Lilac Festival 2009

Sunday, May 17th was the last day of our hometown's annual Lilac Festival.  We have a beautiful park in which are planted, among many other varieties of trees and flowers, a myriad of lilac bushes. 

For a fee, you can ride in a horse-drawn carriage.

 

It was difficult to get a good photograph of the lovely pansy bed.

 Grace is photographing one of the lilacs:

 

Phil kindly allowed me to take his picture, too.

25th Anniversary

25 years ago, I promised to walk through life beside this wonderful man. Together we've raised two beautiful daughters (one of whom is now contemplating marriage, but that's another post), weathered many storms, and now live each day reminded of our commitment to stay together "in sickness and in health".

Phil, it hasn't been an easy 25 years, but by God's grace, we've walked "down life's lumpy road together", as Pastor Newhart is fond of saying. I thank God every day for you. Your love for me is overwhelming, your support and encouragement inspire me, and your commitment to me is amazing, for I surely do not deserve it. You demonstrate agape love to me daily, which would not be possible without your passionate commitment to our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, and the work He has done in your life.

I am thrilled at the changes God has wrought in our marriage these past few months. My prayer is that we will continue to draw near to God, and to each other. I love you more than words could ever express. Thank you for staying beside me these 25 years.

Card for Grace

Two weekends ago, we celebrated the successful completion of Grace's first semester of college. When her grades are posted tomorrow, we expect her to have received all A's. To mark the occasion, I decided to make her a card.

Embossing folder: "Swiss Dots" by Cuttlebug
"Congratulations" stamp - unknown

Punch by Emagination

Sizzix Embosslits - "Sweetest Stem"

On the inside, I used part of the "Congrats" stamp set by Stampin' Up! - "You've outdone yourself again!"

Pet Pics

 

  

It's not easy to get good pictures of Kelly, but I really like these two.  In some of the others I snapped, she had her tongue out.  Come to think of it, maybe she was expressing her dislike for the camera and the photographer?

 

Poor Callie.  Wrapped up in the cables for the laptop.  Usually, though, she's sleeping ON the power cord.

Spring's Beauty

Spring is such a beautiful time of year, don't you agree?  Within a week, the trees had leaves, and the grass greened up and needed mowing.  I was able to snap some pictures late last week.  Good thing, too, as we had a terrible wind storm on Saturday, complete with torrential rain.  Judging by what I could see from the window, I think the tulips are no more.

 

  

  

Miniature Iris

We planted a cherry tree in the front yard last fall.  It replaces a tree that the builder planted which became infested with an insect and literally fell over during another wind storm.  I'm excited to see that it has blossoms and these lovely flowers!

 

This is Candytuft.  It's gotten a bit unmanageable . . .  Sarah is going to help me prune it.

 

We have way too many volunteer violets (I think that's what they are.)  All summer I'm pulling them out of the gardens.  These by this rock in my front garden are well placed, though.

I'm fairly certain this is a weed.  The flowers are so pretty!

Guest Post

Please stop by my daughter Sarah's blog today and read my guest post on fibromyalgia.

Mother's Day

Anniversary Cross Stitch

I've worked more on my anniversary cross stitch. (Last progress pic is here.) You can see that most of the outer border is finished now, and I have completed all the stitching with the silver metallic thread right inside that border. I did end up frogging - again. I simply get lazy and forget to check for correct placement of stitches as frequently as I should.

Once I finish the outer border, I have to go back and put in all the flowers. Then I need to chart the words that go around the outside and get them stitched. Oh yes, and figure out what to do with that "25".

Meanwhile, I've taken everything off the walls in our dining area and put up an entire roll of painter's tape in preparation for finally painting in there! I'm going to have to use a brush to do the job, as there just isn't enough open space to make using a roller feasible. I really want to get this done before our anniversary party on the 25th.

A Blessing

I received a huge blessing on Tuesday when Grace's boyfriend brought me this:

I knew he was buying flowers for Grace, because he called me to see if her favorite ones - Gerbera daisies - were in season. But when he handed me the rose, I was completely blown away.

That boy is a keeper for sure.