This has been one hectic week. The last two, in fact, have been busier than usual. It’s good to stop and take a breath and remember God’s blessings scattered through the days. I’m sharing with Susanne and friends at Living to Tell the Story.

1. Getting through. I’m thankful for God’s faithfulness in getting me through the last couple of weeks and various answers to prayer along the way. I have a couple of things on the agenda next week, but then July looks like a more normal schedule.

2. Father’s Day. We enjoyed celebrating Jim and Jason with stroganoff, and a Chantilly cake Mittu made with berries on top and between layers.

We got a few photos–unfortunately, Jesse had already left by the time we took them, and of course Jeremy was in RI.

3. A gastroenterology visit went well. The things they gave me to try last time seem to be helping.

4. Ruby Tuesday BOGO. When we get take-out, it’s usually fast food. Last weekend, we wanted something a little more upscale. I checked my “Sales” email folder and found a buy one entree/get one free offer from Ruby Tuesdays–and it was only good for last weekend. Good timing! We has Crispy Shrimp and Ribs along with a baked potato. Jim grabbed a bagged salad from the grocery store on his way to pick up the take-out.

5. Radio Interview. I had an interview Wednesday with Kurt and Kate Mornings on Moody Radio Florida. They wanted to discuss my post Life Doesn’t Always Turn Out Like We Thought It Would. We had a technical glitch at the beginning, with a delay in my responses getting to them. So they switched to using my phone. The sound is a little fuzzy, but at least it worked. My oldest son recorded it for me and made a link for the interview. You can listen to it here if you like. There are some commercials and a weather report in the middle. I cringed a little as I listened to it yesterday, noticing the “ums” and “you knows” and the dead air space as I pondered the answer to some of their questions. I don’t usually think “on my feet” very well—I guess that’s one reason I like to write: I can take time to process. But I prayed for the words God wanted me to say before and during the interview, so I trust it was helpful to listeners.

The eggs in our flower arrangement have hatched!

Have a great weekend!

I know it sounds cliche to talk about how fast time passes every week—but it does seem to keep going faster. All the more reason to pause and reflect once in a while. I do that on Fridays with Susanne and friends at Living to Tell the Story. Here are five favorites from the week:

1. An impromptu get-together. Sunday afternoon, Jason asked if we minded if they invited themselves over. They are always welcome, of course. We hadn’t seem them much the previous week because Timothy was in VBS and Mittu was helping with a class. We didn’t have an organized dinner—we rummaged around for leftovers or heat-and-eat things in the freezer. We enjoyed time with them, as we always do.

2. Feeling better. I had a routine cardiologist visit this week—nothing new to report, EKG went well. But that evening and through the next two days, my heart was more fluttery than usual. It wasn’t full-fledged afib. It’s not unusual to have little flutters or abnormal beats every now and then–they say that’s nothing to worry about. But I don’t normally have that many that close together. I was just on the verge of calling the cardiologist back when everything went back to normal.

3. Dinner and flowers. One of the nights I wasn’t feeling well, Jason and Mittu brought dinner and flowers. Timothy either made or helped make cupcakes.

4. VBS, or Vacation Bible School. Some of the FFF friends are from other countries, and I don’t know if they have VBS everywhere. Here, many churches host a week-long Vacation Bible School for kids to have fun, get together, and most importantly learn about God. We weren’t involved this year except to pray and donate supplies. Sunday morning, the kids sang a song they learned and the director told about some things that happened that week. The decorations were amazing. I’m so thankful for the people who pour themselves into that ministry and for the opportunity to share truth with kids. I pray that the seeds planted will be watered and come to fruition. I saw one sweet photo on FaceBook with a little girl who fell asleep holding the Bible she had received that week. This was Timothy’s first time to attend, and he enjoyed it.

5. Machine recovery. I was using the Cricut machine to make a card this week that was rather involved. I usually go for simple designs, but I liked this one so much, I decided to go for it. It had multiple parts to be cut out. On the next to last one, the lights that indicate when to load the machine and when to start cutting stopped working and the machine stopped responding. So frustrating! The power light was still on, so it hadn’t died completely. I tried turning it off and back on and various other things, then looked up online what to do. Nothing was working, and I stated filling out a customer service form on their site. I tried one more thing–and that worked, for which I was extremely thankful. I had to do it for each step, but I was able to complete my project. I’m hoping it just got a little confused with the complicated project and this isn’t a regular thing.

Bonus: a new old song. I was looking for something else on YouTube when one of their suggested videos caught my eye, a song titled “Dear Refuge of My Weary Soul.” I saw it was written by Anne Steele, a hymnwriter from the 18th century known as “the Baptist equivalent of Isaac Watts.” I listened, and have listened many times since then. The words are here.

Also, the nest in the flower arrangement I mentioned last week has two more eggs in it. They came two at a time, which I was surprised at. But the birds are so small, it makes sense that she couldn’t lay all those at once. We caught a glimpse of the mama bird–she’s reddish but not a cardinal. Since this is right by the front door, she startles and flies away every time we open it. So we’re trying to use other doors as much as possible.

That’s our week. How was yours?

The first week of June has been busy, fast, and also good. I’m sharing favorites of the week with Susanne and friends at Living to Tell the Story.

1. A surprise chicken biscuit. Jim brought back biscuits from Chick-Fil-A after his time at the gym Friday morning. Those are always welcome, but that day I had some extra tasks to do in the morning. So it was especially nice to have breakfast already made.

2. Leftovers and family time. Jason and Mittu had several friends over on Friday night. They had a good bit of food left over and asked if we wanted to share it on Saturday. So we enjoyed a meal with them and some fellowship.

3. Lunch with Melanie. We tried something different from our usual meeting places and went to Lulu’s Tea Room. We both had Chicken Pecan Quiche, and we enjoyed catching up with each other even more.

4. A long overdue haircut. I go to a walk-in place and usually have to wait for my stylist to finish with one or two people in front of me. When I walked in on Thursday, she had no customers, so I got right in.

5. A surprise in the flower arrangement. I noticed there was some kind of viny thing hanging from my spring flower arrangement on the front porch. I tried to pull it out, but it was stuck. Then I noticed it was attached to a little nest on top which kind of smushed the flowers. It has four eggs in it. I had been meaning to change the spring arrangement out for a summer one–I guess I’ll have to wait a bit now. 🙂

Have a good weekend!

It’s the last Friday of May already. I’m pausing with Susanne and friends at Living to Tell the Story to look back over the blessings of the past week.

1. The National Memorial Day Concert on PBS Sunday night reminded and helped us honor the memories of those who died that we might enjoy freedom.

2. Grilling and family time. Monday, we enjoyed grilled burgers, hot dogs, sausage, sides, and cheesecake. We ended the day playing games.

3. Our care group met Sunday after church for a shared dinner and time of fellowship and prayer.

4. Sunny days. After several torrential downpours, tornado watches, and a bit of hail last week, it’s been nice to see the sun out all this week.

5. Pantry reorganizing. Our kitchen pantry is the size and shape of a small walk-in closet. The shelves on the right hold food. The shelves on the left hold some small appliances, paper goods, serving dishes, and assorted other items. I had an idea to reorganize some of the items on the left. I had hoped to create more space. Though that didn’t happen, the area looks neater and seems a little more efficiently arranged. That’s been on my mind to do for a while, so it was nice to have a chance to do it.

And that ends another week—and month! What’s a blessing from your week?

This month is just speeding by. I’m pausing for a few moments with Susanne and friends at Living to Tell the Story to remember and be thankful for the good things of the week.

1. Spaghetti fundraiser. A group of families in our church is going on a mission trip this summer and hosted a spaghetti dinner fundraiser after church last Sunday. It was nice to have dinner taken care of and have some time to fellowship.

2. End-of-fourth-grade celebration. Jason and Mittu invited us over to celebrate the end of Timothy’s school year with homemade Chicago-style pizza, salad, garlic bread, and a chocolate pudding/cream cheese/whipped topping dessert..

3. Dinner offering. Jason and Mittu had to cancel plans with another family because Timothy got sick. But they already had a bunch of food in the crock pot. So Jason texted, “Don’t make dinner! We’ll bring some over at 6.” I was sorry Timothy wasn’t feeling well but happy to receive food.

4. A light cooking week. With the meals mentioned above, plus getting Subway one night and Chick-Fil-A another, I’ve had an unplanned mini-vacation from the kitchen this week.

5. Jim’s routine colonoscopy went well. No problems reported.

A short but sweet list. How was your week?

Just like that, we’re halfway through May already. It’s time to pause with Susanne and friends at Living to Tell the Story to look back over the blessings of the past week.

1. Mother’s Day. My family always makes me feel extra-special that day. Mittu made a Mother’s Day breakfast of quiche, potatoes, and muffins, and Jason brought it over the night before. It was so nice to just heat up Sunday morning breakfast, plus it was enough for Monday’s breakfast as well.

After church, Jim grilled burgers, hot dogs, and sausage. The kids contributed sides, and Jason made Chocolate Pretzel Pie.

I received flowers, thoughtful gifts, and sweet cards. We FaceTimed with Jeremy. It was a great day.

2. Unexpected funny moments. When I opened Jim’s card, the inside had a series of flaps with little messages. He signed what he thought was the last space, but it looked to me like that was another flap. I lifted it up, and the card started loudly belting out a song titled “Some Kind of Wonderful.” It surprised us all, even Jim—he hadn’t known it was a musical card. We all had a good laugh.

3. Aurora Borealis, or the Northern Lights, were visible over much of the US last weekend. We only saw a faint purplish-pink glow one night. But friends around town posted on Facebook photos where they saw a variety of colors and streaks. It was really neat to see something like that—I never thought I would.

4. Plants. Last Saturday, Jim and I shopped for plants for hanging baskets and planters. I was astonished at how expensive some of those things had gotten! But we did find some lower-priced options. It’s so nice to see the hanging baskets outside the windows and to have the planters cleaned up and looking nice.

5. A quiet week. We’ve had absolutely nothing extra this week since Sunday. I enjoy our church Bible study, critique group, family outings and such—but it’s nice and restful sometimes to have a free and quiet week.

And that wraps up another week. How was yours?

I was just thinking of something I needed to add to this week’s Friday’s Fave Five, when I realized Friday was tomorrow (or today, by the time you read this)! So I’d better get started. I join with Susanne and friends at Living to Tell the Story each week to recount recent blessings.

1. A “Girl Talk” session. Our church had one of these for women last year, but I was unable to attend. This time, Mittu and I both went. The topic was “Unmet Needs,” with a session in the morning and afternoon and lunch in-between. One lady spoke most of the time, but a few other ladies had been asked to share their stories, plus there were a couple of group activities as well. One thing that stood out to me, that I would not have thought to include in a talk like this, was that God created us to be needy. He made us with certain needs, so we don’t need to feel ashamed that we have them or feel like we’re “bugging” Him by presenting our needs to Him. He wants us to come to Him and depend on Him.

The lunch was catered by McAlister’s Deli and was so good. They had salads as well as sandwiches. And they had some wonderful cookies that I don’t remember seeing in their restaurant before.

2. Amazon gift cards. I had received these last Christmas, but I waited to add them to my account until I knew what I wanted to do with them. Amazon has a frustrating way of automatically paying for any purchases from gift cards unless we manually uncheck that box and check the one for our credit card or reward points. I’ve had gift cards disappear that way before we realized what was happening. When I added my gifts cards in and made my purchases, it felt like Christmas all over again.

3. A “Super Celebration.” Our church has Awanas for younger kids and something called Eagle Club for the older elementary kids, which Timothy has participated in this year. They had a big end-of-year celebration this week and invited family members. They received rewards and recited verses and songs they learned. Then they had carnival-like games set up in the gym.

4. Safety. We had severe thunderstorm warnings, flood warnings, and tornado watches this week. Thankfully all was well here, and the electricity didn’t even blink.

Also, on the way home from the “Super Celebration,” a semi truck started to pull into our highway lane—while we were still in it. After a lot of horn-honking, he got back into his own lane. It was scary for a minute there.

5. Ceiling fans. It’s been so humid lately, the ceiling fans have helped dry out the air. Plus they help me not turn the AC down so low that my husband gets frozen out. 🙂

That wraps up another week here. How was yours?

These Fridays keep coming around more and more frequently. It’s good to pause occasionally and recount the good parts of the week before they disappear from memory. I join Susanne and friends at Living to Tell the Story to do just that on Fridays.

1. Dresses hemmed. I don’t mind maxi dresses in the winter, but in warm weather, I need the air circulating around my legs. I finally got to hemming up a couple of long dresses and have worn both of them this week.

2. A new mirror. Some time ago, I received an almost-full-length mirror for my craft/sewing room. But company was coming before we could put it up, so I tucked it in the closet . . . where it has been ever since. I asked Jim if he could put it up for me since I was planning on hemming the above-mentioned dresses and needed to check the length in a mirror. He was kind enough to do so. I always feel bad when something I’ve asked him to do turns out to be more complicated than I thought it would be. In this case, I wanted the mirror on the back of the room’s door–which was a hollow inside door with no studs. But he got it up there.

3. Puttering in the craft room. I came in while Jim was working on the mirror to answer a question about how high I wanted it. I stuck around in case he needed me to hand him something or get something for him. Plus, I couldn’t get out of the room without interrupting what he was doing. 🙂 So when he didn’t need me, I worked on decluttering my work table. It was an enjoyable time, and my table looks so much more spacious now.

I’ve had an idea for a long time of doing everything I need to do with the blog and computer on weekdays so I could use Saturday for family or church events, or, if nothing was happening on those fronts, I could get to some of the crafty things I want to do. I have photo albums I need to redo, photos in shoe boxes I need to do something with, craft projects I’d love to work on. I have a watercolor kit I’d love to dabble with. This Saturday afternoon in the craft room was the first opportunity to implement that desire for my craft time.

4. Wrap-up potluck. Our Bible study wrapped up its spring session with a potluck dinner and discussion of what we learned from Isaiah. It was a good way to remind ourselves of some of the key points we studied.

5. Family dinner and games. Mittu, Jason, and Timothy offered to come over and make dinner Sunday evening. Jesse was free to come, too, so we enjoyed time together.

That’s our week..How was yours?

It’s Friday once again—time to share the blessings of the week with Susanne and friends at Living to Tell the Story.

1. Time with Timothy. My son and daughter-in-law had a meeting that lasted all of Saturday morning, so they brought Timothy here. He and his granddad did some of the experiments from the National Geographic Completely Gross Chemistry Set Tim had gotten for his birthday. 🙂

Then they played games on their tablets, then made mini pizzas on gluten-free tortillas. Jason and Mittu came home just in time for lunch.

2. Lunch with Melanie. We usually get together every few weeks, but it had been two months since we last did. I had some Red Lobster gift cards, so we enjoyed good food and a nice long chat.

3. Bible Study. Our ladies’ Bible study ended its trek through Isaiah with a particularly good discussion. We have one more wrap-up meeting and potluck next week, then we’ll break for the summer.

4. Naps. Sunday afternoon naps are the best. 🙂 I’d actually rather not take them on other days, but sometimes that’s the difference between being functional or not the rest of the day.

5. Good books could be listed every week. I finished one recently that I am sure will be a favorite of the year, Whose Waves These Are by Amanda Dykes (linked to my review).

That’s my week—how was yours?

I’m joining in once again with Susanne and friends at Living to Tell the Story to share the blessings of the week.

1. Timothy’s birthday! My grandson turned 10 this week! Double digits!

He wanted a banana split pie instead of cake, and Mittu made a gorgeous and tasty one. And he also wanted a Buc-cee’s themed party. He loves that place, which, if you don’t know, is basically a gas station that advertises the cleanest bathrooms ever, but also is something like a mini mall. I guess a lot of other people like it as a party theme, too, because there were party plates and decorations with Buc-cee the beaver all over them. 🙂

2. Play and dinner. The school associated with our church was putting on a play of Winnie the Pooh and invited the church folks to come for a free showing of their last dress rehearsal Tuesday afternoon.

3. Dinner out. After the play, we tried out a new Mexican food restaurant. We hadn’t actually eaten in a restaurant in a long time: we usually get takeout to bring home. It was really noisy, but otherwise enjoyable.

4. A rediscovered turntable. We have our medications in a corner cabinet in the kitchen. There’s a lot more storage on either side of the cabinet door, but it’s hard to get to. So we have Lazy Susan turntables on one shelf for our prescription medications. The shelf below has nonprescription medicines and supplements, and we were getting so many that I was frustrated having to move containers around to find what I needed. Then I remembered I had tucked away in the pantry a turntable I had bought for another cabinet but which was too big to fit there. Thankfully, I hadn’t given it away yet, and it worked perfectly for the stray medications.

5. Tooth removal recovery. Last Friday I had just had a problem tooth removed. I was envisioning chipmunk cheeks, living on broth and applesauce, and constant pain. It did hurt, and I was on soft foods and Tylenol for a few days. But it wasn’t as bad as I was expecting. It’s still a little tender, but thankfully, there have been no complications.

And that wraps up another week! I hope yours has been enjoyable, too.