This morning I was out in the garden sprucing things up, by the way the garden is my happy place, I was remembering the goodness of God in our lives. Last year at this time every weekend we would be home from Stanford for a couple of days. Mike would be in the house wanting to throw up because of chemo and radiation treatments, and I would be outside early every morning working amongst the flowers talking to God, and the neighbors as they would stop by to check on Mike's progress. At the time they couldn't believe that I was keeping up the garden, but it brought me great peace to be out there and a serenity that I can't put into words. Now to be out there working in the yard, not only brings serenity, peace and a experience with God, but a deep sense of gratitude as I remember not only HIS faithfulness to us, but the way HE used friends to show us HIS love. All of our flowers are evidence of that time. Each one was brought and bought by friends that loved us. And now as they bloom and get bigger so is our experience of HIS love for us, not only from God directly but through the hands of all those that love us.

What some of you don't know is that our yard was torn up when Mike was diagnosed and we had to stop spending the money we had saved for the yards, to save for unmet medical costs. Friends saw this need as they came each week to visit, and a ground pf friends all pitched in their money, time and talents to put buy plants, put in sprinklers and give us a yard we could relax in when we were home for the weekends. Then our kids showed up from Virginia, Maui, and Nevada City, to continue the work and help us get more flowers and roses planted the way they knew their mom, that being me, liked things. They did the finishing touches.
This year all the plants, even the annuals that are supposed to die off, still live on and the yard is lush and beautiful as GOD it seems continues to bless it. I firmly believe that the hands that planted, shoveled dirt, dug trenches, built retaining walls, and put in irrigation were the hands of God.

I am very grateful for my every remembrance of you! and for the love of the LORD!
Hold Fast, the Lord is going to bless you.,,,,