A Great Day at the Beach!!

Our last trip to the beach was so delightful!!


Just look at this little fellow!!

We don't get a whole lot of these

but I LOVE watching them!!

He would try to outrun the waves coming in!!
Too cute!!


As you can see it was a beautiful day.
It was a bit windy, and there were bigger
waves than normal so we didn't venture into
the water

Little Miss Emily loves the beach as much or
more than I do!!

It's so great to "see life" through her eyes!!

It reminds me constantly to find JOY in the
little things!!

The clouds started to roll in, and it got a little
too cool with the wind coming across the water

I mean the water temp is still in the high 60's!!

Emily started feeding the seagulls so of course
I had to get a few pics!! They are really pretty
birds!!

And what fun it was to look down the beach
and see a beautiful bride getting pictures taken
on the shore. Click photo to see her better!!
She was holding her dress and twirling and posing.
Remember the elation you felt on your wedding day??
It just brought back all of mine and made my day!!

THEN, on the way out, we drove past a hotel and
there she was out front!!

We HONKED several times and all waved to her,
and she jumped with delight waving to us
with a big smile on her face!!

Such a fun day!!

OH!! And my header picture...
it was shot the same day.

As any good Nana would, I made a public
spectacle of myself by whirling around in circles
chasing Emily with the camera.

I was sure I didn't get any decent shots...
I WAS SO WRONG!!

Blessings to you Sweeties!!
Have a glorious weekend!!
I'm heading out to do some planting!!
Becky

Birdy Update and This and That!!

HI SWEETIES!!

As most of you know, we had a lovely little
Carolina Wren (named Wendy) build a nest and lay her
eggs in this flower pocket on one of my front doors.

Well, we're sad to report that it is now 5
weeks later and she never hatched her eggs.

When Wendy was flying in and out, the flower
pocket would stay crooked on the door.
One day my Mother-in-Law came and picked it
up and straightened it not knowing there was a
nest in it. We believe that caused Wendy to
abandon the nest.


Today I very carefully removed the nest so I
could show Maddy, and the girls in our Keeper's
at Home Club.

It is so precious. I am so amazed at all the different
things they use to construct their nests!!
I'm even more amazed when I try to fathom how God
programs all of this neat behavior into His
creations!! TOTALLY AWESOME!!

Here are a few different views:

From the side

Hopefully next spring we will be able to have
a little birdy family to observe and enjoy!!

SUBJECT CHANGE #1

Here are a couple of pics of the decorations for the
bridal shower for Mallory's friend.

They were on a budget, so it is very simple, but we
liked how it turned out.

My contribution was the use of our home, decorating,
and the potted Mandevilla. (which will be planted this
weekend along the fence in the backyard.)

The party favors and prizes one of the bridesmaids
bought; bath salts and heart-shaped cookie cutters
filled with chocolate hearts (in the basket)

SUBJECT CHANGE #2

The installation of our lovely new carpet!! YAY!!

We found such a bargain, and got 3 rooms and
the hallway for what 2 other people would have
charged us for just 2 rooms!!
GOD IS SO GOOD!!

Finished, and Maddy pooped out on the sofa!!

I know that sofa isn't Tuscan, but it was FREE!!!
And is top of the line!! We'll make it work!!

SUBJECT CHANGE #3

And last of all, my slate girl is finally in the niche!

You can read about the history behind this
artwork by clicking here.

One problem, though! I am not happy with
the background color in the niche!!

I'm thinking about either a lighter or darker
green than what is on the wall.

What do you think?? Please share!!

I am in search of a small sideboard or table
of some sort to put below the niche. I want
something nice and I want a bargain!!

I'll let you know what I find!!

Thank you for taking the time to visit me
today!! You make each of my days a little
BRIGHTER!!

Love 'n Joy,

Becky

The Florida I Love!!

If you don't know it already, I LOVE living in Florida!
I was born here, raised here, and have lived here most of

my soon to be 51 years!!

We enjoy the beautiful beaches, and the incredible
lakes, rivers and crystal clear springs.

Yesterday my buddy, Jess, invited us to go on

the Blue Springs Riverboat Tour. Of course, we couldn't resist!

When you cruise along the St. Johns River, you enter a time-warp.

On the river, time truly stands still.
It is Olde Florida in all of

her glory.

Come along with us and see for yourself...

So peaceful and serene...you feel all of your cares just

melt away...

The wildlife is so abundant as you will see.

OH!! Don't get too relaxed...

That is not a log in the water. It's an alligator.

This one is probably 8-9 feet.

Such a warm welcome!!
This one almost appears to be smiling at us as we go by!

It was overcast and the buzzards were just hanging out

A professional fisherman?? You never know what you'll see!!

This guy doesn't look very big, does he?

How about 13-14 feet?? YEP...I'm serious!!

He is the biggest we saw...awesome!!

Playing hide and seek!

We thought we were going to see this gator enjoy his lunch!

Fortunately...he just left the nice little birdie alone.

A majestic Blue Heron!

I'm not sure about this one. I think it's a
Snowy Egret.

Someone has gone along in a boat and hung these

little bird houses along the river.

HOW CUTE IS THAT??

OK...Mothers are mothers, right?

Check out this new mommy keeping watch over here

babies!!! They are piled up in front of her!!

A baby Blue Heron

A gorgeous Black Crowned Night Heron

Mr. Turtle posing for the camera!!

An Anhinga drying it's wings.

There is a neighborhood tucked back in the woods,

and this is a bench one homeowner put out to

sit on and enjoy the river! Lovely, huh???

I don't think I'd be sitting there!

Too much like GATOR BAIT!!!

Male and female Wood Ducks

A marvelous Osprey. These are often mistaken for

Bald Eagles.

The amazing root system of the Cypress trees.

And last but not least is this precious baby Barred Owl.
You can't see mama,

but she is to the upper right from him keeping watch

over her young'n!!

This little guy was such a delight to see. I love owls.
They are nocturnal, but do spend time awake during the

day as well. He just struck a pose for me, didn't he??

Well, I hope you enjoyed your riverboat cruise!

We sure did!!!

It was a glorious two hours of heaven on earth for me!!

Blessings and Joy!!

Becky

Thanks a million, Jess!! What a treat!!

Great Birdy News and Spring Sensations!!

As of yesterday, there were still no more little birdy
sightings. I grabbed the bottom of the flower pocket on
my door, and carefully lowered it to look inside,
thinking I was going to remove the nest.

Guess what I saw??!!!

Three little eggs tucked deep inside!!
JOY of JOYS!!!

I quickly and VERY carefully rehung it on the door,
and went inside to get my camera and a chair so I could
snap a photo for Maddy to see.

We can't wait for the little chirps to make their debut!!

Thank you Lord, for this delightful blessing!!
You truly do take great pleasure in surprising us!!


Of course we will not be touching the flower pocket
anymore, although we had already touched it plenty
before she built her nest there.


Hopefully I will be announcing their arrival soon!!



Until then, take a look at these lovely,
fun spring decorations I found!
They are either from Martha or Better Homes and Gardens



This is one of my personal faves! So clever!!
Except it would melt in sunny Florida!!!

This is just so PERKY!! Makes me smile!!

Mmm...I'd like to be at this garden party!!

Another one of my faves!! Such a cute little guy!!

A nest...DUH!! Fave?? Of course!

Adorable way to decorate candles!

A charming and cheerful centerpiece!! Love it!

Hope you enjoyed these fresh spring ideas!!

I've got to get busy and perk up my nest for spring!!

Have a delightful day, Sweeties,

Hugs, Becky

JOY for our Journey~Sharing Tidbits of My Joy

Yesterday evening, Randy, me, Maddy, and my niece Kristina were driving out of the neighborhood to go to the coast and watch the space shuttle launch, and this is the sky we saw!!



It immediately made me think of the glory of God that is going to shine so bright in heaven that there will be no need for light!!

Do I hear a HALLELUJAH??!! AMEN!!

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OK, you all probably know by now that I adore birds. Right?

A couple of days ago I was feeling a little sad because it seems that our backyard bird population is dwindling...everyone else had more birds singing than us...WAAAHHH!!!

Why couldn't the bird lady have more birds?? WAAAHHH!!!

Well, we have a double front door that I have these two cone shaped flower pockets hanging on.

I thought it a bit strange when the one on the door that is never opened kept getting tilted. Hubby gave some explanation on the laws of physics, and I bought it hook, line, and sinker...that is until...
we saw a little birdy on top of it!

A few days went by and when I was straightening it, I took it down and looked inside...and lo and behold...the beginning of a nest was in it!!!

JOY of JOYS!! Front door birds!!!

Fast forward a couple of days to today, and look who appeared bearing more nest building materials...



How adorable is this??








Needless to say I will keep you abreast of this developing story!! I'm so excited!!!


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Now to go boldly where no other blog has ever gone!!!

The Flylady (if you don't know who she is you should check her out!) talks about how important shining your sink is...and I agree...

A shiny sink is a happy sink and makes me smile (although mine is porcelain...a bright white sink is a happy sink!!)


BUT, with that said...


Prepare yourselves...this is almost a holy moment...cue the choir...





A fresh, clean organized fridge just makes my face beam with JOY!!!


Speaking of beams...see that light...I told you it was almost holy!!! LOL!!!


So glad to get this done...it was overdue, and I feel so much better now, don't you?? :)


Those are my tidbits of joy to start off the week!!



Be a blessing!!
HUGS!
Becky