A fun engagement story

Here is a picture of Carl with our nephew, William. William called and asked if he could stay with us on his way to see his girlfriend, Alicia. He planned to propose on Saturday and it was a surprise to her. Her mama and daddy were in on it. When he talked to her on the phone on that Friday as he was driving down, she asked what he was doing. Running errands, maybe getting a hair cut was what he told her.
When Willy got here, he told us he NEEDED to get a haircut- he was thinking that he would skype with Alicia that night and she would know if he had gotten one. Willy also brought stuff from his bed at home so that if they skyped, it would look like he was at home! Here is his set up!
William did indeed surprise Alicia and she said YES!!!! This past weekend William and Alicia came to Little Rock so Kaitlin could take their engagement photos. We had a great time!! We had lunch with John and Marisa.
Marisa and Alicia got their nails done.
Here are some photos that I took while Kaitlin was taking pictures.


Here are Kaitlin, Alicia and William on Sunday and we were headed to church.I love family. I love it that William needed some other clothes for pictures so he wore some of Carl's. I love being a part of celebrations. Congratulations to Alicia and William, I loved our part in your engagement.

Flying frogs

Great Article from Steve Brown This will make you think

Laughing is inner jogging

Hebrews 10: 24-25 has really been on my mind in recent days

And let us consider how to stir one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Yesterday was a wonderful, soul enriching day for me. I felt like I had been to a great feast. I laughed, learned new things and was loved on. I was with friends.

Heather and I started visiting in the morning. She and I visit every week. When we don't meet for a week or two our next visits are more than twice as long because we have lots of life to catch up on. We talk about books, life, children, church and we laugh about most of it. She gives me lots of insight into those around me and I like how she views life.

After a few errands, I took lunch to my friend, Julie. Julie owns a store and when we share lunch we eat in her back room. She is always on duty so our visit is punctuated by her helping her customers. Julie and I also laugh a lot as we dissect life. We found out yesterday that we both love The Wall Street Journal and the moon. We tentatively planned a full moon party. Whoever built my house did an amazing job in many ways. One way is that only the late afternoon summer sun shines into my house but the winter sun shines in for the morning and early afternoon. This also means that the moon rises we can see from the house are breath taking. I invited Julie and her family over to witness one of these. I was excited to find someone else that loves the moon too. I bet not too many of you have thought about this and you are thinking right now- mmm we always knew Ellen was a a little strange- oh well!! Julie also shared that she had read a review in WSJ of a book that looked interesting, she showed me the article and I laughed. I have the book on hold at the library. It is The man in the Rockefeller suit : the astonishing rise and spectacular fall of a serial impostor / Mark Seal. We both just laughed then. We also cried during our visit because life is just hard sometimes. I regret that we didn't stop and pray but next time we will!!

I left so Julie could get some work done. We were both amazed that 3 hours had flown by so fast.

I joined Kaitlin at Panera so we could meet up with my friend, Donna. Kaitlin is designing a logo for a home school group that Donna is a part of. But really it was a wonderful excuse for two really busy friends to have a great visit and we did. I have known Donna for 21 years. She was one of the first home schoolers that I met when we moved to Arkansas. We also talked about life, books, friends, church, travel and children. (Kaitlin even managed to get a few words in edge wise asking about the design.) But most of all we laughed.

I know everyday can't be spent on the mountain top and great growth takes place in the wilderness but I am still basking in the refreshment of yesterday and thanking God for the gift that it was. I encourage you today to seek out a friend, spur one another on and share a good laugh too.

I do love to read!

I told you earlier that I do love lists and today I have found another one. I plan to go through this list with my notebook that I record books I want to read in. Someone recently asked how did I find all the books I read? I have a list by my computer and I am always adding to it. After I write the books down that look interesting, I research them on Goodreads or Amazon.com, if I like what I see or am intrigued then I request them from the library.

I did like the suggestion about reading through your own collection. That may be a thought for 2012 but I don't think I could break up completely with my library. They might miss me too!

Enjoy!

Another list with a list of things to do!

Praying

I found this today and made a copy and plan to use it for the month of August. I thought you might like it too.

How to pray for your children or grandchildren or any children you love

Andrew, Harry and Andrew

The last Harry Potter movie opens tonight at midnight. Most of my children will be in line with lightning bolts on their foreheads and shirts with scenes and saying on them. I really thought the books were a bunch of nothing when they cam out but my children wanted to read them so we decided to read them out loud so we could discuss them. We all loved them.

One of the blogs on my blog roll is The Rabbit Room. It is written by Andrew Peterson and his friends. My son, Andrew, pointed out this great article that Andrew Peterson had written on Harry Potter. Enjoy! Andrew Peterson's thoughts on Harry Potter

Change a tire, cook a meal, speed read???

I love lists!!! I had the best time reading this list and then reading some of the blogs on the side bar. Can you do all these things?? I can't and I even have some things on my list of what everyone needs to know that weren't included on this one. Enjoy!! 50 things everyone should know how to do!

Wind Chimes, Grief and my brother, John

Recently I was sitting on a bench outside of an antique store on Tybee Island with my brother, John. We saw these garden ornaments that could be hung outside and when the wind blew them you noticed the sparkle things on them. They were beautiful and gawdy at the same time and my mama would have loved them. I pointed them out to John and he agreed that we would have bought one for mama if she were living. Sitting on that bench the waves of grief found me and almost knocked me down. Just as I was missing my mama so, the wind chimes started ringing. The wind had picked up and the music from the chimes was beautiful. It made me laugh!

I recently found this articles on Grief. You can tell they were written by someone who has been there. There are 6 articles so read to the end of the article and then click on another one.

Is 33 too many?????

An intervention

Really

Andrew thinks I need one

He asked me what I was reading

Well, I am reading several books

Oh, says Andrew, are they library books?

Yes

Then I said it, I voluntarily stated that I have checked out 33 library books

Andrew gasped

33!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, yes

Some I just thumb through and some I read

33!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, he says again

Mother, I think you need an intervention

Wait, the phone is ringing, it's the library, they are holding a book for me

We are up to 34 now!!!!!!

Friends

Friendship Part IV

Friends and Bitter Fruit

Friendship Part III

I struggle with bitterness. I have a great memory and sad to say I have to work to forget when I have been wronged. This article on Bitter Fruit helped me. I hope it helps you too!

Friends

Friendship Part II

Friends

I am always looking for articles on friendship. I have said here before that I wish all friends would carry a tag telling you things like -how long they would be your friend, would they move and still keep up with you, will they leave you for another friend- just to name a few, but then I doubt any of us would ever be friends if we knew the heart ache involved. Here is the first in a series on friendship. I hope you enjoy Friendship part I

Happy July 4th!

I love Scotty Smith's prayers. Enjoy this one with me!



SCOTTY SMITH|5:24 AM CT
A Prayer for Even More Freedom in Jesus

If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:36

Dear Lord Jesus, it’s the morning of the 4th of July, and I’m very thankful to be living in the “land of the free.” But I’m still not as free as you intend, nor as joyful, for that matter. Though you’ve already freed me from trying to earn my salvation by anything I do or am; though you’ve already liberated me from the illusion that I can earn more of God’s love by doing more goodness and less foolishness; though the chains of condemnation have already been obliterated and the fears of death, judgment day, and the future have been sent packing by your perfect love—I’m still not as free as you intend.

As I read the Scriptures and reflect on my relationships, I feel very much like a babe—a neophyte, a raw rookie in so many gospel freedoms. Only the gospel helps us see and own our sin, brokenness and bondage. Only your grace keeps us from going to shame and self-contempt as we do so. Hear my prayers and bring more grace.

Jesus, please free me for loving others as you joyfully and relentlessly love us. There’s no freedom more central and powerful for revealing your glory. Help me return kindness for coldness, pursuit for avoidance; gospel for gossip. I want to be less irritated less often with fewer people. Help me to use fewer words and more listening when talking with others. Please unshackle me from the illusion of control in my relationships and annihilate my commitment to a pain-free heart. To love well is to hurt often.

Jesus, please liberate me from thinking about the next thing, so I can be present in the current moment. Help me make better eye contact and heart connection with others. Please help me to be more intrigued with people that I don’t know and less standoffish around strangers.

Jesus, break even more of the shackles of my insecurities. Empty my closets of all fig-leaf coverings and clothe me in the garments of grace. Liberate me from grave-clothes of shame and feelings of incompetence. Unfetter me from thinking too much about what I’m not by showing me more of you and who I am in you.

Lord Jesus, grant me greater spontaneity, louder laughter, saltier tears, and quicker repentances. Hallelujah… it is for freedom you have set us free. So very Amen I pray, in your most compassionate and powerful name. Amen.

Books Books Books

The Monuments Men by Robert Edsel - I am not finished with this book yet but I am learning so much. The book is about the men and women that helped find all the art that Hitler acquired before and during WWII and how they returned it. I read some and then I am on the computer googling the art that they are discussing. I have learned so much! At the beginning of the book you meet The Monuments Men with a little bio of them all and at the end of the book you find out what happened to them all. I was reading the bios of the men and low and behold, one man, Robert Posey was from the state of Alabama and you guessed it, graduated from AUBURN!

Emily and Einstein by Linda Francis Lee- I have written about this book before and it is good enough to mention again. A man is about to divorce his wife but she doesn't know it and he dies. She learns lots about him as she goes through things after he dies and she learns a lot about herself too. Very clever

1000 gifts by Ann Voskamp- very interesting read about viewing what God gives us.

A Being So Gentle by Patricia Brady- This author wrote a wonderful book on Martha Washington that KimT and I read years ago. This book is equally as good. This one is about Rachel Jackson, the wife of Andrew Jackson. This is a quick read. I want to read all the books this author has written.

Left Neglected by Lisa Genova- another book I am mentioning again. An encouraging book about a woman who has a massive brain injury. The author has really done her research, I learned lots.

Her Daughter's Dream by Francine Rivers- this book was long. It was a good sequel to Her Mother's Hope.

Summer House by Nancy Thayer- a beach book about a family that deals with the loss of the mother, grown children and an interesting stranger. I enjoyed it.

As Husbands Go by Susan Isaacs- Her husband dies or was he murdered and she finds out just how. It was an interesting book. I would read another by this author

The Illumination by Kevin Brockmeier- I saw this in a publication about local authors. The first chapter was really fascinating but then it went down hill for me. KimT or someone read this book and let's discuss it!

The Wednesday Letters by Jason Wright- a couple dies and their grown children find letters that their father wrote their mother, once a week for their whole married life. Very clever way to move the story along. Great story about forgiveness.

The Brides House by Sandra Dallas- her books are always good.

The Butterfly's Daughter by Mary Alice Monroe- First I must say that my mama loved Monarch Butterflies so anything dealing with that has a soft spot for me. This book was great. A young women makes a trip physically and emotionally to find her family and who she is. You can't go wrong with this author.

Vittoria Cottage by D E Stevenson- beautiful story as usual. HeatherT recommended this one to me. Sweet story!

The Proper Care and Maintenance of Friendship by Lisa Verge Higgins- Four very different women are friends. Upon the death of one, the other three get letters from her that change their lives. Interesting. I'd like to read more by this author.

Folly Beach by Dorothea Benton Frank- I believe this is her best book to date. Very clever devise she uses to tell this story. A widow finds love, family, and a new career.

Happy Reading!!!!

Pray and Apply

Interesting article about the knowledge that is at our fingertips and what we do with it. Do you live Second Hand?