powerless...

A week ago yesterday, I drove east to TLC’s casa. I was going to stay two nights.

On Wednesday afternoon, as TLC went to pick up Little Leighton at school, My Sweet Hubby (MSH) called and said he’d just lost electricity. It was cold. Very, VERY COLD. For North Central Texas. At this time of year. The ice storm that had arrived there was not hitting TLC’s area—77.7 miles away. Weird.

When we talked at bedtime, it still wasn’t back on. He was layering many blankets on our bed. I felt tres sorry for him.

The next morning? Nothing. After lunch (this is now Thursday), MSH suggested I stay at TLC’s one more night. (Her Hubby was out of state for job training…so one more night with her and The Sweet Princesses was working out great for both TLC and me! I do NOT like to be cold. Ever. I love being with My Gals. Always.)

Friday morning? Nope. Not back on. I talked MSH into coming to TLC’s for a shower. Lunch. Warmth! He brought Buddy Boo Bear. BBB is quite afraid of thunder and heavy rain. The forecast for the day was calling for the possibility of both.

MSH (and BBB) had a lovely time with Us Four Gals! He headed home at 12:30. I decided to go on, home, too. At 3:00 p.m. Surely, I thought, SURELY it’d be back on by the time I got there. Or at least by Saturday morning. Right? Right?!?!?!?

When I arrived around 5:00? Yikes. No power. Our casa was still HUGELY cold. We went to bed at 7:00. It was dark. Extremely chilly. We had lots of blankets. Many, many lanterns and flashlights. We were fine. I slept almost nine (9!) hours. Unheard of for moi.

Saturday morn: Still. No. Power. Sigh. TLC needed her Dad to make a quick trip to her casa to figure out why Little Leighton’s smoke alarm was chirping. (She had spent over an hour the night before trying to figure out how to make it stop. To no avail.) I stayed with BBB. MSH left about 9:00. Was home by 3:00. TLC was all good to go. (It was only a battery—the ONLY kind of battery TLC did NOT have in their Battery Box on Friday night.)

We were forced to throw away a lot of freezer food. We have a large freezer over at our Barn. Two freezers in two fridges in our home. I sincerely had no idea how much frozen food we had. I’m going to say we lost anywhere between $600 and $800 worth of food. Sickening.

Saturday night? Same routine. In bed at 7:00. Read a fantastic book I neglect because I get drawn into The Insanity of FB/IG/PINTEREST/TWITTER every night. Slept another 8-9 hours!

Sunday morning, I headed back to TLC’s. I needed a shower and to wash my quite yucky hair. I planned to stay two more nights.

MSH called me about 3:00 p.m. to stay he could see linemen and several trucks down the road at one of the neighboring ranches. We all said a prayer. It came back on at 4:00 o’clock p.m.!

We were out 98 hours. Many people in our county were out much longer than we were.

I am not a camper. Never have been. Doubt I ever will be. My Sweet Hubby? The Quintessential Camper Man. Fisherman. Hunter. Outdoorsy Let's-Stay-In-A-Tent Kinda Guy. 98 hours of no electricity? TOUGH STUFF. Major TOUGH on even him.

We learned a lot of things during this experience:

 

1. We’re not going to keep as much freezer food from here on out. In fact, we’re not even plugging the Barn freezer back in. I still can’t even allow myself to think about all we pitched. Makes me nauseated.
2. Social Media? Helpful. Not helpful. Encouraging. DISCOURAGING. (Of course, the only way to charge our cellphones was running our vehicles for 30 minutes or more. A couple of times a day. So we were quite careful as to how long we stayed on them. I mostly checked three different FB pages—one being the electric company’s page.) People are mean. Downright mean. So many were extremely angry at the electric company. MSH and I were, too. To be honest. Seemed like they were completely unprepared for what happened and their hourly Pollyanna spin got old. Fast. BUT the linemen?  Our Heroes. Many came from miles and miles away. From other States! I will give you my unsolicited feelings: You can be angry, exhausted, scared, cold, discouraged, worried, fearful, and…angry. And STILL be completely grateful for every single person trying to get your electricity back on. All of those emotions can be simultaneous. They can. There is simply no need to get vicious. With anyone. About anything. Those that had electricity a few hours after it went off? Even two or three days later? They should have kept their opinions of those of us who were suffering much longer to themselves. Scroll on by. Just do it. And one other thing in terms of cellphones, televisions, iPads, computers: You can and SHOULD go without them occasionally. It'll be good for your heart, soul, mind, body and spirit. This is TRUTH.
3. I can have a meltdown. Or two. Or three. Periodically. Because I am human. But I am certain I can always, ALWAYS get through even the most challenging situations with prayer. Grace. Patience. Humor. Hope. Faith. And others willing to help me. (In times of trial...give yourself a break and lean on God, Jesus, family and friends for strength.)

It’s certainly not fun to be powerless. As with everything else in our lives—going through new ordeals (illnesses like cancer and heart attacks, illnesses in your children or grandchildren, lost jobs, dreams, etc.) should help us appreciate everyone we love and are blessed to have in our lives. We should never take for granted every convenience we're lucky to possess. In our homes... and elsewhere. Conveniences that provide us with comfort. Safety. Warmth. Peace.

Please take a moment to Thank Our God Almighty for ELECTRICITY. You’ll be glad you did. BELIEVE me.

Tuesdays with TLC? Soon, Friends. Soon. Winky. Wink.

HUGS,

ELC

p.s.: I got back home last night. Today I’ve been working on six loads of laundry. I admit it is UTTERLY CrAzY that two old people have this much laundry. Although, most of it is because it’s winter and we wear more clothes. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

beyond our control...

Between illnesses (I've never been so sick of snot in my entire life.), traveling, and wacky weather, we are going to have to temporarily postpone posting. We should be back to our regularly scheduled programming soonish. Next week!

In the meantime, here are some cute pictures to tide y'all over:

Be kind. Say your prayers. Stay safe (and warm and dry if you live in Texas!).

TTFN.

18--vol 2...

So here, now, is my second post celebrating the number eighteen (18!)—in honor of 2018!

When beginning to decide what I might post—I almost immediately thought of February as being TLC’s birth month. Then my mind wandered to my unconditional love for my one and only, truly TREMENDOUS child/daughter.

For 34 years, I’ve loved these 18 things about TLC (There are actually 1800—but I won’t force y’all to read that many!):

 

1. Her heart.
2. Her soul.
3. Her mind. (This gal? She is some kind of brainy woman. Seriously SMART.)
4. Her beauty. Of course I think she’s beautiful. She’s my daughter. A tee-nine-y smidge under My Sweet Husband (aka MSH) as the BEST gift I’ve ever received from My Dear Lord God Almighty. HOWEVER, she IS also beautiful. Pretty. Striking. Lovely. Period. End of Story.)
5. Her humor! She and MSH make me laugh harder, longer, and louder than anyone else on this Earth.
6. Speaking of laughter: The way she laughs! It is adorable. Infectious. CrAzY CUTE. (Well, when it’s sincere. When it’s a fake laugh? Yeah…not so much. She fake laughs in response to me way too often for my liking. Toot.)
7. Her brown eyes. They’re almost as dark as her Dad’s.
8. Her pretty hands.
9. Her cooking skills! She is a FABULOUS At-Home Chef. No kidding.
10. Her memory! This Girl can remember A LOT. (She would tell you she’s not good at remembering anything. At all. Ever. Because she has Two Littles that have filled her head with confusion and exhaustion and nonsense.) Here’s where I always know she’s still got it: When she sings! Yes. It’s mostly Little Leighton’s and Baby Elle’s songs on her phone. For at least about 80% of the time? This singing takes place in her car. While traveling from home to school, errands, church, etc. She knows every word to every song—Disney or Pixar ETC.—that I hear her sing. She can rap with the best of them. She craves all kinds of music. Including My Country and Old-Timey Christian.
11. TLC’s singing voice! She sings marvelously! I’m sure she’ll laugh at this. She shouldn’t. It’s. The. Gospel.
12. Her ability to get around the Internet, specifically: Her iPhone. Apps. Google. Blogs. Shopping cites. This Daughter O’ Mine is FAST. Tres SPEEDY. She amazes me and her Dad every day with this talent. I realize most of Y’all that are Millennials—or younger—have this handy talent, too. Trust me: TLC is Lightning McLeighton! I'd sponsor her in a contest.
13. Her good taste! In home decorating. In fashion. (She literally CRAVES clothes, shoes and purses. Much more than I ever have or did or will do. Not sure where she got that gift/problem! Not from moi.) She does her best to keep these obsessions in check. Her Wish List on Pinterest? I’m bettin’ it’s quite lengthy.
14. Her kindness. This should NOT be so far down on this list. (If I didn’t have to figure out how to re-number, it would be higher. No. 4.) She is kind. To everyone. (Mostly. Now, don’t get me wrong. If you upset her--particularly about her children? Yikes. Watch out. I’m going to have to feel sorry for you. You could get some of the looks I've gotten over the years. Sheesh.)
15. Her devotion. To those she loves. It might take her time to trust you. Once she does? You’ll have to go too far in the wrong direction for her to give up on you. This devotion leads me to…
16. Her ability to move on. Up. FORWARD.
17. She’s strong. She doesn’t always believe this. She is. Physically. Emotionally. Spiritually. She is her Mom and Dad’s ROCK. Like every human being? She has moments. Hours. A day or two every now and then when she’s simply worn down trying to do what she must do for her children. Her family. She gets it in perspective much faster than I ever have/do.
18. Last, yet this should have been FIRST: TLC LOVES her God. And Jesus Christ, her SAVIOR. Her faith is steady. Devout. She treasures her new Church and can never say enough wonderful things about her Bible Study Friends/Sisters!

TLC? A Christian. My daughter. A wife. Mother. Sister. Niece. Cousin. Aunt. Granddaughter. Friend. An Earth Angel. Yes. I am biased. PROUD, but biased. (Won’t apologize, either. Can’t…)

I have loved you from the second I knew you were in me, TLC. To the MOON and back. A bushel and peck. With all of my heart.

Mom

my band of gypsies--part two...

If y’all have been with us for a while, you might remember my post entitled: My Band of Gypsies. March 15, 2017. (Still can't link. Just go down to March of 2017 and click on this post to read!) There were six of us Friends from College who’d gone to see The One, THE ONLY, Willie! in Belton, Texas, the weekend before. TLC had helped me post a picture of us. Courtesy of the cute young(er) couple sitting in front of us that became My Best Friends.

I can’t remember if I mentioned, in that post, the original “ College Reunion” that had initiated the idea for this trip. Let me quickly rehash:

In July of 2016, My Precious Friend, Lizzie, held said Reunion for eight of us (nine, counting herself) at her casa in Georgetown, Texas. It was beyond memorable. Many of us had not seen each other in years. And YEARS. Yet, there we were, picking up like it’d been only a few months. We’d met over 40 years ago (really about 44!) at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas. Those days and times? Priceless. Hysterical. Heartbreaking. Incredible. VALUABLE. Life-changing.

We promised each other, at Lizzie’s, we were positively, absolutely making this Reunion an annual tradition.

Then Willie happened. Which was really only a few months later and an extra gift of time for the six of us who could work it out and go.

After Willie, we were to meet at Mitchie’s lake house last July. Due to circumstances beyond her control—and, actually, many of us were going to have to decline the get-together—it didn’t take place. So it was rescheduled to this past weekend!

And…drumroll…IT HAPPENED!

Of course, I have no pictures to prove that. (Not one. Not one stinkin’ picture. Pathetic. Simply TERRIBLE.) What is the matter with us? Yes. We is a bit old. Ish. But we ALL have smart phones/iPhones/Androids with fantastic cameras. We’re all checking those phones hourly. We couldn’t remember to take pictures? Sheesh.

As my life would dictate, I couldn’t go for the first night of shenanigans—which was Friday. Dearest Friend, Lottie, had let us all know, earlier in the week, she wasn’t going to be able to join us at all. She’s our Austin Sister and she had unavoidable commitments. (We missed her. Greatly.) M.C. was a Big-Time Go—until her Boss threw some work at her Friday morning that HAD to get done. By Monday. She was QUITE The Angry Woman. We were TREMENDOUSLY sad and disappointed. Jobs and civic duties are important so we had to buck up and promise Lottie and M.C. we’d get together again ASAP. (Someone has made a voodoo doll that looks like M.C.'s Boss. In case we need it in the future.)

I wasn’t really certain I could spend Saturday night. Thought I really needed to head home early that evening. Long-ish story. It’s about 2 ½ hours from our country casa. But because I’m such a smart cookie, I packed my jammies and a toothbrush in my car before I headed East early that morning. Prepared to stay. If possible. OR necessary. Since the Dallas/Ft. Worth Weather Peeps were vague about how bad the weather was going to be—I decided it’d be prudent to be prepared. They talked ice. COLD. Sleet. SUPER COLD. Possibly Saturday night? Sunday morning? (Why don’t we all want to be weather peeps on TV? You never have to be right. And you make pretty dadgum good money. I’m wondering if that job is too late for moi.) No matter what or when—the bad stuff SHOULD be gone by noon on Sunday. They practically promised.

When I got about an hour away from our home, I stopped for petrol (I’m feeling the need to channel my British Nana). Icy sleet started happening. Right there on my windshield. I filled my tank—got into my SUV—and called My Sweet Husband (MSH) as I continued to sit by the gas pump. Here’s exactly what I said:

“Why? WHY IS IT SLEETING NOW? I thought those useless weather experts said it’d be tonight? Early tomorrow morning? WHAT THE HECK IS THIS?”

MSH tried to talk. Tried to answer my questions. I wouldn't/couldn't be interrupted.

“I get to do nothing. NOTHING FOR MYSELF. JUST ME. I’ve looked forward to this weekend for at least nine months. MAYBE TEN. Why is this happening? I’m so afraid to drive in this. What should I do? WHAT SHOULD I DO?”

Then the sleet—miraculously—stopped and MSH replied—in his most patient husband voice:

“Go. Go have fun. You have a bag with you. Stay. Stay until any ice leaves tomorrow. Come back Monday! Just go.”

All I needed. Off I drove. Confident I'd make it and all would be well.

And was it ever FUN. I mean major. MAJOR. If I could type something that would be bigger than MAJOR I would. I don’t know what that would be. General, I guess? It was FIVE-STAR GENERAL FUN.

First, Mitchie’s lake house is on Cedar Creek Lake. Near Dallas. It’s quite the large, impressive lake. As I drove up to her charming home, I felt immediate peace. I’m not kidding. P.E.A.C.E. The drive had been super easy—once the evil sleet stopped. It was interstate a lot of the way for me. Decent highways the rest.

The home she and her husband own is in a great neighborhood. I sent a text that I was there and could I park across the street in a driveway of a home that had a sign that said “For Rent?” Mitchie said yes and then came right outside to greet me. Helped me bring in my contributions of Fiji water, Coke Zeroes and some Valentine “treats” for everyone. Mitchie cooked. Food-Network-worthy meals. Others contributed YUMMO food. Sparky baked for us. Drew brought healthy veggies and fruit. Wine was aplenty. As were various diet drinks. Perfect for a bunch of Oldies-But-Goodies like us.

When I walked in to the house behind Mitchie, the first thing I saw were My Sweet Buddies sitting in her great room. Smiling. Looking happy. Relaxed! Behind them was a wall of glass with the most amazing, serene, exquisite picture of Mitchie’s dock overlooking the expansive, splendid lake! I felt like we were in a movie. Maybe one that no one else was going to ever watch…nevertheless WE were going to watch it. Over and over. And over. In our Senior Citizens' minds.

I had a lot to catch up on. I got all comfy on the couch next to Lizzie. She’d spent the night before but was going to be leaving mid-afternoon. We all laughed. A LOT. We shared. We bitched. We sympathized. We LAUGHED some more. As if we’d been together the weekend before. At this very lovely place. Picking up right where we’d left off.

My Sweet College Sisters—Mitchie, Drew, Sparky, Rosie, P.J., Lizzie (PLUS M.C. and Lottie, too)—can be described, individually, and as a group, like this:

They are smart, wise, FUNNY, silly, cRaZy, clever, worldly, loyal, kind, generous and SWEET. Good people. Each is brimming with physical beauty—and not a one would probably ever let themselves believe that. Or, actually, at this point in their lives, not a one would actually care what anyone thought of them. (Yep. That’s where we happen to be. Not terribly concerned with what you think of us. No offense, though. Truly. Just the way it is.) They’re educators, business women, wives, moms, grandmoms, daughters, sisters, and friends. My Friends. I love them all. More and more every minute we’re lucky enough to be together. And every second we’re apart.

Although I only got about 4 1/2 hours of sleep Saturday night/Sunday morn, it was GOOD sleep. Deep. Nice. I don't get a lot of that kind of sleep every night any more.

 The weather got iffy for all of us Sunday morn. We had lots of coffee,  Sparky’s FANTASTIC banana bread and her delicious sausage balls. Took a few more walks down Memory Lane. Then Mitchie went to church. (To pray for us all. Surely.Winky. Wink.) Sparky and Rosie headed South. P.J. and Drew followed me out of the subdivision and we headed North and West. I’d lose them. Catch up. Lose them, again. (We got stuck three different times on Interstate 20—due to wrecks caused by an ice event that happened a couple of hours before we’d left Mitchie’s house. Twice we ended up side-by-side. That could never, ever happen again. Not in a million years.)

When I got home, I was exhausted. It was THE BEST exhaustion. I slept off and on for hours on our couch. Got in bed at 10:30 and never moved until 6:00 o'clock Monday morn.

Here’s My Wish:

That TLC, Little Leighton and Baby Elle (and each of My College Sisters’ daughters, granddaughters, sisters, nieces, friends) all have Sister Friends that mean as much to them as these girls mean to me. That they get to see their friends much more than we’ve been able to. That their times together fill them with sheer and utter JOY. Family is, of course, so important. But friends? They’re the families we choose for ourselves. Somehow, with God's Grace and great luck, I chose some MAGNIFICENT Sister Friends. I consider myself blessed by God each and every day I live having these dear, incredible women in my life.

(And Thank You, Lord God, for Facebook and Messenger. Texting. Emails. As much as I sometimes despise every one of these, they allow me to keep in contact with these wonderful women. THANK YOU. Again and again.)

Cheers! To Sisters! To Friends! To Sister Friends!

Ciao for Now, Y’all…

ELC

p.s.: Tuesdays with TLC will return next week! She's battling illness. Her Princesses are batting illness. It's not a lot of fun at her casa.

temporary relief and duck joy...

So the offer/deal/negotiations for the purchase of our home didn’t materialize. My Sweet Hubby (aka MSH) and I are completely at peace with this. In fact, I’d say we’re actually relieved. For many, MANY reasons. Thy Will Be Done. This is where we are in our faith: It will happen when it’s supposed to happen.

This past weekend was heavenly for us! We picked up Little Leighton (aka LL) and Baby Elle (aka Belle) from TLC at our halfway point—Willow Park—on Friday afternoon. Except for the fact that it stayed SOOO COLD and windy and yucky outside, we had a lovely visit. Both Angels slept great both nights! Both played and played and…PLAYED.

We made our traditional Trip to Town for some frozen (gluten-free!) yogurt on Saturday afternoon. PLUS—we took them to a truly cute boutique to let them pick out birthday gifts for TLC! MSH was a wreck the entire time we were in the shop—as there were lots of breakable “pretties” and Belle was determined to roam free! She didn’t destroy even one itty-bitty thing. I found and showed Little Leighton some sweet necklaces I thought her Mom would adore. One said “brave” on it. (All little letters. We love all little letters.) LL looked at me and said: “Grammy, could I have that?” WTHeck was a Grammy to do? Of course she could have it. I asked a salesgal if there was another one somewhere—after I'd searched through about 20 others. I thought it would be fun if Mom and LL both had the same necklace. Alas, no such luck. LL picked out a pretty pair of earrings instead. (TLC got a good laugh out of the story. Needless to say, she wasn't surprised. Little Leighton craves jewelry. Clothes. Shoes. She is her Mama's daughter.)

When we got back to our country casa, LL spent quite a long time decorating her Mom’s two gift sacks. (Belle had been steered to a yummy candle for her Mama. Mama truly treasures candles.) Sunday afternoon, after Belle woke up from her nap, we made the 45-minute trip to our rendezvous spot. Mom and Dad were together to pick up Our Precious Princesses. We missed them the very second they all headed East. Sigh.

This coming Saturday morn, I head East to see my college friends/sisters! Will spend Saturday night staying up way too late for Senior Citizens and then will come back home Sunday afternoon. In the Summer of 2016, we intended to make this an annual event/Reunion. Unfortunately, we missed 2017. Woo Hoo! 2018 is happening!

I hope each of Y’all have a Wonderful Weekend…Wherever in this World You Are!

Hugs and Smooches!

ELC

p.s.: Once again I’d like to reference a post I did years and years ago about ducks on our front tank! See Duck…Duck…on December 17, 2011. (I still don’t know how to link. Sorry. Maybe I’ll learn before I’m 70. It's actually TLC's fault for not taking time to teach me.) For several years since that time, we’ve seen very few ducks. Those few we have seen have not hung around for more than a day or two. And we’ve never had as many show up as we did at that time. BUT we’ve had about ten ducks swimming around several times during the day for at least a week now! LL got to see a few of them. (Belle couldn’t see them from her side of my car. We’d have turned around and tried to fix that for her—but they flew off…Sigh.) The ducks have filled my heart with JOY!

p.p.s.: I’ve been thinking about the birth of TLC for many days. It is tied with my wedding day to MSH as the BEST day of my life. Gotta scoot…now I’m crying…

Tuesdays with TLC

Hi, again!

Little Leighton was diagnosed with Celiac Disease right as she turned two-years-old. Not only did we receive her diagnosis early, we also received it very quickly. That is typically not the case. Many Celiacs suffer for years. One of the first books we read after her diagnosis was by actress and fellow Celiac, Jennifer Esposito (Mom and I have adored her for years. In case you don't recognize her name, we believe you'll recognize her beautiful face.):

Jennifer's Way: My Journey with Celiac Disease--

What Doctors Don't Tell You and How You Can Learn to Live Again

I've linked to it above, via Amazon. Her book is packed with amazingly relevant information for those struggling with Celiac Disease and those longing for answers to so many unexplained issues and questions. While we couldn't necessarily relate to the YEARS (Truly years and years.) of pain Jennifer experienced, this book offered me HOPE. Hope for LL. Hope for others. Hope for more research. For answers.


LL's early diagnosis? A BLESSING. While I certainly wouldn't have chosen this life for her or our family, I am genuinely grateful for the empathy it's afforded me. If you, or a loved one, has experienced any type of chronic health condition, one that has left you confused and/or frustrated and/or exhausted, you might consider ordering a copy of this book. It could give you some of the answers you've been searching for!

Happy Tuesday, Friends!

good gifts...

From Prayers with Purpose For Women by Jackie M. Johnson

God Has Good Plans for Me

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

JEREMIAH 29:11-13

 

Lord, I am glad to know that You have plans for me—because the future is so unclear in my mind. You desire to prosper not to harm me. As the giver of all good gifts, You wrap up hope and a future as my present. I call upon You, Lord, knowing that You always listen. I seek You with all my heart, Lord, and look forward with expectant hope to good things to come.

In Jesus Christ’s name, I pray.

Amen.

 

I’ve shared we have our home and place for sale, right? I think I have. Sheesh. If not: Our country casa and place are for sale.

Most of the time I can stay in peace about this reality—believing that My God has a plan for My Sweet Hubby (aka MSH) and me. About once a week? I have a small meltdown. Fears. Exhaustion. Confusion. All overwhelm me as we try to figure out what to do with over forty years of accumulated “stuff.” Where are we going to live—in the event our home sells? Because it surely will. Eventually. (At this point, we have a couple who is very much wanting to buy it. If all of their plans work out, we could be moving in May. I type these words with tears stinging my eyes.)

When we bought this exquisite piece of property in early 2000, we never dreamed we’d need to leave/downsize/get old. MSH and I assumed we’d be here literally forever. We didn’t consider so many things. Like the fact that none of our five children intend to come back here. Like the fact that MSH would have two heart attacks in two years and all of the work necessary to keep up almost 34 acres of land, a home and a barn with a 2-bedroom apartment would become truly difficult. Physically. Emotionally.

I’ve been in this area since the Fall of l973—minus eight months. MSH? Since he was 19—minus a year. Y’all—that’s a combination of almost one hundred years. ONE HUNDRED YEARS. (54 for him and 44 for me. That’s 98. Almost ONE HUNDRED YEARS.)

TLC was born in the hospital that’s about 15 miles from our home now. Went all through public school and college in what MSH and I have considered OUR Hometown for a long, long time. She cherishes her life she lived in this sweet, happy country Texas town. Little Leighton and Baby Elle love to come here. Our other five grandchildren have never been as physically (distance-wise in miles) close as our two youngest and, therefore, have never been here with us as much as we’d have loved for them to be. But they’ve also enjoyed our country casa for holidays, celebrations and family visits.

Thankfully, I've taken and printed hundreds and thousands of pictures of our time here in the country. I’ll be looking forward to the days when I can organize them and put them in albums for our children and grandchildren. I’m certain that means many more tears. The only thing we can ever truly count on—besides of the love of God and Christ—is change.

Change is coming to our lives. I don’t know when. I only know it’s inevitable. I’ll try not to be too whiny over the next few weeks and months. Promise.

Hope y’all have a Wonderful Week! Wherever in this World you are…

ELC

P.S.: To My TLC—I love Tuesdays with TLC! And if you do a post even 2 out of 4 Tuesdays each month? It’ll be a small miracle. Teeheehee. I love you, Daughter O’ Mine!