Baby It's Cold Outside!

Do you believe this weather?!! Polar Vortex and all. It's been bitterly cold in the south, and we southerners are just not used to it. We have from time to time gone out for a short while. Little boys must have a little fresh air and exercise you know... even in the snow.

But for little girls, we just have to stay inside and enjoy being loved on, now don't we?

We are patiently...ahem...waiting for the Spring weather so we can all get outside and play.

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!!

Sharing a Story of Survival

I was approached by a beautiful young woman, asking if I would be so kind as to share her story of cancer survival. After watching her video, and learning her story, I am very glad to do so. Her name is Heather, and she is a survivor of Mesothelioma.

I've seen the commercials about it, and somehow got the idea that it is always fatal. Heather proved that wrong! Please take a moment to view her video. It's not long, but it is informative and inspirational.
The link is here. I thank you and I'm sure Heather does too.

God bless.
B

Got Milk?

This time of year, every time the weather man mentions the word snow (or ice) the whole state begins to panic and make a bread and milk run to Walmart. When I lived in the north, people barely noticed the snow. Here, they freak out at the mention of it. It's so hilarious.

My husband was getting things together last night, in case it really did happen, and LMW grabbed one of the flashlights to play with. He insisted on getting inside my closet and closing the door.

Before I knew what was happening, all my shoes were scattered and the shelves taken apart and re-positioned.

I sat on the floor, with the doors closed and watched as he continued to move things around to suit him. He repeatedly mentioned, "Getting comfterbul", but I don't see how he could be in this mess. The child is definitely entertaining!

As for the snow and ice apocalypse....well, it seems to have arrived north of me. I'm still ok for the time being.  As a facebook friend mentioned, in my mind's eye, I can see people sitting around their fireplace with a glass of milk and a slice of bread, totally content. Got milk?

Thanksgiving 2013

I know...I've been MIA for some time now. Can't help it. Life is busy and full, and no time to actually blog about it. I do have a few pictures of our family Thanksgiving gathering. We had it early to accommodate in-laws and out-laws.

Me, LeLe, my mother-in-law, K and Little Miss Klaire.

The whole gang.
I'm bummed that my camera malfunctioned on several of our takes. I hope to have a new one by Christmas. Gotta get those family times on record you know!!

Have a great thanksgiving everyone! Praise be to God! The giver of all good gifts!!

Last of the Season

Tonight and tomorrow night a freeze is expected. So, this is the last hurrah for my little blooming flowers. I thought I'd take a shot of them before they fall prey to the biting temperatures.
I cut the last two bloomers of my hydrangea bush and added two that are just a tad older but still beautiful. It's so sad to see them dry up and become brown blobs.

Here are my pretty petunias and some mums. The mums may survive, but I doubt the others do. You can see all the dead leaves that have been blowing up.

And finally, my geraniums and ivy.

 Geraniums always remind me of when I was a child. When I was about 10 years old, my father was stationed at Camp Pendleton in California. We lived in base housing and there were geraniums everywhere. Every time I see and smell them, it takes me back to that time. I can't say it was a great memory, as that particular phase in our lives did not inspire fond memories for the most part, but it does remind me of that time and my mother's love for flowers. I often wish I had her green thumb!

Being on my front porch, these may hold out a little longer, but I didn't want to take any chances and miss an opportunity to capture them.