Bleeding Hearts are not just for liberals, they stand for friends too!

When spring time comes, I look forward to seeing all the new flowers that the spring showers bring.  The best flowers that bloom at my home are the bleeding hearts.....  Why you ask?   Well, because they were given to my by a really awesome friend of mine.

When her and her family uprooted their family many years ago, she dug up her bleeding hearts and gave me some to plant in my yard to remind me of her.  As if I could or would ever forget that wonderful friend of mine.

As I look around at the flowers, and trees in my yard, many of them have a history of friendship, most if not all were given to me by friends, or bought with friends.... I am not a gardener, so everything that is planted in my yard is there because of a special person or friend.  And when they return in the spring, it just reminds me of the love and friendship God has blessed me with.

That is one of the best things about life... the friends that God sends into our lives to share our journey with us.... sharing in our joys and sorrows, laughter and tears.

I thank God every day for all the special friends and family in my life, I am so very blessed!  

Every day is wonderful to experience when you have the support of great people to make life easier and joyful. To laugh with, and cry with, and do fun things with.

Spring flowers just remind my of God's provisions for us in our lives... like the daffodils that come back every year, bright and beautiful, pushing their delicate little faces up out of the lifeless ground to declare that summer will soon be on its way, so full of bright color and promise.

Friends are like a bouquet of flowers, all different kinds, all beautiful in their own way..... some bright and bold, some light and delicate...... some strong and sturdy, and some with thorns.  Some smell absolutely beautiful, and some really are stinkers at times.... Each flower in your bouquet is there for a different purpose, some to brighten, some to support, some to add a dash of wow and some to quietly just add that something special.... each fills their own purposes in making the bouquet complete, and making your life a better place.   

 As time goes by, we add to that arrangement, my adding new flowers when needed, and removing those that have out lived the purpose that they were there for.  

 It is ok to rearrange your friendship bouquet from time to time, some times we might even preserve that one special flower in hopes if keeping a memory alive.....

I hope each of you can say that your bouquet of friends is full and beautiful and makes your life richer and better because of it.  Everyone deserves to have a full and beautiful bouquet of friends to fill your life with beauty and a heavenly aroma of friendship....

Keep God as your Gardener, and designer of your garden, and his blessings will continue to bloom, and they will keep flourishing....

Time to recharge your batteries???

Wow, this month has been a whirlwind of activity at our house....

Went from a 4 person family to a 3 person family structure.... and got to spend some wonderful time with a lot of family that came for the wedding...

Got to visit Amish country with my Mom and Grandparents....

We have been going strong for so many months that we decided to take a little break and recharge our batteries.... 

Nothing says recharge your batteries, than spending time with special people....

When you are down, or tired of spirit, the best way to make your life better, is to spend time with the Lord, and with friends that point you back to the Lord...

When ever I am weary, there are certain people that I love to turn to, to help me refocus and turn my path back to where God wants me....

I find such encouragement from Godly Friends.... I am so blessed to have some pretty amazing people in my life that I can turn to, to help me to see God working in my life.

Friends are the evidence of Gods blessings in our lives....  

There are some people that just make you want to be a better person, make you want to stand up straighter, or be more focused, or to eagerly want to do better things with your life....

Friends should always make you feel better about your self....

God Has blessed me so much with so many wonderful people in my life, young, old, and in between.... 

This life that God has granted me has been one great adventure,  from the wonderful times growing up in the most beautiful place on earth, to traveling around the rest of the united states, trying to find a place just as beautiful, God has handed me one adventure after another, and he has also sent people to share the journey..... Wonderful, Awesome, Beautiful People to share the adventure with me..... and they continually help me to be a better person, and make my life a better place.

Life can get  very hard some times, it can get discouraging, lonely, sad, and troublesome at times..... 

That is when you go straight to the Bible to search out your best friend.... The maker of Heaven and Earth, the Lover of your soul..... He knows exactly what you are going through, and it is not a surprise to him...... He knows you and what is coming up in your future, and your past, and how it will all turn out.... and He is patiently waiting to help you draw closer to him,...... He wants to help, to encourage, to lift, to support, to love you and show you a peace that it absolutely amazing....

When you are weary, go to the Maker of the Heavens and the Earth.... 

If he can create the whole world, he can bring you a little encouragement..... 

He has all the answers.... and he is waiting to share his love, mercy, grace, and friendship with you.... all you have to do is take the time to be quiet and listen to the sweet small voice..... Draw near and find the peace and Love that you are needing....and seeking..... 

He is waiting to give you more than you can imagine, beginning with Love.......

Things to do this Summer

What are your plans for this summer?

Before you know it, it will be gone, so make plans now and try to squeeze in as much fun as possible.

Here is a list of some of the things I want to do this Summer.....

1)  Visit Presque Isle with some wonderful friends.

2)  watch the fireflies

3)  Read some good books out under the trees with some seet tea

4)  spend time with friends

5)  Watch the stars on a warm summer night

6) Spend some time at Buttermilk Falls

7)  Sit on the front porch and watch the birds

8)  Get rid of all our Homeschool books that are overtaking the basement

9)  Down size all our belongings, and have several Yard sales.

10)  Spend time with my church family

11)  Bonfires and fellowship

12)  Spend time with very special people

13)  Do some sewing in the hopefully New sewing room.

14)  Go to the drive in

15)  go for a walk in the park

16)  Get my Blog working correctly..... 

17)  start packing for moving

18)  get a plan of date for our relocation to the west coast.

19)  Grill some awesome dinners on the Bar-B-Q

20)  find a way to make the summer longer, and completely full of friends......

I know there is much more to do this Summer but this is what is on my heart right now....  with the house so much quieter, I am hoping to fill it with activity...

Bring on the summer.....

Seasons of life.

We go through many different seasons in our wonderful and beautiful lifetime.... 

When we are young it seams that we are in the spring time of our life, with new beginings Blooming all around us, and fresh things happening in our life, like a new life event or a new beginning...

Those are exciting times in our lives, living in daily expectancy of life happening all around you, and embracing all the new adventures that God places in our lives... watching those babies learn to walk and talk, and skip and ride a bike... so many new beginnings to experience and joy...

Spring time of our life goes on with lots of wonderful firsts, and eager times of discovery of our selves and what God wants for us in our future, we lean on him for guidance and for direction....

God's direction and blessings lead us into the summer time of our lives... all those years of Happiness and growth for you, your family, and friends.... every one loves the summer time, always a wonderful time of Happiness, joy, blooming where God has planted you.  Watching those you love grow, and embrace our Heavenly Father, and his continued blessings in our lives and in those around us.

These years, like summer, passes us by before we know it....  Just like the summer does each year, there never seems to be enough time to do all we want during the summer..... we are always left wanting just a little bit more time.... And looking back with warm memories of the times spent with the ones we love the most... And wishing for just one more sunset together on the beach.....

It's just like raising your children.... you always think there will be more time to spend laying in the sunshine with them, enjoying the love and closeness of shared memories, but they are entering into their spring time of their lives..... they are starting a different season in their lives, and our late summer is a new spring bloom to them, and the seasons start to separate us by time, distance, and circumstances.....

Summertime like we knew it turns into fall, things change drastically, yet it is still a beautiful time and season, rich with the blessings from God still evident all around us..... it really doesn't look like the beautiful spring time of our youth or even like all those years of summer time... but it is still new and beautiful if you take the time to stop and see the beauty of this season of our lives... Fall brings big changes, and lots of possibilities..... 

I'm somewhere between summertime and fall in my life right now.... still wanting to hold onto summer, but seeing the leaves starting to change and the wind is changing, and turning my life upside down down and topsy turvy....  I love the beauty of fall, but summer time is still calling me..... to come run in the wild flowers, to stop and see the lightning bugs, and curl up under a tree to read a good book.... to sip sweet tea, and soak up the warmth of summer and the joy of life...

I hear you God.... I know the seasons are changing.... but I'm not ready to leave the warmth and happiness of summer... give me a little more time please.... I still have so much and so many, I want to embrace.... And there is still so much I want to do and share..... soon, but not just yet....

If you need me, I'll be looking for wild flowers and lightning bugs.....

But stay near Lord.... I really need your presence right now...... 

I will always need you Lord, in springtime and summer, and fall... for life without you just isn't life worth living...

There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heaven.......

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

A new room at the Thornton home...

The room that has housed my little girl since she was two years old is now almost empty...all her belongings are at het new home....

The furniture is almost all gone, only an IKEA shelf  and a cherry dresser remains....we refinished the dresser the day before she was born 22years ago... now it holds some odds and ends of Savannah's... she she has claimed it, and wouldn't let her sister take it away...

All the ugly orange carpets are being ripped out, and beautiful hard wood floors are peeking out from under the carpet padding... saying hello world....

What once was a nursery is now being transformed into a guest room for all our favorite out of town friends, and it will also be dedicated sewing room.... Now Savannah will have all the space she needs to do all her sewing projects.... she can leave her projects out, and not have to worry about cleaning it all up to use the kitchen table at dinner time and spoiling all her creativity....

I can't wait to see all her clothing alterations that she wants to do, she has a way of taking old clothing, cutting it apart and mixing different things together to make upcycled clothing.... she has a way with fabrics, and creative ideas..  I am also looking forward to sewing some things that have been in the back of my mind for a long time.... yes, I do sew on occasion...

Next step is to pull up the tax strips, and give the floor a good scrubbing with Murphy's oil soap....then to move the futon bed and desk into there.... And also the sewing supplies and machines.... I think there are 4 or 5 if I remember right....

Yep... it will be nice to hear the roaring of the sewing machines going.... a sound that brings lots of good and comforting memories in our house.... Daniels mom used to sew all the time when he was growing up.... And at my mom's house, it is a constant background sound at the farm.... so many sewing machines, and so little time....  there is just something soothing about the whirring of a sewing machine...

It will be different to not see all Stephanies stuff in that room, but I think a lot of new happy times times and experiences will happen in the new room.... beautiful new creations will come to be, and hopefully many special people will come stay and make new and wonderful memories with us.....

One chapter of our life is ending, and a new one is just beginning..... but that is definitely a good thing.... Life keeps going on, each day we hopefully walk closer with God, and keep in his will...each day we continue to look to him for our many blessings, whether it is a new purpose for a room, or a new lease on life.... keep in his will and your path will be a happy place to be...

Stay tuned for the new adventures at the Thornton homestead....

Living in post wedding chaos...

The wedding is over and the chaos continues....

Everything from the wedding day was boxed up and dumped at the newlyweds home after the wedding...

Today was the day to try to make sense out of it all...

Boxing up stuff to return to the gracious people that loaned things to us.... boxed up all the decorations... finding homes for all the miscellaneous things that accumulated during the wedding hoopla...

It is hard to believe all the things that collected to create the feel of this wedding....

Thankfully my mom and Savannah helped me wade through all the stuff...

It will be so nice to put our home back together after this amazing event.

Still have moving to do of Stephanies stuff, to her new home, rain kept us from doing that today....

All the preparations for the wedding day, and poof it is over in a flash.....

It was a wonderful day, one to look back on with fond memories....

It was so nice to have so many friends share the day with us.... we couldn't have asked for a better day....

Halfway to getting through the after wedding chaos, hopefully I will find my kitchen table tomorrow....

The newlyweds return tomorrow, it will be wonderful to have them back with us... nicely brown I'm sure... And super happy to start their life together...

Wow what a whirl wind....

A blessed day and time in our life....

Thanks God for all of our blessings...

Praying for your children's future spouse....

Since the time my daughters were just little babies, I have been diligent to pray for the future spouses of my two daughters.

It has been something I have done for over twenty years now.... I remember holding and rocking my little bundles of joy, and looking at them with love and devotion, and wondering about their futures.

God put a constant desire in my heart to pray for the men that would some day enter into my daughters lives, and decide to share forever with them.  I also prayed for the parents of those young men, prayed that they were raising them in a Godly fashion, and teaching them to be men of God.

It is so awesome to know that half of my prayers have been answered, with the marriage of my oldest daughter, I could not have asked for a better match for her or found a better family for her to join, God blessed me and the new couple so very much, it is so wonderful to see answered prayers.

I continue to pray for the other young man and his family, who ever he might be.... only God knows at this time, but it just keeps me praying for him and his family.  I pray that they are encouraging him to be an awesome man of God, for nothing less Will do for my girl since her desires are set in stone, and her standards are high.  He must love the Lord with all his heart, and soul, God comes first and foremost in her life.  

It is kind of exciting to see God answer your prayers, the ones you diligently pray for, worry over, cry over.... to see the work God has done in the lives of people you know and love..

I hope everyone takes the opportunity to do the same and seriously pray for the spouse of your children or grand children.  It is never to early to start or too late.  

When you finally realize who that person is, it brings such joy to your heart.... 

for years I had the desire to pray for Danny specifically.... not knowing that some day he would make my daughter his wife.... And at those times when God brought him to mind, it was Times when he truly needed prayer, things in his life were not going as they should, and I remember praying for him and his safety.... talking to him years later, it was some very difficult times in his life and prayer got him through.

Prayer is the direct path to the presence of God, it draws you closer and brings an intimacy that is like nothing else.  Prayer for your children's spouses, is the best way to insure that their future will be on the right path..... of course  some times they don't take the path you have prayed for, but God will still be in control of that situation too.... Prayer never is waisted....

One day I will know who I am praying for so very dearly.... some day I will look into his smiling face and know that I had something to do with his being protected and covered in prayer his entire life... I'll be able to thank his family for helping him to grow in Godly wisdom, his entire life....thank them for helping him to become the love of my daughters life..  that day will be an answer to many years of prayer..... And I will still keep praying, because that's what mommies do......

Praise the Lord

Well.....the wedding is over, and the house is quiet again..... friends and family are mostly gone now.....

The one pressing thing to do now, is to Praise the Lord for giving me such a wonderful support system, and and for such amazing friends...

I can never express how very grateful I am for all the special people in my life, that helped in so many ways to make this celebration of love and life such an amazing day....

I give all the glory to God... being in the center of his plan is the very best place to rest, and remain, and to live eternally. 

This wedding was a testament to the provisions of God, and the answer to so many years of prayer.

Watching the happiness of the newlyweds, that kept the sanctity of marriage a holy and pure commitment, was so rewarding and so full of Happiness.  

In a world that puts no value in purity anymore, it is refreshing to see God smile down on a young couple who chose to be faithful to their beliefs.

Thank you Lord for such a beautiful example of your perfect will and your heavenly blessings.