A Blessed Day

This is my little, my youngest, my last born, my baby.  He is the youngest, he will be 24 this year.

This one has always been, all over the place.  All over the map, as most people would say.  He is full of energy, always has to be doing something, never still, always making people laugh, the list goes on.  This one also has a heart of gold.  He would give you the shirt off his back.  To sum it up, he's pretty special.  But being special does not mean being perfect.  There is no such thing as perfect.  Not in human eyes anyway, but I think God see's us as perfect. Each of us is His masterpiece.

My little let the teenage years consume him, as soon as he turned 18.  We had always told all three of our children, once you turn 18, your an adult, you will be treated as an adult if you were ever to get into any trouble.  We warned all three of them, please be careful, walk the right path, always keep moving forward.

A month after he turned 18, ONE MONTH, our little got in some trouble and was arrested.  Someday I will go into details, but for now, he was arrested and taken to jail.  We did what we thought was best and decided that tough love was the best way to go.  He remained in jail for three months. One of the hardest things as a parent I have ever done.

Three months later, came his court date, then he was released, then he was sentenced to four years probation, since it was his first offense.

Four years is a long time.  Four years of not making one mistake to violate your probation.  You could violate your probation, by missing just one appointment.  He could not even go out of the state, unless pre-approved a month in advance.  It was a long four years.  Four years of praying everyday that God would see him through this.  I'm telling you it wasn't easy.  He was still young, still trying to find his place in society, still growing into a young man.  Four years is a LONG TIME.

Fast forward to today!  TODAY was his last day of probation! Praise the Lord!!!  I literally cried, when he text me and told me he had been released!  What an accomplishment!  God has seen him through this and is showing him what kind of man he can become!

For all of you mothers (and fathers) out there!  Keep those prayers strong!  It's just amazing to see how God works in their lives and molds them into the adults he wants them to be!  Even though he made mistakes, in God's eyes, he is His masterpiece!  He will never be done forming us into the masterpiece that He is creating us to be!

Today was a blessed day!

(P.S.  God has also blessed him with the gift to paint.  He is a talented house painter, like his dad)

Blessings Always

Historic Westwood

Good Friday to all!  I wanted to share some pictures that I took last weekend of Historic Westwood, in Knoxville, Tn.  My photography group was invited to take photos of this gorgeous historic home that has been hidden behind a stone wall for years.  You can read all about the history of the house here in this article I found History of Westwood.  I hope you find it as intriguing as I did.  Enjoy!!

May you and yours have a blessed Easter!

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him.

1 Corinthians 15:16-20

Mother's Prayers

From the time our kids are brought into this world, as mother's, we have been praying for them.  I know I prayed for my three before I even gave birth to each one of them.  I know we probably pray over a million prayers for our kids through out their lives.  We probably can't even remember half the prayers we prayed over them.  Then there are some prayers we have prayed over and over,  from the time they were conceived until the present day.  One of those prayers of mine has always been to protect them and keep them safe. Yes, all mother's I'm sure pray for their children's safety and protection.  We pray over them when their small to heal their cuts and bruises, we pray over them as teenagers to protect them when they get their drivers license, we pray over them when they go off to serve our country, we PRAY FOR THEM, that's just what we do. BUT, then there comes a time when something happens and you realize that God has listened, that he really listened to every single one of your prayers.  That time for me came this Monday.

I have been more than blessed with three healthy children.  They are now grown adults and are very healthy.  I can say that God has kept them safe and protected over the years.  But this Monday, something happened that made me realize how powerful prayer really is.  My oldest son that is 28 works as a laborer in a property sales department at a plant where we live.  He has only been in this new position for a month.  The job consists of moving and storing very heavy equipment, furniture, vehicles, etc.  There are two laborers that perform work in this area.  On Monday my son came down ill with a stomach virus while he was at work that morning.  His supervisor sent him to the medical facility at work to be checked and they proceeded to send him home for the day.  Meanwhile, they had sent another laborer to fill in for him that day, due to a busy schedule.  Not even an hour after my son had been sent home sick and the laborer reported to fill in for him, there was a crucial accident.  The two laborers proceeded to move a 1,500 pound piece of equipment down a ramp to load on a truck.  During the process of moving the piece of equipment, the cart must have been jarred and due to it being top heavy, fell on the laborer that had come to fill in for my son.  This man sustained two broken legs, broken thumb, cuts to his body, the list goes on.  He was in surgery for hours!  By the power of God, this man is expected to make it!  There are several miracles that happened here!  The first one was, God protected and kept my son safe!  The second miracle was, this man is still alive!  If the piece of equipment would have fell closer to his upper body, he might not have made it! I'm talking 1,500 pounds people!  Even though this man sustained major injuries, it could have been so much worse!  GOD answers prayers!  He listens to each and every  one!  I praise God for keeping my son safe and I praise God for saving this man's life! I'm sure he has or had a mother that has been praying for his safety and protection too!   If you can, please add this man to your prayer list!  I pray that God blesses him with a speedy recovery!

Blessings always.

Time Marches On

I was reading an article the other day, it said "people don't realize they are missing out on the one thing they can't ever get back, TIME."

WHOA! Wait a minute!  That stopped me in my tracks!  I had to go back and re-read that sentence several times!  What powerful words!  I wanted to fully understand what point the author was trying to make.  So after reading it and letting in sink in, here is what I came up with.

TIME is something we all have.  Every, single, one of us.  We don't know how much of it we have, but we are all the same when it comes down to us each having TIME.  The point the author was trying to make (at least I think) is, are WE as individuals making the best of what TIME we do have?  Each individual is going to have a different amount of time here on this earth.  That is a fact.  So it's what we do with that TIME that is going to be important.  Example, if you are unhappy in a job that you spend eight hours a day at, your not ever going to be able to get those eight hours back to spend them being happy.  Once the eight hours is up, time has past, it's gone, it's outta here!  Next time your child (grown adult children, husband, etc) asks you to spend time with them, even just listen to them, take a few minutes to focus on nothing but them!  Your laundry can wait!

WOW, now talking about feeling guilty!  I'm sure if we all would admit it, we all could have used our TIME a little more wisely.  But you know what? I can't change the past, you can't change the past, but we can make a difference in the future. This makes me want to really think about how I am going to choose to spend my TIME through out the day.  Am I going to choose to be happy at what I am doing?  Am I going to make a choice to spend more time with my family and friends?  Am I going to choose to follow my dreams?  When I look back now, I can definitely see where I have lost a lot of  TIME that I could have spent differently.  We can't change the past.  That is a FACT.  But for me, I'm going to concentrate on my future and think about how I will be spending my own precious TIME, so I won't be looking back later, wondering what I should have done different.  I want to take action now.  I want my TIME to matter to me and the ones I love! People, TIME marches on!  TIME is important!  Don't lose it! We can't get it back!

Blessings always,

DIY $30 Vanity Makeover!

before

and before

and after with Behr Expresso Bean 

love the richness of the paint

So, what's been going on with you?  Life is whats been going on around here.  A lot of it!  I can't find the time to post about everything I would like to post about.  So I have to pick and choose.  I decided to show you a little makeover today.  I am always trying to make the best of what I have without having to buy new, if possible.  In this case my upstairs bathroom vanity needed a major make over!  This cabinet is probably about 45 years old, original to the house.  It was first original wood, then it had been primed, then painted black.  I didn't really want to invest in a new vanity, because the entire side (see top photo) has to be cut out to make room for the HVAC vent that goes into the hallway.  I didn't want to purchase a new vanity, then have to cut out one entire side!  So the quickest, most inexpensive way to makeover this vanity was to repaint it.  All I had to do since it had been primed and already had paint on it, was remove the hardware, sand out some rough spots, buy new hardware and slap two coats of paint on it.  I chose Behr paint with primer in Expresso Bean (satin finish), very yummy.  It's really hard to tell from the picture, but it is a really deep chocolate brown just like coffee beans.  It will make your mouth water!  Total investment $30 (approx)!

Blessings always!

I'm a WINNER!

me, is this creepy?

the book I won!

Holy moly! I'm a winner!  I can't believe it! I'm the gal that never wins anything!  I am still in shock that I actually won!  I would like to thank Tiffney at The House of Belonging for this great giveaway! Her blog is awesome!  I can't wait to dig in deep and start reading this book!  On another note, I would also like to mention another accomplishment of mine this week.  It might not sound like a big deal to most folks, especially exercise enthusiasts, but for me, THIS IS BIG!  I have been a walker (sometimes a runner) about all my life.  I have had on and off issues with my back over the last few years.  I have been trying to build back up to walking long distances without pain!  So this week I completed a 10K walk without any major pain!  Yes siree bob!  I did!  I had to give myself a pat on the back for that one! Last but not least, is that creepy that I took a picture of myself looking in patio doors (by the way, they are my own patio doors)?  I'm not a peeping tom, maybe a peeping photographer? Lol  Actually, I was just messing around with some camera settings, but after I took it, I realized how clean my windows looked and they haven't even been cleaned since last year! A small miracle!

Blessings always

Mardi Growl!

What a fun day at the Mardi Growl!  I have never seen so many dogs and fancy outfits in my life!  I just had to share some of the fun with you!  I hate to admit it, but I'm glad I didn't take my two furry critters (they can't behave), they would have been so jealous that we didn't have matching outfits!!  Lol

Blessings always!