All Good Things Draw to a Close......

I am back home now but thought I would do a proper conclusion to my Georgia visit.

 The official Mother's Day family picture-after church when David put his shirt back on-I am so demanding!

 Marsel and I refinished the wicker chair.........

 and it now graces her front porch!  What a face lift for the old girl.

 As our time together drew to a close, the kids and I packed as much activity as we could into our days.  David is showing me how he can climb to dizzying heights in their backyard.

 And he can do tricks on his bike down their driveway.

 Abigail got into the daredevil act and showed me how fast she can go down the driveway with only one hand!

 And she swings high all on her own now, too!

 I had brought along a project to do with the kids-a felted scarf kit.  It was a fun and delightfully messy hour!

 We even enjoyed some sunshine to dry them in no time!

 We laughed when I told the kids I would play Monopoly with them for 30 mins and then we ended up playing for hours!!!  We all reigned as wealthy landowners at different points in the game but Abigail was the richest when Marsel called a halt to our game!

 Mindy enjoyed playing with my yarn at the close of every day!

 My last night there, the kids took part in a student's concert at church; Abigail played a piece on the piano;

 David also conquered his selection on the piano.

 Then they took part in the violin selection.  (Marsel is cueing in the youngest violinist)

 Bill picked me up at the airport after another doctor's appointment......his feet are not healing as quickly as he has done in the past-both he and the doctor are frustrated.  After picking me up at the airport, we went out to eat by the ocean and did a very short pier walk-no beach walking for Bill yet!

 I did some reclaiming of home territory on Friday and then today had some play time.  I made the soap around my loofah slices.  I had bought this in GA hoping to make it with the kids but will make some more with them during our next visit!  I will be making many more of these to sell with my luxury face cloths.........they smell wonderful!

On the knitting front, I am finishing the second sock that got put on hold because I forgot the other skein of yarn !  It was a wonderful visit .   Home is a nice place to come back to...........

The Art of Mothering and Daughtering......

 It is incredible to share the day in person for our  Mother/Daughter luncheon!  We had a great time sharing the meal, fellowship and encouragement from the Scriptures and the chocolate fountain!

Marsel and Abigail shared the blessing of their voices in worship .

 When we got home, the men were tackling a project; taking down the old tree to make room for
                                       
Marsel's new birthday Dogwood tree.

 As we took a walk in the yard, I snapped these other highlights -her roses for one.

This is from her Grandmother Minota's bleeding heart bush!

                           
The kids enjoyed unwinding with some sprinkler fun!  We are all ready to unwind from our busy day!

Prep for Mother/Daughter Celebration

 All week Marsel and I have been working on the decorations for their Mother/Daughter Luncheon with their church for this Saturday.  I whipped off a couple of luxury face cloths for door prizes.

 We sewed up some votive candle lamp shades to go on the tables....

 And made an American Girl Doll dress for the girl's door prize.

 Yesterday, we set up the tables and laid out  all the decorations.  I love how it all comes together!

 After all the hard work, we took a Chick-fil-A break.

Friday night is pizza night; we sit and watch a few Andy Griffith episodes before bed time! The pace is fast but the laughs and intense face to face time is priceless!

A Change of Scenery

 I am blog delinquent because I am having a Georgia visit......still!  I am getting to share their life first hand and not just vicariously through the blog.  The kids ( with Marsel directing) sang and did a skit for Patch Club.  (David is all the way to the left and Abigail second from the right.)

 I finished one sock while here but other than a bit of knitting in the evening, life is too fast paced to have much knitting time!

Marsel and I have hosed and scrubbed this garage sale find so that  we can repaint and make a new cushion-you will see more on this next week!

 I attended the HomeSchoolSoccer games.....Abigail was taking her turn at goalie here.

David in the bright green socks makes a great play here!  I am savoring the intense family time in their home court!

Loofah and Loafing

Last year we grew Loofah and I just got around rubbing the skin off the dried gourd and getting the seeds out.

 These are the seeds and the few loofah rings .  This year we will know what we are doing and I have high hopes for a big harvest.  I put these rings into a mold and cover them with soap for a luxury bath soap.  I think when I add one of my hemp or linen face cloths, I will have a nice spa set for sale this Fall!

Will is continuing his wool education!  He is a hands on kind of student!

Here he is during his PE class!  He bounces around just long enough for me to get washed and dressed in the morning!

 I think this was one of his favorite activities today!  He splashed up a storm!

 Now this is my favorite part of bath time-the snuggles!

He is ready for bed and goes down very quickly.  Isn't this a heart melter?!

 Now I will go about tp straighten up the house and then do some knitting before I crash .......

A New Project

 There is a new project that is even more precious than my fiber pursuits!  We are watching Will for a few days while his parents are in Hawaii for a trip;  Matthew earned the trip because of his  top sales at Sherwin Williams!  Grandpa fed him his bottle this morning and serenaded him to sleep!

 Will and I take stroller rides-he is chewing on the scarf I made and was going to wear to church today.  Someone liked it better.....so I gave it to him; a logical grandma choice!

 We borrowed the stroller (it helps to have young friends willing to share!) and this exer-saucer so Will would have some entertainment and so I could have 10 mins to catch up while he did so!  It is working out great on both counts!

 We enjoy a tons of conversations; he is very talkative.  He is enjoying the feel and lightness of this woolen shawl and I explain what kind of animal it is from.  We both smile a lot!  He is also mimicking noises and we have a lot of non-verbal male communication, too; I raised 3 boys and I remember how this is important to them!

 On our walks we saw 6 Sand hill cranes in our yard-we have never had this many at peace-usually more than one couple is a fight in the making but these remained social all afternoon!

 Flowers in bloom in the pool area are also of interest .  The day lilies are show stoppers!

 The ground orchid is in full bloom-this is one of 8 groups of flowers out right now.

 Will and I enjoyed a swim-the pool water is warm enough not to be a jolt for him-he enjoyed the time to splash with no interruptions from me like for bath time!

A less welcome find on our walk-a Coral Snake which was very dead and snatched by one of our vultures by the end of the day-gratefully!