Happy Birthday!!

Today is my birthday and what a wonderful day it has been! First thing this morning I was greeted with a wonderful crisp cool September morning, along with the birds singing their happy birthday song to me, a gentle breeze and my sweet kitties brushing against my leg and ankles, presenting me with sweet wishes!



I then when about my morning routine which includes checking my emails and the missionary's I follow on their daily routines, and I had the absolutely sweetest email that I can ever recall receiving. I've just got to share it with you all.

My Dearest Rhonda,

I just wanted to tell you about my wonderful friend who is having a birthday today.

She is just one of the most incredible women I know. She has courage beyond belief and has gone through many things in her life that would have caused most women to give up. She is a strong Christian and is proud to let the world know how good her God has been to her. He has been with her to overcome all obstacles the old devil has sent her way. Her faith is unstoppable.

She is the most beautiful woman--inside and out. Her smile is always there to be given away to anyone who needs one. Her caring spirit is so much apart of her that she never tires of helping others. When you need a friend, she is there without delay.

She is the wife of a wonderful husband who adores her. She is the mother of two incredible young men who loves her for always guiding them. She is the grandmother of an adorable little angel who brightens her life everyday. She is loved by her family.

She is the best and loyal friend of many but I am most fortunate that I can call her MY FRIEND. I know that she will always be there if I ever need her. I can count on her whenever I just need someone to talk to or to pray for me or just be my friend. She is loved by her friends.

This friend is you, Rhonda! I thank God for bringing you into my life and keeping us close over the years. My prayer for you today, as always, is that God Blesses You in all that you do. I pray that your 55th year will be the start of an incredible journey for you as you proceed with another chapter in the life of Rhonda Wilkerson Hare.

Happy Birthday, dear Friend! I love you and pray that God continues to bless you every minute of your life!

Now let me tell you, I was tearing up to the point of not even being able to see the words as I read this precious birthday greeting! What a blessing...to even imagine that someone thought of me in this way!! It made the path for my day!!

My dear sweet husband wrote me an equally sweet note for my day, but I will keep that one between us! After all there are some things between husband and wife that only our Sweet Lord needs to know!

My day was filled with lots of simple pleasures:



My clothes hanging on the line, with a sweet gentle breeze blowing them dry.



Lot's of birthday wishes and phone calls....I have to admit, it makes a girl feel happy!!

Last night, while taking a dear friend out prior to starting her chemotherapy was indeed another blessing...the blessing of dear friends who stand together, who are there for one another no matter the current crisis in our life, friends who are willing to give, cook, drive you to your treatments...and most important, friends who will pray without ceasing for your cure! (Not to mention the heavenly pie I received for dessert in honor of my special day)



Then add a few more to the bunch, those who were "children" when we all became friends but whom have grown up with us and have come to love us just as their mothers have.



What a absolutely , marvelous, birthday I've had and I owe it all to my wonderful family and friends, who made this day very special for me, with special thanks and prayer to my Heavenly Father, who made it all possible.

I am so looking forward to this next year of my life, with the upcoming blessings that are awaiting for me!

And I pray...Thank you Lord for the blessings of Family and Friends, lead, guide, direct me in the way you would have me to go in this upcoming year of life you have graciously given me!

Change is in the air!

As summer slowly slips away from us, taking it's inferno heat and humidity with it, I'm seeing the change that comes along with yet another season starting to show it's awaiting pleasures of weather and beautiful colors. I've lived in this part of the South for most of my life (minus a few years in the state of Texas) so I know without a shadow of a doubt that there's still plenty of hot weather still awaiting, but how I love watching this gradual shift from summer to fall.

This is what I came across in my backyard this week while taking out scraps to our compost pile.

Aahhhhh this is a sign!!

Then there's that change of the sun as it comes up on these welcomed cool and somewhat crisp mornings. Crisp as compared to the mornings of waking up to 80 degrees with 74% humidity lurking in the air. The way it shines through the windows through out the day, and it's beautiful colorful setting proving that yes there is change a coming.



As I took my daily walk to the mailbox I also noticed this today....aahh the smell of dried fallen leaves!

And see the dogwood as it begins it change from a lush green to a colorful combination of Red and Yellow...



The gorgeous Carolina Blue sky without a cloud in sight, a shrub making it's change, are all beautiful hints from our Maker that change is good.



We as humans don't like change normally, give me life the way I know it..no problems, no sickness, no upsets, no unexpected bills....just don't change it, I like it the way it is, but the thing is here, change is the only thing that will not change.

I'm feeling change coming my way, not only in the season's and not the fact I have another birthday upcoming, hey I am thankful to my God up above for making it another year healthy and still alive, maybe not kicking the way I used to but still kicking...somewhat..if you call sitting on the footstool and kicking three inches off the floor kicking...I can still do it! This is a different kind of change I'm feeling, it's coming, not sure what yet, but I'm sure it will be revealed to me in HIS time and not mine. Until then....

I pray, Lord help me to always embrace the change you send my way as a blessing from above and to embrace it as such!

I WON, I WON, I WON!!!!

Can you believe it? Me who never, ever and I mean ever Win's anything won something two weekends in a row! I'm telling you in the last 30 years I can count on one hand how many things that has come my way free of charge! The reason I remember so vividly of the years is my oldest was a baby when I first won my first prize. At the time I was living in Houston, Texas and the subdivision we lived in was practically a city in itself. We had grocery stores, hair salons, dress shops anything you wanted within walking distance. At the time we only had one vehicle so the weeks that I had the car I would do my major grocery shopping. This particular week I had gone to the grocery store and bought the monthly supplies, you could print your name and phone number on the back of the receipt, drop it in the box and each week the store would draw a slip out and award the weekly winner that week's groceries free!!!!! I received a phone call that week and it sorta went like this...Mrs. Baker did you buy groceries this week at ABC groceries and write a check? Now I'm thinking at the time.... yes and I'm sure I balanced my checkbook correct, indeed I was covered!! My response..."well yes", CONGRATULATIONS you are our weekly winner of groceries....Whew, sweat pouring off my forehead!!!! They reimbursed me for my groceries for that week!!! What a wonderful blessing at the time!

My second winning was a drawing at work. My branch that I was working in had the highest
percentage of sales for the year and we were entered into a contest for a trip to New York City! My name was drawn, hubby and I had a wonderful long weekend to New York!! A trip for both of us, neither one of us had ever visited that wonderful and enchanted city!

Then last Saturday I was in a really big hurry to get to the Post Office, there was a bill needing to be paid and I was in a mad dash to get there before the mail cutoff for the day. I also wanted to get to the local Farmers Market prior to closing...what do I do...P.O. first or Farmers Market...decision...bill is more important so that I did. After leaving the P.O. I headed on out to the Market, considering ole Rocky had stole my corn and we were having a hankering for some good ole corn on the cob! As I was walking up to the vendors, two very nice gentlemen were walking toward me at the same time...I'm thinking...OK what's this? Sure I didn't take time to put any makeup on, I look like a Hant...but all I want is some corn and believe this or not...a few tomatoes, I had worked our way out of those juicy, round, red tomatoes! You know they come in all at once, can't keep them long and then, boom, all gone!! Those sweet men looked at me and said, "CONGRATULATIONS" you are our 300th visitor to the Farmers Market today"!! I won a $5.00 voucher for any vendor there that day!! I was thrilled, after all, like I said I never, hardly, ever win anything!! So I got all these lovely fruits and vegetables for only $6.00. What a blessing that was!!



Cabbage, Tomatoes, Corn and Apples!

I had a wonderful time talking with the vendor about how he grew this beautiful crop and come to find out he and a partner has several crops though out the state to keep it going for 3 seasons!! I also noticed he has the very same bumper sticker as myself posted.



Something we all need to remember!!

Yesterday, I was invited to a Pampered Chef party and believe it or not, I won the door prize!!! I received a wonderful, Season's Best Cook Book!!!

Do you think I'm on a roll? Do you think I'll win the Lottery??? Of course if you think about it, I guess I'd have to buy a ticket...you think?? After all a $1.00 is a $1.00 and that sure would buy a mess of corn this time of year!

And I pray..."Thank you Lord for all your blessings...free and paid for"

August 2nd??? Are you sure?

Wow, I cannot believe that July has come and gone already! It seems that when you have a garden that summer really gets away from you fast. This year we grew, corn, okra, tomatoes, pepper (several varieties), squash, cucumbers and watermelon's. Well let me back up just a second...we started growing corn, then Rocky Raccoon found it and well, let's just say...the rest is history! I hope the little sucker got indigestion from all the corn he ate! Mmmm,reminds me of a naughty little bunny named Peter! Now, he has discovered the watermelon and doesn't mind one bit helping his fat little self to the sweet fruit, cutting a hole in the end and consuming the entire inside, leaving the shell behind in utter mockery of us! If I was a young woman and could sit up all night long, I would catch this masked varmint myself!



Help!!! We've been invaded!!! The tomatoes are coming, and coming, and coming!!! Multiply the above scene by 3 times (at least) and you'll see what has been keeping me so very busy! Even Toot the Turtle couldn't make a dent in these bad boy's! Toot don't you think you could at least eat the whole tomato as opposed to taking a bite out of multiple one's? As you can see Toot was rushing to get away from getting caught in the garden! I was afraid his fast speed would blur the picture! It's hard getting caught!



So I guess you're wondering what I've done with all these? I've made this...



Pizza Sauce.

And this...



Salsa.

Canned tomatoes.

And in between all the tomatoes, I made pickles from these...



Froze these...



Then on one particular day I'd had enough and took my $5.49 bargain I'd found and turned it from this...



To this.....



So as you can see I've been quite the busy beaver in the past month, even with all this going on I'm still praying and searching for employment! It can really be discouraging to a girl to start feeling "not wanted"...but then I stand back and take a look at this picture and realize...I have the perfect job that God wants me to have at this point in my life.



So for now I've told the cob webs to stop dancing around the house so much, and made a promise to the furniture to dust it off soon, but for now I've got to get the food put up while the getting is good.

I pray...Thank you Lord for all the provisions you have provided for me, my family and even Toot and Rocky.

The Mind of a 3 year old.....

As I watch my dear sweet grand daughter grow my mind often wanders back to when my own children were growing up and how fascinating it is to watch them, grow, learn, explore and discover a whole big world surrounding them. Sometimes I wonder just what is going on in that ever expanding mind of those little one's. One thing I know for sure they cling to your every word and action and are learning by watching and listening.



We had Vacation Bible School recently and I had the honor of teaching the 3-5 year old class and believe you me you've got to keep those little minds busy every single minute, or total chaos erupts and then you are in real trouble. Other than the crafts, which by the way they love, love, love to paint, was story time and it amazed me so how they actually soaked in the Bible story and could remember the details of it the next night while reviewing it. One story in particular really grabbed their attention and that was the story of Jesus feeding the multitudes and how there was still so much leftover. They enjoyed making their own fishing poles and "pretend" fishing to help Jesus out. I'm thinking perhaps in their little minds they were truly fishing and bringing in the "big" catch. Such joy.




Then my grand daughter had her first recital. She was so cute in her little costume and when she spotted us in the crowd...such a big smile and little waves galore. I'm sure for that night, in her mind, she was the princess of gymnastics/dance and no other could compare.




This takes me back to my own children and when they were 3, Joshua the oldest loved watching King Arthur and one day after watching it for the 100th time he came to me and asked.."Momma is hail a bad word"...hmmm I thought about it for a minute then I explained to him there were several definitions for this word. I preceded to explain there was "Hail" like praising a King, then there was "hail" that fell from the sky like ice, then there was "Hell" like where the devil lived. Not bad at all I thought to myself...he was satisfied and off to watch King Arthur again for the 101st time. Then much to my surprise one day while his daddy was driving in awful traffic, out of the mouth of my sweet little 3 year old came, "what the hell King Arthur is going on around here". So much for that one!

Then my next son, Adam was fascinated with Super Man, and for the entire 3rd year of his life he dressed in his Super Man p.j.'s with his blankie tied around his neck, and I even had to slick his hair back with the curvy thing going on right down the middle of his forehead! In that little 3 year old mind...HE WAS...Superman!

Cory, the last one to come into my life was indeed a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, right down to the costume and the spiked hair, and every picture for that year he was in that costume and poised just like his little mind remembered the famous Turtle's.

Now we're down to the "grand". Finally after all the boys we have a precious little girl, and her 3 year old mind is now filled with princess's and castles. Not to long ago during one of her stays with Mima and Papa, while I was getting showered and dressed she was sitting at my make-up table playing with her brushes while getting her own "makeup" on, then without me knowing and much to my surprise she squeals and says, "Look....I look just like Mima"!!!!




Papa laughs and I think....hmmmm perhaps, Mima needs to go back to beauty school 101!!

I pray...Lord help me to be a better influence for all those around me.

This Is A True Story....

This picture is what I looked like heading to my garden spot with Hoe,seeds and a great anticipation of what I was getting ready to plant, watch and tend while waiting for the grand harvest.



This is hubby plowing our garden spot...

I walk down to supervise his tilling when it hits me and I express my surprise to him, knowing he can't hear a word I'm saying but he knows by the movement of my hands,"This thing is really big", he just smiles...hmmm wonder what he's thinking...

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Back to the work at hand..

As I headed down to the garden a couple of days ago I wasn't thinking about how I hadn't really had any physical exercise much over the long cold winter, I was just thinking how good I was feeling about playing in the dirt.

Three hours later, I stand back upright and think...oooo my back and thighs are tingly, I'd better go up to the house and hit the Advil! Hubby gets home that afternoon and looks at me and asked "did you get the seeds planted" sure I did. So I head off for a meeting at church still feeling quite proud of my work. A little later, I come home and state hmmmm "my back and legs are achy" his response, that smile again!!

Fast forward to yesterday morning. I woke up and feet hit the floor as always and I head to the bathroom, ouch this really hurts, I mean really really hurts to walk...think Tim Conway steps...very small, slow steps, can I make it....oh no this walking thing hurts! I make it to the toilet...ouch out loud...it hurt's to sit! Oh man, can I even get up? I have to use muscles they are hurting, I pull myself up and head for the Advil! I manage to make it through the morning, pain and all, it even hurts to sit at the computer!! Good grief!!

I head to town to try and run a couple of quick errands and just getting down the steps from the deck to the garage was a major effort but I made it! Drive to town do my business then stop at the drug store to pick up a few things...oh my, I can't get out of the car...you know it takes muscles!! I pull myself out get what I need, then thinks I got to get home this whole moving thing is a "pain".

I remember I've got to get the grand this afternoon...which means, got to get back in the car, get out, walk to door, open door and get a great big ball of energy who loves to run and play....a lot, hey I'm having trouble just moving!! Ok I made it, and I look out and little girl and Papa are having a grand ole time swinging, sliding, running and lot's of things that involve using muscles!! Papa is always coming up with lot's of neat and fun things to do, like riding around on a dolly!!



"Hey guys can I ride? I'm hurting and I'm having a very hard time walking."

"What about it Papa, should we let Mima ride"

There's that smile again!!

Once they come inside for supper Papa makes the comment with that smile, " I believe the garden whopped ole Mima".......if looks could kill he would be a dead man!!

This morning, get up again, still slow painful movements, but moving. Get in the shower and remember this is Friday, better shave my legs someone might drop by over the weekend. Try to bend over to shave and OH MY, DEAR SWEET HEAVENLY LORD I can't do it, gotta do it, company might come, there's men in my front yard with chain saws cutting trees if I can't get up will they hear my cries of anguish, will they come to my rescue? Wait a minute, they have chain saws never mind...I can and will do this.

So I pray "Lord give me strength"

And this my friends is a true story!!

The End

I'm Still Here.....

Yes I know my posts are getting pretty far and in between, but hopefully I can get back in my groove and post more than what I've been doing. This past winter was unusually cold and gray and at times it had me pretty gray myself, but Spring has sprung and my energy level is picking up as well. Here's a snapshot of what's been going on here in the Hollow the last few months. As you know from my last post we had a snow storm early March and in between I kept myself busy doing things that just could not be put off any longer.

Things lurk behind closed doors and I've a fond motto "If I can't see it, surely it's not there" until one day you open one of those doors and boom it happens and you just have to do something about it right then and there! That's exactly what happened when I opened this door that houses our old VCR tapes, DVD's etc. a total mess completely out of control that poured out like an avalanche. GEE WHIZ now I've got to clean this up!



So from that total mess to this....



Whew, glad that one's over. Now to move on to the next mess hiding...our last child at home, well kinda sorta, he's been in college and has always been in and out but this past year he flew the coup, moved out of State and came home during the holidays and got the rest of the stuff he wanted. Ahem!! Left the rest for us. So I got busy and turned that room into a sewing, reading or doing what you want room. A few wood crates and this is what happened.



Not bad if I do say so myself. Now for the Tupperware cabinet!! For you women out there I don't know about you but with a grand baby who is only allowed in that cabinet things had gotten well out of hand. Now tell me, how in the world can I have so many bowls with no lids?? Well I finally got this one done and low and behold I found a birdcage stuck in there last night! Bad bad bird! I'm sure a certain 3 year old angel had her hand in that one.



Well, the next project is my closet, quick close your eyes...not to worry the door is still closed and I can't see it for now..until... I open it again. Arggg!! Oh well it'll happen soon enough, after all I've got to switch out my Winter clothes for Summer.

For now I'll walk outside in the fresh warmth of Spring, raise my face to the "Son" and give thanks for my day...Gray or bright!