Fresh Pair of Eyes

Last year I wrote a blog named Bridge & Sisterhood on 9.21.11.  I was leaving Highlands, NC & was moving to Maumelle, AR at the time.  I wrote about my dear friends that I played bridge with every week.  There were five of us at the time, but now there are four because Charlene pasted away this past November.  I wrote about Charlene 12.9.12.

These ladies are so dear to me.  These friends are the ones that I try to keep in touch with quite frequently, & many times every day on Face Book.  I still call them for prayer, encouragement & advice.

When I left they gave me this beautiful hand cut necklace & earrings.  They wanted me to have something special to remember them by & Highlands, like I could ever forget.  Each stone is hand-cut  made out of picture jasper, spotted jasper, agate & Italian foil glass.  The store where they bought it makes each necklace difference.  So what I'm trying to say is that my necklace was created with care, love & was made unique.

I guess you might see where I'm going with this.  Just like God created each of us in
Ps 139: 13-14.
For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.

I want to go back to friendship.  I see each of their friendships as unique.  They each have a fresh ideas & experiences just like each hand-cut stone in the necklace.

I had several situations that have come up this year.  Besides prayer & searching the scriptures, God has given me friends throughout my life to share with.  Each one has a different mind-set that has fresh perspectives from their own life experiences.  They know the Lord & what He wants for each of us.  I appreciate friends who know me, & won't judge me.  Friends that I can identity with & speak honestly with.

Besides these dear friends that I turn to, I also have a dear childhood friend named Kay Wiggins Adham. Our lives have seemed to run parallel since we were born, & even more so since our fathers died three weeks apart at the end of last year & beginning of this year.  Since then we have been in contact pretty frequently.

One day I had a light-bulb moment.  I was traveling home, & I had so much on my mind.  It dawned on me, instead of just calling my friends, telling them all about my situation, talking it out with them, & asking for prayer; 

what about a fresh pair of eyes to help me truly change my heart. 

Yes, I told Kay all about the situation; yes, we talked it all out; & yes, I asked for prayer; but this time I truly wanted God to change my feelings, to change my heart.  I just didn't want my feelings validated that time.  I wanted to see my wrong, if I was wrong.  From that point on I could tell I was different.  I wanted to be different at the beginning of the conversation.  In fact, the purpose of the conversation was I desired God to change me & to use my friendships as a fresh pair of eyes, heart, & mind to help me see what God wanted me to see in my situation.

I'm grateful.

ann :)

       

Some of My Favorite Words

Most everyone knows the song sung by Julie Andrews in the movie "Sound of Music"- "My Favorite Things."  Well, I'm not Julie Andrews & you won't see me singing this song on YouTube & I'm not Oprah giving away her favorite things, but I did come across some of my favorite words that I would love to share with you.
                                            ABOUT
     
                                                        ALMOST

                                                                       MIGHT 

                                                                                  APPROXIMATE 

                                                                                                                MAYBE

Why you might ask?
                 It is very simple; these words are not final.  You don't have to be concerned about saying it perfectly.  These words give me allowances  & I don't have to be definite.  I love that.  Some people have to be very detailed in what they say.  This way, I guess I can get off the hook a little bit.  I call it GRACE.

For instance: ABOUT, instead of I am, are.

                     ALMOST, instead of I will, it is.

                     MIGHT, instead of again, I will or am or for sure.

                     APPROXIMATE, instead of exact, or correct.

                     MAYBE, instead of for sure.

Now, don't get me wrong.  I love having a plan & definitely knowing the facts or details.  In fact, I usually can't function without an organized plan & schedule.  But, when I speak, that is a different matter.  Sometimes, not every time;  Oh, Oh, another general word; here I go again-general; I'm on a roll.  When I don't speak precisely it can get me in trouble at times.  I like having the freedom to use general terms.  Again, I call it GRACE.

Well, this might not make sense to you, but it makes some sense to me.

I'm grateful that God uses GRACE with me.  

Even though He calls me to be like Christ & to be holy 

because He is holy; He covers me with His GRACE.  

Thank you Lord.

ann :)

Dear Haven

Dear Haven Joy,

I can't believe that you are already 5 1/2 months old.  Time has certainly flown quickly since you have been born.  What can I say?  You are too precious for words.


I won't ever forget the day we met.  When I saw you for the first time you were asleep on Mama's chest.  You loved that skin to skin touch.
As I got that first glimpse of you I thought you looked a little like me when I was a baby.  You had dark curly hair & big cheeks.  Looking like me did past by pretty quickly.  You definitely look like your Daddy & lately you have started to look like Lauren; but mostly you look like Haven.

We were all pretty shocked to see your dark hair & so much of it.  We all thought if you had hair it would be very blonde.  It was very curly your first day, but no curls since then.  I think we should put moose on your hair to bring those curls back.  :)  Also, you had so much hair that it stuck up on one side toward the back.  Around Thanksgiving your hair all of a sudden laid down & it is so long that it goes down your back.

You definitely didn't like your first bath.  I think I can still hear you crying, very loudly I might add, as I watched on.  Poor Lauren was very concerned about you.  It took a lot of convincing that you were just fine & not hurting.  You were ready to get warm & meet your family.

Something else your parents noticed about your little personality within the first few hours of your life was that you were & are still sensitive.  You didn't like big movements.  You had & still have the most pitiful bottom lip that I have ever seen when you get your feelings hurt.

The first time I held you was pretty soon after you were born.  I first took a ton of pictures of you, Mama & Daddy, then Mama gave you to me.  I was charmed.  You didn't want to open your eyes because the lights were so bright in the room.  About that time the nurses needed to take care of Mama for a minute, so you & I went behind the curtain where it was dark.  We then had some one on one time.  You opened your beautiful blue eyes & smiled.  I don't think I have ever seen a baby smile the way you did on your first day of life.  First, I introduced myself to you.  I said that I was your Nanna & that I loved you.  I also said that God loves you, & then I went down the list of everyone else who loved you.   You were & are so precious.

I love the name Haven Joy.  

It seems that Mama & Daddy have named you correctly.  

You really are an easy baby.  You smile as soon as someone speaks 

softly too you.  You seem to be a baby of rest & full of joy.  

You definitely have brought so much joy to me & everyone else.  

Your birth verse is: 

Gen 7:16-So those that entered, male & female of all flesh 

went in as God had commanded him; and the Lord shut him in.   

I don't know exactly how this might apply to you, 

but right now I see God was Noah's shelter, a Safe Haven, 

in the midst of the storm.  I pray that God will be your 

Safe Haven, & a Shelter all of your life.

Another special moment the day you were born was witnessing Lauren holding you for the first time.  That was too precious for words.  She took her "Big Sister" job very seriously.  You were great as you just rested in Lauren's arms.  Lauren held you for at least 30 minutes without moving a muscle, including her head.  Only her eyes would go back & forth.  The pink monkey is what you gave Lauren the first time Lauren met you.

I love to tickle you.  I can put one finger under your arm & you will tilt your body in that direction & just giggle out loud.  You sound just like Lauren when you laugh.  Also, I have to get some sugar kisses every time I hold you from those sweet cheeks of yours.

This past few days we have been celebrating Christmas.  All of a sudden you started doing some special tricks: you love standing up, if we hold you of course; rolling over consistently; almost sitting up by yourself; enjoying this bouncy jumper thing; wanting a sippie cup; & loved the Christmas wrapping paper-everything goes in the mouth.

I have enjoyed keeping you many Wednesday mornings lately while Mama has some appointments.  It has been a great time for you & me.  I didn't think we have had too much special time until then.  It has been a great time for us to get to know one another better.  Also, on Thur. nights Grandpa & I baby-sit while Mama & Daddy work.  Here, we have learned you are definitely a Mama's girl.  When it comes to night time, all you want is her.  You change from your sweet, smiling self to a huge crying melt down.  I usually can console you, but that last Thurs. we kept y'all, no one could make you happy but Mama.  When she walked in the door & could see the look on our faces, she knew that it had been a hard last hour.  She quietly calmed you down in your bedroom & all of a sudden it sounded like you began tattle tailing on us for trying to put you down to sleep.  Mama then brought you out & you just grinned & grinned.  You are a mess & we love you.

Well, I just didn't want to miss this opportunity to tell you how blessed we are that God gave you to us & I'm so proud that you are my Grand Daughter.  I'm looking forward to taking you to the park, zoo, making cookies, & having tea.  It will be fun to see what else we can come up with to do.

I love you.

nanna :)

Charlene

When you look in the dictionary under the word spunky, you would find a picture of this dear friend of mine, Charlene Hendricks.  

Charlene past away November 7, 2012.  It is hard for me to believe that the picture in this collage in the upper right corner was Charlene's 96th birthday which was this past February.  

 The first time I met Charlene & her husband Sam, was when I was walked into Community Bible Church for the first time.  Before I walked into the church, I thought to myself, "the first people I meet are going to end up beng very special to me in this church."  This happened to be a very true statement.

Sam & Charlene were married, I think for 62-66 yr.  They had the same birthday & they both loved bridge.  In fact it was Charlene who asked me to join her bridge group.  I wrote about them in the blog: Bridge & Sisterhood-Sept 21, 11.  Both Sam & Charlene loved their family, Joy the children's dog, their friends, their church, but most of all their LORD.  They were big prayer warriors.  They had the gift of hospitality & loved developing relationships around the kitchen table playing bridge.

Sam was quiet & love poured out of him.  Charlene, definitely loved people, but she definitely had a spunky personality that couldn't help but make you laugh.  We were meeting at Charlene's home one afternoon to play bridge.  We were doing our normal routine of catching-up, eating, laughing & playing some bridge.  Sam had a beautiful gazebo built on their property.  All of a sudden, Charlene was telling us about how this gazebo was built just for her.  Then she started telling us about how Sam put this life size stuffed man sitting out in the gazebo.  She was appauled & felt that since this was her gazebo, Sam should not have put this "man" out there.  That was all she could see looking out her kitchen window.   He was dressed really tacky & Charlene hated it.  I think Sam did it to just get her goat.  We were laughing the belly laugh as she would tell us all about the situation.  I wish I could really write how funny it truly was, but I do remember the joy we all had together discussing it.

Charlene was true to herself & her convictions.  I had the joy of studying the Bible with her many times, but one study in particular we met in my home for a season.  This is where I began to learn of Charlene's heart in a more deep matter.

I began to get to know Charlene & Sam when they were in their late 80's.  Even though Sam would drive them around, most of the time, we would meet in their home.  Their home was unique because the upstairs was totally separate from the downstairs.  Their children lived upstairs & they lived downstairs.  One of my favorite decorations in their home was a beautiful professional hand painted picture of them walking through a garden holding hands.  That was their life.  They had been married for 62 yr.  Sam died right after his 82nd birthday & Charlene pasted away at 86 yr.

Charlene moved to an assisting living facility during her last few years of life.  When you would walk into Charlene's room, her face would just glow.  She was always ready to give you a hug & kiss.
Charlene had more consistent visitors in a week than anyone could count.  People enjoyed her, & she enjoyed them.  You could talk to her about anything & she would really listen to what you needed to say.

One of the greatest lessons I learned from Charlene is how to grow old graciously.  I observed a woman who still needed to work at being married in old age; lost her soul mate of more than 60 yrs; had to move from her home to an assisted living home.  She did this with God's grace, dignity & syle. She accepted her ailments, but still did what she could & choice to choose joy throughout her days.

Highlands will never be the same for me when I visit, because she was the hub of our group.  The other four of us would come to her since she could not get out too much accept for going to church.  It is going to seem so strange not to go & visit her & spend at least one afternoon playing bridge with her.

Charlene was called "Precious" by her grandchildren.  She was a precious lady, & a precious friend.  I'll miss her friendship.

I can see Sam meeting her at heavens door, dancing their way for her to meet Jesus, then on to see other loved ones that have gone before, & then I'm sure a game of bridge is set up right around the corner for them to play.

I hate that I didn't get to tell Charlene good-bye one more time, but I know she knew I loved her & I know that she loved me.  See you soon.

ann :)

Creating Holiday Memories Scrapbook

I'm calling this blog a scrapbook because, I am going to fill this blog with pictures.  When I look back on this time, this is what I want to remember.

.10.26-28.12 fall box; mt magazine

This years traditions really began in October while we were at at Mt Magazine.  What a perfect weekend.  All of us were able to come, including Amy's friend Kim.  It was so much fun just walking into our cabin.  It was beautiful!  Lauren walked in & just glowed.  We hiked, loved the outdoor spa; building fires; roasting marshmallows; carving Ben, Jenny & Lauren's pumpkin; just relaxing, having coffee & hot chocolate.  The weather was perfect!  Lauren's excited over the spa was something else.  Oh yes, opened the fall boxes.  If you don't know what the fall boxes are, please go back & read Oct 13, 11-All This In A Week?: Part 4-Thur. Tradition.
11.1.12-November

Even though I decorate for Fall in Sept with pumpkin & harvest, when November comes around, out comes the turkeys, Pilgrims & Indians.

--We began the November festivities by attending Angela Driskills' party for the staff in Dave's office.

--The following Saturday was extra special.  I took Lauren to go get donut holes, then to see Mrs. Claus at the Holiday House.  Her eyes got so big taking it all in.  Lauren's most favorite thing was riding the escalator, not the milk & cookies, & certainly not taking a picture with Mrs. Clause.

    That afternoon the girls & I went to the Holiday House.  We did great in not buying anything until the end.  All of a sudden we hit the mother load.  It sure did make my Christmas shopping easier.








--Then I was off to Valdosta for the Batts' Thanksgiving.  It could not have been for perfect.  Mother had been working on this since Sept.  I picked up Brittany along the way to ride with me.  That was a nice change instead of me driving by myself.  The only thing that was negative was  I got a speeding ticket.  Anyway, here are some entries that I wrote in Face Book:   

Day 16- I am grateful for the belly laughs playing Phase 10 with Brittany, Corey, Mother, & Melissa until midnight as the turkey was being prepared.
Day 17-What a perfect Batts' Thanksgiving celebration. Mother did an exception job in all the preparations & planning. The meal was totally delicious, devotional time was sweet, & going through mine & John's ornaments was a special time. Added blessing was visiting with the George family. It was joyful to my soul.

--When I got back it was time for our Thanksgiving.  Ben & Jenny with the children went to Picayune. It was quiet here but very festive having Amy & Rio with us for the weekend.
--Thanksgiving was early, so I began taking down all fall & putting up all Christmas.

This past November in Face Book, a childhood friend got me started in writing what I am grateful for everyday.  This was my last entry in November that I wrote:
Day 30-I am grateful for Dec. & what it means in celebrating my Savior's birth-Jesus. Looking forward to sitting back & savoring the moments. Looking forward to special time with the family & building memories. Looking forward to having my Mom for Christmas week. I guess still being new to Little Rock, we won't be having holiday events to put added stress on this month. What I do have are planned events in creating memories with loved one. Have an awesome Christmas season

In Dec. the same childhood friend found Christmas songs each day, which I copied to my timeline.

12.2.12-December: new traditions
Dec.2-During sunday night dinner, we finished our tree.

Dec. 9-Make the Ginger Bread House

Dec. 15-Making cut-out christmas cookies

Dec. 20-27: Mother coming to enjoy christmas & the trimmings; other scenery

Peabody hotel & trolly;

hotsprings with Lavern;

church;

Christmas eve dinner at amy's;

christmas am w/B&J's; lo's red boots

snowed in;

the end

ann :)

The Christmas Letter

Is it your tradition to mail Christmas letters?  Well, we have tried to make it our tradition.  I don't know how I did it, but during these last few years, I have gotten my husband to write the Christmas letter.  He is an excellent writer & very humorous.  I figure since I do all the decorating, baking the Christmas presents & Christmas meals, buy & wrap the presents; he should write the Christmas letter.

For a while he wrote it every year, then he decided to go on the every other year plan.  Not only do we send out a letter, but I include a picture of the family or grand children.

I love receiving every ones Christmas letters & catching up.  My favorite part is seeing all the pictures & seeing how much the children have grown.  

Today was my day to put the Christmas letter all together.  I'm not complaining, but it took me 5 hrs to put the Christmas letter together.  If you receive these letters, I hope you realize what a precious gift you have received.  By the time you write it, by the special Christmas paper to put it on, maybe add a picture, then the stamp; there is a price to this gift.

My favorite Christmas letters that we receive are the ones with pictures & are short.  Sometimes all of our letters come across as if our lives are perfect, including ours.  It is one thing to be positive & another thing being real.  What I don't like are receiving a cards with just a signature on it.  These are so impersonal.  Oh yes, what about those personal business Christmas cards with all the workers signatures.

Oh well, here is our letter (written by my husband with my idea for the letter), & picture.  I'll let you be the judge.  We do hope that you have a blessed Christmas & Happy 2013.    

Dear Family & Friends                                                                                    Dec. 2012

     Most people don't know that the abbreviation for the State of Arkansas is AR so some have thought we have moved to Alaska (AK), Arizona (AZ) or Alabama (AL). Nope: we are in Arkansas, which, as we have learned, is NOT part of the South; they serve more cream of wheat for breakfast than grits-not Southern at all.  Nevertheless, we love being here because we have wonderful time together with Amy and Ben and his family.  Sunday evening is our usual family get-together and Nanna does most of the cooking.

     2012 has once again proven the old adage that "nothing is constant but change".  We lost Ann's father this year and he is greatly missed but we gained another granddaughter, Haven Joy Register; Lauren is a great big sister and Ben and Jenny are wonderful parents.  Ann lost her dog of 14 years and Amy got a puppy named Rio; he was supposed to be a mix of lab and boxer but, as it turns out, he is a lab and Great Dane mix.  Amy takes him for a run every morning and on weekends throws a saddle on him and rides him in the woods.  Ann lost some close personal friends to Heaven and started a Bible study in our Church.  We both have missed our friends and the beautiful mountains of NC but Ann has a new life with the grandchildren (Nanna is special; Grandpa is not nearly so cool) and Dave has a practice he much prefers over his old one.

     Amy loves her job but it is very challenging; she works with troubled teenage boys and does an amazing job.  Ben still has the same "day job" but in the evenings he and Jenny do private counseling, which is a blessing to their patients.  Ann passed her Arkansas Dental Hygiene boards but hasn't found the part time job she is wanting.  Dave is thankful for his full time career but concerned about the future of health care; he is excited to be doing some duck hunting with Ben.

     We wish you all a safe and meaningful Christmas season.

 Dave and Ann Register

ann :)

12.11.12-ps

found out today that stamps cost$.45.  I senat a lot of our christmas letters out with a $.43 stamp.  I wonder how many are going to come back.  Oh well!

The Worst 2 Letter Blank Blank Words

For many women, dealing with their body size is for the birds.  It can be painful physically, mentally & emotionally which for the most part is connected with deep rooted issues.  Well, I have been part of this group of women most of my life.  There has been much healing in my life concerning this area.

What I'm about to write I hope no one will take it the wrong way.  Well, here goes.

I know we woman come in so many different sizes.  Some women are size 0 & 2.  And some women are size 4x or 5x.  I have been so stuck at a certain size for many years, & it has become a bad 2 letter abbreviation to me.  In my book this abbreviation is like a 4 letter curse word-XL; which stands for Extra Large.  I don't know about you, but I have gotten sick & tired of seeing Extra Large (XL) everywhere.

Besides Extra Large CLOTHES, look at the FOOD industry.  The portion sizes that fast foods & other restaurants serve have really grown, including the DRINKS.  How about FURNITURE?  A lot of the styles of comfy chairs are now over size.  Even PAPER TOWELS & TOILET ROLLS are Extra Large.  That might be the most practical, yet.

In my previous blog, "Sometimes, You Just Need A Woman!", I wrote about my shopping spree at Dillards.  I had so much fun that afternoon.  I hate shopping, especially for certain items.

Anyway, I was so proud that I had lost my first 10 lbs & it was time to down size.  I thought I was out of all my Extra Large clothes.  I first went to Walmart & picked the wrong size of work out pants.  I bought Large, but they should have been Medium.  YEAH!!!  Great Start.  I went down a size in my under ware.  HEY!!!  Then I bought a different style pair of pants.  Uh Oh! Size Extra Large.  Shoes-my feet had grown a 1/2 size but I had no root issues with that.  Onto tops.  Back to Extra Large.  Costume jewelry-no size & no problem.

After a lot of hard work, great coaching from my trainer & encouragement from my husband;  my body had changed-PTL.  But, I also learned in talking with these sales ladies that they saw my size differently than what I thought of myself.  What they wore & their bodies shape were precious.  Guess what sizes they were wearing?  You guessed it, EXTRA LARGE, maybe in their tops or different size in shoes or in pants or whatever else they might wore.

Ps. 139:13-14
For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.

God loves me no matter if I'm an extra small, 
         medium, extra large or 4x.  
He just loves me.
ann :)

Sometimes, You Just Need A Woman!

There are three items that I hate to shop for: bras, jeans & swim suits.  Can anyone else identify?

I put off buying a bra way too long, so I took the plunge today & off I went.  First, I stopped at Walmart to find a smaller size in exercise pants.  One of their brands that I love is White Stage.  I have a collection of their tops.  This year pants became available.  I couldn't believe that I bought the wrong size a couple of weeks before.  To make matters worse, I realized as I looked in the mirror at myself that the styles have changed & I was way off base.  I did fine another brand that put me in a more up-to-date category.  Now, onto the bra task.

I normally buy my brand of bra at Belks.  This was a no brainer.  All I had to do was look at the tag on my old bra, & buy the same thing.  My problem was there wasn't a Belks near by, so I went to Dillards.  I have always envied the stories about how some of the expensive stores would custom fit you, by measuring you, etc....  To my surprise, I got the royal treatment.  The sales lady was wonderful.  I learned more about how a bra should be worn than I have my entire life.  After about an hour, and at least twenty bras later, I found the perfect fit.  I felt wonderful.

As I was walking out, I saw a pants look that I wanted.  I proceeded to the next department & another dear sales lady met me with all smiles.  I bought 3 leggs pants, on sale, I might add.  As I was checking out, the sales lady mentioned that now I needed boots to go with the new look.  You guessed it.  I preceded to the shoe department.  You guessed it again, I went looking for a woman.

I didn't have a clue to where to begin in finding a boot.  I haven't bought shoes in a long time.  This sales lady was very up-to-date wearing the pants I just bought.  To make a long story shorter, the shoes she suggested were perfect & half the price compared to the ones I picked out.  Also, they were perfect with both types of pants I just bought.  After I finished buying the boots, she suggested that I needed the rights tops to go with the pants & boots.  My White Stage tops were too short, I must admit.  She left the shoe department & took me to the tops department.

After getting several tops, the last thing I wanted was the very long necklace that the sales lady was wearing.  I had fallen in love with it & of course I NEEDED an up-to-date necklace to go with my up-to-date tops, to go with my up-to-date boots, to go with my up-to-date pants, to go with my up-to-date bras.

As you can see in my case, the saying is very true, "You can more catch flies with honey, than with vinegar."  LOOK HOW MUCH I BOUGHT!  I probably wouldn't have if they reacted differently.

Not only were these women enjoyable, but they were very honest with me.  They would tell me if something didn't fit right or if it wasn't the right color.  They didn't try to sell me any certain brand, or something more expensive.  In fact a lot of my items were on sale.

Proverbs 16:24

Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.

I had so much fun buying these difficult items thanks to these three woman.   The afternoon was sweetness to my soul & healing to these bones.   Sometimes, you just need a woman who can identify with you & all your bulges.
ann :)

Happy Place

Has anyone ever asked you to 
close your eyes & go to your 

  Happy Place?

Well, I have.  I don't know about you, but usually when I'm asked that question I go blank.  It seems all my creativity goes out the window.  I envy those people who can just imagine away just off their top of their heads.

During Memorial Day weekend & the following week, my Mother & I had the privilege to go to St. Augustine Beach for a few days.  We had planned to go to a cheap hotel, but God blessed us with a condo on the beach at the last minute.  It was not just any condo.  This condo was a special place.  A dear friend of theirs had blessed my parents & the extended family with the use of it for many years. We knew the last time our family stayed there was going to be our last trip which was several years ago.  This trip was a spur of the moment thing for my Mother & I, & for this to be available & given to us really blew us away.  It was a sweet gift from the Lord. 

It felt so good to get away after dealing with my Dad's death in Jan, & then 4 months of preparing for the RDH Boards.   We had a great time shopping, eating a lot of fried shrimp with the heavenly sauce on the side, & many walks on the beach.  One of our most favorite things we like to do is have coffee on the porch.  The condo is on the third floor which overlooked the beautiful pool & ocean waves.  It is  a little slice of heaven.   It's great to watch the sunrises & beautiful sunsets.  I must admit, I saw more sunsets than sunrises.

The first few days it drizzled some, which was OK because it kept the weather nice & cool.  One morning it was just perfect.  The sun was shining so bright & the air was crisp.  So, it was time to lay out on the beach & tan our white bodies. 

We have a dear friend who is so full of life & loves to spoil our family.  Francis Hatcher gave Mother & me before we left on our trip, these precious pink & aqua monogrammed hats & bags so we would look like "classy beach bums." Well, I left my "stuff" at the pool because I didn't want to get anything sandy.  Now, the chairs we had were the type where the legs were cut off so you're only a few inches off the ground.  At Mother's suggestion, we were suppose to put the chairs at the edge of the waves, lay back & relax.  Another slice of heaven.

All of a sudden I see my five foot Mother coming down to the beach in her cute matching bathing suit, hat, bag & chair, plus towels, etc...  I don't know how she was managing all that "stuff".  She then put all her "stuff" & her chair way back from the waters edge.  She preceded to sit in the middle of the water.  I then asked her, "Why aren't you putting your chair in the water like you suggested?"  So, she then got up & moved her chair next to mine.

                                   I hope you can picture this scene.  
Here we are reclining in our short chairs.  Mother decides she wanted someone to take a picture of us on the beach.  Now, I wasn't about to have my picture taken.  That is not something I wanted to capture for eternity.  I was reclining in the chair with my arms out of the straps of my bathing suit.  If I got up, my suit would fall off.  Get that picture :-).  Mother still wanted her picture taken.  I took the camera from her so I could do as she had requested.  In the meantime she decided to move her chair backwards.  All of a sudden the chair folds up like an accordion, she falls backwards with all fours stuck up in the air like a "bug" while she is in the chair--laughing & calling out, "I can't get up, I can't get up."

Now me; I certainly can't get up out of my chair with the camera in hand & my bathing suit fixing to come off; so I do the next best thing.  I start clicking away while dieing laughing at the same time.  We did get help & we both got up.  I laughed so hard I was crying.  

Like I said earlier, we did have a good time, but we did miss the loss of my Dad, & Truffle; & missed my brother & his family who usually comes.  It hit me one evening while drinking tea (on the porch of course), talking to Amy that this has been a happy place for me with many sweet memories.

It occurred to me while reading my Bible throughout the Summer that King David had a happy place.  It was in the tabernacle of God.  His great desire was to build God a beautiful temple for Him to dwell, like God needed a permanent place to dwell.  God did grant him his request by allowing his son, Solomon to build the temple, but David had the joy in planning it.  I can identity with David because I love to plan. 

Psalm 27:4

One thing I ask from the Lord,

       this only do I seek:

that I may dwell in the house of the Lord

      all the days of my life,

to gaze on the beauty of the Lord

    and to seek him in his temple. 

                                    ann :)

Nov 9, 1997- May 1, 2012

I won't ever forget 14 Christmas's ago, 1997, Dave surprised me with a precious Yorkshire puppy about as big as my hand.  I was like a gleeful child.  All Yorkies are black when they are born, so the name Ann's Christmas Truffle.  She was like having a chocolate drop in one hand.  Many times through these years Truffles' name became Trouble, Truf, Truf Truf, & Boo to name a few.

We got her when she was 6 wks old.  We also had a German Shepherd about 75 lbs named Titus.  Dave was so fearful that Titus would eat her alive.  Well, Titus became the mother of this dog.  All Truffle wanted to do was stay outside & play with Titus.  Many times you would see Titus curled up in the sunshine with this black spot tumbling all over him.  This is where we believe Truffle thought she was as big as Titus.

As Truffle got braver, & about a pound bigger, she became the leader of the pair.  We lived in the country at the time with a driveway about 2/10mi long.  From time to time that little dog & her cohort in crime, would be found by the road after traveling down that long driveway.  Before Truffle, Titus would never left his post by our back door.

One of Titus's favorite games was chasing after the soccer ball.  Well, Truffle couldn't be left behind.  I hope you can imagine this scenario.  We would throw the soccer ball, Titus chases it, Truffle chases Titus.  As she would get near Titus, this 2-3 lb dog would then start jumping up, while running mind you, to bite onto Titus's tail, which then became a ski for her; all the while Titus' tail would be going back & forth with this bump swinging on the end of it.  It was too funny.  We did get it on video. I now wished we would have sent the video into America's Most Funny Videos Show.  I bet we would have won.

Do to her size, Truffle could get herself into some jams.  Several times I couldn't find her anywhere.  We had just moved from our country home to our city home in Valdosta, leaving behind Titus.  She had never been a yapper but she would have this annoying soft bark.  She would make her noise, then you would wait for about 45 sec or more before another tiny whinny bark would come.  It was like a dripping faucet.  As soon as you would change your thought process or ignore her, here would come another whimper.  Anyway, she got away & ended up in our neighbors garage all night.  I sure felt odd having to walk over to our new neighbors before daylight to ask them if I could look in their garage for my 4 lb Yorkie.  Sure enough, there she was.  Another time she got caught in the pantry for a while.

First, Truffle was a country dog, then a city dog, then a mountain dog.  She even loved the beach.  My side of the family loved going to St Augustine Beach for many years with my parents.  My Daddy loved  taking Truffle  on her walks.  There was a long bridge from our condominium to the beach.  Underneath the bridge was plenty of plant life that housed snakes, turtles, & rabbits.  Truffle would shake with excitement starring through the railings just to look at those rabbits.  Well, Truffle had a memory & she would remember every year about those rabbits.

One beach trip Daddy was taking Truffle for a walk in the parking lot where all the ponds & ducks were. Daddy was so proud of himself that he was teaching Truffle to walk beside him WITHOUT a leash.  I told Daddy I always wanted Truffle on a leash, plus the complex wanted all dogs on a leash.  Well, Daddy didn't think Truffle would get away.  You guessed it.  Where did she run?  To the rabbits.  Yes, she was under the bridge with the snakes chasing the rabbits.  My Daddy immediately ran up to our condo to get my niece to help him get Truffle.  Obviously, he didn't come & get me, because he knew he was in trouble with me  When they all came back, He looked at Truffle who was happy & panting her heart out, saying "Bad dog, Bad dog!"  I immediately looked at my Daddy & said, "No, Bad Daddy, Bad Daddy!"  They were a pair.

Truffle's most famous mountain story was when she chased after a mother bear & her two very tiny cubs, & lived to tell about.  Very briefly,  Dave & I had gone our separate ways that evening.  It was early Spring & the bears were just moving about in Highlands.  They had gone to our door while we were out.  Dave got home first, thank heavens!  He let Truffle out to go do her thing, & off she went to chase those bears.  Dave went after her in the woods.  She yelped in pain & Dave knew she was dead.  As Dave was looking for her dead body, he came across some huge bushes that he had to make a choice to decide which way to go.  After his decision, he made his way through the thick woods.  All of a sudden he felt some leaves & bark falling on his head.  He looked up & there were the tinest bear cubs he ever saw.  They must have been right out of the den.  About that time he heard the mother bear huff.  His next thought was, "I'm dead".  He got out of there so fast & walked around the block.  When he got home, there was Truf at the door, bleeding.  That mother bear just picked Truffle up in her mouth & slung her.  You could see the mouth bites of the bear on Truffle's back & stomach.  Amazing how well Truffle healed up.  What is so crazy about this story is that Truffle would go after them again.  She never learned her lesson.

SOME OF TRUFFLE'S WAYS:
1. Truffle was a person in a dog suit.
2. She was definitely a lap dog.  When Dave got home after a long day of working, he was ready to be by himself & veg.  Well, Truffle prefered to show how much she luved Dave by laying in his lap.  Dave just luved that.  Wrong!
3. I loved seeing that tiny head pop up in the window of my car as she would be watching for me.
4. A.  Truffle loved my parents.  After a 6 hour drive, she knew when we were near their house.  Truffle would start her whinning as soon as we would hit their neighborhood.  When we arrived, I'd open the house door, & she would run throughout their house to say hello.
    B.  She loved sitting on the back of their couch looking for squirrels.
    C.  My Daddy put a basket on the front of his bike for Truffle to ride in.  As soon as we would arrive, Truffle was ready for her bike ride.
    D.  All I had to say to her was, "Do you want to go see Grandpapa & Grandmama?" & she would go crazy.
5.  Truffle never met a stranger unless, if it was another dog.  She loved people & everyone loved her.
Everyone thought she was a puppy, up until she passed away.
6.  Boy, could Truffle walk & hike.  She walked about 3 mi, even up to the end of her life.  When living in Highlands, she would hike Whiteside Mt about 2x a week during the Spring, Summer & Fall.  Since we had moved to Maumelle, Truffle knew when Dave walked in the door from work that it was time to go for our walk.
7.  She was my constant friend for 14 1/4 yrs.  She slept with me, went on my errands with me, traveled
with me & naturally was there at home for me.  She was a sweetheart.

Thank you Dave for giving me 

this sweet friend.

Good-Bye sweet Friend

         ann :)

 
 

Where Is My Focus?

Beginning the first of last June, it has been very busy to say the least.  Here is a little of what we have been through this part of this year: preparing for a move, buying a house, moving (& all the emotion that goes with it), setting up into a new home, enjoying all our children (who lives close by), holidays, death of my Daddy, making several long trips & preparing for my Dental Hygiene Boards for AR.

Two sisters in the Bible that I can identify with are Martha & Mary.  Martha is the busy one, looking to the needs of everyone.  We always find Mary at Jesus' feet drawing from Him.  Well, I have to admit that with all this going on I feel I have been a mixture of these two women.

Since my Daddy's death in January, these last 3 months I have thrown myself into a full-time commitment & totally focused on preparing for THE BOARD.  Trying to find a patient that meets the perfect criteria to take to the Board Exam can blow your mind.  I am very grateful that in preparing for this exam, I have had the opportunity to have the Dental Hygiene School at UAMS to guide me.  I didn't have this advantage when I took the NC Board 2 1/2 yrs ago.

At the beginning of this Board season of my life, again!; I felt that God gave me Ex. 31:1-5.  (see Marinate vs. Faith blog)  Not only have I been claiming these verses, but I have also been bombarding the Throne of Grace with Ps 61:2 & 8; Zech 4:6-7 especially on my clinic days.

Ps 1:2-From the end of the earth I will cry to You,

       When my heart is overwhelmed (I am overwhelmed by this situation);
       Lead me to the rock (Jesus, who) that is higher than I.
    :8-So I will sing praise to Your name forever,
        That I may daily perform my vows (service).

Zech 4:6-So he answered and said to me:
             “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel (me-Ann):
             ‘Not by (your) might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’
             Says the Lord of hosts.
           7-‘Who are you, O great mountain (Board Exam)?
              Before Zerubbabel (Ann) you (it) shall become a plain!
              And he shall bring forth the capstone
              With shouts of “Grace, grace to (over) it!”’”

[PS Statement-These verses were taught at my Women's Retreat this Spring.  If you don't go to Women's Retreat.....GO...!!!]

Now, I have not had a good day in clinic since this journey has begun.  On top of all this, every patient I have examined for this exam, have not totally met the criteria.  Even the Dentist in clinic said, "I could write a book of this subject."  I am grateful that I do have a patient to take to the exam, but I will probably take a hit going into the exam.  In other words, points are already taken off before I even begin the exam.  I almost have to take the exam & be perfect.

The exam is Saturday (Apr. 28th).  This past weekend I had time to regroup.  During these last couple of weeks I have really had a chance to be in God's Word.  Interesting enough Mt 6:25-34 has been coming at me from all sides, even on a beautiful mug that some dear friends gave me months ago.  

In this passage, Jesus mention 3x DO NOT WORRY about...   Well, it finally occurred to me I better take heed.  What really spoke to me was in verse

³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.  

What is the kingdom of God you ask?  

Romans 14:17
for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Ouch!!!

Since I have been working on the food issue lately, that didn't help.  But, where God wants me to put my focus is own His righteousness, peace & joy in the Holy Spirit during any situation.

It is time for peace & joy.  He wants me to go into this exam with peace & joy; not after the Board & no matter if I pass or not. 

One thing I have learned through this preparation is becoming aware of where am I getting my significance, my identity.  Knowing Who is my identity & Where my significance comes from gives me peace & joy.

                                   ann :)