Tuesday, August 31, 2010

What's In A Smile

Things that make me smile.......


Hey there....I woke up this morning thinking about happiness.  Things that make me smile!

There are so many little things that cross my path each day that brings a huge smile to my face.  I can even feel my heart smiling....


I know this may sound silly to some of you, but I have this little duck in my living room that makes me smile.....



Isn't it cute?  Not much to it, but this little duck is so sentimental to ME.  This little duck belonged to my mother.  As far back as I can remember, Missy (that is what I call it) sat on the window seal in our kitchen.  I can not tell you how many times I watched my mother take her rings off when she cleaned the kitchen and placed them in this little duck....YES, it makes me smile!



Here's another thing.  A red (something) with a lid on it...Not worth ten cents to anyone other than me.  To me this little red thing is priceless.  Why....it too belonged to my mother.  She must have loved it.  It's really a dust collector (as you can see) but I hope to keep it for a very long time.  It brings a smile to my face each time I see the not so pretty thing...



Then there is this precious little thing....Bella.  She is so cute with her one little eye.  The kids all make fun of her and call her "One Eye."  I love her just the way she is and she brings a lot of laughter to me.  Each morning, she gets so excited when she sees me and this brings a big smile to my face. 





I smiled when I saw my first Pomegranate of the season.  This is a new plant and I did not expect to see any fruit on it this year, but here it is.....




I smile when I see the beauty in each flower that blooms.



I smile each time I look at this beautiful gold plated rose.  I have had this rose for many years.  Sam gave it to me one year for our anniversary..   It truly is a real rose that has been plated in gold.  When I look at it, I think of the smile that I saw on his face the day he gave it to me...
It was a "I love you" smile......


And then there is this
smile....

This Smile


This Smile......


Trey makes me Smile.....
Yes, He does have two legs.....


Tyler, Tori, and Tucker make me
Smile


And Carson makes me Smile.....


Miss Mylee Jo creates a smile in me.....


My Friends make me Smile....




Family makes me Smile.......


My list is soooo BIG.....Things that make me Smile are all around me...
I would invite you to take time today to look at all the things in your life that makes you Smile...
I'll bet you will be amazed!


Shug.......

Life is much sweeter when we SMILE...Try it, I bet you'll like it!!

Monday, August 30, 2010

A Window to My Soul

A Window To My Soul.......


Nowhere can a man find a quieter or more untroubled retreat than in his own soul........

The window to my soul...these are simple words that really sink way down into my heart.  My soul...what is it that I am really all about?  What is the purpose of my being?

My purpose is to serve the Lord and to Honor Him in all that I do.
In order to do this, I need to have a soul that loves others....

It is my desire that each and every day, I open the window of my soul to the world.  I can only Hope that each morning when I awake, that my window is sparkling bright and that those around me can clearly see the reflection of God living in me...


The Fruits of the Spirit......Galatians 5:22-23
Love, Joy, Peace, Long suffering, Gentleness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Meekness, and Temperance.

I want the window of my soul to allow others to see in me the active pursuit of love that is my heart for serving God.
How wonderful would it be to live each day by the Fruits of the Spirit....Sharing Love, Joy and Peace with those around us.  To have patience and self control when life does not go our way.
To show goodness to our neighbors and gentleness to those that are in need.  To be kind to others and to be faithful in all things. 

I love People...I love people with different personalities...I love flowers and the sweetness of the fresh morning air.  I love the beauty of the stars at night.  I love  clear running streams and old country roads....I love old barns and I love old people.

And Yes....I love the window of my soul.  I pray that it will always be as bright as a shining star and that my family and friends will recognize this magnificent piece of art work that God has painted inside of me. 

I love to think of how it would be if everyone in the world had a window to their soul that reflected peace and the love of God.

Oh God, help me to allow those that look through the window of my soul to see a clean heart that is filled with your love.

Shug......

How wonderful it is to Love Life...


Sunday, August 29, 2010

Elvis in San Antonio


Good Morning Ya'll......or is it goodnight?  As you can see, Tori and Mylee are sound asleep...But wait, are they really?  Hey, it looks like Barbie has crashed too!

This is day three of our San Antonio trip and these two girls had been up for a couple of hours when this pictures was taken.  Both of them were being little jokester's.  Mylee just could not hold back her little grin and as soon as she heard the flash of my camera, her eyes opened wide. 

On this particular day, we were going to go over to the big convention center to see exactly what is was that their Pops was doing....This was a Nursery Convention and Pops was selling Trees...Pecan trees, Fruit trees, shade trees, etc.




They could not wait to see where all the people were going.  They could not wait to see what they could get in to.  The very first thing that they both noticed was that everyone was carrying a bag and immediately they wanted to know where they could get their bag.  Just so happens that the booth across from where Pops was sitting had these beautiful colored bags.  With not a shy bone in her body, Tori asked if she could have one and stated that her baby cousin needed one as well. 



There were over 1300 booths in the Convention Hall and these girls were now ready to visit them all.  Bags in one hand, blanket in another, here we go....
You see, almost every booth has something to give away.. Pens, balls, candy, clips, cups, glasses, more candy, sun shades, bandanna's, you name it and you could just about find it there. 

Hey, this was going to be better than "Trick 'R Treat."  Free Give Aways plus it was cool in there. 



This was one of the first booths we stopped at.  Check out the "Diva" in the background.  Don't you just love her skirt.  It truly was a very well decorated booth with a lot a character!!



They could not believe there was an airplane in the building.  I had my hands full trying to keep them from climbing in and trying to fly the thing...



I can't possibly forget to tell you about the Elvis booth.  Elvis was in the building and Tori was fortunate enough to have her picture made with him.  The batteries went down on my camera and I was not able to snap a picture of them before the announcement was made that "Elvis Has Left the Building"   As you can see, the people in this booth fixed her up with the glasses, Hawaiian leis, and a picture of the two of them.  As soon as I get a copy of the picture, I will be happy to share it with you.  Elvis could forget about Miss Mylee Jo...there was NO WAY that she was going to go near him!



This is Tori in front of the "Outhouse"
Again,  No way Mylee was going to go near something like this...

We walked up and down every single isle smiling so sweetly and politely asking for whatever it was they had to give away....



It was definitely time to rest.....



Both of them were exhausted.  We headed back to the room for some rest and to let them dig through their bag of goodies.  Tori had collected 62 pens plus everything else and Mylee had 49. 

We went back the next day and all in all, I think they ended up with about 137 pens.

The rest of the trip was spent shopping, swimming, sight seeing and more swimming.  I guess I could add a lot of eating to that as well.  I think they both had Ice Cream every single day.  (shhh....don't tell their moms)

This was truly a very good GET AWAY, and Sam and I both enjoyed having the girls with us.  I really have so much more that I could tell.  We did so many interesting things and had dinner with some wonderful people.  When I am able to post Tori's picture of her and Elvis, I hope to be able to share a few more things.  For now, I am glad to be back home.  Always a lot of fun to take trips, but always wonderful to come home!

Thanks for taking this trip with us...Hope to see you tomorrow morning! 
I'll be serving homemade Cinnamon Rolls, Banana Nut Bread, coffee, milk and juice. 


Shug.....

Bless the Lord, Oh my soul....And all that is within me, Bless His Holy name. 

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Trip Continued

Our San Antonio Trip Continues......

Have I already reached that forgetful stage in my life.....Let me back up to just a couple of hours before arriving in San Antonio.  I think Sam must have had a lot of thinking going on before we even left that morning.  He planned a stop that I totally was not expecting. 

Sam remembered just how much I loved the fish tacos at the Gruene River Mill in Gruene, Texas.  And.....it just happens that this wonderful eating joint is just slightly  off the path that we were traveling in.  What's a few miles to make a wife happy?  Yes, he surprised me with a wonderful lunch of Fish Tacos!!

Now, on to more of the trip.....

The next morning we woke up and Tori and Mylee were ready to hit the pool, but, we decided to take the girls to see "The Alamo" 
instead.

I wasn't sure that we would ever make it into the actual fort area because there were so many interesting things to see right there on the grounds. 



                                  Check out this tree....And what would you think  a child would be thinking when they saw this tree.....Exactly Right..The perfect tree to climb....But wait!  Signs everywhere...Do Not Climb On Trees....


How about this one....again, the perfect tree to climb.  But wait, they had to hire Tori to stand there and hold the branches up!




The landscape was very eye appealing and some of the plants were very different from what we have here at home.


Beautiful Cactus.....


And many other plants with vibrant colors of orange and yellow blooms.




There were all kinds of trees, but this one was very interesting....



And then....there it was....THE AlAMO




A very real place.   A place where men made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom.  The Alamo remains as hallowed grounds and is the Shrine of Texas Liberty. 

Tori was very impressed with the tomb that held the bones of 4 unknown soldiers.  She was also very excited to learn that a decedent of Sam's was Doctor Amos Pollard.


The Girls took their very first Bus ride, as we traveled to the Mexican Market...Food was what we had on our minds at this time and we knew the Best place for good Mexican Food...  Sam and I have eaten at this place several times, but have never known the name of the restaurant.  Location was all that was needed for these four hungry people.   




This place has a lot of very interesting decorations and some of them were not Mylee's favorite. 


Look at this beautiful wood carved bench.  Well, it wasn't so beautiful to Mylee....Seems that Miss Mylee was scared of the man's face.  True art work....but the picture was as close as we were going to get, because she was terrified of the face...(I love zooms on cameras...they come in handy sometimes)


She would not go anywhere near the bench....She kept saying something like "I cared"...you know like "I'm Scared"


After eating, we decided to take a River Ride....This was a big hit for both Tori and Mylee. 


We saw buildings with some magnificent architecture.






We saw trees growing out of the walls....

And we saw this gorgeous piece of mosaic art work on the wall at the convention center....Thousands of tiny little pieces of tile, delicately placed to form such an interesting picture of their history.



The next day....we made another trip to the river.  This time we did not ride the boat, we walked.  I remember at one point, hearing Tori say....."These feet can not take one more step." 

There is so much to do in San Antonio!

I have one more post that will conclude our trip to San Antonio. 
Stop back by tomorrow morning and share a cup of coffee with me.  Let me share a little "Elvis" with you.  I can guarantee that your sure to love it....

Shug.....

Be Blessed today....Prepare your heart today for the word of God tomorrow!!

Friday, August 27, 2010

If it's gonna happen, then.....

How Sweet It Is To Be Home......That statement reminds me of a song...."How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You"........OK, I'll get back on track.

This has been such a busy week with school starting, unpacking clothes and doing laundry, getting back into the swing of cooking, and Oh yes,  My Birthday!!

Our trip last week to San Antonio was great and  I want to take the time this morning to share some pictures with you.......I would have posted about this earlier in the week, but like I said, too many other things rated high above a nice relaxing trip! 

This was a business trip for Sam, but he invited me to go and I needed the break.....So, I took Mylee and Tori with me!! ( Now is that funny or what?  Need a break, so I take two granddaughters with me.)  I can truly say that both of them were little ANGELS and we loved having them with us.....


The first day was great!  A good six hour trip, but the girls kept us pretty entertained.  We only had to stop about ten times for potty breaks.   Some of those breaks were false, but what can you expect from a 2 year old that has only been potty trained for a few months.   After about seven hours, we finally made it to our destination.  As soon as we got to our hotel, we unloaded the luggage and went straight to the room.  Sam (pops) had some work to do, so the girls and I headed for the pool..



What we are pointing at is "The Tower of the Americas"

A tower that was built for the Hemisphere in San Antonio way back in like 1968 or 69.  It has a revolving restaurant at the top with a view of downtown San Antonio. 

All the girls could talk about was wanting to go eat HIGH IN THE AIR.   Sam and I had already discussed taking them to eat in the tower.    With all of their excitement, we just simply could not pass it up....

Reservations were made for 8:00 P.M.  and the girls could hardly wait.  We took a taxi cab over to the tower (This was Tori and Mylee's first trip in a Taxi Cab) and as we start to get out, the taxi cab driver opened both sides of the automatic sliding doors.  Keep in mind as I tell the rest of this story, that I was trying so hard to get out and hurry around to get Tori's hand before the door closed on her hand. 

We walk down this beautiful walk way that led directly to the tower.  Along the way, we saw several waterfalls that were so very intriguing.  The water rolled from one rock onto another and the sound was absolutely peaceful.  Tori ask if I would take a picture of her and Mylee with the water in the background.  I was like sure....and you know this Shug was not going to pass up taking a picture of her granddaughters!!  I reached for my camera that was inside my purse, but there was No camera  because there was  No purse.  I Was In Such A Hurry That I Left My Purse In The Floor Of The Taxi.......

I honestly thought I was going to have a heart attack and by the look on Sam's face, I really thought he was going to kill over right there.  My phone was in my purse and Sam did not bring his with him.  We were really in a predicament!   Sam told me to stay there with the girls and he would walk back over to the hotel to see what he could do.  I am going to say that he probably had to walk at least a mile.  The girls and I went inside the lobby of the tower and sat down.  All three of us were praying "God, please let him find the purse"

It was definitely HOT outside, but my temperature must have been at least 110 degrees by now.  I was so stressed that I broke out in a sweat.  Then, at one point the lady at the desk came over and I remember hearing her tell me that we needed to stay on one side of the building because it seemed they had an unwanted creature in the building.  I think that is all I heard.  All of a sudden here are these two guys with wearing heavy gloves and they looked like they were on a very serious mission.  Indeed they were.  I'm not sure if it was a snake or a bat, but something (not good) was in that building, just about 20 feet from us.  You all know how deathly afraid of snakes I am, but I did not have the time to worry about a silly snake or bat.  I needed my purse back!! 

Oh my.....What a Blessing......The taxi Cab driver had driven directly back to the hotel and he never even knew that I had left my purse in his vehicle.  After about 25 minutes, we look up and here comes Sam, getting out of the same taxi cab, and the cutest thing (and the BEST thing) was seeing him tote my purse.   Thank you Lord for watching over us!  Now we could continue with our evening plans...SWEAT and all!


Mylee and Tori both were so amazed how the floor turned at the restaurant.  The view was gorgeous and the food was simple amazing....We had a great time and the girls had an opportunity to experience something that they had never done before. 

There is so much more to talk about, so I think I''ll continue this trip tomorrow........



Tori....swimming like a fish....



Mylee...swimming without her floats



Sam...relaxing in the pool


Mylee jumping in the pool....




Tori....taking time out for a picture


Come back tomorrow and check out the rest of our interesting trip......

Sorry....No pictures of us eating inside the tower.  Seems that my camera was not in my purse, it was in the hotel room....Duh!!
Shug....

Need a trip?  Need a get away?   Be sure you take your grandchildren with you!  You will be Blessed!

Sunday Thinking

  Happy St. Patricks Day!   🍀 Tomorrow, I will be filling my hummingbird feeders.  The little beauties should be arriving any day now.  I a...