FFF ~ It’s all about Hope!

It’s time for Friday’s Fave Five. Please visit Susanne at Living to Tell the Story to join in or visit more favorites.

 

Our little Miss Hope wasn’t named that randomly but because she was the result of the hope my brother and my SIL had for her to be born. My brother didn’t have hope of being married a few years back and I’m sure the hope of having a child of his own was off his radar. BUT ~ our God is a God of hope and because of His great mercy and love gave Leonard and Mandy a gift from Him and they named her Hope! Leonard and Mandy married in their 40’s, a first marriage for both of them. They’ve been married for 4 years and little Miss Hope will be 3 in January. Last Thursday we flew to Dallas to have a visit with Leonard, Mandy and Hope. My favorites for this week are…

1. Seeing Miss Hope warm up to us over the course of our time there. At the beginning she only wanted to sit with mommy at the dinner table but soon she decided it would be fun to sit by Dear and me.

2. Watching Miss Hope and her lack of fear at gymnastics.

3. Having several good meals around the table with Leonard, Mandy and Hope.

4. Being able to have good conversations with Leonard and Mandy.

5. Every morning Dear was up first, then Hope, then the rest of us. Dear would be stationed on one of the couches in the family room with his back to the arm of the couch and legs stretched out on the couch reading. On the first morning Hope came out and saw Dear there and ran back to daddy and mommy’s room. By Sunday Hope decided when she got up that she would grab a book and sit on the couch opposite Dear with her back to the arm of the couch and legs stretched out on the couch and read. Too Cute!!

Hope to get around soon and see your favorites from this past week!!

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

Yard Art ~ Dallas

My little niece arranged some pumpkins in her front porch area. If you look closely between the corn you’ll see an H and an O and a P and part of an E. :0) Then while my SIL and I went on a 6 mile walk early in the morning we spotted this..

It was still on the dark side so a little blurry. Please visit Mary at Work of the Poet to see more yard art or to join in…

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

Habitats…

While at the Dallas zoo with my brother, SIL, and niece there was lots of chatter about habitats.

 

It really is more pleasant to see an animal in it’s natural surroundings even if those surroundings are man made. The zoo’s newest addition was Giants of the Savannah. Both my brother and SIL spent some time in Africa last year on a mission trip and were excited to see this part of the zoo.

 

 

 

It was a fun challenge to keep up with the Little Miss…

 

 

We took a ride on the Safari Monorail to see some more habitats.

 

 

 

This reminded little Miss of the Pocahontas story.

 

So many interesting animals to see. After we had our monorail ride we saw some feathered friends.

 

 

Our last stop was the children’s zoo and a ride on the pony!

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

Be On the Alert!

1 Peter 5:6-10 (English Standard Version)

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,  casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.  Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.  Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

I took these photos at the Dallas Zoo this past Friday. I was happy they were in an enclosed area. They look docile in these photos but we all know we would be their prey in the wilderness.

Hope your Tuesday is starting off well. As usual I’m trying to get my bearings re-established after being away…

Can’t resist…

…showing some more photos of little princess, Miss Hope!

My brother took these photos. We had a wonderful time in Dallas. We enjoyed being there for the excitement the state experienced with the Rangers winning against the Yankees! We got to see tornado warnings flash across the TV screen during college football. We heard the loudest thunder and saw some great lightning flashes. I’m again posting this from 30,000 feet in an airplane. We are almost over Pocatello, Idaho. My battery is just about done so I’ll catch up with everyone later on when I get home!

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

A Texas Blue Monday

Coming to you from Dallas for Blue Monday. Visit Sally at Smiling Sally to join in with some blue.

 

I’m posting this from our flight from Dallas to Seattle. In flight WiFi is a very cool thing! This is a photo of a t-shirt my brother Leonard wore on our trip to the Dallas Zoo on Friday. I’ll be posting more photos from our time in Dallas soon. Have a wonderful Monday Y’all!

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

Like A River Glorious ~ Hymn

 

Like a River Glorious ~

Francis Ridley Havergal (1836 – 1879)

Like a river glorious, is God’s perfect peace,
Over all victorious, in its bright increase
Perfect, yet it floweth, fuller every day,
Perfect, yet it groweth, deeper all the way.

Refrain:
Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blest
Finding, as He promised, perfect peace and rest

Hidden in the hollow of His blessed hand,
Never foe can follow, never traitor stand;
Not a surge of worry, not a shade of care,
Not a blast of hurry touch the spirit there.

Refrain:
Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blest
Finding, as He promised, perfect peace and rest

Every joy or trial falleth from above,
Traced upon our dial by the sun of love;
We may trust Him fully all for us to do.
They who trust Him wholly find Him wholly true.

Refrain:
Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blest
Finding, as He promised, perfect peace and rest.

The Princess ~

We found out that there is a Princess party that Miss Hope is invited to on Sunday so I’ll be tagging along with my camera and I’ll be able to capture some clearer shots of her in her princess gown. We were at the Dallas Zoo today and I’ll post more photos next week.

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

Everything’s Bigger in…

…TEXAS!

Dear and I are spending a long weekend with my brother, SIL and little Miss Hope. If you don’t see me in your comments you’ll know why.

We didn’t come to Texas empty handed but brought this little Princess Gown for Miss Hope. Hopefully she’ll want to model it for us so I can get a photo of her in it! It will be fun spending time with Miss Hope on her home turf. Time will tell what mischief we get into.

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

At 5:30 A.M.

…it’s still dark in Seattle.

I was here and then home again by 6:00 A.M. There are sacrifices you make for the beginning of a fun extended weekend. We’re heading to Dallas at noon today but first I’ll make the same drive I did at 5:00 A.M. to pick up Dear from work at 10:00 A.M. Things will look a lot different by then.

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.