Springtime Delights

I'm so sorry dear friends... I didn't mean to leave you hanging for the past month or so but time slipped away from me, as spring descended upon our world, and it has been a glorious time!  

We also took a quick trip to Texas to be with our families, especially to see my husband's mother who had been in a nursing home and unable to leave for the past year.  Texas lifted restrictions for nursing homes, and we were able to visit her and take her out for little day trips. It was so wonderful to be able to do this, after such a long hard year that she went through! 

We struggled to rent a car in Texas, as the car rental places were sold out. Thankfully, the Lord put us in contact with a kind lady who found us a rental car despite the empty parking lot! So many people were visiting Texas that weekend, that availability was incredibly low. 

We had a lot of ground to cover in our short time there. We met my parents for dinner before heading on to stay the night with my sister.  My parents' "room in the inn" was full with other family members who were in a transition phase of moving, so we stayed with my sister, who lives nearby. 

Enjoyed short and sweet moments together! Nothing like sister time! 

A favorite treat in Texas is eating at Whataburger... 

We stopped at the Strawberry Farm in Marble Falls and enjoyed about an hour there picking strawberries, enjoying the beautiful flowers and sunshine. 

We picked these strawberries in a matter of minutes! They were SOO good too! Nothing like fresh home-grown strawberries! We took some to Dan's mom, and the rest my Mom made into strawberry jam :) 

Bluebonnets! We saw these along the roadside as we traveled to see Dan's mom.

Our first time to see Dan's Mom after she had been in the nursing home and not able to 
leave for over a year. 

We took her out for a drive, and stopped at the city park and we 
were delighted to see the goslings out with their parents. 

Her joy at being out and about with us!

We enjoyed scenic views of the magnificent Texas bluebonnets!

Gorgeous, aren't they!

Dan and his mom :) 

We enjoyed lunch at Cooper's BBQ.

Beautiful roses in bloom.

Closeups of the bountiful bluebonnet

Bluebonnets everywhere!

On our drive, we saw this old tractor parked behind the old cedar fence. 

An artist painting his rendition of the beautiful scene

A beautiful scene in every direction! 

Back at home, spring had arrived!
These beautiful wild trout lilies are the first signs of spring in our woods.

These lilies face downwards, so I caught a different perspective of this lily 
with the forest in the background. 

Daffodils in bloom! 

Hyacinths blooming in the garden

Some beautiful blooms in front of a local business. 

My neighbor had a brick planter put in just so she could grow tulips. Around here, the gophers/ground squirrels eat every tulip bulb in the ground.  I love her choice of tulips! 

The last picture I took of my sweet Mister Simba. Our hearts were broken when he didn't return home one night a couple of weeks ago. We've had coyotes around our place and he was well acquainted with them, but for whatever reason, he was not able to outrun them.  He was 9 years old. 

For about a week, I held out hope that he would come back home. The dogs and I walked miles and miles calling him, and hoping perhaps he would hear us and come back.  Neighbors were alerted, and let me walk their properties to search for him, in the hopes that maybe he had climbed a tree and couldn't get down, or was injured and couldn't make it back home. 

 One day, I let Riley off the leash, and followed her, wherever she went.  After an hour of following her, we found Mister's fur, all that remains after a coyote attack. It was so, so hard. My heart is still so broken, but I am thankful for closure.  We have so many special memories of our 9 years with Mister.  

Our dear Mister Simba will never be forgotten, I will remember and cherish his love and antics always.  Losing a pet is never easy.  In time, I want to get another cat, but for right now, because we have an ongoing situation with a coyote that has become a predator of domestic animals, I am going to wait.  

Today I went to help a friend clean her daughter's home, as her daughter has cancer, and has been in a cancer center treatment for the last several weeks. She has no immune system because of the treatments.  She is coming home, and needs to have her living quarters cleaned and free of anything that would inhibit her immune system. As I worked with my dear friend, we talked about many things. My friend is a precious prayer warrior and as we finished cleaning, we prayed together. It was a really sweet time. 

I know that we all have our private struggles, and difficult things to face, and some face giants in their lives. It always makes me thankful that no matter what our struggle, sorrow, or situation may be... if we turn it over to the Lord, the situation changes, and we can look at it with a different perspective.  As I was preparing to leave, my friend and I both felt encouraged, and I reminded her of the scripture that says "He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think." Her face lit up, and I know in my heart that the Lord is with her in this situation and all will be well. 

Ephesians 3:20-21  Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Isn't it wonderful to walk with the Lord, and to know that no matter what situations we face in life, we have a hope in Him that reaches beyond the darkness and despair of this world, and it turns the sorrow we face here on earth, into a joy that cannot compare! 

If you don't have this hope in Christ, this peace that passes understanding, this joy that turns sorrow into something beautiful, I pray for you today, that the hope our Lord Jesus Christ brought into this world will transform your life in  a powerful way. 

Another scripture comes to mind as I write this: 

Yet all this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: 
because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, 

for His compassion never fail, 

they are new every morning; 

Great is Your Faithfulness." 

Lamentations 3:21-23

In these trying days that we live in, my prayer for you, and for all who trust in Christ Jesus is for 

His hope to sustain us, 

His peace to refresh us, 

His mercy to comfort us, 

His love to encompass us, 

and for His truth to endure forever, no matter how man may try to pervert it. 

Be encouraged in the Lord, and know that He is with us!

Great Is His Faithfulness! 

I want to leave you with a little video I made of a visit I had with a friend recently.  This friend and I had met last year on an airplane. I was traveling to be with my Mom after her knee surgery, and my flight had been canceled shortly before we were to board.  After long minutes on the phone, I was able to secure a different flight, and was barely able to rush into my seat before the plane left. As I settled into my seat, I began a conversation with the lady next to me. We had so much in common! Both she and I were nature photographers, and both were in the process of publishing a book to share our photography. We chatted for the entire plane ride, and it was just a remarkable thing how the Lord changed my plane schedule just so we could meet. 

We agreed that soon we would get together, but little did we know how covid would change the world just days after we had traveled (it was the first week of February 2020). A week ago, she and I were finally able to meet at her beloved wildlife refuge where she photographs so many beautiful wildlife pictures.  We share a love for the Lord, and for the beautiful world He has created for us. What a wonderful day we had, and we even got to hear the trumpet swans, as you will hear in the video.  She told me that they normally will not let you get very close to them, and yet, this particular trumpet swan let us walk all around him, and photograph him as he relaxed. It was an amazing experience.

 I'm thankful for the little "detours" in life that the Lord allows just to bring about even more special things in our lives. I hope you enjoy the little video, and feel encouraged to know that if life has you on a detour or a road block is in your way, it may just be that the Lord has a reason for the roadblock or detour! This video is a testament to that fact :)