Happy Father's Day, 2017...

 I'm reposting last year's 

Father's Day post.

With a little extra thrown in.

We added another father this year.

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There are lots of fathers, in my life.

Some gone, and some still with us.

The first father I knew was my Daddy.

He was a good man. A hard working man....

He loved to learn new things...have a good time.
And, fish.

And, there's my father-in-law.

Another good man. Another hard working man.

Fun, and funny...always ready for a good time.
And, fish.

Both are gone now. And, we all miss them.

And, this guy.

The one I see every day.

Another good man. Another hard working man.

He's also fun, and funny.

And, ALWAYS ready for a good time.

Another good man...hard working and always there for his family...

our Son.

And, our Son-in-Law...

another good, hardworking man...

there for his family.

*****************
This year, we added one more father.

Ronnie is our newest father...
Father to our sweet Great Grandson.
Another good, hardworking guy.

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I'm blessed, to have all these good men in my life...

past and present.

Seems we have an ongoing theme in this family...
good, hardworking men.

Good men....good fathers...build good families.

We're all lucky to have them, in our lives.

The generations march on.

So,

to all the fathers out there...

all the Dads.

We love you all.

Happy Father's Day...
~~Linda~~

Memorial Day...

Let us all pause for a moment,

on Memorial Day,

to remember those who 

paid the greatest price,

for our freedom.

Arlington National Cemetery

Remember,

Freedom isn't free.

Happy Memorial Day...

~~Linda~~

Remembering the Power of Water...

It's been two years,
since the Blanco River took homes,
and lives,
as it rushed through our area.

Some people are still getting their lives
back together.
Some gave up,
and sold their land.

Some of the victims were never found.

It's all very sad.

But, time will heal.

It will be a very long time
before the River gets back where it was.
Six hundred year old Cypress Trees
don't grow back very quickly.

People heal more quickly.
But, the memory of the
power of water,
and the power of people to rebuild,
will be with us a long time.

Here's what I posted then.

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By now, you've probably heard that there was a flood in

Wimberley, Texas,

There was a lot of damage....destruction...along the 

Blanco River.

I've shown you the beauty of that river before.

The giant Cypress trees turn beautiful colors in fall.

And, under most conditions, the river flows gently along.

But, Saturday night of Memorial Day Weekend, it turned into a monster.

We hadn't had much rain that day. We've had lots of rain here, but that day

wasn't bad, in our area.

But, to the west, in Blanco, it rained a foot of rain, in a short time.

All that water went into the river, and the river rose thirty feet

in less than an hour.

Houses that had stood solid for fifty or sixty years with no flooding,

were no match for this tsunami.

Debris...houses, cars, trees, boulders...came rushing down,

washing away everything in its path.

People's homes were damaged, destroyed, or simply washed away.

People lost their lives.

internet image. source unknown.

The deluge topped this bridge by at least ten feet.

The beautiful Cypress trees, which have stood for hundreds of years, 

were bowed over and shredded.

We pray for those who have lost so much.

We hope for them the strength it will take to get through all this.

We do what we can to help, with funds, time and energy.

Meanwhile...this small town of Wimberley is still 

A Little Bit of Heaven.

Stay safe...

God Bless...

~~Linda~~

Happy Mother's Day...

We all have lots of Mothers in our lives.  

We all start out with one mother,

and add more, along the way.

This is the one I started with.

She was a good mother.  A good wife.

She and my dad were married 56 years,

when he died.

She's the one who gave me my love of gardens,

and all things natural.

I wish I'd learned a lot more.

On Mother's Day, before we left for church,
she would always go out to her rose garden,
(She always had a rose garden.),
and get a red rose for me to wear,
because my mother was live,
and a white rose for her,
because her mother was gone.

Then, there's my Mother-In-Law.

Here she is, with my Father-In-Law,

at the Copa Cabana, in Miami.

She loved getting dressed up, and going out.

Movies, musicals...any kind of show.

She was NOT a gardener.

Her idea of fun outside, was a beach somewhere.

She grew up in south Florida.

She gave me the good man I married.

And, I thank her.

Next came our daughter.

She's a very good mother, to these two great kids.  

Always involved in their activities.  

Always busy.

She's becoming a good gardener, too.

They bought an old house, with a great garden.

She's learning that gardens can be fun...

and, lots of work.

Our Daughter-In-Law came to us already a mother.

She brought along two really great kids.

Twins...boy and girl.

Then, she gave us two more great kids.

Two beautiful girls.

She's another good mother.

Involved with her children. Teaching and 

urging them to do their best. 

She's a good gardener.  

Even took the Master Gardener classes.

We've gone on many garden tours together.

This year, we added one more mother.

Our oldest granddaughter gave us 

a beautiful little boy.

She's proving to be a good mother, too.

Maybe someday, when she gets a chance,

she'll learn to love gardening, too.

Enjoy all the mothers in your life.

They're all very special.

Happy Mother's Day...

~~Linda~~