Our Litttle Artist in the Family!

 We have a new Artist in the family!!  

Our youngest great granddaughter (Emersyn) decided during her Spring Break to do a little painting.  Emersyn is 5 years old..soon to be 6.  

BTW...this picture is painted using her finger prints.  

She sent me a text message with this photo of her holding her art work. She was so happy and excited.  Well..what is a Shug to do when she has a little doll who is so proud of her work??  You buy the art painting!!! $$

She called me on Sunday and wanted to know if there was anything that I wanted her to add to the painting. I told her that I would love to have her signature at the bottom.  

She is going to hold it for me until I am able to fly out there for a visit.  I can't wait to get it and have it framed..  

As I sat there thinking about it later, I realized something a whole lot bigger than just a little painting.  It's not about the colors ... it's about those tiny fingerprints that worked so hard making something beautiful. 

When a child creates something with joy, and then has a look full of pride...what they're saying is..."Do you see me."

And...oh how important it is that we do!!

We don't just hang their artwork on the wall..

We hang their confidence there.  We frame their courage. We preserve a moment where they felt seen, LOVED and celebrated. 

One day this painting might fade just a little, but the memory of being valued never will.  

So yes...we have a new artist in the family and I have a feeling that this will not be the only masterpiece I will proudly hang on my wall.  She has already asked what kind of picture her Pops might like!!

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I'm tossing a handful of happiness your way today!!

Shug!!  

No Perfect Words Needed

Oh wow....I just typed this entire post and then....my finger slipped and it disappeared.  Let me try again!!

No perfect words are needed when we are meeting with God.  I don't always pray with bent knees....No, sometimes I pray when my hands are filthy, as I'm busy potting my flowers.  Sometimes I pray driving down the road...Often, I pray when I am just out walking.  

I also have those moments when I am so sleepy, but yet God is speaking to me.  At 2:00 A.M. my prayers sometimes do not make much sense, especially when I am... in-and-out-of-sleeping... and praying. But...They still matter and they are still heard. 

  Many times, this is when my prayers sound more like questions.  Or sighs. Or sometimes my only word is "Lord."

No fancy words. No big endings. Just His name hanging there with me in the dark. 

I don't always finish my sentences and if I'm being real honest, I sometimes wonder if God becomes disappointed with me.  The truth is....God does not grade our prayers!!! 👐 I said: "God Does NOT grade our prayers!"

He is listening to our hearts no matter where we are, no matter what we are doing.  He hears the tiredness in our voices and he hears the fears that we try to hide.  AND...He understands the things we don't even know how to say. 

God doesn't ask us to clean up our prayers and He doesn't say you need  to polish up your words and tie them with a beautiful bow.  He just wants us to come as we are! 

Messy and real. 

My point?  God isn't searching for polished prayers or perfectly strung together words. He is listening for a willing heart.  A heart that shows up even when it is tired. A heart that simply says, "Lord, I am here."

This week...Holy Week...reminds me just how personal that invitation is. 

I am thankful for this sacred time of reflection...a time to slow down and remember that  Jesus walked toward the cross knowing every detail, every pain, every weight He would carry, and He did it anyway. He did it for you and He did it for me. 

He bore the cross not because He had to, but because He chose to. He stretched out His arms in love, taking on our sins, our burdens, our brokenness, so that we could walk in freedom, grace and forgiveness. 

Because of His sacrifice, we don't need perfect words. We can come to Him just as we are with no rehearsing and no pretending. 

This Holy week is about drawing near to the One who gave everything so we could Know Him!

* I will be gone a good portion of today.  We have an appointment with the eye doctor for Sam.  Hoping to get on the schedule to have his surgical procedure done.  

Little Pieces of a Full Day.

 Little pieces of a full Day.  

It was a long night here in East Texas.  The work began around 8:00 p.m.

The road in front of our home is a Farm to Market road that usually carries a steady hum of quiet country traffic.  Well....it came alive last night in a whole different way.  The highway department began resurfacing it last week, and their work happens after the sun goes down.  Last night, they were hard at it again.  

We could hear the low growl of machines as they ground up the old pavement, followed by a steady rhythm of fresh asphalt being laid down.  We lost a little sleep, however, I am thankful to have a smooth new road to drive on.  

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Sam and I both are enjoying a quieter morning today!

Hummingbird Time!!

Yesterday afternoon, I stepped outside and grabbed the hummingbird feeders that have been resting all winter.  I cleaned them out, filled them up fresh, and got them hung.  Now, we wait for the buzzing of the hummers to come and bring life back to the yard.  

Earlier in the week, the pool cleaning company came out and gave our pool a good cleaning.  They also washed and cleaned the filters, so now we have a very clean pool...ready for the season.  I love seeing the clear water...especially during the evening hours when the light is on.  

Resurfaced roads, freshly filled feeders and clean water waiting for my swimmers.  Life is Good!  

Just some little pieces of a Full Day!

Palm Sunday...Senior Sunday

 It is a beautiful Palm Sunday here in East Texas.  We are stepping into Holy Week.  So gentle...so sacred...and needed.  

I'm not going to lie...these past few days have been exhausting.  More especially for Sam.  Life has a way of piling things on us all at once, doesn't it?  But somehow, even in the tired, there's still grace tucked in the corners. I am so thankful for this grace.

Today is Senior Sunday, and if you've followed me for very long, you know I always like to tuck these moments away in my memory book.  

Our sweet Mylee will graduate on May 16th.  How in the world did we get here so fast?

As I sat thinking about her today, one thing kept coming to mind...HER BLANKET!

Since the day she was born, she has loved that blanket.  A dear friend of mine gave it to her...and at one time it was the prettiest blanket, pink and yellow, with delicate stitching around the edges.  Over the years, it's been loved well...worn soft by time, travel, and tiny hands that never quite would let it go. 

This blanket has been everywhere....Costa Rica, Guatemala, Colorado, California, and lastly to Ireland.  I suppose we could call it "the Traveling Blanket."  It's real name is:

Pink Bwank Bwank!!!  A name Mylee gave it when she was first learning to talk.  

And if you know Mylee, you know this...she may love you dearly, but that blanket?  Well...not just anyone gets the privilege of holding it. We've had more laughs over that little blanket than I can count.  

But...Isn't it something how love can settle itself into the simplest of things?   A blanket, a gift, a thread of kindness that never really unravels. 

I couldn't help but think of my sweet blogging friend Connie over at Far side of Fifty.  She spends a lot of her time crocheting beautiful baby blankets...one after another.  And I wonder if she fully knows how something made with HER hands might become someone's everything. A comfort, a memory, a piece of home they carry through life.  

This is what Mylee's blanket is to her.  .......

Love isn't always loud.  Sometimes it is stitched quietly into the fabric of everyday life.  Sometimes it does look like a worn out blanket that's been held a thousand times.  

This Palm Sunday, in the middle of our tired hearts and our very full days, I am extremely thankful for the small steady reminders of love.