A Secret Santa Clue I

I am participating in a Secret Santa Swap with Suzanne. It is the first time I joined her here. I have done lots of swaps and I like being part of them and making friends here. I know the Colorado Lady personally. I love saying it! I met her in September with her mom Patsy and her aunt LaVoice that we know from her blog. I like visiting these ladies because when I read their posts I can hear their voices. That is a beautiful thing about meeting your blogging friends in person.

I have a first time clue for the Secret Santa. I know you! You may find me out but I will first give you a few hints.

When my package arrives I am hopeful you will be totally surprised!

I love detective work ,do you?

Find my first clue in the lines to this famous song:

America the Beautiful

Words by Katharine Lee Bates,
Melody by Samuel Ward

 

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

O beautiful for pilgrim feet
Whose stern impassioned stress
A thoroughfare of freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!

O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife.
Who more than self their country loved
And mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness
And every gain divine!

O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

O beautiful for halcyon skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the enameled plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till souls wax fair as earth and air
And music-hearted sea!

O beautiful for pilgrims feet,
Whose stem impassioned stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till paths be wrought through
wilds of thought
By pilgrim foot and knee!

O beautiful for glory-tale
Of liberating strife
When once and twice,
for man's avail
Men lavished precious life!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till selfish gain no longer stain
The banner of the free!

O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till nobler men keep once again
Thy whiter jubilee!

 
You might know where I am if you find this important clue!

 Come again tomorrow so I may give you a second clue!

"E" is for Edward!

Welcome to Jenny's. She is our teacher for Alphabe Thursday! Today I want to share my favorite name with you! It is Edward and it is the name my late father carried with his whole life! He loved his name and always said no one would call him Edward unless they were  giving a eulogy at his funeral! He was my dad, my hero, the man I adored! He was a wonderful father. He loved my mom and all of his five kids very much!
He had lots of nicknames. Like "Spike", because he worked for forty seven years at the CF&I Corp. He was the head roller in the rail mill when he retired. He always provided a good income for his phamily and all five of his children attended Catholic school. When I think of the cost that he and my mother endured, she was a stay at home mom, because they chose to send us to the best school.All my siblings attend Catholic school and my middle sister and I are the only two who did not graduate from Catholic high school but from the public school system.
He was "Pa" to my sweet mother. Grandpa to the grand kids.  A lot of my photos of him are tucked away and I need to scan them here but I am sharing some of my favorite photos with you.

Here I am with my parents. My mom was 39 years old when I was born. My dad, 42. I was the youngest of five. I love this photo. I remember my shirt was red!

My father was not highly educated with fancy schooling but he was the smartest man I knew! His handwriting was eloquent and he knew so much about everything. He played semi pro baseball when he was a young man. He was a catcher and good at the sport. I learned every single thing I know about baseball from my dad! He could shoot off facts and names and dates, oh my goodness, it was amazing!

He loved his phamily and was a good provider. He adored his grand children. If he were here today he would be so happy to see all the great grands that we have added to the phamily! Five children, twenty  one grand children, twenty eight great grands and two great great grandchildren. Whew! My dad would smile . He loved children and one of his sisters told me a story about my dad when he was a young man. A neighbor had a baby that died  probably from what is called Sudden Infant Death Syndrome today or possibly influenza. My dad was upset and sad and his mom asked him what was wrong. My aunt said my dad said he loved that little neighbor baby! He was just like that!

That is my dad with his older brother (Rudy) "Uncle Moon". It was my uncles wedding day. He was married to my Auntie Elsie and she worked at the food service for the college at home with two of my moms sisters and my mother-in-law! Talk about all in the phamily! My uncle passed away when he was young. My father made sure my aunt was cared for although she worked full time after her husbands untimely death. My father knew the Scriptures well.  Read 1 Timothy Chapter 5, Deuteronomy 14:28-29,  Acts 6:1, Deuteronomy 15:7-11. They all speak of widows and caring for them and children. My father kept his bible at his bedside. It was a beautiful leather bound copy and I wish I had inherited it from him.
He had a kind heart and was always telling us "honesty is the best policy". People don't say that much these days. He would always say to us, as we headed out the door to go shopping, "Remember, never take anything you didn't pay for!"

He was taken away from us way too soon. He had not been retired 12 years when the Lord called him home. My mother was married to him nearly 50 years when he passed away. She would remain his one true love until the day she herself left this earth. My parents had a beautiful marriage. They were good together and raised us right with respect and kindness and honest hearts. My dad built the home my folks lived in  and he treasured my mother. I often looked for his traits when I was young and dating. My husband is a good fit. He received my fathers blessing before he married me. But my dad was ill and I did not have the wedding I dreamed of, with him giving me away. But before he passed away he saw me happy and married to a good man.

 My parents wedding photo with my mom's brother Uncle Louie and my mom's sister Auntie Ann. My mother was a beautiful petite bride! Look at the exquisite flowers they carried!

Now visit Jenny and all the participates of our weekly learning posts!
 

Whine or Cheese?

Have you ever heard the expression "Would you like some cheese with that wine(whine)?" I thought perhaps I was just whining but my situation during the day is getting so bizarre. There is no where to turn. I feel so helpless and know satan is attacking me.

I was visiting a great blogger Sarah Beth and she prayed for me! I liked that! She is such a sweet lady and she is generous and kind, like so many of you here.
Then I texted my good friend Alyn and she prayed for me. She said "Rebuke the deceiver and Rejoice in the Lord."

My day started out right! I felt like I would have a fret free day! I would like to live a fret free life! Ah....
Like this

Or this:

So now I am going to take my own advice and read these beautiful words that touched my heart this morning:
"Do not fret- it only causes harm." Psalm 37:1-11

Hello Blue Monday

I will have to add my photos this evening but did not want to miss the fun of Blue Monday! With temps dipping into the single digits and below zero hitting us all weekend long I decided blue Monday would be so appropriate for us! We will all turn into blue popsicles if we don't bundle up and layer properly!

I think a warm tropical beach would suit me just fine about now. Even another trip to Phoenix/Mesa in the sun! :)

My secret pen pal Nikki in Washington state, come visit and reveal yourself here too! Hee Hee Do you drink coffee, tea or cocoa? What us your pleasure!

Marilyn my first giveaway winner watch your mail later in the week as your package went out this morning!

Now hurry over to Sally and get happy here. Once I am home again I think my photos will load so come back tonight!

Proverbs 2:3-5 and Love is....

I had a birthday December 3rd. Look at the verse above. I think sometime God sends me these little signs! Backward it is the year (53) I was born but  the day (3) is different from the chapter. I love this verse. I sets my heart into a happy mode:

"If you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God."

Isn't life grand? I have a good friend who suffers from depression. I wish I could wipe away her sadness. I have a dear relative going through a tough financial time, why can't I wave a magic wand and make her problems disappear? I know three beautiful patients who this week received tough news, cancer! Life is not fair.

But God is good. He is here for you. To hold you in His arms. To wipe your tears away. To soften the troubles life hands you.

Trust Him. Come to Him like a small helpless child. He will listen. He does care.

Join Charlotte and all the wonderful folks who share with us each week. Come join the encouragement and spiritual healing.

 Join Marydon and I can bet she will remind you to trust Him who loves you. He will give you your own silver lining!

PINK SURPRISES

How about sharing a beautiful tea party with me today? It is my birthday! I am a big birthday person so I am loving the attention the phamily is giving me! My Sweets is giving me a beautiful cameo ring. Although it is not pink here is a photo I had to share from the web:

 As a young girl, my favorite aunt always wore beautiful jewelry. She had a beautiful cameo collection. I have a few pieces she shared with me many years ago.  I lost an earring from one set and I am sick about it. :( Makes me so unhappy.
 My photos won't load so I am reduced to using google images. Please don't mind ok?

Here is a photo I would love to own. This is from art.com. Aren't these three sweet bears delightful? Reminds me of my three daughters, Noelle, Rebekah and Hannah.

Yum! Cake and tea! I have been testing different teas and there are so many I love. I tried a new one from my local grocery store. Acai,Blueberry and Pomegranate with green tea. Except the caffeine is too much for my aching head someday's! I like a nice decaf.

A nice nap after the tea would be enjoyed immensely in this gorgeous bedroom. Do you love the pink touches?

I almost forgot to show you the pretty flowers Dr. T., my co worker gave me.  I have all the photos locked inside my laptop and my phone! Argh....

These two photos are my real flowers and the cake is mine too! At last my photos are escaping from their captor here at blogger world!

Then there was the cake they gave me  :

There was pizza. Hmm...yummy!

Now that I have made all of us hungry I will go eat my beautiful breakfast with my phamily and you should visit Beverly. Visit more pinkies with this weekend too! It is snowing like mad here so I am staying indoors!

 Could not  resist presenting my breakfast fit for a queen! Two strips of perfectly crisp bacon. Two  over medium eggs, fried potatoes, toast and biscuits with plain gravy! Coffee and orange juice too!

NOTE: Please come visit Sarah. I think all of the pinkies will love her header! 

A Post/A Giveaway Winner and More!

I am posting late tonight! W had a snow storm and we had a difficult time getting to work today. We are exhausted. When we got home our oldest daughter started to cook us breakfast for dinner! It was yummy but we had dishes to do and you know that drill! So here I am posting late!
I love this sweet little Love is... I personally am not a camping out kinda girl! My late Uncle Tom use to say "My idea of camping out is a five star hotel with room service!" That is my idea of camping out too! But I do love this sweet little sentiment! So although today is not Love is...day I wanted to share it anyway!

 I had to borrow this sweet  image from google because I have to announce the winner of my 2 year blogaversary giveaway! It is sweet Marilyn a Colorado blogger! She is one of the nicest ladies I know and a school teacher. Please visit her blog and congratulate her. She will receive a special surprise from me and she can show it off when it arrives! I ask when you win a giveaway here you repay a kindness by paying it forward! Nothing extreme where it is  out of your budget! Just make someone else's day! Horray for Marilyn! I know she was fighting the snowy roads today too! Blessings to you Marilyn.

 It is cold and snowy here. So I have a question for all of you here! When you leave a

comment tell me your favorite beverage. Coffee! Tea!Juice. What is your favorite drinking pleasure!

 Please remember to leave a comment regarding my birthday giveaway! I will draw that lucky winner early Saturday December 10th. I am running the giveaway until that date. It is also a surprise but I am quite creative in gift giving so I know you will love it!

I was searching google images and found this. I was looking for something to post regarding prayer. I need prayer for Mickey who recently had a biopsy and may have cancer. Also pray for Mary who is experiencing a difficult financial crisis. I think this sentiment is perfect.  Please join me in praying for these folks. Always remember  our military who give so much and get so little in return.

 Let my prayer be set forth as incense before You, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. Psalm 141: 2

Please go back to my previous post. It is my "D" post for Alphabe Thursday. I was happy to showcase my city where I have lived since 1983.

I currently hold a full time day job but the next photo shows my true love. It is the job I do love the most!

The Stages Of Motherhood Here is a light hearted presentation of what we all think about our moms, at different points of our lives. Don't get surprised because we all have the same tendency towards our mothers! 4 Years Of Age - My Mommy can do anything; 8 Years Of Age - My Mom knows a lot! A whole lot 12 Years Of Age -My Mother doesn't really know quite everything. 14 Years Of Age -Naturally, Mother doesn't know that, either 16 Years Of Age -Mother? She's hopelessly old-fashioned 18 Years Of Age -That old woman? She's way out of date 25 Years Of Age -Well, she might know a little bit about it 35 Years Of Age -Before we decide, let's get Mom's opinion 45 Years Of Age -Wonder what Mom would have thought about it 65 Years Of Age -Wish, I could talk it over with Mom MOTHER'S ADVICE TO A DAUGHTER Cook a man a fish and you fed him for a day. But teach a man to fish and you get rid of him for the whole weekend! It is time to get some much needed rest and shout TGIF tomorrow! My doc will be busy at surgery all day long! A chance at last to get some work caught up and take a break from the crush of patients that have come in all week long. I am grateful to be working but somedays it is just too much! I need some rest and relaxation!