God Bless the USA💕

​It’s hay season on the ranch just now, and in an effort to help Michelle, I’ve volunteered to pick up my usual morning loads, the first of which (fortunately) was a small one, as the first season’s pick up tends to wear me out a bit until I get into a rhythm😂. I had preemptively laid out my ‘hay picking-up’ attire the evening before, because once my eyes opened this morning, I intended to head out to the pasture. 

For those of you who have Instagram accounts, or Facebook, I wonder if you’ve seen the incredible European visitors’ posts of their enchantment with America. Specifically, the United States of America 🇺🇸💕. Apparently they are all here for the World Cup, which, if I am to  be truthful, I have no clue what that is.😂😂 Soccer, perhaps? 🤔

Anyway, I’ve enjoyed scrolling through these lovely and heartwarming posts for the past couple of days now. I wish I could transfer some of them to the Blog so as to immortalize them somehow, but I’d have to do a Google search to figure out how to do that. And I think before I do THAT, I should do a Google search on what the World Cup is.😂😂 

When I got out to the truck this morning, pointed in the right direction and in the right pasture by my dearest ranch hand (aka ‘Plus One’😆), I immediately queued up the music…’America’s Best Patriotic’.  The sun was still slumbering, yet I had the hazy twilight of morning to shed light on the hay bales resting on the ground.  ‘God Bless the USA’ began to play, and even Jax seemed to pause for a moment. As I gazed upon the beautiful hills across the valley…still so lush and green and outlined in the soon-to-illuminate morning light, I realized anew how very blessed I am to live here. Not One. Single. Day. goes by that I don’t offer up thanks that I was born in the USA!  But to hear the same perspective from foreigners on how fortunate we (Americans) are to live here just does a heart good 💕.  

I had lunch with my son a couple of weeks ago. I think he lies somewhere in the middle as far as the left versus the right, but I told him truthfully, that unless you’ve been to another country, you really won’t ever realize how amazingly wonderful the United States of America truly is.  It is so wonderful to hear and see these sentiments coming from folks who don’t even live here. And what a refreshing and important reminder for those of us who do🙏🇺🇸🙏🇺🇸🙏🇺🇸🙏.

Break time. 😊

Sustenance for the pasture pals this winter. 💕

Taking a well-deserved drink after a hard morning’s work.😆💕

And the photo I sent to Chelle… It’s not tidy, but it’s done!😂😂😂😂

Serendipitous Moment

W​e had visitors in church this morning, which we often do, so  I made sure to greet them as they came in the door, A bit later, Maureen, pastor’s wife, asked if I could visit with them when the service was over, because they were looking at guidance with a cognitively impaired family member. I wandered over to them once more, introduced myself, and told them where I’d be sitting so they knew where to find me.  

It turns out they are  from Virginia, and in town for just two days. I asked if I could meet with them, along with their family member at the AirBnb they were staying at, so as to discuss things in a more private setting, and  assess what level of impairment we were talking about. They wholeheartedly agreed.  

Their AirBnb was just across from the church, so close by. The meeting with their family member went very well, and much information was provided and options presented.  As I left, the gentleman who had attended church that morning walked me out. He turned to me and asked, “Are you familiar with the Road to Emmaus?”

I nodded. He then went on and said, “This was totally it. I feel like the Lord has been walking with us this day.”

He became emotional and began to weep. I gave him a side embrace and told him I understood how difficult this was for families. Especially families trying to navigate end of life from a distance.

He said, “No, it’s more than that. This whole thing was orchestrated by the Lord.”  He then went on to say, “I don’t like pie. My sister asks me to go have pie all the time. So I finally told her I’d  go eat pie with her if she’d go to church with me.” (Apparently, she was a nonbeliever, which I had no idea of when I met her just this morning!  And she even commented on how much she enjoyed the worship service!)

“There are three churches in Florence,”  he continued   “The Baptist Church starts at 9 AM. Your church starts at 10 AM. The Community Church starts at 11 AM. I knew 9 o’clock was too early for her. And 11 o’clock was too late. So we went to your church. And here we are now. “  

He gave me another hug, while he thanked me again. He then asked if he could take my picture. I stepped back and smiled while he snapped a shot. When he was done, I said, “May I take one of you and I together? I want to Blog about this serendipitous moment.”

He agreed.

I will miss these newfound friends, as they will return to Virginia on Tuesday, but I am hoping their loved ones, who live  nearby, will consider the options presented to them today, and allow me to help navigate the path along this end-of-life journey. 💕

Blast From the Past and About Songs 💕

​I came across a Facebook page the other day…one in which people were singing praise songs from the early 80’s and into the 90’s (hello Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith😆). And along with those, songs often sung in children’s church 😊 (Dare to be a Daniel, River of Life, The B.I.B.L.E. 😊).  It made my heart happy that I knew every single word of every single song that they were singing, and it was every bit as wonderful as hearing my One Hit Wonders yesterday!  Music is so incredibly powerful. Not a Sunday goes by that I am not beyond ungrateful for being able to serve on the worship team at church. We didn’t practice last Thursday because of scheduling conflicts, but the Lord met us where we were this morning, and after playing through the songs before the service even started, I felt as though I had entered the throne room of Heaven! I wish people could see what I see from my vantage point behind the drum set… children dancing upfront, arms raised in worship, and tears, laughter, and smiles, as people are led to the altar of grace.  

How grateful I am for the privilege of serving with my worship team…brothers and sisters really, and so dearly loved by me! My heart is filled to overflowing each week when I meet with these precious people.  What a great adventure…serving the Lord 💕🙏💕!

One Hit Wonders

O​ften during my days an old song will suddenly come to mind that I especially enjoyed in my youth. Believe it or not, years ago, I was able to find a CD with what is called ’One Hit Wonders’😆!  Horse with No Name, Sister Golden Hair, One Tin Soldier, I Need You, Tin Man… and many, many more…each one evoking a myriad of memories, all of them good 🥹.  Seeing as how today is a lovely, rainy day outdoors, it invokes my desire to tidy up indoors. So, I queued up the CD’s song list and played it as I went about my morning. A wave of recollection washed over me with each new (old) song, bringing many smiles and a few tears. Happy tears. 💕

Not one single day goes by that I don’t realize and reflect upon what a wonderful and blessed childhood I had. Hearing these old songs prompted me to pull out my photo albums from my junior high, high school, and post high school years (Santa Barbara💕).  Even in looking at all of the old photographs, carefully documenting each wonderful ‘season’ of my young life, there was not one season that I would have considered difficult, trying, or emotionally overwhelming. And not one, single, ‘I’d not want to do THAT again’ thought.  Just simple, wonderful and extraordinary moments that made me, and continue to make me who I am now, today, when the happy memory-invoking songs of my childhood have long been forgotten. But they are forever embedded in my heart, along with their memories! 💕

Birthday parties and spoofing with my bestie😂😂😂😆. 

Winter cross-country ski trip in Medora (thanks, dad🤗💕🤗).

Scuba diving adventures 💕  

Camp Dominic Savio summer🤗

Newly arrived in Santa Barbara, and I landed my first job, which trained me as a Certified Nurses Aid💕.  

My beloved coworkers from Hillside House, as we all enjoyed an afternoon at the beach together. 💕

So much wonderful packed into such a short period of time!  Often I feel I’ve lived several different lifetimes, but I like to think of that as a life well lived. Thanks to the grace of God.🙏💕🙏

FOR CUTE!

​

A little ‘cleaner-upper’ rolling around 😂🤗😂. 

Forgot One

​This was very close to CDG.  I thought it all just looked so TIDY! 😂

And to give you an idea of how large Charles de Gaulle airport is, you can see off in the distance the white plane that is landing at about the same rate we are. Believe it or not, I zoomed in quite a bit so you could see the plane! So it’s much further out. 😱

This one is still zoomed as well!

Transfer

​I am grateful to say the transfer from Budapest to CDG (Paris) went well. Much easier leaving/flying out of an EU country versus arriving from a NON-EU country! No baggage check this time around, although I was prepared!😂   And it’s always a good thing when you step off the stairs already at half-way-to-your-gate point 😁. I am M48.

And this wing, or maybe the airport in general, is surprisingly quiet! 

I was able to take some fun photos from the plane, as I had an empty window seat next to me!👏👏👏👏👏

I didn’t take any pictures leaving Budapest, but it was lush and green and flat! Here we are coming into the mountain ranges, so I’m wondering if it’s Germany or Austria…🤔

Can you see the line in the distance? That’s a plane that’s been flying next to us for a while. 😂😂😂.

And below…

…we are coming down into France  😊

I’m still shocked at how green it is everywhere! It’s just so beautiful to see the vibrant colors of spring😱🤗👏👏. 

Next flight will take me back to the USA🇺🇸💕🇺🇸. I board in 30 minutes. 🤗 I am so looking forward to being home!