thehereandafter

I remember the days growing up and being a member of a big family with such warmth and security. Of course, we had the normal issues growing up...being children.  There were five of us children and naturally we had our complaints. We  whined  and grumbled on Saturdays when Mama handed out our chores, we grumbled about what she packed in our lunch sacks, we grumbled and protested when she gathered us together for evening devotions and prayers....we were children (and teenagers) and could NO WAY, NO HOW see the wonderful value and plan in my Mama's parenting.    I have begun a bible study on-line and we are studying the book of Exodus. The book of Exodus is packed with wonderful examples of God's love, protection, and the measures he will go to for us his children. And over and over the book of Exodus reveals how God's people, the children of Israel had a hard time putting their trust in the Almighty and seeing His BIG picture...the value and path of ...

The weather is changing...last night it dipped into the upper thirties out here in the country and tonight it is suppose to be around the same with a chance of frost. So what was a country girl suppose to do yesterday!? Get prepared to have a morning fire to sit by and drink my coffee....what else?!  So, the preparations began... the first thing was to get the fireplace tools out and start cleaning out the fireplace. I swept out all the old soot and ash, wiped down the hearth with a wet rag and then dusted it so it was all nice and shiny black. I opened the flue and then swept out that soot.  Then I headed outside to the wood shed to bring up some logs to put on the front porch. Once I filled my wood holder on the porch I gathered sticks to pile up. I sat for a while and broke them into pieces and then it was time to go inside and set up the fire. It was fun layering the sticks and different sizes of logs into the fireplace...at least this is not television series "Surviv...

Y'all know I have a new granddaughter...my first sweet little sugar plum ! We all are so in love with her ...she is precious, just precious. She is everything a baby girl should be...warm and soft, and smells like baby powder. She smiles and kicks her tiny feet and makes those little newborn baby sounds...one of God's finest miracles...babies! The other day when Granddaddy and I were over there visiting she started to talk to us (some people might call it fussing or crying but we know it's talking:). Granddaddy handed her over to her Mommy after he discovered that she didn't want to have a conversation with him. By this time she had worked up into a rather loud discussion. Her Mommy took her and within a few seconds and half a soft whispered "shhhhh" she was calm in her Mommy's arms. Cradled in her Mommy's arms she is happy, safe, secure, protected and peaceful. And her Daddy has that special touch with her too. He gets those big arms around that sw...

One day last week my sweet honey bun and I were enjoying the fresh air outside when we came upon a little tiny frog in the flower bed. The little guy was not much larger than a dime, a khaki brown color with dark brown spots, and a very fast jumper. Well, we had no choice....it's in the Grammie's book of rules when you come across a frog with your grandchild you must chase around trying to catch it. I believe some of these rules are there to keep us grandparents humble:) It was very fun and my honey bun was so sweet..."Go MeeMee! Me do it too MeeMee"!... followed by laughing and much bobbing in and out of bushes. That little frog was so fast and also so camouflaged. He blended in so well with the bushes and the mulch that it was hard to find him if you took your eyes off of him at all. Later the same evening, as I came to my back door after dark, there were three fat bright green tree frogs stuck to the wall. Those fat, bright colored frogs stuck to the wall were not...

Last night I was reading a journal I had found that my mother had kept during my daughter's near tragic accident in the winter of 2008. It struck me hard and deep reliving a good bit of details that I have pushed to the back of my mind. What a injured daughter I had and what a mess I was! And what a strong woman of faith my mom is! As much as I would like my fingers to head this blog in a tribute to my mama, the Lord has me going in another direction. While reading her words and being transported back to that time, I saw how IMPOSSIBLE so many things were. It was going to be impossible for my daughter to live, impossible for her to sit, stand, walk... impossible to relieve her pain ...impossible for the doctors to figure out what to do next...impossible for Russell and I, and the really the whole family, to go through another night little less another day of ups and downs. A real time of nothing being possible only impossible! Though, through those pages my Mama keep writing ...

This past Thursday, the actual day of our anniversary, my husband and I could hardly wait to pick up our two and a half year old grandson for a morning at Toys R Us! We were very excited to spend "our" day with our little honey bun looking at toys to see what might be some good ideas for Christmas. Giving, especially with two little ones this Christmas is just very happy and exciting to us. And, of course, we want to buy the grands something they will enjoy and it has nothing to do with what the gift costs...it  is putting the thought and effort into want we think the receiver will enjoy. To my husband and I gift-giving always makes us happy because it blesses the receiver. And who better to illustrate the true heart of giving than a child:) My sweet grandson is a giver and I pray that his heart always stays that way.  Before his baby sister arrived and I watched him a couple days a week, we would take a daily walk down the street in his neighborhood. The man next door h...

This past weekend was the semi-annual McCorkle's Nursery "plant sale"! A wholesale nursery within miles of my house assembles flowers, bushes, plants, and trees in a big field and sells them at a very discounted price....what bargains there are to find!Hundreds of people flock there over the three day event with their sunhats and wagons for their love of plants. It has been going on for years and my family has been attending it since the very first one. For three days we chuckle as we watch the cars and trucks come up and down the road loaded with plants..."Hey, look at that truck! Boy, they sure bought a lot"! It is what America loves...a real deal! I have had many conversations with people I know about "finding deals". Everything from coupon clipping to consignment shopping and selling. I am not sure about everywhere but I am sure we here in the South love our deals! How about those couponers....clip some coupons and watch the pay off...  your groc...

My mom and dad moved Saturday into an apartment that is adjoining my sister's house. They didn't have to move far, just six doors or so down their street. Change for me is very hard and especially change that involves physical moves. We moved many times when I was a child and it was always hard for me. So, for me, this move was hard not only because my parents are downsizing but because of the memories that have stayed with me from my childhood. Over the past six months I have had to deal with many emotions. I really don't care where my parents live (as long as it is close to me), nor do I really care how large their house is. What has been hard is the thought of not having all our holidays in their home, something that is the tradition in our family. Another issue that I struggled with was the grands and great-grands not being able to stay with mama and daddy when they come for a visit...face it, family and friends come to see them not us! We benefit from their visits but...

Everyone who knows me will tell you that my grandson has stolen my heart! For me, as for all you other grands and great grands, there is nothing better than spending time with those sweet little ones! And I am very fortunate that I am able to spend a good bit of time with my "honey bun". I started calling him that around the time he started smiling. When my children were younger we would make honey buns and the sweet icing we spooned over them would drip off the top and puddle over the bottom. That sweet, dripping topping is just like the sweetness that drips from my little honey bun...and it puddles down around whomever he is with! Sweet, sweet, sweet! Today, I want to talk about the example of pure sweetest that comes from God and is meant for all of us...the example God shows us through children. I think the sweetness I see in my honey bun can be translated into the word "kindness" for us adults. It is pure, it is sincere, it is innocent, it is joy, it is a ...

So school has ended and graduations are over so it is time to go on vacation. I assume I am not the only one who over-packs. I over-pack because I want to be prepared for whatever my comes my way. Prepared! So my luggage looks like "Let's make a deal" on steroids! If we are going somewhere cold...bring a sleeveless shirt...you never know when a heat wave will flow your way. When we are going somewhere warm...bring a coat...there may be a cold front coming in. I feel the need to pack dresses, shirts,  and pants and shorts...be prepared to look proper at all places. And because of all the outfits, you have to pack appropriate shoes, jewelry, and don't get me started on the make-up! Doesn't everyone pack a different lipstick for each outfit...a nude, a red, a pink, a bright pink, a soft pink, a coral, a gloss.....oh well. Moving on, I always pack something to occupy my time in the car, on the plane, or aboard the boat...you never know what you might be in the mood to...

This being the month of June, I wanted to give congratulations to all the graduates out there and their accomplishments.  You have worked so hard and received special recognition, awards, and scholarships for all your hard-work....plus your treasured diplomas! Have you noticed all the media attention surrounding the newest Bruce Jenner/Caitlyn story? It is on the front of every magazine, on every news story, popping up on my smartphone in the news-feeds.....on and on and on. And with this story goes much debating on how genuine all this is and whether or not it is just for fame and fortune. The limelight given to this one person is huge! OMG! What a breathtaking wedding keepsake....a photographer taking wedding pictures captured the couple, a Marine Corps Cpl. and his soon to be bride, praying and holding hands from around a corner, in an effort to avoid seeing each other before the ceremony. And here is a quote from the groom, Caleb Earwood, "We were about to take our first ...

Last night we had "lots of thunder and lightning" as the morning news is reporting during evening and overnight storms, just in case you were one of the very few that were unaware of the night's events. Before nightfall, the sky turned dark...in spots almost black as I viewed it from the front windows.The wind picked up; I could see the tall pines in the back swaying from side to side. From the big windows, that look over the back yard and pasture, you could see the lightning strikes,at times they seemed like they were going to strike right into the back of the great room. They were lighting up the sky...one right after the other. And then the thunder....it would BOOM! and then the sound would roll...seemingly for minutes! BOOM, CLAP,ROLL...over and over again! And now, as the sun rises, flash flooding, power outages, streets littered with debris...storms in all its glory...part of nature, part of life! During the storms we had overnight are we are able to turn on the t...

We are spending a few days at the beach with our son, daughter in law, and grand baby. Of course,we went out to the beach and stood at the edge of the water. It was great fun for us and for our grandson to have the waves break just short of us and let the foamy water sweep over our feet. As the water hit us, and then receded, you could feel the sand wash out from under our feet. It gave us the feeling that the earth was moving beneath us. It made us feel off balanced, unsteady and slightly wobbly. This started me thinking about the last year to eighteen months. Life has thrown me every kind of churning surf possible. Life has washed over me and attempted to drag me out to sea. My life has been like those pair of feet standing in the foamy sea water with the ground underneath them washing out from under me. The circumstances and challenges that I HAD to face left me unsteady, off balanced and not just slightly wobbly but teetering, shaky, weak and unsure. Life for me has been like the...