Fabulous Friday Fun

Good Morning Friends, What a gorgeous day it is today! Our weather has been up and down, like much of the country with heat waves and then afternoon showers. Parts of our state had hail so heavy yesterday it looked like snow and cars were getting stuck. The end of July, such things never cease to amaze me.
This week we began prep work to paint our house, yes I said we, as in hubby and I. No outside company here. Finding a color that worked was a bit of a challenge; we knew what colors we wanted-a sand color, white trim and accent color of a steel blue. The first choice called Sand Stone ended up too pink, so back to the store I went. Two colors later and we've got it. I imagine we'll head back to the store today to get quite a bit of paint, then the fun begins.
This weekend is a local Art Fair that I'd like to at least get to and check out; there will be vendors from out of state and our town in making quite a big deal about it. Tomorrow night 4 of our grands are sleeping over, for the first time in a while so we'll have to build an indoor fort in the family room and plan movies as well as lots of good meals. Miss S will be joining her cousins JJ, B and Miss F but our Peanut and Miss D will also join us for dinner. I just can't get enough of these kiddos but I'm sure nana and papa will be tired when they leave. Sunday is church-a new building-and it will be nice to see the new space. In between I'm sure we'll be painting, painting, painting.
Have a wonderful weekend and don't forget to smell the roses.
Big hugs to you today.
Noreen

Oh yes, it is that day of the week already; do you make a point to give thanks continually or just when things turn out as you desire?
I am thankful for Lynn at Spiritually Unequal Marriage, who remind us to make this a habit in our lives.
Today I am thankful that nothing catches our Father unaware, nothing is out of His control.
I am thankful that He know my hearts desires, knows me better than anyone, He knows my fears and counts all my tears. I am thankful that He knows the weakness of my personality and the strength He has sown into me. He knows the promises I rely on and count as Truth. I am thankful that He knows that I trust Him and depend on Him when all else around me is spinning wildly.
I am grateful for the fact that He knows my laughter and joy and the things that bring me to this place. He knows all the days of my life and makes my path straight.
I am so thankful that He has blessed me so much, with salvation, with my beloved husband, my daughters and their families, my friends and of course getting to know all of you. For more thankful posts please visit Lynn @ http://unequalmarriage.typepad.com/
Be blessed today and give thanks.
Noreen

On Grief and Loss

When our two daughters were growing up, we were close friends with a family that had two daughters the same age as ours, they homeschooled in the same group we did and we even attended the same church fellowship. This family were wonderful friends and I'm glad that our daughters still consider their daughters some of their best friends. Recently their oldest daughter, Anna, delivered a baby boy-their fourth child and brother to three beautiful girls. Little Mason was born 13 weeks early and lived for 4 days before going Home. Anna's husband is a pastor and recently had a sermon on the time spent with their tiny son. I can tell you that their testimony is amazing and God's grace being poured out on them, moment by moment, is a witness to many.
I so often read of so many people-moms, young and old, wives, daughters, sisters etc. that are going through so many trials. There are many who have lost babies or children and the grief is overwhelming. My heart goes out to each and every one of you. With Anna and Chris's permission, I'm linking his sermon here because I think it would benefit so many to hear their perspective, I am also linking to Anna's blog. To those who listen, may our Lord minister to your heart this day. It certainly ministered to mine. It is my prayer that His strength would be made perfect in their weakness and that their testimony would bring healing to many.

http://www.hscaudio.org/2010/07/4-days-to-eternity/
http://joyineverystep.blogspot.com/

Humbly yours,
Noreen

It's Tuesday and if you could see me now, you would watch me doing the Happy Dance as dear hubby got home yesterday. Yippee!!!!! For the last 25+ years hubby has gone on at least one annual golf trip, if not more. I have always been supportive of this because I realize that he does need guy time(o.k. I hope I've always been supportive), so I am quite used to this by now.

He had a great time and was invited back next year. I find it interesting that I feel safer here than I did in California, even with our best friends right next door. Not quite sure what the reason is but I had a very relaxed time.
I will confess that there was a period of about four years when my next door neighbor-aka best friend-and I traveled to major quilt shows or weekend quilt retreats. We always had a blast and often when starting out felt more like teenagers than middle aged women-which means we turned up the car stereo, sang and talked non-stop. By the time we headed home you could tell we were pretty tired as our chatter had definitely slowed down. I haven't had a girl weekend away since we moved and truth be told, in the last number of years in Ca. each time we had hoped to plan one, one of our daughters was expecting to have her baby thus necessitating my being within close proximity. That is probably one reason why I understand hubby's trips besides the fact that I miss my girl weekends with a certain someone-Hey Barb, are you up for a trip???? LOL.
Do you get a chance to go away for a weekend with just a girlfriend or two? Let's hear about it.
Have a beautiful day.

Blessings, Noreen

Monday Morning Musings

Good morning dear ones, I trust you had a joy filled weekend and that all is well with your souls. As I pondered what to write about today, I reflected on the great time I had at both daughters homes over the weekend. With hubby away both families had me to dinner-such a sweet time spent with our loved ones. The grands always keep me entertained and laughing, each evening was no exception. Last night, after dinner, at our oldest daughter's home we went outside in the lovely evening and played Ladderball. It is a wonderful outdoor game that even a 4 yr old can play; in fact during our camping trip Little Miss D kept trying to play as well and she's only 18 mos.

My daughters families reminds me of one of my favorite Psalms.
Psalm 128:1-4
"How blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, Who walks in His ways.
When you shall eat of the fruit of your hands, You will be happy and it will be well with you.
Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine, Within your house, Your children like olive plants
Around your table.
Behold, for thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord."

The blessings pour down on hubby and I through our daughters, their godly hubby's and their children. What joy it brings to my heart to see our girls raising their children in the Lord.
What brings joy to your heart? What is the desires you have for your children, young and old.
I am especially joyful today because my beloved is coming home from his golf trip.

Noreen

Fabulous Friday

It's the weekend-yippee, yahoo and all that jazz! My dear hubby left this morning very early, to spend the weekend in the heat-I'm talking 108-115 in Vegas, with his buddy and play in an annual golf tournament. His friend has been trying to talk him into this tournament for over three years now and finally hubby gave it. He wasn't too thrilled about the heat and playing in it this afternoon but I know he'll have a good time. Colorado's heat might even look good to him when he gets home. Yesterday we had quite a storm pass through and we weren't sure whether we'd be able to go to the concert last night but the storm let up and we enjoyed a wonderful evening. The sunset was incredible; so brilliant and majestic! So what's a girl to do when hubby is away? Somehow shopping will come into the picture I'm sure, maybe a plant for the yard, maybe a new book and just hanging out-no meals, per say, to fix and I can watch Dog Whisperer and House Hunters all I want.

Have a wonderful, relaxed and fun weekend my friends. Don't forget to give thanks to the One who makes it all possible!

Blessings, Noreen

Greetings to you this day, I hope your week is going well and that you are enjoying life.
On Monday I was able to get to one of my favorite quilt stores in the mountains and also found a store that I hadn't been to yet-yippee! I will say that what I ended up with in the way of fabric was totally different than I had planned but I think that special person will truly enjoy it.
Instead of doing a traditional pattern wall hanging, I purchased a printed panel(don't moan-there are some beautiful ones out there)with the plan to do a type of "attic window"-which makes it look as if you are looking at a scene from a window. The panel is beautiful and looks like our mountains. This design should be fairly quick to do and easy which is nice since our time is getting closer each week, for when I will present it. I will post photos as I work on it; today I will have to go to our local store and get some more batiks for sashing etc.
Plans for today include the quilt store, walking with daughter, looking at exterior paint colors, feeding our neighbors cats and possibly kayaking. Yesterday's weather was cloudy and rain, although still in the 70's and today looks like more of the same.
A dear friend emailed me a poem that I've actually used before in a Memorial/Life Celebration and you may have seen it but I love it so wanted to share it with you.....get your tissues.
Maybe there is a friend who needs to read this or maybe it will touch your heart.

"God saw you getting tired and a cure was not to be, so he put his arms around you and whispered "come to me". With tearful eyes I watched you, and saw you pass away, although I loved you dearly, I couldn't make you stay. A golden heart stopped beating, hard working hands at rest. God broke my heart to prove to me, he only takes the best."

Blessings, Noreen

Happy Monday my friends, So how are you all today? Did you have a good weekend? What things did you do? We had a busy weekend but it was good~Saturday we celebrated our guys birthday with a lunch at our daughter's home. As you can see from the photos, Star Wars is big with our grandsons and Mr. B was delighted when he received ax from our other daughters family. The main focus has always been on Mr. B but Papa got some special attention as well. Our afternoon was spent setting up and attending a "Life Ceremony" of our dear friend Barbara who passed several months ago. This was a memorial tribute to her and very touching. Afterwards, we headed to their home and had dinner with the family; again it was good to get to know her daughters and her brother as well as spend some time with her hubby and other close friends. Yesterday we went to the Hydrofoil National Races in our little lake. We had never been to these prior to coming to Colorado-it is like water skiing but you sit on a seat and do tricks, similar to wake boarding. Last night we went to a pot luck for another couple who recently sold their coffee shop.

This week is going to be warm-yippee! The only thing better would be if we had a pool or were on a lake. We are heading to the high country tomorrow to purchase fabric for that special quilt I have planned. The particular store has the best batiks I've ever seen.

What are your plans for the week?

May the Lord richly bless you today as you seek His face.

Hugs, Noreen

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Tomorrow is a very important day in our family~two wonderful guys celebrate birthdays.
Our grandson "Mr. B" turns seven tomorrow. B is an incredible boy-filled with joy and tons of energy. He loves animals, as you can clearly see from the photo above, and I imagine that one day he'll have a large spread of land with lots of different animals on it. He is affectionate; something a nana cherishes! May the Lord shape and mold him into the man He wants him to be and may B walk in His ways all the days of his life. We love you B and you bring so much joy into our lives. We will be celebrating both birthdays together, celebrating life and family.

This is my man, the love of my life and my best friend. Isn't it incredible that he had a grandson born on his birthday and one named after him as well. As the years have passed, I continue to realize what a wonderful man he is and I appreciate how blessed I am with his love and our marriage. We've been sharing 37 birthdays together now and I look forward to many, many more. I would move heaven and earth to give you all you desire, even though I can't, I can promise that you'll have all my love for all the days of my life.

So to two very important guys in my life I wish you a very Happy Birthday.

On this Thankful Thursday need I say more? I am blessed beyond measure by my loved ones and my life is so incredibly rich because of each one. I thank the Father above for His richest gifts to me.
Blessings, Noreen



For more Thankful Thursday posts, please visit Lynn and Dineen at

http://unequalmarriage.typepad.com/

Mountain Wildlife

Good Morning Friends. As you all know I love wildlife and seeing God's creatures up close and personal with a few exceptions-Bears and Mountain Lions would fall into that category. I am usually awestruck at how majestic the animals in the Rockies can be and this trip was no exception. In the photo above, it is hard to see, but if you look at the left hand side mid way up, on the grassy slope, you can barely make out a momma mountain goat with her two kids.

I had never seen a Moose up close until Saturday and frankly I didn't quite understand all the excitement as well as home decor items that are themed around this animal. NOW I get it. I have loved Elk and their beauty but there is just something about a baby Moose and its momma that is so gentle~I understand they are very dangerous and can wreck havoc on trees but they are just so cute.

Momma keepin' her eye out on her little one.

Another one with two kids(don't know what the calves are called); this photo doesn't do her justice though-she was so beautiful.

I couldn't believe the size of these racks....they'll sure be ready for fall.

We aren't 100% sure what these are but think they might be mule deer. I meant to look up the horns to identify them but didn't have the opportunity yet.

Aren't we blessed to have such an abundance of life around us?! We also saw two Golden Eagle nests with babies in them and watched one momma with a fish in her mouth fly into the nest to feed her youngin'.

Today stop and look around your world, your neighborhood, your yard and see anew the blessings the Father has given you.

Gratefully,

Noreen

Grand Lake

Happy Friday All, Just stopping by to wish you a wonderful weekend. We are heading to the mountains for a fun family get away. I'm hoping that this new destination has every thing this gal wants for camping-you know flush toilets, sinks and showers. I plan to take photos to share with you.
Joyously,
Noreen

Today's Thankful Thursday post is on friendship. For women ,in general, I believe that we need our friends- especially our girlfriends.
But in order to be a true friend, to love unconditionally, we must first have Jesus as our Best Friend. He truly can teach us to love one another, to accept what others can't and to forgive when we've had our hearts broken. So I am truly thankful to my Lord and Savior for loving me and saving me and being my Friend plus so much more.
I am also thankful for the friends and sisters I've made online. Two years ago when we moved here, leaving behind all of my dearest friends(Except my hubby and girls) it was very difficult to begin new relationships. When you've an empty nesert and are retired it is more challenging to connect with others. Thankfully we found some great friends here but in my loneliness I discovered Lynn and Dineen at Spiritually Unequal Marriages and that led me to a host of other blogs. My oldest girl encouraged me to begin a blog; I was skeptical at first because I had seen many self-obsessed MY SPACE pages and I knew that I wanted mine to be about my faith, my family and the daily living on this gal. Through blogland I met an incredible amount of ladies that I now cherish as close friends, I was encouraged in my walk through the Truth I read and my lonliness left. So today I thank you and send you all hugs for writing and reaching out to others.
I am thankful for the friendship of my hubby-it's been a lifelong journey and I'm blessed. I am thankful for the friendship of my girls. I truly believe it was always there but nurtured when we homeschooled and then as they grew, married and became mommas. Such an incredible blessing.
I am thankful for the friends that took hubby golfing yesterday in preparation for the Pro-Am today. What a fun day although the weather resembled the Oregon and Washington coast with damp rain all day; they all had a great time golfing and I loved driving the cart. If my back didn't prohibit golf I might have even wanted to play. I did freeze all day but hubby lovingly bought me a sweatshirt at WalM*rt-otherwise I probably would have stayed in the car for the four hours. We had a wonderful dinner with our friends and hope to eventually go down their direction,to the club they belong to, so they can play and I can enjoy driving the cart-on a sunny day.
I am thankful for the friend who is coming over this morning to pray-what joy to join another before the Throne.

To read more Thankful Thursday posts please visit Lynn and Dineen at:
http://unequalmarriage.typepad.com/

Be blessed today dear friends,
Noreen

Happy Wednesday to you. Many of us blog about the outdoors on Wednesday so I thought I'd share how I'll be spending my day today. For the last two years my hubby has played in the Wyoming Open Golf Tournament, which begins tomorrow. He always goes up the day before, with the pro he plays with, for a practice round. Well this year I decided I'd like to go watch my man play since it is his all time favorite activity. The wife of the pro(both are good friends)is also a golfer so I will drive her cart and maybe putt a little. I am not a golfer, tried once but my back won't allow it, so I will be content to be outside. O.k. truth be told, last night another storm rolled in and the rain came, this a.m. looks like a cold and dreary day so I won't be soaking up the sun, as hoped, and will have to dress accordingly. It gets very windy in Wyoming so I'm not sure how fun this day will be, but hey I will be outside and since I was only in Cheyenne once, about 25 yrs ago, it should be fun to be up there.

On another note, a dear lady by the name of Sono Harris went home to Jesus on Sunday after battling cancer. When my girls were in high school, I met and talked with Sono at a Josh Harris conference and was impressed by what a godly women she was. Please keep the entire Harris family in prayer, although we rejoice at one of the saints going home, it is always difficult on the loved ones left behind.

Have a wonderful day~hopefully you aren't melting away in the heat and humidity or getting wet in the rain.
Til tomorrow,
Noreen

The Beauty of the Park

Some more of my favorites-first and foremost my babe.
I love waterfalls and rivers, the sounds are so soothing!
Our friends weren't too pleased with us standing on this outcropping and wanted to take our photo so we could get to safer ground.

Our good friends aka hike leaders, Rita and Dick, who took us on this adventure.
I can't wait to take more hikes in the Park with them.

Have a wonderful day my friends.
Hugs, Noreen

A Winner

One of the nicest things in blog land is when friends have give a ways; it is always so much fun to enter and then wait and see who wins the item. Well, a dear gal named Carrie at Farming On Faith had a drawing for a pair of reading glasses from a wonderful online company and guess what-I won! What a surprise and delight! I was very impressed with the selection of glasses and sunglasses and the prices are so reasonable. I ended up picking out a pair of sun-readers and can't wait to get them. Go by this store and take a look. While you're at it, stop by Carrie's blog and say hello-and in case you are wondering this Carrie is not my daughter Carrie, but I love her name and blog. http://www.farmingonfaith.blogspot.com
Happy Monday!

A Winner~

May God bless our country with His glory

and smile upon her people with His Love.

To all the families of men and women fighting to preserve our freedom here in the United States, I say thank you, thank you, thank you. May the Lord richly bless you today and make His face to shine upon you.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA! Happy 4th of July!

GOD BLESS THE USA!

Rocky Mountain National Park

The upper part of Alberta Falls....so much power!

If you look closely you can see a small lake near the dead pine trees-we started out down there.

Rita, Dick and I taking a breather!

The back side of Longs Peak.

Nymph Lake...so beautiful.

More photos tomorrow.

<sup>Psalm 34:1-3

1</sup> I will bless the LORD at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul shall make its boast in the LORD;
The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
³ Oh, magnify the LORD with me,
And let us exalt His name together.


Happy Friday dear ones, I've been having a slow morning with our computer and posting so thought I'd throw this photo in while waiting to upload my photos from yesterday. Hubby and I joined two close friends for a day of hiking up in Rocky Mountain National Park. What a glorious day it was and we got lots of photos which you will see in the next day or so. We hiked 8 miles, saw three lakes and a powerful waterfall plus views of Longs Peak that we hadn't seen before. The weather was perfect and the day was so much fun plus we did get quite a workout. It took us about 5 hours with photo op's and lunch. By the time we got back to the car all four of us were beat and wanted to get home and just kick back-after a shower that is. These friends have hiked quite a bit in the Park, so we are hoping to plan more hikes on a somewhat regular basis. There is nothing more wonderful for me than to be out in the mountains and in nature.
So for now I will simply wish you a incredible day filled with His blessings and grace.
Smiles and hugs to you.
Noreen