ramblings

Summertime is a wonderful time....busy, no doubt, with outdoor activities and the constant coating of bug spray. {grin}

Summer out here where I live has a distinct aroma which can be enjoyed in the early mornings or late evenings.  Damp earth meets ready-for-harvest fields in a most delightful way.  I absolutely love it, and it is in those moments that I am aware that I quite like living here. {sometimes?}

I am sitting at my dining room table enjoying a cup of hot coffee {have I mentioned ever before how utterly divine said beverage is?}  The windows are open to let the cool summer morning air into the house.  The ceiling fans are already on, and the sprinkler is making its rhythmic dance outside. {we planted our grass seed a couple of weeks ago!!!}

I have been up for a couple of hours now, and oh how I just ADORE early mornings.  In all seriousness, they are gorgeous, and so help me get a good start on my day.  With some Bible reading and time spent in prayer, I am ready for a full and productive day.  Ellie girl likes early mornings too. {smile}

As I speak, the little missie is talking herself to sleep in her little bed just a bit away from me.  (she sleeps in the living room still as we haven't finished the upstairs yet)  Naptime....ahh...those were the days!

We had such a busy week last week, and then a crazy booked weekend, and I feel like I am still attempting to just catch my breath from it all.

The Lord blessed us with a great vehicle last week!  So amazing how He is always providing what we need at the moment we need it.  It is the perfect vehicle for our family right now, and we were so happy to not have to go into debt for it.  Blessed indeed we are.

Twin here picked me a basket full of lovely wildflowers on the 4th of July!  It was such a beautiful day!

We had Mom and Ashley over for our traditional 4th of July brunch, listened to hours of patriotic music, and then joined some family and friends for a big celebration with fireworks that evening.

(Ellie and I missed the firework show since it doesn't start getting dark around here until 10:30, and most of the shows started at 11:00!  WAY past missie's 7:00 bedtime)

We put the wildflowers in my favorite blue mason jars, and little bud vases on the 

window sills.  I have the jar full of flowers sitting next to an

old suitcase that belonged to Jay's Grandma Schmid.  I never got a chance to meet her, but I know that she was a sweet, wonderful person,

and I would have loved to get a chance to know her.

Life is funny somehow.  And so often things just don't make sense to me.  How certain wonderful people die, and leave us with a sense of loneliness,
and a lifetime of "what-if's"

I am teary-eyed now, thinking of just how much I miss my Grandma Franks. How she had such a heart for the Lord.  How she always wanted girls, and had three boys.  How her middle son got married young, and how much she loved my mama.  How she was suddenly surrounded by four granddaughters, and so much love.  How she was gone before I even realized what I had.

It surprises me how often I think about Grandma, and how often I wish I could share my life with her.  The big things, like my wedding, and the birth of my baby girl...to the small things like a simple walk or a hot cup of coffee.

In a way, I do share my life with her.  My sweet one is her namesake...

little Florence Ellen...

and thus I am daily reminded of the person

that made such a difference in my life during the four short years I knew her.

I am so glad that there is One who understands all, even when I do not.  And that He is there to comfort my aching heart when I am hurting.

Wow, I guess I am in a contemplative mood this morning. Ramblings are just that, lots of bits and pieces of my life recorded here as a journal of sorts.  To look back upon, and see just what the Lord has done for us.  He truly is worthy of all praise.