Ahhh! R & R

 

You know me…I can’t stay away too long…

and it has been almost 6 WEEKS

Sooooo…

I made sandwiches, packed them in the cooler with some nice tall bottles of spring water, put some apple slices in a bag, along with some favorite chips, chairs, towels, sunscreen, boogie boards,
and we were OFF!!

TO THE BEACH, THAT IS!!!

YEP…you guessed it…I’m going to bore you with yet
another…beach post!!  WOOHOO!!

Here goes!

When we are crossing over the bridge and get our first glimpse of the ocean,

it still nearly takes my breath away!  Wish I had a photo of that to show you,

but, alas,  these will just have to do!

ENJOY!

I brought along my trusty morning companion!  One of those delightful simple pleasures I enjoy from time to time.

The skies were an incredible shade of blue and the water was
a lovely seafoam green, and there is nothing like the sound of the
waves to soothe away every care of the world!!

I loved that this sweet couple were walking hand in hand…awwww…just gives me the warm fuzzies!

I love that Bird ASKED me to take this silly photo of her with Pringles
duck lips!!  Too much fun!

We all ooo-ed and ahhh-ed at this wonderful little sports car just cruising down the shore

{Bucket list # 51…drive on the beach in a jazzy sports car convertible!}  Not really, but it would be great!

And of course, some wonderful feathered friends…you know
I can’t resist them!

A cute little guy!

 

And a not so little guy, with lunch in his clutches! He is gorgeous,
with beautiful gold eyes!
We just can’t figure out what he is carrying!!  Maddy guessed a jelly fish, but I don’t think they would risk grabbing one of them.

What do you think?

The trusty life guard!  We wouldn’t swim without him right there!

Sidenote:  If you go to the beach, especially with children, PLEASE always swim by a life guard!  One told me that most of the drownings are over 1/2 a mile away from the closest tower!  That
just shouldn’t even happen!

A parting shot…I love when the sun dances on the waves!

AND then to top my day off, I got to see this wonderful sight…

It was actually more magnificent than this, but I had to go grab my camera and some of the amazing orange rays shining upward had disappeared!  It was incredibly beautiful!

I love how God is always painting new sunsets and sunrises for us
to enjoy!  No two are ever the same!

It is so much fun to share my JOY with you!!

Remember:

****MY BLOG WILL HAVE A WHOLE NEW LOOK AND BE
RENAMED THIS NEXT WEEK! 

***THE ADDRESS WILL REMAIN http://holidayinthesun-becky.blogspot.com, but the name will be
JUNK TO JOY!!

I WILL ALSO POST MY BLOGAVERSY GIVEAWAY NEXT WEEK!!

Lots of hugs n love to you!!
Becky

CUP OF JOY!! Soul Melody

One day, the great Felix Mendelssohn wandered into
the cathedral where the magnificent Freiburg organ
could be found. 

 
(updated Freiburg organ)

He asked  if he might play a few notes on it. 
The custodian, unaware of who was making the request,
refused him permission.  After a time, he reluctantly 
agreed to let him play.  Mendelssohn took his seat,
and the most beautiful music began breaking forth!

The custodian was spellbound!

He came alongside the great musician and asked his name.
Upon learning it, he stood humiliated, self condemned and
saying “And I refused you permission to play upon my organ!”

There is One who comes to us…each and every day…

and desires to take our lives and “play” upon them. 
We withhold ourselves from Him, and refuse Him permission, when, if we would yield ourselves to Him, he would
bring from our souls

HEAVENLY MUSIC!

{excerpted from Streams in the Desert}

For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do His good pleasure.  Phillipians 2:13

Our days will be filled with JOY as we let God have his way
with us!

What’s in your cup today? JOY??

If not, maybe the Great Musician needs your permission to come in and play!

May your soul be filled with delight in Him all week long!

Love you bunches!
Becky

 

 

The Fabric of My Life

I am absolutely in love with TEXTURES!!

I know it has to be genetic.

My Mama Rose was an interior decorator and upholsterer, and her taste in fabric was eclectic and a little eccentric at times!

And I have fond memories of strolling through fabric stores with my Mom, and watching as her she lightly touched all of the different fabrics.

There were just so many that were too irresistible!

We couldn’t afford so much of what we saw, but Mom didn’t let that stop her from dreaming.

I can get absolutely lost with all of the textures…

especially the natural fibers.

Oh how they woo me!

I find that I am moving even more deeply into my desire to “simplify” within my home. 

It includes the color palette, too, which right now consists of lovely rich earth tones.

I read this quote recently and it really spoke to my heart:

“Texture has replaced my need for color”.

Could you imagine waking up here?

I dream now about changing my decor to mostly creamy whites and beiges with little pops of color here and there.  It is just so serene.  I will be making those changes a wee little bit at a time!

Here is a little sneak peek at my new…

Christmas Frosting Collection! 

 
I will be adding it to my Junk to Joy Shop over the next few weeks!

It will include lots of wonderful soft whites, with some lovely muted tones here and there…sprinkled with bits of vintage inspiration, and rustic, earthy, natural elements!

Can’t wait to share it with you!

Hope you have a delightful day!

Blessings and hugs,
Becky

Junkin’ It!

Please stay with me…this is a longer post than normal, but is IMPORTANT!

Have you heard??

Junk is all the rage right now!!

There is…

Junk Mail 

Junk cars

Ahem…Junk Drawers (not mine…mine is actually fairly clean right now!)

People who want your junk!

Junk Food

My Personal Fave…Junk Bonanza…I so wanna go one year!!!

And even a JUNK boat (it really is made of junk!)

And JUNK TO JOY SHOP!  OK, Hold that “JUNK” for a couple of minutes…

Come with me while I back track for a moment, will you?

Back in the late summer of 2008, I was in the process of creating some greeting cards and hit a creative block.  I had this one paper I SO  wanted to use and just couldn’t come up with any possible designs.  So…I turned to the computer and googled  images of “handmade cards”.

Much to my surprise…I found a card made with that exact  paper!!!

I clicked the link and it took me to a most delightful place:
kellishouse.blogspot.com

A BLOG!!  What a wonderful thing!!!  After browsing through Kelli’s blog, There is No Place Like Home, I was simply enchanted
with the whole idea of this new discovery…A BLOG.

Well, a couple of months drifted by, and I had kind of chatted with my older daughters about blogs, but they didn’t seem interested in helping me figure out if I wanted one or not…”Facebook”, they said!Or “can’t help you right now with that Mom”.

Then one day I googled “hospitality” because I was planning a brunch at my home, and wanted some good ideas on making it special.

I found this one site…”Gracious Hospitality”  It was yet another simply enchanting BLOG!!! 

I thought to myself, “I think I would like to have my own blog”. 

 
I (the computer illiterate one) am going to do this!!
I am going to create a BLOG!!

SO I went for it!

Now…what should I name it?  What should it be about??

What do I love and want to share?  Nature, crafting, the joy of my faith, sunshine, my lovely beaches…

I’ll name it Holiday in the Sun!  That’s what life here in Florida feels like to me!  A holiday in the sun!

And so it was.

Back to the present…

I live a life of faith.  I love my God.  I seek to serve Him with my life.  And I love how He is taking all of the JUNK in me, and making it into His likeness.  I want my blog and shop name to reflect that!

When I began to consider opening an Etsy shop, I was going to name my blog and my shop the same name, one that not only reflects my faith, but my love for old things that most would give or throw away.

I was going to make the blog changes first and then open my shop.

But God had other plans. JUNK TO JOY SHOP opened on Sept 4th. 

All of that is to say that I am finally getting around to changing the name of my blog to Junk To Joy…

I still love Holiday in the Sun, and my blog will pretty much stay the same, with a few added features, but the name will soon be changed to JUNK TO JOY!

{I am keeping the old address for now, but my have to change that when my photos get overloaded!}

SO, if you click on your link to my blog over the next week or two, and my new blog look and name pop up on your screen…

do NOT adjust your monitor!

It’s still me!  Just with a name that fits this wonderful place God has brought me to, and what He has given my hands to do for now.

STAY TUNED!

MY TWO YEAR BLOGAVERSARY  IS ON NOVEMBER 4TH

AND THERE WILL BE A COUPLE OF FUN GIVEAWAYS TO HONOR THE OCCASION!!

Thank you so much for being a part of my blog journey!
What a wonderful and wild ride!!

Blessings and hugs,

Becky

Cup of Joy~~That's Life

LIFE.  

Life has been a bit challenging for my family lately.

I won't burden your hearts with the details, but we have been dealing with some stuff that really makes our

hearts ache.

None of us escape this life without heartaches. Jesus said that we WILL have tribulation in this world.

He was so right, wasn't He?

I wish I could say in honesty that my first response to pain is to talk to Him about it.  Usually though, I cry, have a little bit of a "Woe is me" time, and then...turn to Jesus.  

Thankfully, He understands, and is ALWAYS there, probably thinking,

"I wish she would just come to Me first!" 

In my defense {and by His grace}...I do get to Him much more quickly than ever before! {smile}

One of the first Christian songs that I really came to love was the one the Lord put on my heart this morning in the midst of my tears.  It has this really soothing effect on me, and just draws me right into prayer, His Word, and His tender loving mercies.

Psalm 42:1

As the hart {deer} panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.

Here are the lyrics to the song...

As the deer pants for the water

So my soul longs after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You

You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You

I want You more than gold or silver
Only You can satisfy
You alone are the real joy-giver
And the apple of my eye

You're my Friend and You are my Brother
Even though You are a King
I love You more than any other
So much more than anything

Isn't that so beautiful?

I hope it makes your heart glad to know that this incredible God...the same one that created and sustains LIFE as we know it,

LOVES YOU WITH A PERFECT LOVE,

AND He longs to hear all about everything you're dealing with...the good, the bad and the ugly!!

We can have great joy in the midst of pain!  

Could it get any better than that??!!

I thank the Lord for turning my tears into JOY this morning!!

AND

Thank you for sharing a cup with me this morning!

May your week be full of JOY in Him!

Love ya bunches,

Becky

Incredible Edible Cell??

Madison is studying Botany this year along with some other homeschoolers and it is quite a fascinating subject! 

I have learned things I didn’t know/remember!

It is a little demanding and in depth, and she had a
project she had to complete for the first grading period.

This project was F-U-N!  She had to make an
”Edible Plant Cell” that everyone could enjoy
eating once it was graded!

She chose to make hers out of cake…carrot cake that is,
in keeping with the Botany theme, and all other manner
of goodies to represent the different organelles that
make up each cell.

Here it is in all of it’s glory!

She used sour worms, fruit roll ups, icing, sour straws, chunky colored sugar, a chocolate star, and a chocolate disc with sprinkles on it.

I thought she did a great job!  And she got an “A”!!

We all learn so much better when a little fun is involved, don’t we?

Let’s see…did you remember that plant cells aren’t round like animal cells?  If you did…go to the head of the class!! :)

***********************

Hope to visit you all in the next couple of days!   I’m trying to balance everything out with my new responsibilities, and it is a bit of a challenge!! 

Thank you for understanding! 

Would you please pray that I work out a schedule that helps me maximize the hours (and minutes) in my day??  Thank you so very
much.  I am open to hearing any suggestions you might have as well!

Hope your week is full of J-O-Y!!!

Love n hugs,
Becky