EASTER TIME..........LAMBS

The image of a lamb is not what you would expect for the Creator of the Universe, but that's the title Jesus takes upon himself. He came to earth not as a conquering warlord or a political leader, but as a humble sacrifice for our sins.

The description of a person who sits on the throne of God in Heaven is not, perhaps, what we might expect of the mighty ruler of the Universe-a humble lamb! But Jesus submitted himself to death on our behalf like a humble lamb to the slaughter, and now reigns in Heaven!

Jesus was fully man and fully God. Nowhere is this more clear than when John the Baptist declares that Jesus is the Son of God and the Lamb of God!

"...John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, 'LOOK, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!'" John1:29

OK.....These are just for fun! I couldn't resist! In their Easter finery.....

Playing games...

EASTER TIME..........BUNNIES

The many faces of the Easter Bunny....

FRIENDLY BUNNY


FAMILY BUNNY


FINE ART BUNNY


SUNNY BUNNY


BIBLE QUOTING BUNNY


BUNNY SURROUNDED BY FRIENDS



DAREDEVIL BUNNY


BUNNY IN A NEW DRESS



BLOGGING BUNNY


PRACTICING FOR THE BIG DAY


TIRED BUNNY

EASTER TIME.........PEEPS

Some things just seem to hang around forever. In this case...I would be glad to see these go! Oh, I suppose they are not too bad...32 calories and 0 fat grams each. But,I have come to find that some people really love them. In fact, several years ago...my Mom said one day when we were in the grocery store together,"I could eat every one of those." She was referring to a box that contained 4 colors of the strange little animal...24 total. I had no idea! I had never seen her eat one. So, we began getting her Peeps at Easter. And, did you know...they are available as ghosts and bats at Halloween. Also, as pumpkins at Thanksgiving, and bells and reindeer at Christmas. We would always surprise her with a new kind! But, lots of adults seem to like them, too! That's a surprise to me!

There is now a Peeps Store, and by the looks of it, a Peeps car!



Some folks are even using them in their hot chocolate instead of marshmallows! YUCK!



Please, Oh, Please, do NOT let me find a PEEP inside my hollow chocolate egg!


Can you believe this? Now it is possible to get CHOCOLATE COVERED PEEPS! What a waste of good chocolate!



Maybe all you need is just the tiniest taste...here you go! Just lick your lips!



If your desire is to impress...here's a 'peep' of an idea!



And, should you think that just because you need to avoid the sugar, you are bound to be 'peep-less', NEVER FEAR...here's SUGAR FREE PEEPS!



This, my friends, is as close as I want to get to a PEEP!

EASTER TIME..........CHOCOLATE

It is hard to believe that Easter is so close! Time moves on and on, doesn't it? And, faster and faster it goes!

Well...let's talk about something we CAN do something about.....CHOCOLATE! Specifically Chocolate Bunnies! That's the best thing in the Easter Basket in my opinion. Now, here's the scene. You get up on Easter morning and someone (or some BUNNY) has left one of those giant bunnies...with your name on it. Be still my heart! You open the box and catch a faint scent of bliss..but as you tear into the cellophane wrapping, you breathe deeply and inhale the scent of the finest chocolate! Your taste buds are quivering. ..........

What? Who says you can't eat chocolate for breakfast? Who is the boss of you? You, that's who! Now...back to our taste buds...

You slowly begin to take a bite.......STOP!!!!! What part did you eat ? Now follow this link and take this test. It will tell you all the things you have ever wanted to know about yourself...or not! But, it is fun!

Now which part did you eat first...ears for me! Remember what the test said...


LIVE.......LEARN.......and most importantly......EAT CHOCOLATE!!!!!

A GATHERING OF SHELLS

While I was in Maui I found and purchased several kinds of shells. At first, I had no idea what I was going to do with them...just that I would 'have' them. And, then when Joy and I were in a wonderful shop in Makawao, I saw the most wonderful distressed box with shells covering the top. Arranged so artfully, the shells sat 'just so'. Each was shown to its best advantage. Obviously the price reflected the hard work of the artist...the price was $125.00! Carefully, we put it back on the shelf. But, I began planning how I would create a box for my shells...which were just as beautiful.My plan was to purchase one of the unfinished boxes, paint it, distress it, then glue on the sheells.

One day this week, I was a t Michael's and I saw some wonderful decorative boxes. I'm sure you know the kind...3 differing sizes and decorated with different types paper. I knew immediately that it would be mucho easy to do it this way. So that's what I did. I lay down a bottom layer of smaller white scallop shells...then placed and moved and placed and changed and placed and hot glued. I think it looks really nice. It really will when I get out all of my beachy decor and kitchen ware.

I really forgot to take some before pics...so all these are afters.

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Did you know that you should wash all the shells that you get at the beach before using them? And, here is how... READ ON!

So you've picked up a seashell or two while on vacation at the beach. Many people do. They make a nice inexpensive momento of your vacation. No problem. At least no problem until you realize you and your bags smell like you haven't showered, or as in our case, you jump in the car a few days later and jump right back out -- it stinks! A good cleaning is all that is needed to destroy any odors the seashells might have. Knowing how to properly clean your seashells will not only get rid of the odor, but you may find you have a nicer looking shell without any algae or barnacles covering them.
Some areas in Florida prohibit the collection of "live" shells. These are shells with the animal tissue still inside. "Dead" shell specimens, which have no animal tissue inside, can be picked up freely.

There are several known methods for cleaning live shells. When finished, read through cleaning dead seashells.


1.Burying: This is probably the easiest, but takes a couple of months. Locate an area in your yard where you don't mind digging a hole. Bury the seashells about 18 inches (deep enough so animals will not dig them up). They need to remain buried until insects, larvae, worms, and bacteria remove all the tissue. The longer you leave them the better. See step 5.
2.Freezing: Place seashells in a water-tight Ziplock™ bag, cover with water, then place in the freezer (just like you would do to fresh fish). When you are ready to clean them, let the bag thaw at room temperature until completely defrosted. You should be able to grab hold of the animal inside and gently pull it out. Go now to cleaning dead shell specimens.
3.Boiling: Place seashells in a pot, add water, and bring to a boil. Let boil for a few minutes (the more shells the longer). Use tongs to remove one shell at a time. So you don't burn yourself, grasp shell with gloves or a towel and gently pull out the animal tissue inside. See step 5.
4.Microwave: As long as you don't mind the smell in your microwave, this is an easy method. The time it takes to cook your seashells can really vary by microwave, so just try it until you figure out how long for each shell. Grasp cooked shell with gloves or a towel and gently pull out the animal tissue inside. See step 5.
5.Bleaching: When no tissue remains, soak the seashells in a 50-50 solution of bleach and water. The length of time depends on the type of seashells and the quantity of seashells being cleaned. You must remove them after the "periostracum" is gone. The periostracum is the flaky, leathery covering that covers most live seashells.

A seashell that is found already dead is actually a lot easier to clean. Follow these easy instructions:

1.Bleaching: Soak the seashells in a 50-50 solution of bleach and water. The length of time depends on the type of seashells and the quantity of seashells being cleaned. Just be sure to remove them when the "periostracum" is gone. The periostracum is the flaky, leathery covering that covers most live seashells.
2.Barnacles: If there are still barnacles and other matter on the seashells, you can use an instrument, such as a dental pick, to chip off the material. Other useful tools are a toothbrush, grill brush, wire brush or a water pick.
3.Shining: If you want to give your seashells a nice finish, you can wipe them with a mineral or baby oil.

Cleaning Sand Dollars
•If the sand dollars are dead let them dry for a few days, then put them in a pan with a little bleach. You may need to brush them gently. Do not let them bleach for too long as they tend to crumble.
•If you have the time you can just let them set all winter and they will dry and whiten by themselves.
•If you leave sand dollars out in the sun too long they tend to become brittle and break easily. There is a commercial preservative that can be brushed on to harden the sand dollar.

LIFE UNDER GLASS

I was reading a post over at Southern Lagniappe, written by my friend, Janie. She is a photographer of such talent! Every post is full of beautiful pictures of the wonderful things she encounters as she travels around her part of the country. Her post today is full of bumblebee pics, and they reminded me of an experience I shared with my boys when they were younger.

Our windows had become permanently closed due to someone painting them closed. Don't know when that happened...it just did. And, it never bothered us much. There were few times I needed the windows opened.

As I was dusting out the windowsills in Alex's room one day, I noticed that the screen at one corner was pulled out. I also noticed that a wasp was flying around between the screen and the window. "Well, this is one time I'm glad the window is stuck," I thought. I am very bug shy. I do not like any kind of creature that flies, or crawl, or inches, or slithers! And, spending the best years of my life raising 3 boys, many are the times I have been waaaaay closer to these things than I ever cared to be. Thanks for the gray hair and heart attacks, boys!

Anyway, as I was looking at the window, I saw that the wasp was working on a nest. It was pretty tiny. "I have got to get someone to move that screen and get that out before it gets too big, " I thought. Yeah, right! I think great thoughts. I do. And, if I carried them out, life would be so much easier for me. But, they tend to go as quickly as they come...and I remember them no more. I don't mean to forget them...it's just that bigger and better things take their place!

Well, the next time I had any thought of any kind about wasps, and nests, or wasp and nests in windows, was when I was putting away some of Alex's clothes in his closet...which is right nest to the window. And, this time I noticed several wasps flying in and out of the window, and the nest had grown quite a bit! And, then I did a strange, strange thing! I pulled a little stool up to the window and sat there and watched them for a while. I can be very brave when safe behind a glass! I quickly became engrossed with these tiny creatures. They would fly out and come back and work on the nest...then fly out and come back again. I think there were about 6 or 7 working there. It was sort of hard to tell since they were not wearing name tags. lowly, I began to see how the nest was expanding.
{I know this looks creepy, but don't worry...you are protected by the computer screen! They can't get to you!}

I was fascinated! And, then I called the boys, and Alex and Ian came and watched with me. Adam was too cool to do such at this point in his life...and Ian was too antsy to sit there for very long...but Alex and I thoroughly enjoyed them!

We watched over the next few weeks and several changes took place. First, they completed the nest. How do they know how to construct these nests? How do they know how many openings to have in each one? How do they know when is or isn't the right time to build them? Look at the constructions of an empty nest...such perfect little cells.

The wasps began to work fast and furious...there were always workers there...and soon, we noticed this...{warning! kinda gross...} We soon realized that they were laying eggs in the cells! Well, the queen was, at least! But, we could never catch her at it!

Then the workers began covering over all the cells. It seemed to us that they were working harder than ever. Soon the entire nest...all the cells...were covered over with what looked like the same papery substance they built the nest out of...just thinner. We continue to watch...and watch...and soon...we could see movement in each cell. Those things were squirming around in there! This was not something that I particularly enjoyed watching. It really creeped me out. But, I wanted to see what was happening. I relied on Alex to keep me up to date when I just could not bring myself to look.

And then, one day...he told me the 'things in the cells'? babies? wasplettes? were coming out of the cells. And they were. It looked as if they were pushing out. And, indeed that is what they were doing. Being born, I suppose. After they opened up the hole they would struggle up a little bit at a time and eventually they began to fly away. The workers were all gone. And, all movement had ceased in the cells that didn't open. Only about 10 out of maybe 150 didn't come out.

And, that was that. Wow! what a unique viewpoint we had on this buggy phenomenon! Alex loved watching it. Ian loved sneaking a glance as he quickly moved on to something more exciting. I loved watching it. But, I don't ever want to watch it again. Because as fascinating as it was...it was also creepy. This look at the unknown was enough to last me a lifetime. And, now that I've blogged about it...I do not even need to talk about it ever again.

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But, I have to add this first. God is as glorious in the way he created the tiny creatures in this life as he is at creating the large ones. As much thought went into the wasp as went into the elephant. And, the miracles of life are not only the big things that are easy to see...but the tiny ones we very seldom see. God is great...in all things!

"How many are your work, O Lord!
In wisdom you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures." Psalm 104:24

"O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is your name in all the earth!" Psalm 8:1

"I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart;
I will tell of all your wonders." Psalm 9:1

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BTW...These are not pics of the exact event...I was not a blogger then and did not realize that every event of my life needed to be documented

FOR JEWEL

My friend, Jewel, asked me to write her name in the sand while I was in Maui. And, I did!

So, Jewel, here is your name...written on Ka'anapali Beach, Maui, Hawaii...and as it washed into the sea, I said a prayer for you. You have a purpose in life, and God and His people are utmost in that purpose. You are willing to give of self, and share the gospel. It was my honor to write your name and send it forth in God's beautiful ocean! God bless you, my dear!

(the waves were coming in fast and furious, and I could not get my feet out of the way in time!

so sorry...forever you will have to look at my feet along with your name!)

(if you cannot copy the pic from here...please let me know and I will email it to you)

PRECIOUS PROMISE

"As long as the earth endures,
seedtime and harvest,
cold and heat,
summer and winter,
day and night
will not cease." Genesis 8:22


SPRING


SUMMER


FALL


WINTER

ALOHA...

FINALLY!
All the days are recorded and posted. It was fun taking you on vacation with me...let's do it again sometime!

ALOHA 3-17-10 WEDNESDAY

Home again!

Very tired!

Will talk to you soon!

ALOHA 3-16-10 TUESDAY

Up and dressed and so dreading the car return and having to haul luggage through 3 check points...and all that it entails. And, not to mention the fact that we both have 3 suitcases. That's an addition of 2.

Joy and I sat on the balcony, and prayed together. We thanked God for the time we had spent together...the fun we had had...the laughs we had laughed...and the sweet memories that will stay in our hearts forever. Joy had spent more time sitting on the balcony than I, and she said that she had seen the whales from there. Now, I'm not saying I did not believe her...but I had not seen one. So, as we were praying, I asked the Lord to please allow me to see one more whale. (Cause, it is just not right for one sister to see something and the other not see it and then the one who did see it would always be saying that she had seen it and you had not and there could possibly be some tension there...if you understand what I mean.) And, no, I did not tell the Lord that part, because He has much more important things to think about than 2 old sisters trying to out do one another...besides He already knew all about it...and I didn't want Him to think I was being petty or anything...I'm just saying...
ANYWAY...I looked at my watch and saw that we had about 10 minutes before we had to leave, and I glued my eyes out on the ocean and I stared with all my might! I did not even blink until my eyes were dry. And, then...sure enough...there it was. A whale! I saw him glide over the top of the water...and then, as if to say, "He told me you'd be watching,"...his beautiful tail flipped up out of the water...and disappeared back into the deep. Thank you, God!

And, when Joy came back outside...I said, "NAH-NAH NAH-NAH NAH NAH...I SAW A
WHA-ALE!" Not really :0). But, I did tell her, and then we saw another one...or maybe that was just a swimmer. We had to go...

Now, being the big sister and taking care of my little sister as I always do and have done all my life...unselfishly, I might add...I again took the wheel, and let her enjoy about 15 miles of ocean view as we drove back to Kahului. And, she said she saw another one...but, I'll never believe that one!

I dropped her off with our bags...and went to return the car. Easy-Peasy! The H*rtz bus took me back to the check-in. Now, it is usually so horrible to go through the agricultural check and the check-in...and then the check of the carry ons and us and trying to manage all those bags through it all. But, do you know what God did? He directed me where to put Joy off...and when I got back I saw that D*lta was opening up their curbside check-in right next to where she was sitting with our 6 bags! I asked in my sweetest Southern accent if I could check in there, and the D*lta man said, "You sure can. Where are your bags?" I pointed to Joy sitting there upon the bags acting like she was some kind of princess or something. He went and got the bags, checked us in, gave us our boarding passes, said that he would take care of the agricultural check, and said he would make sure our luggage got to where it needed to be! I never even had to break a sweat! Oh, God is so good! He cares about all the things that we struggle with...even luggage in a busy airport!

We boarded the plane. It was about half full, so, I moved to the 3 seats behind ours, pushed up the arm rests, got my pillow and went to sleep!

Arrived LA, boarded another plane bound for Atlanta. I watched the movie "Precious" on the screen in the seat back. Oh! My! It is a wonderful movie...except for the language. Very bad language...but aside from that-it was a wonderful story. The girl who played Precious was very good, but Monique, who played her mother, was fantastic! She sure deserved her Oscar!

Arrived Atlanta...3 hour layover...then on to Dothan. And, guess who we saw when we entered the terminal? That's right! There stood Pop...waiting for his girls to come home! It was so good to see his sweet, smiling face. We gathered up our luggage, and entered the cool, rainy Dothan weather. Our sweet Pop at the wheel, we talked about the trip, and told him some of the highlights. We'll share our pictures and talk of all the fun things we did. But, the sweetest memories can not be put into words. Because they are felt with our hearts...inside that little room that holds things that only sisters can feel. That room that holds the sweet things, and the hard things, and the unpleasant things, and the silly things...just things that only your sister would understand. And, we will treasure them the rest of our days. "Pop, you gave us a much bigger gift than you thought. You are a good and kind man. From you and Mom we learned about giving of self...and living life to the fullest. You have blessed us, and we are so grateful."

And, That's All She Wrote!

ALOHA 3-15-10 MONDAY part 2

Up and out on this our last full day in Paradise. Much to do...gotta squeeze every bit of fun out of this day (as Pop would say)! Since I have not eaten breakfast a single time since I have been here, why start today? Joy has a purchase she needs to make so we are headed to Lahaina...then to Paia and Makawao...and back to Ka'anapali.

Top down and ready to go. First stop, Lahaina. Jewelry store. 'Nuff said.

While waiting on a minor adjustment to be done on something Joy or I may or may not have bought...we went next door...to Kimo's (where I got sick on Sunday) and had the Hula Pie, which is a wonderful tradition here in Lahaina.


We finished our business in Lahaina and headed back Upcountry to Paia. I love this gallery and I try to visit everytime I come. They have some wonderful painting and pottery. Also some jewelry and fiber arts. Oh, and obviously I picked up the wrong lipstick...must have been Joy's...'cause I do not wear anything that dark.

Did a little shopping and then Joy wanted to go back to Makawao, so we did. She picked up what she needed and we headed back to the motel. We wanted to visit the beach before leaving tomorrow. Oh, and someone has to pack up all that stuff!

On the way to the beach, we saw a wedding in the courtyard of the hotel...


Joy trying to decide if she's going to stay or get on the plane with me tomorrow...


I wrote my name in the sand...and let it wash away. Each time I visit I do this before I leave...and I have always returned. Hope it works this time, too!


Do you see that big wave behind me? That breaking wave? Looks like when it breaks it will come all the way up to where I am, doesn't it? If you were behind the camera and you saw this giant wave coming up behind the person standing there smiling so pretty for the camera wouldn't you tell them so as to keep them from being drenched and perhaps being swept out to sea? Yeah...I would, too. Joy wouldn't.


I forgave her and let her get in this picture with me.



We walked on down to the Whaler's Village and had dinner at a very nice restaurant. We were fortunate that we were able to be seated outside. I had pistachio crusted mahimahi, risotto, and steamed vegetables. When I made a picture of this, a man at the next table said, "Do you always make pictures of your food?" "I am a blogger," I said, "and my readers want all the details of this trip!" Obviously, he was of little culture and understanding about the ways of the world. :0)



And, walking to the hotel, we left footprints in the sand...


...and the waves rolled over them...


...and they were gone...