Hydrangeas

Love begins at home,

and its not how much we do......

but how much love

we put in that action.

                                       ~Mother Teresa

Yesterday while Lil G Was napping

I pulled out my new camera

and went looking for God.

I know that I can see Him at work all around me

It only takes a moment or two

a pause in the movement,

noise, to do lists.

Just time to be still......

open my eyes

and look for things that

 unless you make a point of "seeing"

you might miss it.

 I was once again reminded a few weeks ago

that need to take pause,

you just dont know from one day to the next

I am human,

I get used to one Sesame Street blending into another,

(two every morning)

one Olivia,

Bowl of dry cereal and 2 cups of juice

(half water and half juice )

Dressed for the day-

every other day is bath day.

Music till lunch.

Play games and read until nap.

Naps from 2-5pm.

Up asking for snack:

Specifically,"Orange bowl.Crackers. Juice." she signs

while watching a video or two

mommy is starting supper.

Eat supper at 7 when papa gets home.

play.

Ice cream at 8:30

Dressed, teeth brushed, potty ,story time.

prayers.

Bed at 9:00......

each weekday is the same.

Literally, we laugh when she strolls in at 8:30

knowing she is going to sign "Ice Cream. Bowl."

Until the seizures started.

It was like the whole daily grind 

 put in a box

shaken not stirred.....

I have been working hard on finding "normal"

holding tight

 to the people,

  and rituals in my life that steady me

the rhythms of prayer and quiet when I can.

Slowly but surely.

Its good.

After the rain

Rain is grace; 

rain is the sky condescending to the earth;

without rain, there would be no life. 

               -John Updike 

its rained here for 3 days.

lots of rain.

and flooding.

It was nice to get outside

(even tho it was like a sauna).

these two pictures prove it.

this is what happens when your camera lens fogs up.

I really love the happy accident.

Every dewdrop and raindrop

had a whole heaven within it.

                      -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I am crazy for hydrangeas.

I was so excited to get out and see what colors they were.

look at the incredible purple spots.

This red/ pink was a clearance hydrangea.

I cant wait to nurture it 

and see the show it puts on in the years to come.

Eventually I will have plants everywhere.

On a limited budget,

plus having a brown thumb.

It takes time......

My wisteria even decided

 to sprout a few surprise blooms

I woke in the night and remembered this photo.

This is going on my list of faves.

this is just beautiful,

I love what the sunbeam was doing here.....

I didnt edit/crop any of these......

they were taken on my point n shoot.

Cant wait to take classes with my new camera.

(I didnt want to get it out in the damp drizzle)

I know these photos after the rain 

might not seem "beautiful or glorious"

to the rest of us.....

But for a young man

 thats worked for what seems like forever to him

it is......

and to the mommy-person that has shared her car.

It is.....

so happy he has his first set of wheels.

(I'm not sure if he liked the fact that I called it cute?!)

Yarn along and a book review - or two!

 I am hoping that pretty soon I will have my mojo back.

Like, back for reals.

I havent been able to get with the program 

since the wedding,

and family emergency trip, 

and sons graduation....

I have so many things on my list of 

"to do's"

but Im barely hanging on by a thread.

Getting some reading,

and knittng,

housework and cooking,

and playing.....

lots of playing

done around here.

But thats about it.

blogging has fallen way down on my list of importance.

I usually link up with Ginny on Wednesdays

for Yarn Along, and sharing what I've been knitting and reading.

Much to my amazement its Thursday already!!!

That means tomorrow is Friday....

I was linking up for "whats in my studio" on Fridays.

I will have to see if I have anything to share.

I do have wedding tidbits Ive been wanting to share with yall

plus Ive gotten some really nice photos taken with the new camera.

So stay tuned. I might actually post two days in a row......

Ive cast on for the Pamela's blanket.

The pattern is on Ravelry and was created by our Room mate while we stayed in Ecuador.

Kinda ironic that I know of two babies being born between now and Christmas

and I pulled this out from while we were in Ecuador.

Two years ago today we were on a plane headed to Ecuador from Atlanta.

Two years ago tomorrow we met our Little G for the first time.

I know.......

doesnt seem possible does it???

Lets move on before I get all mushy.......

Id also  like to share photos of the Shawl I cast off last week.

I named it my "Stained Glass Shawl"

The pattern is free on Ravelry and called Berger de perse

I was able to block it out on Friday and share it at knitting group on Saturday.

Im pleased with it- its a miracle that its finally done.

With the wedding I can only giggle that I started it in January.

Isnt my oldest daughter a beautiful shawl model......

Part of linking up with Ginny is telling about the books we are reading.

I like to save this time for the book reviews I need to do.

I read "The Fiddler" by Beverly Lewis this past weekend. 

I had it read in three days.(it woulve been less if I hadnt had other things on my plate too!)

I was so excited to get chosen by Bethany Publishers to review this book.

I had seen that Beverly Lewis had a new book soon to be released but knew the chances of reviewing it were slim to none. Ive read many of her books and love her easy style of writing.

This book did not disappoint me.If I was to nitpick it to death I would say that I didnt like how everything was "neatly tied with a bow" at the end. I felt disappointed after reading the story that many of the bigger points of interest were worked out in the authors mind and we were given an overview at the end.

I did however  enjoy that the author took two young adults of totally different cultures

 and pointed out similarities.

Since I have children in this phase of life I am already trying to remember what it felt like to be wrestling with faith I was raised with, and how it was going to be part of my life. How was I going to do this respectfully?How is the advice of other adults in my life going to affect the choices I am making? Will I choose college or careers that I feel led to pursue or let others opinions sway me?  I enjoyed seeing how the characters worked through these thoughts and feelings while I am in the midst of watching my own young adults do the same thing. Of course there was romance thrown in there for good measure but I wont give away any of the plot so you can read it for yourself! I will give this 4 out of 5 stars on my rating scale. 

The other book I read recently was "Chasing the Sun" by Tracie Peterson. I have read several of Tracie Peterson's books in the past few years. I was glad to be given the chance to read this book as well. I enjoyed that this story was written from the standpoint of a son having to "choose sides" in the Civil War- I have not read many stories written from the view of a Texan during that time period and found it very interesting.. I enjoyed the Characters and the plot- who can resist the thoughts of a young woman being transplanted to a different state, left to fend for herself and her two younger siblings? I thought the author did a good job of having protagonists and conflict that was woven through the story. I was surprised by the ending though since I knew that this was part of a series, I thought that she would have left some loose ends to carry over leaving us in anticipation waiting for the next book in the series to be published.  If you like a good Historical novel you might enjoy this one. I am giving "Chasing the Sun" 4 out of 5 stars.

Id like to close by thanking Bethany House publishers for the opportunity to review these two books.The thoughts and opinions written here are completely my own. I was not given any compensation for writing these reviews,only sent a copy for review purposes.