Flying Solo! :)

 I'm sharing a few photos, the first was taken more recently, and the others were taken some time ago! :)
This first one is of a recent visit Rud made to see Sheana, Troy, and the grandkids! :)

 Rud and Sheana sharing a ride in the park that adjoins Disney Land! :)

 An old family photo that was taken before we lost our past dogs, and before Rud and I lost most of our excess weight! :)

 A blurry photo of Cal, who's always known the art of making work feel like play! :)

 Sheana with Max and Buddyman, in the blossoms of her favorite tree! :)

 A cross-stitch I did that reminds me of my two chicks! :)

Sheana and Cal by a snowman they made! :)

From the time I gave birth to our first baby, I wondered how we'd ever manage life when the day came that they flew from our nest! Even as I tried to give our kids the confidence, love, and skills they'd need to fly solo, I felt deep concern about how I'd handle it when they Did! :)
I've learned since then, that it all works out! :)
Even when our kids learn to fly solo, they still call back to the nest! My daughter and I are very close and she calls me almost daily, especially now that my oldest grandson is three and has started asking to talk to me, too! :)
They also fly back to the nest for visits, bringing our grandchildren in tow!! :) Sometimes we wonder if our small, humble home can expand enough to fit us all in now! :)
They may surprise us by moving back into the nest, especially with our current economy, until they find enough $tability to take flight again, as happened with our son after the friends he was sharing a house with, moved! :)
Through the years I've reminded myself that my goal as a mother is to train up my children in the way they should go and help them learn to replace their dependence on us with a dependence on the Godhead! :) If we are successful, they will be in Perfect Hands long after we've progressed on! :)
That doesn't mean we are suddenly cut out of their lives, however, because love and respect fosters love and respect in return! :)
It most likely means that we end up with the best of both worlds! We get to still enjoy having them, and our continued posterity, in our lives And we get to learn there's enjoyment in being spontaneous and flying solo ourselves! If we're willing, we can fly faster and higher than we flew with little ones at our wing! We can show our children, by our example, that age is not something they need to fear and that life is worth living at any age! :) We can show them that there can be joy in the words "endure to the end"! :) How about saying "LIVE to the end"!!!? :) And when the "end" comes, we just Go On Living, on the other side of the veil!!!! :)
It's all good! :)
We've noticed that while we've been trying to teach our kids about life, ... They have been the ones teaching Us!! :) For that we are eternally grateful!! :)
How we love them!! :)
That love sometimes means we fly to Them! :) Soon I will be boarding a plane to visit my daughter, son-in-love, and their precious family!! :)
I'm looking forward to hearing the engines whine and feeling the power pressing my back, stealing me up into the sky!! :) ... I'll be smiling and ... flying solo!! :)

Here, There, And Back Again! :)

 Like many of us, gardening has been a love of mine for as long as I can remember! :) For me, gardening is like breathing! I can't imagine living without it! :)
When I decided to go back to working outside of our home, the garden nursery seemed like a natural fit! :) I gave everything I'd learned here at home to it, and felt myself a valuable employee! :)
I started at one nursery that was financially struggling, and got a good review to move on to another nursery that was much larger and very successful! :)
Now, I've taken the additional skills and knowledge I gained from the nurseries, and am applying it back in my own yard! :)

 Did you know you can completely prune your fern every year to enjoy an all new flush of growth!? :)

 One of the things I learned at the nursery is to not be bashful about adding whimsy! :)

 I love my "fat bird" that sits in one of the birdbaths! It's one bird that doesn't have to fly away when the kitties decide to come and drink there! :)

 It's was actually from my garden friend, Jan, that I learned you don't have to have a water pond to enjoy having water plants, like this miniature cattail! :)

 A speckled violet that I fell in love with at the nursery, now grows in one of my flower beds! :)

I love to look up and see the moon reflecting the sun in the blue, blue sky! :)

 My first potted arrangement of the season! It will eventually spill over and hang down the sides! :)

 Just freshly planted, thus bits of soil can be seen on the feathery leaves and  petals! :)

 New plants have found a home! They will eventually fill in and be lovely! :)

 Watered the following day after planting, to protect from sun stress! :)

 Planted on an overcast day to reduce stress on the plants! :)
Photo below shows the fun of laying out the bed to check placement before planting them in the ground! :)

All Season Nursery was an amazing place to work! We had the most hard working, skilled, talented, and plant-educated bosses in Jim and Nancy!! :) The rest of the staff was equally incredible in their love of plants, and honest, loving ways! We felt like a family, and chose to get together for holidays on our off time! Some of us still make a point to get together, and the love of plants is still shared! :)
When All Seasons Nursery sold, though the goodbyes are always a little hard, I was happy to have time to spend in my own yard again, and put into practice the additional things I learned there! :)
My garden knowledge started here, then took me there ... and back again! :)

That's About The Size Of It! :)

How does one decide what age it is that we declare one is "Old"!? :) Age is a funny thing to pinpoint! :)

As a child I remember seeing some 16 yr. old high school girls who'd been tutoring at the grade school. I happened to use the restroom, and was pleased when I witnessed them chatting and washing their hands as they came out from the stalls! So few grade school kids ever washed their hands that I was beginning to think I was the only one who bothered! I smiled shyly at them with admiration thinking how "adult" they were, and yes, at the time they seemed "old" to me! :)

Then I remember thinking L.D.S. missionaries were so adult, and so old, until one day realized I was as old as they were! :)

Then it was the NFL players I thought were old; ... then people in their 40's; then people in their 60's; and then surely people in their 80's; 90's' or 100's were "Old"! :) ...

I laugh now thinking I ever thought Anyone was old!! :) The older I get, the younger everyone Is! :) After all, I don't view myself as being old, even though I'm in my mid 50's now, so none of the people I viewed as being old were old after all! :)

Therefore, it stands to reason, that when I hit my 60's, or 80's, or 100's, that I won't view those ages as being old either! :)

After all, we've all heard the saying that "You're as old as you feel." :)

If that's true, then I've Lost around 20 years when I lost 50 lbs. last year, - since I Feel like I'm actually in my 30's again! :)

So age is a relative thing to me! :)

I remember my very dear Grammie smiling sweetly and telling me "One's spirit doesn't age, it's just after awhile your body can't keep up with your spirit anymore." :)

So for now, I'm grateful that my body is still able to come through for my spirit and allow me to do most of what I want to do! :)

For some reason, this reminds me of a song they use to sing on Sesame Street, "That's about the size, where you put your eyes, - that's about the size of it!" :)

If one's focus is on the eye of the whale, then the whale looks huge compared to the eye, - but if you span out to include the ocean, then the whale is suddenly small, - and if we span out again, to include the earth, the eye of the whale is so totally tiny as to be almost forgotten compared to our new view of the planet, ... and what if we span back to include the universe?! :) Yet if we focus back in on the eye of the whale, the whale is still large compared to size of the whale's eye! :)

So it is with age. ... "That's about the size, where you put your eyes, that's about the size of it!" :)

At Least A Dozen Delights! :)

Nothing makes life sweeter than counting one's blessings! :) At the top of the list are our grandsons! How we love them, and how I love to see Rud interacting with them! It is a study of love in action! :)

A lot of the blessings I take delight in are much less obvious, like noticing the lilacs are preparing to bloom! Before long they will send heavenly fragrance drifting in the air! I can hardly wait! :)
Aren't the daffodils a cheery sight, especially with the sunshine playing upon their petals!? :)
As much as I enjoy the flowering quince every year, I think it's the excitement the hummers display around them that make me delight in them even more! :) It flowers around the time the hummingbirds return and they get quite territorial about it! The male that gets to claim the flowering quince in it's territory is sure to win a female! :)
I love seeing my little Mason Bees hard at work in the yard! They seem especially fond of this flowering currant! Our live investment are alive and well, and still active on the property! :)
My life would not be complete with the delight of a canine companion! We recently took Coal in to be fixed and already he's all healed up and doing great! :)
How I love rainbows! :) There are so many doubles, which really delights me! :)

One of my favorite things to do is watch the sun rise! :)
Sometimes they can be quite colorful! :)
Hummers have always delighted me! It's so fun to see them zipping around the yard! Yesterday one flew so close that I felt my hair move as it past by! :)
The kitties have reminded me of the delight felines can be in my life! How I love them and enjoy how they follow me around the yard when I'm outside working! :) I went years living without a cat, and now I can't imagine life without them! :)
The tulips are in bloom now, and I'm pleased with their fragrance as well as their beauty! :)
I love how well this weatherized livestock bowl is working for my water plants! In time they will likely graduate to a fancier location, but for now this is working well! :)

...

I could go on and on, ... as at every turn there's something that delights me, ... and I trust as you look around you see many things that delight you in your life! :)

I challenge you to make a mental list of at least a dozen delights, and I guarantee you'll be smiling! :)

Happy counting everyone!! :)