It's Official...

I'm registered and ready to go.

Classes start June 21st...

I'm finally doing what I've put off for so long...

Going back to school.

I'm excited and ready to go.

Blessings,

Nora

Lyrics...

I'm huge into words, poems, quotes, and lyrics...

I was looking through lyrics today and these struck me.

I'm pretty sure that they are intended to be a love song but I see it as a love song from God to his beloved.

On Your Own lyrics

You live with a halo round your head,
This time your leaving.
This place where the walls are painted red,
Freedom is what you need.

But if the world should ever fall apart around you,
And if your lost and barely breathing,
I will find you,
And carry you back home.
I won't forsake the only love I ever known,
When your out there on your own.

Dark clouds they surround you in the sky,
Rain falls when your sleeping.
When your past the point of no return.
I will take away the hurt.

And if the world should ever fall apart around you,
And if your lost and barely breathing,
I will find you,
And carry you back home.
I won't forsake the only love I ever known,
When your out there.....

And I will wait,
However long it takes,
Til you realize what you have been searching for,
Was right here all along.
Eh...yea.....

When you lost the only light you had to guide you,
And your cold and barely breathing,
I will find you.
And carry you back home,
I won't forsake the only love I ever known,
When your out there on your own.

And if the world should ever fall apart around you,
And if your lost and barely breathing,
I will find you,
And carry you back home.
I won't forsake the only love I ever known,
When your out there on your....

When your out there on your own.

Blessings,

Nora

Staying Strong For Others...

Dance

When I was in 8th grade we were asked to choose a song that would be our

"Personal Theme Song".

This song had to have lyrics that reflected our life.

We were to copy it and write a speech about what it meant to us and why we

chose it.

After days of looking up lyrics I discovered the song

"I Hope You Dance" by Lee Ann Womack.

I have not stuck true to these lyrics that once gave me hope.

I settled for the path that I thought would be the one of least resistance.

I came close to selling out, and didn't reconsider.

Sadly above all, I did not give faith a fighting chance.

My hope for the future is that I change that pattern.

I don't want my decisions to be based on fear.

As I walk through the toughest times in my life, these words are hope to me.

They are a reminder of what I found important so many years ago

And what I need to keep as important now and in the future.

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder

You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger

May you never take one single breath for grantid

God forbid love ever leave you empty handed

I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean

Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens

Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance

I hope you dance

I hope you dance

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance

Never settle for the path of least resistance

Living might mean taking chances

But they're worth taking

Loving might be a mistake

But it's worth making

Don't let some hell bent heart leave you bitter

When you come close to selling out, reconsider

Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
(Time is a wheel in constant motion always)
I hope you dance
(Rolling us along)
I hope you dance
(Tell me who)
I hope you dance
(Wants to look back on their years and wonder)
(Where those years have gone)

Cottage Gardens

This is an old post from last year but I'm finding it inspiring again so thought I would share...

Now that the sun is finally shining I am loving being outside. Cottage gardens are so inspiring to me. I found these photos and info. from This Old House

*Unique Elegance*

Classic cottage gardens—like the houses that give them their name—tend to be compact, informal, and highly individualistic. Located close to the front or back door, traditional examples display a harmonious mix of annuals, perennials, roses, shrubs, vines—even vegetables—in neatly tended arrangements designed to delight, rather than impress.

*Follow The Brick Road*

Bricks laid in a diagonal herringbone pattern form a curving path dividing two wide borders. A hipped-roof birdhouse draws the eye upward.

*Structural Grace*

A classic rose-covered arbor and meticulously trimmed privet hedge provide architectural structure in a small yard overflowing with pink and purple flowering plants, including lush hydrangeas, old-fashioned garden phlox (foreground), and a wide window box filled with sun-loving annuals.

*Made For Shade*

Belgian block frames a shade-tolerant border composed of 'Anabelle' hydrangeas, hostas, and ferns.

*Summer Romance*

Under an arching weeping willow, a row of late-flowering pink and white rose of Sharon shrubs—planted closely together to create a privacy screen—gives this late-summer garden romantic appeal.

*Brilliant Border*

Favorite cottage-garden perennials—including black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia), pink-flowering sedum, and pale-blue delphinium—create a vibrant border around a carefully tended lawn.



*Green Peace*
Greenery—in plants and painted trim—evokes a sense of tranquility in a cedar-shingled cottage's low-maintenance, cobblestone courtyard.



*Casual Classic*

A Greek Revival dwelling gets a down-to-earth garden that takes the edge off its formality.

*Country Charm*

A favorite of butterflies, golden Rudbeckia grabs attention in a casual country garden punctuated by a compact Japanese maple, neatly trimmed boxwood, swordlike iris foliage, and a rose-covered arbor. Inorganic elements—from the stonework to the timeworn mailbox and lozenge-shaped window on the back door—add immeasurably to the simple yard's undeniable charms.




*Daring Hues*

A row of hydrangeas makes a bold impact in a narrow patch of land.




*My Blue Heaven*

Easily grown from seed, 'Heavenly Blue' morning glories twine about a white-picket fence, their heart-shaped foliage providing a visual metaphor of simplicity and contentment.




*Splashes Of Color*

Tall cottage classics like lemon-yellow daisies and fragrant white phlox stand out against the silvered shingles of a cedar-shake outbuilding.

*Uniformity Is Boring*

In the best cottage gardens, diversty reigns, with a wide range of roses, annuals, perennials, and shrubs sharing the limelight. Here, left to right, hostas, statuesque eupatorium, black-eyed Susans, snowy phlox, and eight-foot-tall hollyhocks (nearly gone to seed) harmonize in the yard of a rose-covered retreat.


*Enchanting Entry*

Billowing pink hibiscus blossoms greet visitors by the front door.




*Color Study*

Limiting the palette to two or three hues—in this case, pink, blue, and cream—keeps the mix harmonious.



Hope you enjoyed those beautiful photos. Have a blessed day!

Nora

I read these words today and they spoke to me...

"Go up through her vine rows and destroy, but make not a full end. Strip away her branches, for they are not the Lords". Jeremiah 5:10 ESV

Your experience is not about what's right in front of you.

There is always a purpose and it's always something more eternal.

Resisting only increases your discomfort, but it does not stop the process.

Face the happenings of life with faith that God is not only in control, but He is also good.

Faith gives you hope.

Lack of faith steals your hope and leaves you feeling like a victim.

Victims have a faith problem.

Buildings built on faulty foundations eventually come down.

Poorly organized spaces have to be redone.

If you want it to be better, then it will have to get worse.

Everything is ripped up and pulled out into the open.

With everything displaced, you can see things clearly.

If you feel displaced, ripped up and pulled out, don't be afraid.

This isn't for your end, this is for your new beginning.

Down

I am on a mission to find an amazing down comforter.

I will splurge if I find the perfect one but am hoping not to.

I have read that real goose down is better than synthetic.

I need to make sure that it is all white with no colored labeling or damask stripes. My duvet is very light weight and designs can be seen through it.

Overstock has a ton to choose from at pretty good deals.

Anyone have suggestions or tips?

Thanks!

Blessings,

Nora