Our son and family have been here a week and what a great time we’ve all had.  Initially we thought it may be a quiet week, but ended up being the hottest week in Michigan so far this year!  Whew!  So, we made several trips to a friend’s cabin on Rainbow Lake to swim, fish, go out on the pontoon and generally try to stay cool.  The kids had lots of fun  fishing off the dock.  Or, just playing in the water with Dad and Grandpa. We also went to a petting zoo that even had camels, zebras, and real live reindeer!  The little monkey could fit in your hand and became our son, Paul’s, new best friend.  The two of them bonded.  The little guy would even give Paul a high five – go figure.

But, alas, all good things come to an end and tomorrow morn they head back to Kentucky. 🙁

I so love having them here, but the good Lord willing, we’ll see all of them again over Christmas.  Meanwhile, we’re spending our last full day together at another friend’s place who has a large pond in her yard.  Grandpa, Paul, Pierce, and Hope will be fishing – again – while Gretchen and I hang out with Linda.  Possibly even doing some stamping crafts.  🙂

First of all – I just have to say that it’s July 11th and this morning I woke up to a very chilly 52 degrees!!!  Michigan weather – what can I say?  🙂

Secondly, things are progressing nicely with the second edition revision I’m doing of Out of the Whirlwind.  It’s definitely been a learning curve, but well worth it!  My first publisher has gotten very expensive for me to purchase books from PLUS they won’t do free shipping any more.  They are tacking on an additional $1 per book!!!  By the time I’m done with getting it on kindle direct publishing and createspace (both affiliated with amazon) my price will be almost half – that’s right HALF what the publisher wants.

Thirdly, and most important, this weekend our son and family will be driving up from KY to spend a week.  Yah!!  Woohoo!! Let’s party!!!  🙂

As for right now?  I’m going to bundle up and go look for some garage sales.  Have a great rest of the week.

One more thing – a big THANK YOU to all who are emailing me your comments about reading my newest book – The Fire Within: Fighting Through Adversity.  Would you please do me a favor and write a review on amazon for me?  Thanks.

To me days with temps in the 70’s are absolutely perfect!  There’s a wonderful breeze sending fresh air throughout the house and I love it!  Thank you, Lord.  I am saddened though – my giant bearded irises are pretty much at the end of the season.  I went out this morning and have only four stalk still blooming – Edith Wolford (yellow/blue), Ringo (white/reddish purple); Hello Darkness (deep purple); and one I don’t know (orange/orange and white).  I stared at them quite a while trying to decide if I should leave them or bring them in for my table.  The table won!  🙂  Now I can enjoy them all day long!!

This is Father’s Day weekend and my Dad is on my mind.  He was the middle son of 17 kids and was one of the first to pass away.  He had health issues from WWII which he never got over and through the years the extensive meds and multiple surgeries finally took their toll.  Dad died at the age of 61 from a massive heart attack.  He had just been at our home playing with five year old Paul in our yard – a couple hours earlier.  I was 26 years old and that was 1981.

Sometimes, I still have some many things I’d like to ask him or talk to him about.

Growing up I would spend many hours watching him make something in his workshop.  He loved working with wood and had all the tools to create neat things.  After Mom died years later in 1996, I inherited their large dresser that Dad had made with a variety of wood colors.  It’s very special to me.

So, enjoy your fathers while you have them.  Before you know it their gone and with me . . . that was way too soon!!

Happy Father’s Day, Dad.  I miss you.

P.S.  The web photo is the ship made from the Twin Towers scrap metal.  What a wonderful symbol of us forging ahead and not letting that day defeat us!!!

My in-laws grew and were quite famous for their giant bearded iris patch.  It was fairly large and sported about every color imaginable.  As they grew older and then Tom’s father went to be with the Lord, the task of keeping them up became impossible.  Over the years, we’ve dug up many of the various colors and transplanted them at our home.  They like it here and have flourished.  We love watching them come up and then start their multi-colored blooming.  It’s also fun to hunt down their names like – Hello Darkness (deep purple, almost black) ; Edith Wolford (yellow/blue) ; Speed Limit (policeman blue) ; Tequila Sunrise (rust and a kind of burnt yellow combo) and I could go on and on. Suffice it to say, they are absolutely beautiful and remind us of God’s wonderful, beautiful, color schemes in this great world of His!

I love having a holiday weekend, but it always seems to make my rest of the week go faster.  Now, it’s Friday and I haven’t blogged all week.  🙁  It sure has been a rainy week in my part of Michigan and doesn’t seem to be clearing up for a few more days yet.  In fact, over Tuesday and Wednesday we registered a little over 4 inches in my rain gauge!  Yesterday was quite warm and muggy but I was able to spend the afternoon browsing shops and talking with a friend that I haven’t done anything with for over a year.  Later our husband’s joined us and we all went for coffee at a specialty cafe.  Nice!

Memorial Day – what is that supposed to be about?  According to Webster:  memorial means serving to reserve remembrance; of or relating to memory.  Memorial Day was specifically incorporated to remember those who died in war.  Me?  I remember my Dad in all he went through in WWII.  He was a survivor of his ship being sunk in the Battle for Solomon Islands.  Due to consequences of that battle, he physically suffered the rest of his life until passing away in May 1981 at the age of 61.  I also remember my three brothers all being in the service at the same time; esp. Don in Viet Nam and Doug in S. Korea.  Added to my family, I remember those who gave their lives for the Korea War, Iraq, Afghanistan, and even 9/11, Boston, and other times when our men and women fought to preserve our freedom and way of life.

Thank you all who have served for us and who are currently serving, like my son-in-law who’s a Navy Chaplain currently stationed at Camp LeJeune.  May we all take time to thank them personally when we see them on the street or in a store, etc.

Things don’t always go the way we expect, but it’s a huge comfort to know that my God is in control and nothing takes Him by surprise.  His timing is perfect and He has a plan.  My job is to trust Him and remain faithful.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.”

We have a semi-famous flea market not far from our home in a small town called Trufant, that’s only open on Thursdays starting Spring through Fall and I love browsing – don’t you?  But, I must say ever since I started watching Treasure Hunters and see how much they pay for things, I’m much bolder in my purchases now.  For instance, my mom collected clowns and Mother’s Day last weekend brought her especially to my mind.  I’ve been missing her loads.  Anyway, I saw a moving clown that plays a trumpet with $10 on it.  I offered $6 AND GOT IT!  Since I was still browsing, they agreed to hold my items until my return.  When we came back, they’d put it in a nice canvas bag with pink handles in memory of my Mom passing away from cancer (which I’d mentioned while studying the clown). Wasn’t that extremely nice?  And, just so you don’t think I’m totally mean for talking them down, I did purchase another item from the nice people.