I'm "showing and telling"... because it's Friday!!

I'm "showing and telling"...

I know, the picture has not been hung yet.

Since I had so much of my downstairs area stripped of its wallpaper and painted I have an

aversion to hammers and nails... actually a fear of hammering... actually a fear of marring my freshly painted walls. 'nuff said!

I found this print at a thrift store in Austin, Texas. The orginal price was $38, however, I waited until the next day and got it for $27. I am not known for my patience but it gave me a little extra time to decide if I wanted it. Obviously, I did!

The books were all written by my parents. The black book is my father's military publication.

The red book is full of interviews, done by my mother, with Italian families who came from the  old country and settled in the Brazos Bottom of Texas.

The white book is about my mother's family who came from Italy to New York and my grandparents as newly-weds to Texas. My mother also wrote this book.

The clock was a gift to my parents on one of their wedding anniversaries.

The cabinet/table has a marble top. It has

inlaid wood and is just beautiful... inherited from my husband's aunt.

The lamp... bought at a furniture store going out of business in Kingsville, Texas... got it for half-price.

I love this little spot in my home!

I am linking to

My Romantic Home

for Show and Tell Fridays.

http://romantichome.blogspot.com/

The men in my life and a beautiful sky

- The men in my life -

We have been fortunate this week to have all three of our sons together... even though it was only for a couple of hours. Left to right are:

Ryan (youngest) who works for Coldwell Banker, Lance (oldest), who is our business partner and runs our Mexico farming operation, and Daren (middle) who is the national sales representative for a pathology lab in California.

Lance and Daren are both married. Lance is the father of our two grandchildren. Daren is the owner of our two "granddogs" -- both Great Danes. Ryan is not married... yet.

That handsome guy on the far right is my husband who is a fine husband and dad!

I was sort of pouting yesterday because bad weather had kept Daren from arriving here until too late at night for us to be together.

We did have a nice breakfast and visit the next  thoughbefore Lance had to head to the airport to fly back to Mexico.

It was a fluke that Lance and Daren were both here on business so schedules were beyond their control.

Thank goodness I took a picture of this beautiful sky yesterday. I didn't realize until now that God was telling me that I needed to appreciate more the two hours the family was together. It had been almost a year and half since the last time we gathered... which was on the occasion of my father's passing.

Blessings come in hidden packages sometimes.

Thank you, God!

Rolls of white -- the family tree

My husband's family tree

It's been almost a month of working on my husband's family tree.

There is so much to update and record.

these ARE "the days of our lives"...

the passages

the good times

the sad times

the births that give us hope that there is a future

the deaths that are so final... most of the time a full, long life...

and then the times when I life is cut short

it is all in God's plan

the commitments that are strong

and the commitments that are broken

it is all recorded

history will repeat itself

life is a cycle

we just have to keep going forth

it is all in God's plan

the seed was planted

the crops continue

the harvest continues

it never ends

we create a legacy

it is all in God's plan

http://fadedcharmcottage.blogspot.com/

Enjoy White Wednesday at Faded Charm Cottage!

A table from the past...

Christmas Dinner

1958

My grandparents lived in a townhouse for a short period of time in San Antonio, Texas. It was a tight squeeze for Christmas dinner butwe did it. Here is her Russell Wright pottery and milk glass water goblets.

Not shown is the gingerbread house she made for us. She enjoyed our enthusiasm when she surprised us with it.  

Visit A Stroll Through Life

where I've joined with others

showing their tabletoppings.

http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com/2010/07/20th-table-top-tuesday-treasures-from.html

I absolutely cannot wait!

Our two grandchildren will be flying in from Mexico soon.I absolutely cannot wait!

Our granddaughter is six years old and our grandson is two. They are growing up with loving and intelligent parents who are successfully seeing to it that our grandchildren live a good life enhanced with a Christian education, excellent schooling, enjoyable family relationships and plenty of good nutrition and

a wise and healthy lifestyle.

Our grandchildren are bilingual and

attend the best school their town in Mexico offers. They call me "Abuela" ("Grandmother") and my husband

is called "Pops".

Did I say I can't wait for them to get here??

Visit Little Red House for

Mosaic Monday.

The posts are fabulous!

http://dearlittleredhouse.blogspot.com/2010/07/mosaic-monday-red-white-and-blue.html

 

Those friends...

There are always a few core, special friends in your life. These are the people that no matter how many years separate your visits when you do get together, talking to them is like it's only been last week that you were enjoying time together. These are the people who might not forget the times you've been neglectful in your relationship, but they are forgiving. These are the people who do not criticize

your actions, they tolerate your spouse and rescue you when life is crumbling

around you. No thanks needed.

Memories are made, gatherings are enjoyed, we revert back 40+ years... and it's okay.

We age, we ache, we complain, we humbly share our successes and share a tear or two over failures. Some spouses change, children make us proud, some disappoint. We all understand. We all listen. We all are present when there is nothing else that can do but to be present.

We don't demand; we are patient and as we age we become even more patient. Time will take its toll on us. We will sometimes not understand what is happening to each other, but we will accept.

Sadly some will die. We will be gripped in grief and never forget. That sadness will always be present and a piece of our heart will die as well. We see our failings, but we see our growth. We begin to see that time is passing and perhaps we have wasted time and we see we could have handled that a little better and we promise not to throw anymore of it away.

And so we reunite.

It is to hold each other. See each other. Show each other that we love them. Listen to each other. Share our worries and now...

even our fears.

We know better than ever, that it is only through God's grace that we

will be together one more time. And one more time after that... we pray that it be so.

There are no friends like those friends.