It was a wrinkly day at the Ocean!

Our hearts were breathless when we made eye-contact with the wonder of the world that is the Atlantic Ocean kissing our country at Myrtle Beach. Oh my! The entire vehicle and the 5 of us in the car sighed in unison when we first caught the eyeshot of the wondrous spectacle.

I will never ever be satiated at looking at it and nothing will comfort my homesickness for Sunken Meadows, except the sight of the drive underneath the ocean to get to the beach. It seems fitting that I would see it again after uncle has passed. He introduced us to the sight. Every year it was his job to celebrate his beloved marriage with a party for his Helen on the beach.

We came to associate the sight of the ocean with His love of us and lots and lots of family and food. We would go to the beach and see everybody and know that we were a part of eachother there. "Will you meet me at the River" It was the ocean for us. The first that I remember was the huge storm that led me to respect Mu's knowledge of the elements. She is just trying to spoil my fun, I thought. But, I came to find that she was more right than we could ever know. The torrents were over us before we could pack our stuff and she saw it first.

Uncle led us to respect the most respectable. Follow me, ladies, he said in the unspoken. I will show you why I respect these women in your life. We watched him watch them. If Uncle can handle their crazes and still respect them, I guess we can learn to do the same. We are still learning that. I said, Uncle, where is your family from? He told me of his family and introduced us to some, but mostly we saw him respect our family and love them and give them a voice to grow their gardens of children. Sweet memories of his supportive uncling role. Love that was always there, like a huge and supportive tree. Love, that was masculine and directive, mostly silently.

I've been stuck on the first time I heard his voice over the phone. Ju had put her hand on the iron and Mom called them in screams and dismay. His masculine loud voice came through the line and pulled her together and I will never forget that power that he had to pull it together, when our feminine emotions couldn't. I have a blister right on the inside of my hand and I am kissing it and hoping that we are enjoying the memory while he is at his river with the family picnic on the otherside. The angel's ironed the reservoir here, he seemed to tell me. It is a wonderful peaceful Heavenly reunion with Jesus and the rest of the family that have gone on before us. I got to touch the iron on this trip and I am grateful that his voice is calming my fears that I can't be with the family for his day. The beach was wrinkly for sure on this side, but his side is calm and placid.

A short hike in the woods for MLK Day!

Please enjoy a collection of videos that I have compiled in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. What a treasure his memory is!

A month flies by so quickly. We had such a fun time on Christmas. I never update my status that quickly, but Thank God, for his continued mercies, I should say!

Introducing Wunderlings by Emily

Wunderlings? Previewed story of Professor Owl's Teatime.

How Great Thou Art!

How Excellent is the Name of Jesus!

We are enjoying the beauty of the frigidity in our area!

Yesterday's morning sky was ablaze with pinks and purples and grays all swimming and swirling together in the sky. My dear 11 year old Ezra had come down for his morning romp with the computer. I opened the blinds in front of him and said isn't that a beautiful sunrise. He said yep. I said that is not how we look at a sunrise, son. Get up and come to the window. He sighed and got up to humor his "naturalist" mother. I watched him drink in the sunrise with me. He was really mesmerized for about 20 seconds we enjoyed the view together. He broke the silence, first and said something like " that is nearly HD quality!" I said that is better than HD quality, son.

I giggled the whole day trying to remember the exact phrase that he used. I don't know the tech words so I am paraphrasing his choice words. How we shovel our children out of their devices is our distinct dilemma.

Today is a 2 hour delay because of the cold, lets see if we can catch another sunrise together and oogle at it?

An amazing video of starlings that I hope you enjoy!

BRRRRRR! Baby it's cold. {For the love of 106} Potato Soup.

I do celebrate 1/06 nearly every year. This year the concentration was soup! It is my conviction that soup is the best way to cram as many veggies into the young'uns. I can just imagine "Mu" cramming veggies down all her kiddies mouths. Ruth and my mother followed her, cramming veggies down our throats. I never really care about the taste of the veggies. Kale, broccoli, carrots, peas, etc. "YUCK!" I hate them. "You kids eat that MUSH!" I bellow. They complain and I buy tiny bowls that they must finish before they are allowed to eat the main course.

Yesterday's soup was a little different. I remembered, with fondness, a cup of soup that was part of my 20 something anniversary dinner. We went to "Carrabas" Ben and I and this cup of soup went right into my soul, it seemed. Delectable, was the only word to describe it. I don't usually like potatoes, but I had read a book called "Potatoes, Not Prozac!" so that is why I ate the potato soup that night, before my supper. It was delicious! I loved it. Yesterday, I tried to recreate it, thanks to a video recipe that I found. I ate 4 bowls throughout the day. Ezra ate it somewhat heartily and he is my most difficult to cram soupy veggies into.

Spinach in the mix and the last touch of celery, not totally softened into the creamery mix made it wonderful for me. I left out the bacon, for the most part. I baked a heavy bread and hopefully the results will stay on my college woman's ribs through the cold winter, when we drop her back to school this coming weekend. I celebrated Mu with the memory of watching my children enjoy the cramming of veggies into their bodies. that is love, eh?this is a link to the soup video, enjoy!

Happy New Year! Praise and Adoration to Our God, for His wondrous provisions and kindness to us! This concert was breathtaking to me. Please enjoy it!