2014

Welcome to the year of our Lord 2014.
When I was a child, thinking about this far into the future had me believing we would all be living like the Jetsons.

We would be so far advanced in technology, that we'd all be flying around in jet propelled space cars, have personal robots to do our bidding, we'd all live in the sky with everything we use daily being automated, and we'd be able to communicate with others via video.Well....

Some of that seems to have come to pass. No Jet cars, but there is a lot of automated "stuff" these days. Robots clean the floors...

And Skype and Face Time are popular ways of visiting those who are far away.

It really is amazing, you know? But still, as a child, I would have thought we'd be exploring the galaxy by now.

We'd all just make reservations to take a little trip into space, just for the fun of it. Sort of like going to the beach on vacation. Not yet, even though we do actually have folks living on a space station that orbits the earth. Who would have thunk it?

In any case, I have a few goals I want to reach in 2014 and I hope and pray I am able to follow through. Not resolutions, as they never work for me.  If I resolve to DO something and don't, I've failed. "Goals" seem more likely to achieve and less stressful. If I don't reach the goal, at least I've tried and have made progress. I'm going to think on them a bit more and maybe put them down here to mark off as the year goes by. Or not.

HAPPY NEW YEAR my friends!! God bless you and your families in the coming year.

Family Christmas 2013

What joy there is in family gatherings!! We eat too much, spend too much, but there is never too much love!

Our family is blessed beyond measure and so thankful to our Heavenly Father for all his mercy and love! Our children and grandchildren give us more happiness than words could ever express.

Photos are hard to get these days with Klaire twisting out of our laps, and LMW being too busy playing to stop and smile for the camera, but we persevered and got a few nice ones I think.

Great grandparents were excited to get a little sugar from both of the kids.

And three generations of Winston men.

One with LeLe too.

Camera hiccuped on this one, but I edited as best I could.

These photos are precious because Pappaw has Alzheimer's. He may not even remember who the kids are by next Christmas, but we pray and rely on God.

I pray God's blessing on you and your families on Christmas and for the coming year.

Merry Christmas!!

Best Mother's Day Ever

I am so very blessed. I had the best Mother's Day I can ever remember.

First SR and I went to church with his Mom and Dad and we got to see some old friends and family. We left there, went home took a nice little nap, and then my kiddos all came to see me.

We had a wonderful time together and I was so happy to have everyone together. That's when I'm happiest!!
So, without further ado, here are pics from our gathering.

 First, my two beautiful grandbabies. 

 My lovely daughter holding her niece.

 LMW with blue cupcake icing on his mouth and Klaire wondering what is going on!

 Such a big girl!

 I can't get enough loving.

LeLe, MK, and LMW

K, J, and Klaire

All my children. I'm so thankful for them!!

My Weekend

Last weekend was one of unusual pleasantness. Mr. BLines and I met with some Christian friends who are becoming very dear to me, if they weren't already. The six of us eat, fellowship, and share our memories of the past, as well as share our lives now. The men reminisce about playing football together in school, and we women talk about all the things we women are interested in, as well as our churches and faith issues. We get together every couple or three months and it's always interesting, warm and fun.

Then, he and I took a day trip to an area close to Hot Springs. We hunted for crystals in the Ouachita National Forest. Talk about a workout! Walking up those steep inclines, climbing down into the gulleys, carrying rocks in your pocket can sure work your muscles. We didn't come across any earth shattering finds, but we did enjoy it, and came home with some small little gems.

These were the smallest ones, and the most beautiful of what we found.  The only issue was that a lot of them have absorbed the red color of the gravel used on the roads. I scrubbed and bleached them, and it helped a great deal.

These were a bit larger and still very pretty. Most of the larger ones we found, were just thin layers on top of rock. And tthose, I used to enlarge my flower bed.

The poor thing needs some serious TLC, but it won't be long before the flowers will be blooming, the mulch will be fresh, and new plants will be planted. I can't wait!

God was good to us this weekend. We very much enjoyed His blessings and His handiwork.