Happy Easter Week and it is the Hodgepodge

 

A little craft project. Using Mod Podge creating fun Easter eggs out of old sheet music. Using the old sheet music, colored paper and silk flowers to create butterflies to add to a spring basket.

 

Happy Easter Week my friends and it is the Hodgepodge.

Joyce asks the questions.

We answer the questions.

Click here to join the fun! 

 

 1. March is rolling on out of here. Sum up your March in ten words or less. 

March weather added excitement to an already full calendar.  

 2. Are you afraid of heights? When was the last time you found yourself dealing with a height, and did it make you nervous?

I am not.

Below is a photo of Sears Tower ~ Chicago, Illinois ~ my sister and I had a fun adventure in the city and we had great fun exploring Sears Tower.  

  3. What's a word you struggle to spell on a regular basis, and sometimes need to double check before writing it down? Use the word in a sentence that tells us something about your April calendar.

Miracle  

Oh this word gives me trouble. 

We will be celebrating our first son's birthday in April. It was a true miracle and blessing when he arrived in this big world. It was a difficult time getting him to come on out into the world, a difficult labor indeed. Ha!

Fast forward today, he is a leader to several other young men and women. 

He sends me photos of his deployments and trainings. 

In this one he simply said, "Hi Mom"

 

 Happy April Birthday Sam!

 

 4. Love 'em or hate 'em, with Easter comes the sweet treat known as Peeps. So... do you love 'em or hate 'em? Speaking of peeps, what's your favorite way to have chicken? 

No, I am not a  fan. 

I have used them for decorating my Easter cakes.

I love grilled chicken breasts. My husband makes up his secret sauce, he soaks the breasts in the sauce overnight before grilling. 

 

5. This week's Hodgepodge lands on the first day of April, which happens to be National Poetry Month. Do you like poetry?  Share a favorite line or two from one of your favorite poems. What makes this one a favorite?  

  I do like poetry.

In Flanders Fields ~ John McCrae

 

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

    Loved and were loved, and now we lie,

        In Flanders fields.

 

It is a powerful poem. 

It is a favorite because my dad memorized this poem in grade school. My dad did not like school and I have many stories about his shenanigans as a school boy.  He did work hard to memorize In Flanders Fields as a young boy, even though he did not like school, that makes it even more special to me.

 

 6. Insert your own random thought here.  

 

Please join me in praying for our troops.

 ♥

 

 

St. Catherine of Siena

 

 

We are closing out the month of September and the end of the year is creeping closer and closer. 2025 has been a difficult year for many of our friends, our country and the world. Violence, war, illness, broken dreams, hurting family and friends.

 

 

My husband and I had several downs this year. We had to make hard decisions and change plans. It all makes me tired and sad, but I do not give up. We cannot give up. 

We can see all the injustice going on around us, we can get scared and feel like what can little me do? 

What I have learned this year as we have gone through a difficult season, is that I just have to keep doing the best I can each day. 

Smile.

Give a surprise bouquet to a friend and neighbor. 

Bake cookies for a friend going through a hard time.

Send a surprise package in the mail.

Listen... just listen.  

And pray.

I found the below dialogue from St. Catherine of Siena comforting and I wanted to share it as we all continue to do the best we can.

 

 

You must not break away from holy prayer for any reason except obedience or charity.

For often during the time scheduled for prayer the devil comes with all sorts of struggles and annoyances - even more than when you are not at prayer. He does this to make you weary of holy prayer. Often he will say: "This sort of prayer is worthless to you. You should not think about or pay attention to anything except vocal prayer." He makes it seem this way so that you will become weary and confused and abandon the exercise of prayer. 

But prayer is a weapon with which you can defend yourself against every enemy. If you hold it with love's hand and the arm of free choice, this weapon, with the light of most holy faith, will be your defense.

 

Pray, love, remember and it is the Hodgepodge

 

Hello Friends, it is Wednesday and that means it is time for the Hodgepodge.

Joyce asks the questions.

We answer the questions.

Click here to join the fun! 

 1. What gives you energy? What takes it away? 

Having a fun project to do gives me energy. 

Time with my family and friends gives me energy. 

It might seem strange, but working in my garden gives me energy. If I am having a bad day, just feeling low and tired,  a bit of gardening usually helps me feel better.

Drama ... drama saps my energy. 

When things should really be easy, but red tape makes them difficult, I get very tired, very quickly.

 2. How often do you shop for clothes? What accessory do you always wear? 

I shop for clothes if I need something for an occasion, like attending a wedding or fun party. I will shop for clothes if something I currently have has seen its day. I recently purchased a new sweatshirt.

I wear earrings everyday... in fact I feel naked without them. Hee Hee!

3. What's something free that you feel grateful for?   

LOVE

I am so thankful to be loved by my family and friends. 

 4. Breakfast, lunch, dinner...which meal of the day do you enjoy most? What's your go-to comfort food? 

I will say dinner because I enjoy dinner with my husband most evenings. I do love our weekend breakfasts together, my husband enjoys making breakfast for us on Saturday and Sunday.

My go to comfort food is.. chicken noodle soup. 

 5. This week the world remembers the tragic events of 9/11. Do you mark the day in any way? How do historical events shape your perspective on your personal challenges?

 My husband and I pray for those who have died, not just on September 11th, but years later from the toxic air that those later developed cancer from. We pray for our military. We will reminisce about what we were doing September 11th  during our evening conversation.

Historical events shape my perspective on my personal challenges in ways of gratitude.  

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Autumn is starting to visit around here. We dipped down to 36 degrees over the weekend. Summer is coming back this week. I am alright with that.

A July Prayer

 

 

This prayer is written by Farrell Mason, it has become my July prayer and I wanted to share it with you.

 

Dear God,

The River of Life is a winding mystery, shimmering with possibility. With your help, I will keep angling for grace, increasing goodness on my side of the bank, searching for silver linings in the pain, waiting faithfully for joy to tip the balance of sorrow, holding on to hope in the dark, and making sacrifices for the Good.  The story of the river is one of love. May my life be meaningful in your beautiful tale. Let me live to cast my line for another day.

Amen

 

10·4·24

 

 

Memories

10-4 

Do any of you remember saying 10-4 or do you still say 10-4 today?

My sister, me and our friends would play all kinds of games as kids. I remember riding bikes pretending we were semi truck drivers on CB's .. 10-4 .. Roger That!

We played other games that required us to say 10-4. 

Today I am saying 10-4 to all my readers.. 10-4  “10-4” is a radio signal that means "you have got it." or "OK".

Let us all pray for our friends, family and strangers who have lost everything during the past week. 

10-4

♥

Carla

Hi Mom

 Hi Mom

 Our National Guard son just returned from Fort Johnson (formerly Fort Polk) Louisiana. He and his team were there for five weeks. They were taking part in a training exercise with 5,000 other soldiers from across the United States and Canada.

I received the above photo with a simple text ... Hi Mom.

The next time I heard from him ... Hi Mom.. out of the box... 16 days without a shower.. that shower felt great... a lot of bug bites.

I am happy to report Sam and team are back home and all went well. 

As always, thank you for praying for our troops.

God shed His grace on thee. K. Bates

It is Harvest Month and it is the Hodgepodge!

 

Hello Friends and Happy August

August is the start of harvest month for us in the garden. Yum, Yum, Yum!

It is Wednesday and that means it is time for the Hodgepodge!

Joyce asks the questions.

We answer the questions.

Click here to join the fun! 

 

1. Hello August. What's one thing you're looking forward to this month? 

Spending time with our son Sam, who just recently landed on Wisconsin soil from a 9 month deployment with the 157th Wisconsin National Guard in the Horn of Africa.

I will be writing a post soon about the Welcome Home Ceremony.

And a BIG ... THANK YOU ... to all my blog friends for the prayers and support during Sam and the 157th's deployment.

2. What are you doing to beat the heat right now?Wisconsin had a major heat wave last week. My husband and I decided to head to one of the many lovely Northern Wisconsin lakes. We packed a picnic and spent the day kayaking.  If you live in the southern hemisphere are you enjoying cooler temps or counting the days until summer? 

 3. How do you see the world? 

I will share one of the stories Sam shared with us on our ride home from Madison, Wisconsin last Saturday. 

He spent time in Mogadishu, Somalia. What hurt his heart the most was the mangled children. Legs missing, arms missing, fingers, toes and so very skinny. Working the street for hand outs and what they can find.

It made Sam appreciate even more so that he lives in America. 

 Looking at the world as a military mom, I see the good America does when it goes to help a country and I also see how fast it crumbles, Afghanistan, when we leave. 

It leaves me confused and angry. I shake my head. I do know we will always have good and evil.

I try to do my best in my part of this BIG world to make it a good day for all that I can.

 4. What's food product do you think is better store bought than home made? Ice Cream Sandwiches... Ha .. I tired making my own, it did not work out. How about something you refuse to buy because it is so much better homemade? Cake Mix ... I bake from scratch.. homemade. 

 5. Are you easy to get along with? 

Yes. I am a very curious person, so I am interested in many things and enjoy learning about others.

 6.  Insert your own random thought here. 

My friend Angie sent me the following prayer for our family. I wrote it down and I am praying it daily for all of the 157th.

I will be praying for your family. That you can offer each other abundant grace during Sam's transition back to civilian life. I pray that you can love each other through the hard days. And I pray the hard days are few. May joy and laughter abound! May God get the Glory through it all.

 ♥

 Carla

 

 

Happy Waffle Wednesday and It is the Hodgepodge!

 

Hello Friends,

Happy Wednesday and it is time to do the Hodgepodge.

Joyce asks the questions.

We answer the questions.

Click here to join the fun! 

1. August 24th is National Waffle Day...what's something you've 'waffled' on recently? 

 What we are having for dinner. 

 2. Do you like waffles? Make your own or 'leggo my Eggo? Any favorite toppings or add-ins? Waffles or pancakes-which do you prefer? 

I love waffles. I am a lucky girl, my husband enjoys to make big breakfasts on the weekends. I just had homemade waffles last Sunday with strawberries and our very own maple syrup drizzled on top.

 3. Do you have any momentos from this summer (or past summers)? What do you do with them? 

I do. I have not purchased anything this summer as a momento, but I have picked up a few rocks, shells and sea glass. I have glass jars on display  for rocks, shells and sea glass. The jars are slowly filling up. 

4. One thing you'd like to do before summer ends? 

I have a favorite place to go kayaking. We have visited for the past two summers. I cannot wait to visit again this summer. We have nicknamed it the "Magical Place".

5. Life is too short to___________________________________.  

 let the weight of worry get you down. 

And there is a lot to be worried about lately. My daily motto is..

Be Strong

and Courageous 

 6. Insert your own random thought here. 

 Prayers for our military families who lost loved ones.

Remembering the 13!

Honoring the 13 fallen heroes in Afghanistan

We must never forget those who died so that we never make that mistake again.

 

 

Prayers for Texas

 2012 we visited our family that lives in Texas.

We attended the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

The following photos are from the rodeo in 2012.

 If you have followed The River for awhile, you know the story of my garden mentor Marv, who is 89 years old. He lives alone, gardens and travels to Rockport, Texas to his cabin each November.  Marv has been the subject of many posts here at The River, from the little tricks he likes to play on me and my boys at the Community Garden. His recipe for Deer Out and other garden tricks he has shared with me.

At this time, Marv has not been able to connect with his friends and neighbors in Rockport. He has dear friends who live year around in Rockport. Marv comes to stay in his cabin in Wisconsin during the summer months.

As he waits to hear news, we are trying our best to cheer him up.

Our family that lives in Texas are fine. They received rain, lots of rain, but they are doing well.

Praying 

 ♥

 

Everyday Blessings

 "As the years pass, I am coming more and more to understand that it is the common, everyday blessings of our common everyday lives for which we should be particularly grateful. They are the things that fill our lives with comfort and our hearts with gladness -- just the pure air to breathe and the strength to breath it; just warmth and shelter and home folks; just plain food that gives us strength; the bright sunshine on a cold day; and a cool breeze when the day is warm."

Laura Ingalls Wilder, Writings to Young Women from Laura Ingalls Wilder -

 Volume One: On Wisdom and Virtues

 Hello Friends,

I am back. We enjoyed a beautiful Easter with family and friends. I have so many fun adventures to share with you. I hope you enjoyed a beautiful Easter weekend.

Prayer request ~ one of our dear family friends is not well. She had a surgery in late January. Sadly, she has not healed from the original surgery. The doctors are going to try an oxygen therapy. If that does not work, she will have the leg removed. 

Thank you for the prayers. It is hard for her to stay optimistic when she is dealing with such pain. 

Thank You!

I come in the little things,

I come in the little things,

Saith the Lord:

Yea, on the glancing wing

Of eager birds, the softly pattering feet

Of furred and gentle beasts.

I come in the little things,

Saith the Lord:

Not borne on the morning's wings

Of majesty, but I have set My feet 

Amidst the delicate and bladed wheat.

I come in the little things,

Saith the Lord. Amen.

Evelyn Underhill

 

God Will Be With Me in the Hard Times

I am the Ground

 I am the ground.

The plow cuts deep, again and again and again!

It cuts away my roots, my desires to be altogether,

my desires to look good.

It turns me over, inside out, till I am a mess of crumbly soil.

The rains come; seed are planted.

I miss the lovely pasture I used to be,

with calves frolicking in the sunshine,

butting heads, coming to me for nourishment.

Here I lie, useless and alone - except for this farmer who constantly runs over me with his tractor, seeding, cultivating. 

I am changing.

I finally recognize the farmer.

Lord, do with me as you choose, for I belong to you.

Plant the seeds, cultivate out the weeds, 

send the sunshine and rain.

Oh Lord of the harvest, may I yield abundantly for you

whatever crop you choose.

Amen

By Judith Vander Wege