A Sad Goodbye

Hey Y'all,

Yesterday my little dog, Darla, passed away. I am just so sad. This was a very sudden thing with her. She was almost 15 and I had a lot of years with Darla. Her mitral valve in her heart had quit working and her heart was so enlarged that her quality of life would have been terrible. I made the decision to put her to sleep. This is the second time this year have had to do this and it was even harder this time. This year has been so very hard for me. I need a little joy to come my way. I am asking the Lord to please send some joy for this weary child of His. I am sure I am not alone in this plea.....what about you?

Bless Y'all,

Cindy

Country Girl at Heart

Hey Y'all,

I just realized that I have been yakking on and on and on about my new (and so precious) grandbaby and her sweet mommy that I have practically ignored yakking about my other daughter. Megan. My country girl. She is just started back at NC State for her senior year and she is missing "the county" as she calls it. Not the country mind you but the county. She loves her home and its slow country ways and laid back lifestyle. Even though at times she is at full throttle like a wild mustang. She has fell back in love with horses this summer and a good friend of hers has some and she has been riding several times. Below is a picture of her and her friend Jessica on their horses.


They look right at home on those horses, don't they?


I would like to make one thing clear. I do not like horses. I know that may upset or offend some but here is my point. They scare me. I am a big ole scaredy cat around them. I was silently thanking Jesus for my zoom lens when Megan hollered from the driveway to come out and take their picture. The only horses I desire to really be around are the ones under my hood. I love the outdoors, the woods, fishing, rolling around in the dirt and most things outdoors. I even like to watch hunting shows even though I don't hunt. I am a supporter of hunter's rights and I don't mind guns. I have even got my very own BB gun. I shoot squirrels off my birdfeeders. I haven't hit one but one day I will. I am saying all this to show you that even though I am really, really afraid of horses they are beautiful creatures.

Here is Megan on Trigger. She says he is really gentle. I still don't want to ever ride him. I did stretch my arm out and pet his nose though.


I miss my little country girl from the county. She adds a spark to my life that is just hard to explain. As independent and self-reliant as Erica is, Megan is the direct opposite. She is very dependent and needs constant reassurance of her decisions. Where Erica is decisive (fancy word for stubborn) Megan is impulsive (fancy word for ...well impulsive). They could not be more different and yet they are very, very tight. I love my girls. Very much. Watching them grow, mature and make decisions that do not really involve me has been hard but satisfying. God has been so good to me with these two gifts. I could talk forever on what I have learned with them and about them and from them. I guess that is what it is all about while raising children. I think I raised two of the best little sinners that need Jesus in "the county". I am thankful for all they have given me through the years. Even though I do not plan on ever buying Meg a horse I will take her picture on one any time she wants....from a distance.

Bless Y'all,

Cindy

Remodel Update

Hey Y'all,

I have had some computer problems and my keyboard is not working quite right so the typing will be short. Here is a pictorial update on my remodeling job.


This is a wide view of the living room. Don't you love the curtains. I use those tablecloths at Thanksgiving so I sure hope it is done by then!


This is where my double oven will go!!


I will have a new hood with a microwave. Wow! Now I can pop 3 bags of popcorn at a time!



This is my favorite thing. My trashcan now is in a new sliding cabinet of its' very own. I hate a trashcan in the middle of the floor so this is a winner.


A broad view of the kitchen. Looks a wreck now but will end up great.


The fireplace is being refaced with slate. I think this will be really pretty.


I am really excited about all these changes. Some change is good at times. Sometimes when a change is forced upon us it can be turned into good. I am really praying this one through. Praying that I sift through all the changes and just cling to the good.

Bless Y'all,

Cindy

Whispers of pink

Hey Y'all,





Who could not love this?? I mean really people, she is just the sweetest thing ever. I could just eat her with a spoon, I love her so much. How anyone could ever be cruel to a little one like this I have no clue. What a true miracle and treasure she is to our family.

Bless Y'all,

Cindy

Bittersweet

Hey Y'all,

Yesterday I gathered with several hundred others at the funeral for my friend's daughter. It was such a sad occasion. Watching all these young people weep for their friend. Big ole boys cried like babies. Sweet girls held each other and just sobbed their hearts out. Mothers and daddies my own age wept into bits of wadded up kleenex. Grandparents of all ages with tears just streaming down their lined faces. The atmosphere was just thick with emotion. I sat in that old church where I watched that mother get married. Never did I dream I would attend that same church 21 years later to watch that same couple bury their child. What a heartbreaking day. I saw so many faces from our past. School friends of years past gathered to comfort one of our own through this sad tragedy. The night before three of my old girlfriends gathered at my house to eat dinner and to just talk. We all agreed that this was a wake up call for our own families. My girlfriend Shawn came from Raleigh and said the most profound thing. A lady at her church told her, "When you lose a parent your past dies, with a sibling it is your present that dies but when our child dies our future dies." That legacy we have built will not be left will not continue. That speaks volumes to me. While we sat together we talked and talked and we laughed and laughed. I love those girls to pieces. Life has dealt us all strong blows but none as rough as this. It made us all keenly aware of how fragile life is and it made me more aware of how much I need God. We all watched our friend stand up and speak at her daughter's funeral and not once did she waver. Most people said they could have never done that. But I have come to a place in my own life where I can say I don't want to ever be in that place but the Grace of God would give me His strength to do the same thing. Just as His Grace flowed over my friend. It was through tears we all hugged and smiled at each other. Several of us girls made vows to keep more in touch and to get together more often. We plan on a monthly get together if at all possible. I really don't want to start gathering with my old friends just at funerals and class reunions. I want quality time with them. Sweet time with them and yes, I am sure bitter times with them. We all have crisis in our lives that calls out to our friends like a beacon to come and just hold each other. After they left my home and after the funeral we all told each other we loved each other and we really meant it. I do love those girls. Shawn and I held hands as we walked to hug our dear friend who buried her baby. Life is hard enough to go through. We all need our hand held at times. As much as I cried on Saturday at the funeral I laughed much more the night before at my house. Even with all the remodeling mess going on I was so excited to see them. What a lifetime of memories in these girls. We look a little older but thank the Lord we are all a whole lot wiser. This group has been friends for over forty years! I pray we get forty more!!



Shawn, me, Kelly and Hollye

Some of the best friends I have ever had.

Bless Y'all,


Cindy

I Can't Explain It

Hey Y'all,

I am so in love with my new grandaughter, Piper that I cannot stand myself. I totally love her. I am obnoxious with my love for her. I want everyone to see how absolutely precious she is and I just cannot explain this feeling. I make my own self sick I am so crazy about her. She is eight days old today and I have taken her picture over 200 times. Thank goodness Blake and Erica know I am an idiot over her and just grin at me while I can't wait to hold that little bundle. When I dropped by today (I called first) he met me with her and said, "Here Pipes...go to your Mimi." I love him too. I am thinking about Mimi as my "grandmotherly" name. But if Piper calls me Mammy I would come a'runnin'. Here are a few of the pile of photos I took just today.


Is she not just the cutest?????





Erica is just the best little mommy. I love her too.





She was wide awake for quite awhile today.




Getting my little Piper "fix"

So that I don't sound like a total nut I will have you know that her Aunt Megan is also crazy about this little lady. Megan is not exactly a baby kind of gal but she is crazy for this baby girl. She even ran out of the tub to kiss her good-bye this evening. I promise I won't post her picture every day but I might!!!

Bless Y'all,

Cindy

A New 'Do

Hey Y'all,

My house was built in 1954. It has never and I mean never been updated. When we purchased this house in 1992 the original linoleum was still in the kitchen. It was ugly. There are too many things too list that I dislike about my home but it has one huge benefit. It's paid for. It's a keeper. In today's economy I would be foolish to try to sell and purchase something new with things I liked. In my opinion that would be wasteful. So I am updating with a few touches here and there. Below are some before pictures. Caution! It is straight out of some other time. Think the old Lassie t.v. show or maybe Mayberry RFD. I kid you not.




This is the floor I put down a few years ago. It is laminate and it is horrendous. This stuff shows every scratch and is a pain to clean. Y'all know I am highly allergic to housework.




Here is a view of my front door and upper left corner. The fireplace is in the middle and two windows bank on either side. Don't you love how I have mixed parquet flooring with the laminate??!! How about that fancy wallpaper? Looks like we're living in a hotel! Oh by the way, I am addicted to the Golden Girls. That's Rose on t.v.






This is the view from the foyer. I obviously have no taste whatsoever.





See what I mean? I put the "eck!" in eclectic.




This is the view down my hallway. Once upon a time I loved this! Whatever!



This is my lovely mantle and fireplace. Can you see the selling points?





This is another look from the dining area of my kitchen. Can you say, "How much wood can a woodchuck chuck...?"




This is a side view of my kitchen. Lots and lots of meals prepared here. I think I have worn it out. By the way, the clock on the stove has said 3:20 for 12 years. Classy.





Here is a full kitchen shot. Don't let all that shiny wood fool you. It's grease. I do love my stainless fridge though.




This is my eating area. I usually have a mountain of books on this table that I store in the seat at the end. I am trying to break this habit. See how I blend things. Wood walls, wood table and fake wood floors. I am Martha's third cousin once removed...Bertha Stewart.


I love my house. I really do. When I sit back and think how most of the world has nothing and I am in the top 8% of the wealthiest in the whole world I am so humbled by my blessings. I am not a rich woman by American standards but I am so blessed. I just got finished kissing my grandaughter goodnight. I am helping my youngest order books for her senior (sob!) year at college. I spoke with both of my parents in person today. Talked with my best childhood friend on the phone just a minute ago. I am so very blessed. My other dear friend is going tomorrow to pick out a coffin for her girl of just 17 years. I have no complaints. None. Thank you Lord Jesus for all my blessings that you so richly bestow on the likes of me.

Bless Y'all,

Cindy

Answers...

Hey Y'all,

I just left the home of one of my life-long friends. When I was a school girl I had a group I always hung around with. There were five if us and we are all still friends today. That is just such a good feeling to know that we can always come to each other through good times, bad times and all the things that this world hands out and hold each other to either laugh or cry. We are all sobbing right now. Just yesterday one of my dearest friends 17 year old daughter was murdered. We live in a small rural area and everyone knows everyone. We really do. We are a community that is so intertwined. At times that is a curse but mostly it is a comfort. Now it is a comfort. My friend's daughter was at a party and no matter what is going on nothing, and I mean nothing called for what happenend. A young man threw a concrete block through the passenger window of this car while it was sitting still and hit this 17 year old girl with it right in her torso. When she got to a trauma center she died of a completely severed in pieces liver and bled to death internally. What is wrong with this world?? Who does such horrible, awful things?? All my friend could say was "You should have seen my baby, Cindy" We held each other and just sobbed. Her sweet husband and I were in first grade together. Friends of 40 years. He was so sad and just devestated. Holding a sobbing grown man is just heart wrenching. I have cried and cried over this. Another one of our group and I threw the baby shower for this friend when she was carrying her. I don't understand any of this. Two families are destroyed. The one who will pick out a coffin for their daughter and the one who in the morning will sit behind their 21 year old son while he has a first appearance and will be charged with First Degree Murder. When arrested this young man showed no remorse. What is wrong with this world?? Over foolish things and stupid arguments a young life is snuffed out. No senior prom, no senior portraits, no college applications, no grandbabies from her, no wedding....just a coffin to place her in and close the lid. What is wrong with this world??? The prince of the air we breathe holds this world prisoner with sin is what is wrong. When it comes down to it sin is the real problem. Sin leads to wrong choices and that leads to bigger and bigger pits we dig. Satan likes nothing better than to see families ripped right out of frame. All around me in my small close knit community I am seeing his handiwork more and more. But God is bigger and He is in control. I am praying that my friend's family allows God to soothe their aching hearts and to wake up this sleeping town to see what is going on around and stand up for what is right. We all need a new mercy today. I know I do and I bet you do too.

Bless Y'all,

Cindy

Coming Home

Hey Y'all,

What a wonderful day today has been. Blake and Erica brought home their brand new baby, Piper. I adore that name. They picked it out months ago I did not post it so that it would be a surprise. There is something about introducing someone and speaking their name for the first time out loud. Erica was so glad to be home and Blake was overjoyed. He was so excited to sleep in his own bed and not a hospital recliner-bed. He said he liked to froze to death and he is never cold. Erica was just glad to be home so she can start her own routine of how she wants to do her "mothering". She is just the sweetest little mama. I am just so proud of her and I know she will take to this mothering thing like a duck to water.

Here are a few of the pictures I took this afternoon.

A stork to welcome this little Princess home.


So peaceful looking in her little carseat.


I plan on taking Piper's picture each month in Erica's glider chair in the nursery with this frog so that I can chart her growth. She looks so tiny!


Piper really enjoyed her swing. She just settled down and listened to crickets and birds while she swang away. I wish they had a swing with a higher weight limit!!


I could eat this little one right up. I cannot tell you how much I love this tiny soul already. She is such a blessing. I can hardly look at her without crying. She is just so precious.


Bless Y'all,

Cindy

Introducing.........

Hey Y'all,

Introducing.....

Miss Piper Olivia Martin! Born August 4, 2010 at 3:32 p.m. 6 lbs 1 oz and 18 1/4 inches long



The happiest Grandmother in the world!



The new family. Blake, Erica and Piper Martin.



The little Miss herself. So precious.


I honestly have no words. She is just perfect. What an absolute blessing it was to stand beside my very own baby girl and help her to bring this new life in this world. It was one of the purest miracle I have ever been a part of. God is just too good ladies.

Bless Y'all

Cindy

Busy Week!!!!!!

Hey Y'all,

This is a very busy week! We have VBS at church which I love. My group is so sweet! They are first and second grader combo of girls and boys. Our program is Route 254 based on Psalms 25:4. It is really a great program and so far the kids love it. Also, Erica and Blake went back to the doctor this morning and Praise the Lord her blood pressure is down!! They are going to admit her Wednesday afternoon and prepare her to be induced on Thursday morning. I am so excited and just a little nervous. Erica is a little anxious too. They came over for dinner tonight and Erica was a little weepy. She really is tired and all this attention is a little overwhelming to an introvert like her. She has never liked a lot of questions and attention and she has been overrun this past 2 weeks. Poor girl! I am praying she gets a really good nights sleep tonight and a restful day tomorrow. She is coming by the church to help her sister out in the preschool room because Megan said her group was so sweet and really good. Just think. A week from today we will have a precious baby girl to love on and kiss on and just ooh and ahhh all over! I can't wait! I am really just so blessed and am so grateful to God for His wonderful blessings.

Bless Y'all,

Cindy