~ Love Makes The Day Memorable ... ~

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, my precious sweet friend. Judy is now a '40T' ... chuckle!! She has graduated from the As, Bs, Cs, Ds ...... Henry, her DH had a surprise dinner for her on Sunday, altho today is her bday ... she was so surprised that she shed 'happy tears' ... not often we can get one over on her, tho. I fell in love with this personal 'grand kid-lings' gift creation ... memories to hold closely forever.

Thank you for our wonderful moments together ... not a bad pics of us either for two old chicks! I love you ..........
~~~~~
Prayer request ~
***Please read yesterday's post & continue to lift our friends in prayer in their loss. You are very loved.
***Please lift our friends Jackie & mark also at this time ... Amy in her journey ... & all those we know not of, but need remembered today.
***Harold's brother is doing very nicely now, a little further in procedures to go but the worst has been removed.

~ Prayers For My Friend, Please ... & Beautiful Christian Thoughts ~

Ladies ~ ... today I ask you to pray for my loved friend, who has had a very sad & unexpected loss in her life that leaves hearts so very heavy.

Dear Lord, we ask you to receive this precious soul to be with you forever ... hold this soul in your arms of love. Bless & lift this family. Amen!
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
BEAUTIFUL CHRISTIAN SISTER
'A woman's heart should be so hidden in Christ
That a man should have to seek Him first to find her.'
When I say..... 'I am a Christian' I'm not shouting 'I'm clean living;'
I'm whispering 'I was lost, Now I'm found and forgiven.'

When I say.... 'I am a Christian' I don't speak of this with pride.
I'm confessing that I stumble and need Christ to be my guide.

When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not trying to be strong.
I'm professing that I'm weak and need His strength to carry on.

When I say.. 'I am a Christian' I'm not bragging of success.
I'm admitting I have failed and need God to clean my mess..

When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not claiming to be perfect,
my flaws are far too visible, but God believes I am worth it.

When I say... 'I am a Christian' I still feel the sting of pain...
I have my share of heartaches, so I call upon His name.

When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not holier than thou;
I'm just a simple sinner who received God's good grace, somehow!

Pretty is as pretty does... But beautiful is just plain beautiful!

By Maya Angelou
(TY Marg for sharing)

~ The Hubby's Away ... (Another 'Mini' Pearl Moment) ~

Oh, what fun I had playing with more hats ... hear ye! hear ye! DH is away & I have the checkbook ... chuckle! Just joking honey!, love ya!

This link below is a wonderful way to start your day ... turn up your speakers & enjoy the beauty ...
http://www.greatdanepromilitary.com/Colors/index.htm

My wish for you today is to play & enjoy today ... we have been blessed with life, seize the moments.

~ Love of Heirlooms ~

Thank you Marie for Heirloom Friday @ Emma Calls Me Momma.

Harvey Russell Ford (1908 - 1996), Harold's father, was a farmer before he moved his young family from Kingfisher, OK in l938 driving his Model A Ford. They packed up what belongings they could fit in the car, propped up their tiny son (Gayle) in the back seat ... & off they went to WA ST to escape the Dust Bowl. Pa farmed for a bit in Adna, WA before moving into the outskirts of town (Chehalis, WA) where he worked for a trucking delivery company briefly. He also barbered to supplement the family income. Pa had 1/2 cousins that 'encouraged him life would be better in WA ST' tho a couple years before Pa passed he refelcted 'that if I knew then what I know now, I'd never have given up the ranch (in OK) & left'.

The first picture is of Pa's own shaving mug, the soap (hard as a tack) is still in it, & his shaving brush.

The second picture is a cup that belonged to Pa's Father, William Harvey Ford (1844 - 1913). The only thing Pa had to treasure was this cup, which he gave to us, which is as precious as gold to us. W.H. had 3 sons from at least one marriage prior to marrying Pa's Mother, Eliza Jane Sherrod Hicks. W.R. was a farmer & well driller in TX. We are not sure when he moved to OK but prob 1904/6 because he married Eliza in 1906. W.R. & Eliza had 3 sons, Pa was first, David was b. 1910/d.1944 & 'Lee' b. 1912/d.1913. Pa was the sole remaining son of W.R. & Eliza, being a mere 4 years old when his Father died, with a near-to-none memory of his Father.

The third picture is of Harvey Russell & Naomi Hollis Underwood Ford's wedding picture somewhere in OK. Ma Ford recounted how they were 'chivalried all night' on their wedding night. It is the only known wedding picture.

The fourth picture is of his brother David Clark Ford, (mentioned in the above paragraphs) in his military uniform. He had one son, Sean, who died as a baby. We have one other picture of David on his favorite horse, Babe. We have only 3 pictures of him, so they are held close to our hearts.

The last picture is a Civil War picture of one of DHs relatives that we still cannot determine 'who' he is. Civil War pictures are to be treasured ... my husband, Harold, is a semi-expert on Civil War history so this is truly a precious picture to him, because of the family connection. It is priceless.

I have shown you before the walking cane of DHs maternal grandfather that served with General Lee at the surrender of Appamatox, as his minister.

~ Look What Bren Found For ME!!! ... FEEDSACKS ~

Today's arrivals ~ YIPPEE!!

Little did Bren know when she went on vacation & took pics to post on her blog of her antique shops visits, that she did me a HUGE favor!!

I was on the ceiling when I saw this cupboard FULL OF FEEDSACKS staring me directly from the screen ... Ack! Where was she, I've got to get her to REMEMBER!, OMG! did she not know I collect these 'beauties'!?

I wrote Bren & she did remember & gave me the info ... TG for memories!! & sharing!!

Well, these are those gorgeous feedsack fabrics that were in her pics ... I am so excited & happy ... all 200 were exquisite & in excellent condition.

From the bottom of my HEART, Bren ... THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!! Warm hugs of gratitude, Me

~ Oh Give Me A Home. Where The ........ ~

Buffalo roam ... This is a gigantic buffalo farm just over the PA stateline. It is so cute to see those little ones (not so little when born) roaming amongst these gigantic relatives.

Yesterday I mentioned we were 'killing time' for an antique shop to open ... this is a continuation of that beautiful peaceful countryside Sunday drive to pick up feedsacks in Shrewsbury.

Should you ever come to PA you need to visit Shrewsbury, PA. The old buildings on the main street are beautiful old structures, now shops. Our favorite is Debbie's shop, Serendipity Antiques on the main street 4-corners. You can view the sdiewalk sale Debbie was having when we were there ... oh, the things that you may find when Debbie has this sale. A couple of the items we found will be used for a giveaway soon. There is another large antique mall, also, as well as many little shops. It is great fun to look/find that special 'something' or just browse the treasures.

HISTORY ~ This township was formed in 1804. It is named for Shrewsbury Township, New Jersey. Some of the first settlers, The Little & Bennett families, migrated to Lycoming County from New Jersey & wanted their new home to have the same name as their old home. Peter Corson, also from New Jersey was one of the first settlers to establish a home in the area & he was quite successful. Corson & his wife had 5 sons & 3 daughters & within less than 100 years they had descendants that were numbered by the hundred.

In the late 1800s, Highland Lake, in the northern part of Shrewsbury Township was popular summer vacation destination. There were three large hotels on the lake as well as several summer cottages. The cottage holders included Pennsylvanians from as far away as Philadelphia which is approximately 100 mi (160 km) southwest of Shrewsbury Township.

Industry and farming are & always have been very limited in Shrewsbury Township. It is a very mountainous area. The population as of the 2000 census has declined to 433 residents from 570 at the census of 1890.

~ Meandering down PA Country Roads ... Memories ~

We were out just meandering thru the countryside trying to 'kill' an hour for an antique shop to open when we came upon a wonderful scene ... Daddy & children harvesting the corn stalks. The Father gave us permission to take their pictures, which usually they do not. The children are 10, 8 & 5 ... the 2 sisters were at home. The farm is the pic directly under the chidlren. These farms in PA are spotlessly kept.

Pic #5 on down are just pretty countryside for you to enjoy. And, yes, they still have outhouses in PA, WV is not holding exclusivity ... chuckle.

I remember as a child we would occasionally as a child, ride a train (before we owned a car) out to the middle of nowhere to visit our cousins in WA ST. The engineer would stop in the middle of the tracks (not a station) & let us off into the 'wilderness' ... we walked a good distance thru woodsey areas to their home. I did not! enjoy this one bit.

Our cousins lived in a 2-room home & had an outhouse for 'pleasure'. The very first time we used that smelly 'pleasure' I can remember we were all so grossed out about this primitive 2-hole facility. I also recall asking my cousin to pass the 'tissue' & she handed me pages from the catalog (they had both Sears & Montgomery Wards so I guess you could decide which would be more fun to 'pick a page' & to use). I was aghast! WHAT NO TISSUE!!, oh how yucky!! I remember Mother kind of chuckling when I told her. They had a well pump to haul water ... NO indoor plumbing ... a huge tub to bathe in (NO WAY!! would I do that!!) ... they had 2 beds which the 6 of them shared.

It is amazing how a small child can be so impacted by the way others lived ... I can remember having dreams after our visit the first time that I would live in a big house & have lots of 'tissue' ... chuckle!

I reflect now on how happy they all were. They made imaginary play houses amongst the trees using branches, boards or whatever they could find to make 'wall' partitions on the ground ... w/ open spaces as the doorways. Their imaginations were wonderful. They created their furniture out of every imaginable piece of wood/branches/twigs/boxes they could find. We had a tea party out there, played for hours & actually had a grand time with them. They were happy.

Life isn't about having ... it is making due with what you have, appreciating it & being grateful the good Lord has given you this beautiful country to live in, because you are so blessed.
~~~
***New blogger ~ My friend Gail is on her 3rd day of blogging. Please pop over & say 'hi', you'll LOVE her creations. shabbycottageshoppe.blogspot.com

***CONGRATS! ... Rebecca @ gatheryeroses.blogspot.com is going to be a Nana!

~ Welcome Gail to Blogland ~

You will love Gail's beautiful creations of lighting, clocks & much more. Please welcome Gail's new blog of yesterday. Let her know that I sent you. You can view in the past 3 weeks our tour of her home & studio & creations also. She is a beautiful & talented lady.

shabbycottageshoppe.blogspot.com

****TWO posts today, please read the one below this ... it is powerful!

~ What Is The Purpose of Life ~

(TY Ann for sharing this piece ... it is wonderful!)
You will enjoy the new insights that Rick Warren has, with his wife now having cancer and him having 'wealth' from the book sales. This is an absolutely incredible short interview with Rick Warren,'Purpose Driven Life ' author and pastor of Saddleback Church in California.
In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said:
People ask me, What is the purpose of life?
And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were not made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven.
One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- but not the end of me.
I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity..
We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.
Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one.
The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort; God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.
We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.
This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer.
I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore.
Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life.
No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on.
And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for.
You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems:
If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness, which is my problem, my issues, my pain.' But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.
We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her- It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.
You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life.
Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy.
It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease.
So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72.
First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit.. We made no major purchases.
Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church.
Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation.
Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free.
We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity?
Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?
When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do.
That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.

Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.
Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.
Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.
Painful moments, TRUST GOD.
Every moment, THANK GOD..

~ Burnt Toast ~

~ Embracing Imperfection ~
(This writing is shared by Ann, a wonderful writer friend of mine.)

When I was a little girl, my mom liked to make breakfast food for dinner every now & then. And I remember one night in particular when she made breakfast after a long, hard day at work. On that evening so long ago, my mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage & extremely burned toast in front of my dad. I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed! Yet all my dad did was reach for his toast, smile at my mom & ask me how my day was at school. I don't remember what I told him that night, but I do remember watching him smear butter & jelly on that toast & eat every bite!

When I got up from the table that evening, I remember hearing my mom apologize to my dad for burning the toast. And I'll never forget what he said:"Baby, I love burned toast."

Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy goodnight & I asked him if he really liked his toast burned. He wrapped me in his arms & said, "Your Momma put in a hard day at work today & she's real tired. And besides - a little burnt toast never hurt anyone!"

You know, life is full of imperfect things ... & imperfect people. I'm not the best housekeeper or cook. What I've learned over the years is that learning to accept each other's faults - & choosing to celebrate each other's differences - is one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, & lasting relationship.

And that's my prayer for you today. That you will learn to take the good, the bad, & the ugly parts of your life & lay them at the feet of God. Because in the end, He's the only One who will be able to give you a relationship where burnt toast isn't a deal-breaker! We could extend this to any relationship in fact - as understanding is the base of any relationship, be it a husband-wife or parent-child or friendship!

"Don't put the key to your happiness in someone else's pocket - keep it in your own."

~~~

NOTE ~ Please visit our new blogger lady ~ shabbycottageshoppe.blogspot.com

~ Growing Up Is Hard To Do.... ~

Are your toes tapping, your fingers snapping? Let's take a stroll ... (remember the stroll......)

Someone asked the other day, 'What was your favorite fast food when you were growing up?'
'We didn't have fast food when I was growing up,' I informed him. 'All the food was slow cooked.'

'C'mon, seriously. Where did you eat?'
'It was a place called 'at home,'' I explained! 'Mom cooked every day & when Dad got home from work, we sat down together at the dining room table, & if I didn't like what she put on my plate I was allowed to sit there until I did like it.'

By this time, the kid was laughing so hard I was afraid he was going to suffer serious internal damage, so I didn't tell him the part about how I had to have permission to leave the table.
But here are some other things I would have told him about my childhood if I figured his system could have handled it.

Some parents NEVER owned their own house, wore Levis , set foot on a golf course, travelled out of the country or had a credit card. (I remember the furor of our parents over the 'invention' of credit cards & the fear of them, swearing never to have one).

My parents never drove me to school. I had a bicycle that weighed probably 50 pounds, & only had one speed, (slow), or we walked everywhere.

***(Important paragraph) We didn't have a television in our house until I was 14. It was, of course, black & white, & the station went off the air at midnight, after playing the NATIONAL ANTHEM & a poem about GOD; it came back on the air at about 6 a..m. & there was usually a locally produced news & farm show on, featuring local people. (TV test patterns came on TV after the last show, staying on all night until TV started in the morning. We only had a couple of channels to view.)

Before television we gathered around the radio to hear Lassie & The Lone Ranger & The Shadow Knows, etc.

I never had a telephone in my room.The only phone was on a party line. Before you could dial, you had to listen & make sure some people you didn't know weren't already using the line.

Pizzas were not even heard of. Milk was delivered to our door & in the winter the cream would pop up out of the bottle top.

All newspapers were delivered by boys & all boys delivered newspapers --my brother delivered a newspaper, six days a week. He had to get up at 6AM every morning.

Movie stars kissed with their mouths shut. At least, they did in the movies. There were no movie ratings because all movies were responsibly produced for everyone to enjoy viewing, without profanity or violence or most anything offensive.

Remember how we thought we were so cool 'smoking' those candy cigarettes.

The restaurants had tableside jukeboxes. Remember those old glass soda bottles that had a stopper with holes punched in it, used as a clothes sprinkler.

Remember hand signals used in driving our cars, as automatic signals weren't invented yet?

How we kids used to pick strawberries & raspberries all day in that hot sun in the summer to earn money.

A fun day was running through the sprinkler hose to stay cool in the summer. The hours of playing cards, jacks, hop scotch, kick the can ...

Growing up just isn't what it used to be, is it?

What a fun conversation of yesteryear ... TY Marg, it was fun sharing memories.

NOTE ~ Visit our new blogger lady ~ she just started tonight. shabbycottageshoppe.blogspot.com

~ Crossing the Potomac River ... In Commemoration Of Our History~

White's Ford Crossing celebration takes place annually on the last Saturday of August. The purpose is for Southern Heritage organizations to gather & commemorate General Lee's Army of Northern Virginia's (ANV) 1862 crossing into Maryland during the Sharpsburg Campaign.

(These people come to walk across the Potomac River for a fun day. They have a huge barbecue for the hundreds of people to attend & other events during the day. My DH is in the bottom two pics in ithe red shirt & red cap).

Over a 3-day period, from Sept. 5 - 7, 1862, the bulk of the ANV's 55,000 soldiers crossed White's Ford to liberate Maryland from the Federal occupation forces and, hopefully, force an end to the conflict. On the first day General 'Stonewall' Jackson's command crossed & moved northeast to Buckeystown. Later that day General Stuart crossed his cavalry & maneuvered towards Poolesville as the screen to the Army's right flank. The next day General Longstreet crossed his command. The third day General 'Sandy' Pendleton's artillery reserve crossed. The ford was used before & after by numerous Confederate forces of varying sizes during the course of the war.

Some of the organizations involved in this event are the Sons of Confederate Veterans, United Daughters of the confederacy & The Military Order of the Stars And Bars.

~ In Honor Remember Them ... & Our Great Land ~

A silent memorial in honor remembering those we lost or were injured on 9/11/09 ... & of this beautiful land.

These pictures are a meandering thru PA countryside.

( **NOTE: For some reason today my earlier post link didn't work & I removed it. I apologize for any confusion.)