~ Loving Spirit~

I woke up the other morning and saw this.....

My heart.....melted. I look at her handwriting and still see a child...a baby....our baby.

Last October I received this locket for my birthday.... the back says

" Mom, Your loving spirit helped me find my own "

I took it off and laid it on Pop's well worn, well used & well loved bible....

& had a bittersweet moment.

Time goes by... far too fast.

Wishing you a beautiful day~ J

~ Poppaw ~

It's been one year, today. 365 days....

367 days since I heard his voice.

367 days since he called me 'baby doll'.

367 since he told me ' I love you '.

367 since he told My Mister ' take care of my girls '.

366 days since he wrote.....one word.....' coffee '.

366 days since I laid my head by Pop's and told him....

I'm going to be okay, I'm strong, you did good, Pop....I love you.

365 days....since....my world hasn't felt quite right.

Sometimes, I smell coffee....in my house....at midnight.

Sometimes, I feel his presence around me when I have my morning coffee.

Sometimes, I miss him so much....I can't breathe.

All the time, I wonder " What would Poppaw do right now? "

All the time, I wonder " What would Poppaw say right now?"

All the time, I miss him so much....I can't breathe.


J.


10-14-08 1:50:58 am.

~ Tootsie's Flaunt Your Flowers ~

Welcome to Fertilizer Friday....Flaunt Your Flowers...hosted by the one and only

Queen of Gardening~ TOOTSIE!

This week we are going to the back yard....again.

I was so happy last Sunday morning ( Father's Day ) I walked the fence line flowerbeds like I do every morning and I saw this sunflower almost ready to open. It literally brought tears to my eyes. I planted the sunflower seeds in honor of my Poppaw who just loved them. I planted about 7 seed packets and so far I have 2 sunflowers that popped up.

Here it is in all it's glory~

This picture was taken early Thursday morning just as the sun started filtering in the garden.
I love the morning sun~

Lookie here~ more little flowers coming up from seeds. I have no idea what they are I planted about 20 seed packets around the base of our 3 year old red maple tree. This is my first year to plant seeds so I am super excited. :)

I planted some flowers around the tree last weekend~ My Pop always said it was a good idea to have flowers around trees because when the flowers get droopy you would know your tree needs water, too. We are officially in a drought here and the temperature has reached 104 degrees the last 2 days. I'm really having to sweet talk & water the plants alot.

Now, I must introduce our very own home grown topsy turvy tomato's. The one on the left is just about ready to eat. We're excited. We haven't ever grown a vegetable either. :)
I do believe this is cartwheel worthy....lol.

Well~ that's all I have this week. I can't wait to go by Tootsie's at http://tootsietime.blogspot.com/ to see what's blooming in your gardens! Thanks Tootsie for hosting this event & thank you so much for coming by.

~Happy Gardening~

Big hugs~ J

~ Father's Day ~

As I sit here this morning watching the sunrise....

There is nothing I would rather do than have a cup of coffee with him....

In my own way.....I guess I always have coffee with him.....I think about my Poppaw all the time but particularly in the mornings. Every time I grab my little digger and plant something { he was a master gardener } every time I see something bloom.....every sunrise. I felt a little funny this morning...I would call my Poppaw @ 6:00am { when I woke up } and he would have already been awake for at least an hour and he would say " why are you getting up so late".
I really missed that phone call this morning.

I miss you Pop....on this first Father's day.....without you here~
& every moment of every single day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To: My Mister.....my best friend, the love of my life & the coolest dad EVER....

You are a ROCK star

Thank you for living your life with me~

My Father in law & Grandfather in law~ who are incredibly loving and supportive~
{ & absolutely hilarious }

and my Dad~ who I am incredibly proud of~

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

~ I LOVE YOU ~

I wish all of you a wonderful day today....and if you are missing your loved one. My heart aches for you....I'm just going to continue to put one foot in front of the other and make every moment count. That is what life is all about isn't it?

With love today & always~ J

~ Poppaw's German Chocolate Cake~

This is for my Poppaw~

Do you think they make German Chocolate cakes in Heaven?

I certainly hope so.

Pop would have been 72 today~

I hope everyone is doing well~Thanks for all the tips on what to do with our table. :)

Hugs~ J

~ Gone Fishin'~ ( again )

Hi friends~

Well, we are off to visit Mammaw for the weekend. :)

I guess I always loved to fish.....especially with My Poppaw.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy weekend!

Hugs~ J.

A little retail therapy and a "you might need some tissue" gift :)

Hi friends~

Well as some of you may know....I just turned 35. I know, I know I can't believe it either....lol. So far this hasn't been the greatest month of my life so my dear husband decided we needed to turn my frown upside down. SHOPPING! Poor husband....had to go the mall. After awhile ( like an hour ) I didn't buy anything....hmmmm...only spent $24. Then he starts telling me, " Oh I'm bad luck, you can't ever find anything when I'm with you, maybe you should come back this weekend w/Kristin. " ( our daughter ) Oh no, no, no...not so fast buck-o.....I know what you're up to....lol. I said no babe, you're not bad luck....we just need some nurishment. A pretzel dog, lemonade and a cinna-bon. YEP, that'll do it. So, after our 'healthy' lunch.....I found EVERTHING!!! Pants, jeans, shirts, shoes, a jacket, scarf, a bracelet....did I mention shoes? WHOA-JESSICA.....SLOOOOOOW DOWN! I was a maniac.....lol. We went to Hallmark, too. That's where he found the 'WHOOMP" button....but he also found the sweetest poem and windchime. Most of you also know that I just lost my Poppaw~ the greatest man I have ever known...

WHISPERS FROM HEAVEN

When I left this world without you

I know it made you blue

Your tears fell so freely,
I watched; I know this is true

While you were weeping,

Days after I passed away~

While all was silent within me,

I saw you kneel to pray.

From this wonderful place called heaven

Where all my pain is gone

I send a gentle breeze to whisper,

" My loved ones, please go on "

The peace that I have found here

Goes far beyond compare

No rain, no clouds, no suffering~

Just LOVE from everywhere

You need not be troubled

Just stay close to GOD in prayer

Someday we'll be reunited

My love, HIS love surrounds you always,

EVERYWHERE

Oh, I just cried a river....The poem came in a box with a windchime. I thought the poem deserved to be framed. I added scrap book paper to the back and framed it. I went back yesterday and purchased one for my Mammaw, too.

me & my pop

Hugs~ J.

A little something I wanted to share

I wanted to thank you all for your kind words and prayers. It means more to me than you will ever know. This is truly the hardest thing I have EVER done in my life.

This is my Mom & Pop @ their 50th wedding anniversary held at our house.

They walked down the isle to " It had to be you. "

11/3/06

Me & Pop at their 50th anniversary

Poppaw gave me away November 1999~

He told my husband, no refunds or exchanges.

I just wanted to share this with you, as I'm trying to heal my heart and make arrangements.

Thank you again for your love and support.

Love~ J.

will see you soon...

Hi friends~



I just came home to gather a few necessities and I wanted you to know that I will be gone for a few days; possibly more. My grandfather ( my daddy ) became very ill Friday evening and is in ICU at the hospital. I have taken time off from work so I can devote my days and nights to my family. I want to spend every moment I can with my Poppaw.

Note: My Poppaw passed away at 1:50am 10/14/08. Thank you all for your kind words & prayers it means more to me than you will ever know.

~ J ~