My Bubble Burst

Well, the last time I wrote I was saying how much better I felt. Well, things took a turn last Friday, August 28th. On that day my pain came back.

Saturday, was so hot. My sister invited us to swim at her house in the morning. The last time I had fun swimming was in July 2007. That was before my big surgery. The next time I tried swimming was when I had my colostomy in 2008. Swimming did not go well that summer. The colostomy was fine, but I was still too weak from having had sepsis. Swimming made me feel very ill that summer. Well I am happy to say that summer 2009 is great. This time I was able to swim back and forth across the pool several times. It was so fun and something to praise God about. Later we were invited to a BBQ at Mark's cousin's house. His cousin has a pool too and so I went for a short swim. I was a bit tired, but I did good. We enjoyed visiting, but after dinner my tummy pain kicked in and I got a few cramps. Sunday was another day of pain and today too.

I still have not decided whether I should go for the colonoscopy or not. Mark says "no". We know that it probably will not show anything. On top of that, my bowel doctor has already said if it is endometriosis he will not know what to look for. So that means I have to go up and see my endometriosis doctor. I will be talking to him next week. I am still limiting the amount of hormones I take (which is about nothing).

In other news the fires have started burning around Southern California. We can see a plume of smoke from a fire that is up in Los Angeles. I took a couple of pictures of it as the plume changes appearance every so often. Mark said he heard on the news that it is going to take fire fighters a week or more to put this fire out.

My youngest son spent the night at his friends house on Sunday. He said they could see the flames burning on a distant hill from the upstairs of the house. Pretty scary.

While I was taking pictures of the smoke from the fires I snapped one of our street with all the flowering trees in bloom. It looks so pretty.

In other news, we took the boys over to the high school for the Freshman BBQ. Brandon got his final schedule and he got set up for computer access. Eric doesn't have computer access, so we are probably going to have to go to the office and work on that after school. The boys were able to hook up with an old friend which helped them feel a bit more comfortable. Unfortunately, they do not have any classes with him. The first day of school is tomorrow, summer is sadly over.

Dilemmas

It is our last week of summer vacation and I had plans of living it up (so to speak), but it just hasn't happened. The weather took a turn to "hot" and that has us feeling sluggish, and I have gotten a few headaches. Hot weather is no fun at the cottage because we do not have central air nor a pool.

Well, in some ways this week has been fun for the boys. Eric found a baby lizard in our garage that he is keeping as a pet. Another pet (sigh). On top of that, the boys introduced me to some games on Facebook. To say the least, these games are addicting. The boys have been enjoying me being on these games with them and we talk about them. The good thing about the games is that they have me interacting with my sons on a new level. The bad thing is that they take up a lot of time and I really feel they draw me away from being spiritually minded. I want to rid myself of these games, but my sons want me to stay on them because they like me being out there. I found my niece is out there, one of my nephews and some friends. Once school starts the game playing is going to slow way down. So this dilemma will solve itself...I hope.

The other dilemma is my health situation. I am not really sure if I should go through with the colonoscopy on Sept. 10th. Whatever was hanging up my ability to eat and causing so much pain on my left side seems to have resolved itself. (Praise God!) Granted, it has only been a few weeks that the pain has been gone, but it has never been gone this long before. The right sided pain is quite strong at times, but it is just annoying more than anything. I do not think the right sided pain is worth having surgery for. With the way I feel right now, I am in a suitable position to wait for the Lord's return. I really cannot wait to slide into the new body I am going to get. It can't come soon enough for me.

A sure sign that I am in less pain is that I am spunkier. This morning the boys and I went for a bike ride. My new bike is fantastic! This time I did not get completely wiped out. It seems my old beach cruiser was just so hard to pedal it was giving me a double work out. Today I rode my new bike for miles. I did not even have to stop in the park to rest on the way home. I made it all the way without stopping! That really made me feel good. When I told Mark he said "You see, I told you it was your bike and not you." I am so thankful for my bike!

A Tour of Old Town Orange

I love this house with its white picket fence.

The front door is gorgeous and notice the shades
& lace curtains in the upstairs window.

This house is across the street (from the house above).
I love the big front porch.

A close up of the front door.
Love the roses.

The owner has decorated the upper
balcony with bird houses.

I like the bright yellow door on this house.

It has beautiful big trees around the property.

Here is house with a wrap around porch.

Cute little teal cottage.

Hope you enjoyed the tour!

My New Bike

This is my new bike with my pink helmet hanging off the handlebar. All I need is a basket on the front and I will be all set. I think this bike was heaven sent, because I found something very special on it. On the bar toward the back wheel, there is writing and a picture. The writing says "divine" and next to that word is a picture of sparrows like the little bird I raised. Yes, this is the perfect bike for me!

Surprises

Today I am going to write about some recent events that have happened here at the Little Blue Cottage, but I am going to tell them as if I am writing a short story.

The Surprise #1

Once upon a time there was a big daddy long legs spider that found its way into a modest blue cottage. Spider decided to take up residence in the cottage's main bathroom. One night Spider decided to climb up the lovely Chambray colored wall. All the sudden the mistress of the house appeared in the bathroom. Spider quick tried to hide behind the mistress' towel, but it was too late she had spotted him. The mistress, who was very tired, decided to spare the spider, hoping it would magically disappear. She went to bed.

The next day, mistress was going about her business and never noticed Spider. Out of sight, out of mind. She ran this errand and that, she cooked, she cleaned, she became a very tired mistress at the end of the day. One thing she very much liked to do at the end of every day was soak in a nice warm bath with bubbles. So mistress drew her bubble bath and was all relaxed in the tub when Spider decided to jump down out of nowhere and land right on top of the bubbles in the bath. Spider tried to get out of the tub, but Mistress seeing Spider with his big long legs began to yell for help. She called for the master of the house. Master came in and BAM! That was the end of Spider.

The Surprise #2

Once upon a time there was a Mom who worked very hard. She did not have much money, but she wanted to somehow make a memorable summer for her sons. So she decided to let her sons have their friends over. Mom cooked and cleaned and drove and did whatever she could to make summer fun. One day she had to drive quite a distance to pick up a friend and bring them back to the Little Blue Cottage. She was very tired from all the things she had done that week, but she kept going because in her heart she was eager to bless others. In the afternoon she took her sons and their friend to the dollar movie theater at the nearby mall. A good time was had by all.

When she came home her husband was home from work. She came in greeted her husband and then he invited her to come out to the garage to see something. Inside the garage was a brand new bicycle for her! She did not know what to say except that her old bike was fine. Her husband insisted that she needed a new bike since the other one was now 25 years old. The old beach cruiser just was not the same, rusting, handlebar grips were cracked, the tires were worn, etc. Feeling like a queen she jumped on the new bike and took a ride. The smoothness of ride, the ease of pedaling and braking and the ergonomic grips on the handlebars made her melt into this bike. As she rode down the street with a smile, her heart was full of thanksgiving for her blessed Lord and husband.

I don't want to do anything else.

I am starting this post out with a heavy sigh. It has been a busy week and there is so much to tell. I waded through all the paperwork and then through the lines at the school to get everything turned in, paid for and worked out so the boys are registered. We got Eric's schedule on Wednesday. Thursday we got Brandon's schedule. I started comparing the two schedules and realized that Eric's was not right. So we had to go back over to the school and get things straightened out which took awhile. We walked around campus finding classrooms. We found their lockers and after struggling with trying to open them we finally asked someone. All in all, I am excited for the boys because there are so many good things available to them at this school. And I feel that the school is great because there are so many helpful and friendly people there. Its a new beginning.

However, there was one point in the week I felt overwhelmed. We had gotten back from being at the school and we needed to get some lunch. I had forgotten to feed the cats in the morning because I was so rushed to get over to the school. So I went into the kitchen and opened a can of cat food. I threw the lid in the trash and then started messing with the trash bag when the bag broke. At the same time the spoon I had stuck in the catfood fell out on to the floor and Princess was so hungry she went over and started licking the spoon. As I was trying to work with the trash Eric yelled at me from the sunroom, "Hey Mom, come look at this!". I admit, I was grumpy as piles of laundry and dishes as well as school business weighed on my mind. In desperation I yelled out "Eric, I am busy working, can you hold on!" Then I just started laughing, it just all seemed so comical to me. All this stuff going on and there I am doing the best I can for the moment. And to think, all I wanted to be was a MOM. I really do not think I knew what I was getting into, but you know, I wouldn't want to be doing anything else.

A True Heart Award

What does this award mean:

"Those that receive this award are of the sweetest nature. They are kind, fun, friendly, loving, and eager to share their love of Jesus with others. They are brave with their efforts to reflect Him in this darkened world. They are the kind of folks you are blessed to know, even if it is only in the blogging world."

My friend Rachel Smith blessed me with this very special award. Thank you so much Rachel, I am humbled by your gentle spirit, full of love and kindness. As I have been blessed, I would like to bless others. I pass this award on to my fellow blogging friends:

Fairmaiden - who loves to encourage others with the word of God.

Jane - whose blog always reflects her love of the Lord.

Outdoor Mom - whose stories always turn my thoughts to God.

Sue - who is an amazing homeschooling mom with 4 children, one being autistic.

Pam - who inspires me to cook & bake with her recipes.

Susan - who brings joy to my life with her "Childhood Memories" posts.

I would like to also mention Candy and Sharon who dearly love the Lord and their kind and gracious ways reflect that. Their blogs inspired me to start my own. Ladies thank you so much for your inspiration in my life.

Love & hugs to all,
Becky

p.s. Please visit Becky's Journal for a praise report and thank you.

Little Fish - Big Pond

Our goldfish Comet & Cupid.

Right now I am having a bit of writer's block. I have tried to start this post a couple different ways and it just isn't working. All I know is that when I start to say what I want, it sounds selfish, so I am going to say it this way. Sometimes I feel like a little fish in a big pond and if a fisherman was fishing and he caught me, he would throw me back because I am a little fish. But you know, that is what God wants for me and there is blessing in that.

Today I was a taxi driver. I drove four boys around town. Eric and two of his friends had plans to film a video that they want to put on You Tube. The plan did not work out the way they wanted it to, but they got some filming done and had fun doing it. One of his friends stayed for dinner. If it had not been for my willingness to be there for these boys, their attempt to make their movie would not have happened today. I have been enjoying having young people over to our house. Sometimes I feel like being a stay at home mom is not enough to do with my life, but when I get to open my home to others I feel the Lord is using me to work His will in their lives.

I also spent time listening to a friend who is having trouble with her marriage. She lives on the other side of the country from me, so I cannot be of much help, but lending an ear is a good way to show I care and saying prayers. Also, My Aunt had her surgery for rectal cancer. They gave her a colostomy and she absolutely hates it. Of course her having a colostomy made me remember when I had mine. I was truly blessed of the Lord because I really did not hate mine. I was scared to take care of it at first, but I got used to it. And I remember having a little trouble with clothes, but then shopping for new clothes was fun. Anyway, Aunt M wants hers reversed as soon as possible. Thankfully she has my other two Aunts helping her, so she is in good hands.

So where am I going with this post? You know, I really don't know, but God does. Hopefully something I have written here will strike a cord with you and He will use my humble writings and life it to speak to you. All I know is that I am blessed of God even when I do not think I am.

Strawberry Croissants, Love & Blessings

Friday morning the boys and I took a bike ride over to a bakery called The Cream Pan in old town. They make awesome Strawberry Croissants (picture from Kat's Blog), which are filled with vanilla custard and decorated with slices of fresh strawberry. They were absolutely delicious and the boys and I inhaled them. Afterward, we biked our way back through big city streets, old fashion homes and kindly pedestrians to our little cottage. However, I had to stop in the park near our home to rest, I always get weak at the last little stretch. I stumbled off my bike toward a park bench and sat in the shade. While sitting there the boys got into one of their famous disputes. Eric took off for home since we were not far from it, he was hopping mad. Thankfully, Brandon stayed for awhile and then he rode off to look for his brother. So I just sat there in the shade enjoying the quiet. After a while Brandon came back and we rode toward home together. On the way, I saw Eric, who was coming back for me. It is always nice to know that my sons care about me.

Saturday morning was the planning meeting for the Boy Scout troop. Mark and the boys rode their bikes to the meeting which was at the other park near our friend's house. I was able to enjoy a nice quiet morning of rest. The first one home from the meeting was Brandon and he brought his friend Nick over. I was very happy to see Nick, we have not had Nick over for ages. His Mom never can seem to part with him, but today his Dad let him come for a short visit. It was fun to visit with Nick's Dad when he came to pick him up. He always has a smile. Later, we went to my niece's birthday party. She loved the scrapbook and I got lots of hugs from her. I am so glad that she liked it. Everyone else loved it too, I am thankful that I was able to touch everyone's hearts with my work.

Busy with Boys

Well, the past couple of days I was busy with boys. Both Eric and Brandon each had a friend over. I really enjoyed having four boys in the house. Thankfully, the Lord was gracious and gave me the strength to handle it. Today I was up early and the boys were up early as well to have an airsoft war. My sons do not have the guns, but their friends do. They had tons of fun playing. Not much of summer is left for them so I am trying to let them have as much fun as possible before school begins. Next week both the boys have to go down to the high school and register. Their first day of school is Sept. 1st. Only two weeks left to play.

Sunflower Update

Here is my sunflower that opened a few days ago. It has changed color a bit. It has a touch of golden to it now. Below is a picture of the back side of the flower revealing streaks of yellow.

Below is a nearly full length picture. Another flower has opened on the other side. I just love watching this plant grow, it is such a blessing to me.

On a sad note, I think that my little Gentleman Bird met with an unfortunate event. It has been weeks and he has not come at all, which is not like him. I miss him so much, he brought such joy to me. All his friends still come. They sit in the plum tree waiting on me to put bird seed out for them. I wish I could have kept my bird. I have the memory of our last visit. I remember he was so happy to see me he flew from the tree right into the patio and and landed on my head. He loved my hair. I remember I fed him and then he took a nap in the tree with me standing close by, after awhile he flew off. I've not seen him since.

A Present from Camp

This is a picture of my job for today. Getting all of this stuff clean. This is the present my men brought me from camp. Yes, filthy camp laundry! Do you see the glowing eyes of my kitty on the left? Isn't she so sweet? She wants to help me, but the smell of this stuff turned her tummy and she hacked up a hairball on it. LOL Anyway, be glad that you cannot smell this. I always wash the socks first because they are the worst. Sometimes I think I should be using latex gloves, tongs and a nose plug to deal with this gross laundry, but I am a tough woman, I use my bare hands and try to not breath deeply. Of course I wash my hands afterward. Okay, hi-ho, hi-ho, its off to work I go!

Girlie Stuff

Here are a couple of recent purchases I made. I happened on these skorts for $7.00 a piece. Name brand "Lizwear". They fit perfect and so comfortable.

I have been looking for a white purse for months, but unable to find one that suits my taste. Then I happened on this leather purse, which is cream colored. It was marked down to $17.00 . Brand name is "Aurielle". I used it for the first time yesterday and love it! Isn't the little heart cute?

Beautiful Morning

I was up very early this morning. I had a fitful sleep. I miss my family and I was upset about my recent doctor appointment. I wandered into my kitchen and looked out the window to see this gorgeous site. It is the moon in the early morning with clouds passing over it. I've never seen such a beautiful sight so I grabbed my camera. My kitty cats came out with me. The air was so still and everything was bathed with soft light.

It felt like a blessing from the Lord just for me. It was beautiful, but then I tripped and thankfully landed on my bottom. The Lord was looking out for me. I decided I better get in the house. I made myself a cup of herbal tea, read my devotional, prayed and drifted off to sleep.

There was a black-out in the afternoon. Such a bummer when there is no electricity. Since there was not much I could do I decided to return a few items to the craft store and pick up others. When I came back the electricity was on. PTL! I was able to finish my niece's scrapbook tonight. Whew! Just in time, my men will be home tomorrow with all their dirty laundry.

Blessings

I washed my silk blouse the other day and hung it out on our plum tree to dry. I thought it looked pretty blowing in the breeze so I snapped off a picture.

Here is the Panna Cotta I made for my romantic dinner with Mark. I topped it with raspberries & blueberries mixed with some sugar. The pretty pink glass belonged to my grandmother. It is depression era glassware.

After our movie and Panna Cotta I went outside to water my garden in the cool night air. Love the feel of cold water on my bare feet in the summer. There was another full moon over the Little Blue Cottage.

This is a picture of my sunflower that I grew from a seed. This sunflower has felt like a present. I have been excited to see how it will look when it opens. I snapped off this picture at night because it looked so close to opening.

Surprise!! I opened my front door in the morning to find the flower! I have never seen a sunflower this color. Isn't it gorgeous?

P.S. I have decided to write about my health issues on a separate blog simply titled "Becky's Journal". There I have posted about my recent doctor appointment.

Quiet Day

Today I mostly hung around home working on my niece's scrapbook. Once I get started on projects like these I keep at them till I am done. I have to make myself take breaks and wrap up for the night. My niece's birthday is next weekend and I want to get her scrapbook done this week while there are no distractions. She picked the album out and I picked the picture.

My best girl friend called me today and we had a really nice chat. Then this evening Mark called. He will be with me Wednesday evening. I am planning on making a romantic dinner and some homemade Panna Cotta. Yum! Then I am going to have him watch that movie Sweet Land. I know he will like it.

I am enjoying the quiet, but it has been hard to relax due to headaches, tummy aches and/or hot weather. My ear specialist gave me some medicine. I did some research on it and ended up being too scared to take it. It is really strong stuff. I opted instead for the over the counter decongestant. It helped more this time than it did last time I took it. I need to take it for 5 days in a row to see if it makes a difference. On top of that, my tummy has been so uncomfortable that I decided to skip dinner tonight. Easy to do when there is no one is here.

Thursday I see my bowel doctor. I am expecting that all is well with the blood test and ultra-sound. I do not know what the next step will be. I am still having enough pain that eating is not fun. I have been seeking the Lord, but can't tell which way the wind is blowing. Lately, there are times where I feel a heavenly presence. Sometimes I feel an instense desire for heaven. With all that is going on in the world I feel hungry for God.

Full Moon over Blue Cottage

The old screened door leading to the backyard creeks as it opens and closes. I stepped out into the warm summer night and marveled at the moon. Another day is done as summer slowly melts away.

I had a good time with my niece today. We talked a little bit about heaven and I was able to tell her about Jesus. Then I remembered the Lord told me He is not finished with me yet. It was nice spending time with my niece, she is a good girl.

Quiet

My men left for camp this morning which filled my little cottage with quiet. I spent time with the Lord, but I feel like the phone line is dead. There are those times when it is like that. Not that the Lord is not speaking. The other day I got into my car, I turned on the radio and it was like the message was just for me. The clear message was "God is in control", "There is still hope" and "God is not finished with you yet".

Tomorrow my niece is coming. I am going to watch her while my sister is at work. It is just for one day. I pray that I can be an influence for good in her life. I also have an appointment with my ear specialist. I have been having terrible headaches and pressure in my ears. It has been going on for quite sometime. Taking Advil helps a little, but I have them everyday. I do not want to take that much Advil. The headaches combined with the tummy aches are really getting me down.

I watched a movie tonight called Sweet Land. I liked it. It is rated PG. Great photography, music and acting. Must scoot off to bed.

Chit Chat

These are flowers that Mark gave me for our 26th wedding anniversary. Aren't they pretty?

Tomorrow my men are leaving for Boy Scout summer camp. My husband is in charge of the camp so he has been extra busy. I was able to help him a bit with getting folders together for camp. It always makes me happy when I can help. Mark surprised me when he told me he has made arrangements to leave camp for a day and come home. We get to spend some time alone! I am very excited!

Today I went for my ultra-sound. It went well, the technician was so nice and we had a very good chat in between holding my breath and the probe taking my breath away because it hurt a bit. After the appointment I was able to help some people find their way to the hospital.

We went out for dinner tonight. At the restaurant Eric ordered a big salad. He said he was going to finish it all. Well, he was halfway through the salad and he said he was full. Mark and I reminded him that he said he was going to eat the whole thing. Our waitress overheard our conversation and chimed in. She told Eric that if he finished the salad she would give him a nickel. We all laughed. Well, it worked! Eric finished that salad just to see if she really would give him a nickel and she did! LOL

Here is a picture of a sunflower I am growing. I grew this from a seed. I am always amazed when seeds grow for me. Anyway, the buds are coming out. I thought it would be fun to post pictures of it as it grows so you can see it bloom.