I realized I haven't posted anything in a while.

How do you celebrate a dog's birthday?  I honestly

never have before but Corey wanted to celebrate Minion's.

He's been with her through some pretty tough stuff

and he makes her happy so.......

She got him a kiddy pool which he actually went in

 of course not voluntarily the first time

 Then she had to share the experience with the other dogs

Renny

 and Elsie, who did not go back in again

 After the pool party they all got a doggy cupcake

 which made them all very happy

 We've made a few changes in our bedroom.

We had these sheer curtains and blinds for 13 years.

Time to go!  I do not like little blinds that collect dust!

 The painting on the left is one I did in college 

of Chuck and Corey when she was a baby

We have to do stuff really slow now.

Chuck painted this wall, where the headboard is

 and we got new curtain rods and curtains and 

I hung this group of photos 

he took at the lighthouse in St. Augustine.

The duvet cover I got on sale at Kohls. 

Originally it was 298.00 on sale for 19.99, woo hoo,

love when I find a good bargain!  Now I want to make 

a new headboard, get the rest of the room painted, and hang

more photos and get a new light, fan fixture eventually. 

starting a painting

24x36 

haven't painted in a while

 trying to figure out the sky color

I think this one or the top one may be the 

closest to the actual color 

My roses Jesse gave me are blooming, so pretty!                                      

                                      

nice story;


Several years ago, a friend of mine and her husband were invited to spend the weekend at the home of her husband's employer. My friend, Arlene, was nervous about the weekend. The boss was very wealthy, with a fine home on the waterway, and cars costing more than her house.. 

The first day and evening went well, and Arlene was delighted to have this rare glimpse into how the very wealthy live. Her husband's employer was quite generous as a host, and took them to the finest restaurants. Arlene knew she would never have the opportunity to indulge in this kind of extravagance again, so was enjoying herself immensely. 

As the three of them were about to enter an exclusive restaurant one evening, the boss was walking slightly ahead of Arlene and her husband.
He stopped suddenly, looking down on the pavement for a long, silent moment...
Arlene wondered if she was supposed to pass him..... There was nothing on the ground except a single darkened penny that someone had dropped, and a few cigarette butts. Still silent, the man reached down and picked up the penny.
He held it up and smiled, then put it in his pocket as if he had found a great treasure. 
How absurd! What need did this man have for a single penny? Why would he even take the time to stop and pick it up? 

Throughout dinner, the entire scene nagged at her. Finally, she could stand it no longer.. She casually mentioned that her daughter once had a coin collection, and asked if the penny he had found had been of some value. 

A smile crept across the man's face as he reached into his pocket for the penny and held it out for her to see. She had seen many pennies before! What was the point of this?

"Look at it," he said. "Read what it says."
She read the words, " United States of America ." 

"No, not that. Read further." 

"One cent?" 
"No, keep reading." 

"In God we Trust?"
"Yes!" 
"And?. ... ." 

"And if I trust in God, the name of God is holy, even on a coin. Whenever I find a coin, I see that inscription. It is written on every single United States coin, but we never seem to notice it! God drops a message right in front of me telling me to trust Him. Who am I to pass it by? When I see a coin, I pray. I stop to see if my trust IS in God at that moment. I pick the coin up as a response to God; that I do trust in Him. For a short time, at least, I cherish it as if it were gold. I think it is God's way of starting a conversation with me. Lucky for me, God is patient and pennies are plentiful!"

When I was out shopping today, I found a penny on the sidewalk. I stopped and picked it up, and realized that I had been worrying and fretting in my mind about things I cannot change. I read the words, "In God We Trust," and had to laugh. "Yes, God, I get the message!" 

It seems that I have been finding an inordinate number of pennies in the last few months, but then, pennies are plentiful! And, God is patient. 

These are some of the photos I took with the Lumix
they're really blurry if you try to view full screen
oh well

Grand Canyon

Finally getting some Grand Canyon photos up.

This was taken with Chuck's i pod

These are all photos Chuck took with the Canon

The almost extinct California Condor

as Chuck pointed out a giant vulture

9 foot wing span

This photo was taken from another website

Photographs just do not show the immensity of

the Grand Canyon, or the "Grandness"

See the tiny people on the left

This verse was at Hermit's Rest

it does make you feel like singing and 

praising God for the unbelievable beauty

of the place (again, photos just can't convey)

The trees fascinate me

More rock houses photos.

Can you tell they fascinated us? 

 A three seater outhouse.

I can not imagine sitting in

one of these with other people

making small talk... I could not.

More of the rock houses.