A Rosy Hodgepodge

Welcome to this week' s edition of The Wednesday Hodgepodge. If you've answered today's questions add your link at the end of my post, then leave a comment for the blogger before you. Here we go...

1.  How would you define 'the good life'? 

This is a hard question to answer, but in a nutshell I'd say the good life is knowing my purpose, having loving relationships, enjoying good health, a strong and growing faith, and the things I need. 

It's the feeling of contentment that comes from being grounded in those things. 

2.  What's the most used app on your phone (and are you proud of that)? 

I checked my phone to confirm, but my most used app is Notes. I jot all sorts of things I want to remember there, and have headings like local sites, books, shows, blog ideas, restaurants, travel tips, quotes and more. I also have a note where I drop song titles in my efforts to create a top 100 playlist. I'm getting there. 

Am I proud of it? I wouldn't say I'm proud because how often I use an app doesn't feel like something that engenders pride. That being said,  I'm not embarrassed either, which feels like a distinct possibility with some of the apps out there. 

3. 'Every rose has it's thorn', 'everything's coming up roses', 'looking through rose-colored glasses', 'it's no bed of roses' or 'stop and smell the roses'...which rose idiom best relates to something in your life currently. Explain. 

When I look at the June calendar I see a little dot on every day of the month, but two. Some of the dots mark appointments, some mark events happening on a given day, some mean houseguests are coming and/or going, and all that to say it's a busy month. Good busy, but busy nonetheless. I want to make sure I take time to 'stop and smell the roses' and I will. 

4. How do you feel about floral flavorings in food or drink (rose, hibiscus, elderflower, lavender)? 

Not a fan, particularly of anything with rose flavoring added. I don't mind elderflower if it's not too heavy. 

5. Over the course of your life what have you probably spent more time pondering than anything else? 

What does God want me to do, and am I doing it? 

This question shapes how I view my purpose, how I spend my time and resources, how I make decisions, and how I relate to others in my role as daughter, friend, parent, grandparent, and a partner to my husband in marriage. There is no area of my life left untouched when I ask this question. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Tuesday was Primary Day in the Palmetto State. Do you vote in the primaries? When you vote do you research the candidates or go in blind and make your best guess? 

I open the sample ballot and then I make hubs and I little cheat sheets to take with us. If there are questions on a ballot I like to read those ahead of time. We're electing a new governor this year, and a senator, and then some state/local offices too and I want to know who I'm voting for. 

Someone running for state representative knocked on our door the other day and we looked him up because we were impressed by his effort. 

The Weekeend Merriment

'Twas a whirlwind of a weekend filled with family, food, fun, and birthday festivities. My mother-in-law turns 90 years old this week and I don't think she'd mind me telling you. I mean she's a dynamo who can run circles around all of us 'kids' so why not tell the world your age? 

She will be celebrated by family and her at least 1000 friends all week long, but we kicked things off here at the lake with a great-grand palooza. All five of her greats were here and it was wonderfully chaotic and sweet. 

Nana (that's me) might be tired today but it's a good tired. 

I took pictures but I try not to post any of the kids faces up close here, so I'm not sharing many. We laughed a lot and enjoyed being together and that's the main thing. 

Daughter2 and her littles arrived Thursday afternoon and since Thursday is my volunteer day I'd planned ahead with a roast in the crock pot. Yay me!  Her hubs was working his way this direction and would arrive Friday afternoon to join the party. 

Friday morning I had a hair appointment so while I was there daughter2 went over to her sister's house and spent a few hours. Just one of the joys of living close. The cousins played so well together and it was nice for their mommas to have time together to chat and catch up. 

Meanwhile...back at the ranch....

Hubs was manning the BBQ he'd started in the literal middle of the night Friday. He was up at 3 AM putting the pork butts on the Big Green Egg, and we all agree this might be his best effort yet. So delicious! 

Hubs brother and sister-in-law arrived from Tennessee late afternoon, bringing the birthday girl with them. One son-in-law made it here around 5, and the other ended up in late surgery so had his dinner with our dessert. You have got to roll with these grown kids work commitments and such. 

It was forecasted to be a rainy weekend, but Friday was so nice and really warm and we sat out on the patio and talked, hula hooped, fed fish, and chased small children. 

Dinner was BBQ courtesy of the hubs, baked beans and cole slaw ala me, and homemade mac and cheese made by Daughter1. Everything was yummy. I ordered a cake from the Publix Bakery because hubs said I shouldn't try to add one more thing to the already full schedule by making one from scratch. 

The cake was delicious, but they forgot to put the cross mark on the H in happy birthday, and there was a small crack in the icing so not the usual perfect you get from Publix. If I'd baked it myself I would not have missed that H, just sayin'. 

Still so pretty though! 

We lit the candles and sang happy birthday and then the absolute precise second the song ended my middle grandson blew the candles out before anyone knew what was happening. He did not miss a beat. It was hysterical.  

I got these gorgeous tulips from Publix too and they were the most beautiful shade of fushia, which you don't see a lot of in the tulip world, or at least I don't. 

My brother-in-law and sister-in-law slept at Daughter1's house so after breakfast we all met up there. Which is just four miles from me in case you've forgotten. The three littles played and hubs and his brother and sister-in-law went to watch the two oldest grands at their baseball practice. Dad was coaching and they had a lot of fun. 

Daughter2 took her two back to our house for a nap, but my mother-in-law, daughter1 and I had a nice long chat on her screened porch which was lovely. 

We had going out to dinner plans booked in a local Italian restaurant for Saturday night, which let's just be honest and say is a bit of a crap shoot in terms of how it will actually go when you're talking small children. The two oldest boys thoroughly enjoy ordering from a menu, but restaurant dining with the three and under set (of which there are currently three) is anybody's guess. 

Turns out it was a really great fun family night and everyone was happy, hungry, and eager to help Grandma with her cannoli. 

The oldest with the youngest is just so precious. 

Sunday morning we took up a pew and a half in church which made my heart so so happy. Daughter1 and her family left after church to go her in-law's house to celebrate her father-in-law's birthday, but everyone else came back here for lunch before the Tennessee crew headed back home. Daughter2, who also lives in Tennessee but a different part than her grandmother, aunt, and uncle, stayed until Monday morning. They'll go home around lunchtime and the house will be quiet once more. Messy too, but it's the quiet we'll notice and love a little, but also hate. If ya know ya know. 

Hope your weekend was filled with lots of happies too. I'm linking today with Holly (Pink Lady) and Sarah (Sunshine and Books) for the Monday morning weekend recap link party. Hop over there to see what others are doing and sharing too. 

Have a great week everyone!  

Marching In To Monday

Good morning friends. What a weekend it has been and I pray for our nation and the world. I pray especially for our troops, for their families, and for God's perfect peace to be over all. Psalm 46:1 tells us 'God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.' May we turn to Him now. 

Awkward segue here into the ordinary comings and goings of our weekend, but it's a topsy turvy world we're living in, and my blog will be a little topsy turvy too. 

Linking as usual this Monday morning with Holly (Pink Lady Blog) and Sarah (Sunshine and Books). 

I took very few pics this weekend but it was a busy one nonetheless. Friday morning I worked on the tax organizer and there isn't anyone who would find a picture of that very interesting, is there? I certainly don't. Completing this organizer every year is one of my least favorite tasks. 

I played Mah Jong Friday afternoon and then hubs and I went to a local spot about 5 to check on a reservation we have there next weekend. We wanted to see the space as there will be fourteen of us and we wanted to make sure it was going to work, which it will. We ended up having dinner at the bar and neighbors came in and ended up seated next to us. Small town livin' y'all. 

Saturday morning I was up in the early morning hours to make the two+ hour drive to Atlanta for a baby shower. The shower was at 11:30, but I left extra extra early in order to meet a friend for coffee beforehand. It was wonderful to catch up in person. 

The shower was lovely and who doesn't love celebrating a momma-to-be. The festivities wrapped up around 1:30 and I was back on the road headed home. 

Atlanta traffic, no matter the day or time, is the worst. Carry on. 

I got home about 4:30 and hubs made me a cup of tea while we chatted, then we were back in the car to meet up with friends who are renovating their house. They wanted us to see what all they're doing, and it kind of makes me want to build a house. I mean. not really, but a little bit yes. We got Mexican food afterwards and it was a nice relaxed evening. 

Sunday was a beautiful day. We went to church, then had brunch out afterwards, then made a stop at the grocery to get our pork butts for the coming weekend's BBQ. We'll have hubs mom here to celebrate a big birthday with her great-grandchildren and we'll be doing BBQ for Friday night's dinner. 

The weather was spectacular, sunny with temps in the upper 70's, so I took my book and sat beside the waterfall and read for two hours. 

As an aside, hubs has kept these plants in full bloom in our lower level garage all winter with just a grow light and he pulled them outside today. 

So glad one of us has a green thumb! 

Looks like we'll  have another bumper lemon crop this year. 

As I was closing the book on the very last page friends pulled up to our dock and asked if we wanted to go for a boat ride. 

Yes please. 

They had their two dogs with them and they were dying to get off the boat and into the water. 

We did pull up to a beach at one point and let them run and they were so happy. 

Me too. Sunshine is good for the soul. 

I made a salad for dinner and hubs ate some of the leftover pasta from my Friday night meal, so an easy peasy end to the weekend. 

 As we roll into this next new week may your faith be bigger than your fear.

Ho-Ho-Hodgepodging

Welcome to this week's edition of The Wednesday  Hodgepodge. If you've answered today's questions add your link at the end of my post, then leave a comment for the blogger before you. Hope your day is merry and bright! Now here we go...

 -

1. Do you struggle with the commercialization of the holiday season? What helps you keep your focus when the season’s busyness and commercialism start to take over?

It's disappointing but I don't know that I struggle with it. I stay in my circle this time of year. I concentrate on my family, and the people whose paths cross mine. Less news, more Jesus and the miracle of His birth.  

I enjoy the message of advent~hope-peace-love and I love the traditional Christmas hymns whose lyrics are timeless. I like sitting beside the tree in the early morning quiet with my Bible. I stay out of the stores as much as possible.  

2. What's one small thing you want to savor before the year ends? 

The excitement my grandchildren feel about everything. We Facetimed with my youngest grandson the other day and when hubs asked him how he was he said 'Christmas isn't today.' : ) 

They love the lights and examining all the ornaments on the tree, spotting Santa, watching the Grinch, and sneaking a just baked cookie or three. It's all magical and their excitement is contagious. 

3. December 9th is National Christmas Card Day. Do you still send Christmas cards? If so does yours include a photo or is it a more traditional card, or maybe homemade? How do you feel about the tradition of exchanging cards at the holidays? If Hanukkah is the holiday you celebrate in December do you send cards to mark the occasion? 

I love Christmas cards, both the giving and the receiving. We have friends and family scattered here there and everywhere and I enjoy hearing from them at Christmas especially. A photo included or as part of the card is nice too. 

4. What's your least favorite holiday related task? What's your favorite? 

My least favorite holiday related task is the wrapping. Does anyone else get a backache when they wrap presents? I try hard not to save it all for the end, but I'm not always successful at wrapping ahead. 

My favorite is probably baking because I enjoy making cookies and I enjoy giving them away. I love choosing our Christmas card each year too. 

5. Let's do a little holiday this or that? 

• shopping or wrapping
• shopping
• baking or decorating
• baking
• eggnog or wassail
• wassail
• real tree or artificial
• real, but we usually have artificial
• turkey or ham
• ham
• white lights or colored lights 
• both! 
• ugly sweaters or matching pjs
• matching pjs
• peppermint or cinnamon 
• cinnamon
• presents Christmas Eve or Christmas Day
• Christmas Day

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Who watched the Kevin Costner special on the birth of Jesus (The First Christmas)? What did you think? There were about a million commercials but overall I thought it was very well done. I'm  happy (and not gonna lie, a little surprised) to see the gospel story presented on ABC of all places. If you missed it I think you can still find it on streaming services and Hulu. 

Merry Wednesday everyone! 

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 632

Here are the questions to this week's Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog, then hop back here on Wednesday (December 10th) to add your link to the party. See you there! 

1. Do you struggle with the commercialization of the holiday season? What helps you keep your focus when the season’s busyness and commercialism start to take over? 

2. What's one small thing you want to savor before the year ends? 

3. December 9th is National Christmas Card Day. Do you still send Christmas cards? If so does yours include a photo or is it a more traditional card, or maybe homemade? How do you feel about the tradition of exchanging cards at the holidays? If Hanukkah is the holiday you celebrate in December do you send cards to mark the occasion? 

4. What's your least favorite holiday related task? What's your favorite? 

5. Let's do a little holiday this or that? 

• shopping or wrapping
• baking or decorating
• eggnog or wassail
• real tree or artificial
• turkey or ham
• white lights or colored lights 
• ugly sweaters or matching pjs
• peppermint or cinnamon 
• presents Christmas Eve or presents Christmas Day

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Share Your Shelf-October

It's the first Thursday of the month which means it's time to share what we've read the month prior. Hop over to the host blogs (The Other Side Of The Road,  Slices of Life, My Joyful Life, and Memphis Bridges) if you'd like to see more titles and reviews. Here's my October stack-

1984 by George Orwell

This was our book club selection in October.  I read this in high school and let me just say it 100% hits different in 2025. Whoa. It's pretty amazing how spot on this book is with all that is happening currently in terms of data collection, suppression of speech, cancel culture, redefining common terms, and artificial intelligence.  If you've never read this one you should. fyi-it's not a happy go lucky story by any means 

The book was written in 1948 (published in 1949) and Orwell (did you know his real name was Eric Blair?)  chose the title by reversing the date (1948/1984). When this book was written television was barely a thing, yet his picture of the future is scarily accurate. 

1984 is what we call dystopian, and it follows the main character (Winston Smith) as he rebels against a totalitarian governmetn led by Big Brother. Winston works at the Ministry of Truth, where he rewrites history to fit the Party's agenda. His rebellion grows with a forbidden love affair and in thinking his superior (O'Brien) is an ally. 

Our book club happened to meet on Charlie Kirk's birthday and I wore my freedom sweatshirt which some people appreciated, and some likely did not. It certainly felt right to me.  I gave this one 5 stars. 

Broken Country by Claire Leslie Hall 

This is one of those novels getting all the hype, and in fact has been optioned for a feature film. Eh. Its also a Reese Witherspoon book club choice. The plot centers around a love triangle and it's impact on a small English farming community. I found two of the three parties in this trio unlikable which heavily influenced my three star rating. I think I'm in the minority here but I'm okay with that. 

Broken Country is the story of a married woman whose first love drops back into her life and upends the quiet farm life she's made for herself. There's significant tragedy in the novel and I found that hard to read. While I felt compassion for Beth because of the tragedy she experienced her subsequent actions made me squirm. Overall the book was a downer, which I can be on board with (just ask my book club-I love sad stories) but in this case I was not. 

Go As A River by Shelley Read

I loved it. And it's sad in parts but there's a lot to love too. Go As A River is a work of historical fiction set in 1940's Colorado. 17-year old Victoria's life is changed by a chance encounter with a mysterious drifter named Wilson Moon. The subsequent relationship leads to heartbreak, tragedy, hard choices, and ultimately a rebuilt life. The story follows Victoria's journey of survival and resilience all set against the backdrop of her family's peach farm and the threat of the Gunnison River being flooded for a dam. 

The writing is excellent and the story compelling. Five stars for me. 

Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis 

C. S. Lewis was a brilliant man and sometimes reading his writing has me questioning my own intellect. I absolutely love everything I've read by him, but often have to read his works slowly, and really allow them to marinate in my brain before I truly get it. 

While that might not sound like an appealing invitation to read this book I encourage everyone to read it. It's very readable and the chapters are short. Lewis has a real gift for explaining complex theological ideas in a way everyman can understand. 

This wasn't originally planned as a book, and instead began as a brief series of broadcasts on the BBC during the early part of WW2. Lewis was asked to present these talks as a way as a way of comforting and reassuring British citizens during one of the darkest periods of time the world has ever known. 

Can you imagine us trying that now?  

Lewis lived much of his life an avowed atheist before coming to Christianity in his 30's. He manages to explain Christianity and why it makes sense in very un-churchy language. 

I've read Mere Christianity before but it was a long time ago. Our church is doing an evening study of the book so I'm reading again, and enjoying the discussion too. This is an easy 5 stars for me. 

The Weekend Replay

Good Monday morning friends. I'm still A-Z-ing, so using today's letter as part of my weekend recap, which I'll link with Holly and Sarah. 

R is for Resurrection

'because that's the reason for the season'

We had a nice weekend centered around Easter, which is my favorite day of the year. The meaning behind this day is what gives me hope for the future and strength for the day. In church this morning the first song sung was Because He Lives...

'because He lives, I can face tomorrow, because He Lives, all fear is gone, because I know He holds the future, and life is worth the living just because He lives.'

I pray everyone reading today knows the truth contained in these lyrics. 

On Friday we made Resurrection rolls with the grands. I'd never made them before, but have seen them all over the Internet for years, and my daughter had done them in Easters prior. Super simple, but a really powerful visual for little ones to go along with the story of Easter. 

You roll a large marshmallow in a mixture of sugar and cinnamon, then wrap a crescent roll around the marshmallow. You can talk about Jesus body being prepared for burial to go along with this. The rolls go into the oven and you wait for them to cook, which allows you to talk about Jesus being dead for three days. 

When you take the rolls out of the oven and cut into one, the marshmallow has melted which makes the roll look empty, just like the tomb. The kids seem to make the connections too which is fun to see. 

After the roll baking was finished I ran some errands including last minute grocery items, the dry cleaning, and paper goods from Hobby Lobby. It's hard not to wander the entire store when I'm in Hobby Lobby but I stayed focused. We had dinner at home Friday night, and I'm guessing we went to bed early, although I can't say for sure. It's a safe guess though -ha! 

Saturday morning we dyed eggs. In my dining room, because  we like to live dangerously here. 

All went well and it was a fun morning for everyone. Hubs carried on his tradition of dyeing one 'ugly egg' and the kids get a kick out of that. 

After we got that cleaned up I did some prep work for the next day's dinner, along with making a dessert to take to a neighbor's house that evening. I've been trying to bake each of the Southern Living Cake of the Month cakes this year and I made the April recipe on Saturday. A definite win and I'll make again. 

April's recipe is mini carrot cakes. So cute! I love the presentation. You bake the carrot cake recipe in sheet cake format, then use a small biscuit cutter to cut circles. It makes 12 cakes, so you cut 24 circles, then pipe icing on one, stack another on top, then pipe some more. 

The icing is a coconut butter cream, and both the cake and the icing were super delish. My daughter did the piping so it was a team effort. 

I also went ahead and made my pineapple stuffing for Sunday's dinner because it does well sitting in the frig overnight. I love to do whatever I can ahead of time. If you don't know what pineapple stuffing is I use this recipe. It's the texture of stuffing, but sweet. 

We had plans to go to the neighbors for dinner and cards Saturday night and I was bringing dessert. I made Ina Garten's triple berry crumble and it's scrumptious. The berries are really sweet right now so I cut the sugar by quite a bit, but it wasn't noticeable. I thought I took a picture, but can't find it so maybe not. All that baking and I am kinda wishing I'd taken a picture of my kitchen after, but I didn't think of it. 

Sunday morning the kids woke up to their Easter baskets followed by cinnamon rolls for breakfast. What's one more sweet thing today, right?  My son-in-law was on call this weekend and suffice it to say if you're a surgeon on call on a holiday weekend you'll be working. He was able to see the kids dressed and get in a quick family photo, but then we didn't see him again until we were wiping down counters and getting ready for bed. 

Hubs and I went to church with our daughter and her littles and the music was wonderful and the message  so good. We got home and changed into comfy clothes then got busy putting together our lunch/dinner.  Her in-laws, both the mom and dad and the sister-in-law and her hubs,  arrived around 1 and the kids did their egg hunt. Then we all chatted, the kids played, hubs manned the grill with our ham upon it, and I finished up the rest of the sides. 

I normally love to break out my china on Easter Sunday, but this year we decided to dine al fresco in the new space so I went with paper plates and have zero regrets. 

Daughter1's mother-in-law brought her famous banana pudding and her sister-in-law brought homemade mac and cheese which were both so good. 

We had a fun little Easter Bunny charcuterie while we were waiting on dinner. Besides the ham we also had roasted honey-balsamic green beans and carrots, the pineapple stuffing, deviled eggs, and I also made Nigella Lawson's pea-mint-avocado salad which was really good. 

I used just butter lettuce instead of adding chicory, and I go easy on the mint. I also throw a handful of parmesan on top before tossing because it seems like it needs a little salty something. We all loved it. So fresh!  

The in-laws headed home and we finished the clean up, the putting away of the leftovers, and then I crawled into bed to finish this post. It was a beautiful day filled with family, good food, and many reminders of our faithful loving God. We missed our Tennessee littles and their parents, but will see them soon. 

I hope your weekend was a good one. You can read more Hello Monday posts by visiting Holly (Pink Lady Blog) and Sarah (Sunshine and Books). Have a great week everyone! 

J is for Jumble

 Moving right along into Day 10 in the A-Z Blog Challenge...

J is for Jumble

'an untidy collection or pile of things; 

mix up or confused in an untidy way' 

I'm pretty sure I imagined when I reached the age I am now there would be more blank space everywhere. In my home, on my calendar, and most especially in my head. 

But guess what? There's not. 

I remember being a young mom and having just an endless jumble of thoughts running through my head nearly all the time. Most of those thoughts revolved around raising children, because mothers are the keeper of everything and it all just pings around your brain pretty much on a loop. 

We're just us now, so what sort of jumbled thoughts can possibly need untangling in this season of life? Here's a peek...

Why does my back hurt?

Is 7:30 too early to put on my pajamas?  

Call my mother. 

Call hubs mother.

Where did I put that card I bought? 

Did I sleep funny? 

Is that why my back hurts? 

Are we free the third Tuesday of next month?

Did he feed the dog? 

Was I supposed to feed the dog? 

Let's go somewhere. 

Let's stay home. 

Did I take my vitamins today? 

I've done something to my back. 

What was the name of that book I wanted to read? 

Show I wanted to watch? 

Movie I wanted to see? 

Where did I leave my keys? 

Are my roots showing? 

The grandchildren 💕

Why does my neck look like that? 

Does it always look like that? 

Does this dress make me look old? 

Is this dress too young for me? 

Why is it so hot in here? 

Didn't the guy say I need new tires? 

Are my girls getting enough sleep? 

My girls 💕

What in the world did I do to my back? 

We need to paint the house. 

Buy a car. 

We need to stop spending. 

Let's go to the islands. 

Is that spot on my face something to worry about? 

I don't like driving at night. 
I need new glasses. 

What am I wearing to that wedding next month? 

We'll need a leaf in the table for Easter dinner.

and...and...and...

"You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you."

Isaiah 26:3

E is for Experience

Here we are at the end of week one in the A-Z Blog Challenge. Emphasis on the word challenge. I've had a lot going on this week besides what I've written here so patting myself on the back for staying the course. I'm hopeful next week will be more manageable time wise, but we'll see. 

Day 5-E is for Experience

"something personally encountered, undergone, or lived through; 

the conscious events that make up an individual life

"Experience is the teacher of all things." 

Julius Caesar

It's been said that so much of who we are is where we've been and I tend to agree with that sentiment. I'm into my 'third act' (trying not to overuse the phrase but I gotta call it something), so I have plenty of life experiences to mull over. Since my blog is often the place where I 'mull' I'm going to write about a handful of those experiences here this month. 

Let's start at the beginning shall we? My family. The one I grew up in. 

This of course covers a myriad of experiences and I know I'm lucky in that department. I had a happy childhood. I grew up with two sisters and a brother, parents who were married, who worked hard to provide for our every need, and who gave us a sense of security and stability not all children are fortunate to know. 

They made their faith in Jesus a priority in their lives and in our home. We weren't spoiled with material things, but we had all that we needed and most of what we wanted. And we had each other. 

We still do. 

Playmates, confidants, sparring partners, back seat riders, secret sharers, story keepers, truth tellers, teammates. 

Children learn by watching, by imitating what they see. I'm grateful to have had a good example to follow, which in turn impacted the way I've interacted with my own family (the one I birthed) as well as other people I've encountered along life's way.  

Studies have shown that children who grow up in a stable home have a higher degree of success, feel less anxiety, and also less stress. I can still so clearly picture my mother sitting on the side of my bed, telling me to tell her my troubles and she'd listen and help if help is what was needed. My world view, my self-esteem and my sense of belonging are all things that were home grown.  

To be a child who knows they are loved is such a gift. It frees you to be authentically you. 

Weekend Jamboree

The weekend. It was a doozy y'all, and I mean that in a good way. It was my grandson's second birthday. It was anniversary #40 for the hubs and I. It was Father's Day. It was baby dedication day for Sugar at their church. 

It was food and fun and family. 

It was cards and presents and balloons. 

It was baby girl in her Daddy's baptismal gown and a sermon that highlighted marriage on the very day we married. 

It was men supervising the BBQ, the grill, and the smoker. 

It was also college baseball (GO VOLS!), heat, and naps in cribs and on couches. 

I could write a post about any one of those things, but I think I'll just dive in and see where we land. I will very likely write a separate post about our anniversary because someday I have to climb out of the shallow end of the blog pool and get back into deeper waters. There is much to be said about a long married life. Stay tuned. 

Back to the kiddie pool...we made the three hour drive to daughter2's house Friday morning, with a stop at her nearby Publix to pick up subs for lunch. When we walked in the door sweet baby J literally clapped his hands and jumped for joy at seeing our faces. There's not much in the world that can top that. 

We had lunch and both kiddies took naps before the in-law grandparents rolled in. We hung out on the porch and passed Sugar from grandparent to grandparent while little man played. There's a lot of watching the grands do whatever kids do when you're a grandparent. And you think it's all marvelous because it absolutely is. 

Daughter2 made spaghetti for dinner and we watched Tennessee baseball win in the last seconds of the game to beat Florida State and then we watched all the replays and then Saturday we watched the ending a few more times because it was so good. 

Unless you're a Seminole of course. 

Anyway, Saturday morning was the birthday party for sweet baby J. As an aside, I always write my grandchildren a letter on their birthdays and you can read his in the link here (Two-rrific). The birthday was small, really just family and the next door neighbors, but the size was perfect for someone turning two. 

There was a cute construction theme with vests for the guests, and bins of kinetic sand with lots of construction vehicles and assorted road works equipment tucked inside. There were chicken minis from Chick-fil-a, sausage balls, a fruit tray, pasta salad and a scrumptious homemade cake courtesy of his momma. 

Homemade and homestyle are my favorite kind of parties, and J had a ball leisurely opening presents and exclaiming WOW! upon seeing each and every gift unwrapped. Completely precious. Everyone rested, chatted, read, and/or napped that afternoon, then my son-in-law grilled hotdogs and burgers for dinner and then we all pretty much collapsed into bed at an early hour. 

Did I mention the heat? Whew! It was extreme all weekend long. 

Sunday morning I got up and took a walk around the neighborhood before the temperature went soaring, we had a quick breakfast, and the guys all opened their Father's Day cards and gifts. 

We don't really do gifts on Father's Day, but I bought all the men a jar of these pickles I spotted at the local farm stand the other day. They all like pickles and spicy food (these have a whole jalapeno in them, along with lots of garlic and onions) plus the name screamed Father's Day to me. 

We all changed and  loaded up the cars for the short ride to church. There were four babies being dedicated today and big brother was feeling like the freshly minted 2-year old he is up there grinning on the stage with his parents. His dad had one hand on his shirt collar most of the time, but sweet baby J enjoyed every minute lol. 

Sugar of course was just like her name. Sweet. She has the biggest, best smile y'all. It's like a full body smile and her whole adorable face lights up. 

After the dedication portion concluded the whole congregation sang Jesus Loves Me and it made me feel so teary. Getting toddlers and babies and yourselves to church on Sunday mornings is not for the faint of heart, but my daughter2's church is bursting at the seams with small children. Makes my heart so happy to know these young families are doing whatever it takes to get there each week. To raise their children in this upside down world to put their faith in the One who made it. 

The media loves to tell us every awful thing millennials and older Gen Z-ers are up to, but when I'm around my girls and their friends I see hard working, committed, faithful parents raising families and living with intention. These young adults don't make the news, but they are quietly going about the business of living full, productive lives, and the world is less depressing when we remember that. 

My son-in-law is a master griller and he smoked a delicious pork butt for Father's Day dinner. 

There was more college baseball afterwards (GO VOLS!) and it was the perfect way to end a perfect weekend. I think Sweet baby J would tell you that next to the balloons this was his favorite part-

So how did you spend your weekend? 

                              

Linking up with Holly and Sarah for their regular Hello Monday blog party...see you there!