Again?

This was the post where I shared the story about the yellow roses and my mother.  Who knows what it means.  I've given so much thought to it over the years and really had just began to let it go when this happened.  Over the weekend Mr. Golfer was mowing and called out to me to come to the back yard.  (This rose bush was the one I wrote about here.  A wonderful story I have shared many times. ) There on this bush was a yellow rose!  No way!  I stood there with my mouth open, no words coming.  How could this be?

Thursday on Friday

Yesterday was busy, full, fun and oh so tiresome.  But, oh how I love these little ones.  I don't have all 4 on a regular basis, but yesterday, due to a baby checkup and a possible ear infection, I did.  And we came to my house because the Dr. is near. These guys love being together!

Lunch time with my beginning of gathering knitting for the weekend trip.

They were just moving around and being so busy it was hard to capture!

Rachel had 6 mos. shots  and was more comfortable not being up in the high chair, but making enough noise not to be left out!

The morning began cool, but warmed up as typical here in Texas.  It was lovely to be outside and soaking up sun.  Much of the yard has not been tidied up from winter, so just look at the lovely children and not the weeds and brush!

Patrick is all boy! He loves Cars and all the different car characters.  For some reason, my garden cart has become Garbage-a-Don.  That must be a character from the movie?  He pushes it and fills it with anything he can find.

 



I got teary eyed when I was looking at this picture.  That rose bush behind Lilah is the one that turned yellow when my mother, Lilah's great grandmother passed away.  Lilah is the spitting image of her mother, my oldest daughter, and my oldest daughter is the mirror of my mother.  Red hair, full lips..just reminds me of my mother every time I look at both of them.

This beauty is her daddy.  Put them next to each other and be amazed. 

I have never seen a family where the children are just these little perfect images of the parents.  They have baby #3 due in Sept., so we are all very curious about this one!

Don't leave me out, Grandmother!  Pretty girl!

We are off for a weekend jaunt.  NEEDED!   Look forward to a Monday of Weekending.  I figured out the Linkup feature, so Monday should be a party!

{P,H,F,R}

It's Thursday again and an opportunity to post with Aunt Leila at Like Mother Like Daughter.

 

 

{Pretty}

 

 

 

 

The first peony of the season has opened!  Earlier than usual this year due to the mild winter, I now have to protect them from wind, rain and hail which we are expecting tonight.  This particular Sarah Bernhardt came from Monticello in Virginia.

 

 

{ Happy}

 

 



 

 

My oldest granddaughter was so enjoying being outside.  Our weather here has been so unpredictable.  It has taken a long time to warm up and the wind has been horrid.  On this day we were actually able to play outside for quite a while.



 

 



                                                                          { Funny}

 









 

 

My second granddaughter, younger sister of the above, was playing hide and seek around the tree.  I thought this was so cute as she had not been coaxed at all!

 

 

{Real}

 

Our prayers are with everyone affected by the bombing this week. 

 





 

Touching me very personally this week are the anniversaries of my parents death.  This is the DFW National Cemetery where they both lie. This is my step father above and on th ereverse side of the stone is my mother.

 

 

I am always touched by the symmetry of this place.  I have spent time walking through on each visit reading the wars these veterans fought in.  Not far down from my parents is a large mass grave with soldiers from the Iraq War who died together in a helicopter crash.  Humbling for us all.





Yarn Along and Mother

Even though today is a thoughtful day for me, and I say thoughtful because I don't want to say emotional, I will still begin by linking up with Ginny for the weekly Yarn Along.

I have begun a new shawl for the trip.  The Kudzu Shawl has been on my list for a few years.  I really like the crescent shaped shawls for summer days when you don't need warmth except on the shoulders and upper arms.  This one I am knitting with Madeline Tosh  Calligraphy.  This is actually the Twist and not just DK.  I am hoping that it softens up after a good bath.  It seems a little " plasticky" while knitting.

I'm not reading anything exclusive at the moment.  I have been doing research on my bible study where we are about to complete Genesis. 

Today though is really about my mother.  And what is really important about today are yellow roses.

When my mother and step father married I was 13. My own father died when I was 9.  My mother carried yellow roses in her ceremony and when I married I carried them as well.  They were special to us.
In 2006, we removed a swimming pool from our yard and had the hard scape for a garden installed.  I planted roses of varying colors, but could not find the right yellow.  One of my favorite bushes was a white one that sat center back in the garden.
On the day we buried my mother, I took a morning walk down the path that passed the white bush, but something was not right.  I stood and looked at it not believing what I was seeing.  Those roses were not white.  They. were. YELLOW.  I sank to the ground.  Feeling surrounded by the love of my mother and the love of my God, I cried.  She was here.  She would always be here.  These pictures above were taken in the last few days.  That bush remains yellow.  :)

This past weekend my youngest daughter took a short trip that included a stop at a garden center.  When I returned home on Monday evening, this sat on my back porch.

There are no words.

 

 

 

 



 

 



Remembering Mother this week.....

This week's posts may be a little depressing even though I am continuing to try to find joy in the moments. Five years ago today my mother suffered a massive stroke that took her life less than 48 hours later.  It was the culmination of some very hard years, ones that I really may never recover from. Her passing made me the only surviving person in our family.  I had buried my father, only sibling and brother, step father, and now my mother. The last 3 of these I had been holding as they breathed their last.

The blessing in my mother's end of life care was the fact that during her last year she was living in a Personal Care Home that was 2 doors down from our own home.  Several of these homes have popped up across our city and this one was a God send.  She was so close that I placed a baby monitor in her room and the other end in my kitchen so I could hear her when I wasn't there. When my oldest daughter married, one of the aides even helped me by bringing her to the wedding and reception!  They were marvelous!

The last 3 years of her life I cared for her after she had a nervous breakdown the day my step father passed.  For the next 10 days she would not get out of bed.  We had around the clock care until the decision was made to bring her home with us.  She stayed in our house for 2 years until she began to fall.  Since my husband and I were both working, we had to make other arrangements.  Initially, she went to an assisted living very close to us, but the anger she spewed at me over that decision brought me to my knees.  It was the discovery of this PCH and new medication that saved us all.

She was well cared for during her last year and I spent time with her every day.  We would have end of day conversations and on the weekend  I would just wheel her over to my house to spend the day.  It worked perfectly!

As she began to deteriorate, those visits became less frequent, so I spent more time in her room. Then the call came that something was wrong.  I bolted over there and made the necessary calls, thus beginning 2 very long days.

Tomorrow I will make the trip to the cemetery.  She and my dad are buried at the DFW National Cemetery.  A beautiful and thoughtful place for veterans and their families.

Pray with me through these days. They have not become easier with time and some say they should.  I continue to ask for God's grace and mercy.

What I Wore Sunday......and the garden...

 

 

Linking up today with Fine Linen and Purple for another What I Wore Sunday.  I truly must say I am not good at this.  And Mr. Golfer who is taking the pictures is very uninterested.  Or actually he is interested, but I'm not quiet ready to tell him what these are for.  " Women showing what they wore to church, honey."  " Why?"  " Well, .....because we like to see what others wore to church, honey." As he shakes his head..."Oh."

 

 

 

 

The first thing I must do is teach him how to take a shot that doesn't acentuate some "special" parts.  You know, when you have had 4 babies and been preganant 8 times, and are gently passed middle age, their are places that don't sit where they used to!

 

I am a Loft and Talbots shopper, but I NEVER buy anything at full price.  Unless I have a coupon in hand I don't set foot in the door.  I also frequent their outlet stores on my trips south to see daughter #3. 

Skirt: Talbots - love linen!

Shoes : Talbots - last year end of season 75% off

Top : Loft

Cardigan : Loft 50% off this year

 

I really love these shoes.  I don't wear much of a heel any longer, so these tny wedges gift me just a little lift ( could use it in other places!)

 

 



They zip up the back which makes getting into them easy peasy!

 

 

Also, the garden is taking off big guns.  You just must see what has happened in the last day of so.

 

 

 

 

These Iris have been in my garden since before we moved here.  We have been in our house 25 years this June.  I have divided and tried to conquer, but they are here to stay.  I must say what I didn't like 25 years ago has begun to "grow" on me.

 

 

 

Another week and the peonies will be bursting open.  These are the plants that came from Montcello 18 years ago.

 



 

 

The ivy along the front path is soooo green and shiny.  Must keep it trimmed back this year so we don't feel strangled as in the past.

 

 

 

The Easter flag, as promised, continues to fly.  Today's gospel reading was the familiar story of Peter in the boat with his apostles when they could not catch any fish.  Jesus is standing on the shore instructing them to cast their nets on the other side.  The priest said in his homily that any time we read about Peter and his Apostles in Scripture it is a direct reference to Jesus and His Church.  This really got me pondering about all the places we read about Peter.  I must do a search now.  I am excited to see how many I can find and the meanings behind each.

 

This week should be quieter than last, but I will say that emotionally it is going to be rough.  April 17th is the 5th anniversary of my mother's death.  I have a long post I am working on.  Come back and see me. :)

 









PHFR Thursday

Linking up with Like Mother Like Daughter. 

{ Pretty}

When my mother passed away 5 years ago ( oh has it been that long?) the home where she was had an entire border of these along the fence.  I loved them and had watched them bloom the year before, the first year she was at this personal care home ( more on that next week).  The week she died these were all in bloom and I asked the owner if I could dig up a few.  I didn't even know what they were, but I loved them.  She said take all you want!  So I did!  I think I dug up about 30.  I did some online research and discovered these are called St. Joseph Lillies.  They are an heirloom plant that cannot be bought in a nursery any longer.  You can only get them from someone who grows them.  I feel blessed to have these and have shared them with many friends.  They do multiply like an iris does so I will contniue to be able to share for years to come!
Below is what they look like prior to opening.

{Happy}

Rachel loved being outside on the porch at the ranch we visited this week.  The weather here has been so back and forth that most days we have spent inside, so this was perfect.

{Funny}

 I truly cannot think of one thing that had me laughing this past week.  It has just been one task after another, a short trip, warm weather to freezing cold, and a granddaughter's nightmare.  Try again for next week?

{Real}



My Easter flag will fly until Pentecost, because Easter is not just one day.  It is a 50 day season!  How wonderful and glorious that we celebrate the Ressurection as we walk with Jesus yet again!  Waiting for the Holy Spirit and toungues of flame to ignite our hearts!