Spring!

What a fun weekend we have had!  Levi turned two on the 29th and we had his party on the 30th.  I could tell you all about it, but I’ll just show you a few pictures.  Well….maybe more than a few.  But, hey!  I did whittle them down from 148!  The theme of his party this year was Little Red Wagon…be sure to notice his shirt!

Oh and one more for his Lulu…

Betcha can’t guess what his favorite gift was?  Took him a little while to realize how to make it go, but he finally got it!  However, he did not want to sit in the wagon for a picture like John Thomas!  Too busy for that!  It was a fun party…Suzanne did a wonderful job decorating and putting it all together!

Two years with this angel…God has blessed us so much, and we are grateful with our whole being!  He has brought such joy and laughter into our lives.  He can make us laugh even on a dreary day.

                               “God has given us these times of joy.”  Nehemiah 12:43 

Isn’t this just the best time of the year?  Here in the deep South the trees are budding out and the ground is getting warmer everyday.  Our thermometer registers a balmy 74* today!  It’s beautiful!  No great and important thoughts come to mind today, just wanted to share some images that made me remember that “YES. SPRING IS COMING!”

Love, love, love the color on this barn!  Now who would ever paint a barn that color?  I WOULD!!!

Aww, sweet family.  Though their faces do look as if they are scowling, don’t they?

Would YOU eat a carrot of a different color?

The deal is…I care for the little boy named Levi and Alex cares for the little dog named Finn.  This is a good and proper way to do things in our house because Alex doesn’t change diapers very well and I don’t like standing around in the cold and wet waiting for a dog to ‘go’.

Today, our well oiled plan became a little turned around.  Alex has been feeling particularly bad since we have entered the monsoon season here in our town!  Really, we are all either floating away, have sandbags at our door or are molding!  Hurry Spring!    And, since there was rain predicted for three days straight…this was going to be one of those “Let’s stay in our pajamas all day and chill out” kinda days.  Levi and I both thought it was a grand idea!

The housekeeper was going in to do Alex’s apartment and since he was moving so slowly, I went in to lend a hand and let Finn out to take care of his business.  It was pouring rain.  So, I intended to just stay in the doorway.  No such luck…I had to step out on the porch.  And, it was wet with standing rain. And, I did not have my shoes on…day in pajamas and chilling, remember?  Well, Finn finally bonded with nature and decided to come back in.  As I stepped back in I took off my socks so as not to wet the floor. And, quick as a wink!  Finn grabbed one of my socks and ran over to the chair.  “Get my sock,” I shouted,”I don’t want him to put a hole in them!”  Alex tried to get it, the housekeeper tried to get it, and I was on my way to try to get it, when Alex said, “It’s gone.  He ate it.”  “What do you mean- he ate it?”  I yelled.  Housekeeper said, “He shore did, Ms Tonja.  He swallowed that sock right down.  I never saw anything like that!  He swallowed that sock!  He did!”  “Y’all are crazy…look under the chair, he probably dropped it,” I said.  Alex and Housekeeper looked at me and said together, “He swallowed the sock!”  “Well, can he still breathe?” I asked.  They assured me he could.  And, when I looked over at him, he looked quite pleased with himself…had himself a little sock snack here on this rainy day!  And, he wasn’t worried about it a bit!

Well.  I knew this could cause trouble so I went to call the vet.  They said to watch him.  Yeah, well, I did that.  I watched him eat my sock!  But, in a little bit the doctor called back and said for me to bring him in middle of the afternoon to get an x-ray.  OK.  I can do that.  It will cause me to have to go and get dressed though, put one makeup, too…but I can do it.  And, that’s what I did,  Went and got ready, because with my luck, he’d try to pass it and get an intestinal obstruction.  But, no..that sock was in the belly and in the belly it was going to stay.

And, as I dressed, I watched my wonderful day all snug inside…OUT of the rain…go floating past.

After the Vet saw the xray, he said, he was going to try to go down through the throat and try to catch it with an endoscope, but if that didn’t work, it would be surgery.  When he called me later, he told me that there was no way the sock would have ever moved.  And, so, Finn now has a 2 inch incision on his belly where he was sliced open and relieved of the sock in his tummy.

I went to pick him up later.  They said to be there around 5:45.  Around 5:30, here comes one of those downpours that renders windshield wipers useless as well as headlights…because of all the lightning.  If you know me you know I do. NOT. do .lightning.  Unless I have to pick up a poor, hurt dog and bring him home.  So, I prayed all the way to the vet that God would move His little thunderstorm a few miles in the direction of His choosing and give me time to get the dog and put him back in the car.  Obviously, the thunder was too loud for Him to hear me, because when I got out of the car at the vet, all I could hear was a sonic boom as I sprinted to the door…in the pouring rain…and much lightning.

Saw the vet…Finn OK.  Give up mega bucks to the receptionist in order to get my sock back all soggy and wet in a zip lock bag like some kind of prize at a fishing rodeo!  What did I want this nasty sock for?  But, I gingerly put it in my purse, along with what was left of my paycheck, and waited for the ‘dog of the hour’!  And, then I heard him…”whine, whine, yelp, YELP,YELP, whine, whimper, whimper.”  I was a goner.  How dare they hurt my Finn!  No, they were just trying to bring him to me…his mama. The Vet said, that he was going to give him another shot and it would probably knock him out by the time I got home and that we should be careful because he may run into the walls and look at things and not see them.  “Stoned?”, I said.  “Stoned”, he said.   And, there came poor Finn…walking slowly…ears down, head down, no smile, no jumping up to slap my thigh.  He was pitiful.  And, they gave me his meds and they gave me his leash.  And all of this drama inside was accompanied by the drama going on OUTSIDE.  Finn and I and the sock got to the door and I knew there was no way we could safely make it to the car amidst the lightning striking in a circle round my car without me carrying the 25 pounds he was…minus the sock.  So, I prayed, again, and bent to pick up the animal that was hurt and in pain.  And, I immediately remembered people’s stories of how the dog turned on them and bit them when they were hurt, and so since I was praying anyway, I asked God to remember what He did for Daniel when he was forced to be in the den with hungry lions and would He please do the same for me with the hurting Finn…especially since I was forced not only to carry the animal, but endure one of His firework shows at the same time.  I pushed opened the door and made it down the steps and carefully shifted the dog to my hip so I could open the door. I got it opened and …”who put those gloves and muzzle on my front car seat?”  Oh, no, it must belong to that lady that just took that 80 pound boxer in and this must not be my car, even though it is the same make and model and color.  I can tell all this because the sky…she is so lit up.  Shift dog back to carry in both arms, round the back of my car to ease, oh so carefully, between her car and mine, and to shift the dog and open the door halfway and try to carefully sit the dog on the front passenger seat.  FYI…there are only 2 cars in the lot.  Only 2 cars in the whole lot!  Plenty of room not to have to squeeze in so close to another car and make life so much the harder…I’m just saying!

Finn goes on the seat and I shut the door and run for my life to get to the driver’s side before certain death from being struck by a dagger of lightning occured.  Opened the door and there is Finn…standing in my seat…whining, ears still down and eyes looking so doggone mournful you could cry.  So I gently picked him up and held him…all 25 pounds, above the steering wheel, until I could slide the ampleness that I am under the steering wheel.  With door still open, I carefully lay him down on the towel I remembered to bring.  Keeping one hand on his head, I straighten my body and slam my car door.  And there we sat…in the thunder and lightning show…hoping all I’d ever heard about the car being the safest place to be and all…but deciding it didn’t matter anymore…I’d just trust the Maker of all the lights and noise.  And we sat for a good 5 minutes.  Me, panting and blowing…Finn…in la la land.  Then I cranked the car and carefully drove home.

I called Alex from the car and told him to meet us in the garage to help.  He did.  We got the dog in.  And got him settled.  And, they he lay…stoned out of his head…probably wondering why his people went all ape on him and freaked out and cut him open.  Or maybe he was just seeing pink elephants.

He lay carefully on Alex’s bed and slowly lay his head down.  Who knows what dreams he dreamt while under the influence.  But, I didn’t stay around to find out.  I put back on my pajamas and got into bed.  Yelling to whomever may care, “I’m hereby OFF DUTY!”

And as I reflected on this day before sleep overtook my eyes…I thought how chaotic it had been, but yet…perfectly orchestrated.  My housekeeper was here to care for Levi when I had to leave, both times.  The Vet said, “You’re lucky, most Friday afternoons we are so wrapped up, there would be no way I would have had the time to do this surgery.  Today, we only have 2 doctors and very few patients, and I have all the time I need.”  And, I told him, and he agreed…”No luck involved…ochestrated by the Father.”  See, this dog is more than just a dog to Alex.  It is his companion, his friend, his heart.  As Alex, due to his disease, is homebound 99% of the time, he misses so much.  But, Finn is there, beside him, to love and comfort and share.  Finn watches patiently as Alex suffers, offering a warm body and a lick to the hand.  He waits until Alex feels like it , and then they sing together….howling loud enough to wake the dead!  And, if Alex is up to watching some TV, Finn is watching, too…from his perch in Alex’s lap.  And, though Alex is in pain himmself…he is tenderly and carefully tending to Finn.

I know many of you love your animals like this, as well.  But, to end this story, I just want to say that God sends His love and comfort to us in many ways.  He offers us arms to lean into and He lets us sit in His lap.  He picks us up and carries us when we hurt too much to go on.  He promises to meet our needs.  And no matter how hard our life may be, He knows the best way to be with us.  In Alex’s case…He sent Finn.  Mischievous, impish, yelping, sock eating Finn.  And, we thank Him for His goodness!

Job 12:7-10 – But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind. (NIV)

I don’t know what it says about me that it is taking me so long to ‘show and tell’.  I am usually quite a succinct person and can tell you all you need to know in a few sentences…well, sometimes.  But, for some reason, that doesn’t seem to be what is happening in this instance.  Perhaps, I’m just enjoying sharing it so much that I want to relive every. little. detail.  So, when I get wordy, or tend to carry on about some insignificant, trivial piece of info that you have no interest in…kindly ignore, please…and just look at the pretty pictures!

On now to the den…Here I chose to ground the seating area with a dark brown sea grass rug and to build the decor off of a ‘sand’ colored couch.  We purchased a new sleeper sofa and then chose the most marvelous assortment of pillows to bring in pops of color.

From this…

To this…

Then, I used those colors in the art and in the 2 chairs.

The bench under the canvas is one of my favorite pieces in the house.  It is worn and distressed with the most lovely shades of blue and green.  It is as smooth as can be and has an unusual placing of the brackets under the seat.  Plus it is a perfect height for Levi to run his cars and trucks on or hide away his favorite flamingo!

One of the chairs is new, the green one,  it reclines and swivels and rocks.  Then the white rattan barrel chair is one we found at a consignment shop. It needed some touch up painting and reworking the cushions, but is wonderfully comfortable.  And, it rocks and swivels…much to the delight of a certain little boy. Below is one of my favorite pieces of art….I saw it once and went back months later and it was still there…much to my delight.  It says…”Happiness is BAREFOOT on the BEACH.”

Next to the rattan chair is an end table that was in the trailer that we bought next door(story coming soon).It matched almosted perfectly and didn’t even need paint!  Serendipitous!  This wonderful lamp is a garage sale find.  It was terra cotta colored.  I worked on it for several days at home, bought a new shade and brought it down with me.  Actually there are 2.  You’ll see the other one later on in our story.  The whole grouping is quite cohesive, don’t you think?

This aqua/green/turquoise table was found a few months ago when I went to a yard sale with Shirley in Moultrie.  We were walking around and I had found a little table that I was going to put beside one of the beds.  But, Shirl saw this table and said, “Tonja, come here!  Buy this table!  It’s perfect for a sofa table at the Sand Castle!”  “Are you sure?, ” I said, ” I don’t know if it is the right color or size.”  “Buy it!”, she said, “it’s perfect!  I know it is.”  I looked at Tina and she said, “I’d go with what Shirl says…she just knows these things.”  And, so, I bought it and hauled it around in my car for a month before I went back to the beach.  But, when I took it in..I must say…she was right!  I love it and the color is different from any other color there…but it blends with everything!  Love it!

Aren’t these ‘real sized’ girls the cutest things?  I had to have them!  The one in front is drinking a Diet Dr. Pepper.  Remind you of anyone? 🙂

Below is a papier mache box I bought at Michaels.  Then, I covered the top with the most beautiful shells!  I saw one like it when I was in Maui for $170.00~  I think I have about $20.00 in this one!

The little pail on the floor next to the etegere says Flip-Flops.  And, the wonderful throw and pillow on the green chair, are specials gifts to myself that I bought in Maui!  This green chair is where I do all my computer and FB and such when I am here.   It is shorter to the ground and my legs touch the floor!!!

So, on to the bathroom.  There was a fiberglass tub and shower surround.  We took that out and had a ceramic tile shower built.  The vanity was rebuilt, though we copied the original and added a new sink and granite top, and a new toilet was added.  The bathroom has a nice sized linen closet and also holds the new washer and dryer.  And surprisingly, it is very roomy.  Also, the shower now has lovely tinted glass doors.

So, from this…

To this…

So, here come the bed rooms….First, the one we call Alex’s room…BEFORE…

AFTER…

We haven’t gotten the hardware to hang the dresser mirror yet, but it is as wide as the dresser.

The second bedroom…AKA Levi’s room…

On top bunk…eventually the playground of Levi…

But, right now we put up a Pack-N-Play.  Below, a resist painting I did of Levi’s feet…cute in the room!

Books for the little man…some were his Dad’s when he was a wee one…

Doesn’t this painting have the most wonderful use of color?  Just looking at it makes me happy.

On to the Master Bedroom…..This room has a softer, more pastel feeling…by accident.  I had bought a quilt for this bed, but after we got the art and accessories in…it was too harsh.  So, we went to a Linen Outlet and found this soft yellow quilt and we added  khaki sheets, and bed skirt.  Wasn’t it the man on A-Team, waaaaay back in the 70’s who said, “I love it when a plan comes together.”?  (Yes. It was).  But, it was all so amazing how the pillows, bought to go with the other quilt, and the art we bought on the first day…just because we liked it, and the tag sign I bought on a previous trip, and the green lamp on the table from an outlet store and the bedside night stand bought at a used furniture store… all came together and made a room that is cozy and comforting and a joy to stay in.  The only problem here is the closet space.  Some previous owner took out the walk in closet and made it into a 1/2 bath.  It really is nice to have, but it leaves the room with only a very small closet.  Which is why we had to buy the little chest.  There is also a little table and lamp on the other side of the bed now too.

Again, this mirror needs to be hung.

The house has wonderful closet space for its size.  Alex’s bedroom has 1 large closet and Levi’s room has 2 large closets.  There are also 2 nice closets in the hallway and a pantry.  So no complaints in that area.

There is still work to do.  Window coverings, more rugs, outdoor shower, Landscaping and fencing.  But, it will come.

OK…That’s it.  That’s my little cottage near the sea…The Sand Castle.  And, though it is very small…it’s is quite large enough to hold all the joy and laughter and good times we intend to have there.  I want these walls to hold the remnants of children playing, and girl friends laughing, and Don and I speaking softly.  I want the air to hold the contented sighs of folks walking in and crashing on the sofa, of a tired friend sitting around the table sipping on a cool iced tea, of someone curling up on the sofa with a good book.  I want to smell the sweet coconut oil of sun tan lotion, the yummy aroma of hamburgers on the grill outside, and the wonderful scent of shrimp boiling.  I want to see friends and family sitting around the table waiting to share our time and love together.  I want this to be our second home…not just a beach house.  I want to instill in the children the majesty of our God who made the mighty ocean, the mysterious world beneath, the glorious sky above, and the crunchy sand we walk on…all for us!  Made for us to enjoy, because He loves us.  It is He who allowed us to have The Sand Castle and to Him we will always be grateful!