challenges and mercy...

From Praying Through the Tough Times, by Lloyd John Ogilvie:

WHEN I NEED GOD’S FAITHFULNESS

Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied.

                   Jude 2 KJV

Almighty God, it’s an assurance of Your faithfulness I need in tough times. And all I need to do is turn to the Bible to hear the resounding affirmation of Your faithfulness. You told me yourself, “My faithfulness shall be with you.” Jeremiah was comforted at a very difficult time and could say, “The Lord’s mercies…are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.” The psalmist couldn’t express his gratitude enough: “I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever; with my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations.”

I need a character transplant from You as I face the challenges ahead today. Especially I want to be known for Your character trait of faithfulness. In spite of contradictory circumstances, I am committed to remain faithful to You, to my belief in Your goodness, and to the people who look to me for hope and inspiration for their own tough times. I pray that I may “be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord,” knowing that my labor “is not in vain in the Lord.” You are faithful! I can make it through today with that assurance. Amen. (Psalm 89:2, 4; Lamentations 3:23; Psalm 89:1; 1 Corinthians 15:58.)

He giveth more grace.

                   James 4:6 KJV

He increaseth strength.

                   Isaiah 40:29 KJV

a grand ole time...

This past weekend was full of family, fun, laughter and several walks down Memory Lane.

We have five children (four boys from my husband’s first marriage and TLC—our only girl/child and The Baby). We have seven GRANDS! We aren’t lucky enough to see five of our Grands as often as we'd like. They all live in Houston—and that’s just far enough away (minimum of five hours from our casa), and they’re all just busy enough with their lives and times, that once or twice a year is about the best we all can do. More than that ends up being icing on our cake!

Three of the five kids and three of our seven Grands were here from Friday until Sunday.

We usually are so extremely busy—cooking, cleaning up, getting ready for the next meal, and talking—we forget to take pictures. It’s ridiculous. This time, however, we got a few.

Here we are on our front porch. Minus our oldest son’s oldest child, Sophia. (She’s a senior in high school and had a dance on Saturday night she could not miss. We were sad, but totally got it. Totally.)

From the left: JJ (youngest son) and his wife, Lina; Tracey’s Hubby holding Belle and with Biscuit in front of him; TLC behind me and next to My Sweet Hubby (MSH); Jevan (13 and our second/oldest/middle grandson), his Mom--Amanda, and James.

(We wish we’d known TLC wasn’t easy to spot. Bless her heart…)

Here she is in full view! With her oldest brother and their kiddos…(again, minus Sophia…)

James has an amazing memory—for someone over 50. He told some “new” family stories—hysterical to downright sad—together with some of the stories that are told—by him and others—over and over. And over. (Sheesh. And Winky Wink.)

Time went by too quickly. Our other two sons and their families will be visiting soon. Then we’ll have our oldest two Grands graduating from high school in May. MSH and I cannot wrap our minds about this reality. Two Grands in college. Wwhhhaaaattttt? Wow.

Here’s hoping Y’all had a happy, safe, peaceful, fun, productive (or not!) weekend! Time’s a’tickin’, Friends...tickin' at warp speed. (Sigh.)

ta-ta for now...

two gates...

I got home from my trip East to TLC’s yesterday afternoon at 4:45ish. It was a 26-hour turnaround trip. TLC had a doctor’s appointment that went much better than we expected. Which was a wonderful relief! Thank You, Dear Lord God Almighty. TLC and Gang will be coming back here this weekend to see two of her four brothers and one nephew. Therefore, I could cope with the fast and furious trip!

Little Leighton (aka LL aka Biscuit) and Baby Elle (aka Belle) continue to charm their Grammy! Lots of fun with both—although I had to go through Baby Elle’s “first” baby gate on my way up the nineteen (NINETEEN) stairs to the playroom and TLC’s Guest/Grammy Room. This gate was used by TLC and Her Hubby in their first home for Little Leighton. It actually was mostly to keep Henry the Dog from going into Her Hubby’s office and LL’s nursery. Or out the front door. This “Belle” gate will be used to keep Belle from going up and/or falling down said NINETEEN stairs as she learns to walk/run/escape/explore.

TLC has ordered a (matching) gate for the top. And, sadly, Belle can crawl up two stairs before she reaches the bottom gate. It couldn't be attached at the bottom of the stairs. This makes me nervous. She is a little speed demon. There she is! Oops...where is she now???

As I proceeded to take my overnight bag up to my room, I remembered how to open the gate. However, three years and several pounds later, it seemed like I wasn’t going to fit through the opening! Sheesh. For a few seconds, I was certain I’d have to turn sideways to get through it. (Which, frankly, isn’t that much less wide than my actual width. YIKES.)

I did it. Twasn’t easy. TLC had to take my bag so I wouldn’t hit the walls with it. During the rest of the day Monday and for some of the morning yesterday, I struggled to hold the Wild Child Belle—open the gate—get through it—and up the stairs (have I mentioned there are NINETEEN?) to the playroom. All the while I was thinking: There’s about to be a second gate. TWO GATES to get through. FUN. FUN.

Yes. TLC’s Safety Obstacle Course is positively, absolutely, 1,000,000% necessary. This Old Grammy simply ain’t looking forward to the process. (The day LL fell down 15 of those 19 stairs as I watched in utter horror? One of the worst days of my life.)

On a semi-innerstin’ note: TLC and I had the opportunity to watch The Bachelor together! I would typically go to bed soon after LL is asleep because TLC goes to bed VERY early. But Her Hubby had gone to an evening meeting for work and we decided to share a bit of TV time together. As I said before TLC met Her Hubby, as I’ve said about my granddaughters, I hope I never know ANY young woman who appears on this show. Seriously. Yes, I watch it. In shock. In sheer fascination. TLC normally does NOT watch it and mocks me for my loyalty each time a new season begins. This season? OMG. That’s all she and I both have got to say. OMG. We would pause the show and look at each other...unable to even speak. OOOMMMGGG.

Once the insanity was over and I trudged upstairs, I spent a loonnngggg five minutes trying to get one of those little electrical covers off an outlet. I use said outlet to charge my cell. God forbid I walk ten steps into the bathroom and charge it in there—where there are no covers because Belle currently cannot reach them.

The Life and Times of Grammies and Their Babies/Toddlers/Grands…they are MARVELOUS. Scary. FABULOUS. Fascinating. CHALLENGING.

Y’all have a happy, safe and obstacle-free Friday Eve manana!

Smooch!

laziness...

*The 5 symptoms of laziness:

1.

Yep. That is moi. Today. The weather in our area is Y.U.C.K.Y. Cold. Drizzly. Foggy. Yucky.

So, My Sweet Hubby and I are trying to patiently wait for the Dallas Cowboys’ game to start. 3:40ish C.S.T. We want them to win. BIG. We want them in the Super Bowl. Period.

In the meantime, I’m doing little to nothing. I haven’t put any makeup on. I have made our bed. I have done one load of laundry and intend to do two more. Maybe.

Our visit with TLC, Little Leighton and Baby Elle from Thursday afternoon until Saturday morn was WONDERFUL. Too short. But I’ll be going East tomorrow at noon in order to take care of My Two Girls while TLC attends a couple of doctor appointments. I’ll be home Tuesday and I’ll be sad I had to leave them. Y'all aren't surprised.

This coming weekend we have two of our four sons coming for a fast visit. TLC et al will also return. Yippee! We'll be able to catch up with our sons, two daughters-in-law and one of our three grandsons. (We'll miss our other two sons, daughter-in-law, and the other two grandfellas. Also our other two granddaughters. We should be seeing those seven soon. Woo Hoo!) We cannot wait!

Hope Y’all are having a Sweet Sunday! (I give you my permission to be LAZY with me...WHY NOT?)

Ta-Ta for Now…

*I have no idea who thought of this. I have many little notebooks full of funnies that I record and keep when I see them on Facebook and/or Instagram and/or Pinterest. This was not my original idea and I can’t give credit to the person who came up with it! I would love to meet her or him or them. They have my kind of humor…Winky. Wink.

Nightwatch...

I was in my bed and/or my casa from last Tuesday evening, January 3^rd, until yesterday morning, January 11^th. That is how long I waited for my Pink Eyes to clear up and for my sinus infection to go far, far away.

Sinus infection? I felt mucho better with that issue by last Friday. One more day of the meds.

Pink Eyes? They were getting clear by Sunday. Still itchy. Still putting my antibiotic drops in them 4-5 times a day. Yesterday morning, as My Sweet Hubby (MSH) and I got ready to go to Ft. Worth for some needed groceries, etc., my eyes looked great! It was the first time in almost eight days that I put makeup on—including a little eye makeup. (I’d thrown out the mascara and eye shadow I’d used on the 3^rd. TLC’s suggestion. And, might I say, a quite smart one.)

By the time we dealt with the gale force winds in and around Ft. Worth, my eyes went past pink straight to RED. I think Cedar Fever. Just makes sense to me. I plan to go to an eye doctor next week if I start getting a bunch o’ gunk, again. (Sorry.)

In the meantime, Our Three Angels (TLC, Little Leighton and Baby Elle) are coming this afternoon to stay with us two nights! Woo Hoo and Yippee!!! I haven’t seen Little Leighton since December 30^th. This is the LLOOONNNNGGGGGest stretch of time we’ve ever gone without a visit. I’m not thrilled about that. Haven’t seen Baby Elle since Christmas Day. I can’t handle that.

I do want to share My New Favourite Reality Television Series! It’s called Nightwatch—on A&E. It’s out of New Orleans and follows the police, fire department and emergency medical services on their runs from 10:00 p.m. until 4:00 a.m. (They say between these three groups they average 1,000 emergency calls every night! What? Yikes.) The concentration is mostly on the Emergency Medical Technicians and you see A LOT of things (blood, etc.) that are difficult to see. At least, for moi. I have to look away—for about a third of the show! It is my NEW OBSESSION. The six-ish EMTs they follow? They are AWESOME people. Of course, MSH really enjoys it, too. We watch it together. (Not many current shows like that for us...)

Thank You, Dear Lord God Almighty, for creating people who want to be doctors, nurses, policemen and women, firemen and women, and EMS technicians. THANK YOU. I don’t know how we would survive without them.

Here’s hoping y’all don’t need any one of those professionals today. Tonight. Tomorrow. This weekend.

Smooches and Hugs,

ELC

starting off 2017...

SO. DANG. TIRED.

My children have staged a revolt and have decided 2017 will apparently be the year of no sleep. Ummm...ain't gonna cut it. Mama is this close to losing what little mind I have left. We let Little Leighton sleep in our bed for a few hours early this a.m. Long story. She just informed me, as we were reading bedtime stories, she would see me in my bed shortly, when she wakes up in the middle of the night. Lovely. I suppose I should thank her for this "heads-up."

So, because my brain is virtually mush, I've put together a quick little "photo dump" of my life lately:

NYE with (most of) my peeps. We celebrated with Finding Dory and an apple juice toast.

The next morning, I fixed homemade gluten-free biscuits, ham and a cheddar cheese grits casserole. (In addition to our black-eyed-peas. I even made Baby Elle eat one. I don't mess around with luck.) Clearly my resolution is not to cut butter out of my life. 

This one. Don't let her fool you--she's a hot mess.

Friday it snowed-ish! Here is LL outside, trying to catch a snowflake on her tongue.

I'm literally hitting publish now on this post. I'm going to crawl into bed and say my nightly prayers for sleep. (I also pray for things like peace and good health and patience. Don't worry!)

Sweet dreams, friends!

Pink...

…eyes. Really, 2017? So this is how we’re going to begin a new year?

I started feeling sick this past Saturday—New Year’s Eve. For 3 nights I had fever. Low. But fever. Sunday and Monday mornings? I’d feel like I was going to be okay. Tuesday morning, however, when I woke up, my left eye was stuck. With icky-sticky stuff. It was not a great feeling.

WARNING: I will try not to get too gross. Promise.

As I looked in the mirror at this new problem, I had a fleeting thought of a past experience with conjunctivitis. (Although, may I admit, at almost 63 years of age, I did not realize it was the same thing as Pink Eye. I truly thought they were different. Silly, silly moi.)

But I also considered the possibility I was having issues with allergies—most especially “cedar fever.” Cedar is HIGH in Texas. We hear about it night after night during the weather reports on local television. My Sweet Hubby (MSH) and I live in the country. Amidst LOTS o’ cedar trees. I’m sure we ain’t got a prayer to avoid its consequences.

However, by 1:00 p.m., when my right eye was weeping with yellow ooze (so sorry…), I knew I needed to get into the doctor. I could see her at 8:30 Wednesday morn. Or I could see the new Nurse Practitioner at 3:30. I went for the Nurse! (Which, I must say, was a good decision.)

MSH drove me in. I almost didn’t let him. I ended up being grateful he insisted.

After being diagnosed by the WONDERFUL NP, we headed to Walgreen’s for an oral antibiotic for my sinus infection and for eye drops for my PINK eyes. By now it was 5:00 p.m. The Drive-Thru line for the Pharmacy was long. (During my boredom, I took a Selfie and texted it to Sunny. She probably couldn't eat dinner.) My scripts took almost an hour to retrieve.

I’ve been in bed since we got home Tuesday evening at 5:50. No sleep Tuesday night. Much better last night. I’m not even close to being 100%. Heck, not even close to being 50%. (Picture me getting tears in my sad eyes…)

I can’t Facetime with My Angel Girls, Little Leighton and Baby Elle—I’m VERY VERY SCARY looking. My eyes are more RED than pink. They are hugely swollen—down to my mouth. I look hideous. That’s just the truth.

Will be calling the Nurse in a few to see how long she thinks I’ll be contagious. According to Web MD—it’s not looking good for several more days.

Let me clarify: I have no idea where I was gifted Pink Eye/s. I don’t have a clue if they are somehow related to cedar allergies. I haven’t, to my knowledge, been around anyone that has had Pink Eye or has it now. I’m suspecting a trip to Hellmart six days ago. (I blame Hellmart for as much as I possibly can.) I know I didn’t wipe my cart handle off because there were no wipes to be located. I also think it’s a possibility I never used my purse wipes to clean my hands after I got in the car to leave. Something I always, ALWAYS, ALWAYS do. The timing seems possible as to where this may have come from. I do think I was already experiencing either cold or allergy symptoms. I suppose none of it even matters. It is what it is. It STINKS. Big. Time.

Back to bed I go. (This dreary little post has worn me out. Sheesh.) I am determined not to decide this year is going to be rough. I refuse to believe that. I simply can’t. Better days are coming!!! RIGHT? YES. RIGHT. (PLEASE DEAR LORD GOD. PLEASE.)

Hope each of Y'all is well—and that your eyes are pretty, healthy and clear! Stay away from cedar trees and anyone or ANYthing that might have conjunctivitis germs on them/it. Sigh.

Ta-ta for now…

ELC