Sonlight Blog

I'm blogging today over on the Sonlight Blog. Starting today I'll be sharing there once or twice a month. Today's post is on Knowing My Kids. I'd love for you to leave me a comment over there. Thanks!

Ramblin' Thoughts

This past weekend we went camping Up the River.

 It was an uneventful weekend, as far as excitement goes. The weather was lovely. Sunny. Not too hot. Though the flies were nasty through the middle of the afternoon, for some reason.

It's always so good to get away from our normal day-to-day responsibilities and just enjoy some down-time deep in the forest. We drove over the mountain and stopped for a couple of short hikes. I particularly enjoyed the wildflowers. (Watch for those pictures soon.)

We spotted a few squirrel, a couple of deer, and a hawk soaring in the sky. We also came upon a strange bird sitting in the road perfectly still. None of us knew what kind of bird it was. We could see its eyes moving as it looked around, but it wouldn't get out of the way. So we crept closer (in the truck). Finally, it waddled off into the brush and then flew away. Anybody have any idea what kind of bird it was, and why it acted that way?

I miss living in the country, so I'm glad we are able to go camping frequently.

Priceless Heirlooms

This past week I've been updating a genealogy book I compiled about 10 years ago, at the request of my great-aunt who wants it for a family reunion in a couple of weeks. It had been awhile since I had taken time to work on genealogy, and I always enjoy it, so that was a fun diversion from some of the other projects that have been consuming my time lately.

One thing I added was pictures of headstones for various ancestors that I found at the very fascinating www.findagrave.com site. When I came across the headstone for my great-great-great-grandmother, Lucinda Catherine Ratterree Bock, I broke out in goose pimples. In order to explain why, I want to rerun a blog post from Mother's Day 2009, then I'll show you her headstone.

*****

"100 years from now it will not matter what my bank account was,
the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove...
but the world may be a better place
because I was important in the life of a child."

Four Generations- July 1967.
The pensive tot in the center is 19-month-old Little Karla.
My mother, Pallie Sue Ezell, is behind me holding me up.
Great-grand Mother Shumaker is on the left holding Baby Sister Naomi.
Grandmother Ernesteen Easley is on the right holding Baby Sister Dorcas.

My sisters and I are mothers of growing families now. Our mother is the "grandmother"... and Grandmother and Mother Shumaker are in Heaven.

Four Generations- August 1922.
The thoughtful little tot in this picture is Grandmother Ernesteen Easley.
Behind her is her mother, great grandmother Liffa Shumaker.
Beside Mother Shumaker is her mother, Martha Maberry, my great-great grandmother.
And seated is Mama 'Berry's mother, my great-great-great grandmother, Lucinda Bock.

I suspect the world is a better place today because each of these ladies was important in the lives of her children!

Her children rise up and call her blessed...
Proverbs 31.28

*****

And here is Great-Great-Great Grandmother's headstone from 1929:

Do you see the epitaph?

"SHE PRAYED FOR HER CHILDREN"

I wonder if it ever crossed her mind that her influence would reach across so many generations?

May I follow her example.

My stack is growing...

Presenting the next installment on my 99 Little Doilies project...

Doily #14

Doily #15

Doily #16

Doily #17

Favorites? I have to say #16 was especially fun to make... and I think it's fun to look it. Which one do you like?

When life gives you lemons...

...you make lemonade, of course!

I like to make old-fashioned lemonade.

Okay, I cheat a little bit, in that I use bottled lemon juice rather than fresh-squeezed lemons. It's a lot less work and tastes almost as good. I also like to use raw sugar which adds to the "old-fashioned" flavor.

My recipe is:

• 1 cup lemon juice
• 3/4 cup raw sugar (Can use regular white sugar, if you prefer--- and you might want up to a cup of sugar. We like our lemonade on the tart side.)
• 1/2 sliced lemon (This is really just for garnish. The lemonade tastes the same without it.)
• 2 quarts cold water

Serve over ice... and enjoy!