Majesty Amongst Concrete

I just had to take a picture of the mountains to share with you all. I know it isn't a very good picture, as I took it from a freeway overpass, through a fence. But this is what we saw on our way to school this morning. The big city all busy and bustling and in the background this gorgeous view. Even though I live in a concrete jungle, I look for beauty around me. It makes me feel closer to God and brings me in touch with His majesty.

1 Chronicles 29:11 ~ Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours.

Colds

The boys and I are sick with colds. I started to have body aches before I went to bed last night. I was hoping that I would just sleep it off, but I woke up with a sore throat. It was a good day to be sick because it rained and hailed all day. In the late afternoon the rain cleared out and I went out to the market to pick up a few items. The air had a definite nip to it. I could see the mountains and they were covered with snow. It was beautiful!

Since I am sick, it looks like I will have to put off having my next test done. My tummy was not behaving itself today. I've had nausea off and on all day, along with pressure and pain. No fun having a cold on top of that, but the Lord will see me through.

Psalm 147:11 ~ But His joy is in those who reverence Him, those who expect Him to be loving and kind.

A Winter Day

This morning the sun came out, but just before lunch the clouds moved in and it began to rain. It was gloomy and cold the rest of the day. Today was Scout Sunday at the Congregational Church. That means there is a pancake breakfast before the service. My men woke up early so that they could set up and start cooking at the church. When I arrived at the door of the Fellowship Hall, I had two scouts ready to seat and serve me. It was darling! I had pancakes and sausage and it all went down just fine...no pain!

Once we got home from church, I made a pot of Italian bean soup and baked a batch of oatmeal coconut cookies. My men loved it all. Poor Brandon though, he is not feeling well, his cold got worse after church. The soup was a good thing for him. Tomorrow we start the 2nd semester, so it will be back to our regular assignments. I cannot believe half the school year is already over.

Blessed Day

Another beautiful evening sky here in Southern California. It has been raining off and on all day. The air has a feeling of freshness. We desperately need the rain as we are behind on rain and snowfall this year.

This morning I decided to go to the Farmer's Market being held down by the university (UCI). I took my oldest son, Eric, with me. We drove in the rain all the way over to Irvine. The market is held rain or shine. Thankfully, the rain let up as we arrived. There were loads of booths selling fresh veggies, fruit, baked goods, etc. I loaded up on veggies, bought some fresh baked bread, mandarins and a bag of kettle corn for Eric. The last item I bought was a bundle of pink sweet peas. They are so fragrant.

When I got home I put the sweet peas in the crystal vase above. The vase is an old Valentine present from Mark. After setting the flowers up in my room, I made some grilled cheese sandwiches with one of the loaves of bread I bought. The bread was a sourdough veggie bread. I grilled it with smoked provolone cheese. The sandwiches were delicious.

Forgot to mention that this past week I picked up a cup I painted at Color Me Mine. Here it is below.

On the health front there is good news. My pain level dropped (PTL!!). Last weekend I had horrendous pain, so it is a true blessing to feel better. I have been doing some serious massage on my stomach where the pain has been. Maybe it is helping. Definitely it is God blessing me. ;-) Even though I am doing better this week, I am not completely normal. I still experience pressure and sometimes bouts of nausea. I just keep pushing through and doing what I need to do for my family. I pray that my body may be made whole so that I can do even more for others.

Morning Hike

I awoke to a beautiful morning. The sun was shining, the sky was blue and the air was cool. Clouds were rolling by in the sky, the weather report was forecasting rain. The boys have finals this week, so there are no assignments, only studying to be done. Since the work load is light, I thought it would be good for the boys to take a hike. We had some breakfast, packed up some water, loaded up in the car and drove to the park. From the park we hiked into the canyon. I felt a bit weak, but I pushed through, so glad I did. It felt good to get out and enjoy nature rather than dwell on my problems.

As we were on our way back from our hike into the canyon the wind started to pick up which meant the rain was coming. It was glorious to stand in the sunshine overlooking a marsh with the soft moist wind blowing around me. The boys were running around playing as a Snowy Egret flew by. God's blessings were all around me.

Thank You

Dear Friends, thank you so much for your support through your wonderful comments and prayers. It has meant so much and I thank God for you. Good news, my colon is fine. Praise God! The only problem is that my doctor is getting very frustrated with my case. So it was an emotional appointment for the both of us. The next step is surgery and neither him nor I want to do that right now. Please pray for him. The next test will be a barium x-ray of the small intestine which I have not scheduled yet.

In other news, my son Eric is now a Life Scout. He got his award last night and I got pinned by him. It is a beautiful pin too, a red heart with the Boy Scout symbol in the center. I am so proud of Eric. Now he is on the road to Eagle. You know, we forgot to bring the camera. Oh well! I was so upset regarding the doctor appointment, that I forgot. It was a beautiful evening. There was a potluck and I got to see friends I have not seen in a long while. Many friends were surprised to see me and noticed how thin I am. The wonderful part of being in scouting is watching each others boys grow up. We all have so many memories to share.

Also, a neat thing happened. I was so overwhelmed with emotion over my health situation that I was having a good cry. All the sudden, my boys ran in and told me that an old friend was out front and wanted to see me. I was completely surprised. I have not seen this friend for a long time. She said that she was riding her bike with her son and she all the sudden had the urge to go down my street. So she did and they crashed in front of our house at the very moment I was inside crying. My boys were out front and helped them, neither one had a scratch on them. When I saw my friend we hugged and it was just what I needed in my despair. It was God's way of loving me and it was just so wonderful!

Time for Hearts

Time to think about Valentine's day. My grandmother's pink vase and the light pink plate are displayed. The rose teacup my husband gave me.

This is a wreath I made last year. A local artist made the wooden conversation hearts that I have attached to the wreath. I am always so blessed by the wonderful artistic women who make these lovely pieces.

This is my Valentine potholder that I wanted to share with you all. Made by another local artist. I adore this!

This is a picture of some placemats I bought recently. A set of 4 for $3.00. I like pink and snowflakes so the combo was too hard to pass by.

Okay, last item I am sharing is this picture. It is a picture from my old 2008 calendar. I thought the artwork was too pretty to throw away, so I framed it. I like the scripture verse on it too.

Over the weekend I watched my niece play soccer. A lot of family showed up so we went out to lunch after the game. Had a lovely time visiting, but afterwards my pain kicked in big time. Sunday morning I woke feeling less pain, but weak. By evening the pain began again. All this pain keeps me up part of the night. This morning I did not have any breakfast and I was able to relax and sleep. By lunch I was hungry so I ate a little something. Tonight the pain is not as bad as it has been praise God. Tomorrow I see my doctor.

I have been asking the Lord to speak to me and I received this verse...

"So do not fear, for I am with you, do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10