CELEBRATION!

Celebrating Ann Martin's 1st birthday in heaven! 

A time to remember our true friend who would have been 94 today!

She loved breakfast at Perkins so we met there to pray and remember.

Trips together. Meals together. Swimming together. Singing old hymns together. Laughs together. 

• Awakening to Shirley's buttery biscuits at Blackberry, riding in the golf cart w/ her doggie Abbey, treated to Judy's crepes w/ fresh fruit & real whipped cream, rocking in the chairs with Farmer John at the Barn, campfire s'mores, 4th of July lunching on the grounds & listening to Luke Bryan's Spring Break live concert from our lawn chairs. 
• Her top level cooking from Etheline's coconut cake, her Brad's, birthday pumpkin roll and her roasted red pepper soup. Who takes time to roast peppers anymore? Lunching with her sweet Marika when she was in town.....from Napa Cafe to good ole Elmo's.
• Swimming together at the Q for years, sometimes at the office and once even breaking in to Rawl and Julie's for a dip.....by scaling the gate!
• When she had trouble speaking we could hum a familiar old hymn and she would start singing.. In the Garden, Old Rugged Cross, Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus and Jesus Love Me.
• Many laughs included Mike & Larry being her boyfriends. Others are censored (per request by friends) but often dealt with food and weight and back to food....while interspersed with bodily function jokes.

Ann was a friend who gave wise counsel; Her life as a friend is clearly reflected in these verses.

A true friend sticks by you like family. (Proverbs 18:24)

Sweet friendships refresh the soul and awaken our hearts with joy! (Proverbs 27:9)

Thanks for the memories, sweet, Ann; You certainly refreshed my heart with joy even during my darkest of days!

Gift Extraordinaire!

I have known my sweet friend Lilly longer than I have known my husband. Our friendship has spanned 50 years. In the early years we worked together.  She and her husband Fred signed for me to purchase a mattress "on time"----at $10 a month, I think. She (Fred's name was also on the invite) orchestrated a couple's bridal shower for hubby and me and both their girls were rice girls in our wedding. And.....the family introduced us to Deep Creek, even providing the tubes for tubing. It is #1 on list of favorite vacations by our family.
We've always stayed in touch. We share a love for "greens" and "Should Taste Good" multigrain chip/crackers. In more recent times, we've taken our "grands" to Deep Creek hauling the surviving 2 tubes and renting the rest. Our grandboys loved it too!

I've sat with Lilly when her husband was at the ER and later hospitialized. I even spoke at his funeral. I've visited her at several hospitals, in rehab, in two different nursing homes and most recently at her daughter's home.

Through the years she has brought me Easter goodies, scrapbook papers and handmade gifts---her paper-cutting skills are exceptional. She also made a special effort to come to "support" me when I spoke in church or at "He Cares." On two occasions when illness prevented her attendance, she allowed me to come ahead of time and "practice my speech" on her. Her approval always counts.

She has never lost her love for the Lord or her smile. He's the reason she keeps on smiling! Even her need for a walker hasn't overwhelmed her.

Today Lilly and her equally creative daughter, Melody, dropped by for a visit----what a treat!!!
At some point, Lilly must have put a "bug" in daughter Melody's ear that I had often admired her quilt creations. Which I had!!!

Voilà---here it is----"Sunday Drive," just for me. 
I love the stained glass window pattern! I love my lap quilt!  I love Lilly! I love Melody! I love Rachel! With Lilly it's a package deal!

How wise I was back in my college days to "listen" to Lilly and allow her to guide me. (Proverbs 13:20) 
I now attend the church which she has always attended and I thought was a little "weird" when she told me they didn't pass an offering plate.

Lilly has always been a kind, loving friend and now her daughters walk in her footsteps. (Proverbs 12:26 & Ephesians 4:32)

What a blessing!!

Relationships and a quilt--a gift that keeps on giving is truly a gift extraordinaire.