Blue Monday

Springtime is very bittersweet to me. Having so many losses makes it a happy and sad time in my four seasons of life. I have been blue for a number of days. Today would have been the birthday of my oldest sibling and sister Pat. She was incredible. I miss her phone calls, I miss her smile and her incredibly beautiful talents. She could sew like a dream and she loved life and her phamily. When I see her granddaughters today it makes me smile. She raised five sons with her husband Gary. She always said, God will give me granddaughters, I just know it! He did, Racheile, Shelby and McKenzie. She even has great daughters too - Hannah and Paisley Joe, daughters of her first born grand child Joseph. Racheile is a sweet business pro involved is lots of different organizations using her skills and talents to make our world better.  I don't know much about Shelby these days, she is the same age as my grandson Colton, 20, and she has Crohn's disease.  McKenzie is the dancer. How proud my sis would be. Then there is Andrea and Nick and one of their three kiddos, Mayleigh is also a girl. My nephew Ed is quite proud of this sweet phamily and my sister would be smiling at the things Miss Mayleigh comes up with. Her great grands also include, Timothy and Beckett and Jeremiah. Sis, I bet you are smiling down on all of them from heaven above.

Look at those loooooooong legs my sissy had! she was a Cowgirl with my brother Bill and check out the cool car behind them.

My sis with her kids and hubby and first grandchild Joseph. She and Gary did a great job raising that young man.

Our daddy would say , this is my pretty Patty. My sister is was a beautiful human being. Happy birthday to you in heaven today.

Today is also the day in the year 1987 when a very cutting and cruel doctor said my baby Rachel was no longer "viable" and I would have to go through a painstaking delivery.  I am very careful when I speak to others regarding various issues, you do not know how hurtful, thirty years later, it is, when many liberal views about abortion lash at at me. Unless you have lost a child, you will never ever understand the continual pain stabbing at your heart.

Tiny footprints, the feet of Miss Rachel Lee Robinson, who went back to the Lord as quickly as she came to me.

I am sad and then the dogs charge the door as if they never saw the mail carrier before. They hand me this delightful card from a dear friend in Pennsylvania. A gentle soul struggling with the loss of his father 7 months ago. I too, know that pain. So he sends this cheerful card and makes me smile through my tears. God really knows our hearts.

A friend knows our heart.

Monday pals for Aw....Mondays with Sandee, a friend who I treasure dearly. She is always  watching out for me making sure I link in!
The letter "O" today is for owl! My sis Pat loved owls and always said you should have a figurine of an owl or a painting in your home to bring you good luck! She learned that from my mom. Mom never changed a calendar before the actual date appeared saying it wasn't good luck! SO here is a sweet owl to share in memory of my sister:

An pretty painting of an owl for Blue Monday as well. I hope your day is beautiful.

N is for ......

Late for my Monday date! But I am here! I chose "N" for nerdy! Gosh I love nerdy stuff! One of my favorites is here:

Tell Sandee hi and join the fun  sharing favorite furry friends and such for Aw...Mondays/

Maybe nerdy think tank guys are your thing. Love those awesome glasses! I bet the folks at Aw...Mondays will smile.

A favorite nerdy find on pinterest.

Genius nerds on Scorpion, the T.V. series, their boss and a pretty waitress, mother of a genius nerd kid!

Even Science nerds can't quantify love.

One of the most brilliant nerds in the world, confined to a wheelchair and struck down at a very young age with a deadly disease that took everything but his mind from him.

Hello Blue Monday. I lost my link to our Blue Monday. But I am sharing here. Hello blue lovers.

My Monday was not blue! Nick is home for Spring break, he wanted to have breakfast at the Original Pancake House. So we drove across town for some fun breakfast food. We must look hungry, as we waited for our food the waitress said "Compliments of the cook"! and gave us this delicious apple pancake. We still have over half of it to share.  The Original Pancake House can make your Blue Monday really yummy.

God has been blessings us with beautiful weather. We have not had much snow this winter but we can get it late, as in Mother's Day,  If people were not careless and did not start fires in the open when it is so dry we would not have these awful fires.

People today yammer on about the environment and global warming yet they do nothing to prevent these wicked forest fires. As kids we had Smokey the Bear and  he kept us respectful of the earth.

We also had Woodsy the Owl and he kept us clean while we were outdoors, never littering. Today I see people constantly on the roadways picking up trash. So much self centerness today, It is very sad.

Have a happy week!

Monday's Are Fun

Aw...Mondays Stop by Sandee's  and share your favorite Aw....Mondays feline, furry friend and other animals.

The Alphabet Day letter is "M" for Memories. With Nick getting ready to graduate from the Kansas Wesleyan University,  I am looking at all the memories stored away inside my heart. I am sharing my favorite Nick memory, or at least one of many.

I took this picture at the Margaret Carpenter Open Spaces. It is Nick's tree. It was a tiny litle thing in 2008 when Nick first ran many races at this open space. We would sit under the tree and watch the runners zip past us. This tree is such a beautiful memory. Here it is in the Summer with the sun shining on it:

There is so much more shade these days when the leaves are gracing this tree but look at the sun shining on our favorite tree. It will always hold a special place in my heart. It is perfect for Blue Monday too with the sky coloring the background of this memory tree.

When Nick ran throughout middle school, high school and all his college years, I would take the numbers on his bib and find Scripture to compliment those numbers. God never let me down and He always gave me encouragement. Nick keeps those bibs along with his running shoes. His closet is bursting with old running shoes and some of those have amazing memories too.

I love trees in open spaces and forests, every tree in our yard has given us some sort of difficulty. So when I saw this Love is...I just had to smile. For whatever reason, God gives us trees everywhere.

A little Monday humor to make you smile. Enjoy your week!

Weekend Fun

The letter "L" today is for the word "Letters". I love a handwritten card and letter. People do not take the time to send thoughtful, well thought out wishes to people today. Everyone resorts to email and rushes through the wish without a lot of thought.

I thought I would add these pretty pink touches for Pink Saturday. I really love pink ,how about you?

I keep lots of lovely handwritten mail. my folks and in-laws are all gone along with my favorite Auntie Ang, yet I have dozens of cards and notes they sent me and my phamily throughout the years. Those, folks, are precious memories, you can not recreate. "The way to love anything is to realize it may be lost." G.K. Chesterton quote.

Oh Maxine, you are so sassy! But I need to stop hibernating and take off some winter weight too! It won't make me less smart, (wink wink).

I will see you later this evening when I join the Monday meme's. Have a beautiful SONday

Aw......Mondays/K is for.../Blue Monday/Love is.../

Aw...Mondays please stop by and tell Sandee hi! She is one of the most incredibly kind and sweet ladies and a terrific hostess. I have participated in so many meme's but Sandee is a real genuine lady and never ignores her participates. She is followed by so many kind folks that you need to stop by and join everyone. This quote is my favorite and that kitty reminds me of my own Mr. Kitty.

Snoopy is a smart pup. He knows how to enjoy life.

"Keep" is a great word to use for my Alphabet Day K word. Kindness is another one and Kisses along with Hugs for all those you truly love.

Always give kindness.

Tomorrow I will travel to see my sister Mary. She lives about 120 miles away from me. We will go to lunch and visit. Noelle and Roger are taking my honey and me! We are having cold weather with brutal winds and dry ground cover in the city and fire dangers are high.  I am praying we make our trip safely. We always have lunch at the Mill Shop. They serve awesome Mexican food and it has a name that is associated with its surroundings, near the C F and I Steel Corp. They are closed on the weekends so we have to carefully plan a trip to eat their  yummy food.

These are all my blues today. When someone wants to discuss politics with me I simply say, I trust God and His Word is true.  I hope you all have a wonderful week.

Friday is Filled with Baseball, Joy, Pink, Ed Sheeran and Stuff

Baseball is here and soon the new season will open and fill the air with Springtime, listening to the crack of the bat and good old fashioned fun! I love baseball.

I wish you were here with me dad, but just for the goods things, like baseball. Otherwise I would never wish you back to our messed up world.

Barbie has always been a favorite of mine. I have collected her as an adult because as a child all my Barbie's were passed down to the younger nieces and I don't have those anymore. My late sister Pat and my late cousin Audrey made so many beautiful clothes for Barbie. My sister handed beaded a wedding dress and Audrey crocheted beautiful outfits for my Barbies. What terrific memories I have.

Today Barbie is petite, tall, curvy and she has lots of hairstyles and clothing,  You can visit Pink Saturday and see more pink there.

You can own a pink Barbie house too. I have so much Barbie furniture I need a bigger house!

Ed Sheeran is the same age as my youngest son. His music is very beautiful. I admire talent like his. 

His talent is incredible and he sings a variety of beautiful music. I can have the worst day and his music can makes me smile.

He is a smart young fellow. 

Snoopy is a Joyful character! He is a comic favorite. so today I decided to use the word JOY as my alphabet choice for the letter J.

The past week has been a less than joyful one and I try to find joy in it. So here is a favorite verse from the Book of James.

Before I close I want to ask for some prayers. My friend Linda recently lost her husband. She is experiencing great sadness, please pray. Annie and Jade headed to Beijing in China to finalize the adoption of Miss Cutie "Edie Joy". They are going to take her home to Illinois where their other three kiddos are patiently waiting for their new sister. Like her sister Ollie Faith, Edie Joy is a Downs Syndrome kid. Brother Everett and big sig sis Aubrie are excited for their new sister. Please pray for this phamily. They are amazing and awesome. Annie use to blog at The House That Jade Built and you can catch up on their faith, phamily and fun there.