"I Love to Walk in Leaves!"

Folklore has it that you go to a mountain top to find the old man to seek wisdom.

Well, I have a little bit of a different take on that legend.

Yes, I did go to the top of a mountain,

however,

it was the three-year-old who I asked for wisdom.

After all, they do know it all!

"Livi, what do you love?"

"I LOVE to walk in leaves!"

Excellent advice!

And I'm convinced if more people enjoyed leaves with the intensity of a 3 yr old,

^^my Timberlands...not my legs^^

we would experience more peace in the world.

I know I did!

Throw some chocolate and apple donuts into the mix,

along with some family time

and some fun competition

well,

let's just use the word

bliss!

(Is there an apple named Bliss?? There should be!)

Rachel and Joseph,

you two are the extreme hosts,

And, Rachel, we love AVL

as much as you do!

Thanks for providing a home away from home...

and don't worry,

I can always find my way

back!

"Do You Have Fall In Florida????"

This was an exchange between Christa and Courtney, an Asheville-girl, after Christa posted a picture celebrating fall.   I couldn't help to laugh out loud not only at Courtney's number of question marks, but Christa's response, "mostly in our imagination"!  So very true.   And thank God for vivid imaginations!

So, with yesterday being the start of one of my very favorite seasons (I have 4 of them!), I had to make a decision as to how to celebrate.... and the answer was obvious.   Find an available 3 year-old, dressed in her best Fallish-Florida attire, and set off to discover.....Fall! 

(Notice all the fall colors, Courtney!  Don't forget, use your imagination!)

^^^Do you recognize this stride^^^

Watch out for this one, World!

She knows where she's going, even on an unfamiliar path!

This look comes from spotting a butterfly flying branch to branch just within the woods.

This look reminds me to always look at the world through the eyes of a child.

There was an almost silent "awwwwww" coming from her, voiced so quietly so

as not to frighten the butterfly away...

After our fall leaf finding expedition,
it was off to Ace with two goals in mind.

#1,
find a fall plant to bring home to mom...

"How many do you want to get, Livi?"

"Two!"...

#2,

hangout with the koi

and wait for the lovely

Ace-Flower-Lady to ask that special question,

which she always does,

"Do you want to feed them?"...

The answer,

always,

"YES!"

Happy Fall!

to you all!

And fyi:  I will be watching for some color that will be creeping our way,

and it won't just be "in our imagination"!

"Oh, Go Jump In a Lake!"

And this little girl did,

over and over again with her big brother....so much so that I started calling her, the mermaid, and him, the fish. 

We all know, some occasions in life just do not happen often enough! One being having all of the family...or a large percentage of... under the same roof for an extended length of time.  Well, thanks to Airbnb, we did pull off some family time in July.  And it was epic.... epic in the sense that we spent 95% of the time in one spot, the cars not leaving the driveway, and it was one of the best times ever!

We had three criteria for our time this year....1) find a house on a lake. 2) make sure it was within reasonable driving distance and 3) the main one! - make sure it was a lake with NO ALLIGATORS!

And Christa Jean pulled it off; she found the perfect spot....

therefore, earning the right to claim the master bedroom.  (Christa, given your track record, you may be the designated "finder" all the time!)

There were a few things I learned (or were reaffirmed) during that week....

~I have a tattoo dedicated to me!

~This teenager, along with her friend,

were very, very content with "down" time,

communing with nature and family, and being content

with the "quietness" of life.

(I use quietness loosely here, as indicated by the last pic!)

~This boy is a natural kayaker!...

~These sisters will be forever friends...

~These kids love their uncles...

...and aunts...

...and cousin!...

....and me..lol!

Now, for the 5% of time that we left the lake.... a few runs to the local stores in particular to pick up "swimmies" for everyone to make our lake basketball games easier to navigate....we were getting tired of almost drowning in our quests to shoot a basket...

before swimmies...

^^^notice the submerged player^^^

You can see why these...

...became a necessity!

(someone's yelling "jump"...how the heck do you jump in 10'+ of water!!)

The other short jaunt away from the pond, as Livi and Lucas called it, was to Clemson just a hop, skip and a jump away.  Because we're all suckers for college football stadiums,

and so that Christa could "gator-chomp" around campus...

Lake Hartwell,

...you did our hearts well!

and I look forward to

walking your paths

again!

   

A Haiku for Two

Years march on and on

You add such joy to our lives!

So proud of you two!

~~~

Happy birthday, Andre and Angelo!

So, so glad you are woven into the fabric of my life...

you add such beauty to it!

I looked up a  daily Bible verse for this day...

"Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people..."

Gal. 6:10

Thank you for bringing such goodness to me and my girls

over all the years!

You are amazing young men

and

I love you both!

So Proud

“This funny thing happens when you graduate college. You hear so much about being an adult that you start to feel like you have to become a different person overnight,

that growing up means being not you.

And you concentrate so hard on living up to the term

"adult" that you forget growing up happens by living,

not by sheer force of will.”  

~Cora Carmack

I am so proud of this young man...

                                                                                                        Photo credit ~ Donna

This evening he walks across the stage at

Rider University

and walks off campus with his B.A. degree,

hard-earned and well-deserved,

now ready to start his "adult" life.

The journey he has traveled to this point in life

has made him one of my heroes,

not only for the obstacles he conquered along the way,

but also for the fact this he is a literal hero...

serving as a volunteer firefighter for his community

since his teen years!

Ryan,

welcome to the world beyond school!

The "adult" world.

But, remember...as the quote says,

growing up happens by living!
As Alanis Morissette sings,
"you live, you learn".

So true!

May you continue to "grow up" all the days of your life!

Let the living begin and the learning never stop!

(do some of that living down here in Florida, please!)

A big congratulations to you, Young Man,

and a big virtual hug sent over the miles!

p.s.

And don't think I forgot about your

random, spontaneous promise to me when you were

about 4 or 5....

"Aunt Debbie, when I grow up I'm gonna take care of you!"

hahahahahahaha

These Two...

 

 

These two!

 

 

Have their own love song.

 

 

It isn't comprised of lyrics

or even musical notes.



The song is their life

 

 

and they dance to it every day!

 

 

 

 

 

Christa and Robert,

you are much loved

by me and so many!

 

We celebrate with you this day!

Happy, Happy Anniversary!!!!!

 



"I Lived" ~ 2015 in Review

Such memories as I go through the picture files, choosing a picture here and there. If I wanted to use all of my chosen pictures, I would have to string 3 or 4 songs together! But my purpose is not to make a documentary, but to just touch on moments of life as we live it, and that can be as simple as a smile or as difficult as capturing that first wave!

I love the message of this song. Basically, it's saying "live life" regardless of what might come your way..... and that is a message I want to send out to my girls....and all those I love - including you!

This link should allow you to view on mobile devices:

 https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9LBQFVFvUtzTU9rWHgxNmJEQTQ/view



 

So long 2015

What will 2016 bring?!