When I Grow Up I Want To Be Just Like Addie

Have you ever been surprised by God's revelation to you? Taken back with His choice of teaching? I had just such a moment this morning.


As I read in my devotional book "Jesus Calling", these words spoke to me: "Anticipate coming face to face with impossibilities: situations totally beyond your ability to handle. This awareness of you inadequacy is not something you should try to evade. It is precisely where I want you--the best place to encounter Me in My Glory and Power. When you see armies of problems marching toward you, cry out to Me! Allow Me to fight for you. Watch Me working on your behalf, as you rest in the shadow of My Almighty Presence."

One of the Scriptures for the day was from Psalm 91. As I turned there in my Bible, I remembered it well. The whole chapter. I remember during previous times in my life reading it as a prayer. It was completely covered in highlighters of different colors, beginning to fade with time. As I read I realized that more than the ink on the page had faded...so had my belief.

Not my belief in God, mind you. My belief that God IS Who He says He IS.

As I read verses 14-15, highlighted in pink and green and underlined in red, I realized I wasn't living day to day like I believed it at all. "Because she has set her love upon Me, therefore will I deliver her; I will set her on high, because she knows and understands My name [has a personal knowledge of My mercy, love, and kindness--trusts and relies on Me, knowing I will never forsake her, no never]. She shall call upon Me, and I will answer her; I will be with her in trouble, I will deliver her and honor her. "

Then as I do every morning, I picked up my next devotional book, "GOD Calling". I read, "You seek My Presence and they who seek shall find. It is not a question of human searching, so much as human consciousness, unconditional surrender to My will in the small, as in the big things of life. This it is that makes My Guidance possible."

"You know the difference between taking a glad, loving, joy-springing child with you along a way, when the child anticipates each direction, accepts naturally each decision as to each turning--and the child who resists, and, rebellious, has to be forced, even though in its quieter moments it may say, 'Yes. I do want to go with you. I cannot be left alone, but I hate this way.'"

It is not the way, but the loving rejoicing in the way and the guidance, that matters with My disciples. You are ready for the guidance but you do not rejoice as you should."

That's when I remembered Meghan's (Adalie's mother) facebook comment from yesterday. "...at play dates or running errands or any activity outside the house she is so good!" I have seen that it doesn't matter where Meghan takes Addie. She is happy, content and joyful whether her Mother is strapping her in to the car seat to go to Target or across the ocean to Ireland. Addie "accepts naturally each decision as to each turning" because she trusts in her mothers goodness to her. She is at rest in her mothers presence.

As I consider the path that I find myself on today and the prayers I pray each day concerning my path, I see that I am the child who resists. Yes. I DO want to go with you Lord. I cannot be left alone. Yet each day, as walk "in the little daily stones of the way" and encounter problems, though I cry out to You for help, I continue to tell You "I hate this way"!!!! I do not rest in the shadow of the Almighty, watching Him work on my behalf because I don't trust and believe in the Goodness of the Lord.

So today, with God's HELP, I want to grow up and be like my precious Addie. I want to be the child that doesn't question that "the Lord is upright and faithful to His promises". (Psalm 91:15). I want to be she "who believes in Him (and) shall not be put to shame nor be disappointed in her expectations." (Romans 9:33) I want to walk along today's path knowing that He is not only holding my hand as I walk but is guiding my every footstep on this path.

"AND A LITTLE CHILD SHALL LEAD THEM". (Isaiah 11:6) I never could have imagined that the Holy Spirit would use my 15 month old granddaughter to teach ME about ME.

Thanks Addie.

Catching Up

I haven't posted in FOREVER!!! Not that I haven't tried to post...and my reasons are:
*Facebook! Just like my sister Beth from Alaska, Facebook takes up my time and is so easy to upload photos and such. I can do it right from my iPhone.
*Computer Virus!! Apparently my computer was full of them. Every time I actually tried to post my computer would freeze up, kick me off or some such nonsense.
*And now that it's fixed...I'm SO sad to say, ALL OF MY PHOTOS ARE GONE. LOST.

So no pictures today. Just a "hello", I'm still here and VERY busy.

As some of you may know, I'm preparing to return to Ireland in just two weeks. I loved it so much last year I wanted to go back to celebrate my 50 Birthday! Wow!! That sounds soo old.

Anyway, I'll be there for almost all of July. I'm doing a house exchange with the McKenna's. from Dalkey, Co. Dublin. We "met" online through a house exchange web site. Do you remember the movie "The Holiday"? well, if you do, that is what I'll be doing for July.

We are are very excited but extremely busy getting ready for another family to move into our home and drive our car. It's like spring cleaning on steroids!!!

Now that I've caught you up on what's been going on in my "Rosie World", it's time to get started with all that's on today's "TO DO" list.

If anyone out there has done a house exchange before (this is my first), I welcome tips from you own experience!

Thanks.

Lisa

The Little Princess Is Turning One

I'm so excited...Adalie will celebrate her 1st Birthday at Marmie's house!!

We are all thrilled to have this opportunity to be with Addie Bug as she turns one. Lillian and I went to Orlando this week end in preparation for her special day. The results are above.

So, be sure and check your Mailbox for your invitation!

Lillian Masie-Photo Shoot, Solutions Bridal Salon

I'm very proud of my little star. This past weekend Lillian did a photo shoot for a store in Winter Park, FL. The photographer was our favorite...CAROLINE JOHNSON. She is soooo amazing (let me know if you need to contact her). These are a few of her photographs...enjoy!

The Move to Tucson

You may have noticed that I have not updated my blog in a while. That's because I've been driving across the country from Columbus, MS to Tucson, AZ. As many of you know my son-in-law is a pilot in the U.S. Air Force and he has been transferred to Tucson to train on the A-10. So I flew up to Columbus on the day the movers came to load the furniture.

This is Adalie when we first arrived at her empty house after the airport. She was a little shy with me at first (in comparison to when I left her). I took this picture as we sat on the floor of her empty bedroom and played while becoming reacquainted.

The four of us spent the night across the street at Celia and Tim's who so graciously gave us their home while they were out of town. They will be making the same journey shortly as Tim will be an A-10 pilot as well!!!

The next day we strapped Addie in her car seat, gave her her "Lovey" and off we went...the first of many days in that car seat. I might add that my little granddaughter was a perfect Angel the entire way across the country!

Addie had many a meal at fast food restaurants along the way. She, of course, was eating whole grain cereal mixed with organic fruits or vegies...WE adults were the ones eating the fast foods because sometimes that's all that is available!

And so this begins the first two days of my 10 day adventure with this sweet little family. More to come shortly! Enjoy.

P.S. Isn't this the most beautiful baby ever!!!????!!!!

Hand and Foot With The Girls

This blog is, once again especially for niece, Michelle who lives in Japan. I spoke to her on the phone as I was on my way to pick up the pizza and promised her pictures of the evening.

Hand and Foot is a card game that is so much fun. We laugh and laugh while we play. Of course, we laugh when we are together doing ANYTHING!!

"Valentino's" pizza: pepperoni, green peppers and sausage. My mouth is watering just looking at the picture. It was so nice and hot...Delicious!

Hand and Foot requires a LOT of cards. We are using 9 decks here.

left to right: Julie, me, Mom, Maura, and Melanie. When we play cards we like to practice our Irish accent. Maura (whose family is Irish) says a phrase just like her Auntie Marq's and then we try to repeat it. That's when the laughter erupts! I'd say we are easily entertained.

Mom made the most wonderful salad. Sister Jewels (Julie) has to have "roughage" with her pizza, you know.

Counting points! Look how serious Mom is...that's probably why she ALWAYS wins!!!

The Saga of the Retractable Dog Leassh: WARNING, Graphic Photo!

My sister Melanie asked me to blog this story in order to inform you of the dangers of the retractable dog leash.

Below is a photo of my leg, the result of being caught between 1 dog on a leash and 2 bigger dogs NOT on a leash. The retractable leash is thin and round like a rope. As the dog on the leash tried to get away from the other dogs, the leash wrapped around my leg. The wound was deep, like a burn.

Although I treated it for about 2 weeks with neosporin and saltwater bathes, it still became infected.

I'm happy to report that after 10 days on an antibiotic (4 times a day), silvadine cream, lots of hot water and wrapping it when I leave the house...it's healing nicely. My doctor informed me that it WOULD leave a scar. (Any scar preventing/removing remedies out there????)

Interestingly, when people ask me about my leg, if they have a dog...the have had a retractable leash injury! They are simply dangerous!!!! So my advice to you is to find another type of leash!!!!!

Graphic picture follows:

Happy St. Partick's Day

In honor of the holiday Ireland has shared with us all, St. Patrick's Day, I'd like to spin an Irish tale. (It's a completely true story...but you know, I did KISS THE BLARNEY STONE and therefore received the "gift of eloquent speech" or as others would say the "gift of GAB".)

I have lived my life believing that four leaf clovers were a fairy tale until Beth Nash told me her mother could always find them, wherever she looked. And she said, "If you find one, you can always find more." When I was visiting Beth in Alaska I actually found my first four-leaf clover right in her yard! (Yes, it was SUMMER!!!)

When I was visiting Ireland last year with Beth and my Irish sister, Maura Moynihan Berzman, I looked for the clover treasures everywhere I went. It's a wonder I saw any sights because my head was always searching the ground. I thought there could be nothing as special as finding a four-leaf clover in IRELAND, the land of the shamrock, the land of wishing steps, hills and bridges, the home of "luck"!

This is my friend Siobhan O'Leary Wills and I in front of her B & B, the La Cita Inn, which is just a very few miles from Blarney Castle. Siobhan's sister, Marion Walker is my neighbor here in La Cita, Titusville, FL. Anyway, she also has a vacation rental home in the country where Beth Nash and I stayed for a few days after leaving the B & B.

Isn't it a lovely home? Beth and I decided to take some pictures of the house as we were leaving, traveling back to Dublin to fly home. Our time in Ireland, this magical, green land was coming to a close without a four-leaf clover.


Before I got in to the car I thought, "This is my last opportunity. I'm going to take one more look." So I walked straight out in front of where you see me standing and looked into the grass.

And...you guessed it! Right in the center foreground of this picture I spotted the largest FOUR-LEAF CLOVER imaginable!!!!

And THIS is it!!!

Isn't it beautiful and amazing!!!

Even more amazing...just like Beth's mom always said, it was NOT the only one!

Beth and I spent at least another 30 minutes looking through the grass where she found 4 and I found 3 more! I framed all I found, one of which I keep in my bedroom to see it often. One is hanging at Siobhan's in the La Cita Inn and another is in La Cita, Titusville at her sister Marion's. (I framed the 4th for my Irish sister Maura for Christmas but I put away somewhere and now I can't find it!)

As I was having my quiet-time this morning, journaling and actually LISTENING to to the Father speak, He reminded me of the verse in His Word, "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4

And then, of this clover and the entire day (which held more special surprises).

As I remembered this day I heard Him speak to me, "I know you Lisa, I gave you what you longed for. It was not even necessary to ask Me. I told you in My Word 'I will give you the desires of your heart' and I DID". I will continue as you continue to delight yourself in Me, just like this (morning)."

And then I realized for the first time that a DESIRE OF YOUR HEART is just that...it's something that my heart longs for. Something I hold inside. How many times do we pray and beg God for the things we want? He knows full well what is in our heart spoken or not because He KNOWS us.

As I mentioned earlier, there were other special things, spoken and unspoken desires that I didn't even consider praying about because they seemed trivia in the grand scheme of things and certainly they were nothing I NEEDED. But God, He gave them to me anyway. Not only that ...He LEAD ME TO THEM (remember Bethie?). And the result was being completely overwhelmed with His goodness and kindness to me, which means so much to me that even now as I think of it, I FEEL it and my eyes well up with tears.

So if these things that I didn't NEED (Does anyone NEED a clover?) and didn't pray for, He gave to me because they were a hope in my heart...How much more will He DO when we ASK Him in prayer?

Either way, the thing is, we must first KNOW Him and SEEK Him... ENJOY Him and His Presence. Do you?

My Hair

This is especially for Meghan (in MS) who would like to see my hair shorter and Michelle who can't see my new haircut because she's in Japan.

So girls, what do you think? I know, I know. It doesn't look any different to you, does it?

For Girls Only

My Friend Brandy emailed this story to me and it made me laugh. I thought you girls out there might enjoy it too. We can all use a laugh every now and then, can't we?


The Wash Cloth

Ladies this has to be read, laughed at and passed on. There's not a woman alive that won't crack up over this. I was due for an appointment with the gynecologist later in the week. Early one morning I received a call from the doctors office to tell me that I had been rescheduled for that morning at 9:30 a.m. I had only just packed everyone off to work and school and it was already around 8:45 a.m. The trip to his office took about 35 minutes, so I didn't have any time to spare. As most women do, I like to take a little extra effort over hygiene when making such a visit but this time I wasn't going to be able to make the full effort. So I rushed upstairs, threw off my pajamas, wet the washcloth that was sitting next to the sink, and gave myself a quick wash in that area to make sure I was at least presentable. I threw the washcloth in the clothes basket, donned some clothes, raced to my appointment. I was in the waiting room for only a few minutes when I was called in. Knowing the procedure, as I'm sure you do, I hopped up on the table, looked over at the other side of the room and pretended I was in Paris or some other place a million miles away. I was a little surprised when the doctor said, 'My, we have made an extra effort this morning, haven't we?' I didn't respond.
After the appointment, I heaved a sigh of relief and went home. The rest of the day was normal...Some shopping, cleaning and cooking. After school when my 6 year old daughter was playing, she called out from the bathroom, 'Mommy, where's my washcloth?' I told her to get another one from the cupboard. She replied, 'No, I need the one that was here by the sink. It had all my glitter and sparkles saved inside it.'
Never going back to that doctor.............................Ever!!

The Running Continues

Today's post is an update on my adventure in running.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Meghan and Claire have inspired me to begin running as opposed to doing my usual power walk. Taking Meg's advise I began by running 4 minutes and walking for one. (I have been told this is called the Galloway Method.) The first day I tried it I could run for only two cycles of 4 to 1 (on the treadmill with a warm up and cool down). After that I was spent!

This week I was able to do 5 "cycles" of 5 to 1!!! It's amazing how quickly the body responds to exercise. As a yoga teacher I've always been amazed at how quickly we are able to gain flexibility but in the last couple of weeks I see that quick gains are not exclusive to yoga. Every time I have run whether on the treadmill or outside, it has become easier for me.

I encourage you to get some sort of exercise...whatever suits you. I will continue to keep you "posted" on my progress. Hopefully next time I will be able to report some sort of WEIGHT LOSS as a result of all this running!!! Is anybody out there working on losing the "Holiday" weight like I am????? I'd love to hear WHAT you are doing and how you are progressing.

Running

I virtually never post without a picture but I have to give a followup account of the information Meghan gave me about HOW to begin to run.

As I stated in the earlier post I took Meghan's advise about running for 4 minutes and walking for 1. The first day on the treadmill I was dieing (as I reported in the post). Since then I've been running everyday either on the treadmill or outside. NO MORE power walking...I'm either running or walking to rest.

Today, on the treadmill at the gym I bumped it up a notch. My ratio today was 5 to 1. Five minutes running and 1 walking. I was on the treadmill for over 30 minutes!

The moral of this story is that Meghan gave me some good advise (Thanks Meggie!!!) and it will work for all of us...if you are well enough to run. Give it a try, the sky is the limit!!!

Meet Finn!...P.S......

I choose the name Finn because first of all he had to have an IRISH name, like all of my children and because it suited him...but the MEANING suits him as well. In the Gaelic (Irish) language, Finn means: Small, Blond Warrior. Don't you agree???...It suits him!

Meet Finn!

Do you recall my previous post about "Violet O'Hara"? Well last week Violet and I boarded a Plane to Charlotte (I had to slip her a pill for the flight...she was great...THEN!) in order to take her HOME. It/she just was not working out and I knew she never would.

Her Breeder's name is Deborah and I enjoyed my visit with her so much-she is a lovely woman who adores Tonkinese cats. Violet proceeded to hiss at the other cats and did not EVER come out of her carrier. I finally had to pull her out when it was time for me to leave with Finn.

I must say that even though Violet O'Hara had very UN-Tonkinese behavior, at night she was a doll. She would sleep all curled up around my neck and purr. If I tuned to my right side, she'd walk around to be near my face. When I turned to the other side, she'd do the same thing. Of course once sleepy time was over she'd run from me the rest of the day. When it was time to tell her good-bye...I cried! I actually (in a way) hated to leave her. Deborah assured me she would work with her and take good care of her. I've since heard from Deborah that she now keeps

Violet

in her bedroom because the other Tonks don't like her! (Imagine THAT!!)

And this is my sweet Finn...aka the Finn-Man! Isn't he handsome?!!
Can you tell???-Lily says his nose looks like a pig. I think she's right. Sometimes I call him "Little Piggy".

Finn's eyes are the most gorgeous shade of turquoise blue.

So let me tell you about his personality...He's WONDERFUL!! I'm already in love with the boy! He sleeps snuggled up with me all night, usually under the covers, just as close as he can get to me. The rest of the night and first thing in the morning, he gets up next to my face. Usually resting his head on my pillow with his body under the covers. He follows me around the house just like a little puppy. When he wants to be held (which is most of the time) he stretches his legs up on mine and "cries" until I pick him up. When he gets picked up, he "hugs" me around the neck with both little paws! How cute is that!

Now for his ANNOYING SIDE...(You know we ALL have one of those!)...

As you can see, Oscar TOLERATES him. Look at their coloring...Lily noticed as soon as she saw them together how much they looked alike. By the way, Oscar continues to eat his meal plus anything that Finn doesn't finish...just like he has done with the previous Tonks.

Finn loves to play fetch with this little "mouse". He'll carry it around in his mouth, bring it to you and retrieve it when you throw it. Not unusual for a Tonk.

THE COMPUTER...This is his most annoying time! When Lily or I are on the computer, he will NOT leave us alone!! If he's not meowing to be held or have his head scratched, then he's between you and the screen. He loves watching what's going on and chases the mouse when you move it. As much as I love how snugly he is, when you just can't hold him, it is a bit irritating...but THAT...I CAN LIVE WITH!!

Finn is such a blessing and sooo worth waiting for.

At times I wonder why Violet came in to our lives for such a short time. I believe God when He says in His Word that He is the one that directs our paths AND that the things that come in to our lives come THROUGH Him. So I KNOW that the way Finn came to us was God's plan. Quite possibly, I needed to MEET Deborah. I know we will keep in touch...we had many things in common, number 1 being the Lord. Now I she is one of my "Fiends" on FACEBOOK"!!!...Yes, that's right, I'm now on Facebook...Beth talked me in to it!!!....and THAT will be a post for another day!

to be continued......

Meg Runs a 5K!

Let me start out by saying I have NO idea why my words are coming up BLUE and why everything is underlined! Once again the fact that I am "technology challenged" is showing!

ANYWAY...I am so proud of my daughter, Meghan. She has begun to run her little heart out. Meg's first race was in Jacksonville with her friend Claire. She and Claire ran in a 5K while pushing Addie in a jogging stroller. Meg is smaller now than when she got pregnant with Addie. Both of them are new mom's that look like they were never pregnant.

Beside the fact that Meghan is doing such a great job running she is also inspiring me to run a bit more. Normally I do a walk/run at different intervals.

Meghan told me that one way to train yourself to run a marathon is to run for 4 minutes and walk for one.

Well...yesterday I was on the treadmill at the gym and tried it. I was able to do it for 2 cycles! It's tough!!! But I'm determined to do better so tomorrow (or next time) I'll at least try to run for 3 cycles of 4 to 1.

A big thank you to Meghan and Claire for being such inspiring young women who happen to also be first time Mom's. (Did I mention Claire is a nursing Mom? How DO YOU DO IT???) Please enjoy the pictures of their race.

Meghan and Claire are on the far left.

Isn't Addie looking gorgeous for HER first marathon?

You girls look so beautiful...please tell me this picture was taken BEFORE the race!

P.S. Did you noticed the text is now in black??? I have NO IDEA WHAT I DID!!!

Celine Dion In Concert, Ft. Lauderdale, FL

This past weekend Melanie invited Maura, Julie and I to join her in Ft. Lauderdale to attend the Celine Dion concert. So we loaded the car with our overnight bags and made the three hour drive for 24 hours of "girl time". This picture was taken at dinner before the show. Don't let the lovely food presentation fool you. This restaurant was in our hotel and convenient. (Julie and Mel had been warned NOT to dine her but we thought "How bad can it be?") What it WASN'T was good. I ordered two different entrees and the waitress kept coming back..."We're out of that"! Julie and I ordered the same salad and were both still hungry when through. So, we finished off Melanie's leftovers. Then we stopped at Friday's around 1:00 for a bedtime snack. You know how it is with the Sister's...always an adventure and LOTS of laughter!!

These are some pictures from the concert. This was the last song and it was so beautifully staged. Can you guess which song she is singing in this photo?......................................................................

If your guess was the theme from "Titanic", you guessed correctly. Celine Dion has such an amazing voice!

And an unbelievably powerful voice for such a little person! Her show included dancers, costume changes and different staging. Her mother was there, sitting just in front of Melanie and Julie. Can you imagine how proud she must be of her little girl?

This is a close up of Celine. She's very beautiful, isn't she?

Michelle, I'm sorry you weren't able to be here. I know these tickets were bought for you all but We really did enjoy being there in your place.

And another big THANK YOU to Melanie for blessing we sister's!!!!!!

Adalie Visits Her Great-great Grandmother and Great Grandparents

We've enjoyed Adalie's extended visit more than words words can express. But alas, our time with the "Princess Baby" is drawing to a close. Addie and her Mommy will begin the trip back to Mississippi tomorrow...back to Daddy. (Thanks for sharing them, James!)

We have taken so many pictures of special moments with special people. Here are a few of them:

Adalie and Meghan stop by Columbus, GA to visit Great-great Grandma Skipper on the way to Titusville. Grandma Skipper is 99 years old.

Addie and Great Grandmother Eddings during one of our Christmas Celebrations.

We went over to Grandmother and Grandaddy Eddings house for a visit and Addie entertained us. What did she do? It doesn't really matter WHAT she does, we just like to watch her!

As Adddie and grandma pose for a picture, Addie assumes her favorite position...Legs in a "V" with her hands holding her feet. This is actually the beginning position for a wide-angle forward bend (a yoga pose) that Addie and I have been working on. JK

Can you see how entertaining this child is?