Life on Lula Lane

Journey's

2011-08-21T18:05:00.000-07:00

God has a journey for all of us. Some of those journey's are fun and filled with excitement and adventure. Some journey's you encounter with fear and trembling. I have learned and am continually reminded that my loving Heavenly Father is with me each step of the way no matter what Journey I may be facing at any given moment. There are so many Godly people that have walked the path of life and experienced the joys and fears that I have. Many have gone on to be with their loving Abba Father that got them through the good and tough times. I am so grateful that they chose to expose their paths for all to see and share what God brought their way to get them through. I am continually stretched to trust in God's character. To be pushed to let go of my white knuckle grip on what I have absolutely no control over. To see and believe that God does cause all things to work together for His good to those who love him and are called according to His plan. (Romans 8:28) Even our failures are apart of the "all things" in this verse...can I get an amen! I am learning to trust in God's omnipotence. For there are times when I have wandered away from Him and what a lonely and miserable time that was. So, when I see others that have wandered far away from His grace, I hurt for them and I pray even harder that they will return to the wonderful, matchless love of Christ. I'll close with a poem I read in a book by Ruth Graham.
Fleeing From You

Fleeing from You,
nothing he sees
of Your preceding
as he flees.

Choosing his own paths
how could he know
Your hand directs
where he shall go?

Thinking he's free
---free at last---
unaware that Your hand
holds him fast.

Waiting for darkness
to hide in the night,
not knowing, with You
dark is as light.

Poor prodigal!
Seeking a "where" from "whence"
how does one escape
Omnipotence?

Thank you Father for loving us so much to be everywhere we are.

My Triathalon heros...

2010-08-15T13:33:00.000-07:00

What was I thinking??? Participate in a Sprint Triathalon?? The challenge was laid out for whoever wanted to take it. I thought, prayed, started training and before I went on vacation in June I was committed. My two hero's for this would have to be Jennifer and April. Although I could not have done it without the support of my dear husband (who rode many miles with me on our bikes) these two ladies spurred me on. April kept me on track with the training schedules, answers to medical questions, what to eat and when it was okay to push through the pain and soreness. She never got tired of helping and encouraging. Thanks April, your help meant more than you will ever know.

Jennifer, my other hero. She too was an inspiration to me. Just to watch her train and take care of two children and keep her home running was a blessing to watch. And then on top of all that, she never let me quit (which I wanted to do at least once a week). She ran, swam, and rode bikes with me as often as was possible. She shared her clothes with me (which I still haven't returned):) and told me to take Advil. She even set up my new iShuffle with her Praise and Worship playlist because she knew it would help me get through the running portion of our training. But, even after all of these things she did for me I think the one aspect I respect her the most for is her words of love to me when she showed me a negative character trait that I had allowed to take root in my life. It was a brief but powerful comment that was relayed in love and I can say it was a turning point for me. Why? because she was right. The comment that she made is really not what is important, what is important is that it was said in love and God gave me the ears to hear and receive it as such.

God taught me so much in the past nine weeks. I look forward to the NEXT event with these lovely ladies and whoever else would like to join us. It's well worth the time and effort.

Love these ladies..........

A Good Day!

2010-07-14T17:55:00.000-07:00

I had a fantastic day today and I just wanted to share it with whoever cares. Today started with going to the Aquatic Center and swimming 400 meters. I loved it. The first time I swam, a few weeks ago, I did so in a pool that was 25 meters. I did okay but it seemed like I was swimming forever and I also had a lot of let cramps which was not any fun. So today (a few weeks later) I swam in a 50 meter pool. It felt like it was easier and NO leg cramps. Yeah! Next, was back to home where I worked on my bible study I'm doing for the summer on Ruth. The story of Ruth is pretty amazing and I am really enjoying learning more about God through this study. For lunch I met my youngest at Chick-fil-A. I don't get to spend much time with him so I was grateful for the 45 minutes we had together. Back home to start some laundry. Then, outside to mow the back and front yard. I love mowing the yard. I know, this is probably weird but what can I say.... I remember working in the yard with my dad as a young girl. He pretty much taught me all that I know about yard work and somehow it's still a connecting point for me with him even though he has been with the Lord for quite some time now. After mowing, I washed my NEW car. Another thing I saw my dad do many, many times. Somewhere between mowing, washing the car and laundry, I started dinner. Dinner was amazing, if I do say so myself. :)
I cooked a recipe that I grew up on and also cooked for my family when they were all at home. This is where I connect with my mom. I learned by watching her cook for her family. The entree really doesn't have a name. It's thin sliced pork chops cooked with a "red sauce". The pork chops are salt and peppered, then a very, very thin slice of lemon is place on each one, sprinkle brown sugar over each one and cover with a sauce made from ketchup and a little water. They are baked in the oven at 350 for about 45 min. to an hour. Amazing!!! and yes we had rice, lima beans and corn muffins to go with it. Very comforting for all. (and nothing was left)
After dinner I was off to my in-laws house to gather some day lilies and visit for a short while. I was tempted to plant the day lilies when I got home but decided it was to dark :)
So, there you have it!!! This was a good day for me. I am so grateful to God for giving me the health to do the things I love. I am also most grateful for a husband who has provided for me, protected me, and allowed me to work part-time so I can have days like this again.
I shared my good day with you, what does a good day look like for you? I would love to hear......

Fall Traditions...

2009-10-11T18:01:00.000-07:00

I am a fickle "season" person. I spend some thought time, just a little, each season trying to decide which one I enjoy the most. I go back and forth between Spring and Fall as to which one is my all time favorite. When Fall gets here it is my favorite and when Spring rolls around again next March/April I'm sure it will be my favorite. But for now it's Fall in Georgia. The bright sunshiny days with the temps. in the low 70's, no humidity (Yeah!!) and the cool evenings and mornings are wonderful. The leaves are starting to change and we are still on day light savings time so there is still daylight until about 7:00pm. A very refreshing time of year.
Also with Fall comes a few traditions we have done throughout the years. So, today we went to the Smith House in Dahlonega. There you eat family style all the fried chicken, roast, ham, black eye peas, fried okra, cream corn, collard greens, mashed potatoes and gravy, slaw, green beans, rolls, corn bread, and strawberry short cake you can hold. Definately a heart attack meal waiting to happen but we figure once a year is not so bad. After our meal we then walk around the Dahlonega square and browse, and enjoy the scenery.

Stan and I out side the Dahlonega court house

Mark and Michelle at the Smith House

After our time in Dahlonega we are off to Burt's Pumpkin Farm. Now mind you, when we started going about 20 years ago it was nothing like it is now. It was crazy busy. But, it was still a lot of fun and we got two great pumpkins to carve later.
..

We had a great day!

April, May and June

2009-05-25T19:59:00.000-07:00

What a crazy few months and I/we have loved every moment that has been given us. We started out in April going to Panama City with David, Debbie, Amber and her friend Taylor. We stayed in a condo on the 16th floor and the view was amazing. Not to mention having time with our best friends in the world (30+ years) it was a nice break that we needed.

Then it was off to NYC with my girls and Debbie, April and Amy. We had a fabulous time and I am still smiling just thinking about the time together.
The first of May found us in Arizona with Destin and April. This was a really special time for us to see God's wonderful creation, get some rest, and hang out with my amazing niece and her husband.

We just returned from visiting Matthew and Emily. We went to the beach in Wilmington, NC on Saturday. While there we rode a ferry over to South Port and ate at one of those "mom and pop" places that has been around forever. I can truly say I have had the best crab cakes, ever.
The fun part about this picture was watching them climb up in the tree. Cute couple.....
This is on the ferry over to South Port. I just love this girl and I am so proud of her. She works hard and whatever she pursues, loves to have a good time, and she takes really good care of our son. Plus, she is a great shopper, which is what we did on Sunday...
I just feel really blessed. God has done exceedingly, abundantly, above and beyond all that I could ever ask or think.... Thank you Lord for my health and for putting so many people around me that love me.
What's next???? June 1st it's back to WACHOVIA BANK for me. I will be the Teller Manager at the Kennestone office which is right by the hospital. God has made it very clear that this is His will for me. I'm acting out of obiedience and trusting Him for the future. He knows how important my family is to me because He put the love that I have for my family in my heart. So, I'll trust Him to make me available when I'm needed or called upon to help.
LaurieAnn is coming in June for her birthday, Yeah!!!! and we will see most of the family again in June at the beach.

Arizona was awesome!!!

2009-05-13T18:48:00.000-07:00

Yeah for Fro Yo....gotta find one in the ATL

This past weekend at Destin and April's home was truly a memory that we will treasure for a long time. We got to see some amazing sights but best of all we were able to spend a lot of time with Destin and April. Destin and April both had all day Saturday and Sunday off which is a rare event for them. Saturday we slept, shopped, ate, slept some more, went to a D-backs game, and had some really good pizza after the game.
Sunday was church, grilling out, hanging out by the pool, napping, hiking, and some really good mexican after the hike.

sundown over Phoenix...good times!

Monday we traveled to the Grand Canyon and came back through Sedona to see the red rocks.
We ate at a really cool restaurant on their outside deck where we could watch the sun go down.

There are not enough words to express the beauty of this awesome sight....

All of this was very special but what blessed us the most was just spending time with Destin and April. We are very blessed to have 4 great children and the Lord has given very special mates to 3 of them. But we are "triplely" blessed to have nieces and nephews who love the Lord and are serving him each and every day!!! We love Destin and April as if they were our very own. Granted, we did get live around April as a child, which was very interesting at times :) So, to get to be around her as an adult and see and talk about what God is doing in her life was a real treasure.

Memories...........they are what last. Let's keep making them........................

After eight years.......

2009-04-14T14:27:00.000-07:00

he's done. Mark played his last football game last night at JSU. Stan and I were able to go and we had a great time. It was a bright sunny day with a few clouds in the sky and a cool breeze blowing. Mark started the whole game on the 2nd string team and they won 34-17. It was the perfect ending to a wonderful time in his life and ours. Playing college ball at any level and for any sport is not easy. The first year if the toughest and he succeeded in many ways. He has always been fun to watch because he was such a passionate player. But no matter where he was playing he always managed to find us in the stands and acknowledge that we were there. He was even able to find us at GA Tech last year, not an easy thing to do. He played hard and worked hard even when he was asked to play defense in high school which is not his strong suit.
Mark has been our "hobby" for the last few years since all of his siblings have moved out and started their own lives. What a fun "hobby". His goal was to play college football and the Lord allowed him to do that. Starting spring practice as a red shirt freshman in the 2nd string position was a huge accomplishment. But his passion is gone for playing the game. After much council he has decided to, come home, work on getting his gpa up, lose 50 lbs., and earn/save some money. Please keep this big "teddy bear" in your prayers as he seeks God's new plan for his life.

GOOD TIMES!!! WE LOVE YOU SON AND ARE VERY PROUD OF YOU :)

Grandchild #2...

2009-03-31T04:28:00.000-07:00

I got the privilege of going to Jennifer's doctor appointment yesterday. There are not words to describe how I felt when we heard the little one's heartbeat. It brings back lots of warm and good memories of my own. Hearing that little heartbeat starts an attachment with a little someone that continues for the rest of your life. God is so good....
Now, let's vote on what you think that little someone will be. Boy or Girl?? I will confess that I agree with Jenn in that the heartbeat did sound a little slower than it did with Savannah. Does that mean Boy? I know that it truly doesn't matter but it's fun to guess. You have until April 24th to vote. After then it won't matter because that is when Jennifer's next appt. is and they will find out if it is a Boy or Girl. What if they kept it a secret? I think I would go crazy.....

A day in the life of a Daschund....

2009-03-12T13:49:00.001-07:00

For those of you privileged to own one of these precious pups, you know that there day exist only to find warmth. This existence often requires traveling. I was able to capture Ginger's route to warmth the other day and I thought I would share it with you.

First stop....the back patio

Second stop...her bed, under my shoes, only because the sun spots had temporarily disappeared

Ahhhhhhh....third stop

Fourth stop.....almost the end of the journey

Last and final destination.....until tomorrow.

Almost 50.....

2009-03-11T19:46:00.000-07:00

Well, I will be a 1/2 of a century old on Friday. As i leave my 40's and head into my 50's i thought i would go out with a grand memory.....I fell and fractured a bone in my wrist today. And to top it all off it's my right hand. Oh well, it could be worse, right? Thanks April for being my very own nurse and council this week. We needed it.

House update #2

2009-02-27T13:26:00.000-08:00

Well the Dining Room is done and I love it!!! Hope you do too. As My Style stated, warm woods with color, that's me. I will be adding a rug, changing out the window treatment, and finding a spot for an antique table from my grandmother but you should be able to get the idea. We have taken a week off from painting, sanding, caulking, and patching now it's onto the Family Room. The Family Room should be done by the end of March so I can then do my most favorite hobby....planting flowers and working in my new yard.

My Style

2009-02-27T12:40:00.000-08:00

Your personal style is a mix of 2 specific styles:

75% Wine Country Style

25% Mountain Lodge Style

Wine Country Style

Tuscan sun, here we come! The Wine Country style reflects the feelings evoked by the seaside regions of Europe such as the South of France, Spain, Italy and Greece. The style manages to be both refined and casual, such that you can mix beautiful antiques with more rustic wrought iron or wood and the result is both sophisticated and cozy.

Furniture is large and comfortable, colors are bright and cheery, and regardless of the color palette the spaces almost always feel warm. You can easily translate the style into the perfect family environment but you can just as easily emphasize the more formal pieces and make your room the perfect adult getaway.

Ok, I think this is pretty much me. I like warm, cozy, antiques mixed with formal, and color.

This was fun. Thanks for sharing April.

Cookie Master

2009-02-11T15:10:00.000-08:00

I love making Chocolate Chip cookies!!! I have such fond memories of when I was a child and my mother making them for us. I made them for my kids and now I make them just for my BIG kid. The good part about being "empty nesters" is that you don't have to share the cookie dough with anybody. What is your favorite cookie to make???

My BIG kid....

31 years ago....

2009-02-04T05:51:00.000-08:00

...today I promised God to love one man in sickness and in health, rich or poor, until death do us part. I have always viewed my vows to Stan as a vow to God which I do not take lightly. In 31 years there have been MANY ups and downs, changes, arguments, apologizing, laughing, holding of hands (through happy and sad times), hugs and kisses. Last year, on out 30th anniversary, our wonderful children surprised us by coming to town, taking us to dinner, and giving us a night out on our own, then time with them again the next day before they all had to leave to go home. We were blown away by their generosity and love. Then in April, God provided a marriage cruise for us to go on. The time together and the scenery was amazing. Both events are imprinted on our hearts and will be talked about as great memories for years to come. Fast forward..........today, our 31st anniversary, we will go and pick up Mark's truck from being repaired (new transmission, not one of the happy times) and go to the Trackside Grill for a nice quite dinner. But, it doesn't matter as long as we are with each other. I know this sounds a little sappy but it's my anniversary and I'm feeling sappy :) For you bottom line people, here's the point...... How did we get here? Three things to remember, 1) Love God MORE than you love your mate, 2) Grow yourself in the Lord and let the Lord grow your mate, and 3) Forgive, Forgive, Forgive and Forgive again. What's next? On to year #32 :)

Tah Dah......

2009-01-20T18:34:00.000-08:00

I know this has been a long time in coming but I kept waiting until we got a lot done. The kitchen is 98% finished. We still need to paint the window over the kitchen sink, and finish up some shoe molding but other than that we are done. Now on to the Dining Room. Hopefully this room won't take very long. Just need to paint and get a rug made. All in all, we LOVE all the changes and are so grateful we had the opportunity to do this. Thanks for your patience, enjoy the pictures....

breakfast nook

new cabinet for breakfast nook

view of kitchen from family room

new canisters my "decorator" found, thanks Debbie, they are perfect :)

view from hallway to family room, Ginger enjoying the fire....

Ginger in front of the fire...she is sooooo happy.....

view from front to to dining room

view from kitchen to dining room

Fun times.....

2009-01-18T19:26:00.000-08:00

I know I haven't blogged in quite some time so please forgive me. I will try to do better in '09. I did want to share some fun photos I got of Savannah. She spent the night with Grandmama and I got to feed her dinner. Now mind you, I don't have much on hand to eat these days since all my children are not at home anymore so she got what I did have. Homemade macaroni and cheese and chocolate pudding........yum, yum. Plus, I let her feed herself as she likes to do. She is so much fun and a real joy to my life. Enjoy the pic's.......

p.s. house pictures coming soon.......

Christmas Memories....

2008-12-16T05:37:00.000-08:00

Since Jennifer asked for others to share their Christmas memories it started me thinking....What are my Christmas memories? These are from my childhood, they are a little different but yet special to me. I grew up in Miami, Florida and both sets of my grandparents lived in Jacksonville. Every other year we would travel to Jacksonville to spend Christmas with our grandparents and 3 of our cousins. My Nanny (my father's mother) had a SILVER Christmas tree set up in her family room. On the floor was a mechanism that turned a round piece of plastic that was made up of four colors, blue, red, green and yellow. There was bright light that shined through the plastic and it was pointed at the tree. Therefore as the colors rotated through, the tree changed colors. I have often thought how cool that would be to have an updated version of that Christmas tree. My granddaddy (my mother's father) did the traditional tree. As a child it always seemed so big and I can tell you it was perfect. Every light and ornament was hung just so and I always looked forward to seeing "granddaddy's tree". At home I remember my mom baking lots of cookies. We would have batches of Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal (some with no raisins just for me!), Date Bars, Thumbprint cookies and Crescent cookies. She would make up tins of these cookies and share them with the neighbors. But, one of my favorite things my parents would do with us is have a designated night where we would all pile in the car and drive around the neighborhoods and look at the Christmas lights. It was a huge, big deal to put up Christmas lights in Miami. It seemed like we spent hours driving around and seeing all the lights. Then we would go back home for some hot chocolate. Yum! After moving to Georgia my parents started the traditon of having us share what God had done in our lives during the year and we would share this on Christmas Eve. What a special time this is and what a blessing to know that God is at work in all of our lives. Merry Christmas!!!!

Remodeling and Christmas....

2008-12-07T18:52:00.000-08:00

One thing I have learned throughout this remodeling experience during the Christmas season is how much I truly love Christmas!!! I somehow didn't think it would bother me not being able to decorate my house or bake all those fun cookies I make at this time of year but I have realized I was wrong. I do miss all of those traditional fun things we have done through out the years even down to hanging the "Griswald" lights on the outside of the house.

But the end is in sight. This week we get cabinets in, the fireplace installed, counter tops, and hopefully plumbing and electrical. Finishing the wood floors will be the very last thing done. I will say that we have been truly blessed in how it has all come together. Although we are tired and ready to have a neat, clean and orderly house, this is our dream and we are grateful to be living it.
floors ripped up, back wall removed (notice how there is not insulation in the outside wall) I guess that is how it was done in 1964.

our future fireplace.......just off the kitchen

wall before opening was cut from front room to dining room

after opening was cut out.....

wood floors, sheet rock on back wall of the house (with insulation underneath :)

this is where our refrigerator and a small cabinet will go

this window is being replace with a solid pane picture window, and it's hard to tell from this picture but the colors are a beige and chocolate

Thanksgiving at Matthew and Emily's

2008-11-29T05:26:00.000-08:00

We all arrived at Matthew and Emily's by 1:00 on Wednesday. We started eating and didn't stop. That is the Bounds "tradition". We had a really fun meal of fondue Wednesday evening and of course the Thanksgiving meal was amazing. We are soooooo blessed with the family God has put together for us and we are very thankful for each one of them. We shared what we were thankful for(mom's idea) :) dad learned how to play Wii, I napped then we all went to a movie.

Lots of fun!!!

More eating......

More special times.....

Granddaddy playing Wii.....check out Savannah watching...

Grandchildren are the best!!!!

The flood........

2008-11-22T20:08:00.000-08:00

Stan brought a friend over to see our house last Friday and when they went to the basement this is what they found.....

This was the culprit.....an old drain that was not capped off properly. We are so very grateful that it is not a foundation issue. The drain has been fixed and there has been no more water!!!!! Yeah!!!

more pic's

2008-11-22T19:42:00.000-08:00

Here is my bathroom before......

Here is my bathroom after.....

It's hard to tell from the pictures but the walls are painted a light baby blue and we installed a new light fixture and put in a recessed cabinet.

Here I go.....

2008-11-22T18:42:00.000-08:00

I hope this comes out right....
I am setting this blog up so whoever is interested can see the changes that are taking place in our new home. We feel very blessed to be traveling down this road. We start major renovations on Monday & Tuesday. So far we have finished the master bedroom and bathroom, got new carpet twice in 10 days (crazy story), and fixed a leak in our basement that caused a minor flood (3 times).