Happy Birthday Mason...

Happy Birthday to you Happy Birthday to you Happy Birthday dear Mason Happy Birthday to YOU!!!!

No doubt about it - you were the cutest baby in the whole world to be born on June 28, 2006, and today you are the coolest THREE year old!!!



We love you BIGGIE bunches!!!! Papa, Mimi and Auntie Em

Saturday Photo Hunt - Flags

Battleship Memorial Park Mobile, Alabama May 18, 2009
 Ground Zero New York City, New York September 11, 2004
On the wall of my study and reflected in the framed glass display case that protects the folded flag honoring my mother (a veteran of WWII) and hangs on the opposite wall. Small Town in Florida on Pollywog Creek June 25, 2009
And last, but not least...  Mason's Birthday Flag June 28, 2007 and 2008

Thanks to TNChick, for her faithful and gracious hosting of the Saturday Photo Hunt each week. For "flags" photos from other Photo Hunt participants just click on the PhotoHunt tag below. The theme for next week's Photo Hunt is "pink".


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Cultivating an eye for mercies...

"I must try and cultivate an eye for life's mercies...  And life, while it has its ugly swamps, its vile weeds, and its sharp thorns,  has always its fair flowers to charm the eye with their beauty, or to fill the air with their fragrance..."  Rev. John Flowers Serjeant, 1878

On a short drive through a wooded area yesterday morning, I spotted a bobcat kitten crouching in the grass on the side of the road, and I slowly brought the car to a stop to see what he would do. It was only seconds before he saw my car, turned around and jumped back into the thickets behind him. But even those few seconds were a gift.

The gifts are everywhere. Purple flowers that nourish little brown moths, and gossamer wings that sparkle in the sunlight over mucky ponds.

 

The cool, thick grass that soothes our bare feet on hot summer days and offers culinary pleasures to lip-smacking brown-eyed bunnies...

...while in the shade of the large oak tree, a mockingbird serenades with a charming melody that defies his drab appearance. Gifts, each one. Glimpses of mercy. Simple, every day gifts that offer reminders and assurances of mercies yet unseen where lives are bogged in swamps of hopelessness and tangled in weeds of brokenness.

Just turn on the news, or read the paper. Or maybe you don't even need to look beyond your own neighborhood.

Two men in the middle of their lives - or so we thought - left our community this week without goodbyes. Just like that.

They weren't celebrities - movies stars or music icons. No Hollywood Stars for these hard-working men unknown to most outside our rural community of teachers and farmers and loving people living quiet and ordinary lives.

They were husbands. Fathers. Friends. A grandfather of only one month and just days from the wedding of his only son. His weak heart (who knew) - apparently could beat no more. The other a life mired in brokenness (we knew) - a wound he could bear no more. Two unexpected funerals - two lives cut short. Two families we know and love devastated in just one week. Sharp thorns, indeed.

It is with spiritual eyes - cultivated in the soil of faith and nourished by His Word - that we can see God's mercies in the dark places where flowers do not grow and birds do not sing.

"The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever." ~ Isaiah 40:8

Letter from Mimi's Backyard::Week Two

"Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom."  ~ Luke 12:32

My Dear Little Flock,

Imagine me giving you a big hug and kiss, because that is exactly what I would do if I could see you right this very minute.

I have been very excited about writing to you this week. When I was walking outside one morning, I thought I saw a turtle swimming in the pond, but it wasn't a turtle at all. It was a big green and yellow bullfrog.

Every day I went outside several times a day looking for that bullfrog so I could take his picture for you, but every time I got close to the pond, it would jump into the water with a big splash before I could even see it.

If I walked very, very slowly around the pond, I might be able to get close enough to see a bullfrog sitting in the mud at the edge of the pond, but if I made even the tiniest sound or moved too quickly, the bullfrog would jump into the pond and out of sight.

Over the week I think I saw at least four different bullfrogs in our pond. Can you count these four frogs, Mason? What about you, Gavin? Can you count them, too?

Papa and Auntie Em must think that your Mimi is very silly to be walking around the pond several times a day like a big bird looking for food. One week I will have to tell you about the herons - those big birds with long legs that walk very, very slowly in the shallow water looking for fish and frogs to eat.

We will talk more about bullfrogs and herons another week. Today I wanted to tell you about the dragonflies I saw this week. They were everywhere - in the pasture, along the creek bank and around the pond. Lots of dragonflies, and I think they are beautiful. If the sun is shining on them just right, their wings sparkle in the sunlight. There are over 100 different sizes, shapes and colors of dragonflies in Florida. Here are some of the dragonflies I saw this week on Pollywog Creek..

I told you there were lots of dragonflies. Look at those eyes...





Which one of those dragonflies do you like the best?


Do you know what I like best about dragonflies? They like to eat mosquitoes, and I do NOT like mosquitoes.

Have you ever watched a dragonfly fly in the air? Sometimes they look like they are flying perfectly still, then they suddenly take off in a hurry. They can also fly backwards. God was very creative when he made dragonflies, wasn't He?

That makes me think of the song "All Things Bright and Beautiful" that I learned in church when I was a little girl. Some of the words to that song are:

All things bright and beautiful, All creatures great and small, All things wise and wonderful, The Lord God made them all. He gave us eyes to see them, And lips that we might tell, How great is God Almighty, Who has made all things well.

God made bullfrogs and dragonflies, and He made you, too. God is great and God is good.

Did you color your butterfly page last week? I'd love to see it if you did.

I have made a dragonfly coloring page for you this week. Give your mom a hug and tell her that she can print a larger coloring page for you by clicking on the picture below.

Can you think of some ways that butterflies and dragonflies are the same?


Can you also think of some ways that butterflies and dragonflies are different?


It's time for me to go look for bullfrogs again, so I better say goodbye for now. What ever you do, don't ever, ever forget...



I love you A bushel and a peck A bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck!

BIG Hugs and Kisses,

Mimi

Resources for Further Study and Enrichment All Things Bright And Beautiful, illustrated by Pauline Baynes The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones, "The Story and The Song" p. 12-17, "The beginning: a perfect home" p. 18-27 Pond & River - Eyewitness Books - "Dragonflies and damselflies", p. 48-49 Odonata - damselflies and dragonflies A Beginner's Guide to DRAGONFLIESDragonflies - Designed to Dart

~ Letter from Mimi's Backyard::Introduction

I'm working on it....

Trust me. I haven't forgotten. How could I? It's just been one of those weeks. I know you know what I mean. Here's a little preview.... I told you I've been looking for bullfrogs.

Saturday Photo Hunt - Creamy...

My favorite time of the day is first thing in the morning - coffee, devotions, scripture, prayer....which means my second favorite time of the day is bedtime, because "first thing in the morning" will come next..........(my facebook status earlier this week)

I was fully prepared to pass on this week's hunt. I could not think of anything in my archives that fit the "creamy" category, there was nothing "creamy" in my week that grabbed my attention, and I've been much too distracted with time-sensitive projects and more pressing matters like looking for bullfrogs (I'll explain in a later post) to spend time searching. As my facebook status declared, I love first thing in the morning. I often fall asleep in joyful anticipation of that first hour of the day when I can sit quietly with my Bible, a devotional and more than one cup of coffee. Just as I settled down in the study this morning to do just that, I saw it.

More often than not, my first cup of coffee in the morning is hot and black, but I was up with a sick Emily during the night and wasn't thinking clearly when I made a very creamy first cup of coffee instead.

Thanks to TNChick, for her faithful and gracious hosting of the Saturday Photo Hunt each week. For "creamy" photos from other Photo Hunt participants just click on the PhotoHunt tag below. The theme for next week's Photo Hunt is "flags".

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Guess who's coming to dinner?

Chris Brauns, author of Unpacking Forgiveness, asked his favorite bloggers to briefly answer two questions for him: 

(1) Pretending that he and his wife Jamie were to take them and their date out for dinner at the restaurant of their choice, where would they like to eat?

(2) Other than the Lord Jesus, what two people from the Bible and their dates would they ask to join them?  

Chris posted the answers in his blog, A Brick in the Valley: here. 

The list of bloggers asked to participate included: Thabite Anyabwile of Pure Church Darryl Dash of http://www.dashhouse.com/ Kevin DeYoung of DeYoung, Restless, and Reformed Lig Duncan – First Pres in Jackson Andrew Ford of Triangular Christianity Gunny Hartmann of Semper Reformanda Patricia Hunter of Pollywog Creek (yep, that's me) Brian McLaughlin of Triangular Christianity Andy Naselli – Thoughts on Exegetical, Biblical, Historical, Systematic, and Practical Theology Dan Phillips of Biblical Christianity and Pyromaniacs Shannon Popkin – Tiny Paragraphs Owen Strachan Derek Thomas of Reformation 21 Mike Wittmer, author of Heaven is a Place on Earth and Don’t Stop Believing Zach Nielsen of Vitamin Z Amy Scott of Amy’s Humble Musings Excluding me, of course, Chris' list is an excellent one, and I'm definitely adding subscriptions to my reader for those I didn't already have. 

And Chris, this is for you...

Saturday Photo Hunt - Lock...

The combination lock on the shed doors keeps unwanted guests out...

 

...while the lock on this gate keeps Gavin in. For now, anyway. He's likely to realize that he can climb the fence before he figures out how to unlock the gate. Notice the layered look he had going on with his shirts? He went through a stage where he didn't want to take off his pajama shirt in the morning, so Kristin just put his pre-school shirt on over it. Two year olds are a riot, aren't they? 

Here's a couple of characters at Lion Country Safari that we hope will never learn to unlock their cage...

 

We found it amusing that we were advised to keep the windows closed and the doors locked as we drove through the park. Did they really think any of the animals roaming free were capable of opening an unlocked car door? Interesting.

Thanks to TNChick, for her faithful and gracious hosting of the Saturday Photo Hunt each week. For "lock" photos from other Photo Hunt participants just click on the PhotoHunt tag below. The theme for next week's Photo Hunt is "creamy".

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Dinner conversation...

Gavin: (To Emily who he wanted to feed him dinner last night) "Help me." Emily: "Are you a baby?" Gavin: (Emphatically) "No! I'm a kid!" Emily: "That's right. You are a big boy." Gavin: "No, I'm not... I'm a baby kid."

Letter from Mimi's Backyard::Week One

"Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." ~ Luke 12:32

My Dear Little Flock, I want you to know that Papa and Mimi love and miss you very much. 

I bet you are a wonderful big brother, Mason, and that you help your mom take good care of baby brother.  

Is it hot in Texas now? It sure is hot in Florida, and it rains a lot, too. Gavin came over yesterday after his swim lesson and he and Auntie Em - or Minna, as Gavin calls her - cooled off playing with squirt guns in the backyard.

Did you see the mama duck with her ducklings and the cottontail rabbit I showed to everyone on Monday? Saturday morning Papa found the mama duck and four ducklings swimming in the pond. I walked round and round the pond trying to take a good picture of them for you, but the mama duck was very protective of her little ones. She was careful to put herself between me and her babies. Later that day, we saw her leading the babies through the tall wet grass - waddling back to where they came from - probably Miss Iris' down the road.

The mama duck wouldn't let me close to her babies. I wouldn't hurt them, but she didn't know that. Just like your mama - who always protects you from people and things she thinks might hurt you, too. That's what good mamas do. Papa was glad that this mama duck and her babies left our Pollywog Creek pond. They are muscovy ducks and muscovy ducks can be very messy.

While I was wandering through the pasture and enjoying the pretty flowers and butterflies, Papa was on the roof fixing cracks in the porch before the afternoon thunderstorms rolled in. Papa is a very good papa, working hard to take care of his family and our home. Look at all the wildflowers I found growing in the pasture...

They may not be as pretty as the wildflowers I saw in the field behind your house, Mason, but I still think they are pretty. God made a beautiful world for us to enjoy and take care of, didn't He? Sometimes I need to look very close to see the pretty or interesting things that He made because they are so small and hidden in the grass, like these insects...

While I was in the pasture, a loggerhead shrike perched on a pine tree limb high above the pasture where he could look for the insects and lizards he likes to eat. Isn't that interesting? God made nectar in the flowers for the insects to eat and He made insects for the birds to eat.

I made a butterfly coloring page for you this week. This butterfly is called a common buckeye butterfly and there were many of them fluttering about in the pasture.

Gavin worked on his coloring page yesterday...

 
 (click on the smaller pictures for a larger printable page)

Give your mom and baby brother a kiss for me, Mason, and don't ever forget that Jesus loves you BIGGIE bunches and so do I.

I love you A bushel and a peck A bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck!

Hugs and Kisses,

Mimi

Resources for Further Study and Enrichment: All Things Bright And Beautiful, illustrated by Pauline Baynes; The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones, "The Story and The Song" p. 12-17; "The beginning: a perfect home" p. 18-27; Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McLoskey Loggerhead Shrike Common Buckeye Butterfly Muscovy Duck

~ Letter from Mimi's Backyard::Introduction

Letter from Mimi's Backyard::Introduction

Yesterday morning I mustered just enough determination and stamina to leave the air-conditioned comfort of my living room for a long walk through the high grass and soggy ground in the pasture. I'm not complaining, just (re)stating a fact: I do not like being outdoors in the summer on Pollywog Creek, and God will have to totally recreate my metabolism and give me new knees for that to change. (Update 2014: I have new knees but the same intolerance for heat and humidity I was born with.)

It could happen. Until then, I'll simply persevere. The commitment I made to my little flock is infinitely more important than my comfort, and it's difficult to write a letter from my "backyard" if I don't actually go out there. (If you haven't a clue what I am talking about, you'll probably want to read "my little flock...") Before yesterday, I hadn't spent much time in the pasture in weeks. The hard freezes and long winter drought left little behind to attract me, but the rainy season arrived with frequent and heavy downpours that quickly nourished the barren ground. As I looked out over the pasture dotted with wildflowers and flittering butterflies, I felt as though God had met me at the door - beckoning me along with His delightful beauty, shady spots under the tall pines and a slight breeze that helped me overcome the oppressive humidity for over an hour in the bright mid-morning sun. The first "letter from Mimi's backyard" is inspired not only by that walk through the pasture, but other encounters with nature this week. It will be posted tomorrow.

I recently removed the baby gate to the kitchen and study to give Gavin more freedom when he is here - but that means, of course, that the cat and I will now have less. So far, the only boundaries he has tested have been the refrigerator and the computer in the study, but since he was here a week ago, I've worked to make a corner of the study (opposite the computer) more attractive to a 2 1/2 year old boy. We'll see if it works.

The stories, photos, coloring pages and resource links in each of the "letters" I hope to post here on Pollywog Creek will not necessarily be the same ones that I include in future books, "Consider the birds" and "Consider the flowers", but will flow from our current family life experiences, as well as the nature scenes my simple point-and-click camera captures during the week.

The coloring pages are at best crude. Without a quality program like photoshop, I am limited to the free photo software that came with my ancient computer. Tomorrow I am posting two possible coloring pages and would appreciate any constructive criticism you are able to make that will improve the quality and ease of use for your little flock, as well as mine. Many thanks to all of you who left kind comments with other wonderful suggestions for how I can stay connected with my grands in Texas.

"Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." ~ Luke 12:32

Pollywog Creek painted...

by morning light and summer's drenching rains...



in blues and pinks... 
and yellows and greens...
 
 while a brindle-brown rabbit listens attentively...  
 and a muscovy duck hen in a bright red mask waddles through the rain-soaked grass with her yellow and brown ducklings ...

He covers the heavens with clouds; he prepares rain for the earth; he makes grass grow on the hills. ~ Psalm 147:8

Saturday Photo Hunt - Advertisement...

"Advertisement" is not one of my favorite subjects for photography. I'm a country girl - inclined to capture the earthy, natural subjects that "advertise" the wonder and beauty of creation, but I've made a few visits to places like the chaotic Time Square in New York City (above) and downtown Nashville (below), where the commercial elements were unavoidable elements of composition that added color and interest to the photos. 

New York City and Nashville were cities that I'm glad we were able to visit, but way too much city - and advertisements - for me. This, however, would be almost perfect outside the gate to our home on Pollywog Creek...

Right Emily? Thanks to TNChick, for her faithful and gracious hosting of the Saturday Photo Hunt each week. For "advertisement(s)" photos from other Photo Hunt participants just click on the PhotoHunt tag below. The theme for next week's Photo Hunt is "lock".

 

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Little flock...

  Austin and Mason in Texas

"Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." ~ Luke 12:32

On the two-day drive home from Texas last month, I had a lot of time to think. I listened to music on my iPod and read and napped, but my thoughts constantly turned toward those two little boys I kissed goodbye and wondered how I could nurture a grandmotherly relationship with them from so far away.

Their lives are surrounded by many good and wonderful things - especially parents and grandparents who love and care for them deeply - but that does not diminish my desires to love on them or release me from the God-given responsibilities that come with being their "mimi."

  Gavin in my Pollywog Creek Backyard
I thought about the time I am blessed to have with Gavin - the books we read, the games we play, and the things we talk about while sitting on my backyard swing, and I grieved knowing that those same experiences with Mason and Austin are not possible with so many miles between us.

So I prayed. And I dug into scripture, and though I was inspired and encouraged by many familiar passages that point directly to generational relationships, it was Luke chapter 12, verses 22-34, that grabbed me. Aside from the leading of the Holy Spirit, I'm not sure what trail I was on that led me to that particular passage or why I was compelled to consider it in light of my study topic, but it was the tender words of Jesus in verse 32 that caught my attention...

"Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." 

Jesus was (and is) clearly speaking to His followers, but the words "little flock" made me think of my own "little flock" of grandlittles. As I re-read the preceding verses, I began to understand what God might be showing me and I how I could use it to build relationships with my "little flock".

"Consider the ravens: they neither sew nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!" (verse 24)

"Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!" (verses 27-28)

Months ago I began creating a coloring book for the boys from some of the flowers and animal photographs I have taken here on Pollywog Creek. A little gift for their Christmas stockings, I thought. But as I meditated on the verses from Luke 12 and thought about this post from my archives, I realized that I could do so much more than a coloring book.

"Consider the Birds", "Consider the Flowers", "Storytime from Mimi's Backyard Swing".....

My desire is to begin posting a "Letter from Mimi's Backyard" with a printable coloring page. The posts will likely (hopefully) be early drafts for a project in the works, and though they are initially intended for my "little flock", I hope other mama's and mimi's will feel free to use them (and kid test them), as well.