Inspiration Avenue Weekly Challenge

'HANDS'

This is my submission for this weeks challenge. I have been so moved by the different HANDS that touch my life on a daily basis.

Wednesday are especially meaningful.

In the morning I see HANDS of volunteers giving their time & talents to make every Hospice patient feel special.

Then later in the day I get to see the loving HANDS of my Sisters in Christ as we studying God's Word and supporting each other in our daily journey,

 wherever it may taking us.

ALL of these ladies are special and they are MOMS.

So to each of them and to each of you at Inspiration Avenue,

I wish you all a very Happy Mother's Day!

And, Shelly, I LOVE being your MOM (((HUGS))) 

Inspiration Avenue Weekly

Challenge

"FOLIAGE"

Inspiration Avenue Blog Challenge

This weeks theme reminded me of the many times we traveled to the beach on the Washington coast. Many times we would have our daughter, Shelly & her family with us. The ocean has many moods of "STORMY WEATHER". I have captured them in pictures, but if you are a photographer, you know they never really show the "Moods".
Today I decided to take 4 of my photographs and merge them together to create one for this weeks challenge.......

"STORMY WEATHER"

The photographs centers around one taken of my grandchildren making the most of a storm on the beach, by running into the waves with the wind whipping at them, turning the waves & sand around them. Showing you can have fun in......

"STORMY WEATHER at the BEACH".

Inspiration Avenue Weekly Challenge

"Dolls"

I have not entered the challenge for some time.

I was every inspired this week with the theme

"Dolls"

Growing up I had lots of dolls. I had a Story Book Doll collection that number quite a few dolls. I still have the collection, but have not taken care of it as I should have.

The dolls in this picture hold many memories. The Teddy Bear was a gift for my first Christmas. The doll on the left I called "Cindy" and she walks!!!

My very favorite is the Vogue Doll - Ginny - in the yellow dress & hat.

One birthday, the only thing I got that year were clothes for my

"Ginny Doll", all hand made by my Mother and my Grandma Werner.

Thanks for bringing back some wonderful memories with this weeks challenge.

This weeks challenge for Inspiration Avenue is:

"What's in Your Christmas Ball"

When I read the theme I thought of the Christmas Trees that are decorated each year with a different theme, never the same from year to year. They might be all Snowmen, or Santa"s, a certain color like Blue & Silver or Red & Gold. In our 44 yrs of marriage this has not been the case. Our trees have always been decorated with ornaments handed down from family member, homemade ornaments or that special ornament picked out specifically at a Christmas craft show. When the Christmas boxes come out & the ornament boxes are opened the memories flow:

"Oh remember when we got this one in Hawaii?"

"Oh here are the ones we bought for Shelly's first Christmas"

"Aunt Hazel made one of these for all the family members"

"I remember getting this one at a Ornament Exchange when I worked at Gallagher"

"We got these for each family member & had them personalized in Ketchikan"

"Shelly & I, each got one of these at a Christmas Bazaar in Illwaco"

"I never thought I would get all the pins in these sequins when I made this one"

I could go on & on, but I love opening the box with the few fragile glass ornaments, that my parents got before I was born. The colors aren't as bright & the hooks are gone, replace by modern ones. Yet when you look at them they seem to say:

Heirloom

Aged

Fragile

Generations Past

Treasured

Below are pictures for these precious ornaments, that are still in our family, hanging on our tree. In the middle is the Angel tree topper & Rudolph ornament from my first Christmas.

So here's my interpretation of:

"What's in Your Christmas Ball"







Inspiration Avenue Weekly Challenge

"Aged Beauty"

"Grandpa Charlie's Saddle"

This saddle belonged to my Grandfather

Charles Raymond Johnson. I never got to meet him, because he died in a hunting accident when my own father was only 16. The saddle was kept by my father & stored in our garage attic. When it came time to clean out my childhood home, the saddle was found, by my cousins husband, Bob. I did not know that it was still in the family. My mother had told Bob, that he could have the saddle, which we gave to him. It is proudly displayed in his office and used when he & my cousin, Velma, compete in Chuck Wagon Cook-offs. It has been completely restored, an

"AGED BEAUTY".



I wanted to capture the beauty of this lovely Mum Plant. It was given to me by a very special lady, I have come to know at Mountain View Funeral Home & Memorial Park. She comes in many times when I am working to get the key to the Mausoleum - to go visit her husband. I was drawn to her & her daughter when her husband passed away. It seemed I was always working when they came in to make arrangements for his Memorial Service/Reception. So I was honored to work as the hostess for the Reception. As I look back on the events I can see Gods hand in all of it. He used me to help this family through a very difficult time of loss. I just wanted to be there for them & to continue to offer support for them afterwards, with a smile, a hug or simple "How are you doing?" It seems like such a small thing to do for someone who is grieving. One day recently when I arrived to work, there was this lovely Mum Plant waiting for me. I was so surprised. When I read the card attached to it, tears came to my eyes. It simply said

"Loretta, Just Because, Sincerely Ingrid".  

We do not know when God is going to use us, but we need to be ready & not question that gentle nudging from Him. Because you have no idea how you will be blessed by blessing someone else.