I've Gone Country A blog about a city girl learning a whole new world

Layla turned 4 this week.  I cannot believe how much she has grown.

She had a birthday party where there were lots of things to play on.

She had fun with family and friends.

Mickey Mouse even came to the Party!!!!!

Layla Loves Mickey!

So does Poo-Pa….

Layla had so much fun.  I think this will be a memory she will always have.

Layla has given us a million smiles and laughs.  She is a very adventurous little girl.  If you would like to see some of my favorite pictures through the years you can click on this smilebox.  I Love you Layla!

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My niece Minnie accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior, the most important decision she will ever make in her life, and was baptized yesterday.  

We all gathered together to celebrate with her (The men were there as well…but we could never get a picture of all of them together).

These women are a support group that Minnie can always come to.   It consist of her Mom, some of her Aunts and cousins.  Women who have already prayed for her all her life.   We are so very proud of her.

These are some of Minnie’s friends.  I pray they will all grow up to be strong women in their faith.  That they will love the Lord with all their heart and minds and souls.  It is important to have friends who are like minded.  It helps hold us accountable to one another as we walk daily in our faith.

Minnie you are beautiful on the inside and out!

It seems like when I think of February, I think of it as a month of Love.  We have many family things that take place during this month besides celebrating Valentines Day.

The common thread though is love.  It is what makes these other events so special.  Sometimes things remind us of  an important time or special people in our lives.

When we moved to the country, I sorted things in the attic and closets.  I still ended up moving too much stuff, so I have been trying to go through it again.   It just isn’t easy.  You have heard that one man’s junk is another man’s treasure.  I believe that…because I love to go to thrift stores and yard sales.  Even the love of going to all my sales must be inherited if that is possible.  I remember my grandmother would take us along with her when we visited.  If you liked something she had, she would say “oh,I got that at Sally’s”.  That meant she got it at a rummage sale or something of that nature.

I do love to find treasures!  I am usually on the finding end of it.  Yet, as I clean out my attic and closets, I find that MY treasures would be someone else’s junk.

Like this:

This is a corsage and ribbon from my Mother and Fathers Wedding.  The satin ribbon is from her bouquet that included a Bible and the ribbon cascaded down.  I only know this because I remember her smiling as she told me about it.

And this:

This is a nut..a walnut (I think)…that my grandfather cut and carved into a basket complete with little artificial flowers.   The flowers looked better when he made them many years ago.  I remember hanging it on our Christmas tree when I was growing up.

And then there is:

This fork.  It brings back many memories of home cooked meals and laughter at the dinner table.  I always loved the design on the handle….reminds me of candy canes.  I do not have the whole set….just this one little fork.  But it is all I need.

It isn’t priceless silverware by the worlds standard…but it is priceless to me.

And this cute little pitcher.

It always makes me smile…why… I don’t know.  I love the colors in it….but I think I love it because it was my Nannies (my grandmother).   I was told it also belonged to my Nannies Mom.

I saw one just like it back in the summer at an  Antique store.  I was shocked…I had never seen another one.  It was priced for just a few dollars.  I laughed…because that one didn’t even have a broken and re-glued handle like this one does!  So, I am pretty sure this would not be worth anything to someone else.  But that’s alright with me.

There are many, many more small items such as these.  These are just some of the older things.  I haven’t even started with the cards my children made me and now grandbabies are too.  There are the sweet cards my mama sent me through the years.  The love letters from my husband while we were dating…and the ones he still writes me.  Like when I looked into my coupon envelope at the grocery store recently and written on a box top was a little note that said “I Love My Wife”.    Yes, I still have that one too.

I picked up several things and set them in a give away pile.  When I looked after a long time of sorting…I found my give away pile was really the newer, cuter things.  But the keep pile was what a lot of people would have taken to the curb.  It really isn’t the item.  It’s the sweet memories you get when you look at them.   The love you feel from having your loved ones in your life.  That is where the true value lies.

For now, I will just keep all my junk…I mean treasures!

I have a friend who is known as the “card lady”.  For years and years she has sent cards to people for sickness, encouragement, sympathy, birthday’s,  anniversaries and for you to know that you were being prayed for and loved.

I call her Mrs. Shirley.  I have known her for many years.  Matter of fact she was in the church where I grew up.  I didn’t know her that well as a child, just knew her when I saw her in the hallway.  In the following years I got to know her differently.

My mother would speak  of Mrs. Shirley and how she enjoyed her friendship.  It was only after my mother passed away that I realized what a neat friend Mrs. Shirley was to have.

She would call, checking on me and my family.  She sent cards in the mail, often a little cartoon would be inserted from the morning paper.  It would bring a smile to what otherwise were very sad days.  We began exchanging  prayer requests and then would be excited to share with each other the outcome.

She played the piano by ear and would go and visit people in assisted living homes and play for them several times a week.  Always hoping that in some small way she could bring a smile and let them know that they were loved.

For seven years…..Mrs. Shirley continued to call and send cards to me on a regular basis.  This past summer she developed her own health problems.  She is now in assisted living.  It happened very quickly and it is hard to watch her go through this stage of her life.  I miss her calls,  her cards, our talks and laughs and I miss my prayer partner.

When I think of Mrs. Shirley I think of others too.  Like my own mother and other women I know today that go and do as she did.  The hospital visits, the cards in the mail, the dinners that feed many people after the loss of a loved one.

Even recently I received a card from both of Mrs. Shirley’s daughters carrying on the example set by their mother.  The example she taught them from scripture.  Not just reading it…but putting it into action.

I keep in touch with Mrs. Shirley.  Our talks are not the same, but she still knows who I am.  I have been blessed to watch God continue to work in her life.  She has been in her new home for several months now….and so far….she has received at least one card everyday.  This has ministered to not only her , but to her daughters.  I know that makes her smile!

I grew up in a church family that showed me the love of Christ by example.  She is one of many that I have watched show the love of Christ.  I am reminded of this scripture found in Matthew 25:40  (NIV)     The King will reply “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me”.

Ellie looks forward to this everyday!

Billy does too….

She is a good girl.