My Very First Post!!!!

After months of contemplating, praying and procrastinating I am finally posting my first blog. Wow! How cool is that! Now, let it be known from this day forward - I am not in my daughters league of bloggers. Both of my girls have a blog and I enjoy so much reading things about them I never knew. They are witty, have great spiritual insight, think deeply and have done me proud. Do not expect the same from their Mother! I, on the other hand, like to ramble and at my age (which I will not go into) have come to realize that the simpler things in life are the most precious. For instance good coffee - counting how many bird nests are in our yard - sitting by the campfire listening to the quiet - fixing a meal for my children, their spouses, and grandchildren and waiting for them to tell me how good it is! I guess I am getting the cart before the horse - I need to tell you a little about myself and from whence I came.
I was born and raised in East Tennessee (an only child) and retired from working in the Court System as a court clerk. In thirty years I saw and heard it all! I have two daughters, two sons-in-law, 5 grandchildren ranging in age from 22 to 4, and one husband who is retired from the State of Tennessee. To be retired is wonderful and the best gift the Lord has given me is to be able to sleep till whenever I want (around 7:30 or 8:00) in the morning instead of getting up at 5:30. When we retired, we sold our house and land and moved to the side of the mountain toward North Carolina - still close to the children but far enough away to feel like we are on vacation. My heart is in the mountains. I love the beach for a limited time and always look for the mountains coming home. Our, my hubs (thought I'd use Bethanne's lingo) and I have found that the simpler our life, the better. I enjoy watching the progress our children make, but do not envy the work. Wait - that's not lazy - that's been there, done that! There comes a time in one's life when enough is enough!
You may have already been able to tell from the layout of my post that I am a dog person. Much to the dismay of some of my children (namely - waiting for the shout) who say I love my two dogs more than them and that my dogs are allowed to do things that my children were never able to do (lay on the beds), I have found great comfort from the unconditional love that Bodie and Chessy give us. They do have some annoying traits. They are yappers. They think they own the road in front of our house and thus protest if anyone passes on "their" road. They are jealous of one another if each is not getting their share of attention. They want what they want when they want it. Sound familiar? So many times I find that my dogs react in some of the same ways we humans do. I have learned much by observing how they react to us and to each other.
Confession time - I am a crossword puzzle junkie! I am obsessed with the puzzle in the daily newspaper. I have even gone so far as to go on line every (yes, I said every day!) and run two puzzles off the Internet and have been known to work on them for a week to get them done. I enjoy the challenge not to mention that I am insuring against dreaded "A" word by keeping my mind active! I also to the cryptogram and the work scramble - there - you know it all!
Having said all the above - I am here to tell you my most important accomplishment - I on May 11, 1970 accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my Saviour and Lord, and although I have many, many times been disobedient and made some horrific, sinful decisions in my life, He has always been faithful, forgiven me, and drawn me back into His loving arms. I live daily with the consequences of some of those decisions but I also live with the knowledge of His love and forgiveness. My heartfelt goal in this life is to be obedient to Him and one day hear Him say "Well done".