Misty Jade Law ...

April 2009 we rescued Misty and she rescued us
Began as a Birthday wish ... see video in  "V" below
Chair pose :)
Doing whatever we feel like doing all day today.
Enjoying her visit with Madeline Kate
Friends with Kendall (Angie, not so much) 
Grammy sent Misty a bed for Christmas and she shares! They must be friends!
Happy Birthday Misty
" I'm the one but I am the one with growing pains..." 11/2009
Jade was chosen by a friend in exchange for something I no longer remember
"Kinda feeling like I got thrown under the bus... part of... 
"Life," I suppose, but somehow a bit more difficult to take when it was one of your dearest friends... and then I remembered. God 1st... " 10/27/09 and now 8/10/23 I've absolutely no recollection of what that was about so... "Life goes on," sort of, as this is the 7th anniversary of Dad's passing
Misty Jade Law ;)
New London Christmas 2020
October 2010 "Crossed Paws"
Puppy Picture
Quote: "Deep in the meadow, hidden far away / A cloak of leaves, a moonbeam ray. Forget your woes and let your troubles lay / And when it's morning again, they'll wash away / Here it's safe, here it's warm / Here the daisies guard you from every harm / Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true / Here is the place where I love you."  ~ Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games
Rainbows and light, Misty and Wrigley 
"So needed this today" was the name of another blog post from 10/27/09 
Took a nice long walk Together at Meredith
Undying love, forever and ever, amen xo
Videos are great - but click here for the Very first
Wrigley!
Xmas in Connecticut, 2017
Yoga pose for pups. good for neck and spine health :)
Zen-like walk in the words to a stream - October 2009

Aficionados of August... 2009 to 2019 "do over"?

Acknowledging, appreciating, owning, and honoring our authentic gifts, transforming not only our own lives, but the lives of those we love." ~ Sarah Ban Breathnach
"...Commit to rediscovering, acknowledging, appreciating, owning, and honoring our authentic gifts, transforming not only our own lives, but the lives of those we love." Sarah Ban Breathnach
Difficult times have helped me to understand better than before, how infinitely rich and beautiful life is in every way, and that so many things that one goes worrying about are of no importance whatsoever.” ~ Isak Dinesen Facebook post from 8/1/2009
"Even If" by Mercy Me listen here
"Feel with your heart" ~ not sure where I heard it, perhaps..
Good morning, God, and thank you for everything, love, Jackie
In the morning when you awake, breathe in peace, breathe out love...
Among friends and even strangers, breathe in peace, breathe out love...
In the afternoon, walking or sitting, breathe in love, breathe out joy...
In the evening before retiring, breathe in joy, breathe out thanks...

~ excerpted from the Honey Sutra by Ingrid Goff-Maidoff
Jax is the name of Erin Lindquist's son? How did I not know that until now?
"Kindness is the sincere desire for the happiness of others." ~ church and here
"May we see beyond the surface waves, may we cherish the sacred in all beings…may we find our way to peace." ~ Tara Brach
"Not Christian or Jew or Muslim, not Hindu, Buddhist, sufi, or zen. Not any religion or cultural system. I am not from the East or the West, not out of the ocean or up from the ground, not natural or ethereal, not composed of elements at all. I do not exist, am not an entity in this world or the next, did not descend from Adam or Eve or any origin story. My place is placeless, a trace of the traceless. Neither body or soul. I belong to the beloved, have seen the two worlds as one and that one call to and know, first, last, outer, inner, only that breath breathing human being. from "Essential Rumi" as translated by Coleman Barks
"Opening the door from a place of non-judgmental acceptance invites miracles into our lives." ~ Day 11, "Miraculous Appreciation"
Planning ahead to be more of a writer ...
Quicken me, O Lord, according unto thy word! Psalm 119:107
"Rumi 's "ONLY BREATH" - see "N" above
Seasonally Sanctioned Sojourn of Slow joys refile the authentic reservoir of creative energy... commit to rediscovering, acknowledging, appreciating, owning, and honoring our authentic gifts, transforming not only our own lives, but the lives of those we love." Sarah Ban Breathnach
"Ultimately, God will allow nothing to escape; every detail of our lives is under His scrutiny." ~ Oswald Chambers' My Utmost for His Highest
Valerie Lorimer Contemporary Arts
"Water the root and the whole tree grows strong Heal your soul and your whole life will blossom"
Xan Oku ~  Art by Darla Nelson
"You're beautiful / You are made for so much more than all of this / You're beautiful / You are treasured, you are sacred / You are His / You're beautiful / Praying that you have the heart to fight / 'Cause you are more than what is hurting you tonight / For all the lies you've held inside so long / They are nothing in the shadow of the cross... You're Beautiful..." ~ Mercy Me "Beautiful"
Zen and the art of letting go with love and compassion...

Spring Growth from 3/29/2009 to 3/31/2020

As the song says...
"Big Girls Don't Cry" by Fergie "I need some shelter of my own protection... To Be with myself and center...
Clarity, peace, serenity..."
"Do not say that I'll depart tomorrow because even today I still arrive." ~ "Peace Is Every Step"
"Each flower smiles with me." ~ Thich Nhat Hanh
 Fergie's "Big Girls Don't Cry" watch here
Growth even, and perhaps especially, through Grieving
"How green, how fresh all that grows / How cool the wind blows...
...It turns the endless path to joy... I still arrive, in order to laugh and to cry, in order to fear and to hope.
Joy." ~ "Peace Is Every Step" by Thich Nhat Hanh
"Keeping Holding On" by Avril Lavigne listen and watch here
"Look deeply: I arrive in every second to be a bud on a spring branch / to be a tiny bird, with wings still fragile, learning to sing in my new nest / to be a caterpillar in the heart of a flower / to be a jewel hiding itself in a stone.~ "Peace Is Every Step" by Thich Nhat Hanh 
"My joy is like spring / so warm it makes flowers bloom in all walks of life / My pain is like a river of tears, so full it fills the four oceans." ~ Thich Nhat Hanh "Being Peace"
"Nothing to do with you/  It's personal, myself and I / We've got some straightenin' out to do / And I'm gonna miss you like a child misses their blanket / But I've got to get a move on with my life / It's time to be a big girl now And big girls don't cry..."
"and so the door of my heart can be left Open, the door of compassion / You are me and I am you / It is Obvious that we are inter-are."
Poem by Thich Nhat Hanh: "Interrelationship"
Quietly listen to the whispers from within...
"Rain has washed away all of yesterday's cares and worries, the sun and breeze are drying up any remaining tears..." ~ JBL 3/29/2009
"Shining red sun is my heart. Peace is every step." ~ Thich Nhat Hanh
"Time to be with myself and center..." ~ "Big Girls Don't Cry" by Fergie
Until we get in touch with our innermost longing and its fulfillment we will continue to feel:
Vulnerable
"...While the water that has soaked the earth is pushing forth much growth. I love it! ~ JBL 3/29/09
eXercise self-love muscle until it eXpands beyond anything you ever felt before
You cultivate the flower in yourself so that I will be beautiful /  I transform the garbage in myself so that you do not have to suffer / I support you--you support me / I am here to bring you peace you are here to bring me joy." ~ Thich Nhat Hanh
Zen? Perhaps, but an intimate relationship with God and loving one's self first changes everything.

Warm Winter Weekend with Kris and Mads

Kristen, Madeline and I had a wonderful warm winter weekend walk! :) So glad I drove to Richmond to see them. Kyle had a soccer game in Fayetteville and came home to luscious lasagna! Kristen is doing a fabulous job of juggling it all - and returned to work Monday morning after her extended maternity leave. These pictures say it all :)











Playtime....
Bathtime.....















After breakfast, nap and walk on Sunday afternoon :)

Fabulous February

As February began on a
Bright Sunday morning (in 2009), I watched the sunrise, with gratitude for a beautiful,
Clear sky, my joyful child, and poetry…
Don't recall the mention of a poem when we read The Outsiders together, but they did and recalled it was "by someone Frost? Jack Frost?" hahaha – love that sense of humor
Eye to Eye
Face to Face 
Grateful for Bob and Kerry, their love, commitment, hospitality, and generosity of spirit
Habakkuk 2:2 "write my message plainly... carry the correct message to others"
Inspirational reminders from a tea bag tag: "The purpose of life is to enjoy every moment."
Just how grateful I am for so many things
"Kingfisher fishing"   thank you for sharing this, Elosie
Love MONTH - I Love it! and this post from Lizbeth, thank you
"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. ~ I Corinthians 13:13 (Artwork by Masha D'yans)
My prayer is that we would consistently return to him and to these beautiful simple powerful truths...that we would seek and conform to his example and be broken free from our own. May we empty ourselves and be broken so that we may be filled completely. Faith hope love. Our faith and hope allows the fullness of his love to dominate our heart our mind our life and our communities
"Nature's first green is gold / Her hardest hue to hold / Her early leaf's a flower / But only so an hour / Then leaf subsides to leaf / So Eden sank to grief / So dawn goes down to day / Nothing gold can stay. ~ "Nothing Gold Can Stay" ~  By Robert Frost
"One action I could take today to demonstrate excellence or real value is..." ~ Brendan Bouchard
"Pleasures newly found are sweet / When they lie about our feet: February last my heart/ First at sight of thee was glad..." ~ "To the Same Flower" by William Wordsworth
Quotes Made with Love Facebook post: thank you, Donna
"Receive and give the gift of love ever more continuously along with the gifts of his Holy Spirit." 1/24/19
Sarah BanBreathnach's Romancing the Ordinary
Three Little Birds" ? :) artist, Judy Lomax, Thank you
Updated blog post from February 1, 2009 to Feb ruary 15, 2019
We were watching The Outsiders while snuggled together in one big chair eating chips I'd picked up on my way home from refinancing our home and my 12 year old looked at me and said: “We’re friends, aren’t we?” It was a heartwarming reminder that I am doing the right things. 2/1/09
aXis point - minute 2 of this video with Brooke Ligertwood
Yum!
Zest Bakery's Valentine's Day post: