A BEAUTIFUL SOUL

At the end of January I posted about my aunt Macy & uncle Dick who have occupied a large piece of my heart since I was born.  (You can read that post  here.)  At the time of my post my aunt was in the hospital after suffering a brain bleed.  With a very heavy heart, I now have to write that we lost Macy last week.  She was laid to rest on Sunday with standing room only in the church.

This is such a huge loss for all of my family, including my uncle & their daughter, my mother (Macy was her last living sibling), and my many cousins.  I can honestly tell you that if you had had the privilege of knowing Macy you would have loved her….everybody that knew her did.  She was truly one of the gentlest souls you could ever encounter.  She was extremely dedicated to her family, especially my uncle to whom she was married for 67 years.  To me and all who have known my aunt and uncle, their marriage has always been the most outstanding example of the kind of Christian marriage that God intended.  I don’t know if they ever even had an argument.  They found such joy in each other, in their children and grandchildren, and in their many nieces and nephews.  They made each of us feel so very special in our own individual way.

The world will not be nearly as sweet without Macy in it, and I know my uncle is going to have a huge adjustment not being able to see and talk to his “baby” on this earth ever again.  I don’t think he will ever again find true happiness until he is reunited with her in heaven.  Dick has always been such a blessing to me in my life, someone I have always adored and looked up to, so my heart just aches for him.  He will now have to make some decisions for his own future, and I am praying each day that God will guide him and Lori to make necessary changes that will bring him peace.

Thank you to any of you who said even one prayer for these precious people.  It was time for God to take her home, but our family surely will feel the void.  Thank you, God, for giving me such a wonderful aunt and uncle to bless my life in so many ways.

Rest in peace, Macy, and enjoy your new heavenly home with your mama & daddy, your precious son who went on before you, and your brothers & sisters that were waiting for you.  We will look after Dick and love him for you until God joins you together once again.  I love you so much and will miss you terribly, but I know Heaven is just a little more beautiful with your arrival.

All the Colors of the Rainbow

“I prefer living in color.”  --David Hockney

I agree with David…I love color!  I often see magazine pictures of rooms decorated in all white, and though they are beautiful I know I could never live without color.  As a child, when I would color a picture, I made sure to use every single color in the crayon box😊

(My granddaughter asked me recently what my favorite color is.  I told her I really didn’t think I had a favorite because I just love them all.  She pressed me a little further and so I said, “If I just have to choose, I guess it would be red.)

Did you know that the Color of the Year for 2019 is…..

L I V I N G   C O R A L

at least according to the PANTONE COLOR INSTITUTE.  According to their website:

          “The Pantone Color Institute is the business unit within Pantone that highlights top season runway colors, forecasts global color trends, & advises companies on color for product & brand visual identity.  Through seasonal trend forecasts, color psychology, & color consulting, the Pantone Color Institute partners with global brands to leverage the power, psychology, & emotion of color in their design strategy.”      (Whew!  That’s a mouthful!)

About Living Coral Pantone says it “symbolizes our innate need for optimism & joyful pursuits.”  Well, our society right now sure could use a double dose of optimism!  I’m not sure why they chose to name it “living” coral, but Pantone describes this color as “an animated, life-affirming shade of orange, with golden undertones.”  Coral is not a color I have often worn (I think I have only one thing in my whole closet that color…a sweater), but if I’m going to be on trend this year I guess I’d better go shopping!  I do think coral is a pretty color, but with my hair and skin tone, I would definitely need one of the darker shades….pastels are not my friend.

So…I decided to look around the internet and see what I could find that might inspire us to add at least some shade of coral to our lives.

I really like these pants from Belk…they would look great for spring with a crisp white shirt.  I do love a skinny-leg pant!

Belk

This shirt would look great with a pair of white jeans.

Belk

And if your favorite fella is into bright colors (like mine), here's something for him.  My hubby loves this type of shirt.

Belk

If you aren’t into wearing such a bold color or perhaps think it’s not a “good color” for you, you might try an accessory like these:

TJMaxx...only $14.99

New Balance @ Zappos  (New Balance is so comfy!)

 TJMaxx

Zappos 

One of my favorite color combinations is coral & turquoise, especially in jewelry.  Here are just a couple I’ve drooled over!

Etsy

Etsy

Some other coral jewelry you might prefer:

Alex and Ani

Belk...on sale

Although I’m really not ready to think “swimsuit” quite yet, this one is really pretty and would look great with a little suntan on your skin…just be sure to wear plenty of

sunscreen😊

TJMaxx

Now for those of you who really do love the look of those white rooms, think how pretty a splash of coral here & there would look!

I absolutely adore this flamingo pillow!!!  Wouldn't it be soooo cute in a sunroom or a beach-side cabin?

TJMaxx

Pretty Planter - TJMaxx

Do you have a Yeti yet?  If not, you definitely need to get one.  They are wonderful for keeping your coffee hot on a cold winter day or your favorite summer drink cool and refreshing…for hours.  I wish I had gotten this one, but since they are so expensive I will probably just stick with the one I have.

ebay

And for the person who has everything….or is really into the color of the year…you can even get this Kitchen-Aid mixer.  (I think I’ll just stick to my plain white one!)

Crate & Barrel

I love all colors, and each year I look forward to seeing what color Pantone has chosen to whet our colorful appetites.  What is your favorite color?  Do you think you’ll be into Living Coral?

Update on my aunt:  sadly she is no better, basically worse.  She has still not been responsive and things are looking very grim.  I’m just praying that God will have mercy and take her home to be with Him and with her son, her mother & father, and her many siblings there waiting on her.  It has been a very grueling time for my uncle and cousin.  But God is good and His will is to be done in His time…and I trust Him.  Please continue to pray.  You can read my post about this here 

H E L P!!! What is Google+?????

Blogger Friends, I am indeed in need of help.  I had an email explaining that Google+ is going away and along with it will be any photos, comments, and other things (not sure what all).  Well!!!  I have no clue what Google+ is!!!  I have read and read but don’t understand 99% of what I’ve read….yes, I am very technology-deficient! 

I did find somewhere in the SETTINGS of my blog account that it said I am not using Google+ for comments…didn’t even realize I had a lot of unpublished comments (Google+ evidently) that I was supposed to have approved before publishing.  Most of those though were crazy ones from ANONYMOUS that sounded very very fishy!  I am hoping this means that I won’t lose my blog, but I am still very nervous.

I have emailed a couple of my readers for help, but thought I’d post here too.  Can anyone tell me if I am going to wake up one morning and my blog will have disappeared into cyberspace never to be seen again????  I WOULD BE DEVASTATED.  (I know I should perhaps try to back it up someway, but again I don’t know how to do that!!!)

Any help would be GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!

Update on my aunt:  No change, no improvement, still unresponsive.  My heart is breaking…all my cousins are so upset, and my mother is beside herself with worry.  PLEASE continue to say a prayer for her and my uncle when you think of it.  

A Love Like Theirs

Isn’t this one of the sweetest pictures you’ve ever seen?  These precious hands belong to my aunt Macy and my uncle Dick.  They have been married for 67 years.  These two are the greatest role model of a loving, Christian marriage that I have ever known or even heard about.  Their devotion to each other is both exemplary and immeasurable.  Since Dick’s retirement several years ago, they have literally been almost inseparable.  When you see one, you see the other😊  In fact, my husband and I were talking recently about how Macy and Dick just never leave each other’s side for more than a few minutes and my husband said to me, “Honey, I love you with all my heart but I don’t think I could do that.”  (I totally understand!  I need my “me” time, too.)

Unfortunately they have both been dealing with health issues for awhile now, and then a few weeks ago Macy fell and broke her hip.  This was the first time in MANY years that they had to spend the night apart.  However, Dick would go visit her every single day while she was in the hospital and rehab.  He would even call her first thing in the morning before going to the hospital and again at night after he got home.  This picture was taken during Macy’s hospital stay.

Macy is my mama’s sister and the baby of 8 siblings.  There are only two left…Macy and Mama, the two youngest.  Because of such a large family I was blessed to have MANY wonderful uncles and aunts, and they were all very special to me.  However, Macy and Dick have always been my favorites.  In fact, my youngest memory is of time I spent with them when I was a toddler.  It seems they loved to babysit me, and they spoiled me silly.  I have to admit that I always “thought” I was their favorite too, but after growing up I came to realize that they somehow made all of us nieces and nephews feel we were their favorite. 

         This is me with my sweet aunt & uncle

Macy is the sweetest lady you will ever meet, soft spoken and quick to tell you that she loves you.  You never see her that she isn’t dressed to perfection and not one hair out of place.  In my eyes, she has always been the perfect wife and mother.  Most of her married life she was a stay-at-home mom with my cousins Timothy and Lori.  Sadly, they lost Timothy several years ago.  Dick has always been my knight in shining armor, so handsome, and one of the biggest teasers to anyone he loves and cares about.  When you are in his presence you can be sure that there will be lots of laughter.  They are such exemplary Christian people, always letting others see Jesus in the way they live their lives and in the way they love BIG. Dick has been a deacon in his small Baptist church (where I grew up) for as long as I can remember.  I love them both more than words can express.

Right now my heart is heavy because yesterday (after a slow & difficult but steady recovery), Macy had a brain bleed and as I write this she is awaiting decisions on how to proceed.  I’ve been awake most of the night worrying and praying.  I’m now sitting by the phone waiting to hear what is next.  She has had scoliosis for years and has suffered valiantly through a lot of daily pain, yet you will not hear her complain.  And furthermore since she and Dick still live in their home, she has taken care of her beloved husband without missing a beat.

If you are a praying person, may I ask that you send up a prayer (or two) for my aunt Macy, for peace, comfort, and total healing…and also for my uncle Dick, for wisdom and courage to know how to proceed as well as for his own health concerns.  Also for my cousin Lori who has willingly and lovingly stepped in to help them as much as she can, although she lives several hours away from them. 

If you could meet Macy and Dick, I promise you would immediately fall in love with them and they would make you feel as if you had known them all your life.  This old world sometimes gets me down when I see the evil that is broadcast on the daily news each day, but when I look into the faces of my aunt and uncle I am reminded that there are still some wonderful, loving, caring, gentle people out there; and I am so thankful to call both of them MINE.

I love you, Macy…please get well because you are such a special part of our family and because you have always been and always will be someone I look up to and love dearly. 

             Your niece, Cheri

WHAT’S THE WORD?

I’ve been mulling over whether or not I want to have a WORD OF THE YEAR.  Have you ever heard of that?  The idea is to choose a word to focus on, a word that can guide your actions or whatever you think you might want to embrace more of in the upcoming year.  According to Elizabeth Rider, a health coach, choosing a Word of the Year    “sets an intention for how you want your year to flow."  source

  I actually tried it last year and to an extent I was successful with it.  My word was JOY.  During the year I included that word in my journal writing, and I tried to focus more on finding joy in everyday things.  I tend to sometimes see the cup as half empty instead of half full, and I knew I needed to work on that.  By choosing the word joy, I think I focused on finding more of it.

This year I think I want my word to be:

I’m not an artist, musician, or writer of great novels, so why choose CREATE?  Good question…so I’ll “try” to explain.  I was thinking about various words, and then all of a sudden (literally) the word create popped in my head.  I "pondered" it for awhile, wondering why in the world that word came to mind.  And this is what I came up with.

This year I want to be more creative in the way I look at my life.  After all, there are other ways to create besides painting a picture or composing a sonnet.  This year I want to:

*be more creative with my meal preparations!  I am soooo tired of cooking the same things over & over.  I have literally  collected 100s of recipes, so why haven’t I used most of them?????  (Thankfully I have a very sweet husband who seems to love whatever I put in front of him😊)

*delve into using all those arts & crafts supplies I have stored up and create scrapbooks, journals, pocket letters, memory dex cards, ATCs, or whatever else I get interested in.  (I see lots of glue in my future!!!)

*continue writing my blog and try  to be more creative in my posts….in hopes to keep the readers I have and maybe even gain a few more.  I love to write but I need to up my game.

*be more creative in serving my Lord and helping others….after all, that’s what we are here for.

 *create more joy in my life by involving myself in experiences that I enjoy and care about with family, friends, and myself.  Not sure yet what all that encompasses but I hope some travel might be involved.

 I recently read this: 

               Being creative means solving a problem in a new way.  It means changing your perspective.  Being creative means taking risks and ignoring doubt and facing fears.  It means breaking with routine and doing something different for the sake of doing something different.  It means mapping out a thousand different routes to reach one destination.  It means challenging yourself every day.  Being creative means searching for inspiration in even the most mundane places.         source

I especially like that last part😊  Sometimes life can become so mundane, so “normal” that we fail to see what might be.  I hope to find myself at the end of 2019 having been creative in all of these ways and more.

So….what do you plan to CREATE this year????