**All photos and text are property of Angela Pounders and can not be distributed without permission.
If you share one of my posts, please include a link to my page. Thanks!
Cast Graffiti and Transformation **All photos and text are property of Angela Pounders and can not be distributed without permission. If you share one of my posts, please include a link to my page. Thanks!
0 Comments
Sweet Girl drew this picture of me with one crutch before I got my cast. Love it! **All photos and text are property of Angela Pounders and can not be distributed without permission. If you share one of my posts, please include a link to my page. Thanks! The house where so much love was shared and so many precious memories were made for over 50 years. Thank you, God, for providing my grandparents with this house and all the joy it brought our family. **All photos and text are property of Angela Pounders and can not be distributed without permission. If you share one of my posts, please include a link to my page. Thanks! I have been on an emotional roller coaster lately. Between Papa Bear looking for a job and my parents looking to buy a house--in another state no less--I have gone through a myriad of emotions this summer. I just keep praying that things will settle down and everyone can get back to "normal"--whatever that is! As far as developments, I have some not so good and some great news to share. First, the not so good news is that Papa Bear still hasn't found a job. We have been very thankful for the freelance work he has been doing, but God has yet to open the door to something more regular/stable. We pray that we will remain patient and faithful as we wait on God's perfect timing. Now, for the great news! My parents have bought their first home! I am so excited for them. They found their dream home on the Eastern Shore and will be moving there this summer. My parents have given so much of themselves to others their entire lives and I am just thrilled that they will now have something of their own. Of course, I would have loved it if they were our neighbors, but God didn't work it out that way. I can't wait to go and visit. My Dad has family on the Eastern Shore, so we'll get to visit with several relatives when we go to their house. While my parents finding their dream home is a huge praise, the down side is that my grandmother, Pap-poo's, house had to be sold. My parents and my family lived with her since I was in elementary school and they have been living in the house since Pap-poo went to heaven in July 2012. It is definitely going to be hard for me to say good-bye to that house. So many fond memories have been made there. It has been a place of comfort, a safe haven from the world, a home filled with love at all times and the doors have always been open. It is truly the end of an era. On a bright note, the family that has bought the house (praise that it was sold!) has two children and they have been wanting to move into that neighborhood for many years. I know that family will create their own great memories in Pap-poo's house. I pray that the love that filled the house for generations will continue to fill that house for many more years to come. God does answer our prayers. It may not be when we want or how we want, but he does answer prayers. He knows what is best for us and He provides us with what we need when we need it. We are so thankful for the way He has provided for my parents and we trust that Papa Bear will get a stable job soon. Psalm 37:1 - 7 Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. **All photos and text are property of Angela Pounders and can not be distributed without permission. If you share one of my posts, please include a link to my page. Thanks! This year, we spent the entire Fourth of July at home, which is out of the norm for us. We read a book about why we celebrate the Fourth of July or Independence Day at bedtime the night before. My plan was to fill the day with red, white and blue food, patriotic music and outside fun. We started off the day with a red, white and blue breakfast appetizer while listening to patriotic music. I saved these cute Mickey Mouse snack trays we got from Walmart so I could reuse them. They made the perfect dish for our appetizer! Before lunch, the girls got on their swimsuits and we headed outside for some water and sand play. I filled up a bunch of water balloons with the hose while the girls played in the sprinkler, water table and sand box. Of course, they were very interested in what I was doing, but they waited patiently to play with the balloons. It took much longer to fill up the balloons than it did to pop them all! The girls had so much fun playing in the water and sand. They enjoyed watching me run through the sprinkler, too! We all had a popsicle before heading in to dry off and change. We had picked up a special treat at the store for this special day--ice-cream cupcakes! The girls shared one and I ate one after lunch. They were pretty tasty! Sweet Girl really wanted to eat dinner outside, but I knew our dinner would be much easier for the girls to eat if we were at a table. So, Papa Bear took the girls' little table outside and we used that as our dinner table. Papa Bear and the girls played outside while I gathered everything to take outside for dinner. After dinner, I brought out a tray with everything we needed to make our own red, white and blue dessert! The girls loved piling on the Cool Whip, blueberries and strawberries on top of their pound cake. It is so true that children love to eat what they create! Sweet Girl actually made a dessert sandwich out of the ingredients. We ended up watching a short video as we waited for it to get darker outside. The girls were very excited about the change of pace. When they heard we were going back outside, they couldn't wait! Papa Bear had bought some "snakes" and sparklers and we put on a little show for the girls. We also got a glimpse of some fireworks in our neighbor's yard. As the girls were getting ready for bed, Papa Bear said he could see "big fireworks" from our front porch. So, we stood on the front porch and got to hear and see some of the "big show" light up the sky. It was the perfect way to end a very special day. We came inside and read Happy Birthday America!, tucked the girls in and before I knew it, they were asleep! Another blessed day with my family! ******************************************************************************************************In lieu of having our traditional flag cake on the Fourth of July, I made this cake and took it to Grandmommy's when we visited the next day. Everyone loved it! **All photos and text are property of Angela Pounders and can not be distributed without permission. If you share one of my posts, please include a link to my page. Thanks! There has been a lot of stuff going on in my life lately and the common theme that keeps coming up is that I am not in control. No matter how hard I try to control things or act like I have everything under control, I am realizing more and more that God is in control and I need to depend on Him to work things out in His timing. It's not that I forgot this, but apparently, God thought I needed some reminders! Right now, there are two main things on my heart and on my mind: One is that Papa Bear has been without a job now for two months. We are very thankful for the freelance-type of work he has been doing, but God has yet to show us which door He is opening next in regards to full-time employment. Not knowing what He has in store for us is not an easy place to be. One thing I can control is how we spend our "extra" time with Papa Bear. The girls and I have been cherishing having Papa Bear around more often. They especially love when they get to see him in the morning. Also, Papa Bear and I have been trying to be more intentional with how we spend time together after the girls go to bed. We have actually been having "date nights" in the backyard. Sometimes we have a special snack or treat, but usually we are just talking. It's nice to be outside in the quiet of the night, under the stars just hanging out. I know we won't be able to have late nights once Papa Bear gets a full-time job, so I am really enjoying every date we have. The other big thing weighing heavy on my heart is the fact that Pap-poo's house will be going up for sale this month. (The year anniversary of her death is also approaching.) I know this is something that has to be done, but that doesn't make it any easier. This is the house my mom grew up in, the house I was raised in and the house where we lived with Sweet Girl for the first week of her life. So many precious memories have been made in that house over the years--for generations. This also means that my parents have to move. Again, I have no control over this. I can't do much to help except pray--which I have been doing a lot of! Prayer is essential! God just has not shown my parents where He wants them to move yet. I know that He has the most "perfect, fun, comfy" place for them to live where we will create new memories and we pray this every night. Needless to say, July is going to be a month of uncertainty or to give it a positive-spin, adventure. I trust with all of my heart that God will work everything out and provide for all of us in His timing and there is nothing I can do about it in my own power. These life-changes are definitely growing me as a person as I am someone who does not like nor desire huge change in my life. I am a planner and like to know what is happening next. I am a helper and a doer who likes to have an end goal in sight. So, through all of this, I am cherishing family moments more than ever, being more intentional in how I spend my time, focusing on the things that truly matter in life and living more in the moment. Each day is special and we never know when it might be our last or the last of a loved one. I am not in control nor will I ever really be in control of things in my life and you know what? I'm learning to be more okay with that. I'd love to hear how God is working on you and in your life! **All photos and text are property of Angela Pounders and can not be distributed without permission. If you share one of my posts, please include a link to my page. Thanks! We were very thankful that we got to spend the entire day with Papa Bear on his birthday last week. The girls and I had a lot of fun taking him to Golden Corral for lunch. The girls were so excited just to be with Papa Bear and celebrating with him. For his birthday dinner, I got pork chops for Papa Bear to cook on the grill. The weather was so nice out! Love Bug liked to keep waving at Papa Bear, from a safe distance, while he grilled. Sweet Girl was interested in catching bugs. We had a lovely family dinner together. We are enjoying all of the time we are getting to spend with Papa Bear while he isn't working. We don't know what his schedule will be like when he does get a job, so we are thankful for what we have now. (That's the way it should be anyway, right?) The big excitement of the day was the Rocky Road Dessert Pie/Cake. Papa Bear looks forward to it every year. Sweet Girl was also looking forward to it. Everyone loved the cake! The car decorations went along with the colorful streamers and the couple of race-car themed print-outs I hung up. After cake, Papa Bear opened his presents and cards. The girls were very proud of their birthday card creations and who doesn't like helping open presents? The idea was that Papa Bear had a fun, relaxing birthday. Mission accomplished. **All photos and text are property of Angela Pounders and can not be distributed without permission. If you share one of my posts, please include a link to my page. Thanks! Last Sunday I had my belated birthday party at my parents. I had thought about asking my mom if we could make it a double birthday party since Papa Bear's birthday would be coming up in a few days. I forgot to say anything, but was surprised when I got there and it was obvious mom had the same idea as me! She is awesome at making people feel special. :) Just check out the cake she had made! Notice how we each have our own set of candles? Everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to me first and I blew out my candles. Then, we did the same for Papa Bear. I missed having Pap-poo there to sing "and many more" but Sweet Girl's little voice singing it was very special. Next, came the presents. The funniest part of the party was when Papa Bear was given a Victoria's Secret bag with pink tissue paper from my uncle. I know his mind was wondering what could be inside. Turns out it was a Ravens t-shirt! My uncle sure had everyone fooled--down to the pink tissue paper! It was a great moment. My mom also gave me the perfect Mother's Day card. I couldn't even finish reading it out loud because I was tearing up. Does the picture on the front look kind of familiar? :) Then, we had my dad's delicious sloppy joe for lunch. The girls just love that stuff! The rest of the afternoon was spent just relaxing and spending time with family. Later, for dinner, we got Outback (yes, again!) as Papa Bear's birthday dinner. This birthday party was worth the wait, but was bittersweet. It is the last family birthday to be celebrated in my grandmother's house. I have celebrated just about all of my birthdays in that house. My parents will be moving and the house will be sold this summer. To say I have a heavy heart would be an understatement, but I am thankful for all of the "happy birthdays" I was able to celebrate there and look forward to celebrating "many more" in my parents' new home. **All photos and text are property of Angela Pounders and can not be distributed without permission. If you share one of my posts, please include a link to my page. Thanks! Over the past couple of months, there had been talk at my husband's job that several people were going to be laid off at the end of April. The lay offs were going to be an effort to downsize the staff at the church. I remember jokingly telling my husband, "I hope we aren't getting this extra money back with our refinance because you're going to lose your job." Well, a little over two weeks ago, my husband had a meeting at work to find out if he was on the list. I was trying to have a normal morning and get us ready for story time. Before breakfast, I got a text from my husband saying that he was getting laid off. I was sad, sad for my husband who had given so much to his job and worked so hard every day. I also had a heavy heart for those friends and staff who were laid off as well. Some had been there for a long time. Change is not always good for everyone involved. Unfortunately, there is no unemployment for church employees. Even though we knew it was a possibility, the reality hit us hard. I can't talk about the details, but God has us covered financially for the next several months. We know that He will provide for us and our family. He has already provided some short term work for my husband. We trust that all things happen for a reason and that when God shuts one door, another one will open. It might not be in our timing, but we know that God will continue to take care of us during and after this trying time. We are excited to see what God has in store for my husband's career and for our family. I share this with you because this is a big life change for us. One that we probably would not have made on our own, but one that we know God will see us through. This verse came to mind and was shared by family and friends: Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 New International Version (NIV) **All photos and text are property of Angela Pounders and can not be distributed without permission. If you share one of my posts, please include a link to my page. Thanks! Wednesday was my actual birthday. I really wanted to see my parents on my birthday, so after story time (the last "regular" one for the season) at the library, we headed to my parents' house! First, we all went to the bus stop to surprise Shaba Girl who had early dismissal. She was so happy to see us all waiting for her! It was so precious to see Shaba Girl and Sweet Girl walk hand in hand back to the house. After we got back, we ate lunch (I brought chicken leftovers) and had some down time. It was nice to just relax and hang out. Before I knew it, dinner time had rolled around. My mom ordered dinner online at Outback for curbside pick-up. (My parents paid for the meal as a birthday present to me and Papa Bear--my husband's new screen name.) It was hard to wait for Papa Bear to come back with the food. Everyone was so hungry! He also got me a frappuccinno from Starbucks. (Two in one week and I hadn't had one in years!) The girls had the macaroni and cheese and baked sweet potato. The adults had coconut shrimp, Bloomin' Onion, cheesy fries and bread. My mom and I shared a blue cheese chopped salad. As if that wasn't enough yumminess (is that a real word?) for one night, there was a surprise dessert! My mom had ordered a large Thunder from Down Under dessert to serve as my cake. She presented it with one orange (my favorite color!) candle. Everyone sang "Happy Birthday" and I blew out the candle. Pap-poo use to always sing "and many more" at the end. Since she passed away, everyone sings that part now. I missed that this year. Everyone got a little piece of the Thunder from Down Under. It's very rich, but oh so good! Next, came presents! Shaba Girl gave me a beautiful orange seashell from her collection. My girls gave me a variety of fun presents--some of which I had asked specifically for. :) Papa Bear gave me a Starbucks gift card. My parents gave me the most delicious homemade coconut macaroons. It was a very nice impromptu party and and birthday! We ended the night with the girls taking a bath. Sweet Girl really, really wanted to "take a shower at Grandmommy's." Love Bug was excited about all of the action and once she figured out what was going on, she started to get undressed! Both girls ended up in the bathtub full of bubbles! It was kind of emotional for me because that is the same bath tub that my mother and then I took baths in when we were growing up. Everyone was full, tired and ready to go home by the end of the night! It was a very special day for me. I got to spend my birthday with my girls, Papa Bear was able to join us, we got treated to dinner and dessert and I got to see my parents and Shaba Girl. So thankful. So blessed. **All photos and text are property of Angela Pounders and can not be distributed without permission. If you share one of my posts, please include a link to my page. Thanks! |
AuthorThe Master's Daughter, Angela Pounders, loves teaching and sharing her ideas with others. After working various teaching-type jobs, she now uses her God-given gifts with her children at home. Categories
All
Archives
February 2014
|