{ Life Update }

My domain name came up for renewal and it made me realize that I hadn't posted anything since June 10, 2022.  At that time, I had planned on starting to blog again, at least occasionally, but....as life would have it, and as it so often does....things changed.  The very next day after that post, because of my Mom's progression of Alzheimer's, I moved in with her.  It was just like that, Y'all.  One day, I'm going on a long hike with my grand kiddos, and two days later...my life totally changed.  I lived with my Mom for almost 5 months and it was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, at least emotionally, and I was already struggling with another life issue.  For those who've never dealt with Alzheimer's personally....well, it's just the most terrible disease. I won't go into any details, but it took a toll on me, both physically and emotionally. My little Momma passed away on October 24th of last year and I'm still grieving losing her. In some way, I took care of her for 11 years and I still think about her so often during the day, needing to go see her or call and check on her....and I so often just feel lost. My daughter told me that the time with Mom was for more than just taking care of her....and it most definitely was. It taught me so much....about myself and others. It made me realize that God uses each and every pain that we go through for our growth and maturity....and yes, for His glory.  

I'm not writing this to garner sympathy.  I just wanted to check in and let those of you who don't follow me on Facebook know what happened to me.  I hope to start blogging again, at least occasionally.  I'm even considering starting back up our Friday Foto Friends.  Who knows, right?  Things could change again in the blink of an eye.

Love and prayers to each of you for taking the time to read this. Just sharing these thoughts has been therapeutic for me.

HOPE your Wednesday is full of blessings!

{ Friday Foto Friends #157 }

Edited:

I'm so sorry the video won't play. I've posted it on the Friends of Breathing in Grace Facebook page if you want to go watch it there. 

💜

I want to share something different this week.  It's not a foto, but a video of my little Momma saying her ABC's backward.  Y'all, I had no idea she could do this until her sister passed away and a friend of my Aunt told me she remembered that Aunt Delores could say her ABC's backward. When I told Mom, she said she could, too. I was amazed and had to get her on video.

Isn't she just the cutest?

I can't quit watching this because it makes my heart so very happy!

We had a wonderful THANKSgiving and HOPE everybody else did, too.

Happy Friday!

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{ Friday Foto Friends #147

Today's fotos are gonna be a mish-mash of "stuff" I ♥!

I can never seem to get asparagus tender when I try to fix it.  

My brother told me about these steamable bags and I'm hooked and addicted!

(and, only 50 calories for this entire bag from Aldi)

Remember the wreath I did a review on a few weeks ago? I really liked it, but.....

it was a little too "blah", so I spruced it up by hot gluing fall leaves and mums. 

I crave a bit of color in my life, Y'all!

Yep, that's ragweed!
Some folks think it triggers allergies, but I heard recently that the ragweed happens to be in bloom when people suffer from seasonal allergies and the ragweed gets the blame.  I have no idea if that's true, but I do know that the flower is gorgeous. This grows along the side of one of the roads I walk.

For those of you who aren't from around these parts, Jefferson City is a small town about 20 minutes from where we live. It's my favorite little town to go shopping because it has a Wal-Mart, Big Lots, CVS and Walgreens, and my favorite ever thrift shop - you know all the essential places - oh, and a Bojangles (I love their grilled chicken sandwiches) - and the traffic isn't bad and Y'all know how I feel about driving in traffic in my "golden years"!  

Buildings in the old part of town.....




And, finally a foto of my Momma's and my hands. When I took this picture she said,
"My hands are old but I'm glad I'm still able to use them"!

Be still my heart!

Continued prayers for those in the path of Hurricane Florence's devastation.

HOPE everybody has a great weekend!

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{ Friday Foto Friends #119 }

Some weeks I have very few fotos and others it seems I have way too many to share in one post. This has been a week of plenty because our temps here in East Tennessee have been ahhh-mazing, even breaking records set in previous years and I've gotten outdoors more.  I still managed to get some of my decluttering/purging done, but oh, how difficult it is to stay indoors on such gorgeous days smack dab in the middle of winter! 

Here are the ones I narrowed it down to share with Y'all, but it's still a bunch!

The daughter standing on her Momma's back!

 My beautiful Lenten rose blooming.

 My Momma and me on her 84th birthday this past Tuesday!  Yes, she's itty-bitty and no she does not color her hair. Isn't that amazing?!?!?  

 Found my very first rock this week!

 I took a walk over to the woods at Mom's and got a few fotos.....
lichen growing on a tree limb.

As much as I roamed those woods as a kid I'm not sure I ever saw this growth on an oak leaf. Google taught me that it's actually called a gall and there's a larva inside that fuzzy orange ball that matures into a gall wasp. You can read about it here. 

Mushrooms growing on a dead pine tree in Mom's backyard.

This silly squirrel.

He/she obviously loves sunflower seeds.

I told my brother that he even posed for me!

That's it.....

I'll share the rest next Friday and hopefully even more!

HOPE everybody has a great weekend!

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{ Mothers }

To those who gave birth this year to their first child—we celebrate with you

To those who lost a child this year – we mourn with you

To those who are in the trenches with little ones every day and wear the badge of food stains – we appreciate you

To those who experienced loss through miscarriage, failed adoptions, or running away—we mourn with you

To those who walk the hard path of infertility, fraught with pokes, prods, tears, and disappointment – we walk with you. Forgive us when we say foolish things. We don’t mean to make this harder than it is.

To those who are foster moms, mentor moms, and spiritual moms – we need you

To those who have warm and close relationships with your children – we celebrate with you

To those who have disappointment, heart ache, and distance with your children – we sit with you

To those who lost their mothers this year – we grieve with you

To those who experienced abuse at the hands of your own mother – we acknowledge your experience

To those who lived through driving tests, medical tests, and the overall testing of motherhood – we are better for having you in our midst

To those who are single and long to be married and mothering your own children – we mourn that life has not turned out the way you longed for it to be

To those who step-parent – we walk with you on these complex paths

To those who envisioned lavishing love on grandchildren -yet that dream is not to be, we grieve with you

To those who will have emptier nests in the upcoming year – we grieve and rejoice with you

To those who placed children up for adoption — we commend you for your selflessness and remember how you hold that child in your heart

And to those who are pregnant with new life, both expected and surprising –we anticipate with you

This Mother’s Day, we walk with you. Mothering is not for the faint of heart and we have real warriors in our midst. We remember you.

Time-Warp Wife

Easter - 2017

HOPE your day is a blessed one!

{ Wednesday's Word - Making Plans }

plan

an intention or decision about what one is going to do.

Growing up, when I would ask my Mom a question that required a simple yes or no answer, she would ALWAYS say, "if I live and nothing happens". It drove me nuts that she wouldn't just give my mostly "black and white" personality a definite answer!  I can still picture in my mind's eye being in a Sunday school class many years ago and coming across a verse of scripture and it was a light bulb moment for me.....

I wrote out from these verses, simply "Mom".....

"If it is the Lord's will"......those words have brought on a whole new meaning as I've gotten old(er) and help me understand why my Momma said what she did.  

Wonder how many things I've said and done.....

or  continue to do.....

that drives Jess nuts?

[ Friday Foto Friends #73 ]

A storm was  brewing.....

My beautiful Star of Bethlehem is blooming.

These mean so much to me because my Mom dug them up in the field and gave them to me.....

+

Rocky Valley.....

A few of my Easter decorations.....

(which are the same as last year)

The sky on the way to church a couple of weeks ago.....

Happy Friday, Everybody.....

HOPE Y'all have a great weekend!

{ Friday Foto Friends #70 }

 How is everybody doing?

I'm REALLY enjoying my little bloggy break. Not posting every day has been very peaceful and restful for me....

especially, my mind.....

LOL!

I only have 3 photos to share this week.....

I went to Mom's to help Pappy drag a big tree limb that had  fallen from a pine tree in the field over into the woods.  It was an absolutely gorgeous day and I snapped this pic of the sun shining through the trees in the woods where I used to play growing up.....

This was taken from our daughter's front porch.  They have the most awesome views of the sunrises and sunsets.

My blog header.....

pretty flowers  that smell so good I picked from our yard this week.

We've had some awesome weather lately with highs in the upper 70's.  But.....since we live in East Tennessee and all you have to do is wait a day if you don't like the weather.....the forecast for Saturday night into Sunday is for SNOW!   

HOPE everybody has an awesome weekend.

{ Monday, Monday }

Last week was a whirlwind of activity and this week is going to be full, too.  Whoever said that retirement was when you can slow down was terribly wrong.  It seems I have more on my plate now than ever and know that if I were still working a full-time job I couldn't get it all done.....

not that I do now!

Anyway....

just wanted to share a few pics of things that caught my eye, made me laugh, or remind me of one of the most important things in my life.....

family!

 Last Monday was my Momma's birthday and we celebrated with a girl's day out.

Three generations.....

me, our girl, and my Mom.

(and if you follow me on Facebook, you'll remember that she DOES NOT color her hair.

I DID NOT inherit that gene from her, obviously!)

This is something I need to print off and hang on my fridge!!!

I'll take four of these shirts, please!!!

Oh, my, but this is so me!

I've put back on several pounds from the weight I lost a couple of years ago.

Stress eating and the fact that every tooth in my head is a sweet tooth is getting me into trouble.

It's Monday again....

time to start afresh.....

so glad for God's mercies on me!!

Oh, yes it does.

Even on the coldest of  days, give me some SONshine and I'm a happy girl!

Speaking of happy girl....

that pretty girl on the right is one of my greatest blessings!  This was taken at our Ladies Night Out yesterday at church.

And, I've spent way too much time watching April trying to birth her baby.  I finally watched a giraffe live birth on YouTube so I could get on with my life....

😊

HOPE your Monday is Marvelous!

{ My Momma's Birthday }

  

Today we're celebrating my Momma's birthday.

She, Jess and I are going thrift store shopping then we're going out to lunch.  What a blessing to still have her after suffering a major heart attack in 2011. She says a lot that God must have left her here for a reason. 

HOPE everybody has a Marvelous Monday!

{ Friday Foto Friends #41 }

 It wasn't intentional, but it seems I focused on trees this week.  
Here's a few pics I captured on a morning walk and at my Mom's.

I'm so excited for the weekend because of the expectation of HOPEfully getting to see one of my dearest friends.  

It's probably been five years and that's way too long!

Looking forward to seeing everybody's pics for FFF.

HOPE you have a great weekend!

{ Happy Mother's Day }

My Mom

My Mother-in-law

My sweet girl and me acting silly at Wally World

(several years ago)

HOPE everybody has an awesomely blessed Mother's Day.