Happy Anniversary . . .

Happy 4th Anniversary

To Bobby & Kari

May each year bring you

blessings and joy!

Garden Flowers . . .

Our sunflowers are in full bloom.

POEM TO A SUNFLOWER

I see you there in glory shining bright,

Following the sun and its path of light.

Standing tall above all others in the field,

You grow, conquer, and do not yield.

The birds take great delight in playing round you,

from day to night.

With your petals of yellow and leaves of green

How very easily you are seen.
But there is more to you than first sight,

More than beauty and grander to delight.

Every beautiful aspect that appears,

Gives praise to the Father dear.
He made you a part of creation,

And you praise him in glorious celebration!

The beauty that within you is expressed,

Gives testimony to his greatness.
Sunflower, how I long to be like you!

Glorifying God in all I do.

Following the Son and His path of light,

To worship Him in His glory shining bright.
I can learn from you, my friend,

With every breath, praise to God, I might send.

With all of his creation telling the story,

Might I, with you, proclaim His glory.

~By Katherine R. Lane (April 19, 1995)~

A Grand Saturday . . .

This past Saturday was a grand day!

Ethan turned 5 months old.

My sister, Susan, & brother-in-law, Mike, were here for a visit. They enjoyed holding Ethan & getting to know him a little better.


Now for another bit of grand news! Susan & Mike had decided a few weeks ago to pass along their baby grand piano to us. They are in the process of selling their home & down sizing to a smaller house. This is the piano that was in our childhood church for many years. It was built in 1934. They purchased it 13 years ago when the church bought a new piano.


We recruited our friend Brad to help unload & set up the heavy piano.
Our old Baldwin piano was moved to Kari & Bobby's house.

The piano looks so elegant & grand in our front room. I discovered that I'm very rusty at the piano playing when I tried to play a few old hymns.

My goodness, it's been many years since I've played! Shame on me!!

I have great plans to practice a little each week until I can play without being embarrassed! Maybe I'll be ready to play some Christmas tunes in December!

Susan found some of my old sheet music that I used to play when I was a teenager. I think it will be fun reacquainting myself with the oldies.



I want to say a big thank you to Mike & Susan for being so generous to deliver & present us with this beautiful piano that holds so many memories for our family. We love you!

Sunday Thoughts . . .

Be still and know that I am God . . .

Stand silent! Know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation in the world!

Psalms 46:10

The Living Bible

Enjoy your Sunday!

40 Years Ago . . .

40 years ago today . . .

I was 16 years old.

I was driving to the lake with my family

to spend a few days at my Grandparent's cabin.

We were listening to the radio waiting to hear

a history making announcement.

We finally heard the news that man was on the moon!

I kept thinking "How is this possible?"

We were not able to see any television reports when

we arrived at the cabin because there was no TV there.

What a memory. . .

"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind"

Hope & Patience . . .

If we hope for what we do not see,

we wait for it with patience.

Romans 8:25

Are you going through a difficult time right now? Have you lost hope that circumstances will ever change? Hopelessness can rob you of joy and steal each precious moment.

Biblical hope is more than just expectation or a desire that something wonderful is waiting around the bend. It is a confident trust that God's plans for your life are right and good. When you put your trust in Him, no matter what is happening at the moment, you can look to today and your future with hope because He is there.

God Himself is your hope, in this life and for all eternity. You can confidently step into your future, knowing that God will always be with you~~no matter what.

There is no medicine like hope, no incentive so great,

and no tonic so powerful as expectation

of something tomorrow.

Samuel Johnson

Taken from 'God's Daily Answer' . . .

Parade Memories . . .

When I was in elementary school one of my favorite summertime activities was participating in the public library summer reading program. I loved receiving rewards for reading books throughout the summer. My favorite summer was the one when we were given feathers for each book we completed to put in an Indian headdress. The highlight of the program was the bicycle parade down Broadway Street which was the downtown business district.

My Daddy would help me decorate my bicycle with crepe paper the night before the big parade. My bike didn't have a basket like this one, but it did have a headlight. Daddy was very creative when we decorated my bike, I was always so proud!

The morning of the parade everyone would meet at the old depot. As we rode down Broadway the sidewalks were crowded with people waving & cheering us on. The parade ended at the Library where all the kids were treated to popsicles.

I love my childhood memories! So sweet! Life in a small town during the 50s & 60s was wonderful!

Heat Relief . . .

Finally,we have a little relief from 100 plus degree temperatures!

Thunderstorms rolled through last night . . .

giving us some much needed rain.

Editorial Note:

These pictures were found on Google.

Wish I could take credit for being the photographer!

To Brighten Your Day . . .

When you're smiling. . .

the whole world smiles with you!

Geraniums . . .

This year we decided to plant geraniums in the front flowerbeds.

This is what the flowerbed looked like in May.

In July they are thriving despite the extreme heat.


When I bought the plants I thought I was
getting red & white. As you can see some of them were pink.

I have to deadhead them at least once a week.



Thanks for stopping by today.
Hope your week is off to a great beginning!

Happy Birthday Son . . .

Twenty-eight years ago today a big, beautiful, baby boy,

weighing almost 10 lbs. was born.

From the first moment we saw him we knew

love like we'd never known before.

God had sent us a true blessing!

Bobby was the biggest baby born that

week at St. Francis Hospital.

The nurses called him Bam Bam!

Through the years he has been the joy of our life.

Happy Birthday Bobby!
We're so proud of the man you've become, but

you'll always be our baby!

All our love,
Mom & Dad

Garden Veggie Tales. . .

Our garden is providing a lot of enjoyment for us this summer. It's probably been at least 20 years since we planted our last garden.

Here's our harvest from this morning.

One cucumber, 3 bell peppers, 2 egg plants, & okra.

We're waiting patiently to pick ripe tomatoes & squash .
We have lots of baby squash &
green tomatoes right now.


If you look closely you will notice that our little rabbit friends have been munching on the leaves of our green bean plants.
That's okay, the bunnies need to eat too! LOL!


Our little friends have also eaten several leaves on the bottom of the sunflower stalks. Today I saw the beginnings of some flower blooms!

It's extremely hot today. In fact the forecast calls for temps of 100 or higher for the next 6 or 7 days.
Of course this means watering everyday.


Monday I'll show you my geraniums in the front yard.

Looking For Inspiration . . .

This morning we're experiencing thunderstorms & rain here in northeastern Oklahoma. It's one of those mornings that makes me want to stay in & get comfy. I've made a pot of coffee, now I'm ready to look for decorating inspiration.

I've taken these books off the shelf so I can look for some decorating ideas. I'm going to put away my patriotic decorations this week which means I need to do a little rearranging & fluffing.

What's your decorating style? I've thought a lot about what my style is. I think it's a combination of traditional & cozy. What style would you say that is?

Anyway, I'm ready for my first cup of coffee & the first book. I think I'll start with 'cottage style'.

Don't Rain On My Parade ! ! !

Well, it did rain on our subdivision parade Saturday morning!

So we continued with our plans for a hot dog feast.

Bob made a freezer of homemade ice cream before he cooked the hot dogs.

Ethan wore his special outfit.

First 4th of July for the family of three.



The parade was rescheduled for today.


Ethan's ready for the parade. He's trying to figure out his flag.



Daddy & Ethan are making their way down the parade route.


The parade was led by a fire truck.

When the parade ended the fire truck started spraying water.

Here you see kids having fun in the water & Bob

explaining to Ethan what's going on.

Proud Daddy & Mommy!

Ethan got a ribbon for participating in his first parade!

Fun time even though it was a day late.

Celebrating Freedom . . .

The long 4th of July weekend begins today for our family.

Bob's office is closed so we're looking forward

to a long relaxing weekend of celebration.

On Saturday our subdivision is having its annual

4th of July parade in the morning.

We're excited because Ethan will be in the parade for the first time!

We're going to have a hot dog feast at noon.

Of course 4th of July isn't complete unless we make homemade ice cream.

We'll enjoy watching fireworks from the parking lot of a church not far from our house. Last year there were so many beautiful displays all around us we got sore necks trying to see all the action!

Whatever you're doing this weekend with friends & family I hope you'll have a memorable time celebrating our freedom!

Already July ! ! !

I can't believe it's already July!

The month of June just flew by!

I love the month of July!

So much to celebrate!

Here's the celebration list . . .

2nd--Niece, Kara's birthday

4th--Fourth of July of course

12th--Son, Bobby's birthday

30th--Bobby & Kari's anniversary

Enjoy your first day of July!