All You Need Is Love - Dallas Love Field, That Is. (A Favorite) (Part 4)

More of the cool art work from Dallas Love Field.  I have always loved this song, always will.

This is a mantra in which I totally believe...Love can cure a myriad of ills.

(Plus, I love that this young artist put a dog in the picture.  Right?)

So, go...love on someone today!

Young Wisdom

I read a blog post today.  Written by a young lady, whose family is known to me.

Her mom and dad are friends of mine.  

I thought I’d share.

So, if you have a second, go read Madison Cary’s post here.



Then, as Madison says, go love on somebody.

Happy Birthday, Jennifer and Madison.

Don't Ya Let Go

“Whatevah!!!”

That was the nice version of what I said when I entered the safe house that is mi casa today.

I have so many things weighing on my mind por la travajo.  I was SO done.

And then, my daddy in the Lord, Leo Free, sent one of Dimlit Daylight’s videos linked via Facebook, urging all to “listen to the lyrics”.  Josh Free and Anthony Montanino are the members of Dim Lit Daylight, and write all their own songs and music.  I love them.  Their words and music have always captivated me.  Sometimes, I believe they have a direct line to Heaven, though in genre, their music would most probably be classified "secular".

Back to Leo.  “Pay attention to the lyrics, (more than photos)...way cool writing,” he said.

And I did.

I “heard”.

I’m going to share it with you, in case you need to "Hold On Tight 'Til I Say So".

Blessings to you, Josh and Anthony - thanks for reopening "my ears".  

Dim Lit Daylight - "Til I Say So"


For those of you down Austin way, Dim Lit Daylight plays there frequently.


You can check them out at Dim Lit Daylight.


Tell 'em That Janie Girl sent ya.  They love me.  And the feeling is definitely mutual.

Dancing With Jesus

Darling sweet girly-girl,

Your aunt Patty texted me tonight about ordering some of your pictures, so I reviewed the albums of your family, and had to write you a letter.  As a sometimes photographer, I see lots of things and people through the lens of my camera.  Last year, I was asked by your mommy to take some photos of you and your brother, and I was blessed to  “see” you. 

I’ve known your mommy since she was a little girl, not too many years older than you were in our session.  You, your brother Eli, and your mommy made my day, that Sunday.  I picked y’all up at your house, and we got Starbucks.  We went to the museum, and y’all posed and played and smiled for me.  We went to the lake, and you talked to the geese and ran scared, long hair streaming, when the gander came after you.  You took your red sparkly flats off, and hung your bare feet through the rails over the lake, and I remember you had on red toenail polish that matched your sparkly red headband. 

You three were an absolute joy to photograph, and I fell in love with you all.  I saw how much you love your mommy and your big brother, and how much they love you, their sweet Cameron.  You flirted for the camera, you ran, you climbed, you played with flowers, you and Eli held each other, and both of you held your mommy.  You did everything I asked you, and more.  I took the most amazing shots of y’all, but it wasn't about me - it was about y'all.  You all have so much love, it easily transfers to the photographs.  In one photo, a sunbeam is shining down on the three of you, it looks so special, and you all are so beautiful. Even now, when I review the photos, I can see your heart.  How much you love.  How much you care.  How you embraced everything.  You are fearless. And beautiful.

Little Boogie, your mommy calls you.  And Cam-Cam, you are to your big brother Eli.

Your special name for your mommy is Ma moo, and Eli's special name, LiLi.

Girly-girl, I know you had an amazingly fun 6th birthday party with Jesus yesterday.  I bet Jesus danced with you, the way he did the day He welcomed you into Heaven.   I can see you in a red sparkly poofy petticoated dress, much like your red recital dress, spinning and whirling.  Words cannot express, but I know.  It gives me peace. 

Oh, you beautiful little girly-girl.  I miss your glorious smile, your twinkling eyes, your beautiful hair, your adventurous spirit, the way you loved on your mommy and your big brother, and every single person you met. You met life with wide-open arms, and to love and be loved was your absolute design factor.  I am so honored to have met you.  

We miss you, Cameron.

You are forever loved.

Finding Friday

I found this sweet planter at an antiques mall, one of those consignment-type malls.  I don't think it's antique, but I DO think it's cool!  And a mere $34 bucks, to boot.  It's taller than me.

I LOVE it and I can't wait until it's filled with spring flowers, trailing down the sides. 


Yummy.


What did you find on Friday?

It's fun to find cool stuff!

Random Meeting...or Was It?

My friend Sharla and I were driving to meet more friends to shop at the Dallas Trade Center.  Traffic abounded.

We’re in the lane to turn left into the parking lot for the shuttles, and I happened to look up at the vehicle in front of me.

The vehicle had some advertising across the back, and a wave of recognition slapped me in ‘da face.

I waited a second, hit a phone number and it came up on my bluetooth screen.  Dial. And then, over the loudspeakers came, “Most Excellent* Realty, Janie speaking.  How may I help you**?”

I said, “Hi!  Would you happen to be on Market Street?”

“Yes,” she said.

Now this Janie is a hoot.  We call each other “The Other Janie”.

We met, blogging.  I can’t remember how we met, but since then, we’ve each introduced each other to different bloggers, as is the wont of bloggerdom.  

Our backgrounds and lives are so similar, it’s weird.  I do remember we both used the signature “Happy Trails, Y’all”...and that’s probably the singular event that led us to each other.   We’ve had a lot of fun over the years, comparing events, etc.  If I ever move to the DFW area,  Janie’s a great realtor, and she’s promised to help us find “THE house” of our dreams.

(She really doesn’t know how twisted our dreams are, or she wouldn’t promise that.)

Have I mentioned that we’ve never really met...in person?  That all this has been virtual communication, via mobile phone or email, blogland or facebook?

All true...until today.

I said, “Well, you’ll never guess where I am!”

The Other Janie said, “Where?”

I said, “Right behind you.  In the black Sequoia!”  Sharla is laughing.

We wave, and then we decided to pull out of the line - because maybe we weren’t in the right parking lot.  Immediately, we change our minds.  And The Other Janie rolls down her window, we meet, and she says “Pull back in front of us, this is the right place.”

Is that funny?  We did.

And in the mayhem of the parking, we didn’t get to meet until hours later.  I texted her, then she texted me a couple of hours later.  And when she did, it turned out we were on the very same row in the very same building.  And if you’ve ever been to Dallas Market, you’ve got to understand that was a miracle in itself!

It was an absolute joy to FINALLY meet you and yours, Janie!  I hope we’ll see more of each other in the time to come.

And when I told ThatManILove?  He cracked up.  He thought it was so cool!!!

Yup.

It’s never boring around here!

*Business name was changed to protect the innocent.
**I can't remember exactly what she said, I was so excited! ;)

God surrounds us with the right people.  Keep your hearts open, loves.    You never know.

For Love of Home = aka Love You, Jackie!

It’s been a pretty fun week.

We’ve spent the better part of the last two weeks in the DFW area. Though I was recovering from a medical procedure, we still were able to visit with many of our friends from the DFW area, a little at a time.  Great stuff. Thursday evening, when we headed up to Oklahoma to see Elder Son.  We booked a hotel room in that small town, drove there (I slept, I think) and promptly went to bed.

We slept late the next morning, then met Elder Son and his friends for lunch.  They were a hoot, and we can’t wait to spend more time with them.  We're thankful for the time our son is spending with them.  After lunch, we went to the facility where they work/train horses, and enjoyed even more time.

Around 5 p.m., Steve and I left to head west to another couple’s house, where we stayed for the remainder of the weekend.  We had a great time there - we figured out it had been almost 10 years since we had visited their house.  Time does fly! We played games with their family, ate great food, and hung out. Fun stuff!

We headed back to Midland today, and I was so excited to be heading home.  It feels like we’ve been gone forever, but of course, that’s not the truth.

We stopped at Munday, Texas, to visit a fellow blogger, Jackie from  For Love of Home.  She had no idea we were coming.  We had never met, up until today, so we were taking a huge chance that she might even be home. 

We pulled up in front of her house, and her husband was leaving.  He pulled up behind us, and I walked up to his window and explained what I wanted to do.  He parked, got out of his vehicle with a smile, and walked Steve and I up to the door.

I rang the doorbell, and Jackie answered, with this slightly puzzled look on her face.  

I said, “Yes, ma’am.  I was wondering - might I use your bathroom?”

She said, “Well, ummm...”  She looked past me, to my husband, and to hers, and looked back at me.

I said, “No really, my name is Janie.  And I was wondering if I might borrow your bathroom?”

We all cracked up, once she realized I was no stranger, that I was her long-time blogging buddy.

We had a great visit, and Steve and I fell in love with the both of them.    I believe Jackie  eventually recovered from her initial shock, because we all laughed a lot. We stayed for a while (hopefully not too long!), then headed on home. It was a very good day.

Red sequined shoes.  Click. Click. Click of the heels. 

And I am home, with ThatManILove.  Unpacked.  And in bed. Full of smiles from the last two weeks.  And I got to hang out with Elder Son, twice, and Younger Son, once.  You can't go wrong there, people. 

Sweet, mi vida loca.  Sweet.

Stuart and His Joy...

I met Stuart many years ago, on a ministry trip.  Soon after, I was blessed to meet his wife, Joy.  And what a joy it was to do so!  She’s a beautiful lady, quiet, and very elegant, who loves the Lord,  her man and her family, and every person the Lord puts in her path.

Please take the time to read this - it's beautiful.

http://blogfromstuart.blogspot.com/2010/11/my-joy-treasure-in-earthen-vessel.html

Taking Time to Grieve

Last night, I called to check on one of my young friends.  She had suffered a tremendous loss recently - her boyfriend had passed away unexpectedly, due to a medical complication.

And they were in love.  Their relationship was somewhat complicated by distance - he lived in Houston, she on the other side of the country...but they made it work.

A young person’s death is always a shock.  It seems so out of time, for a young person to be there one day, and gone the next.  I knew this young man professionally, and we had worked together in a professional industry organization. He was a young man of much excellence and promise, and had just accepted an overseas assignment in the oil industry.

I was pleasantly surprised to hear that my friend was in town, and we quickly arranged to meet at the local Starbucks.  When I saw her, we just hugged.  She’s such a beautiful, sweet lady - my heart is breaking for her.

We talked for a bit, and she downloaded some of the ups and downs of her past days.  She is such a pillar of strength, and had helped the young man’s family in so many ways.  I was glad she had come back home from the services to be in the arms of her family.

As she enjoyed her hot chocolate and I, my chai tea, the funny stories started coming out.  This girlie has such a fun, quirky sense of humor, and it seems that our friend really appreciated that side of her.  

I laughed and laughed as one story tumbled into another, and we read text messages between the two that were the stuff comedy writers only dream of creating.  I’m so very glad that she has such tangible proof of their love.

If you think of it, please pray for my friend as she begins to heal.  She is so very precious to me, and to many others.  She is a precious, fine jewel. I know this loss will only temper her brilliance, and make her shine all the more. And I know the Lord holds her in His arms.

And I’m so very thankful.