Rummaging around in some old stuff I came across this clip today.  "Prudence to wed stable boy"   Prudence Coker was my grandmother's sister.  Prudence fell in love with a stable boy on her father's farm in England in 1906 but her father (my great grandfather) didn't think he was good enough for her and forced her to break it off.  

Prudence eventually moved to Philadelphia to be near her baby sister, Hetta (my grandmother).  Pru never married.  And the stable boy (Johnny Edgecome) moved to New Zealand and married but his wife later died.

In 1954, Johnny re-connected with Pru. He discovered that she had never married and was still waiting for him.  She had waited 48 years.  He proposed via airmail and the long separated sweethearts were united in marriage.  After their honeymoon Pru moved to New Zealand with her beloved.   They lived happily ever after.

Is that a story to melt your heart or what?

Wow, it's been 3 years since my last blog post and a lot has happened since then.  Shortly after my last post I was diagnosed with breast cancer and went thru surgery and then several months of recovery.  I have to admit the physical recovery was not as bad as the mental recovery which took quite a bit longer.  It was harder than I thought it would be to get used to the "new me".   But, I have much to be thankful for in that the cancer had not spread to the lymph nodes and I was spared the dreaded chemo and radiation. 

Last time I posted, Ashley had just started middle school and now she has just started high school.  What a difference 3 years makes at that age.  The transformation is nothing short of miraculous.  She's turning into a really beautiful young woman.   Thank you dear Jesus for blessing me and letting me be here to see it. 

Well, I'm going to try to post fairly regularly, I can't promise my posts will always be interesting.  I read other blogs and I'm so inspired and I think Wow, what interesting lives these people must have. LOL, me....not so much.

GOD bless you.

Daddy's Birthday

June 23, 1911 my dad was born in the county of Devon, England.  He was the oldest of 6 kids, 4 boys and 2 girls.  His father's name was George, his Mom's name was Hetta.   His parents moved to the U.S. when he was 10 yrs old.  He used to tell me stories about being aboard a big ship that would one moment be way up high on top of a huge wave and the next minute way down low with the wave looking like it would crash over you.  He told me about lying in bed at night and listening to the sound of the ships engine.  He told me about Ellis Island and that they "treated you like animals".   His family settled here in Philadelphia.

Thru out his life my dad had alot of different jobs.  He was a chauffeur, gardener, painter, musician, draftsman, engineer, and sign maker.  He was a jack of all trades, master of all.  I never saw anything my Dad couldn't do, except beat cancer and he gave that a run for it's money.   But to me and my sister Caryn he was just simply the most wonderful Dad.   He taught us by example, how to be honest, how to be fair.  How to be polite and treat other people the way we would want to be treated. But mostly he taught us what if felt like to have someone love you and be proud of you.  We were his "girls" and he was so proud of us.  Because of him we had a home and a childhood that was special.

Daddy would have been 100 years old today.  We lost him in 1989 and 22 years have not been enough time to ease that loss.  I think of him often and have to console myself with knowing that each day that passes without him is another day closer to our reunion.  Till then he rests safely in the Lord's care and my heart has comfort in knowing that for him there is no waiting, or sadness, no pain and no loneliness.

Happy Birthday Daddy, I love you always.

Linnie

Mama said there'd be days like this!

There are days when I wake up, drink my coffee, look out my window at my bee-u-tiful garden and think to myself...anything's possible.  All my plans and dreams feel like they are within my reach if I just plan a little more, work a little more, pray a little more.

Today, is not one of those days.  I woke up this morning carrying the weight of every single one of my past birthdays and feeling like somebody beat me up from the inside out.  I have no idea why I feel like this.  I didn't do anything out of the ordinary yesterday. 

And like most people I know, I don't have time to feel sick or tired.  My life runs ahead full throttle whether I'm able to hang on or not.  There's the job, the house, the kids, the shopping, the laundry...bla-d-blah-blah-blah.  Oh, and tonight is Ashley's promotion ceremony at school.   Farewell to elementary school and onward to middle school.   And no, I don't have anything to wear to it.  Well, I guess I better buck-up and trot on down to the washer and throw something in hadn't I?   

Maybe this time tomorrow I'll look out my window and feel that anything is possible again.  What was that Scarlett O'Hara used to say...."Afterall, tomorrow is another day!"

I'm in a Garden state of Mind

Last Sunday I risked bodily harm out in my garden.   Bending, lifting, digging, planting, oh my aching back.  But this morning sitting out on my summer porch drinking my coffee and surveying the fruits of my labor, listening to the birds and taking in the awesomeness of our God's creation I'm thinking that every single bit of it was so worth it.   I also want to give credit to Mr. V for all of his help,  I buy the flowers but he's the one that has the eye for arranging and deciding what should get planted where and he is just so much better at this than I am.

In addition to the flowers, herbs and vegetables out in the garden there are also several bird (ahem, squirrel) feeding stations.  I'm seeing finches, beautiful little yellow finches, red cardinals, cute little chickadees and other not so beautiful starlings and doves but still fun to watch none the less.   Then here come the squirrels, there's a trio of furry little monsters chasing each other up and down the back fence and back and forth from tree to tree.  They regularly raid the bird feeders.

We also have a backyard guest who is NOT quite so welcome.  We have another groundhog and he's a big fat one.  Did you know that groundhogs can climb?  Well, I'm here to tell you they can climb very well.  So that fence you were thinking about putting around your lovely vegetable patch......pfffffttt, forget it.  

Mornings in my garden, now my favorite part of the day.   CHECK OUT SOME OF MY OTHER GARDEN PICS ON MY FLICKR SITE - http://www.flickr.com/photos/64048632@N07/

For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.  Psalm 91:11

An Elementary School Rite of Passage

Who doesn't remember their elementary school field trip to the zoo?  Today was Becca Marie's turn, like so many 2nd grader's before her (myself included) the big yellow school buses all headed down to the Philadelphia Zoo.   I had volunteered to be a parent chaperone for the day.  And unlike years before when Jay went to the zoo on his school trip, parents are no longer allowed to ride on the buses with the kids, you have to drive yourself there and meet at the entrance.  A minor inconvenience probably for most parents but when you have the navagational abilities of Mr. Magoo it's a bit trickier. 

Not to be daunted by the challenge I went out a couple of weeks ago and bought myself a GPS device and took it for a test drive.  Got in the car, and drove for miles and miles until things didn't look familiar anymore and I had no clue where I was.  Then I simply pushed the GO Home button and followed the instructions and "wah-laa" it took me right home.   Ah-ha I thought, this will work great for the zoo trip, no worries.  So this morning after putting Becca on the bus I jumped in the car pressed the on button on the GPS and ......nothing except this little spinning hour glass on the screen.   Grrrrrr!

But all ends well, after a slight "detour" it finally began working with voice instructions but no picture and we made it to the zoo and we beat the buses there.  Don't ask me how that happened.   Becca and her BFF forever Tori had a great time.  I managed to walk a few blisters on the bottom of my feet but I think the exercise did me good.

Oh, and that pesky GPS.....worked like a charm on the way home.  Sure, I wasn't under the gun to meet the school bus on time then.  It figures!

If you can't stand the heat, get out ot the kitchen (and go sew something)!

It's an incredibly HOT day here in my part of the world.  The schools had early dismissal yesterday and today due to the heat.  Thank you dear Jesus for my air-conditioner.  I don't know how I would survive without it.   A good day to stay inside and puruse quilting sites on the computer and read other people's blogs.

My workday is done now and I'd like to take my own advice and go sew something but unfortunately right now my sewing room/office looks like a bomb went off.  The room was previously my girls bedroom.  We re-did our upstairs which was previously just storage space and then moved the girls up there so they would each have their own room.  Now all the stuff that was in the storage space is down here with me in my office and at this point I can't even see my sewing machine for all the boxes and bins.   

I resolve that this must change and the sooner the better.   Sewing is like medicine for me and I'm way past due for some sewing therapy!

Wishing you Blessings,
Linda