Welcome to my website!
This site reflects little bursts of inspiration and thought - through writing and photography. I like to credit anything that blesses you as simply God flowing through me...and anything that doesn't...well, that would just be my mere thinking out loud! :)
May there be more of God's inspiration than Kim's thoughts...and may you be greatly encouraged and blessed as you browse through this collection of offerings!
Feel free to scroll through the above mini-gallery by placing mouse on the arrows. (Note: Some devices do not show or allow this option. Also, some devices such as I-Phones show blog pics separated differently than you will view them on a PC. I have yet to figure out why, but then my humble technology accomplishments are doing well to even have a blog!) Check out the gallery of photos if you like color and photography. At the bottom/left of each page is a small arrow to view previous posts. There are many.
Before you get to all that, click below. Take a breath. Enjoy!!
Song by Eva Cassidy
Photos, well, by me!
Heavenly color
Every Spring, these beauties stop me in my tracks. When people say they don't believe there is a God, I can only look at them with a thousand question marks floating through my head, wondering if they have seen the tulips! In my mind these alone tell me there were no accidents involved here. The very brush strokes of the Master Artist are clear. The color? Brilliant and bright. Some are more fragrant than others, but each is a display of the handiwork of an amazing Creator. What are the chances that every Spring these flaming blossoms never fail to work their way out of the cool earth and turn their heads upward as if to say, "Join us as we give praise to the One from whence comes all that is glorious."
Grand babies
Above: Asa - now almost 3. Below, Nova - now 9 months old.
Oh how our hearts want them to stay
Sweet, near and sheltered all of their days
Oh how we wish for blessings around
Their every breath, movement and sound
And oh how those faces make us believe
That miracles happen in ways we can see
Oh how my breath just wants to pause
As I am mesmerized, simply in awe
Lord, will You keep them and hold them when I
Cannot reach far enough, though I desire
To always be holding my arms open wide
Giving them love and a place they can hide
May my attempts to not let them go
Be shadowed by mercy and grace from Your throne
These two. Joy - no matter what the world throws my way. There is surely a reason they are called GRAND babies.
Peace
I remember in the late 60's (yeah, I'm that old) as war in Vietnam had raged and the hippie movement continued to have its influences, we heard the word "peace" a lot. A two finger gesture was common as was the rebellion against the rebellions going on in the world. Instability makes us long for stability. War makes us long for peace. Hurt and heartache makes us long for comfort and happiness. In its absence, the good in life suddenly becomes more appreciated and even glorified in our wants and desires for it.
Going to a funeral today. My grandma Rouse. There will be a lot of pleasant memories to contemplate and some very missed faces reunited. I already wish we could all go back and laugh with those dear departed ones again. In the meantime, perhaps those stories and remembrances will bring peace, amidst the pain of loss. A lesson I keep learning: Linger when there is good...that will be our peace when times are difficult. Peace.
Grandest of parents!
Grandmas and babies. Doesn't get much better! I realize more as time races ahead, just how important the hours with grand parents are. I have just this week lost my last surviving grandmother. It's both sad and odd to suddenly realize that an entire generation before me is no longer with us. At one time I had at least a dozen grandparents and great grandparents on both sides of my family. I was indeed blessed to have influence, wisdom and great stories from these wonderful people with rich history from a time gone by that I could only imagine. The days before cars, indoor plumbing, electricity, gas stoves and telephones! I had the interesting privilege of watching some of those things develop and infiltrate my life while some of these very grandparents never really adjusted! They felt about micro-wave ovens then much like I do with computers now! But the joy, love and information these folks gifted me with far outweighs any technology differences or generation gaps. These grand-dads who were hard workers, miners, farmers, carrying their lunch pails to the job each early morning, and grand-moms who plucked the chickens, gathered the eggs and canned the green beans had much to offer. The babies they held and comforted....the warmth of their arms and home-cooked goodies continues to soothe this mind that is frequently challenged by today's fast-paced intelligence and competition. I pray that I might be remembered in a similar way to my own grand children. I pray that they will find the same comforts, warmth and laughter that encouraged me and brought me stability to get through the toughest parts of life. I also pray that they might remember the simple times of snuggles and play that will go with them through their own years of growth and challenge - enough to pass on to their following generations. Lord, give me abundant strength and love that reflects You to my blessed grand children and may they grow up to see You as the ultimate Source from whom all those blessings flow!
Six grandparents from my dad's side, my dad and me when I was only a few months old.
My mom, dad, sister, brother, dad's mother and her mother on the far left. I was about 12 or 13 I believe and this was an event at my mom's parents' house, who are not pictured, but were most likely in the kitchen and entertaining a house and/or yard-full of relatives, neighbors and friends!
The golden hour....
There is a magical time on some dusk evenings when the sun decides to throw a golden light upon the earth. It is as if a stage is readied and an invisible curtain rises to meet the bluest of skies while revealing a secret glow that only God can use to paint and create exquisite masterpieces. Such was tonight, and then the golden ball rested, snuggled between layers of puffy jade clouds. Some moments are meant to be savored...
A thank you rose
Another thank you for my blog visitors today. I've done a lot of writing lately, it seems, and happy to see that I've had company! What a pleasure to know others sometimes enjoy something that is so easy for me to share! There are days or weeks when I feel like Forrest Gump and simply keep run-nang! Then there are days when the spring goes dry and my footprints disappear! Thanks for looking - even when there are no tracks! I will keep coming back as long as the stream is running! It will be a busy week here. A funeral and a wedding all in one week! And...I am working quite a lot these days. But it will only create more blog material, right? Thanks everyone. I am very humbled! Have a rose!
Grandma Rouse
Memories are running through my mind like a rushing mountain stream! We lost my grandma Rouse this March day. It doesn't surprise me that she left this earth in the spring. Grandma loved flowers and spring was when the farm came to life. It was garden time, baby chick time...and the celebration of Easter. Oh the gatherings at Easter! Grandpa's big egg hunt debut each year. Hundreds of eggs spread out all over the field behind their house - and scores of aunts, uncles, cousins and friends there to share lunch and the outdoors at their place. There was food....and more food! And of course everyone emptied their pockets to put coins into plastic eggs as well as bring their offerings of multi-colored dyed eggs. The hunt time was counted down and Grandpa alone opened the gate to the field with kids roaring to run after the prizes! All took their bags, baskets and boxes and slowly brought back the loot! There were prizes for the most found and of course everyone ate eggs! I can remember one particular time when the boys were cracking those eggs on their heads for fun before eating them. One particular time, one of those "boiled" eggs was not boiled and some lucky little feller got a runny egg face to the delight of the others watching the hilarity! Even if it was raining, that egg hunt seemed to happen!
The barn was the choice place for most of the kids to be, though often when too many were there, it became off limits. When we didn't have a red flag, many hours were spent in the hay loft, playing hide n seek and simply doing what tow heads do! The house had a sloping room on both sides in the back - perfect for the ball games we loved to play. All the cousins would divide up into two teams....one on each side of the house. The opposing team would throw the ball over the roof and if we caught it we would race to tag those on the other team before they could run to safety on the other side. Occasionally the ball would get caught behind the chimney flu and we'd have to get an adult or older kid to rescue it! Hours of fun while grandma was in the kitchen and grandpa kept a stash of "monkey blood" or Methyolate (technical term) for an occasional skinned knee or elbow. Grandpa had a way of enjoying kids....I suspect it was because he had quite a big one inside himself!
I could tell stories about the men reclining in those metal scalloped chairs leaving indents in the ground after all their tall tales, fishing stories and adventures. The laughter would rise and fall as a part of the rhythm of that place and the world around it. I could also tell about the infamous outhouse that stood until around the 1970's sometime and how the cold winters and hot summers didn't offer time to stick around in there! It was all about getting business done and back to the important events of the day! I could list other memories such as grandpa's pet raccoon, Pete, hog stories, chicken tales and even one of my attempting to pluck a tail feather from a very large turkey. (That did not end so pretty as the turkey was not having it and the flogging I got taught me a new respect for those birds!)
There were horse stories, snake stories, mice in corn barrels whose end came when grandma conveniently dropped the barn cat inside and shut the lid! The most agonizing memory was when grandpa, dad and others had killed a hog to butcher and it was hanging on a post or tree. There was a big metal wash tub that the entrails were being dropped in as they went. I was wide-eyed and learning much when to my horror, I accidentally backed too close to the wash tub and fell in, plopping right down on warm, slimy pig guts. My surprised look got the attention of the men and as they rescued me from the steamy hog parts-and my own shock, there were endless chuckles and comments that continue today! That was an event none of us will forget - especially me!
...And yet...so many memories. So much the fabric of me. Such precious folks. A full, rich generation gone by...Till we meet again, grandma!
