Marriage Without Regrets

Today marks our 16 anniversary.....wow....a lot has happened in these years...

This morning I asked my wonderful husband if he would marry me all over again...his answer...."ABSOLUTELY!"

and I feel the same way..no regrets here....he is my true soulmate....worth the wait...

To any girl that is still single, do not settle and marry the next one you can find....WAIT!!  until you KNOW..and believe me, you will KNOW!  and you will be glad you waited, no matter how many years it takes...the wrong choice NEVER turns into the right choice....believe me, I know about that......

and ladies, share this with your daughters....to wait on the one God has chosen for them..it is easier than trying to turn a bad choice into a good one.. (usually does not work very well)

That's pretty much all I am going to say about this today...I hear the collective sigh out there..wink,, wink....

I will end with this line from a song ...sometimes you have to get it wrong to get it right..pretty much sums up my first marriage and my present marriage...

I take the lessons from my first marriage and apply them to this one as things I learned NOT TO DO!!

Happy Anniversary to us!    it is a day to celebrate.....Love never fails.......not ever, ever.....

Below is a picture of where it all began....kinda appropriate , don't ya think?  this time we planted the right kinds of seeds and fed it with love.......

dreams and desires

It is pleasant to see dreams come true

A desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul

Desire realized is sweet to the soul

All of these are different versions of Proverbs 13:19.......

Seventeen years ago today my world collapsed..the world I had known for all of my adult life......the blood, sweat, and tears I had poured into a life that I thought was okay by my minimal standards..the world in which I had raised my children and built my home.....it was all I knew........and in the blink of an eye, it was GONE!    I was thrust into the world of being separated and going into divorce all in a matter of two days...  on Sunday afternoon I was married and on Tuesday, I was being served divorce papers by the sheriff in my driveway.......boy was my life different in a matter of hours.....all I had ever known was being married....I had a lot to learn and not a lot of time to wallow in what I didn't know...so I decided to run through the fire and not hesitate...
..ok, ok...it took a little while for the reality of it all to sink in...  (.AFTER 4 months of non stop crying.)

I started to make some decisions..even with a fist in my gut and living on the verge of tears all the time...I started to accept that YES..someone can do to you what you don't want done to you..there...I said it...  but I was determined to not come out of this being a victim..no sirree, no victim lifestyle for me....I would overcome this no matter what it took....I would come through this a different woman..and I would help others just as soon as I could get my act together on the other side of this....I would not run from the pain..I would RUN THROUGH IT!!!!..letting it do it's work in me just like the fire purifies gold.....I didn't really have much hope or much vision...just pain, and lots of it..

but I didn't quit..I kept going no matter how slowly I moved....just kept putting one foot in font of the other and  eventually got to the other side.....

so, you say...what do those verses have to do with all of this?

well, I will tell you..the path to my dream went smack dab through the middle of getting a divorce..it was not what I wanted but it got me where I had always wanted to be......a dream come true....

I had lived in rental property all of my adult life..I had treated each place as if I owned it but I was just a steward of another man's house......

I had wanted a big place...a homeplace....a garden and an old house....as long as I can remember............


if I had not walked through the fire..I don't believe I would have been where I am today.....living on my dream....yes, this place we call Winterpast is truly a desire fulfilled, a dream come true, a desire realized...
no matter what you are going through, there is hope on the other side..IF you keep walking...don't quit..don't give up...don't let go of your dreams and desires..they are waiting for you...our paths are different but they will get us where we're supposed to be if we trust that God is getting us there...but we have to MOVE our feet...He will not do it for us.

when I take time to look at this property we live on, I am overwhelmed at the goodness of God..that He chose just this piece of land for us and I had no idea how beautiful it was when we bought it...it keeps getting better and better....
here are a few pictures..I kept thinking as I edited the pictures...I REALLY do live here.....this is a dream come true....

thank you for stopping by today....and walking around our special place with me.......I hope to see you again soon...

Hidden Treasure

Most of the things in my house have a story behind them....so that means there are a lot of stories in this house ....
because there are a lot of things....these things do not hold my heart but there are lots of memories and sometimes just a glance at an inanimate object brings back the memory of a special someone and their smile or their touch..and that usually brings a smile to my lips....so most of this stuff serves a purpose...to trigger a memory.. and cause me to pause and think of them...and what they have meant to me......
so, this is just such a story....I hope you enjoy it......

After my mama died, there was the dividing of her rings and giving them to me and my sister...my brother had already gotten his ring from daddy on his 30th birthday...but I digress...anyway....there were 2 rings and 2 girls..I had always wanted the ring that had belonged to my Grandmother Lewis but the question arose and instead of causing an argument over it, I said I would take either one...and then I prayed....I wanted Grandmother's ring..
When my Daddy handed me the ring much later...it was the very one I had prayed for....my Grandmother's ring..there was a lot of history and heritage that came along with it...she was the oldest daughter and I am the oldest daughter..and my daughter is the oldest granddaughter.. I think of her whenever I look at the ring that she wore on her hand for so many years...and then my mama wore it too until her death...

Imagine the surprise when I was visiting with daddy and he said I have something I might as well give to you because it was your Grandmother's rings.....he handed me a little box and inside were these absolutely exquisite rings.....her wedding band and the original wedding ring.....

this is a picture of the carved engagement ring from around 1910  or so....
mand here is the prat of the story I just love..after all I am a romantic at heart and I love a good romance story..especially if it is true and I know the people involved...

Grandmother's daddy gave her a diamond and she had a new ring made..she took the diamond from her engagement ring , along with an additional matching diamond and the one her daddy gave her and had a new ring made..the one I always saw her wearing...

my grandmother's engagement ring

heirloom rings

her platinum wedding band

to know the story behind something makes it so much more valuable than the thing itself.....
Here is a family heirloom that I had no idea even existed until a few years ago....it is one of my favorite pieces along with my very own wedding band......

the new set

Here is the moral of this story..there are some things in life that we have no idea about...there are gifts beyond our imagination....surprises too good to be true but they are TRUE........


This is the story about a ring, well, two rings that were meant for me but I didn't even know that they existed....all I had to do was be receptive...and in the presence of my father and hold out my hand and receive what he was giving to me...it was his choice to give it to me....and then I was so very thankful....we have gifts for us that our Father wants to give to us....it is by grace that we get them..the key is being in His presence and receiving what He is so willing to give to us..

I think of my Grandmother often...I think I am a lot like her....I can sometimes sense her smiling at me..and can still remember like it was yesterday..driving over to her house and going in to see her...all by myself......

The impact she had on me is far reaching...she didn't really care about following the crowd..she was an original..

Bloom Where you Are Planted..

The daylily watch is really beginning....  I am just in love with these flowers.  it speaks to me of my heritage and my destiny.  I stood by both of my grandmothers and looked at these flowers..I  stood by both of my parents and looked at them also...now I stand by all  of my children and look at these flowers, Betsy and Jon...now I am going to stand by my grandsons this year and look at them.....I am the third generation of flower growers so far. and there are 2 more after me..  I am sure the women before my Grandmothers loved flowers too.  it is just in my blood (line)..and I intend to pass it on...my son Jon is already proving to be quite the gardener..I am so happy to see him enjoying it......he is really talented...and my daughter's sons and husband are gardeners for sure...wow..there really is something to this bloodline thing...my goal is passing on the good and getting rid of the bad....kinda like cultivating the flowers and pulling up the weeds..

Enjoy with me this morning's pictures...get out and find some flowers to look at up close..they are just beautiful..

my brother gave this to me, so it is 'my Dana' when I look at it.

even Maggie and Bo like them

Mi

looking for rain

beginning of a dream of a patio surrounded by gardenias

Mama's seedling

anticipating open lilies

Miss Huff's first blooms

Thank you for looking at the daylilies with me this morning....I never get tired of the beauty of flowers and sharing them with you....wonder if I can find some more dirt to make another flowerbed in........until next time..

Seriously potting

I have come to the conclusion that I have some serious potting issues...LOL   I planted over a hundred seeds this week, including about 10 varieties of tomatoes.. and then made  a make shift greenhouse so they could stay outside and the dogs and squirrels wouldn't dig in them..and they would germinate quickly.....you could say I can get creative when the need arises.

 All of these plants need to go in the ground....

 Here is a sneak peek behind the curtain...

 and this is why I do it all....the end result after many years is a FULL rose bush....

this area was red clay and weeds  about 5 years ago....so proud of my Japanese maple from Ram Gibberson's garden...and the oakleaf hydrangea from my Daddy... and the aspidistra from my Grandmother Lewis garden...I guess you could call this a friendship garden..oh, yes the mint is from Miss Everlyn Collier's garden..and the irises from Nancy..anybody have something they want to contribute?  LOL  and irises from Mamama's..and the rosemary from Inge's.....and daylilies from Mama...all in this one bed..

this gardening passion of mine runs deep..I can't imagine life without doing it...I think it is a big part of my calling in life...plant flowers and beautify the earth... it's all I have ever known..no matter where I have lived, there is some dirt that can be dug and planted...

thank you for visiting my garden this morning....and reading my words..it means a lot to me...

Time goes fast

There are many faces to the best decision I ever made..sometimes it takes a lot of years to gain some wisdom for life choices..When I was in my 40's I came to realize just that....these were my choices and I had the responsibility to make good and wise ones...No one else to blame but myself....I guess you can call that freedom to choose....

Godly man

Looking back, I made a very good choice.to marry this man....and I have never regretted it...seeing the joy on his face just reaffirms that we are good for one another...

Poppy

Fourteen years ago we were in the midst of planning our elopement. it was Top Secret..only my children knew what we were up to..this week we celebrate the day that changed my life for the better...

Grandfather

Who knew that just a few short years and we would have 3 grandsons and 5 dogs...from empty to abundant...that is our story..and I will share more for the next few posts...

Father

What a difference..when we first married, my daughter used to call Bryan 'Happy' as a nickname because he was so unsmiling and serious about everything...

Husband

This pretty much sums up our personalities...as you can see, I am the serious one.

Thank you for reading along with me as we enter into this memorable time for me us....

Not the right place

Sometimes we find ourselves in just the wrong place.  No amount of juggling or fixing or rationalizing will 'fix it'...it is simply the WRONG PLACE.....


One of my most favorite verses in the whole Bible talks about this....
And He made from one [common origin, one source, one blood] all nations of men to settle on the face of the earth, having definitely determined [their] allotted periods of time and the fixed boundaries of their habitation (their settlements, lands, and abodes),  Acts 17:26

This beautiful cedar tree near our ponds was in just that situation.  there was nothing wrong with the tree..in fact, the more I pondered cutting it down, the more beautiful it became...like it was trying it's best to talk me out of what I had decided to do...BUT  it had been planted in the WRONG PLACE....by the former home owners..so it was not my choice either....and it had become the perfect place for a little grandson of mine to hide behind so he could throw sticks and rocks into the pond...well, boys will be boys.  LOL  so the time had come......CUT it down...

so what does that verse have to do with anything??

I believe there is a certain place where we are to be that will be the most benefit for us and our destiny..if we are in that place, then all the things of our life kinda take care of themselves...one example is our workplace.....
..I NEVER in a million years EVER thought I would go to work in a poultry plant...YUK!!  YUK!!! YUK!!!!!

But

God had different plans than I did....it was the right place for me to be at that time...and several months later I met and married the most wonderful man imaginable....a sure benefit for being in that place that had been chosen for me to be...if I had been in a different place, there is a chance my destiny would have not been fulfilled or at least short circuited for a time.....this is just one example but I could give you many, many.....
.
As you can see, this tree is a real standout..it did nothing wrong here...but I am the Master Gardener in this garden and it is MY CHOICE whether it stays or goes.....do you hear me?  not whether it did a good job or not...????
I know the big picture for this garden and it was simply in the WRONG PLACE.  so we cut it down this weekend...there is only a stump where it use to stand..the roots are probably pretty deep so it will take a bit of digging to make it completely let go and move on...

cedar in wrong place

But the BENEFIT...here is the view that was opened up.....

only a stump

I have never been able to see this view of the ponds...it was blocked by the tree....with the tree out of the way, I am once again in love with the ponds..they are easily seen from all over the yard....I have lots of plans for freshening up this area and the FIRST thing that had to be done was to cut down the tree...

a brand new view

My hope is that you can glean a few life lessons from this tree story...there is a fixed place we are to live this life that we have been alloted....wouldn't it be absolutely wonderful if EVERYONE, or at least a good portion of the people would search for and find the place that has been chosen for them ?  and then to do whatever it takes to get there??  I think that a lot of people would be so much more content if they would do that....life would go better for them...simply ask and He will direct your paths...I did and I KNOW I live in the place that was chosen for me...the house, the town, the county, the state.....even the road I live on...  this is my place in this world..just dare to ponder and ask about this......there is no place like home...the right one, that is....this life we live is not a haphazard thing..we have a purpose and where we live is an integral part of that purpose....

Well, we now have a new view just because we removed something that was blocking it..that was not in it's proper place and it is a good thing......

thank you for reading along with me this morning....