Wednesday's Wisteria

Yesterday was such a warm and sunny day that I took a short stroll in the yard. Just as if on cue, our wisteria tree bloomed. It was breathtakingly beautiful! I had to capture the purple loveliness of God's handiwork with my camera:

We have several plants in yard called "sweet bushes," because of their smell. The fragrance is so pleasant to smell:

Our grass is so green from the recent rains. I love the shadows displayed in this next picture:

Etiquette 101

Over the weekend, our family visited with our friends, David and Lizi , for a unique purpose. As a child, David's mother taught him how to be a gentleman using the book, Emily Post's Etiquette. Lizi grew up in England, where she also learned etiquette. We noticed their impeccable manners a few weeks ago when David and Lizi joined us for Passover dinner.

Since the fine art of proper etiquette is no longer regularly taught or found in today's American culture, we asked David and Lizi to teach us appropriate "table manners". They graciously answered our request with an invitation to dine at their home this past Saturday. Every detail of the evening was carefully and wonderfully planned!

The table was beautifully was set with a lovely flower arrangement:

Each place setting was also tastefully decorated and logical. Each utensil had a purpose. Most of the dinnerware and flatware used to belong to David's mother:

We learned general manners, such as how to use our flatware, how to pass the food, and to whom we should first speak. Our meal was very delicious and consisted of five courses: soup, main course, sherbet (to cleanse the palate), salad, and dessert. At the very end of the meal, we each got a finger bowl to wash our hands:

After dinner, we enjoyed some live, classical music and conversations centered on the Lord:

The evening closed much like it began with thankful hearts and prayers to God for His provision and goodness. Proper etiquette is not as difficult to learn as I imagined. As David said, "It's about common sense and putting others ahead of yourself".

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." -Philippians 2:1-4

Fabulous Friday

Today's Remicade treatment very went well. The nurse had my bag of medicine ready very shortly after I arrived, so I did not have to wait for the pharmacists to deliver it. That meant, I did not have a large and unnecessary dose of saline pumping into my body. Usually by the time the Remicade infusion is finished, I have a pounding headache. That was not the case this time. I'm very grateful to the Lord for every attentive nurse and medical appointment that occurs without a glitch.

I have enjoyed the past few days, too. Helen's visit was definitely the highlight of this week. Even though I was not able to spend a lot of time with her due to my work schedule, we did make some memories with the few hours we had together. Helen brought some gift cards to our home that, upon being used, benefited her grandchild's school. That was all of the incentive to go shopping that we needed! So, Tuesday night Mom, Helen, and I had a successful shopping trip to Payless Shoes. Then we came home and watched a Beth Moore video. Wednesday night, Mom and I took Helen with us to Bible study. Then, we came home and had a "girls' bedtime tea party" with a candle, coffee, and leftover Birthday cake (thank you for sharing, Paul Burton!). That night, we went to bed both spiritually and physically fed.

Another blessing of this week was observing the outside beauty of God's creation . Until now, the flowers have been timid to bloom because of the cold temperatures. The songbirds, too, have waited to burst into their melodious tunes. This week, all of that changed. The varying colors displayed on the tree foliage and flower petals remind me of an artisans paint tray. And the birds are so cheerful! They are beckoning God's creation to praise Him, which is what I find myself doing a lot these days. Below is snapshot I took this afternoon:

Snapshots of the Weekend

I had a wonderful time visiting with Sandy! Her positive, but realistic perspective on living with a chronic illness was both refreshing and inspiring. This was Sandy's first visit to Virginia, so we showed her the beauty of Roanoke by walking in the wildflower garden at Mill Mountain and driving on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The Lord gave us a beautiful day to visit together with warm and sunny weather:

Below is Sandy with her mom, Nancy:

Roanoke is known as the Star City:

Sandy remarked at how odd it was that we call the trees pictured below "Red Buds," because they are more purple and pink in color. I quite agree. Despite their name, though, these trees are a welcome sight to Virginians who know that once a Red Bud is spotted, Spring is just around the corner:

This next picture reminds me of the part in Anne of Green Gables where Anne and her friend Diana explore the woods only to have Anne fall into a hole and twist her ankle:

Wednesday's Wrap-Up

Hello! Recently, the days have been jam packed and thus my blog posting has slowed down. I've had other priorities. However, I do think of at least one topic to write about everyday, even if I don't actually post my thoughts. This week in particular, we've had something going on every evening. In fact, I just got home from Bible study. Tonight, I was reminded (again!) of how much the Lord orchestrates our lives. I also learned about reversal of destiny, chiastic structure, and peripety. (Those are fun words to say aloud!)

Lord willing, I have an exciting event taking place on Saturday. I have a very special friend from Michigan coming to visit. We've had this event on the calendar for sometime now, but I was waiting until my friend wrote about it on her blog before I announced the plans here. Sandy will be attending a conference in Washington, D.C. next week, but first she is making a detour to our area of Virginia.

While Sandy does not have HPS, she does have another rare blood disorder and an endocrine disorder, so she knows first-hand what it's like to live with a chronic illness. She does not let the diseases stop her, though. With her strength and hope anchored in the Lord, Sandy lives life with perserverance, spunk, and joy! One of my favorite things about Sandy is her ability to write. She is a faithful blog poster, so I encourage you to visit her website. Please pray that she (and her mom) make it to our home safely and that our time together will be full of wonderful memory-making. I promise to take pictures!

Spring-ing Into Action

Okay, so maybe I can't exactly have a "spring in my step" yet, but I am staying very busy nonetheless! For these first few days of April, no news is good news. My rib is healing nicely, although it's still sore. I'm thankful to be up, around, and breathing, though.

We've had "company" this week at home. In addition to family events, I've been trying to catch up at work. There are several projects going on right now in addition to my regular responsibilities. Well, my lunch break is over, so I'll have to post more at another time. Thank you for checking the website and praying.