Passion

Have you ever seen the flower from a passion fruit vine?  They are absolutely stunning!  I was at a friend's last week and she plucked this blossom off her vine and sent it home with me.  Not only does it smell sweet and look exotic, but some research told me that it was named for the Passion of Jesus Christ by Christian missionaries in South America in the 16th century.  This flower symbolized the death of Christ:

The five sepals and five petals of the flower, which are similar in appearance, represent the disciples without Peter and Judas. The double row of colored filaments, known as the corona, signifies the halo around Christ's head or the crown of thorns. The five stamens and the three spreading styles with their flattened heads symbolize the wounds and the nails respectively. The vines tendrils resemble the whips used to scourge Christ.

God's design is always perfect.

Blessings,

Cheryl

Praying today for:  M.G. (11 year old hurt in auto wreck); T.J. (young mother with toxic shock syndrome - body is beginning to respond to treatment); N. (job); R.W. (loss of father); B.R. (infant in NICU, struggling to live).

Christmas in pictures

       

How quickly it all ends.  The photo ops...and Christmas itself.

Here's to an amazing 2009.

Christmas fun

It's a goofy tradition in our home that ... if you live in our house, you must have your picture taken with Santa annually.  DD#1 no longer lives here, so she's exempt.  Actually, we WANTED her in the pic, but she lives in the mountains and was snowed in and we didn't have another weekend to do this.  So...presenting our annual Santa picture, in all its glory:

Frightening.

I'll preface my pictures by saying this week is Homecoming week at Clovis High.  Today is "80's Day" and the first day DD#2 decided to dress up.  Her favorite 80's look is her dad's practice football shirt, so she asked him to pull it out (yes, I make him keep his 'treasures' boxed up in a cabinet in the laundry room) so she could wear it.  Of course, this meant that Hubby felt the need to try it on.  (We go through this ritual every October - either for Homecoming week or Halloween.)  Because I have nothing else to blog about, I figured I'd share these lovely pictures.  Yes, they are rather frightening.  The resemblance is spooky.  It MUST be October.

Blessings,

Cheryl

Maggie. Hunter. In that order.

This is my Maggie.

Maggie May.  Yes, after Rod's song.  We've had Maggie since 1997 and it was estimated that she was probably 3 years old then (we were her 3rd family).  That makes her about the age of DD#3/#4.  Which makes me nervous.  Maggie's a big girl (yes, takes after her mama LOL) and big girls don't usually make it much into their teen years.  Maggie's never had an enemy (except feline).  The yard man, the weed man, even late night TP'ers are her best friends.  Maggie is deaf, having lost what seems to be the last of her hearing in the last month.  She has cataracts.  She has lumps and bumps that I know aren't normal.  But she is happy, pain-free, stares at me with the most soulful eyes I've ever seen, and still comes running to me when I open my arms.  I tell her she's my favorite girl.  My real girls scoff, but they know she's my favorite furry girl.

This is my Maggie.  I love her.

 

This is Hunter.

"My" does not apply to Hunter.  He is not mine.  He is his own.  We 'inherited' Hunter a few years back and he is now 8.  Hunter has nicknames:  Hunter Bunter (no, we're not good poets), Dumb Dog, and, hubby's personal favorite:  Hunter-I-don't-like-you.  Now if you say any of these to him with a smile on your face, he will smile back and wag his tail in a clockwise circle.  Hunter eats my peaches until he's sick for days on end.  Hunter howls at leaves.  Hunter howls at oxygen.  Hunter wakes us up early on the weekends by barking at hot air balloons.  Hunter spent time in Doggy Jail and lived to tell about it.  Hunter eats sprinkler heads faster than hubby can replace them.  (See above nickname.)  Hunter pees on anything he looks at.  But, in spite of all of his Hunter-I-don't-like-you traits, Hunter tries so hard to please and has the softest face.  Ever.

This is Hunter.  I even love him, too.

The answer is: Three feet.

The question is:  Approximately how far is this shopping cart from the "Return Carts Here" rack?  Three feet.  Unless you loaded your groceries into your trunk and then were carried away on a stretcher, can't you just take those few extra steps and return the cart?  Give me a break.  I must be getting really old since things like this are bugging me more and more.  Walk the extra three feet, folks.  Unless you're on a stretcher, of course.

First day of School 2008

Two freshmen, one senior.  Something about seeing a senior drive off to school for her last "First day of school" kind of makes me feel old.  But how can I feel old when it also seems like it was about 3 weeks ago that I walked her into Mrs. Tsuchiguchi's Kindergarten class? How did it happen that my youngest are starting high school when I'm certain it was no more than six months ago that my husband and I brought these four pound babies home from the hospital?  When did my oldest grow up, moving out and starting a life of her own?

Why can't things slow down so I can enjoy every moment just a little longer?

The tormenters are now The Tolerables.

The tormenters are becoming more tolerable every day.  Once they became quiet (and less messy), they soon became people I looked forward to seeing each morning.  Except that they generally arrive before my coffee is finished brewing.  Then they proceed to work into the dinner hour.  Not that I'm cooking dinner, but still...

Before:

During:

After:

I can't possibly post the AFTER pictures until they're DONE.  Silly. :)

 

Anybody interested in buying a very cool dresser?

Summer Shots 2008

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

I've been busy

First, DD#2 turned 17 and this is the best picture of her at her party:

(Next year I won't entrust my camera to a teen and count on good birthday pictures.)

Then I've been playing with quilt squares to make some Binkies:

Next, well, we are no longer the Last American Family to Not Own Video Games. We bought a Wii. And I love it. I am terrible at baseball and golf, but you ought to see me box and play tennis! No, not simultaneously.

Then I learned to can. I can. I can can. No, I don't DANCE. But I can now can. It's a messy process that leaves no counter space free.

But the finished product? 19 quarts of nectarines. Aren't they beautiful?! Stop looking at my broken tile. I know it's broken. And one day I will know what I want to replace it with and I will do so!

How did I accomplish it all? Diet Cherry Coke, of course! LOL

Prom(s) 2008

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DD#2 & Daruk, Clovis High Prom ~ April 25, 2008

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DD#2 & Philip, Clovis East Prom ~ May 10, 2008

 

PSA

Wow - "Secretary's Week" ala 2008 almost doesn't fit on the sign.  Give me a break.  Really, what was wrong with just being a plain ol' secretary?

 

And today I decided I don't like bell peppers and I will not eat another bell pepper.  (Theoretically, if it was the only food left in the world and would mean the difference between life and death, I WOULD eat it.)

As a kid, I never liked bell peppers.  I knew my mom was trying to poison us by sneaking them in the meatloaf (another poison). As a young wife, I began to eat them, mostly because I thought I was supposed to do.  I'd buy them because they're so beautiful.  Then they'd sit in the produce drawer until they became mushy, fuzzy and unrecognizable inside the produce bag.  Long past the compost bin stage.

So today, in an effort to feed starving children in another country, I shall never buy another bell pepper because it will only go to waste.  Farewell, capsicum.  Anyone want the green one still in the fridge?  I don't think it's fuzzy ... yet.  :o)

 

Blessings,

Cheryl

Time for beauty

I think it's time for some new pictures. My beautiful rose bush has been prolific this spring and it seems that every 2-3 days I am 'burdened' with the need to go cut a half dozen or so blooms. What a wonderful reminder from God that spring is full of more than just allergies. :o)

Blessings,

Cheryl

9:50pm

9:50pm phone calls are rarely good.  They are even worse when the first sentence is, "Your daughter has flipped her car."  Friday night was the worst night I've had since becoming a parent.  It was the night we got that phone call.  60 seconds after the phone call was over, hubby was in the car and headed for the accident scene while I stayed with DD#3 & DD#4, waiting for DD#3 to get home.  Caller ID allowed me to call back the person who called and talk to DD#1.  The sound of her voice was all I needed to hear.  "I'm OK, I'm OK, Mommy.  I promise.  I'm sorry."  It's unclear on if the car rolled (as DD#1 believes), or just spun and flipped at the end, but what IS clear is that our God had His loving, protective arms around our precious daughter every second.  Every responder told her that she was lucky to have walked away.  Very lucky.  We know better than "luck," and we give praise to God for His protection.  6 hours in the Emergency Room proved good news - a sprained ankle, a contusion, and a few bumps and scrapes.  'Lucky,' indeed.  Three days, she is doing much better and is constantly reminded that God has a huge purpose for her life.

 

It is no coincidence that Sunday's sermon was from Romans 8:28, "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."  He will use this to work together for good.

Drive safely.  Please.

Blessings,

Cheryl

$$$$ and 32 months later...

Picking DD#2 up from school to go to ortho appointment [approximately] #32.  She'd choke me if she knew I posted this.

I subjected said DD#2 to a "Before" picture.  We had to compromise when she wouldn't smile unless I was in the picture, too. 

"After" the braces came off.  (Hard to believe with this, but she's actually a great photographer when she can see through the lens!)

 

Oh how my girl loves her pretty new teeth!

~~~ Aloha ~~~

Hawaii ~ March 2008

Ka'anapali and Kihei, Maui

Ka'anapali Beach...view from the Ka'anapali Beach Club lanai. How wonderful to sip coffee outside and watch the whales in the morning.

Hawaiian sunset...one shot of probably 100. These never grow old.

OK, is it lame to have chosen over $100 in FABRIC as my souvenir?! Hubby wasn't impressed ~LOL~ but I LOVE the Hawaiian prints I brought home and can't wait to start sewing!

Kihei, Maui - sunburned and broke - time to go home.

Sigh. Last one. I promise.

I suppose it's too soon to discuss going back....