Special Times with Family

 

August is a special time for Greg and me since it's the month for Greg's birthday and our wedding anniversary. 

We celebrated our special days together, and also with family.

Our anniversary came first, and relatives sent us anniversary emails and even...

pretty flowers with balloons.

Greg also gave me some...

 beautiful, unique anniversary flowers.

We went on a little anniversary trip to Fancy Gap, Virginia where we had a tasty lunch at-

FYI: www.thegapdeli.com

Afterwards, we went to Poor Boys Variety Concrete Store (on Facebook.com) in Cana, Virginia... 

where I got Greg a neat yard statue since he loves gardening and working outside in our yard.

A few days later, it was time to celebrate Greg's birthday. He received nice birthday cards, emails, and gifts. 

We had two very different celebrations. 

One part of our family came to our house...

for a birthday dinner...

complete with cake (and ice cream) for dessert.

The second celebration was at-

The Peppermill (FYI: www.the peppermillnew.com) in Abingdon, Virginia with another part of our family.

Photo of the four of us taken by our wonderful waitress.

Loved the healthy salad!

We then went to our house for...

a birthday cake for Betty and Greg since Betty's birthday is close to Greg's.

We had our refreshments...

in our new gazebo. This was very special for Greg and me since this was the first time that we'd ever gotten to use it. 

We got our unfinished gazebo just a few weeks ago, and Greg and I painted it ourselves, but we're still not quite finished with it. The gazebo was something I'd been wishing for, for a long time. Getting the gazebo is solid evidence that with positive thinking (and a little elbow grease!) dreams can and do come true!

~"Time spent with family is time well spent." -Unknown

After my father passed away, I consulted an excellent psychic who told me that family was important to my father, that family meant everything to him, which comforted me because I had never realized how much he cherished our family.

Now, especially, it's so important to enjoy our time with family and friends, and to remember them, and also our loved ones who have passed away, in our prayers every day.

Special note: Starting in September, I'll be writing mini-blog posts for "The Art of Positive Living" on the second and fourth Sundays of each month. Posts for my other blog, "Spirit Photographs," will still be published the third Saturday of each month. With this schedule, I hope to free up some time so I can work on books that I'm planning to publish sometime in the fall of this year. Also, please see the widgets above for information about my current books.

Positive thoughts: "The love of a family is life's greatest blessing." -Eva Burrows

"Family. Like branches on a tree our lives may grow in different directions, but our roots will stay as one." -Unknown

Thanks for visiting! Until Sunday, September 11, 2022, Becky

A Celebration in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

Welcome!

In February, Greg and I met some family members in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee to celebrate Cousin Bruce's birthday, as well as mine. It was a fun time for us all to get together. And who wouldn't have fun in Pigeon Forge!

We met at The Pottery House Cafe and Grille which is a wonderful place to eat. In fact, it's the number two restaurant out of 109 in Pigeon Forge according to TripAdvsor! And, it's reasonably priced!

The food was great! It was served on pottery dishes.

From The Pottery House Website

After the main meal, we all indulged in what else, birthday cake! They let you BYOC (bring your own cake) to celebrate birthdays.

Cutting the Cake

Gifts were opened-

Pictures were taken-

And, a good time was had by all!

FYI
www.old-mill.com/info/cafe

Positive thought: "Time spent with family is worth every second."-amazon.co.uk
Thanks for visiting! Until Sunday, April 7, 2019, Becky

"Love Never Fails"

Welcome!

I just wanted to share with you some quotes and thoughts, etc. that I have about family and love, in light of the events of the past week.

"To us, family means putting your arms around each other and being there."
-Barbara Bush

"Love Is Here"

Our family is like a patchwork quilt,

Held together with stitches of  love.

Each patch a father, uncle, or brother

Aunt or sister, cousin or mother.

Grandparents' patches are the first to be sewn,

Blending texture, color and strength of their own.

When life is cold and times get tough

This cover of family gives warmth enough.

-Frank Stapleton  (Please correct me if this is not the author.)

"A mother's heart is a patchwork of love."

-Author Unknown

A few days ago my beloved mother passed away.  Several people have said such wonderful things about her.  They talked about her being kind, positive, and beautiful.  This is all true, and she was also a wonderful mother, devoted wife, family member, and friend to many.  She had a special way with people.  She was a talented artist, business woman, decorator, gardener, and a great cook.

Jean Botts

I was really sad about losing her, and then, three days after she passed, I saw a sign on a car window that read, "Heaven is better." which helped me to cope.

Around that same time, I saw a quote on a girl's tee shirt that said, "Love never fails."  I thought  that this saying looked familiar and  wondered if it could be a message from Mama.

Then, just last night, I decided to look through a box that a relative had given me of some of Mama's things from the nursing home where she had spent her last days.  It mostly contained flowers and trinkets which Greg and I had given her to make her life there more pleasant and to show her that we cared.  Then, toward the bottom of the box, I saw something that I'd never seen before.  It was a beautiful note pad holder that was apparently a gift from a church group.  It had words written on it.  It read, "Love bears all things, believes all things, endures all things.  Love never fails." (1 Corinthians 13:7-8)

I couldn't believe it!  It was from Mama!  Tears of happiness rolled down my cheeks.  (What's more, 1 Corinthians 13 has always been one of my favorite parts of "The Bible."  In fact, several of those verses were even part of Greg's and my wedding vows.)

It's such a blessing to know that we'll always have that connection to those we hold dear.

In addition to Mama, we'd also like to remember several other family members who have passed on.  You are always in our hearts and prayers.

Greg and I would like to express our deep appreciation for all of the kindness and concern from so many due to the passing of my mother.  The cards, gifts, prayers, and emails have been very comforting.  It's good to know that others care.

Positive thoughts:  -"You don't choose your family.  They are God's gift to you, as you are to them." -Desmond Tutu
-"Infinite Love Is the Only Truth..."-David Icke
-"...faith, hope, love, these three, and the greatest of these is love."-1 Corinthians 13:13
Thanks for visiting!  Until Sunday, September 6, 2015 (or sooner!), Becky