FUN…

As I arise this morning, preparing to go to our boat at Okeechobee for the long Memorial Day week-end…..I read my morning devotion and it is appropriately called…..FUN.
I want to post it here….as it accurately defines the joyful side of the….
The Good Life…..The devotion opened this way….

As a student of life, I am ready to learn in fun, joyful ways…
Knowing that our spiritual life is anything but dull…there are also times to be quiet and contemplative…..then there are other times when life fills us with joy and laughter.
There are days when things seem to go wrong in such funny ways that we have to laugh at ourselves and say, “God MUST HAVE….a sense of humor!” God did provide each of us with a sense of humor and the ability to give things a light touch.
Life is not meant to be ALL seriousness…..Children show us how to enjoy life fully because they worry less and play more.
Worry is a LEARNED BEHAVIOR, but play is an innate tendency!
Teachers know that the most effective lessons are the fun ones. And we are all students of life, willing and ready to learn life’s lessons in fun, joyful ways….

Jesus said…”Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it…” Luke 18:17

Download Info

Recently downloading a newer version of my digital cameras program made me aware….anew…..of the necessity of changes….flexibility…...and learning daily…...what is pertinent to…..N O W!
Receiving a change of e-mail address from one of our friends….says to me….what worked yesterday for a contact with me….won’t work today unless you download this new information…
Suddenly….out of the blue….an incident happened in my day that required me to change the way I thought….make a different choice and decision than I had previously planned on…..
For you see…. new factual information….provided by a professional specialist on the matter at hand…..required that I download this new information in order to make intelligent changes necessary from the one that was….already in the works….
Updates….staying current….living in the NOW…..can be exciting….or frightening.
How many people do we know that continuously…..live in the past?
Tis an easy, familiar….place to go….good or bad….
But I am here to tell you…BY EXPERIENCE…..that it simply won’t work if we expect to grow and stay healthy in mind, body and soul….
Life moves foreword….or as the saying goes….”That was then….THIS is NOW!”…Downloading new info daily…requires CHANGE….
I hate and resist change…..but know that it is a MUST….like brushing my teeth….Some things have to be done….regardless!
As my Aunt Hattie used to say…..”You know the law is that we have to wear those danged seatbelts….But we don’t HAVE TO LIKE IT!”
My sentiments exactly….Aunt Hattie!

Are You Prepared?

Sometimes it is a lot of work…..to have FUN!
Getting ready for another boat trip, vacation week-ends, camping, or simply visiting relatives and friends……requires some pre-planning….
Tomorrows preparation for our family to travel an hour away for Carla’s graduation seems to take some planning…..that I had not planned on….
Phone calls and e-mails help….but it is the trusty cell phones that keep it all ‘doable’ at the last minute.
How many cars to take….who is getting off from work early….what time must we leave the house in order to travel to the graduation site…..who is riding with who…..is anyone staying the night….and on and on it goes….
Keeping everyone informed about everyone else…. is a job in itself.
It seems that Brittney, again, has been ‘chosen’ for that honor!
Someone has to do it…..if we all want to sit together and yell loudly when Carla crosses the stage….
Our Official Family Planner…..needs some help…..
Any volunteers?
Call Brittney…..not me….I’m packing to go to the boat for a long Memorial Day week-end…..
Sea Ya!
P.S. Charlie and I each have our cell phones on at all times….you know the number…..call Brittney if you want a problem solved…..she’s the BEST!
Of course, that's how she got the job....

Summer is……here!

Spending the last few days in the pool and at the beach with Joshua makes me aware that….yes, summer is here!
Britt, Joshua and I went to Gandy Beach on Friday at 5:00 p.m. It was quite hot then….Playing in the sand was fun….getting it in Britt’s car was a bummer. Returning to our house with chicken provided by Britt, Joshua decided that the pool is fun after all. Last summer he wasn’t quite so sure.
Saturday while playing with Chuckie/Pipo he had a ball….
Sunday afternoon he excelled with his swim ring…going the entire length of the pool and back while admonishing me to…..‘stay away’ as I tried to safely escort him along….
Of course, we had to celebrate his beautiful Mom’s new hair-do….
Didn’t impress Joshua very much…..
Ordering pizza was more to his liking….he is 16 going on 3...
Being a Florida Sun Boy is something he is enjoying very much….as is the family who shares this special time with him….
Wonder when he is 16 if he will ’hang around with kin’ for summer fun?
Guess we will just have to make it so much fun that he chooses to hang around for a lifetime…..of….The Good Life!
See pictures…Link #2.…AAA Blessings & Family Album

Life Is Short…
Eat Dessert First!

Saw this ad this morning and thought….yep, that’s what I’m gonna do!
Loving dessert is my nature…..having it first seems childish….but I eat very nutritiously all the time so why not throw caution to the wind and Eat Dessert First?…
You see….Life Is Short…..having my sister in ICU all week….going in and out of the hospital daily….reiterates this fact…
Makes me access my priorities…again!
I renew my vows of….. not taking anything in life for granted.
Health is the first wealth….love and being loved is magnificent….being blessed and sharing those blessings with others is FUN…..living the good life in the good ole U.S.A. is totally awesome….having a disagreement with a family member over the phone and then taking them out to lunch later is a real celebration of life…..having dessert first….why that sounds like just the sensible thing to do in order to really sweeten life….immediately….
Guess I’ll just have to do it more often and see, by experience, if it is really FUN . Won’t you join me for a ‘6-layer great wall of chocolate with raspberry sauce’?

Go Gators Party!

And a good time was had by ALL…..
What a wild day it was…..some family members arrived on Friday and spent the night….Pipo, Vinnie, Britt and Joshua started the party with a slumber party, movies etc…..
Arising early on Sat. morn to decorate the house from top to bottom with Gator paraphernalia….we get a report from Lynn that Aunt Shyrl (who was with her) had to be taken by 911 ambulance back to the Bayfront Hospital.
We quickly held hands and said a prayer for her.
Next on the agenda was to get everyone in the right direction for showers, Gator clothing etc. Vinnie balked…..he is a life long (15 yr. Old) Seminole fan and has always competed with his Pops for top billing….
He always looses…..
Being the only true Nole fan among a huge Gator family….he doesn’t even stand a chance…In fact, his Dad…Chuck…is a born Gator since he was birthed in Gainesville, Florida at the Alachua Hospital within blocks of the University of Florida…. Vinnie stands a chance….remote he thinks….of going to the U of F….structural engineering is his goal (right now) and there are prayers- in- the- works for the right scholarship….
We shall see….
Anyway…..for the first time Vinnie donned Gator clothes as a tribute to his Beloved Pops…he even surprised Pops…. and all of us ….by putting on Pops Gator ski hat and Gator watch….
Now that is…..L O V E!!!
Then the work begins…..Carla arrives with the shrimp after a stop off at the mall enroute…..Blue Crabs had already been cleaned and prepared by Pops but Vinnie, Britt and I start working on 8 lbs. of Jumbo Shrimp from the coast which Terry had supplied. We had food coming out of our ears….
Britt cooked her 5 lbs. of red potatoes and sautéed them in butter and garlic…yum, yum…and I made strawberry pies….while talking nonsense….again….Matt and Ashley arrive….Ash with the Gator hat that everyone wanted….one way or another….
The Marine said that he could confiscate anything available ’for the cause’ and did with a brand new Gator shirt of Pops ….. I’m still not convinced that it wasn’t ’unwrapped pre-maturely’….he swears that it came from ‘Pops stash’….of shirts! Thank God he had sense enough to leave Ashley’s hat alone!!!
…….A ‘day of reckoning’ was at hand though!
Matt and Chuckie have waited years for this day in time…..to grow up and be strong enough to ‘take Uncle Chad/DooDoo’ down! He has picked on them for years and years…..so this was their ‘gottcha’ time…..
They tried in the house….they tried in the pool….they tried under the patio…they tried and tried….Two on One…..was NOT fair...Everyone agreed. So Chad had some help from time to time…when Joshua put his arms around Chad’s neck in the pool….to protect him….The aggressors knew to …back off…Next, they turned on Uncle ‘fully clothed’ Chuck….soon everyone was in the free for all…..have a few bruises to prove it myself…
Entirely too much energy was spent….trying to prove….”my dog is bigger than your dog”. Joshua is growing up thinking the…abnormal is normal!
Families are supposed to be the free entertainment at Birthday Parties….
Since he received 1 lb. Bar bells as a gift from Pops….he now does his exercise along with Pops ….saying “Go..gators…Go…gators” with every pump of the muscle…..
Having Chuck and Terry arrive later in the day from their church work…gave us the signal that….The Party Can Now Begin!
Too late….it began….yesterday.
Pops had a ball….was smiling constantly….and completely Happy on his day…..being surrounded by his crazy family IN GATOR GARB…..was the best gift ever…
Yes…..It IS A Good Life….and MORE to come!!!

See Pictures…Link #1.…Birthday and Celebrations Album

Not So Fast!

Meeting with my prayer girls yesterday, as usual, proved to be a very productive time…..Of course, we had to disband early since we were meeting at Nancy’s and she goes to work at 11:30 therefore, we had to be ‘out of there’….Starting early gave us an edge…..
Except for one fact…..
God simply breathed inspired thoughts and words…..which were not our own invention ….into our conversation time as if to say…
”Now, Girls…..Not So Fast!”
We each knew….’we had been….had.”
Carefully, thoughtfully, clearly and precisely…..we each….Nancy, Abby and I…(Taina stayed home to receive guests)….received knowledge and foreknowledge of our faith relationship to God, family, friends and each other….Spiritually and mentally we began to .... ‘straighten up and take notice’….(Southern interpretation)…
The Scripture…the Word of God…..came alive to us and addressed our situation and circumstances of life in 2004.…
Actually…..’tis no surprise….for Jesus, Himself, tries to tell us this fact in Matthew 18:19 & 20 Living Bible Edition (sounds Southern even)…

Jesus said this…”I also tell you this---if two of you agree down here on earth concerning anything you ask for, My Father in heaven will do it for you…For Where Two or Three Gather Together BECAUSE THEY ARE MINE, I WILL BE RIGHT THERE AMONG THEM!”

Having even ’mustard seed faith’ qualifies for a prayer experience such as yesterdays encounter with the wonderful and mighty God of the Universe….and Abby…and Nancy….and Taina…and Faith and perhaps…YOU!
Yep….One Nation Under God…In God We Trust….God Bless America…
Words that invites us to sit up and take notice periodically…..of God!!!
Such faith ALWAYS is rewarded…yesterdays prayer time was not expressed as a ‘fast food’ agenda even though time was limited….but ended with a wonderful…Happy Meal…for…The Good Life!

Brain-Storming

Brainstorming is….the unrestrained offering of ideas or suggestions by all members of a group or conference to seek solutions to problems…..
A single brain-storm is a series of sudden, violent cerebral disturbances…Colloquial…a sudden inspiration, idea, or plan…

Lo and behold…..yesterday became a time of….brain storming!
For a couple of week now I have wracked my pea brain to find a solution to the upcoming birthday for Charlie, my husband….
Saturday is that day…
As I tried to put it together previously….nothing worked.
I simply gave up….surrendered to the fact that everyone involved had a million and one plans already in motion.
Within an hour yesterday….plans were complete.
My Southern Barbie Doll…..Brittney….grabbed her trusty cell phone and contacted all members of the Family Zoo simply saying in her sweet, direct voice of authority……”Saturday we’re having Pops Seafood Birthday Party and the only way you can get in the door is wearing Gator clothes and bringing a bathing suit. We are having Blue Crabs, Aunt Terry is making shrimp, I’m doing sautéed red potatoes…..Now, what food do you want to bring?”
Every single person responded automatically….even half-asleep brother Matt who works the night shifts. The brain-storming ended within the hour with a solution to the problem I’ve wrestled with…off and on….for a long time…I salute you…Brittney Perry!
As my Mamma used to say in her very Southern colloquialism…..Britt had a ‘bee in her bonnet’……
Mission accomplished….Happy Birthday Pops!!!

Southern Exposure

After celebrating Mother’s Day with my crazy family….I have come to the conclusion that…..they are ALL crazy….except me!
Sunday they were at their best….let me share with you a few…
word clips…of that day…
Early morn phone greetings….fast pace hour drive to son’s church…family members all ’mozy’ in at different time….lollipop meant for 3 yr. old Joshua
winds up in Great-Grandfathers mouth during sermon, lick, lick, lick sounds…flowers at church youngest Mother, Britt….family members at church altar when prayers are requested to BLESS FAMILY….food galore…Terry’s collards were a special hit with Matt and Chad, chicken mysteriously stripped before serving….flowers for four Moms, Britt, Lynn, Terry, Faith…dozens of roses….gifts galore…T shirts that say…
FAMILY…We may not have it all together….But TOGETHER we have it all…..bike and 4-wheeler sprees….Chad deploys before Britt crashes….
And on and on it went…..
No peaceful, serene, Kodak moments of tranquility for me….
….just another day at the zoo….I was a ‘spectator’ this time of the “Good Life”…..See pictures Link #1.….A Mother’s Day Album

Sorry that I have not written in a few days....
Life is moving swiftly....some family members have been ill in the hospital, some have had surgery, then the celebration of Mother's Day, trips to Okeechobee etc.
Will get back into the swing of things shortly....
Hope you are still enjoying....The Good Life!
I AM....

Happy 25th Abby & Al

Went to a wonderful celebration last night at the Seminole Country Club.
One of my prayer partners, Abby, and her husband, Al, were celebrating…
along with about a 100 family members and friends.
Food, music, blessings, dancing, children….and golfers galore.
Both Al and Abby golf at this club so their friends were many.
And a good time was had by all….

P.S. Ask Abby about the ‘slight mix-up’ that caused Charlie and I to be an hour late…..and I was to be the ‘official’ picture taker and ’blessing’ girl!
See pictures Link #1 2004 Begins Album