Lifes little ups and downs....keep your eye on the prize

Good morning friends, I hope you are all staying warm and comfy in this unpredictable weather we are having lately. Here in Mississippi we are freezing at night and warming up rather nicely during the day...Flu weather....

Yesterday I was sitting on my patio, yes it warmed up enough to sit out side for awhile..and as usual I had my camera with me just in case...around here there is always something buzzing or flying or crawling around.  

I noticed a Bee sitting on the wall near a cross, he wasn't moving and it is rather unusual to see a Bee this time of year,

so I watched for a few minutes, then I saw another movement...

 another little creature taking advance of the warming rays of sun or is he taking advantaged of a change for a last meal before the winter sets in?

 I watched for about 15 mins as he slipped silently closer and closer, then....

Uh-Oh were is he going, after slowly edging his way toward the Bee, why did he take is eye off the prize?

You can see he is looking at something else....

Ah yes, he spied something else that looked better to him, but..alas the moth wasn't as dormant as the Bee and flew away, in the mean time the Bee flew away also and he was left hanging with neither the Bee or the Moth for lunch..

How often are we like the Lizard? Have you ever  take your eye of the prize, because you see something that looks better than what you have or "the grass looks greener" and wind up loosing both?

I love watching the little creatures God has given us, you can learn so much from them. 

Hope you have a Blessed Day and remember..KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE PRIZE



Blue Monday

Good morning, it's time again for Blue Monday over at Smiling Sally's, go by and check out all the other pretty blues by clicking here
I have noticed that more and more folks are putting out Christmas decorations BEFORE Thanksgiving, I'd like to celebrate one Holiday at a time, enjoy Thanksgiving with Fall decor then put up Christmas. For some reason this year I'm just not in the Festive mood and I am just now getting my tree and decorations out. So many of my friends are going through hard times and suffering job losses and even losing homes...even those who are working are having a hard time making the dollar stretch....sad mood around this little town. I'm sure alot of you know what I'm talking about.
But I started thinking, Christmas is the Season of hope, a new beginning, God sent his Son to show he loves us and will always be there for us, if we just believe... Could we be experiencing this hard time because so many, including myself, have lost sight of the REAL reason for the Season...

I always sit up my Nativity Scene first and if you noticed a little blond headed boy kneeling next to the Manger..Years ago when my Baby Boy was little, around 3 or 4, I had my Nativity set up and when I came home from work I noticed the figurine in the scene, I moved him and went to bed the next day the same thing, he was back in the scene, well after moving him about 4 or 5 times I finally caught Baby Boy putting him back in, well silly me fussed at him for messing up my Nativity Scene with a little modern boy (it didn't look right) ..there I go worrying about looks, not meaning. My little Angel teared up and said, "But that is Baby Lance, praying to Baby Jesus", it just broke my heart that a child understood the meaning of the Manger better than I did. That was over 25 yrs ago and Baby Lance is still in the Manger Scene. Love his little blue PJs.

 My special Mini Bear Nativity Scene, my SIL brought to me from Gatlinburg in late 1970s. Little King Bear has on a Blue Robe.

A few more Blue ornies or Decorations I have around my house

 My special life size proclein Doll is dressed and ready for the Season...

I hope you all are ready for the Season with a song in your heart and a smile on your face, some gifts will come and go, but The Gift God gave us 0ver 2000 years ago will last forever, all we have to do is except it.

Priceless

GOD CREATED CHILDREN (AND IN THE PROCESS GRANDCHILDREN)

To those of us who have children in our lives, whether they are our own, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or students...

here is something to make you chuckle.

Whenever your children are out of control, you can take comfort from the thought that even God's omnipotence did not extend to His own children.

After creating heaven and earth, God created Adam and Eve.

And the first thing he said was

' DON'T !'

'Don 't what ? ’Adam replied.

'Don't eat the forbidden fruit.' God said.

'Forbidden fruit?

We have forbidden fruit?

Hey Eve...we have forbidden fruit! '

' No Way ! ’’Yes way! '

'Do NOT eat the fruit! ’said God.

‘Why? '

'Because I am your Father and I said so! ' God replied,

wondering why He hadn't stopped creation after making the elephants  

A few minutes later, God saw His children having an apple break and He was ticked !

'Didn't I tell you not to eat the fruit? ’God asked.

'Uh huh,' Adam replied.

'Then why did you ? ’Said the Father.

'I don't know,' said Eve.

'She started it! ’Adam said.

'Did not ! ’’Did too ! ’’DID NOT ! '

Having had it with the two of them, God’s punishment was that Adam and Eve should have children of their own.

Thus the pattern was set and it has never changed.

If you have persistently and lovingly tried to give children wisdom and they haven't taken it, don’t be hard on yourself.
If God had trouble raising children, what makes you think it would be a piece of cake for you?

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT!
1. You spend the first two years of their life teaching them to walk and talk. Then you spend the next sixteen telling them to sit down and shut up.

2. Grandchildren are God's reward for not killing your own children.

3. Mothers of teens now know why some animals eat their young.

4. Children seldom misquote you. In fact, they usually repeat word for word what you shouldn't have said

5. The main purpose of holding children's parties is to remind yourself that there are children more awful than your own

6. We childproofed our homes, but they are still getting in.

ADVICE FOR THE DAY:

Be nice to your kids. They will choose your nursing home one day

AND FINALLY:

IF YOU HAVE A LOT OF TENSION AND YOU GET A HEADACHE,

DO WHAT IT SAYS ON THE ASPIRIN BOTTLE:

'TAKE TWO ASPIRIN' AND 'KEEP AWAY FROM CHILDREN'!!!!!

Before and after the Rains came...

Good morning, it's time to join Macro Flower Saturday.

It was so dry this Summer, that even though I watered my plants everyday the leaves & Blooms where still covered with dust... 

I almost caught a little Bumble Bee eating breakfast 

Then the rains came, beautiful live giving water from above, everything was washed clean and you could smell the freshness in the air. 

If you look close you will see the little bug hiding inside the bud.... 

I just love how the raindrops glisten on the buds  

Santa Clause is coming to town...

Well it looks like I've been procrastinating on my blog again. But I really haven't, I've been trying to catch up on some of my little jobs I've been putting off till the last minute...I think I work better under pressure...lol...I had a special gift to do for a young man & his family, that was in Service with my Chuckie boy. He lives in upstate New York and is still in the Army, he will be spending a week at Fort Shelby in South Mississippi starting this coming Sunday. I can't wait to see him. He is such a wonderful young man and he and Chuck have remained friends since they met at Fort Benning, GA during Basic Training in 1984.
I have painted he and his wife one of my Cyprus Knee Santas.
I didn't think to take any pictures when I first started but here are a few I made when I was about half way through, still had to add hair and hat details...

 And here is the finished produced, I hope they will like it...Santa for Christmas and a Cyprus knee as a momento from the South. 

I always let the knee decide how these will turn out. You can't tell to good but where the top of the hat hangs down by his face, there is a ridge that just made the perfect hat and pompom...