Give them what they need

I came across this today, and right away thought of my Mom.

When I was growing up, and one my younger siblings would annoy me, I would say to Mom, "They're just doing that for attention!"

And she would say back to me, "Then give them attention." 

A flashback in time

Every time I come upon these pictures of Camus, Washington, 
I try to figure out what Den meant by what he said that day. 

This was actually a few years ago.

We were in the area visiting our kids and since we had heard so much about Camus, we decided to check it out one afternoon.

I said to Den as we drove through the streets of Camus....

"Look at this town!"

"It's gorgeous!"

I continued, 

"It would be so fun to get out and walk the streets." 

Dropping as many hints as I could, 

"Oh I would love to explore this town!"

"So quaint and pretty!"

"And look at that theater. It's like going back in time!"

I said everything I could to him, short of, 

"Stop and let's get out of the car!" 

He didn't respond so I thought he must've been too tired.

Den has a very hard time disappointing me.

So I try to stay a step ahead of that, 

and not directly ask for too much. 

(my mom taught me that)

So after our drive through, 

we went back to see our kids and grandkids. 

McKenna asked me, "How did you like Camus?"

And Den answered, "It was great. We loved it. But Jill didn't want to stop, so we just drove around and came back."

"What??! I wanted to stop there! I loved that town!"

Den looked sad, and confused, 

"But I thought you said you didn't want to stop."

"No! How could you think that?"

We never did solve that mystery.

I guess we all have glitches, right? 

A year ago today Den had one in his brain. 

I am SO thankful it happened then and not this year, 

or I wouldn't have been able to stay with him, or even visit.

That would have been horrible! 

He is doing very well and he continues to get better. 

His doctor says it takes about 2 years. 

I'm just so grateful he's still with me. 

And we are both excited about a new regimen he has begun, 

to hopefully help him heal better. 

A good summer meal

I can't be sure, 

but I don't think I've ever seen a recipe 

in Reader's Digest magazine until this month. 

So I had to try it. 

Love the combo of these flavors with the fresh dill.

We had this for dinner, along with some fresh fruit and a salad 

and it was perfect. 1/2 recipe was plenty for us.

There is something about an opened face sandwich that says dinner 
to me. Put a slice of bread on top, and it says lunch. 

Egg salad works great, too. 

We may need these sandwich meals the next few days with rolling 
blackouts predicted anytime between 3-10 pm. 

Side Note: Today marks 180 straight days of making dinner 
with no breaks.

I don't mind so much, 
but I do miss the reset button I use to get 
by going out once or twice every week! 

Goodness makes me happy

Some people are just so thoughtful. 

Is it by nature, or were they taught this?

I received this text from our next door neighbor a few weeks ago:

Our neighbor's text shows much class. 

And this happened recently, too....

We opened our front door to see these on our porch.

They are from a vendor at our local Farmer's Market...

just telling us they miss us! 
I don't know how they found a matching card.


Another porch surprise.

Little things truly are the big things.

I have an easy summer dinner to tell you about next.
But if you don't like tuna, you're out of luck.  

This sheltering in is getting old....

The toughest part of it is missing our grandkids.

So I've left a few things out all these months...

Sort of like pretending they will be here tomorrow. 

When the pandemic first began last March, 

I found this little sleeping beauty person under a couch cushion,

and then decided to put it where I can see it everyday.

Or is that the Fairy Godmother? I really don't know.

It reminds me of all our real little people in our life,

who we just can't see in person right now. 

I don't know which one of our grands left it in the couch.

The bath boat waiting for their return. 

That new bottle of Johnson's Baby Shampoo 

I bought last February?

It'll just have to wait. 

So will the empty lonely towel hooks.

Such a strange time.

I think this is the first time ever the battery in my car went dead from not using it.

And I never thought I'd take up decorating the garage...

But once I put up my Dad's picture, 

it only seemed right to put the 10 commandments above it.

He use to say the most pleasant people he knew, 

kept the commandments. 

This is what is we look forward to all week...

Having our home church. 

When churches were first closed back in March,

The governor said we could still be reverent at home.

I'm not sure if he was saying that flippantly.

Or what.

But it's true. 

We can worship God in our own homes. 

As soon as one of us says the prayer, I can feel His spirit with us.

I can feel a peace that can only come from Him. 

We sing 3 hymns, and we study our scriptures together, 

sharing what comes to our minds and hearts.

Jesus Christ is the LIGHT of the world. 

I hope our grands will love our new picture!

How women may hear Him

“Have you ever noticed how in the scriptures men are always going up into the mountains to commune with the Lord? 

Yet in the scriptures we hardly ever 

hear of women going to the mountains,

and we know why — right? 

Because the women were too busy 

keeping life going; 

they couldn’t abandon babies, 

meals, 

homes, 

fires, 

gardens, 

and a thousand responsibilities to make the climb into the mountains!

I was talking to a friend the other day, 

saying that as modern woman

I feel like I’m never “free” enough 

from my responsibilities, 

never in a quiet enough, 

or holy enough spot 

to have the type of communion 

I want with God. 

Her response floored me, 

“That is why God comes to women. 

Men have to climb the mountain to meet God, but God comes to women where ever they are.”

I have been pondering on her words for weeks and have searched my scriptures 

to see that what she said is true. 

God does in deed come to women

where they are, 

when they are doing their ordinary, 

everyday work. 

He meets them at the wells 

where they draw water for their families, 

in their homes, 

in their kitchens, 

in their gardens. 

He comes to them 

as they sit beside sickbeds, 

as they give birth, 

care for the elderly, 

and perform necessary mourning and burial rites.

Even at the empty tomb, 

Mary was the first to witness Christ’s resurrection, 

She was there because she was doing the womanly chore of properly preparing Christ’s body for burial. 

In these seemingly mundane 

and ordinary tasks,

these women of the scriptures found themselves face to face with divinity.

So if — like me — you ever start to bemoan the fact that you don’t have as much time to spend in the mountains with God as you would like. Remember, God comes to women. He knows where we are and the burdens we carry. He sees us, and if we open our eyes and our hearts we will see Him, even in the most ordinary places and in the most ordinary things.

He lives."

Original by Heather Farrell