Jergens Lotion, Old Spice, and White Lilac.... home!

I went into the drugstore recently and you'll never guess what I found...

Jergens Original Scent lotion!!

Do you remember it?

I remember the old black and white teardrop shaped bottle that sat on my mother's bathroom cabinet for all my childhood days.

Along with it sat two other bottles...

Dorothy Gray, White Lilac Cologne,

and the NEVER changing creamy white funnel shaped bottle with the

red sailing ship on the label.... Old Spice.

It was the fragrance that smelled like my Dad...

I think it was one of the many things that told me despite his dangerous appearance,

Troy would be a safe harbor for me.

He too wore Old Spice.. foregoing the more popular Aramis, Brut, or English Leather

("all my men wear English Leather.... " you remember the slogans)....

but Troy... wore Old Spice...

like my Dad had since before I could remember.

Some things just tweak that part of our brain that

combines the senses into places of remembrance.

The smells feel like home to me.... lilacs and spice...

and then the soothing cherry almond smell of Jergens lotion.

I always thought my mom's hands looked like those long delicate ones with the pretty red fingernails that advertised the lotion she wore.

She could have been that lady in my little girl eyes...

well, maybe she was for all I knew.

Isn't it funny how those things roll back into view with just the smell?

Well.... I bought 3 bottles and before I gave one to each of my daughters,

I said... "close your eyes and smell"

THAT is a piece of my childhood you just experienced.... take it home and enjoy!

The bottle looks different, but just pop open the lid (no it is not the old black pump top anymore) and you'll remember.......sometimes that's good for us!

You Better Recognize!! the Beginning of 33 years

The day began with "stuff to do" obviously!

Fields to be plowed, work to be done on the road or on the phone,

behind the wheel of a Case, or a little green John Deere... the grass and the dirt demand attention!... But what a day for that! then

Let the Lion roar!!!
School is in session and we "recognize"!
we pray, we corral and we laugh!
I love how God moves and let's us see...

calls us to order,

or calls us to our knees...

I love how God loves me through His people...

Happy Birthday Cody.... of course... it was never about you...

and the two words that stick in my head right now are these...

"I'm still here!"

"We ask....."

Do any of you feel the seasons? What is being said in your hearts? Isn't it an exciting time for us to be alive? May we know what it means to be truly ALIVE and how to live! amen

"I Will Change Your Name"

I'm excited about today! and

I've been thinking of some things (imagine that??? :)

one of them has to do with our NAMES.

What is your name?

What are you called?

School starts soon, and "names" are very important!

Often it will determine your seat assignment,

or your place in the lunch line.

It may determine your place in the entire list of your peers seated in an auditorium of classmates, or it may determine something else much more personal.

Our names can determine who we are to others, or how we see ourselves.

How does it feel when someone calls you by your ENTIRE name?

I know, as a child, it was evidence of my noncompliance with some preordained rule

I'd refused to acknowledge.

In school, it demanded immediate attention... or

it could be a source of shame when manipulated by the ones

who wanted my image adjusted to their own boxes.

There was a terrible hurricane in Texas about the time I was in grade school...

a time when I was trying to see myself in terms of the world,

not the safety of my family.

Friends jockeying for hard fought positions in the scholastic world decided

it would bring them superiority to rename their classmates.

I, got chosen to bear the name.... 'hurricane'

thinking back, it might well have been okay in some ways

(it DID sweep away all the debris and foundationally flawed leaving room for rebuilding...

I would consider that something good),

but at the time, it was devastating.

I KNEW what that hurricane did to people's lives and how

detrimentally it was spoken of by all.

I wanted NOTHING to do with that name.

And yet, it became a source of great fun to watch my reaction to the name.

As I thought of this, I considered my name (names) now....

I adore my grandmother name...

I cherish my name spoken by my sweet friends

as I hear their voices on the end of a long overdue phone call...

I love it when I get called the names given by those who love and see me...

it makes me become the one they see.

Today... as this new season, Fall, is upon me....

I am hoping for me and for each of you reading this....

names that make us who we are meant to be.

May each calling be one that increases the treasures within

so that we may reflect the Truth that resides in that

secret and sealed place of our hearts.

May we know we are good and created with purpose beyond the vision of the world.

Be blessed today... and bless someone else by calling out who they truly are.

Lord... give us all eyes to see.... a way to be that part of You Who called the things that were not as if they were... and they BECAME that which YOU called them. Amen

I will change your name
You shall no longer be called
Wounded,
outcast
Lonely or afraid
I will change your name
Your new name shall be Confidence,
joyfulness
Overcoming one
Faithfulness,
friend of God
One who seeks my face”
(DJ Butler, copyright 1987, Mercy Publishing)

Undeniable Protection of the Premises

We were sitting in Jasons at lunch today, and I saw Troy's eyes get really large... I turned to see what he saw, and there before us was a rather short, but round fellow in a shirt with the Under Armor logo on back. His back was to us and I kept watching my wonderful husband glance over every once in a while... so I asked him....

"what are you looking at?"

"do you see that guy in the black shirt?"
"Yes,"

"Well, it is the same shirt I have, and I am wondering what's on the front of it."

(he has one that says "Protect this house" and one that says "Undeniable")

hemmmmmmm, so I'm wondering why this is something of note....

silly non-athletic female that I am!!!

"Why?" I ask....seriously wondering!!!!

"Because.... I'm thinking.... if it has the same logo as mine...

there is a problem here...!"

again, with the serious query.... "why?"

It would seem that "protect this house" is a basket ball term relative to the

"in your face" sort of mentality about "nobody comes into MY house and messes it up"......

or something to that line of thinking.

(You must forgive my lack of recognition of these most important sorts of details... I merely thought the shirt was neat.... Dads/ Grandads protect the houses... so I got it... as well as one for both W and JC.... I really didn't know the implications beyond this!)

Maybe I should heed SJs mandate of late..

"YOU BETTA RECOGNIZE!!!!"

(so cute to hear this little 3 year old say it!)

anyway... so I'm watching this guy in old dingy white sweat pants, and this very stretched black UA shirt (like Troys, WD and JCs).......hoping that as he turns around what is there will still allow Troy to wear the shirt!

YEAH... a plain black front met our view!

I asked Troy what all this meant.... and he said...

"Carla... it is a wise man who knows that you don't put on a shirt that says "above the rim" (one of the other shirts I unwittingly purchased a few years earlier) when you need a step ladder to reach the rim... or don't put on a shirt that reads "undeniable" when it's "deniable" as you put it on... you just need to know the truth about your skills when you're our age."

*guess that explains why he doesn't wear them to the gym... always wondered that*

Yeah right.... like my wonderfully athletic husband who still loves the game enough to make it to the gym 3 mornings a week at 5:30 AM to play basketball with guys mostly half his age who call him the "old guy"......with a certain measure of respect I might add (yes, it is a wife's perspective and prerogative isn't it?).... heheheh... he may shoot me for writing this one... but oh well..... it was just a funny moment in the life of me and my forever young husband......

I sorta like him that way!

He was ever the humble player who let the other guys get the glory on the court with great passes he had delivered to them...

guess he still holds that to be a rule of his game even at 55.

I still love the way he plays the game!

Hackers are horrible!!!

Foul Fiends be gone!!!!

I must offer my sincerest apologies to anyone who visited my site a couple of days ago.

I have no idea how long the hackers had access to my music,

but MAN OH MAN... did they do a number on the LeeAnn Womack song

"I hope you Dance"....

what was played certainly had nothing to do with the dance that I wished for all of you who visit!

I'll just let one of my favorite folks express my feelings on the subject of

those who invade the spaces of others to the extent that mine was usurped!

Seriously, I was on one of your sites and this music was playing...

I thought it was you, then I discovered the foul deed!!! It was done to me!!!!

Forgive me for my inadvertent exposure to someone's sick joke!

Take that...... you foul mouthed fiend!!!!!

(I sound really tough huh? hehehe... those who know me know the truth!)

have a terrific day..... even if you might be THE one who did the deed!

a Rite of Passage... lunch at the Country Club

Occasionally there are traditions that choose themselves, at least it appears that way to me, and this is just one of those things. Since my oldest daughter's (the first of my parent's grandchildren) entrance and introduction to "society", it seems that the Country Club has been the place of choice for new mommies. Our youngest great-nephew is no exception. On Saturday, Aug. 9th, our little M.C. J. made his debut into life on earth, and today, his entrance to society was marked by the "traditional" CC meal with family.

It is always a bit of a circus when we "come to town", and now we have another "entertainer" to add to the cast. Although he slept peacefully in his seat... I'm thinking that the prints that surrounded the little guy may be precursors to the "wild side" that characterizes true adventurers in the LORD's army. We do know he will be that.
KG couldn't help but call my attention to fact that he was "holding onto her hand".... such hands! Another one with surprisingly long and agile hands, much like we said of our TRD! I remember the old wive's tales about long fingers on women as designations of great aplomb with the keyboards... wonder if there is one about little boys?
To finish these days (and they are weekly trip... literally!)... our sweet sweet helpers know the drill.... Ice cream with multi colored sprinkles for all the kids except TSC.... he gets whipped cream with sprinkles..... yes....he will eat the whole thing.
I was quite lucky to get this picture before the final round....
As I said... this was never planned to be a tradition, but I sorta like it that for the last 30 years our newborns get introduced at this warm and familiar place that has cared for and about our family for years! Thank you friends!

PS... I cannot close this post without saying how much we will miss "Misssss Mawgaweet" (Marguerite Greer) who took up residence with our Lord last Saturday. Her funeral today touched my heart, and I don't think I'll ever walk into the casual lounge without thinking of her dignified yet lilting English accent greeting us so warmly. Truly these are not just part of our "club" experience, they are part of our family!

Change of Plans, Mustang Island

We had reservations at our regular spot on the Port Isabel side of Padre Island... a place that we'd gone since I was in High School... a place that Troy and I had sponsored my sister's senior girl's trip, a place where we'd taken our high school youth group, a place where years and years we'd walked the beaches. We would not give up and think that Dolly had ruined our vacation.

But, she did! or at least that was what we thought as we scrambled to find other accommodations......but NOT to be found on that end of the island.....

so regroup!

the guys had gone on before and went IN PERSON to inspect places that might work for our ENTIRE crew!

They did it! what a neat place, what a wonderful vacation awaited us in the aftermath of a hurricane.....God had good things in store for us!

Beautiful sunrises began each day.....occasionally a little hand with a voice close behind would reach across the walls that divided our porches......such sweetness! I loved it! ( I know KG... "you can't love something that isn't alive!"... but I surely did cherish those moments)
even as we looked over our place and SJ found "squeaking ducks" in his room...

it was a good place there on Mustang Island!

Of course we started out with the Texas State Aquarium... TS just couldn't figure out the blowhole of the make believe whale at the entrance... he waited and waited... while we laughed and laughed!

we got up close and personal with sharks and other creatures that we hoped would be intimate friends behind the safety of glass!

MY OH MY!!! La Playa is the most amazing place for Mexican food we've EVER found! Sorry Jack.. we do plan to tell you some of our favorites so you guys can perhaps duplicate some of the better parts of the menu!

The Poppy hit his stride in teaching chess to a willing bunch of "students of strategy"... yes, I do think they got it... maybe even the 3 year olds... at least they understood the moves. Now TS was another thing altogether... he found the "pawns, queen and bishop" quite delectable, much to his mommy's chagrin!
This place felt like we had our own personal beach.... so beautiful......only about 1-3 feet for several yards into the waves... the kids LOVED it~~~ much safer than the beaches we've become accustomed to at PI.
Our youngest member became quite adept at her newly acquired mobility... so much so that she'd walk right into the waves by the time we left.
These two were the master builders and excavators of the coastline... not even the "sand castle lessons" guy could hold their interest as they spent endless hours building and digging.
The surf was another source of entertainment...

besides the wonderful waves, there were sand crabs (the ones in the ocean have gills... they DO NOT BELONG ON THE SHORE!!!), and sand dollars. Did you know they are purple when they are alive? So fragile, so lovely... so FUN!!! All the living creatures we found were left where God placed them......but now, you can bet all the shells driftwood and barnacles will be made into something quite creative by the ones who found them!

We met missionaries from Mexico who did balloon animals for donations
We spent lots of time in laps and in great conversation!
Em and KG did something they REALLY wanted to do, and (maybe Em will blog it???) then, God showed them something absolutely wonderful... the girl doing the henna was from Israel... spoke little English, but knew Hebrew quite fluently... neat conversation, neat revelation,

BUT.... NOT MINE TO SHARE :)

"where the Spirit of the LORD is there is FREEDOM!!"

So Dad.... ya think we can do this again sometime???

I like it that we can all just be...

happy,

silly,

funny,

and just plain ole FUN!!!

(even if we get rather grumpy when we have to do those wayyyyyy too many group pictures we always wait for the last day to do!)