YET...We Have Hope

Loss

Is such a difficult part

Of Life and Love

It is true our family suffered a

Great Loss This Past Week

My niece wrote a beautiful post on FB

the other day (which I don't have permission to share)

But through her deep pain she has

Shown Great Faith

Yet in our loss

We can 'smile'

And have Hope

To hold our loved ones again

On the other side of Heaven

And in the mean time

We are grateful for the Joy

And Hope of adding another little one to our family of Love

In just about 6 weeks 

Consider It All Joy,

Cindy

Weight Loss Wednesday

Here Goes

I am beginning something tonight

That I have avoided during the entire

4 years I have been blogging

Posting a photo of my whole self

Although I gained some weight during my adult years

I always had Mark to help keep me accountable

But since his passing 15 months ago

I have 'eaten myself under the table'

(as my pastor friend used to say)

6 months ago I hired a life coach

Who has been helping me in numerous ways

Emotionally, Spiritually and Physically

Although she has taught me so much

Regarding food choices

I clearly have not followed her advice

It is time for a change

Tonight I begin a new weekly series

Each Wednesday evening I will take a photo of myself

And journal how I have done 'health' wise during the past week

It is a way for me to stay accountable to myself

And you, my friends:)

So, my first photo is posted

Fairly sad commentary on my poor eating habits

But

A new day springs forth

 In the AM

I hope you will join me in my journey

Through encouragement

By sharing your own weight loss/health stories

Or even by sharing recipes or tips on living a healthy lifestyle

Looking forward to our times together

Considering It All Joy,

Cindy

My Water Weekend

Since becoming a widow

I have been challenged with Priority setting

It seems I find myself in crisis mode

More than I would like to admit

Finding time to be everything to everyone

Has rocked what once was my simple way of life

Working full time, caring for a disabled son,

being mom and dad, as well as nana and papa

Laundry, cooking, cleaning the inside

As well as the outside of my home

Making necessary repairs and upkeep

Are keeping me in crisis mode

Instead of managing my life

With that said

Today was taking care of another of my

'I let this go too long' tasks

My pool had become a swamp

As spring has more than sprung in Arizona

My family is anxiously awaiting the moment

They can jump in and cool off

SO

I had to tackle this:

 Last night I drained the pool

 Today

I became best friends with this:

 Mr PowerWasher

We spent 5 hours together this afternoon

And my arms are 'reeling' from the vibrations:)

 But now my pool is Clean

And soon its beauty will be

Calling us to come and play

As soon as I get the yard cleaned up

I'll share some after photos

Now to tackle dinner before it become tomorrow:)
Oh, and take 2 Tylenol, put Aloe on my sunburn and eat a couple Oreo cookies!!!

Considering It All Joy,

Cindy

Another Angel in Heaven

My heart is terribly sad today

I just received word

That my precious niece 

Lost her little unborn baby today

Into the waiting arms of Jesus

This little angel is now with it's sibling

Who left us 2 1/2 years ago

But our hearts are broken tonight

Mark,

Please take care of these precious little ones

Until Jesus calls us home

update...

Thank you to those of you who prayed for my nephew

His surgery went well

They completed one of the two necessary repairs

They will hold off and wait to see if he needs the second part done

He is still in recovery but will go home later tonight

Believing that this will be the answer he needed

And a second surgery will not be required

On another sweet note:

I opened a drawer today

And found this:

I was so excited

My 'stash' from Christmas

This may come in handle over the next few days

What are your plans for the weekend?

I need to drain my pool

And scrub, scrub, scrub

Let's just say

Taking care of it hasn't been on my Priority list

So now...

Lots of work ahead!!!

Considering It All Joy,

Cindy



Prayer Request Please

My nephew, Michael,

will be having heart surgery tomorrow 03/22/2012 at 7 AM Arizona time.

If you feel so led, please pray for him!

Thank you so Much!

I Shall NOT Fear a Challenge

A late afternoon Text message from my son

Informed me that our kitchen sick was leaking

Upon my arrival home

I realized what I would be spending my evening doing

Yep...

Replacing a Faucet

A quick trip to Home Depot

And home again with a new faucet

First order of business

Remove old faucet

Easier said than done

But it did get done

 Next

Assemble all new parts and necessary tools

 Followed by

Playing with putty

Remember rolling worms?

Fun Times:)

 Followed by

1 hour under the kitchen sink

Drip, drip, drip onto the face

Drop, drop, drop tools and screws

Aahhh...

New Kitchen Faucet

And I did it all by myself

I Shall NOT fear a Challenge

For God did not give me a Spirit of Fear

Considering Success With Joy,

Cindy

Today, I Was A...

 Handy {wo}man

 I was A Carpenter

A Kitchen drawer needed repair

These tools and I have become good friends

Voila~

Drawer Fixed

I was a Dog Groomer

Sam

And Bodie needed baths

And toe nail clipping

Tools of a different nature

Bathed and drying :)

I was A Cabinet organizer

Turning this pile

Into a functional space

I was A shopper

I could not 'bare' to take my naked face into public

I was A Treasure Hunter

These will come in handy in the next few weeks

And I only spent $2.75

I was A

Smart Widow

Who knows when it's OK

To call the Plumber

Who had both water shut off valves

Replace within 1 hour of my phone call

No drip, drip, drip tonight :)

Because I was NOT A Plumber Today

I got to be So Many Other Things:)

Considering Life With Joy,

Cindy

Just Play~Fun

After Church on Sunday

My sister, her hubs and I

Met 2 of our kids and their kids

At the Carnival

For some Just Play~Fun

Though I took 75 photos

Here are just a few

5 of our 7 grandchildren

With 2 more on the way :) 

We ALL had a blast

And then felt like my little K~Bel



Oh, I could so see myself in her...Book Review

Insecurities: Oh Yes!  We all have them!
But this author 'Stephanie McAfee' has put them together in 'Diary of a Mad Fat Girl' and made us laugh at ourselves and life.

I just finished reading this book for BlogHer and admit I was hooked from the start.  The author draws you in to her Southern life with wit, sassiness, a little sexy, and a bit of sarcasm.  Raising children in a small town allowed me to 'get' her life in the small town of Bugtussle, Mississippi. Nosey neighbors and gossip mills run amuck in small town America and it was no different for 'Ace'.

This book is a quick read and is sure to cause you to laugh, cry and cheer for 'Ace' and her friends as they travel life's bumpy road.  The ups and downs of work relationships, friendships and love lives are woven in a fun and ever moving tale of trouble and 'how did we get here'.  This author does us language that may be offensive to the younger or conservative reader.    

Though I received a copy of the book and will receive a small compensation for my post, the views and opinions are mine alone. 

Forgiveness ?!?!

Many months ago, soon after my husband's passing, I was deeply wounded by a friend who totally knocked the wind from my sails.  After a very brief e-mail exchange there has been no communication for 11 months.  I have spent time in prayer, seeking the Lord, laying my pain at the foot of the cross, and choosing to forgive. 

In forgiveness alone I found peace.  Choosing to reconcile an unhealthy relationship seemed to me to be more than above and beyond.  Yet as I read God's Perfect Word, these words convict my spirit.

"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.   Colossians 3:12~14

So today, after a couple of texts, there was a face to face moment, hugs, smiles, kind words and Great Peace.  It's interesting though, no apologies were made, no I'm sorry said, yet God melted my heart to love again in the way only HE can do.

Question for the day:

Is there true forgiveness when there is not communication or attempt at reconciliation? 

Considering Forgiveness A Must,

Cindy