IN CALIFORNIA

The picture above is me and my father 2 years ago and the bird feeders he makes from his motorized chair.

I had to make an emergency trip to California.  My father had a heart attack 3 weeks ago.  He has been in so much pain in the last few years with MS that he did not know he had a heart attack.  He only went in for some tests because he was not feeling well for a couple weeks.  The damage is bad enough that the doctors said that he could live 2 minutes and most likely not longer than 6 months.

I spent last week doing the housework for my mother and a little waiting on my dad.  During the time I helped, my mother was able to rest or sleep.  This is really hardest on her as she will be 80 in June.  She has been his care giver for years.  His MS was a very slow kind.

This week-end we went to my youngest daughters.  They were having a free air show in the area.  We decided to go out and have some fun and see the activities.

We really had a great time watching the planes on the way into the base.  My son-in-law is in the air force and  they just recently moved to a new area.

I was so surprised that I got some of the photos that I did.  I was basically aiming and shooting as I could not see what I was taking.

 A fly by.

One of the f15

Later we went to Chili's for supper.  This was my grandsons first time he got to choose from an adult menu.  The smile on his face was priceless.  His dad told him that now the options were endless.  He was thrilled.

Next week I will return to my mothers and help out again. 

Prayer for my Dad's transfer to be face to face with the Savior in Heaven, is his and my family's request.

SMOKING JUNIPER

FIRST OFF I want to say our prayers are going out for the people in Japan and for any others that will be affected by the Tsunami that will hit there shores.

1Ki 19:4  But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers. 
1Ki 19:5  And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat. 


I am not so sure Elijah would have wanted to be under a juniper tree in Arizona today.
  The Lord's creation of the juniper tree had a function that was to be mentioned and used in the Bible.  The juniper has a strong scent similar to a pine tree.  After a rain is smells wonderful here.  
In the high dessert, where I live, there is a once a year occurance that takes place with our juniper trees and bushes.  It is quite a site to see! 
Today I saw what I thought was smoke drifting.  Usually it is the starting of the the wood stoves in this area.  After doing the dishes it seemed to be worse and the wind was blowing a little, so it was unusual for smoke to be in the area with the wind.

This catches me off guard every year, even though I know it is about time.  My first clue is that the juniper start to get this brownish cast, almost as if they are dieing.

Then I see it.  The juniper exploding with what looks like smoke.  It is the ripe pollen from the juniper,being blown off.
As you can see there is a haze of pollen in the air.  There are juniper everywhere in this area, so the air is full of it. The Hill side  is covered with juniper, if you look in the picture.
Today will have the most in the air.  Every window is closed in the house.  It is suppose to get in the 70's today.  So I will have the fans going in the house to stay cool and keep as much of the pollen out as I can.
I am praying for the wind to continue to blow it out of the area.  So many people become allergic to Juniper after living here 6-7 years.  They go and get allergy shots.  Last year was the first year I noticed a reaction and I had lived here 7 years.  
Every location has some form of pollen.  I have lived in several locations and seen pollen lay on things, but this is the first place I have actually seen pollen burst off the bushes like this.  
I wonder if Elijah would have had allergies in that day and age.  In any case when you live in the high dessert you are happy to have the juniper trees to stand under for shade and rest.  The Lord created the juniper so that Elijah and myself could have a place to rest from the summer sun.

THE VERSATILE BLOGGER AWARD

 

Thanks Donna

Award Rules:

1. Thank the person who gave you this award
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Pass the award along to bloggers who you have recently discovered and who you think are fantastic for whatever reason! (in no particular order…)
4. Contact the bloggers you’ve picked and let them know about the award.

Ok sharing 7 things about myself.  I will have to think about that one for a minute.

1.  I love the jell-o brand cheese cake with cherries on it and McDonalds Bacon Egg Cheese (without the cheese) Breakfast sandwich and not in that order.

2.  I wish my hair could grow long-but it is thin and breaks off.  I remember when I was a senior and had my picture taken, the photographer pulled all my hair to the front to make it look like I had some hair.  It was long but very thin and stringy. Yes I color it.  My honey likes it red.  I have the skin for blond or red.  When I color my hair I feel like that commercial of that woman that would come out with her arms open and sing "I feel like a natural woman."  

3.  I have to be busy all the time.  Even when sitting, I cross-stitch, embroider or am on the computer.  Have slowed down a tad now that I am 60 - ouch in 2 months I will be 61.  Where does the time go when you are having fun.
The above picture is my lastest project for myself. Did I say I love chickens!! 
Christmas gifts had this cross stitch stored in its bag until the gifts were finished.  Worked on it last night while hubby and I watched Inspector Louis from net-flicks.

I like change when it comes to my crafts, so I will work on some things for awhile and then others. 
The chicken patterns are from SWEET GATHERINGS.  Did I say I love chickens!!
For the most part the projects are eventually finished.  The projects are then scattered around my house.

Enjoying this collection of Dolls I am cross-stitching. 

This hangs on my bedroom door.

4.  I love being a wife, mother, Nana, homemaker, and a believer in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

5.  I know this is crazy-but I love to hang out clothes and bring them in and fold them with that lovely smell from outdoors.  Be glad when spring gets here so I can do it again.

6. One of the most fun things for me is going on trips with my honey Roy. Especially when we get to go visit our daughters.  We have so much fun together even if it is to McDonalds just to have Breakfast.  

7. I love to look at houses of all ages and all kinds.  I think that may be a woman thing.  But old historic houses fascinate me as to who lived there and how their lives were. I will look at a house and wonder how it looks inside.  Maybe it is like a present-it is fun to see what is inside.

I have only blogged for about one year. My blog date started in January.  I have a lot to learn and will have to work on rule #3 & 4

TRIALS AND MIRACLE BABY

This morning I woke up for some reason and got up early.  When I walked into the dinning room the front door was open.  My outside large dog was in the living room having fun with the little doxies dog toys and the furnace was running full blast.

Thank you Lord for protecting me, waking me, and being able to turn the furnace off.
Our days are made of these little things going on constantly.  We go from trials, to rest, to day to day duties.
I  have 3 grown children with families of their own.  They too have these trials.
This week my oldest daughter in California had to rush her daughter to the emergency.  Her daughter had a cold and was playing one day and would not talk or get up and breathing rapidly the next. She had RSV that led to pneumonia.
Prayers were sent out all over.  We as the church, (the believers not the building)  have a life line to a Savior and each other.  
When we unite, we have a strong bond in Jesus Christ.  We can face the trials with encouragement from our fellow believers all over the world and at home.
A word of encouragement came from a cousin that I have not seen for 42 years.  Jeff Browning, he is the Lead Pastor at Washington Christian Church.  He sent me this.

Psalm 94: 18-19

If I should say. "My foot has slipped,"

Thy Loving kindness, O Lord, will hold me up.

When my anxious thoughts multiply within me,

Thy consolations delight my soul.

When trials hit us out of no where, I often become anxious.  The Lord sends comforters to reach out and direct us back to His Word, which gives us "His" peace.

We may not be able to solve the immediate problem on this earth-but we have that eternal peace that can only come from faith in the promises of God for a future that is not on this earth.  
He is the head of the Church and when it comes to His believers, He has the last say about what happens down here to us.  He always knows what is best for us, and what will direct us to Him in this busy life.

A little about Cassie.  We called her the miracle baby.  Her mothers body was not giving her nourishment to grow.  She had to be taken by C-section or she would have died.  She weight 1 lb. 12 oz. when she was born.

The Doll was 7 inches Long

Since we knew when she was to be taken from her mother, prayers went out everywhere.  They went to friends and family and the Church in the US, Canada, and Europe.

Cassie was born without complications. The only thing she had to have was a tube to feed her.  That is a miracle according to the Doctors and Nurses.

Her Hand Fit Inside Her Daddies Wedding Ring

When Carrie went to a class on priemes after she was born, they were asking what complications their babies had as that was the norm.  When it came to Carrie she said that she felt bad for the others and did not want to  say that her baby had none.  But it was a huge witness that she had at that hospital everyday telling of the Lords grace and sharing Jesus Christ and His grace to her and Cassie.

This Is Cassie In 2011

I know that when I went to bed the other night, I felt that the Lord had a plan for this little girls life, as I did when I first looked at her in the hospital right after she was born.

So take courage all that are in trials-the Lord has a plan for all of you-no matter the out come of the trial.
THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR PRAYERS.  Cassie went home from the hospital today well on her way to recovery.