A Vacation Post - Finally!

 

 Drama Queen working on our sandcastle

I’m finally getting around to posting some of our vacation photos,  things have been kind of hectic since we came back last week and I haven’t had a chance to blog.  We had a great time on vacation, we spent time with our families,  went to the beach, and just chilled out.   I love the beach, it’s a sensory experience like no other,  the sound of the waves breaking on the shore and children laughing and playing,  feeling the warm sun on my face and the hot sand between my toes,  and the smell of the salt water and sunscreen, I love everything about it!  

My husband’s maternal grandmother always used to say she couldn’t understand how anyone could look at the ocean and not believe in God, and I feel the same way.   The vastness and beauty of the ocean could only be created by Him.  I feel so humbled when I’m there, to know that the Creator of the Universe who created the majesty of the ocean, also created me for His purpose. 

Ashley and Drama Queen with our masterpiece.

We had such a great time, soaking up the sun, building our sandcastle and playing in the ocean.  Ashley only got to go to the beach once,  he went in the water too soon after putting on sunscreen and his legs got sunburned.  He ended up with sun poisoning, it’s the first time it’s ever happened to him, poor guy, his feet were swollen for a couple of days. 

       Our first day at the beach

Drama Queen and I went back to the beach a couple of more times by ourselves,  we missed having Ashley there with us, but we still had a lot of fun.  We looked for seashells but there weren’t many to be found,  I don’t understand what has happened to them.  When we were kids you could find lots of seashells on the beach, but not anymore.  Unless there is a storm somewhere offshore stirring things up,  you don’t find many of them.   Not that I really need more shells, I have lots that I’ve collected over the years, but it’s still fun to hunt for them whenever we go.

Well,  it’s getting late and I need to go to bed and get some rest.   Natalie, Joey, Cupcake, and Blue Eyes are coming down for a quick visit and I’m keeping the little ones tomorrow, I can’t wait to see them!!

Have a wonderful week!

Love, Velvia

Happy Father’s Day

 

I’ve been out of touch the past couple of weeks, with going on vacation and then trying to get back in the groove afterwards.  I’m going to try to get back in the swing of blogging this coming week and catch up on everyone’s blogs.  I hope you have a blessed Father’s Day with your loved ones.

Love, Velvia

Gone to Build Sandcastles

We’re heading out Sunday to visit family and soak up the sun at the beach.   My house is clean, all our errands have been run, and all I have left to do is pack for the trip.  Then, we’re off to build sandcastles with Drama Queen, see you when we get back!

Love, Velvia

                        Beach, here we come!

(This photo is the same one I used for my blog header, from the angle of the horizon it looks like I was leaning to the left, too funny!)

 

 

 

 

Memorial Day Fun

Memorial Day was a great day, full of family fun, great food, and playing with the grandbabies.  Phillip and Beth and the little ones came over in the afternoon and we grilled out hamburgers and hot dogs (veggie burgers for Beth), and had baked beans, a veggie tray, chips and dip, and watermelon.  It was yummy, the only thing that would have made the day better would be if Natalie, Joey, Cupcake, and Blue Eyes could have been here also.   

             How cute is she?

Ladybug had a great time playing with Papa’s cup of iced tea, she kept jiggling it and watching the tea splash out all over herself.  She was having such a good time, we just let her have her fun and cleaned her up afterward.  You can see by the look on her face that she was delighted with her idea!

        He actually looked at the camera!

Spiderman had a great time playing outdoors, he played in the sandbox, jumped on the trampoline and played with his little golf set.  He has such a knack for golf, I think we may just have a future golf pro in the family.  He practices hitting the ball over and over until he gets it right, it’s really quite amazing to watch. 

               How’s this pose?

 Drama Queen was such a big help getting the food ready, she had a great time helping Ashley cook the hot dogs.  She wants to be a chef when she grows up, I’m sure she’ll make a good one, she loves getting in the kitchen and experimenting (usually breakfast foods).  She has a talent for cooking, and her presentation of the food is really very elegant!

          Awww, aren’t they sweet?

Phillip and Beth are an amazing young couple, they are great parents, and we are so proud of them!  We are so blessed to be their parents.

Well, that was our Memorial Day in a nutshell, I hope yours was wonderful!

Have a great night!

Love, Velvia

In Remembrance

                  

In honor of Memorial Day, and all the brave men and women who have lost their lives fighting to protect our country. 

There are no words to express my gratitude for their sacrifice, they gave their all.  I am so thankful that they were willing to fight for our country, to protect the rights and freedoms we take for granted every day.  I can only imagine the grief their families have felt, or are feeling, and tonight I am praying for their loved ones. 

We recently had a young man who lived in our small town lose his life in Iraq.  I was so moved by the show of respect and gratitude our town demonstrated for him.  All flags were lowered to half mast for close to a week, and there were purple ribbons put up all over town to honor this young man.  Many people lined the street holding American flags the day of his funeral,  I hope that in some small way these gestures brought comfort to his family.

My dad fought in World War II, and thankfully he came home safely, but many people didn’t.  My dad didn’t talk much about the war and his experiences, I think it was painful for him to relive that time in his life.  One thing I do remember him telling us about, was how he and the other soldiers gave their food to the local children who didn’t have anything to eat.  They went hungry so the kids didn’t have to, that story has stayed with me always.

No matter what your views are on the war in Iraq, or previous wars, we still need to honor those who serve, or have served, in our Armed Services.

I pray that the rest of your Memorial Day weekend is wonderful, and that you take time to honor those who gave their lives.

Love, Velvia

 

A Time to Rest

The house is quiet again, Cupcake and Blue Eyes have gone back home, Natalie and Joey came back from their trip to Florida Monday evening with the eight girls they are houseparents for in N.C., and they all spent the night and left out around lunch time yesterday.  Beth is back from her birthday trip to N.Y., so Spiderman and Ladybug are home with their mommy, and Drama Queen and I are recuperating from all the fun we had with them.    And Oh My, what fun we had!! 

On Monday, we had all four of the grandbabies all day, and it was quite an eventful day.  All four of them were up by 6:30 a.m. and ready to rock and roll from the moment they got up.  It went really well for the most part, we did have a few stressful moments when everyone wanted Nana’s attention at once or else they were all fussing with one another, but we survived with Nana’s sanity intact.  With four little ones, 3 1/2 and under, there was never a dull moment, but I enjoyed the time with them, and as soon as I’m rested up I’ll be wishing they were back!  Actually, I do miss them already, I love those little tykes so much, they hold my heartstrings.

Blue Eyes, Spiderman, Cupcake, and Ladybug

Trying to get a picture with all four of them looking at the camera proved to be an impossible task, but I thought this one came out really cute!   Blue Eyes and Ladybug are looking off at something else, and Spiderman and Cupcake are making silly faces at me, but you can still see all of them pretty well.  When I look at their little faces, all is right with the world and I know that I am blessed beyond measure!

Well, I’m off to try and catch up on some of my favorite blogs (it may take me a couple of days), I’ve really missed reading them, and I’m looking forward to seeing what everyone is up to.  Have a great night!

Love, Velvia 

Too Much Fun!

I don’t really have much time to blog tonight or for the next few days, my two grandbabies who now live out of state are here for a few days for a visit, and I’m having too much fun with them.  I have missed them so much, I am trying to enjoy every minute with them while they’re here.  Here are a couple of photos of them playing outside.  I’ll post again in a few days and stop by to catch up on everyone’s blogs when they leave.  In the meantime, I’m getting all the hugs and kisses I can!

                       Blue Eyes

                      Cupcake

It’s so wonderful to have them here, we’re having a blast!!!  I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Love, Velvia 

Queen of Hearts

Drama Queen had her dance recital this past Saturday, and it was wonderful!  I only got to see her dance, and the dance of the group of 3 and 4 year olds I had volunteered to help with, but what I did get to see of it was great!  They put on Alice in Wonderland and each dance class took part, they had ballet, jazz, tap, and hip hop in the show.  Drama Queen’s class were the Cards and they did a jazz dance to the song Queen of Hearts, they did such a great job and their costumes were really cute.  

Drama Queen having a great time onstage

Unfortunately, the pictures came out a little blurry because of the movement, but I still got some good shots.  I had to take pictures of the dress rehearsal because no cameras were allowed during the actual show.  Drama Queen was a little nervous for both the dress rehearsal and the actual performance, but she did a great job anyway.  It was a good experience for her to perform in front of a crowd and gain some self confidence.

     Watch me dance!

She says she doesn’t think she wants to take dance in the fall,  that she’d rather play basketball, but she may change her mind.  Actually, she could do both even though it would be a little hectic, but I think it would be good for her.  She really did enjoy taking dance this year, and she made some new friends, so it was a good experience for her.  I really hope she’ll decide to stick with it, at least for the next couple of years or so.

Have a great night!

Love, Velvia 

Happy Mother’s Day

 

 

WONDERFUL MOTHER

God made a wonderful mother,
A mother who never grows old;
He made her smile of the sunshine,
And He moulded her heart of pure gold;
In her eyes He placed bright shining stars,
In her cheeks fair roses you see;
God made a wonderful mother,
And He gave that dear mother to me.
–Pat O’Reilly

 
M-O-T-H-E-R

“M” is for the million things she gave me,
“O” means only that she’s growing old,
“T” is for the tears she shed to save me,
“H” is for her heart of purest gold;
“E” is for her eyes, with love-light shining,
“R” means right, and right she’ll always be,
Put them all together, they spell “MOTHER,”
A word that means the world to me.
–Howard Johnson (c. 1915)

I pray you have a wonderful, blessed Mother’s Day!

Love, Velvia

A Mother’s Love

With Mother’s Day coming up this Sunday, I want to pay tribute to two very special moms, my mother and my mother-in-law.  These two precious women have helped shape my life, and been wonderful inspirations to me.  They’ve had different roles in my life, but have been equally important in helping me become the woman I am today.

My sweet little mom will be 75 this July, physically she has been facing some battles and has had to slow down quite a bit.  The one battle front she will never retreat from is her prayer life, she is a mighty prayer warrior.   I know that my mom is praying for me and my family daily, as well as each of my siblings and their families.  She prays for our country’s leaders, her pastor and church leaders, her church family, relatives, neighbors, friends, and anyone God lays on her heart.    She is an incredible spiritual role model.

               My sweet mom, Joy

The other wonderful mom in my life is my mother-in-law, for the past 29 years she has been a mentor to me.    I have learned so much from her, one of the most important things was how to stand up for what I believe in and not be afraid to speak my mind when necessary.  She is a very strong woman and that carries over into her faith.  I know that she prays for us daily also.  I am most grateful that she raised her son to be a godly man, because of her influence I am blessed with a wonderful husband who puts God first and his family next.

         My wonderful mother-in-law, Ethel

Both my mother and my mother-in-law are Proverbs 31 women, they are not perfect, but they strive to live a life that pleases God.  They have blessed my life tremendously.

Proverbs 31: 28 - Her children arise and call her blessed…

Have a great night!

Love, Velvia

Prayer Challenge

Lorie over at Encouragement From My Heart is hosting The 31 Days of Prayer Challenge.  We are challenged to pray for our husbands for the next 31 days.  Details are on her site, please go over and check it out.  It’s a great opportunity to invest in our husband’s spiritual life.