What a Gift!

I arrived home from work today to find a big box on our porch. My mother-in-law, Yolanda, had told me she was sending something that she made but I was blown away when I opened the box. As I told her on the phone, "there are no words to describe how beautiful it is." Check out the pictures of her cross stitched masterpiece below. The detail of the flowers (check out the hydrangea, Missy) and vase our exquisite and I've never seen a frame like this before. It is already proudly displayed in our living room. I was able to replace another picture with it and it fit perfectly with the surrounding decor. Thank you so much, Mom, for all the hours you put into making us this beautiful heirloom. I will treasure it as long as I live!!! Love you!

Thankful

We've just been through a small health crisis today. My husband Mark has been battling with pretty extreme abdominal pain, waxing and waning, since it suddenly began after eating some fried chicken last Saturday. It finally got so bad that he visited the doctor today and seems to have a case of acute gastritis, which is a precursor to an ulcer. The doc gave him a few different meds, including what she called a cocktail of Lidocaine, Benadryl and Kaopectate. He hasn't improved as much as we would like to see yet, but seems to be sleeping peacefully right now, something he didn't do much of last night.

The title of this post is "Thankful" because whenever you go through things like this it does make you reflect and give thanks. Thank you, heavenly Father, that this appears to be nothing more serious. Thank You for the health that we experience most of the time. Thank You for a husband that needs me to take him to the doctor and encourage him and cook him bland food for the next few days. Thank You for friends and coworkers that care so deeply and spend their own time praying for us. Thank You that even if the worst of news had been the result today that You would still be there right by our side and work all things for our good. Thank You, our heavenly Father!

Pessimist vs. Optimist

It's nice to now have a place to put down in writing some of the things I come across that I like. Here is a quote from Winston Churchill:

"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."

Ahh... last summer

I thought since I just started this blog I would go back and put something on here from last summer. My friend Missy and her husband Mark came down to visit us from Minnesota. We took a trip to the beach...


Charleston, SC...




and the new facilities the ministry I work for moved into last February...







Thanks for hanging with us, Mark and Missaliss!

El Capitan

You may have noticed that I have an Ansel Adams photo of the day on my blog. This is one of my favorites. It is called "El Capitan, Winter" and I love the majesty of the cliff against the peacefully flowing river - not to mention the SNOW. This is one place I might put my cabin in the woods. El Capitan is "the largest known exposed granite block in the world" and is located on the north end of the Yosemite Valley in California. It's name is Spanish for "the chief." Here is a description of the photo:

About this Photograph
Ansel Adams made this image before 1950 with an 8" x 10" view camera; the precise date is unknown. The looming darkness of the granite face contrasts dramatically with the brightness of the snow-clad trees on either side of the Merced River.

On winter days, as the sun warms the frozen face of El Capitan , rocks often shower down from above as the ice holding them in place melts. After the thousand-foot fall explodes the rocks on impact filling the valley with booming echoes.

After that early photograph, Ansel Adams returned to El Capitan over and again photographing it in every time, season, and light he could. This particular image of El Capitan has not been published.

My First Musing

Hmm... musings... where do you actually start. My head is always full of thoughts, mostly deep, but some more shallow. I wish sometimes that I were a lot more shallow because then I would probably have more fun! I will start this blog by thanking my best friend Missy for gently prodding me to start it so that she could better keep up with me. I hope that I will do you justice, Miss, and actually put something on here frequently enough for you to keep up with. We shall see...