Seasons

I have lived long enough to know that any season, whether good or not so good, will pass. Seasons come and go in our lives; one melts into another and unless it is an extreme jolt that throws us into a new era of our lives, it takes a while to realize we have entered a new season.

Looking at these photos of different seasons in nature, I realize it is pretty much the same in the natural order. The above photo was taken on a cool day in autumn, but look at that sky. It could easily be a warm, sunny summer day.

As autumn moves towards winter, there is no mistaking the season - the colors are awesome, the temps drop and we bring out the sweaters. And oh, football begins!

All too soon winter arrives but even then there are promises of springtime coming. These berries though encased in ice hang on for warmer days.

And then one morning we look out the door and spy springtime's early bloomers. The weather, although still chilly and windy, is now sunny and warm enough to enjoy. Ahhh..... a new season begins.

Spring soon melts into the golden days of summer bringing lazy days of sun, late night dinners, pool parties and sleepovers.

Through the seasons and changes in our lives, one thing never changes: God's love for us. How amazing He is! Have you ever stopped to think that a God of such beautiful changes and variety never changes Himself. I love that about Him!! Now, if I can just remember this as I find myself wandering through the seasons in my life. The good, the bad, and the ugly. :-)


Livin' in the season...

The Family Cookbook

Mama Sosebee's blackberry cobbler; mom's chicken and dressing, Grandma's fried pies, Dad's cracker salad, the chicken and rice, the cookies, the chocolate cake and OH - the coconut cake! If your family is like ours, it doesn't take long when we are together to start reminiscing about the food we have enjoyed over the years.

Family gatherings and good food - its impossible to separate the two. And who would want to??

Last year I embarked on yet another project:  putting together a Family Cookbook. My idea was to take recipes, photos, family stories, short bios of the women in our family, create the pages in my digital scrapbook program,  and put it all together in a nice binder. Each lady in our family would receive a copy and as each guy married, his new wife would also receive one.


Good idea, huh? I thought so. At least I did when I started it over a year ago. Somehow, it keeps getting pushed to the back burner for more interesting, uhhh.... easier projects. Umm..like BeJeweled or Scrabble...

So, now here I am - almost two years later and I am posting this to make me accountable to someone. Accountability - not my favorite idea, but one that has proved important in my life. I would like to say I'm the kind of person who works and makes my own deadlines and never lets up til the job is done. Unfortunately, I'm more the fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of person. When the mood hits I'm there without breaking but when the flow lifts its over for a while.

Here are a few of my pages - just to get my mind moving in that direction again. Work with me here people - I need encouragement. I can do this...  I think I can...I think I can....I think I can....






























Families are God's design - food is His provision - putting the two together is one of life's most wonderful blessings!

More later, "Livin' in the Season'

America The Beautiful

I love this house! To me it screams small town July 4th.

 Normally, we go to Newnan High School for fireworks on the 4th. We sit on the grass at the same place in left field. Frisbees, footballs, folding chairs and blankets are all carried from the car a few blocks away. We arrive early enough to play before dark and then settle down for the show.

BUT - as we are walking to the field, we pass this lovely house and it is always decorated. I just love it. On the evening of the Fourth they normally have food and badminton games and people laughing and playing -  waiting for dark. It's quaint and lovely and touches my heart in a special way that reminds me of seasons past when life truly was simpler and easier.

America the Beautiful - not only in its many natural landscapes but beautiful in the quiet ways. Beautiful in the people that make her up. One small house on a typical street in small town America - but indicative of millions of small houses across this country that make up America the Beautiful. Thank you Jesus, there still is a side of America where families live, love, and enjoy the simple pleasure of  'being.' 

Watermelon & Bakeshop Betty

We spent the morning wandering around Newnan town square checking out the various vendors; enjoying the music and overall having a great time. We inspected every food offering available - some of them twice. Brought some home for later then ate them as soon as we got here. One thing was missing though: no watermelon! What in the world??? It's July 4th!!

When I was a little girl, it was a hard and fast rule: no watermelon before the 4th of July. Did anyone else have to wait like that? Perhaps it is still in force ...after all, there was no watermelon available today.  For a while they held a watermelon tasting day at the State Farmer's Market every July 4th. I guess it was a sort of official opening of watermelon season.  I suppose I need to relax, after all, it is only July 2nd. Meanwhile, I hope you like the photos - we have some very interesting people and places around Newnan.                                                

                                                                                                  This lady was great on the bass fiddle.

I LOVE this pic! Cool, huh?

Uhhhh.look who's tasting the sweets...and not his only stop either.

Bakeshop Betty (aka Christi Polk) was not only adorable in her checkered shirt, but her cupcakes were delicious!  (http://www.bakeshopbetty.com/) I think you should check it out because she is such a nice person, has good prices, 

and because although I'm no food critic, I do LOVE me a good cupcake and to me hers were wonderful!  AND she delivers.  

Don't you just like this guy?

A little pickin' and grinnin' from downtown Newnan to enjoy while you are waiting for the melon...

All photos were taken with my Nikon D80 ...I love my camera.  I am attempting to learn how to use it on manual settings - these didn't come out bad, huh? The videos were taken with my new and awesome IPhone!!

Tyler's Heart

He's only five years old; but he's already five years old! And he's a rascal. Not just your typical rascal, but an entirely new level of rascalism. Even in the midst of his rascalism, he is delightful. And that is how it is with Ty: a study in paradoxes.

A few nights back he and his big brother spent the night with us. We had the typical day with a trip to the barber shop, homemade hamburgers and fries, pinball games, a movie and time spent on the porch discussing life.

Then bedtime came!! Any grandparent understands the routine at bedtime with the little ones away form home. The rules at Grandma's house are completely different from home rules. I'm actually fine with that - it is all part of the SpaGrandma experience. (Thanks for the term, Cat. It fits nicely.) This night Mister Tyler was particularly frisky.

Trent only wanted to go to sleep. No problems. No stress. Just let him sleep. Oh no! That was not going to happen. We went through water, bathroom, poking Trent, giggling, dropping teddy off the bed, dropping blankie off the bed, dropping pillow off the bed and then falling head first onto the floor and ending with a flourish of a somersault. Really quite entertaining. After almost an hour though it did get a little dicey around here. There had been first suggesting, then scolding, (complete with hand on hip and toe tapping by me) pleading (yes, I am not above that) promising the world, bribing -- nothing worked.

Grandaddy has had a few health problems lately and he wasn't feeling too well. He was trying to get to sleep but the noise and hyper "talk" was beginning to wear on him. I walked into the bedroom to find Ty standing by Trent trying to keep him awake. Of course Trent was over the whole Tyler thing too. After putting Ty back in his bed and turning up the sleep music a tad, I decided honesty was the best policy here. Our conversation went something like this:

Me: "Tyler, Granddaddy is not feeling well and you are keeping him awake."

TY: (eyes big and finger pointing at me) "You are not kidding, are you?"

Me: "No, Tyler, I am not kidding."

Ty: (still with the finger) "You would not kid about something like that, would you?"

Me: "No, I would not."  (Trent in the background: 'No, Ty, she isn't kidding!')

Ty: (pulls covers up under his chin and snuggles down with a sigh.) "OK...I was getting a little tired anyway."

By the time I was able to close my dropped jaw, Tyler was sleeping soundly with that angelic look on his face. Not another peep out of him til sometime late the next morning.

Two things to note here:

1. He knew all along what he was doing. It was a game for him. One grandparents all over the world play on a regular basis. I should know that by now.

2. When the chips are down, Ty's heart is as big as the moon and he loves his granddaddy fiercely.

Now that's something worth writing about!

Wishing everyone had the privilege of loving a Tyler.

I realize this is Daddy's Day weekend, but forgive me if I spend a little time talking about Mama's and Grandma's. This week I said goodbye to one of the "Mama's" in my life. Nanny was 90 years old and was the mother of my first husband. Its a bit strange I suppose to write about her, but even though her son and I parted ways, she and I remained friends.

Many times over the years Nanny was there for me, supporting the kids and me both emotionally and financially. She never reprimanded me nor scolded me for the divorce. Her love was constant and even though we did knock heads a few times over little things, we understood each other and we loved. When I remarried, she accepted my husband as a family member and loved him without question.

God's love has many faces, but I am convinced that His love in the heart of a mom or grandma has special qualities that make it deeper, fuller somehow. We have all read the old thing about our hearts walking around outside our bodies once we become a mom. Of course it is true, and it carries down to the grandchildren and the great-grands.

Years ago I had a pin that read, "Mother's are made in Heaven."  How true! God's  love in a mother's heart is a work of grace. When everything in the natural says walk away,  if it concerns your child or grandchild, you hang in there. You forgive. You start again. You look for the best. You make excuses for the wrongs. You do all possible to make life a little easier for your child; to maintain the relationship.

Nanny had every right to throw our relationship away, but she chose not to. Its a lesson worth learning. How many stories do we hear about estranged children, grandparents, parents who have gone through some sort of separation? We do have a free will, we have a choice. We can stay and work it out or  walk away and let unforgiveness slip in. 

Thank you Lord, for unconditional love. It comes from you but it takes many faces. Today I'm thinking of the face of a loving Nanny.  

Recycled Teenagers

I read an interesting phrase the other day that describes us pretty well at this point in our lives: Recycled Teenagers. Don't you love that? Think about it:  We stay up as late as we like; then we sleep in as late as we like; days roll into each other without too much to distinguish one from another; chocolate is in full supply and great demand. No one really tells us what to do, even though they try; hormones are in full swing -- only "out" instead of  "in"; we can sit for hours in front of a TV or computer screen, oblivious of what is happening around us.

So, where am I going with this? Hummm...not real sure - just rambling around while I sit on the porch and talk with a few of my grandsons. Its amazing how their brains work, ...uhhh... OK, forget everything I said in the first paragraph. O.M.G. I do NOT think like them. Can you imagine being inside one of those brains???

Uh-ohhh...Grandaddy just joined us and now its really getting interesting. What is it about men that no matter their age they can relate to each other? We are bouncing back and forth between 1950 and 201l;  discussing girls, cars, sports and God. Guess what? Its all basically the same. So, OK, 1950's would find loafers or sneakers instead of flip-flops, but other than that, not much difference.

I love these summertime talks on the back porch. I love hot weather .. and  air conditioning, swimming, dirty little feet and sweaty hair all matted to beautiful little heads, pizzas - pizzas -pizzas, midnight ice cream socials and loud Scrabble games with impossible words like mrpesto.. (Mr. Pesto);  obnoxious burps, hysterical laughter, pillow fights, and lazy days. Humm...perhaps I do think like them after all.

Sooooo.....the "parents" just arrived. Guess I should try to act normal around them, problem is, I'm not sure what that is at this point. They are all very serious and expect people to sit straight, talk with normal words that can be understood, stop at one bowl of ice cream...blah blah blah....boring.....

Ooops - gotta go - there is a Frisbee game going on with the styrofoam plates --

Lovin' the season!!!