Meep.

It's FRIDAY! I want to spin around in an amazingly green field like Julie Andrews in The Sound Of Music! But I want a better dress.

Ya'll I can't tell you how happppy I am that today is FRIDAY.  I'm not sure why, but yes, I'm so very happy about it.  My weekend is looking a little corn-y as the corn at Mom and Dad's house has come in.  We are doing an assembly line of shucking, silking, blanching, cutting and stuffing into bags.  Dad worked hard in this drought to keep the water on this crop, so I'm glad he's seeing a reward.

We celebrated my brother's 44th birthday last week.  All the family on our hill pitched in and got him a charcoal grill, which he was very excited about.  I give him mucho credit - he is an awesome chef. Seriously.  

Katie and I took Macy to Lunar Golf - basically putt putt under black lights - because when it's 99 degrees outside, you just can't do much in the way of playing outdoors and this kid has ENERGY.  Our concerns of her being afraid of the dark room proved to be needless as she ran allllll over the place, enjoying all the glowing things.  And enjoying running in general. So glad there weren't many people there.  

There's our two space aliens.  Macy did NOT want to be the green alien at all.  That crazy yellow hair kinda looks like her bedhead in the morning. HAHAHA

When I was invited to come play - and enjoy homemade tacos - I couldn't possible resist the drive to Gaffney! :)  Especially since Donna had just gotten home from her vacation in Washington State and Canada.  Looked so beautiful!  I'm envious. Ellie is a sweetheart and Daisy had to smile for us, too!

 And now, enjoy some random photos I haven't posted for ya'll yet.  Macy after church - just thought these bright colors were so cute on her. :)

 The new puppy at my sister's house.  Macy named it Sparkles but somehow it was changed to Daisy.  So yes, another Daisy pup in my life.

 The sweet nieces enjoying Dunkin' Donuts I surprised everyone with this week. I had a doctor's appointment and knew everyone had be working on corn.  I figured they needed a break and a happy snack.  It worked - they were very happy.

Yes, I have become the Crazy Cat Lady in the neighborhood.  In addition to the stray mama cat that I took in and she immediately became pregnant (and may be again?) - three of her four kittens are still with me.  Now this dude just shows up like he owns the place.  Add another huge orange cat that I see slinking around from time to time.  Like I said, the Crazy Cat Lady.

So someone asked how the doctor's appointment went.  Welll..... Not that you want THIS much detail, but I have been diagnosed with IBS. This isn't new, but I hadn't had a flare up since this time last year.  Over the fourth of July I had a rough go of it, didn't eat for two days, felt so nauseous, was just sick with pains moving all over my abdomen.  It wasn't a lot of fun.  I called my gastro doc to see if I could see him but he was on call at the hospital. And no, they wouldn't let me see another doctor.  If I wanted to see him, I would have to go to the ER.  I did that and still didn't get to see him. But I did have a CT scan and blood work that showed nothing was wrong. That's the deal with IBS.  You hurt for no reason, really. So, I had prayed they would find out what is wrong with me and I suppose they did! There is no "cure" just endurance when you get a flare up. SUCKS.

What else is happening in my world? I do need some prayers for my family.  My brother-in-law had a huge back surgery fusion in Dec 2014.  They told him last week is has to be completely undone and redone - major pain.  MAJOR pain. It was such a long surgery before and so incredibly painful. I hate feeling helpless and we all felt so helpless to make a difference for him.  We are all so upset it has to be repeated, so please pray for the doctors, for him and that he will heal properly this time.

My Dad will be having a stress test next week leading up to his knee surgery.  Once he passes the stress test, we'll be on go for the knee surgery, which he really needs.  He is also in a good bit of pain and it's been tough on him to not be able to go go go.  So please pray his stress test goes well, too!

I know, it seems like all this bad news! But we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. I try to remember this - ya'll help me remember. Keep telling me, ok?

Ok, thanks for joining in my read-a-long here. :) It's a joy to have ya'll visit. Hope you have a great weekend! *hugs* friends!

REST

So last post life was a Merry-go-round and there was no getting off. Then what does my devotion bring to me? Rest in God is a powerful tool to prepare you for the ways He will use you in His work. Rest. Not just sleeping in, but spending quiet reflective time in His word. I hope I've been doing that this week. I've filled up my journal with prayers and reflections  this week and spend leisurely time just soaking God into my heart. It's good.

Right this second I'm listening to birds outside my window and I have baby sweet niece hogging a king sized bed. How someone so little can push me over to the very edge is just baffling. Earlier she karate chopped my throat then gave me an uppercut punch! It was time to shove her over. ;) 

The girls are enjoying summer like they should - by devouring deliciously grilled corn on the cob. Both those girls can put a hurtin' on some corn, let me tell you. 

Did I show you this pic already? She was learning about sun and shade, so we stopped for a rest in the shade as we walked back to her house from Mom's. So cute. So so so cute!

We had one more heck of a storm here last night. Lightning was a little in the strong side - flicked the power a few good times. Just enough to send the clocks flashing all through the house. 

I hope y'all are having a beautiful week and enjoying the summer weather before the heat really cranks up. :)

Home Sweet Home

Just got in, the car unloaded and strewn across the loving room floor, and heated up something to eat. Vacation is wonderful but nothing beats my own house and habits :)   

We kept it off social media and such, but my Mom, Dad, Katie, Roger, Sweet Nieces #1 and #2, and I headed for a week at Edisto Island, SC. Rented two houses, enjoyed hanging out at both houses, some beach time, some shopping time, just a good family vacay. 

One afternoon we took the girls to the beach for some sister pictures. I have others on my real camera so you'll be seeing them in the upcoming days. 

They are so adorable. Love love love! 

I'll talk to anyone and so will dad. We ate out for breakfast this morning and met a really nice thirty-something family from GA. They discovered they didn't like camping at the beach haha!  We always rent a house but this year our house was so horrible we left a day early and came on home. Ugh. Disappointing. The rental company was really nice though. But that didn't help the condition of the house! UGH!! 

If you've never enjoyed Edisto-it rocks. Not much to do, no chain restaurants, one Bi-Lo, a few gift shops, no hotels ... It's wonderful!! (Do you see this awesome photo?? Seriously!!) 

Sunset at the point. Dolphins were hopping by, tidal pools for the kids to jump in, sea shells and gentle lapping waves. Sunset at the point is unbeatable. 

I will recover from the lack of sleep and post more photos from my camera soon. Love Edisto but soooooo glad to be back in my house tonight!!! 

Enough of the Drama!

Ok, so you now know my family life is curretly full of medical drama. But that's not fun and exciting to share, now is it? So here, enjoy a photo dump of the past several months. Something much more enjoyable to check out on a blog! :)

Some more photos from the Fourth of July - Macy L.O.V.E.S. corn on the cob! :)  Look at her wild curls going crazy! She has the most fun hair.

And here is little miss enjoying her sandbox/pool.  This pic just cracks me up for some reason.

And two funny phone pics for your entertainment.  Sweet Niece #1 and me, cheesing it up for the camera! :)

And just because I can... because it's my blog and all that, here are a few pieces of scripture I've screen shotted and will add to my journal book later this week:

"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."  2 Corinthians 4:18

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble."  Psalm 46:1

"The Lord says, "I will guide you along the best pathway for your life.  i will advise you and watch over you."  Psalm 32:8

And I like this one:
"In certain ways we are weak, but the Spirit is here to help us.  For example, when we don't know what to pray for, the spirit prays for us in ways that cannot be put into words."  Romans 8:26
I just really like the thoughts of this.  Even when I don't know what I need to pray for, the Holy Spirit is there looking out for me, praying on my behalf for things I can't understand and in ways that are beyond mere words.  WOW.

My friend Paulene is in Alaska right now and while she is there, she posted this message:
"Let every breath praise the Lord." Now, if you think like that, what changes would you make to your life? Oh holy cow, I'd make a lot. LET EVERY BREATH PRAISE THE LORD.  So, with this in mind, I go to the dr tomorrow understanding there is a larger picture at work here.  Maybe it's a chance to meet a doc who is a great Christian, to show me God's got me covered in every way. Or maybe it's a doctor that needs to see Christ at work through me? Who knows, I guess I'll see tomorrow. But regardless, I'm thankful I am one of God's children - and I'm learning how to praise Him (and failing along the way, but that's ok, He still loves me!)

Whopper Malt Ball Cake - So Yummy!

Recipe is here at Bonbons & Biscotti

Ya'll, seriously, I created this cake right here (ok, not this very one since this is from the website I got the recipe from, but mine looked like this!!) and it was SO STINKIN' EASY! And tasty, which is always a good thing, right?

My mom loves Whoppers so I thought she'd really get into this.  Click on the blog title in the photo caption to get the recipe but let me just say this:  smashing up the Whoppers was by far the hardest part.  Ok, well, that and worrying about the spider I had tried to kill midway through creating this deliciousness.  I really do need a man in the house for the sole purpose of killing bugs/spiders because that is something I do not enjoy.

Sorry, focusing back on the cake. Imagine chocolate graham cracker crust. It goes up the sides somewhat (I failed to do this and I see now why it's better to bring it on up the sides). Imagine tasty vanilla ice cream with Whoppers crushed and mixed inside.  A delicious layer of chocolate covering the top... Oh yeah. It's perfect for a summer day. Cold ice cream, Whoppers and chocolate. Oohhhhh yeahhhh.... bow bow, chic-a chic-a...

Next time I'm thinking of using chocolate chip cookies because FOR THE LOVE OF PETE it's hard to crush Whoppers!! Whoa Nelly, I had no idea! The can I used to smash them on the chopping board is now a square.

By the way, this is another Pinned It Did It project! I love that I'm actually doing some of these pinned things! So go - right now - GO! to Bonbons & Biscotti and get the recipe. Make your own deliciousness! YUM!