Welcome to my garden

There are so many jewels in my garden... rich soil, flowers, veggies and herbs, birds, butterflies, hummingbirds, ladybugs, seeds sprouting, the sound of the water fountain, but the best jewels are family and friends when they join me in the garden and share in the peace and beauty of what our Heavenly Father has provided me with. So many jewels, so many blessings. Julie +: )

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Wishing you a Merry Christmas!

The Nativity of the Lord

Thank you God for the wonderful gift of your son, Jesus, as we celebrate His birthday.
Help us to remember Him as we give and receive gifts, taking time to pray for each person
and for those who have nothing.
Help us Lord, to fill this Christmas with You and with Your Love, Peace, and Joy. Amen
(st thomas more church bulletin)

Feliz Navidad



Wednesday, December 21, 2011

In one month...

we had a wang dang doodle of a party
a new grandbaby born
celebrated thanksgiving
spent 3 weeks at Michelle's
got through her surgery
finished christmas shopping (thanks to online shopping)
celebrated birthdays
and decorated for a very important birthday...


and I haven't blogged about any of it. Downloading pictures, cropping them, getting them on blogland, writing, it all takes time. I will have to backtrack because this is my journal and I need to document it all, eventually I will get it done. But not today, today I am wrapping gifts and getting laundry done. Tomorrow I have grandkids coming over and we will bake.

Joy and laughter mixed with sorrow and pain.
It is what life is made of.

Amidst sorrow and pain there is joy and laughter.

"God didn't promise days without pain,
laughter without sorrow,
sun without rain,
but He did promise strength for the day,
comfort for the tears,
and light for the way."
anonymous

It takes loads of faith to endure the sorrow and pain...

To watch my daughter fight cancer. To see her endure months and months of chemo; the pain through the mastectomy surgery and then the reconstructive surgery; and the sorrow to not be able to do for her kids the way she wants to, the way she is used to.  It takes loads of faith.

But through it all there is joy and laughter sprinkled in between...




Michelle's house is a happy house, because that's what she is made of.

She is so close to being done with her year of treatment, but it's not over. There are a dozen nodules showing in her lungs, so there are more dr appts, more mri's, more cat scans, more blood work, more pain, more sorrow. So again we lean on God, we lean on our faith and we hope. Hope and pray.

2011 has been a year of joy and laughter and sorrow and pain.
For me, when the fear starts creeping in I repeat...
Let your faith be stronger than your fears.
Let your faith be stronger than your fears.
Let your faith be stronger than your fears.