A Baby Shower

Saw our baby's sonogram.

She's at 6 pounds now 

and should be here by her due date, March 31.

 

My daughter in law is beautiful pregnant.
My daughter is not pregnant, but she's beautiful.

For those of you who have asked 

Christy is doing well.

The shower was beautiful.

Lots of yummies

and pretties.

What a spread!

This baby girl already has a wardrobe.

A book to record every moment of her precious life. 

What a celebration!

So sorry I couldn't be there, 

but thank God for digital photography!

Please pray for this little fellow

as he adjusts to new days ahead. 

Blessings to You and Yours, 

Bonnie:)

http://www.picmonkey.com/

I love picmonkey.
It's a user-friendly tool for editing
and making fun collages like the one above.

I'm Ranting: Give Me a BREAK!

This funk has got to go!!!

Remember the song from the 70's

Money, Money, Money

Money

Ughhhhh!

That's what it's been since the ice storm.

$500 deductible for roof

(Yes, I'm trying to praise the Lord for the new roof

that is still patched and awaiting adjuster's approval of the estimate.)

$250 deductible for truck

(Yes, I'm trying to praise the Lord that our NEW truck was crashed.)

$200 eye exam

$500 glasses for Mr. H

(The exam was supposed to cost nothing!!!

Insurance company put us on the wrong plan.)

$200 photos purchased

(The church directory sales person gave us little time to think

and my husband said yes because he was ready to get out of there.

I'm mad!  I don't like to be rushed!  I didn't like the photos.

Yes, I need to lose 50 pounds which made it an even worse experience
and I spent $100 on Merle Norman that could have waited had I known)

$750 bill for lab work

for November

(Insurance did not pay and first bill I've seen!

What????)

Mother-in-law has been in the hospital this week.

We sat in our crummy little ER for 6 hours on Saturday.

She was discharged home although terribly ill.

All night and day Sunday with fever and severe abdominal pain.

Saw doctor on Monday who sent her back to

ER for admission and spent 6 more hours waiting.


Visiting all week and exhausted.
I know my sister in law and husband are!

Diagnosed with colitis and urinary tract infection.

Something showed up on pelvic CT scan.
They "think" a cyst on her ovary.

She's to see an oncologist???
What not a gyn???

Teeth chattering.....

I'm keeping my niece on Saturday.

I have a bridal shower on Sunday.

I remember a plaque on my aunt's wall:

As soon as the rush if over
I'm going to have a nervous breakdown.
I worked for it;
I've earned it;
I owe it to myself;
And no one is going to deprive me of it.

 I really think I am.


I NEED A CALGON MOMENT,

bonnie
(trying to hide)

Think I may need to take my own advice and
"Be still?"



ACTS: A Pattern for Prayer

A few years ago I did a study on prayer.

It transformed my prayer life.

One of the hardest but most necessary 

things to do is BE STILL,

to be quiet enough before the Lord to hear His voice. 

So many times, our prayers become 

me-me-me prayers

I-need, I-need, I-need prayers

redundant and no more than

childhood prayers of

"Now I lay me down to sleep."

I learned the ACTS method 

that has become more than a method, 

but a natural way of communing with God.

Adoration

I spend the first few moments of my time 

with the Lord simply expressing how much I adore Him.

I often read a Psalm to him or express 

the character and attributes of WHO HE is.

I have listened to music
and expressed my Adoration in this way.

Confession

As Isaiah, when I see Him high and lifted up, 

I realize, "Woe am I, a man of unclean lips,"

and I realize my sinfulness.  Confession will follow.

Thanksgiving

Thankfulness for his precious gift of salvation

always follows confession

which opens up a heart full of thanksgiving 

for His multitude of blessings. 

Supplication

Our prayers for ourselves and others, 

our petitions are then presented to God.

Knowing WHO HE is, having expressed praise 

and thanksgiving with a clean heart, 

I am able to come boldly to the throne 

and make my needs known.

Prayer is a privilege! 

Bonnie:)

BUT GOD

I'm trying to thaw out.

I don't mean from the cold of ICE, 

but from the cold of LIFE. 

Last night in our Bible study, 

I asked the girls to repeat:

"These worries I carry are legitimate concerns, 

BUT GOD is faithful and good."

"This situation I'm facing is awful and scary, 

BUT GOD is with me and HE promises 

He'll never leave me or forsake me."

BUT GOD...

Those two BIG words are powerful.

God's Word tells us to think on the things that are,

true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy.

Tonight I choose to think of the things that are lovely (TO ME!)

My list of loves...

Music and Harmony

(my girl there in the middle)

Baseball

(that's my boy there!)

A hard-working man

who loves me and wants me to stay.

Candy Kisses

from this little man

Roasting Marshmallows on a Fall night

Sunrise on the Beach

Dusk on the Beach

Freedom

A Flea Market

A toothless grin
from someone who loves me

Memories of the Home place

A Good Belly Laugh

My Pink Room

A Precious Sleeping Baby
(especially this one!)

A Mother in Law
who loves me like one of her own.
(on the right)
Isn't she pretty?

Memories

Memories of Daddy reading the Christmas story

Snakes and snails and puppy dog tails
(two of my great nephews)



Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

(two of my great nieces)

My Favorite Time of Year

My Children and Their Life Partners
For These I Prayed

A Mountain Getaway

There's not enough time and space to record all my blessings.

Right now this emotional tunnel that I am in  is dark,
BUT GOD IS THE LIGHT IN MY DARKNESS.

What is your "right now?"

Fill in the blank...

Right now this (blank) is (blank)
BUT GOD is (blank).

BUT GOD IS STRONGER,

Bonnie:)

8th Grade Sweetheart Ball

Where did the time go?

He's a little boy

holding grains of sand...

blink,

and he is big enough to hold his granddaddy's fishing pole...

blink again,

and it's a girl's hand that he now holds.

My nephew, my sister's son, 

was born when my daughter

was a high school senior.

He was the first baby in 

my immediate family in 16 years.

So, he's our heart! 

Fast forward 14 years

and he's almost grown.

Sniff, Sniff!

Kinda shy, 

but secure in his own skin.

I asked him what the others guys were wearing.

"Aunt Bonnie, guys don't talk about that kind of thing."

You better believe the girls do!

It didn't bother him one bit 

that he was dressed in khakis, a white shirt and tie,

while all the other guys were in a tux.

Didn't seem to bother her either!

Hey, who cares anyway!

Makes the limo ride more comfortable!

Yes, A LIMO, for an 8th grade Sweetheart Dance!

I wanted to know DETAILS!

I didn't get from him or his mom.

I did get from HER mom!

Her mom told me she came home so excited.

They talked til 2 in the morning!!!

Is she not a HOOT!

The conversation between my daughter

and my nephew...

(they were on my phone)

"Are you going to the dance?"

"uh, huh."

"Are you excited?"

"uh, huh."

(They had to reschedule for the ice storm.)

"Are you disappointed that they had to reschedule?"

"uh, huh."

"Is she pretty?"

(With a raised pitch in his voice)

"UH, HUH!"

Yes, all my babies are growing up.

Sniff! Sniff!

Bonnie:)

(Able to upload photos from my downloads)

Will Be Down For Who Knows How Long

I am  The computer is

having issues.

It will be down for

who knows how long.

Kinda sounds like my life's story,

"She's gonna be down for a while."

So, I ask for your prayers

for me

and 

the computer.

Will be following your blogs.

Thanks for your prayers and support, 

Bonnie:)  

A Tornado Morning and A Salvation Army Afternoon

Friday

The Morning

7:45     Cloudy, Warm and Humid

8:00     Rain

8:15     Thunderstorms

8:30     Tornado Warning

8:35     Tornadoes

The Afternoon

12:30    Cool

1:00      Sunny

The Evening

8:00     Cold!!!!

What a Day!  Shoot!  What a Week!

In one week, we've had Rain, Sleet, Snow

Ice

 Earthquakes, and Tornadoes

That's in the deep SOUTH!

My brother's entire block was hit by the tornado.  His house was NOT!

Thank you, God, for keeping them safe. 

This was their neighbor's home or what was left.
The couple had just left for work.
The tornado picked it up and put it to the edge of the pond.

This afternoon, you would never know there had been bad weather.  

The sun was shining and it was beeeeutiful!

So I went to the Salvation Army and found some pretties. 

I decided to play around with PicMonkey.

I really like the effects.

I think this is my favorite
with just a bit of shadowing.

The hankie with just a bit of texture.

According to the 10-day forecast and the Farmer's Almanac, we can expect more rain/snow mix
next week about this time.

I think I'm ready for this...

Hilton Head, SC

Dreamin' of my Happy Place,
Bonnie:)