Jamie and Ryan...

Finally, a picture from our evening we spent with Jamie and Ryan Weeks!

After being on the road since early that morning, driving non stop (and I do mean non-stop, so help me, I do...) to Le Jeune, an emotional dropping off of our son, and GPS'ing our way to the Raleigh area, these two were a sight for sore eyes:

sorry for the low light...that's Jamie and Ryan, on the right. Tim and I on the left. In the background is a restaurant called The Angus Barn.

The angels love The Angus Barn, I promise. I heard them singing when I took the first bite of my ribeye. Jamie and Ryan were extremely gracious to treat us to such a great meal!

The conversation was so, so rich. I mean, the four of us went places some people never go, not even after a decade of knowing each other. We went there within a half an hour of meeting face to face for the first time, and felt completely relaxed and safe.

Jamie was tossing around terms like penal substitution and stuff. How fun is that?

The warmth of their love for Jesus lingers in my memory, along with the chocolate chess pie I had for dessert. I have the recipe, and I am so gonna make it, soon. Momma. What a pie.

Thank you again, Jamie and Ryan. It is nice to find grace-people who don't hate on pastors. (Believe it or not, a lot of saints who are well taught in grace, encounter a glitch in their grace when they encounter pastors...to them, grace should equal no established order whatsoever.)

I keep thinking of the old saying ~

"Make new friends, and keep the old. One is silver, the other gold."

Here's hoping that silver turns to gold...

Puppy Life Jacket

Well, we have a new boat in the family...I say "in the family", because it belongs to Jonathan and Sarah.

Jonathan, his Nissan, and his boat he got from Alabama last week...


Nice boat! Runs great! They don't have a hitch on their Nissan yet...

...but we have a hitch on our old Toyota Previa.

Which means, bless their hearts, they get to share their boat with us, since only our vehicle can tow it. For now, anyway.

::grin::

Soon, I am sure, they'll have a good, sturdy hitch on the back bumper of their SUV. And they'll be able to hit the water with no help from us. But in the meantime, we will be so sorry and upset to have to haul their boat to the lake for them, and take turns riding that boat with them.

Rambo hates it most of all. My man says "rules are rules", and the teacup poodle must also wear the proper safety vest...along with all humans, regardless of their size.

Anyhoo, everyone got out in the boat over the weekend...

....and my man insisted on taking his Little Buddy with him...




And here is Rambo, ready and darlin' and rarin' to go ride dat boat wif hiz pappa!

.
And we did. And all had big fun. And Rambo was promoted to Puppy Safety Patrol. And we are very proud.

An 0verview of our weekend would not be complete without one of my famous, shameless, grandmommy plugs:

His very first bite of cereal: before.

Now...wait for it....wait for it...

That same bite of cereal after. Bleh. It will take some gettin' used to, doncha think?? As the bib says: "Grandma's Sweetie".

This child lights up my life. And boat rides are the bomb diggity, and my puppy looks way too cute in his life jacket to even be real. But he's real, allright. Just reach down to pet him, and see for yourself. BE CAREFUL.

Life is good, when God is good, and when you KNOW that He is good, always.

Of Fate and My Friend

By this time tomorrow, I will have gotten to meet this beautiful woman (and her husband) for the very first time, even though I have known her for a few years:

One of my first encounters with Jamie, she had my back when someone tried to plagiarize my writing. She flat out called the person out for it, and let me know immediately. I was in love, right then and there. I mean...what kind of cosmic sign is that? Before you even meet someone, they have your back? It was full-on fate. I knew right then, and this was several years ago, that I would meet this woman one day.

Jamie is a grace girl's grace girl. We know a few of each other's secrets, yet we haven't even met in the flesh. She has prayed for me during some of my worst seasons...the internet is a crazy and wonderful thing like that. We have sampled one anothers heart, and I think she rocks. I love her writing style - you'd enjoy her blog, Better Than We Know.

No, wait. If you are a legalist, you'd hate her blog. And she'd consider that a badge of honor.

I hope to get some pictures, even though I'm not packing my camera-camera. I will hope and pray that the camera phone gets some good shots...I can't wait to meet my friend.

Confessin' My Sin

Forgive me, Cool Police, for I have sinned...

For I am forty-something years old, and I am experimenting with a Bumpit...

Don't judge me, like my daughter did.



I just snapped her picture, and note: Alas, she has no Bump.

What can I say? I was in Wal-Mart last night, and there it was...one lone Bumpit-in-a-Box on an end cap, clearance priced. I could not resist the siren song of sporting That Cool Bump.

But apparently that Bump is only Cool if no one knows you are wearing a Bumpit.

Well, I am a full disclosure girl. Always have been.




My name is Sheila Atchley. And I wear a Bumpit and self tanner.



And I sometimes wear a perfume that has a borderline naughty and disreputable name. (I wear it for the smell, not for the name...)



And the nail color is Sally Hansen...



"Mauve It"...

Last but not least, if I am quiet for the next few days, it is because my Man and I are going out of town, to visit friends in Pleasant Garden NC (isn't the name of the place just happy???)

...and to bring our son home from Camp LeJeune for the Easter Weekend. I'll be taking my trusty Netbook, so I might blog from the road...then again, I might be too busy showing off my Bumpit to have time to chat.

I leave you with the following powerful visual:

Bump...


No Bump.

Antique Typewriter

I have long wanted an antique typewriter...one that really works. This past summer, I bought this from my elderly neighbor:

...and that is exactly where I wanted to put it. It was broken when I bought it, so my vision for it was to tuck it in an outside nook, creating an interesting, unusual outdoor vignette.

But guess what I got yesterday?

This!

This sweet thing is in mint condition, and came in its case! (Very hard to find, at a reasonable price...) My daughter Sarah spied it at a church rummage sale, and knew I'd want it.

Good, good daughter.

I can't wait to see what all I can create, with that lovely, old fashioned typed font.

I leave you with a few pictures, all fresh and just-snapped today, as though you came and spent an afternoon here with us...

One of my sunflower patches got tilled up over the weekend - it is waiting for me to plant it up!

Today was the first day of the 2011 season, that I got to hang the wash out on the line...bliss. ...a project Hannah is working on, for her new online shop (which sold out over the weekend! New items are being created, even as we speak.) That's my knee, there in the foreground. Dinner is in the oven, my honey and son-in-law are doing Wii golf, my knitting is calling my name.

Spent some time here today, with the grandbaby...just a few minutes was all we had, but we made the most of it, swinging and chatting together. Big Poppy Tim (as opposed to grandbaby Timothy) got our teacup poodle Rambo bathed and somewhat groomed today. Doesn't he have the biggest eyes of any poodle you have ever seen?

Wish you could come by and have a cold glass of diet Coke, and chat of cabbages and kings with me. It is just that sort of a relaxed evening - so nice after an overworked and very busy weekend.

I Am Stinkin' Sloppy-Blessed

I. Cannot. Stand. This. So unbearably adorable. My grandson. I'm still wrapping my mind around the wonder of it all. And he smiles at me, all the time. Just like what you see up there. My cup overflows...or, in my own paraphrase, I am sloppy-blessed.

Easter/Spring Decorating

Our Easter table. Blue ticking tablecloth - the fabric is antique, and was fashioned into a large round tablecloth. You can also see the chandelier that my daughter Hannah made from a thrifted light fixture that she painted and glued real crystals to...and just wait till you see her baby's high chair (you can see it peeking from behind the flower arrangement). She is almost done with it. We can't wait to show you!

d
The not-quite-finished tablesetting - "Grace" salad plates (Hobby Lobby), on top of white porcelain plates (by Martha Stewart), on top of hand painted chargers, each with a beautiful rose on it - chargers were a gift, don't know where they came from.) napkins from Target, "birdie" napkin rings are heavy black iron and came from a local interior design store, "Southern Market".



The three candles, represent the weeks between the time this picture was taken, and Resurrection Sunday. (Today, there is only one candle on the table, since there is only one more Sunday between now and Easter/Resurrection Sunday), daffodils from my garden, tucked in a vintage ceramic watering can, surrounded with moss and speckled eggs. I elevated all of it on a glass cake plate, just to make it more special.

Simple things, really, but it helps me feel more celebratory, more fixed and focused on the beautiful, scandalous, mysterious, historical plan of salvation enacted in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Next week is our family's Holy Week, leading up to Easter. I hope to get time to share some of the details as to how we mark this important week. Hope your Thursday was blessed, and that you are a vital part of a local church, where the Resurrection Season is always so fresh as it is retold once again.