Goodness and Mercy

We have been aware of the presence of Goodness and Mercy,
but we have finally come face to face...

They appear tattered and worn on the outside,
but on the inside..their spirits are refreshed by the thought
that they have been sufficiently acknowledged.

Isn't that how it is?
We 'feel' a presence,  just like we 'feel' the wind...
but when we finally see it face to face....
like leaves swirling in mid-air...
we can truly believe!

Goodness..who is nicknamed 'ohma'
because of Grammy's favored saying,...repeated often by Xavier .."ohmagoodness"..
is now known ..
as something God shares with those who seek Him.
Her dearest friend is Mercy...
formerly known as a very southern term ..followed by very many exclamation marks...
is now known for being one of God's greatest gifts!

These two have been around for quite a long time...

working steadily... all these days... in the home of Grammy and Big Daddy.

They scurried silently through the rooms...


...Welcoming children who would call out "Grammy and Big Daddy"...

Xavier, lover of all God's tiniest creatures...
including Chicky Chick...who would go to Heaven, not long after Easter...

and Baby Bun...
wounded beyond repair, who we would lose the following week...

loving them with his tender heart, whilst they were on this earth...


Princess Kyleigh...who would enjoy her very first Tea Party......

..... ever smiling...Colin...

..and "Miracle at Christmastide"... newborn, Sophia...

Around the kitchen, they'd sneak ... smelling eggs that were 'scrandled'...

spying their Dormice friends, John Jacob and Eliza....

 ...passing Scout's favored 'circle of sunshine' she found each morning, in the foyer...

And up the stairs...


into the play room....
watching Xavier as he played with a set of 'lincoln logs'...
enjoyed and cherished so many years ago, by my Matthew, Cale, and Olivia....

and the wooden train set...each piece, a Christmas gift for my mother , who began requesting the set when she became a 'memaw,' and her grandchildren became toddlers...

out the windows, they hopped....

...landing with a bounce, into the blooms of the climbing hydrangea..

...and into the blushing petals of the 'Bride'...

'neath the towering stalks of Xavier and Grammy's Hollyhocks...

...stopping to gaze at the first bloom of Xavier's 'Rainbow' summer cutting garden....

down the drive...
to the pond and the great marshmallow tree...

a little boy claimed as his own....

......Sprinkling their blessings every where they stopped to rest.

How evident are their gifts all around...do you see? Goodness and Mercy are everywhere at once..for that is the nature of these two ..

They are now joined by a new friend, Shirley...

Who shares with Goodness and Mercy, the resource she has found...in Grammy's growing library...

(Thankful to a very talented craftsman, Seth Tudor...
son of our beloved Tasha Tudor....who crafted the wooden art stand)

..and Shirley, Goodness, and Mercy shall follow Grammy and Big Daddy for all the days of their lives...

into their new home,
and into the lives of their children and grandchildren.
Such a gift!
How blessed we are!
And one day, we will all dwell in the house of the Lord!

These are the children...along with the ones who love our children...and the grandchildren ...of Grammy Christie and Husband...worshipping on Easter Sunday...
All of us together, at once. I believe it was a first. God is so Good.

Thank you, in advance, all my dear friends...new and dear...tried and true...
for all of your prayers in these next several...
very hectic...
days ahead.
May God add His richest blessings upon you!

On a Morning in May...

"I can hear the violins begin,

I can hear the piper play,

But every time I think of you,

You just steal my heart away....Just like a morning in May like this...."

Grammy and Big Daddy's story began on a morning in May, seven years ago, and the lyrics from Van Morrison's song became "their song." 

This was such a beautiful morning, I took a stroll, with a letter to mail and my camera in hand, and captured a bit of the loveliness along the way to the mailbox at the end of the drive.

  I never tire watching this climbing hydrangea attach itself, 

climbing ever upward.

Good "Morning, Glory!"

Welcome! little "rainbow" garden...Xavier will be so happy to meet you!

I am so proud of my Peony Girls...

Pretty ..and Pink ..and Deliciously Fragrant....

Oh, how I wish you could feel this cool breeze and hear the calming sounds of the waterfall, as I stand in the shade of the Grand "Marshmallow" tree....

I must say...April Showers brought Fields of Flowers...

I place my letter in the mailbox, lift the red flag, and turn to walk the length of the drive to our house....

such a pretty sight...the cottage, our home, and the stone barn....with a backdrop of the most vibrant shade of blue...it catches my breath....and steals my heart away....

It is May Day!

I remember celebrating May Day when I was a little girl...beautiful ribbons streaming from a pole on the playground at school...weaving in and out...all of the children marching around.... such fun!
I found the lovely picture above, entitled "The Children's May Pole," in the antiquated book "Happy England" by Helen Allingham.  My dear friend Diane at Corgncombe Courant, had the most beautiful post featuring this book and its quaint scenes of country life in England. I have enjoyed having my own copy, now, and am ever thankful to Diane for introducing us to this treasure!

We awoke this morning to thunderstorms and left for church as the rain continued to drizzle....
When we arrived home, pulling into the drive, we looked towards the pond and exclaimed with much delight..."Look! Canada Geese!!"

Xavier was beside himself with excitement, for we had not had them visit....we had only seen them as they flew across our property on infrequent occasions. We approached very carefully, trying not to disturb them, but as we drove up beside the pond, they suddenly honked and took flight!

The pond was full to overflowing...but at least we enjoyed a few minutes without rain, to capture a few more photos, updating the progress of our flowers at 'Morning, Glory' cottage....

The hollyhocks are filled with buds, now, and we are so anxious to see them bloom this year. The peonies are ready, as well...

This is the most spectacular sight, to the gardener who thought a sweet plant had ended its will to produce...

As we move further up the drive and park our car, I come to the hydrangea bed for a glimpse at their progress. The climbing hydrangea is in bloom, and I spy little buds on the other lovelies at her side.

Once inside our home, we look to a very special book to retrieve more information about the geese..

Again, we thank our dear Diane for sharing this most beautiful and informative book, on a recent post describing the fascinating call of the red-winged blackbird.  Xavier, along with anyone who chooses to peruse this book, is intrigued, and anxious to tap the little button and hear the famous call of the Canada Goose.

We dig further into our ever-growing library, and find photographs of the beautiful peonies that grew in Tasha Tudor's cottage garden...

The English Cottage Gardening Book is such a feast for the gardener's eyes...a wish book, of sorts...each page provoking dreams of flowing, trailing, blossoming, borderless beds ...a must-have for cottage gardeners...

Someday, I will find these particular fragrant beauties...

Thank you to dear Natalie at Rookery Ramblings, Office Manager of Tasha Tudor and Family, for posting the availability of this exquisite, hard to find, book.

So on this rainiest of days on the first of May, we gaze through the bay window, over the fresh green grass, saturated by these rains, and ponder the beauty to come...as these showers will bring our flowers! Happy May Day!