don't you love how God works?

this is a story about a BOOKCASE.......or two bookcases, to be exact.

and a story about how God works things out.......in small, but mysterious and exciting ways!!

this picture is one of two bookcases that i have somewhat recently inherited from someone who was generously giving them away. they came from a friend of Heidi's who just wanted to find someone who could use 2 bookcases....and Heidi asked me if i would like them......i had been wanting bookcases for a LONG time.......even while living in Iowa i had been wanting a place to attractively put my book collection.....as opposed to the dingy, musty boxes they seemed to end up in........

books can't be used or seen in dirty , dingy boxes! that always bugged me to death! i would forget about them and they didn't get used as a result.......this dilemma went on for "years" for me.......so i excitedly got my bookcases in place, then went to those boxes and unpacked ALL my books! of course i had forgotten about so many of them.......like old friends, i delightfully re-visited some of them as i quickly flipped their pages...... while others i guiltily realized i hadn't even READ!!! i found many copies of old Bibles worn out and ragged, but loved nevertheless.....and old hymnals.....which my grandchildren won't probably even know what a hymnal even IS!

i lovingly got my books into categories:....MARY ENGELBREIT (of course she has her OWN category...duh)........CRAFTS.........MISC........

BIBLE STUDIES.........BIBLES...........DEVOTIONALS.........CHRISTIAN LITERATURE.......and neatly, but attractively mixed them into my shelves along with a few decorative items.......voila! done! how exciting!

ok........so i finally had bookcases and was totally LOVING them........they also were exactly what that big, blank wall had needed all along.....

now part 2 of this story:

i have a wonderful friend, her name is Sharon Hoffman and she was my pastor's wife in DesMoines.......she is an author and Christian speaker and now lives in Tenneesee........she recently wrote a book......well,she was speaking to a group of ladies in the area and we met for dinner and i got a signed copy of her new book! (and by the way, whoever reads this..........GET the book! it is great! and if you need a ladie's speaker......well..let me tell you........she is the best........she is so full of energy and love for God.........i am privileged to be her friend!!) whoo hoo! i was so excited that i had a PLACE to PUT the book!.......BUT i read it FIRST..........well.........it started me on a book reading journey........a GOD-GUIDED.....book reading journey, i might add.....i think the Lord had been trying to tell me i needed to read books that would help me to grow and that would help me to know HIM better, but because of my job i wasn't getting that done......well.....if you know me, or have read my blog from the start.....you know my job changed drastically........and guess what? i now have the TIME to read!!!! wow........and i now have books staring me in the face that i haven't read.........so after reading Sharon's book and being SO blessed by it.........i asked the Lord to direct me to the next book......and HE sent me to my BOOKSHELF and i picked up a book by my sister's pastor in DC........and started reading it.....oh my goodness......it was absolutely unbelievable, everything in that book was EXACTLY what i needed!.....it helped me so much........i have had the book several years, but had NEVER read it.........

so when it was done i asked God again to lead me.......and HE DID! and i read another book, and another........and guess what??? HE is still guiding me thru my BOOKSELVES and right now i am reading a book that PETER, my SON, the PREACHER, gave me many years ago, and i did NOT read it then............by Kay Arthur......"BELOVED".......it is a devotional, but i am reading it as a book..........and i am SO blessed as i read it and guess what again???? it is EXACTLY what i need right now, for this time!!!!! How great is that??????? just because i am in that book now......here is an excerpt:

"Have you realized that you can only understand that which God chooses to reveal to you? Have you accepted the fact that He is God and that you are mere man, and that because He is incomprehensible, there will have to be times when you will need, by faith, to cease trying to figure Him out and simply rest in His character and His sovereignty?

Oh, how good it is to become a child, to snuggle rather than struggle, to see that it is enough just to accept the fact that He is the Father and you are the child. Young children do not try to understand their father; they simply take him at his word.

Have you been struggling? Are you confused because you cannot figure Him out? Do you wrestle with "whys" and "hows"? Snuggle--just snuggle like a child. You are in His arms. When you do, what rest you will find for your tormented soul!"

oh my....i needed that this morning.......thank you Lord.......YOU ARE SOVEREIGN and YOU ARE GOOD.......thank you for my new bookshelves.....thank you for those books that were still waiting for me to read them in the EXACT time plan YOU had for them......and THANK YOU for the other books YOU will put in my path, as i continue to grow and love you more.

.

photo shoots

My Iowa friends! Aren't they cute?

crazy college girls

here you have it........my bff's from Faith Baptist Bible College in Ankeny, Iowa!!!.......we were roomies and crazy friends.......and still are! we proved it when we had a "sleepover" when i visited them in Iowa a couple weeks ago!........we laughed as if we had never been apart!...and yes, we DID get some sleep......believe it or not!........we are waaayyy too old to NOT get sleep!!!

my bff, Karen's house!

I am not stealing pictures any more..or will I?

HERE are actual pictures off my ACTUAL camera, downloaded by my ACTUAL thingy that does that kind of stuff...straight to my very own ACTUAL computer and to my BLOG!!!........
i will, however, admit......i really am NOT DONE with the thievery of pictures....my blog would be boring with ONLY my pics.........i MUST continue stealing, just for the creativity and interest of this blog....

these are roses from Larry for...guess what??? he gave them to me on May Day!! remember???

pictures on my wall of the 4 loves of my life
here are my polka dot glasses under a dome on my table.......i put anything under glass......it beautifies anything!

lookie! lookie! i got an award!

okay....i have been presented this blogging award from my daughter, Heidi, whose blog i stalk daily because it is funny, interesting, silly, ridiculous, informative and sometimes serious........and of course it gives me the latest "low down" on her daily life........

so......Heidi........i VERY humbly accept this prestigious award........thank you very much for thinking of me........and i'd like to thank my parents, for whom i would not be here if they didn't.....well.......you know......"have" me.........duh,..........and for my many teachers throughout the years, especially those creative writing teachers who taught me to write creatively, even though i never made above a C.........and for my own children.....(Heidi, of course that means you, too)........who taught me to laugh and who are still teaching me to laugh........and MOSTLY but not LEASTLY.......my grandchildren who teach me creativity and laughter and happiness and silliness and pretendednous and letsdriveyourparentscrazy-edness.......for whom i dedicated my blog to in the first place in those beginning days!!!......i accept your award...thank you

i am, however NOT giving it away........i am keeping it for myself........since it will probably be the ONLY prestigious award i will ever get.........

sleepover with Hope and Addie

this is Addie with her ever present bag "slung" over her shoulder......she has it packed to the hilt......and every 2 minutes added more, to which i , then, had to re-close the zipper for her.........she is always off to some imaginative place with her "popa" dot bag, as she calls it!

Hope dearly loves books and we sure did get our fill of reading in also!!! they love D.W. books........i am not so sure about that DW........she sure has attitude!!!........she wants to sell her baby sister at a Yard Sale for 50 cents!.......Hope LOVED that idea.....hmmmmmmmmm.......think she has someone in mind to do the same.......ahhhhhhhh....Addie , maybe???????? they both loved the idea, i will add in......i think they have something sinister on their minds!....but it is DW's fault!

here are the girls in their "nana" jams", as we call it...,however, Hope's NANA top is still at her house soooooooooooo........she had to wear Pap Pap's Harley Davidson sweatshirt!!!!...






YUP! we had a great time and also hilariously funny time with our little Hopie and Addie last night and this morning! how can anyone NOT have a hilarious time with them??? they are two of the cutest , funniest, children i have ever known! and also the smartest, most brilliant, talented, beautiful, .....well, need i go on? YOU get the point.........of course, never mind the fact they ARE my grand-daughters!.......in this picture they are enjoying our popcorn..slash...movie part of the night......of course it was AFTER McDonalds and the park downtown .....to be followed by a much needed bath, then MORE popcorn and MORE movie!.....which was Cheaper by the Dozen, which we have seen so many times........we know all the good lines.........just ask any one of us!!!

the day we visited a dairy farm

and guess what? they had young chickens on this farm! and guess who was not the least bit intimidated by them??? Carter and Ava!!!

how happy does he look???? i'll tell ya........he has FARMER in his blood!!!
this is a teeter totter that was home made many years ago, the kids loved it!

my dad was a dairy farmer as well, and i used to have to carry milk in pails into the "milkroom" and dump through strainers, which eventually went into a cooling tank......Larry's dad was a dairy farmer also......so it is NOT an unfamiliar scene....BUT.......this was high-tech milking for me!........but guess what hasn't changed???? the SMELL!!!....whoa baby! Heidi couldn't take it.......and i couldn't take it much longer!.......guess who never said a THING about it, tho it would be so foreign to them.......the KIDS! of course!!!.....what doll babies!!!

hey Georgians!!!....notice what color the DIRT is in IOWA!!!....NOT red!!!! yup, you better believe it.........BLACK and BEAUTIFUL!
this is my dad, Marvin, with their beautiful collie dog....

we got to visit a wonderful dairy farm one beautiful afternoon! it was an organic milking process with beautiful Jersey cows! every one of them had a name and their own name tag! it was so cute!...of course the kids had NO fear and just went right up to them....even right up to their backsides, only to be pulled quite quickly away by the farmer!!!

more farm life

Ava learned how fun it was to do the dishes!!! in fact....when Carter realized she had a chore he wasn't involved in, he wanted to do them too! oh if they only knew how UN-FUN dishes REALLY are, day in and day out!!!....nevertheless they fought over the chore, but Ava won out, since Carter had many outside "chores" with his great-grandpa that Ava didn't get to do!!! they both helped to set the table and clear the dishes....they were SO good! oh how i used to HATE that job as well......now, unfortunately....how often do we really SIT down to the table that has been PRE-SET???? Not enough, i know that! don't you sometimes "long" for the old ways????.....thanks Mom and Dad for not losing the important things!!! a little serious four-wheeelin goin on here!!!!!

the following pics are scenes that unfolded on our days at the farm! chores, playing, resting, laughing, driving things, and lots of lovin!


this is Carter on a home made tractor! that's right....i said HOME MADE!! it belongs to Larry , but for obvious reasons we could not move it to Ga. with us........it was built by Larry's dad and uncle on his home farm in Pa. when Larry was in 1st grade.... it was once in working order...but by the looks of it now, it needs a lot of work and TLC, but Larry couldn't wait to see the picture of it!
uh, wait a minute..........thot you were doin chores??? ahem!...looks a little fishy to me???

these pics are taken in Thorpe park on Lake Catherine....it was the most darling, serene scene.....several adult Canadian Geese and two flocks of their young, at different ages......they were in the grass and we slowly walked down towards them and they slowly but progressively slipped into the water and swam away!

more

photography "shoots"

these pics take place at Thorpe Park, one mile away from the farm, and a few of them are taken at the Lewis farm, which my sister , Mishelle, owns

photography shoot ONE

what do you get when you mix a somewhat primitive, very used farm with two beautiful, gorgeous, fun children??? you get pictures that blow the lid off!!! here are some of them from heidi's "many" photography shoots!...........who would have thought that this "old" farm could look so beautiful????.......ok............i have done something wrong.........will publish this post...pics to follow

part 1 of Iowa trip

ava's face says it all! she was busy entertaining herself with her play farm she brought along

dad taught carter how to play tic tac toe...pro style! and how to write his name in cursive!
my dad giving carter and ava a ride on the tractor.....and boy did they love that!

pics of sites on the farm:

here is a picture of my sweet parents and my sweet grand-kiddies at the farm in Forest City Iowa

our trip proved to be absolutely wonderful and the memories made there will last for a lifetime

heidi decided to take advantage of the farm surroundings and practice her new love of photography........i cannot even tell you how awesome her pics are ..... it was so fun to watch the process and be a part of it

there is NO way to get them all in.......i will hit the HIGH spots for pics.......and maybe comment on some.........so here you have it.........our first 5 days on the farm!!! enjoy!

oh boy i am excited

you just wait......hollie found the cord to my camera.........i now have it all together.........(oh don't i only wish)........BUT........i can now download my pics.........my only problem now is NO time.......but just you wait! ha ha.........

Super Woman is home

here is proof positive that i am Super Woman!!....or, actually Wonder Woman........i know yall have been wanting to see the proof.......and here it is........
we are home, thankfully.........and i have lots to blog about.......
we had to re-route through Kansas City and St. Louis to get home, as I-80 East had closed due to flooding conditions.......wow.......Iowa is undergoing major weather trauma and flood trauma.......can't believe we were there during such a history making time of events......
well......i knew you would love my Wonder Woman picture............(oh how i wish.....)

whoa baby

ok.........we need to leave in the am........and we have just learned the road we are to take is closed!..........so re-route we will do!.......i must admit i am quite anxious to get OUT of iowa at this point..........no offense fellow-iowan friends!..........
we drove down I-80 today at about noon and the water had risen very close to road...........and we saw at least a couple dozen deer that were being driven out of the flooded woods.......so sad.....some deer were standing in water up to their necks....
then we drove back on I-80 tonite and the water had very visibly risen higher.......wow........
well..........Georgia here we come!

quick update

hello from rainy, wet, overflowing DesMoines, Iowa..........thankfully, to this point i have NOT floated away into the wild blue rivers!!!..........not an impossible feat at this point and in this place! it is totally crazy!......if only we could re-direct it to GA to relieve a little drought damage.......we lived here in 1993, when we had similar circumstances.........it was eerie then, and it is eerie now!.........just so we get across the Mississippi on Friday! ha
i have had wonderful reunions with dear friends and have had fun "catching up" as much as possible.........i will see a few more friends tomorrow, then will have to end our Iowa vacation and hit the road again with Heidi and kids early Fri. morn.
i wonder what interesting and hilarious quotations will come from the kidlets on the way home! i sure hope they keep us as entertained on the way home as they did as we traveled TO Iowa!..........we will keep a journal of their witty ways and report later!!!
over and out for now,
sandi lou

good bye sweet farm land

this is it! we are off for phase 2 of our Iowa Adventure!......
i will be seperated from Heidi and kids......don't know what i will do without those kids!.......i hope to have a "few" adventures with them in my "homeland".......where their Mommy was primarily raised!........
i am so excited to see my dearest friends and have fellowship with them!....still a little emotional about it tho, i must admit......
there are tornado warnings all around us!..............and Carter is paranoid about it.......i just saw him VERY intently watching the weather channel.....oh boy
so here we go......BACK to the city life......woohoo!

and life goes on.....ON the farm

well, our time on the farm is growing short now.....today is the last full day......we will leave for DesMoines late Thurs. afternoon.......it will be so sad......and honestly, i am not sure we will be able to "drag" these kids away........Carter is up at the crack of dawn to check on Grandpa to see if he is ready to go out and do "chores"......and btw.....i am pretty sure Grandpa just "makes UP" chores just to make Carter happy.......like dragging sticks around and moving things around........with the 4 wheeler of course!..Ava just asked her mommy how many years have we been here.....to which she replied....3.......and she asked Ava how many years she wanted to stay here and Ava said....LOTS!........
at this very moment........Carter is outside AGAIN with Grandpa....doing MORE chores!!!.....we truly have NO idea WHAT they are doing........but my dad loves to talk and Carter loves to listen........and talk as well....and ask a million questions......to which my Dad loves to talk some more and answer them........Carter wondered if my Dad had a lot of money to buy all this farm equipment........so hilarious........
Ava is in the kitchen as i sit here at the computer, Heidi is in the shower.....so Ava is talking to my Mom........so sweet to hear their gentle talking back and forth in the next room.........
last nite the kids were outside running on the front lawn....or should i use the word "frolicking", as Heidi did.......because really......no other word describes it better.........the air was COLD....they had NO coats, even tho Heidi bought them jackets yesterday,........and they were frolicking away......peeping into each gopher hole that is unfortunately scattered throughout the entire front lawn........trying as they might......to get the gophers to peep out at them!.........
each "scene" as it unfolds on this Iowa adventure is so precious i can hardly stand it.......i am so so so glad Heidi is capturing MOST of it on camera or video........i also just bemoan the fact that Larry cannot witness it, as well as their Daddy!.........
i had no earthly idea Carter would "take" to the farm like he has.......it is unbelievable!.........he follows my dad like a shadow.......and tries to do everything he does.......even.......drinking my Dad's morning concoction of vinegar and apple juice.........so funny.......he had his little lips pursed up, but was sipping away with his great grandpa!!!!.......good thing my Dad doesn't "sip" anything else...ha ha
we didn't get to the dairy farm last nite, but we are going today..........i am sure more wonderful pics will be birthed from that adventure!!!..........
i am going with my Mom this afternoon to visit some of my relatives, while Heidi stays and plays with the kids on the farm.....along with my Dad........
well........there's your FARM REPORT for the day.....

correction

in my last blog...i meant Ava is like PETER, not Carter....i have corrected it.......we are off to Thompson, Iowa for my parents to vote!......tonite........to a dairy farm to watch cows being milked!! whoopppeeeeeee!!!!

Role Reversal

Well..........day 2....on the FARM!............it has been quite quiet, actually.........it has been spitting rain all day, which kind of killed our plans, which were to go into "town"...(farm talk).......and let the kids try out the brand new swimming pool in Forest City...........but that didn't happen...today, anyway.........
So, since it has been a lazy, rainy, quiet day........did i say QUIET???........oops.......not so much!.........Carter and Ava have been laughing and giggling ALL day.......and have been VERY silly..........and let me tell you........the tables are turned.........this is dejavu ALL over again........same story, different characters..........in the "old" days........the characters were.........me and Larry as the "head" disciplinarians........my parents of course, and Mishelle and Teresa, my sisters, and then my children, Heidi, Peter and Hannah. When we would visit, as soon as the kids rolled out of the car........SOMETHING was always going on!!....SHENANIGONS to the inth degree.........led by Mishelle and Teresa......egging them on! They usually performed ......or should I say PETER performed on my parents fireplace hearth........sometimes joined by his sisters.......he was always, always, always making us laugh!(tonite my Dad even said........"that little Ava reminds me so much of PETER.........always so silly"!!!!!..........well Ava plays his part and is our current resident comedian.......and both Carter and Ava are always up to something..........like.........twirling Grandpa's blue chair until they are so dizzy they can't stand up.......walking on the treadmill.......with Grandpa close at their side, i might add......they ask him if they can go for a walk.......and they trudge off for a good, healthy walk on the treadmill.......there is also a stationery bike here.......and tho they can barely even climb on it........they somehow get it to go.........
BUT the funniest thing........and talk about role reversal.........I...that's right, i am talking about myself.........was always telling the kids to settle down.....stop the nonsense........especially when my parents had gone to bed........and the truth is.......that was when the kids were wound the tightest.........they would all bunk out in the living room.......and laugh and carry on half the night.......we warned, and we warned and we warned.......to NO avail........well.........the kids aren't bunking in the living room.......but NOW it is ME , Carter, and Ava...........always in trouble with HEIDI.........you see, i egg them on and get them wound up like a top........in fact, just a few seconds ago they giggled their way to their bed on the floor in the room with Heidi.....while Heidi is letting me know it is MY fault!....and guess what???????? it IS! and i LOVE it!.........
Well.......it is late and i am bone weary..........so time to "turn in"....(more farm talk)........

WE Made it!!!

Helllooooo! We made it, we surely did! And guess what????????? It WAS 18 hours on the money!!!...unfortunately!!!........
I am on my parent's computer and it is slooooooooowwwwwwwwwww..........so will save the "good stuff" for when I can blog at home..........but let me just tell ya.......we have been laughing a LOT.......mostly at the kids........they have been hilarious........they know NOTHING about states, cities, bodies of water, farms, farmland.........other than FLORIDA and the OCEAN..........and the combination of their sweet innocence has made for some rather hilarious, albeit , out of control laughter.......which sure helps the trip go smoother! Isn't laughter a great thing? It is my FAVORITE thing to do!!!
Here is a little story to "whet" your appetite:.........I was driving and Heidi was sleeping......the kids were awake.......and we were passing one of those HUGE white , steel cross structures and it was looming toward us, very close to the road's edge.........so i told Carter........"look at the cross!".........to which he replied, "Nee Nee, is that the cross Jesus died on????"............oh my........i almost went off the road.......
there were MANY more hilarious moments.......and if you read Heidi's blog......you have read many of them.......
oh yea........Heidi is now "in training" for photography.......and she took over
1,000 pics today of the kids on the farm and at a small park.........and they are SOMETHING ELSE!...... ambercrombie...eat your heart out....seriously!!!.so look forward to those too!!!
So.........first full day on the farm.......exciting, full and fun packed.......what oh what will tomorrow bring???