opening and informative so it keeps me motivated and interested.

My husband and I managed to get away recently for a couple of long weekends to our favorite places ... Prescott, AZ, and Julian, CA.  Both remind us a bit of New England where we grew up and spent so many years.  There are green trees and grass and cool air -- things that are hard to come by here in Lake Havasu.  But I'm not complaining -- until this week we were still in the 90's every day; now we're in the 70's and it really feels like fall.

Next weekend we'redriving to Corpus Christi, TX, to meet my sister and her husband and spend a few lazy days together.  They live in Florida and we in Arizona so Texas is about half way for both of us.  Looking foward to some family time.  Our loss this summer reminds us how precious both time and family are and how much we need to cultivate the relationships that bless our lives.

Take care of your heart and your family,





Saturday, June 22, 2013

Home at Last ...






Home at Last …

My heart is heavy this day – our oldest son, Mark, passed away on Saturday, June 15th  at the age of 43. 

For those of you who don’t know his story, his life was one of challenge and illness for over 30 years. He was an amazing young man because he fought many battles that were never ending and yet he held on to his belief in and love for God, never ranting and raving, never blaming God or anyone else, just bearing up under one illness after another.

This illness came upon him rather suddenly; he had not been feeling well for a few days and was extremely fatigued.  He came to stay with us on Tuesday night and on Wednesday night I took him to the emergency room. Early Thursday morning he was being air-lifted to Las Vegas for emergency surgery to remove extensive tissue damaged by a form of flesh eating bacteria. He was in a medically induced coma after surgery to give his body a chance to recover but within 24 hours it became apparent that his kidneys, liver, and lungs were succumbing to the massive infection.  He passed away peacefully at 9:30 AM Saturday.


Mark always felt that he would not outlive his parents and often told me not to cry when he died because he was going to a better place where there would be no more tears, no more pain, and no more sorrow – and that God would have a job for him to do in the Kingdom.  The tears flow because they cannot be helped; they flow for our loss.  But we know he is at peace and … finally “home at last”.






Go here to hear Mark's favorite song:






Ann





Saturday, June 1, 2013

Bits and Pieces

Found this picture at a yard sale ... love the pastel cottage look here but the gold frame doesn't go with my gray and purple color scheme so had to make a change.


I've been using this Martha Stewart paint for some other projects and like the way it comes out so used it here too.


First coat --


Second coat and all done -- what a difference it makes to change the color of the frame.



My hubby and I have some differing ideas about decorating.  This is his style!  It looked so funny to me I just left it there and chuckled every time I walked in the bedroom.  After a few days he moved it.



We have a guest visiting for a bit ... my son's cat, Sarena.  She just loves my husband and wants to be near him as he works.  He works at home and this window is right near his desk so this is where she often parks herself ...



Perfect relaxation ...



To top off my week, I saw this when I went grocery shopping.  I love purple ... lookee here!  How fun to bring the groceries home in this!


It's going to be 110 here this weekend ... guess we'll be floating in the pool.

Til next time,


Sunday, May 26, 2013

Saturday, May 25, 2013



Remembering ...

Those who served and sacrificed.  And their families.

And those who are serving today ... and their families.




Thank you to all for the blessings of freedom we enjoy. 

Til next time ... enjoy a great weekend!


Tuesday, May 21, 2013

In my thoughts ...

I've been watching the news as I'm sure everyone has been and am saddened to see all the devastation and pain caused by this massive storm.  My thoughts and prayers go out to all involved that they will be comforted and strengthened in the days ahead.  I especially pray for those families who have lost children; I cannot imagine their pain and distress.

Til next time,

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Peace and Sunshine

No words, just pictures ...



London Bridge, Lake Havasu, AZ







Make it a great day!