Memorial Day Call - Always a Joy

We were super busy as Princess Four came down to go through some things that she collected for most of her life. 

We went to church where the girls were able to visit and catch up and while we were leaving, Princess Four ran into a girl she mentored for years. We then came home and had a good video chat with all the girls and son-in-laws. 

It was cute that Grand-Prince One lost his second tooth and was so cute making sure everyone got to see it! I love that the girls want to be connected and have calls. 

Princess Three's husband joined the call from a boat fishing in Alaska! His Dad and friends were all planning on going and offered him to join if he could get a flight! He seemed to be enjoying himself and I love that he was willing to join our call from a boat in the ocean!! 

I appreciated that I had two of the girls home with me for the call as I am usually alone for them. 

Have a blessed day!

Wonderful Suprise Visit and Call

Friday night about 5:30, I got a call from Princess Two telling me that she wanted to come down and visit me. 

I called her asking about where she was on the road as it is many hours to get to my home. She said, "We are about here...." and I asked, "Who is we?" She said, "Me and my car!" laughing. 

I then thought maybe she was bringing a few of her sisters as I talked to Princess four earlier and she was headed to visit Princess Five.

Princess Two arrived and came in and asked me to go to the car and help her bring in some bags. I went out and picked up the two bags. I thought, "I guess she did come alone." When I was about to close the hatch of her car, Princess Four jumped out from hiding down by the tire of the opposite side of the car scaring me enough to get me to swear and jump! 

I don't like to be startled, but at least the surprise was a good one! We came in and made dinner and then went to Walmart and bought some hair highlighting kits to highlight Princess Four's hair. She also wanted a trim. 

I cut and highlighted her hair. You can see in this photo of her leaving Walmart how long her hair was. It had been awhile since we had done her hair, so it was good I could help with that. I got a photo of her after church today with her hair braided, but you can see the ends have been cut and see the highlights! She looks beautiful! 

I love that they came to visit me! I am blessed!

Something Happens After Years Of Finding Coins - In God We Trust

I had a friend reply to one of my posts this past week. He shared that he had been pondering on how God speaks to him, and he said that he thought perhaps it could also be pennies or finding coins as he had two situations that he shared regarding finding coins. 

He shared that he found some children's books while waking playing Pokemon. They were sitting on the sidewalk and no one was around. He decided he would drop them off at the police station in case anyone lost them. He then found a penny. 

He shared that later that day while walking and playing Pokemon, there was a child getting into the car with her mother and was crying for some reason. He shared that he prayed for the girl and right after finishing the prayer, he found another penny. 

I texted him back sharing that it was interesting to me that both times were after he served another person and helped someone or did service. 

I started thinking back on many of the times I had found coins and many of them did revolve around helping others. Most of the time, it is more when I am stressed and need a reminder to Trust in God. 

I realized today that not only the coins remind me to Trust in God, but the areas where I found the coin have continued to remind me as I pass them to remember and trust in HIM. 

I was leaving a store today and saw the spot I found a nickle and smiled to myself. I then went to Walmart and smiled as I passed places I have found coins in the past. I thought to myself that giving gratitude, and being reminded to Trust in God, have not only given me those reminders at the time of finding the coin, but every time I walk or drive past that spot from then on. 

I think that by focusing on the the event, it triggers a connection in my mind to be reminded about it in the future. 

I have found enough coins that almost everywhere I go, I am reminded to trust in God! It is kind of nice to be able to have those reminders.

I found a penny on my way out of Walmart today! I was already planning on posting about this today, finding a penny was just icing on the top! 

I took a photo of the spot where I was reminded today walking out of the store. I also took one near the cart return at Walmart where I found another coin. It was so enlightening to have that realization today. 

Have a blessed day!

In God We Trust and Connecting With Old Friends

I wasn't able to share about some events a few weeks back. I took my friend who was visiting from the East coast on a few adventures. We went to several museums and a three state tour.

In one of the museums, there was a piece of art I appreciated. It was just a bunch of pennies! I thought it was so interesting that they would hang a frame full of pennies, but I took it as a good sign for our trip as we saw this at the beginning of our trip! 

After going to the museum that day, we were able to catch up with some friends that he hadn't seen in 35 years as well! They were friends when he was a young teen. His older sister moved from the east to the west with us 27 years ago and lived with us for a year while she went to school.

She ended up meeting and marrying in the west so her brother was visiting from the East and it was just coincidence that my friend visited me at the same time! 

We planned a lunch and it was really fun to catch up and meet his kids. It is amazing to me that these two men were friends as teens, and live within 50 miles or so of each other and hadn't seen each other for all those years, and then end up meeting for lunch thousands of miles away! So funny to me. 

It was nice to be able to see them all together and hear the fun stories. The friend that lived with me shared a photo with me of the three of them in a nativity when they were kids. It was funny to look back at that. 

I feel blessed to have all the reminders to Trust in God, and I am Blessed with good friends. 

Have a blessed day!

It Pays To Be Honest - Great Find

Today I went to my local thrift store as I had 10 minutes before I had an appointment. I was in a hurry and walked through the store quickly. 

I found a new puzzle of Christ that I know someone in my world will enjoy. I have also been buying self sealing canning jars for emergency preparedness. If I see one for under $2 that has a super tight seal, I will buy them so I can use them in an emergency. 

Both items were $2 each. I was in a hurry and at the register she put the items in and I paid and left quickly. On the way to my appointment, I realized that the total should have been $4 but the receipt shows I paid $3 on my card. 

After my appointment, I returned to the store to pay the extra $1and someone had just dropped off three totes of items and in the top of one of the totes, was a paint by number set of one of the temples for our church. 

When I showed them the price tags on the items and the receipt, the cashier told me to not worry about paying it because it was her mistake. I told her I was interested in buying the paint by number set and that I wanted to be honest and pay the extra dollar for the item she mis-charged me for earlier. 

She sold me the paint set for $2 and then charged me for the extra dollar she missed earlier. 

Princess Two has been doing lots of paint by number pieces recently and I was so excited finding this set for her. She will enjoy it I am sure. I love that she is expanding her talents! I also love that Heavenly Father blessed me for being honest! If I hadn't gone back, I wouldn't have found that kit and I had no idea they even existed. 

Honesty is the BEST policy! Have a blessed day!

A Cool Charity that is New To Me

I wanted to share about cool charity a city is trying to use to clean up the beggar / panhandling in the down town area. 

Many years back, I went dancing to a club with a friend. When we came out, there was a woman sitting on the ground begging at 2 a.m. I gave her my change from getting in the club which was between $5 and $10. My friend asked why I would give her money. I told her that if she is begging at 2 a.m. then she is worse off than me as she must really need money to sit in the cold night air.

Several years later, I saw the same woman outside the central square of the city one afternoon when visiting. She was still sitting on the ground begging. I thought to myself that she is clearly making more money begging than she could make working. It was then that I decided to not promote that by giving her more money. 

I usually give money to those I feel drawn toward, but I know that many cities are trying to cut down on beggars and are coming up with many different programs to help them in different ways, but to keep them from begging on the streets. 

They have these red parking meter looking machines all over the downtown area with signs stating how to help other than giving beggars money directly as many times they use it on drugs and alcohol. I LOVED this so much. That way you can give and know that it is going to help them with housing etc.

There are many other charities that I donate to that help homeless, and I am all about donating in ways that help, rather than directly in that type of case. It amazes me how many charities and ideas people come up with to help others! It is such a blessing to help others and a blessing to those who are being helped! 

Have a blessed day!

Freezing Pizza For Later - Blessed With Good Friends

Last week, I was grocery shopping and I walked down the pizza isle and had the thought that I would love to have pizza. The gluten free pizza in the freezer isle changes out all the time and is really expensive. Just when I find one I like, they stop selling it.

I have a few friends that own Pizza stores. Last week we had Bunko and one of my friends hosted and was really sweet. She texted me ahead of time and asked what type of gluten free pizza I would like for the evening. 

I was able to have them make half of the pizza into cheesy bread-sticks, and the other half into pepperoni pizza. It was SO good to be able to have bread sticks and pizza. They had a salad bar, but I was so happy to have pizza I could eat, I skipped the salad bar which I really enjoy usually, but the pizza was so good!

Another friend owns a pizza shop that sells the pizza's in a "take and bake" format. She showed up at my home with four gluten free pizza's. Of course, it would take me a week of eating pizza daily to finish that many pieces of pizza, so I decided to freeze it. 

I cut it into four pieces. Gluten free pizza's are smaller than normal pizzas. I then put a layer of plastic wrap, put a layer of pizza slices, then another layer of plastic wrap, and another layer of pizza slices until the Tupperware was full. I pulled out the container from the freezer and just put a piece of pizza in the air fryer for five or six minutes and it was wonderfully crispy!  

I am so blessed with amazing friends who think of me! 

Have a blessed day!

A Day Filled with 111 - One Probably Not an Accident

I woke today with a migraine and chased it all day. I climbed back into bed and didn't get up until 11ish. 

I opened my Pokemon game as I always send gifts the night before to my friends, and then open my gifts in the game when I get up or leave the house. 

I get a text from my friend in MA who started playing the game while he was visiting me a few weeks back. He wrote: "Did you deliberately open that gift at that time?" Now, I have to tell you that I have NEVER noticed that the game even told you the time a gift is sent or opened. I am clearly not that observant. I open the gift, send a gift and haven't even used any of the other buttons or know what they do. 

He sent me a photo of the time I opened his gift and I guess the person that sent the gift can look and see what prizes you got in the gift. I had no idea about that! I looked at his photo and chuckled to myself because when he was with me and we were driving through three states, I would point out all the times 111 would show up in my world. 

I think at first he thought I was just crazy making it up, but then he realized I couldn't make these things up as they weren't me just looking at the clock in the car, they were external things. 

I sent him back a text telling him I hadn't noticed, but if it was 1:11 his time, it was 11:11 my time when I sent it being on the west coast. I told him it shows up all day every day of my life! He said, "It may show up all day in your life, but not in mine!" 

I told him that he just needs to ask God how he can show Matt how HE loves Matt! I thought of the blog post I did many years ago about how I know God loves me. Here is a link to that post. I hope that Matt can find out how God shows him that he is loved by God! 

I had two different Pokemon show up today that had 111 in them. That isn't something you can make happen. They are random and you get what you get. I had bunko today, I pulled into my driveway and looked down to shut off my radio, and the Stones song playing was number 111 out of over a thousand songs in my car playlist, so just randomly, 111 played. I took a photo to share with Matt as I had taken photos of the other two Pokemon random 111's as well. He knows I couldn't fake getting the Pokemon of 111 HP as you can't make that happen.

I get into the house, do some laundry, take more medication for my migraine which was getting worse by the second. I put my shirts in the dryer to let them heat up and get wrinkle free and pull them out wet to hang to dry, so I leave them in for about 5 minutes. 

It was midnight, so I send out my Pokemon gifts, make a video for my YouTube channel, and I look at my Pokemon while I am waiting for my computer to start uploading, and I notice that Matt has 1111 water type Pokemon he has caught! Now that is something he could count and plan. I don't know if he did or didn't, because by this point it is near 2 a.m. my time. I am taking more and more pills trying not to throw up with my headache but am trying to be productive while I can't sleep due to the headache. 

I laughed out loud when I saw that number. I took a photo and sent it to him telling him he is hilarious! But, he didn't know about all those other 111's I have seen today! I didn't have time to send them and it was late when I arrived home after Bunko tonight, so was planning on sending them tomorrow. 

If he didn't plan it, it is still funny, but I have a feeling he did it to be funny as we talked about it today! 

God is so good to me! I had a rough day yesterday afternoon and this morning with the headaches and God just let me know He loves me, and is so good to do it on the days or times that I need it the most! 

Matt, I hope you can find the way that God shows you HE loves you! And, I wish all the same for you, my internet friends! Have a BLESSED Day!

Happy 114th Birthday - In God We Trust

 

My Daughter, Princess One, sent me this today. She knows how much I appreciate God being on our currency and how many times I find coins just when I need a reminder to trust in God! I copied this post directly from a website and here is a link to her post!

"On this day in 1908, Theodore Roosevelt signs an act restoring the motto “In God We Trust” to certain U.S. coins.

Interesting, because he’d been working to have the phrase removed altogether.

“In God We Trust” was on U.S. coins for several years after the Civil War. Then-Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase had been receiving many letters from Americans: They wanted “recognition of the Almighty God in some form on our coins.”

Chase agreed with the sentiment. He wrote the Director of the Mint: “No nation can be strong except in the strength of God, or safe except in His defense. The trust of our people in God should be declared on our national coins.” The Director complied and suggested several designs for Chase’s consideration. Ultimately, however, congressional legislation was needed before the U.S. Mint could make all the design changes that had been requested. In 1864, Congress gave the Mint this authority for one and two-cent coins.

The Mint produced the first two-cent coins with the inscription “In God We Trust” later that year. And, in 1865, Congress passed a law allowing the Mint to redesign more denominations of coins. At this point, the phrase was being used, but its use was still technically discretionary.

Well, at least, the phrase was being used until Theodore Roosevelt came along. Apparently, he wasn’t a big fan of this tradition.

During his administration, Roosevelt commissioned Augustus Saint-Gaudens to design some new coins for the Mint. These new coins did not include the “In God We Trust” motto. Importantly, it was not anti-religious sentiment that drove Roosevelt’s decision, but pro-religious sentiment. Roosevelt explained, at the time, that inclusion of the phrase on coins was “in effect irreverence which comes dangerously close to sacrilege.” He thought that use of the phrase on coins or postage stamps “cheapen[s] the motto.”

To be fair, some people think that his pro-religion claims were a bit specious, aimed at appeasing an outraged public. One alternative explanation? He simply hadn’t spent that much time thinking about the motto. Instead, he’d become a bit obsessed with an idea that he’d had to model U.S. coins on those of classical Greece. If he were to create a Greek-style coin, that meant keeping it simple and stripping the coin of extra verbiage.

The public disagreed with Roosevelt’s decision, and the outcry soon prompted Congress to pass a law. This law required use of the phrase on “certain denominations of the gold and silver coins of the United States of America . . . as heretofore.”

Despite his earlier statements, Roosevelt complied with the congressional decision. He had already indicated that “the matter of the law is absolutely in the hands of Congress, and any direction of Congress in the matter will be immediately obeyed.”

Theodore Roosevelt signed the law that he personally disagreed with on May 18, 1908."

Have a blessed day and Trust in God~ 

Landscaping and Weeding - Busy With Yardwork

I was so happy when it was cooler in the evening tonight. It was cool enough that I could go and pull some weeds in the front yard. 

Last fall, I landscaped part of the side yard. I planted a bunch of roses that I got on clearance. I posted about it here. 

All but two of the clearance flowers are growing and sprouting leaves. The two that didn't were in an area where the sprinklers weren't working and didn't get enough water. I was so happy to see all those flowers starting to grow.

I couldn't believe how many weeds grew even in the landscaped spot. However, it was very nice to pull the weeds in that area as they came out very easily. 

It amazes me how much work a yard and home are. I keep thinking I will "finish" the yard so I can start working on projects I have in the house. The problem is that nothing ever seems to be finished in the yard. I keep working on things, but it just keeps going round and round. I think zero-scape isn't really a thing as even where we put rocks, the weeds come through and leaves and twigs get stuck in the rocks or bark / mulch. 

I wonder how people leave their homes for missions for a few years as there are so many things that need to be done. I now see why they rent the home or allow a family member to live in the house so that things get done. I can also see why people move to condo's and get rid of having to deal with a large yard. 

I appreciate my neighbors sons for doing my mowing and edging and my girls for their thoughtful mothers day gift of paying for the yard work. I feel blessed to have that help. 

I hope to get both front larger flower beds and the side flower beds done soon before it gets really hot out! I am waiting to prune the back yard until the lilacs finish blooming as they smell so heavenly when I am in the yard. 

Have a blessed day!

Sprinklers, Swamp Coolers and Heaters - Oh My

This past week we had three cold days so much so that plants in the yard were freezing and my furnace was running. 

It got so hot the next three days that I had fans blowing air in the house and it was still hot. I worried about my grass dying with the heat. I spent the day Saturday getting my sprinklers running. It was really hot as I had to dig up two broken sprinklers and adjust them, but that is better than others years. 

I knew I would need to get the swamp cooler in as it has been so hot and the fan was just blowing in hot air. When I went to buy the cedar mats for the cooler, the worker at the hardware store in town told me that what they got in was all they were going to get and I should make what sizes they had work because he is having a hard time getting anything in brass, and any wood made products or anything that takes processing to make.

With that information, I bought the closest sizes to what I needed and got home and put them in. It was SO hot in the house and I was in such a hurry to put it in that I forgot to run it outside with the window closed to blow out any dirt from the winter. 

I put it in and turned it on only to get a face full of mineral dust and leaves. I had to dust and vacuum the house after putting it in. I finally got it in and filled and it was so nice to have it cool down in just a few minutes! My yellow grass is now starting to perk up as well. 

I am so blessed to have sprinklers, a swamp cooler, and a furnace! God has blessed me greatly. 

Have a blessed day!