Last Wednesday in September...

Here we are...the last Wednesday in the month of September...October just around the corner..Wow it's hard to believe isn't it??

After a very rainy cold Tuesday, it is absolutely beautiful here today!! 70 degrees, lots of sunshine and not a cloud in the sky!! My kind of fall weather!!

As I am sure you have noticed I changed my blog background and my adopted daughter Judy, made me this beautiful banner for the header!! Awesome job Judy!! Now every time I log on I see those photos and it brings back memories of our wandering in the UP last week!!

Went to Bible study this morning and it was a very good time. We are doing Beth Moore's study of the Fruits of the Spirit..really good. Then I made a stop at the mall and met up with hubby who had just finished his walking for the morning..had a quick lunch at Chick Fil A and then headed home. We are having a new water pump and water softener installed tomorrow so we have some work to do in the utility room to get ready for that...not an expenditure we had planned or wanted but very needed!!

Nothing else too exciting going on here..just enjoying this beautiful weather and Praising the Lord for his faithfulness. Here is another photo to share with you...a beautiful fall flower we found at a light house in the UP... have a great Wednesday!

It's Monday!!

It's Monday...come on over to Simple Woman's Daybook blog
and see what is going on with me today..
(The link is to the right above my picture!)
God bless and have a wonderful Monday!!

September Memories....

Hope you enjoy this slideshow of our 'most recent' wandering of Michigan!!
For the best viewing click full screen on the slideshow after it has loaded...ENJOY!!

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Friday...already???

I can't believe it's been 3 days since I posted..here it is Friday already...We have had some very different Autumn weather here in Michigan. Yesterday we had a high of 92 degrees, lots of sunshine and nice breezes. Today a bit cooler..around 85 degrees, sunny most of the day but 'very' windy..had a wind advisory which is a bit unusual with these temperatures. I enjoyed quite a bit of time outside today..did some reading sitting in the swing..then this afternoon I got a call from our youngest grand...Morgan and asked if she could come spend the night..because she really missed us!! Well of course!! We took her with us to Cracker Barrel and then had a fun evening with her. Tomorrow hubby is going to the U of Michigan football game with one of sons..Brian..so Morgan and I will take him halfway to the stadium to meet up with Brian. So that's about all that is happening around here.. I got this neat devotion and thought I'd share it with all of you..hope you enjoy!

Why you don't have to be perfect

I know Perfectionism.

She calls my name and says...

"You will never be good enough."

And sometimes I listen.

I cower in a corner.

Or I endlessly run.

But it's always about fear.

Then these words stop me in my tracks, grab me by the heart, and invite grace to speak instead...

Perfect love casts out fear...1 John 4:18

I don't have to be perfect.

I only need to be perfectly loved.

And I am.

So are you.

Praying you have a wonderful weekend...and many blessings during this beautiful Autumn season.. This picture was taken this past Monday on Mackinac Island..just the beginning of a gorgeous autumn to come there on the island!!



God bless...and enjoy this weekend!!

Home Again..

Well our wandering days are done (at least for now)...we had a great week. Last Wednesday we went to a really nice cottage on Dragon Lake, Michigan where Pam and Dan (daughter and son in law) were staying for the week, and spent the rest of the week with them. While there we celebrated Pam's birthday on the 17th! This picture is Pam, her friend Diane and Fred...getting ready to enjoy the birthday "cookie"!!



Had lots of good times. Then on Saturday they headed back home and Fred and I headed out to do some more wandering around our beautiful state of Michigan..we left there not having any definite plan on where we were going and drove the whole day and ended up back at Mackinaw City!! On Sunday we crossed the Mackinaw Bridge and toured around the upper peninsula..I know we did that last month but this time took some back roads that we had never taken before and found some great views of Lake Superior and some trees along the way starting to change their color.. Here are a few of the pictures...

Point Iroquois Lighthouse..Lake Superior






Starting to see some change in the leaves....


And one more of one of the roads we found that had some beautiful color already.....

Then on Monday we took the ferry over to Mackinac Island and spent the day there. Fred and I went on the Carriage Tour (again) we have been on it several times over the years but enjoyed it so much!! Then our granddaughter Alyssa (who lives on the Island year round now) got off work and we took her out to eat before we left to come back to Mackinaw City. All in all a wonderful day!! Cool but sunny!! This morning we awoke to a wonderful "summer like" day and it was nice traveling home in that kind of weather..between 85 and 90 degrees all day and lots of sunshine!! Love it!! Home now and all unpacked..settling in and watching the Detroit Tigers on tv..

Tomorrow back to a routine around here...but it has been a wonderful week!! Be back with some more pictures in a day or so..

Monday in Mackinaw City and on Mackinac Island!

It's Monday...come on over to Simple Woman's Daybook blog
and see what is going on with me today..
(The link is to the right above my picture!)
God bless and have a wonderful Monday!!

Going Wandering..again..

Tomorrow hubby and I are going to join our daughter (Pam) and her hubby at a cottage on a lake about 2 hours from us..they are there for the week and we are going to be with them until Saturday and then Fred and I are going to do some wandering..again..I know we did that the first of the month too..but this will probably be the last time we do this as the weather will be getting colder and before we know it winter will be here..

Our summer months were much drier and warmer than the average for us...but I LOVED the higher temperatures and even though we could have used more rain I loved this summer..and enjoyed as much of it outside as I could..

Now autumn is just around the corner and I do enjoy it as well...just not what follows..'winter'...I will try not to complain but I hope it's quite a while before winter sets in!!

Going to close for tonight..here is a devotional I received this morning in my email..I hope you enjoy it.

In case you ever wonder...

Hello, you--

the one with that idea on your mind,

that dream in your heart,

that desire that just won't go away.

You wonder...

can I do this?

You can do all things. (Phil. 4:13)

You ask...

do I have what it takes?

You've got all you need. (2 Peter 1:3)

You question...

is who I am okay?

You're more than okay--you're His. (Psalm 139:14)

So go for it, girl.

Dare to make that difference, take that step, follow that dream.

God will go with you--and love will see you through.

It's Monday...

It's Monday...come on over to Simple Woman's Daybook blog and see what is going on with me today..
(The link is to the right above my picture!) God bless and have a wonderful Monday!!

Never Forget...September 11, 2001

Beautiful September Day at Sterling State Park

Productive Thursday

Here we are another week almost gone..wow...Thursday already. Well I had a productive day today. I did some cleaning that I have been putting off and was way behind on..vacuumed, mopped the kitchen floor, cleaned the bathroom (again) that is a never ending job isn't it?!?! Did the laundry and it's all put away..washed all the throw rugs etc....

It was only about 70 degrees today, sunny and breezy so I opened up the windows and doors and let the nice fresh air refresh the house..seems like it has been shut up a long time with the AC needed. So nice to air it out!!

I also decluttered my 2 baskets that sit by my recliner..and where my laptop is also. (Gets very cluttered!) I had ordered 5 Amish novels from Amazon using the gift card I had won in July from Judy's blog...My Grateful Heart. I had just picked up 4 books from the library so with all the books I needed to get a bit more organized so I could find them when I was ready to read them. So I put "my" books in one basket and the library books in another..now I am anxious to get reading!

We had a nice supper out tonight at Olive Garden..Fred likes spaghetti and I don't so when he gets hungry for it we usually go there. I had fettuccine Alfredo which I really like..(doesn't have that nasty red sauce!!)

Then home and now we are both relaxing..he's reading and I am catching up on my online stuff and sort of watching the football game on tv. Praying you all are having a wonderful 1st full week of September! Never forget....

A Thought for Wednesday...

There's no such thing as happily ever after...just imperfect, glorious people finding their way together.

There's no such thing as the yellow brick road...just twisty-turny paths to unexpected, inexplicable dreams.

There's no such thing as the perfect day...just the ordinary and sacred all mixed into every moment.

There's no such thing as the ideal you...just who you are, flawed and loved, broken and blessed.

There's just one thing that frees us from our fairy tales and unrealistic expectations, that helps us find the joy right in the middle of what we already have.

Grace.

And it's as good and real as the One who gives it.

Thank you Jesus!!

All About our 53rd Wedding Anniversary!!!

Well we had a fun day today..rather different for a anniversary celebration but lots of fun... Fred had been looking online and seen that the Toledo Zoo was having Seniors days all of September and on Tuesdays it was free parking and free admission..so he said do you want to go?? We haven't been down there for years so we both thought..why not??

Well.....it became quite an outing!!

They were also doing health checks, and flu shots and while we knew that was going on we didn't really plan to take part.
When we got there around 1:00 we went into the Arctic Encounter section that is relatively new and we hadn't seen it..was really neat and when we walked through this one area here was one of the pharmacists that we know real well from our Kroger store..his wife actually worked for me at the center when she was in college and we went to their wedding...10 years ago..anyway he seen us and said oh here are 2 good ones for the flu shots!! (He actually gave us ours last year at the store) so we ended up getting our flu shots and had a good time laughing with him and the nurses...then on to the rest of the zoo.

It was around 90 degrees and extremely windy (if it hadn't been windy we probably wouldn't have stayed out in it) we did get pretty warm at times and when we did we would sit in the shade, have a drink and cool off..so all in all it was a fun day..we left there around 3:30 and came home and then later we went to Outback Steakhouse (we had gift cards and thought it was a smart thing to use them) and had a delicious steak supper..and when the waitress heard it was our anniversary we also got free carrot cake for dessert..so our whole day didn't cost us anything but the gas in the truck!! Oops..forgot we did 'buy' 2 cold drinks at the zoo!!

I also was spoiled by my hubby..he knows I really like Willow Tree angels and have around 25 of them..but I was really surprised when he gave me this one for our anniversary along with a beautiful card....

"Anniversary...love ever endures"

It is time to sign off for today..hope you enjoyed reading about my day..it was awesome!!

It's Monday!!

It's Monday...come on over to Simple Woman's Daybook blog and see what is going on with me today.. (The link is to the right above my picture!) God bless and have a wonderful Monday!!

Thursday...time is flying by!

Well I had really good intentions on getting back here earlier in the week but like my title says..."Thursday....time is flying by!" I can't believe how fast the weeks go by.

We have had a rather laid back week but for some reason I haven't taken the time to post here..Monday of course I posted on Simple Woman's Daybook..and so that tells my goings on for Monday.

The week was pretty uneventful..oh but Wednesday morning our woman's Bible study started up again..we had been off for the summer months. We are doing the Bible study by Beth Moore..titled Living Beyond Yourself..exploring the Fruit of the Spirit. I think it's going to be really good.

Today hubby and I went out for supper at Cracker Barrel, which is one of our favorite places. He had gift cards burning a whole in his pocket that he received for his birthday!! We even had dessert (which we don't normally do when we go out) but the special was carrot cake and we couldn't resist..in fact I have half of mine in the refrigerator for later!!
Just watching some Detroit Tiger baseball tonight and doing some reading..like I said..'uneventful'...

Tomorrow my sister Arlene is taking me out for lunch for a belated birthday gift..may do some shopping after that but not sure.

Our weather is cooling down some..today it was in the low 80's and not as humid..we had some rain last night but need more..we are very dry here in lower Michigan!

I am working on putting some wedding pics together to share here..hopefully soon. Praying everyone is having a good week..enjoy!

Here is a photo that I wanted to share....sort of a thankful Thursday photo!! This isn't the best quality of photo but it is of my hubby Fred officiating the wedding for our grandson Josh and Kari...it was such a blessing to see this.

May you all have a blessed Thursday!!