Memorial Day

Memorial Day weekend is always the kick off to summer.  Let us not forget the true meaning.  It is a federal holiday to remember the men and women who died in the armed services defending our country.  What a beautiful weekend it has been to honor those people.  We have had three days of sunshine and warm temperatures.  It was great weather for outdoor activities.

My husband and I had fun celebrating our son-in-laws graduation from OSU.  We had lots of good food, fun outside, and good company.  I also got to attend a party for some of my former students.  It was fun to see them all grown up and I was very proud to hear about their academic achievements.  They are off to college with scholarships. 

Spent part of yesterday on the bike path in Yellow Springs. My husband and I did 20 miles and believe me I felt it.  I came home and took a nap.  It was a beautiful ride.  The trees are all leafed out now and have created an umbrella affect over the paths.  It is very pretty and scenic.  We stopped off at a flower nursery along the way to rest and admire the beautiful flowers.

We saw some fireworks last night to kick of summer fun.  We took Laney with us.  I don't think she was interested and the big booms scared her. 

It was eight years ago yesterday that my mother-in-law passed away.  I thought of her yesterday as we were enjoying Laney.  I always send her love to heaven for talking me into getting a dog.  Laney has been a wonderful spoiled companion for my husband and I.  She always reminds us that life can be lived simple.  She doesn't complain, she is grateful for her food and treats, she loves greeting us every time we walk in the door, and she always protects us.  She is the reason I started the blog, and she has given me eight years of unconditional love.  Laney you are the best.

Life is beautiful with my four legged friend!!!

Elizabeth

The Storm Has Passed and Four Years Later

We awoke this morning to sunshine after our evening of storms and floods.  The pictures of the flooding left us saying wow.  Some places got almost six inches of rain.  My husband said the flood waters had receded and the road leading out of our plat had reopened this morning.  Also around three am, the highway reopened.  There is still some debris on the roads.  It was amazing how fast the rain fell and how quickly everything flooded.  People who tried to drive through floods learned a lesson, as their cars were swiftly taken away by the current.  A few people had to be rescued, but no one was seriously injured.

We are going to be blessed with a beautiful Memorial Day weekend.  The weather report shows sunshine and temperatures in the upper 70's.  My husband and I are looking forward to a fun filled weekend.  It is turning out to be a relaxing and nice May despite a few glitches in the weather.

All the rain is making the grass grow quickly.  We will definitely be mowing it, as soon as it dries out.   Laney was wet this morning as she came in from outside.  You could see the moisture on top of the grass, as the sun glistened on it.  It is very humid outside, but I am not complaining after our long winter.

My husband and I are enjoying this May.  It is hard to believe that we are now four years out from my husband's cancer diagnosis.  It seemed like a long journey to this point in time and yet the days have passed quickly.  We both are in a better place mentally and are feeling more peaceful.  The worry of cancer will always be with us, but as the days pass and we enjoy life the past is being replaced with good memories.  I pray and thank God everyday for our blessed life.

I can finally say that I feel that my confidence has returned and my sense of humor has been showing itself quite a bit these days.  I really understand now the consequences of  PTSD.  The mind is very powerful and needs to be taken care of just as the rest of our body.  I have had a few people say they just don't understand how trauma in life can cause your mind to shut down.  I guess the saying is true that you have to experience something to really understand what others are going through.  I will continue to pray and support people who have experienced mental problems.  We need to educate people that the mind sometimes needs to be treated medically also.  I think some people forget that our brain is an organ too.  We treat our other body organs for disease and injury, so let's not forget our  brains which our part of us also.  Please educate yourself and others to take away the stigma of mental illness.  With proper medications and therapy for the mind, life is really beautiful.

Life is beautiful !!

Elizabeth

May Floods

The month of  May is passing by quickly and turning out to be a May to remember.  We have had a lot of rain and storms.  As I sit here and write this post, we are having a severe storm.  It has been raining now for over an hour and we have already had three inches of rain.  I have never seen the road flooded like it is now.  The lightening and thunder has been unbelievable.  It is not only scaring  Laney, but it has made me jump a couple times.  Thank goodness my husband made it home from work safely.  There has been reports of winds at 58 mph.  I hate to be alone when it storms.  I remember two years ago a bad storm that came through in May that had straight winds of 80 mph.  I hid in a closet under stairs and prayed, as I heard things hitting our roof.

The weather report just issued flood warnings,  and interstate 75 and 70 are flooded.  We now have reports of four inches of rain.  People who live just a little north of us have flooded homes.  We also have more rain coming at us.  The yards across from us are flooded.  We are up on a hill thank goodness.   My son has come home and he has witnessed some of the flooding.  He said it is bad.  I hope we see the sun tomorrow.  This has been a year of devastating weather all over the United States.   Hope where ever you are that you stay safe.

Laney is perched on me and appears to be on guard.  She is afraid of the storms.  I love spring,  but this is scary.  They just showed the interstate on the news.  It is a mile and a half  from our house, and the traffic is backed up for miles because the highway is flooded.  People are trying to turn around on the shoulder and creating more problems.  I think it is going to be a long night for some people.  It will be interesting to see what tomorrow brings. 

Life is still beautiful!!

Elizabeth

Happy Birthday and Many More !!!!!

Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband !  It is a beautiful spring day to celebrate life.  We awoke this morning to sunshine and the birds chirping.  He and I were saying yesterday that it nice to be able to say we are having another birthday, but let's not attach a number to it.  Maybe if we think we are young we will believe it.

We celebrated yesterday on the golf course.  Our daughter joined us and her husband was her caddy.  We enjoyed the beautiful weather out on the fairway after four days of rain and cold.  We laughed as we are a little rusty since we sat on our bumps all winter.  The birthday man won the round of golf, and he proudly used his new clubs to show us up.  That wasn't hard as it takes me many strokes to get to the putting green.  It was all in fun and my husband was smiling.

We spent all of yesterday having fun and eating.  It was a blessed day and also the anniversary of my mother's passing.  It has now been a decade since her death and the time has flown by quickly.  Time seems to be moving too quickly now.  We remind ourselves everyday to keep enjoying every minute of  life.

We enjoyed yesterday so much that I don't remember going to bed.  I guess I did sleep, because I woke up this morning to another wonderful day wrapped up in blankets. I am happy that another adventurous day is about to begin with my husband and my spoiled dog Laney.  Yes,  Life is to short not to celebrate everyday.

Life is beautiful!!
Elizabeth

Loving the Month of May

The weather has been changing daily.  It is like being on a roll a coaster.  We went from 88 degrees two days ago to highs in the upper 50's.  It rained all night and a tornado touched down to close for comfort yesterday evening.  We were blessed that no one died, but a farm and five houses were completely destroyed.  We have been extremely lucky that a couple of the really severe storms have gone around us.  Laney has been on guard a lot.  She always senses bad weather and perches herself on the back of the couch and trembles.  This weather system is suppose to settle down by the weekend and Laney will be relieved.

I was out to lunch with friends on Tuesday.  We were able to eat outside.  It was so refreshing and we could see children enjoying the warm weather as they ran through an outdoor fountain.  We were all starting to sweat, but no one dared to complain after living through our arctic winter.  We sipped ice tea and enjoyed the spring breeze.  I am very grateful for the company of  friends and laughter.  This is turning out to be a nice May.

Our calendar is filled with birthdays, graduation parties, and lots of outdoor activities.  I am proud to say that we have another college graduate in the family.  Congratulations to my son-in-law on his recent graduation from Ohio State University.  We are very proud of him and I know he is relieved that he is done.  I hope life brings him many more blessings.

Hope where ever you are that spring is filled with many blessings and of course beautiful flowers.

Life is beautiful !!

Elizabeth

Feeling Blessed and Loved on Mother's Day

This is the first Mother's Day that I have been at home for in three years.  We have been in Houston the last three years or on the road traveling home.  It was a wonderful feeling to awake this morning with my husband next to me and Laney sitting at my feet.  The sun was shinning, and it was warm and beautiful for Mother's Day.  I hope that every mother was feeling blessed and wonderful today.

I realize that I would not be celebrating this day without the blessing of my children.  They showered me with of course with my favorite thing....flowers for my patio and porch.  I will have flowers to admire all summer.  I hope heaven is full of flowers for all the mothers that have passed before us. For me flowers bring great comfort and beauty to admire.

My husband and I went for a long bike ride today on the bike trail through Tipp City.  Everything is in full bloom and the ride was beautiful.  You could smell honeysuckle and lavender.  The snowy long winter has been replaced with lush beautiful green, lavender, yellow, and white blooms.  I think this is one of the prettiest springs we have had in a couple of years.

Despite a few scattered rain showers that have watered God's garden, this has been a beautiful fun weekend.  Thank you God for all blessings and my two miracles that have grown into amazing adults.

Hope where ever you are that Mother's Day has blessed you and you are blessed with amazing miracles too!

Life is beautiful !!

Elizabeth

Happy Birthday Laney !!!

Happy Birthday to my Laney today.  You are the best four legged friend a family could have.  We love spoiling you.  I hope you have a wonderful day.  The sun is shinning today in honor of you.  I hope you realize how much love and comfort you have brought into our life.  The last eight years with you have been filled with unconditional love and lots of funny moments with you.  I am hoping for many more fun filled days with adventures.

Happy Birthday Laney and Many More!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The weather today could not be more perfect.  There is going to be a high near 80 degrees and beautiful blue skies.   Laney and I will be outside enjoying every minute.  It feels so good to be able to open the doors and windows and feel the warm air.  God wanted us to celebrate this beautiful day in honor of Laney.

Laney's birthday just so happened to be celebrated during an important week.  It is National Nurse's Week.   We need to remember to honor nurses that have made a difference in our life.  From a fellow nurse I wish to thank all the great nurses !

I hope wherever you are that the sun is shining and your life is filled with love !

Life is beautiful !!

Elizabeth

Before and After

I will be glad when the weather decides to stay warm.  We are still having some cold nights and mornings.  The weekend was windy and cool.  We are still not able to put away our jackets.  I hope the weather report is correct, it is suppose to be up to 80 in the next couple of days.  Thank goodness for sunshine after the storms that rolled through Sunday night and Monday morning.  The cool air does feel good when we are walking, but I am looking forward to flip flop weather.

These are before and after pictures of the same flower bed.  Or, should we label them winter and spring.  I wish the phlox would stay pretty all summer.  I would love to live somewhere that there were flowers all year long.

These were some flowers I bought at the florist for the table.  Thank goodness for bouquets that we can enjoy inside all year.

Laney and I are off now to enjoy a walk and the beauty of spring.

Life is beautiful !!

Elizabeth