Ah...the beach!

This past weekend was "Island Time" as Stephanie, Jaydon and I went south to the beach. We all love going and I always think, "why don't we go more often?" The ride down is always pleasant and full of anticipation of another beach trip but the ride home is usually long and sunburnedly painful.

Jaydon celebrates our arrival!

The sea is so fascinating. I don't really care to be in the water all that much, but I could sit on the beach every day and just watch the waves. They have been coming ashore since the beginning of the earth and I know that even as I write this the waves are crashing on the beach. They never cease.

And, we had a small victory on this trip. After buying 3 large umbrellas that self-destructed in the wind and 3 small umbrellas (1 quickly went in the trash, one survived and one was a semi survivor) we bought an umbrella that actually stayed upright in the wind. It provided enough shade for two of us to sit under and we congratulated ourselves on finally getting it right! And Jaydon was pleased because it is his favorite color - bright orange!

Creativity

I found an interesting comment about creativity several years ago. It was in a little comment section in a woman's study Bible. What intrigued me was the statement that creativity demands focus, commitment and discipline. I thought about that a lot, as I found that the three elements were intertwined. You can't have one with out the others and they all work together.

Last fall at the International Quilt Festival one of the classes I took was a dud. It wasn't what I expected and the teacher was really artsy, zany off the wall artsy. But she made some opening comments that I found to be interesting. She spoke of letting creativity flow through you and she stated that she pitied the soul that did not have some creative outlet. It didn't matter what the genre was (music, art, writing, whatever) but every human being needs something creative to flow through them. (I had registered for the class because from reading the description I thought it would be something to inspire me and give me a fresh breath of creativity. Instead of being a quilting/sewing class it was primarily a paint on fabric class and then construct a tote bag using the art. I did enjoy painting, but it was not what I had hoped for at the time. Looking back I realize that I let my expectations get in the way of creativity).

So many people say, "I have no creativity" but I know they do, they just haven't let it flow through into their life. And I know I have creativity but it has been stopped by the day to day of life. I look for it now and then, but know that other responsibilities crowd out my focus and commitment and I don't have the discipline to focus and make the commitment.

Our Hearts Are Heavy

Our family's hearts have been heavy the last week. Ethan lost his battle with life's physical afflictions on Thursday. While we know that he is not suffering anymore in his physical body and we know that he is in heaven we miss him. He and Jaydon were best of friends. I'm so thankful for the times they had together, and especially for that last trip to the beach this spring. Ethan had so much enthusiasm for life and his smile was always uplifting. I will miss his eagerness and amazing personality.

The Angels Rejoice!

Fresh Mowed Grass...and other smells

I just realized that it has been a while since I posted, time caught up with me!

Several nights ago I sat outside on the deck to eat supper while the pups played (this is becoming a routine with us now). It was such a pleasant evening and so nice to be outside. Early evening is my favorite time to be outside, too. I was enjoying the quiet, peaceful time. The birds were chirping and there was a nice breeze. Then my neighbor decided to mow his back yard and the noise of his lawn mower broke the peaceful spell. But it wasn't too long before the smell of freshly mowed grass reached me....how pleasant that smell is! I didn't mind the noise anymore as I enjoyed the freshness of the cut grass. What is it about freshly mowed grass that is so pleasing? I've never heard anyone say they don't like that smell. It just makes you say "Ahhhhh", doesn't it?

The next morning one of the guys in the office made some toast and the smell wafted through the office. Again, I noticed how pleasant the toasted bread smelled and I thought, "Ahhhhh". It is such a comforting smell, just like the grass.

So now I'm noticing smells - pleasant, peaceful smells. I've added to the list: rain, mountain laurel blossoms, roses, gardenias, frying onions, cooking garlic, and of course, frying bacon. I like to burn candles, and although they smell nice they just can't compare with a natural scent. Oh, I just thought of another smell, homemade spaghetti sauce simmering on the stove.

Puppy update

They are just too darn cute!

Blossom & Sawyer

Blossom and Sawyer are now just a little over 11 weeks old and we went for their second vet visit today. Blossom weighs almost 2 1/2 lbs and Sawyer almost 3 lbs. Both were pronounced to be in very good health, ears are now clear and they got their second round of shots. And oh yes, the wonderful second round of worm meds came home with us!

Blossom

I tried to make some pictures tonight, but was only partially successful. They were on the move and seemed to turn their back on me every time I snapped the shot. The photo of them together makes them look bigger than they are, Sawyer is chewing on the camera strap in his photo, and little Blossom is just looking as sweet as she is in her picture! We are making moderate gains on housebreaking, and they seem to be recognizing their names somewhat. They do know what "no, no" means and Sawyer has been told several times that he is not the leader of the pack!

Sawyer

Sunday mornings

Psalms 122:1 I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go to the house of the Lord!"

I thought of this verse this morning as I was waiting to step into the bell loft to ring handbells at the 9:30 service. Today was Communion Sunday and the Bell Choir was to ring during Communion. As the familiar liturgy began I looked up at the altar with the beautiful stained glass behind it and I knew it was good to be in God's house and just concentrating on worship.

The Lord be with you...and also with you. Lift up your hearts...we lift them up to the Lord. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God...it is right to give our thanks and praise.

I love the liturgy and the traditions of the church. What wonderful peace I feel being poured over me when I enter God's house. And not just on Sunday mornings, many nights when I walk in for a rehearsal I glance at the altar and go, "ah, all is well" and know that I can go on.

And as the Communion liturgy is ending we proclaim, "Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again. Amen"