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Psalm 3 – A Prayer
Please pray this scripture (customized from Psalm 3) with me. Pray it over Mama, or yourself, or whoever in your life needs to fight or is giving up. “But you o Lord are a shield around HER, HER glory, and the one who lifts HER head high. She’ll call out to the Lord, and He’ll answer from His holy mountain. She will lie down in sleep and wake again because the Lord sustains her. She will not fear though an enemy has invaded her body. And the the army attacks her insides, feeling like the enemy. Arise Lord! Deliver her, my God! Bring her strength and hunger and the energy…
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Peace & Provision
“You keep [her] in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because [she] trusts in you.” Isaiah 26:3 ESV I’m going out on a limb here and guessing that if you have this verse highlighted or committed to memory, it’s because there have been some dark/anxious/valley-filled days along your path. A friend sent it to me last year during a difficult time, and I cannot overstate the impact that single verse has had on my life. I can testify the truth to this “perfect peace” He promises. I can also testify that when your mind wanders for even a moment, that peace can leave and the enemy fills the void…
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Food is My Love Language
The long weekend gave our family such a nice reprieve! My kitchen served as my therapy space, and I took full advantage – pancakes and strawberry butter, biscuits with sawmill gravy, lemon squares, whatever was requested was made – and I loved every minute. Our recent cold-for-Mississippi weather along with asking a cancer patient about her daily diet has also had the effect of me craving to eat and serve all sorts of comforting food. If you add all this together with MY kitchen tv streaming Netflix just for ME, I can almost forget the seriousness of life happening these days. I’m learning through this journey that living in the…
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One Down
Mom’s first chemo treatment last Thursday went as smoothly as possible. She handled everything like a champ, as evidenced by this picture: When we left, she was pumped full of steroids, anti-nausea meds, and was enjoying a healthy appetite. We headed to Madison and waited for the kiddos to come storming in off the bus with hugs and questions for Grandma. (All the while, George had a fine day on our couch alternately watching the History Channel and napping.) A dear friend brought us dinner from Biaggi’s, and that meal hit the spot. We all feasted, relieved that the day was over. Everyone slept peacefully. Friday consisted of a clinic visit for a Neulasta shot and an…
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Mom Has Cancer
There. I said it. I suppose it’s official now that the Internet knows. I’ll be using this old blog to post updates. To get everyone current, here’s the timeline: Two weeks before Thanksgiving mom went to local clinic for visit, while there showed an area of concern to practitioner. Mammogram scheduled for following week. Week of Thanksgiving, mammogram done. Suspicious area noted, ultrasound and biopsy scheduled in Tupelo for first week of December. Biopsy and ultrasound done, radiologist felt very certain that the two masses (one 4.5 cm and the other 1.5 – give or take a few tenths) were cancerous, but didn’t see anything in the lymph nodes per…
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A Finished Project – The Stenciling of the Foyer
Let’s just say that I’m not the most “diligent” on this whole blogging thing. Fairly obvious. The post below has been sitting 3/4 complete for over a year! Several friends have asked for details lately on how I stenciled the foyer…so, with their prompting, here you have it! Since the very first day we moved into our house (about a year and a half ago), the foyer has been on “the list.” “The List” (noun): The ever-growing, never-completed list of things that NEED to be fixed/changed/updated/loved in your dwelling. Most often includes un-realistic deadlines. High possibility of ever-changing priority assigned to items. Various forms include paper, computer file, reminders (IPhone), notes…
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My Front Door
Update – we painted our brick, and the front door last fall (2014). The door is now a cast iron black…but I loved the Hawthorne Yellow while it lasted! I moved my blog (and haven’t done much with it) since I pinned the Yellow Front Door in the Spring of 12. Here’s the original post: Yesterday marked the 1-month anniversary of sleeping in our new house. We are nowhere near as settled as I thought we would be by this point. So, instead of making excuses, I’m trying to gain new motivation and inspiration and dig into projects! To give myself a kick in the right direction, I thought it best start at the front…
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My, My Chicken Pie
Gloomy afternoon and my meal plan designated “Chicken Pie” for today – well that worked out pretty well. I grew up with Chicken Pie being one of Mom’s go-to covered dishes. Hers is delicious…bubbly crust made from biscuit mix, cream of something, boiled eggs…southern classic. Mine is an adaptation from that wonderful Yankee, Ina Garten. (I usually refer to her as “Barefoot,” but that drives my husband crazy for some reason.) A dish like this is simple for a weeknight, provided you do a little prep. I routinely boil chicken, freeze the meat, and freeze the broth. It’s amazing what all you can accomplish in the kitchen when you have…
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My Mom Called at 9:30 Last Night
That’s never a good sign. With that call came news that a cousin may not make it through the night. Such a kick to the gut. I continued with my plunge into Downton Abbey season 1 escapism. I’ve been escaping a lot lately and in this season of Thanksgiving, I am very thankful for easy escapes on the screen. During the scramble to get the first child out the door this morning, I received another call. My cousin had passed just a few hours prior. No escape now. But no time to really process either – I had to get myself presentable and my youngest ready for her debut as…
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Not Just Any Potato Soup
Fall in the South. For those that live here, the disappointment that this season can bring is all too well known…the teasing of a brisk morning only to succumb to mid-80s in the afternoon, a week of “boot-weather” only to bring your flip-flops back out the next week, and on and on. For me, the only solace is sheer denial. After the first evening of temps below 70, I’m all in – at least in my kitchen! Today we had a respite of perfect fall weather. Our Sunday evening meal matched it to a tee – Council House Potato Soup (and toasted, homemade sourdough bread). This potato soup is not…
affectionately known as "Mama Devin" to some…