Weekend Gratitude: Sundae Sunday, Little Gem, and a Prayer for Eagle

Dear friends,

What are you up to this weekend?

Like many of you, we've been cleaning house, running errands, going to a terrific church service, and, of course, watching the Olympics.  We've done a few extras along the way.

A few days ago, one of my married daughters suggested that we all get together at one of those self-serve frozen yogurt buffets where you pile on the goodies.  My economical husband suggested that we have a sundae buffet in a local park instead.  Then I suggested that we do double duty and celebrate our youngest daughter's 7th birthday a few days early.  

I bought the ingredients at Aldi.  My 11 year old daughter suggested waffle cones, but in order to make serving sundaes easier, I wanted bowls.  We combined the two and bought boxes of waffle bowls!

My little girl wanted to make her sundae with sherbet, chocolate sauce, Oreos and whipped cream.  I didn't think she'd like that very well and... I was right.  

Sherbet with chocolate sauce?
This is what she abandoned!

Now this is what I consider to be a proper sundae: 

a waffle cup, fudge sauce, vanilla ice cream, 

chocolate sauce, chocolate chips 

and whipped cream sprayed from a can!

One of my daughters
wore a shirt made of
very puckery white fabric.
It reminds me of the
whipped cream texture.

In the gazebo at Lake Lily
-- so many memories here!

Always so picturesque with the lily pads

Playing football with an empty Gatorade bottle
and a fun brother-in-law

Three of my seven gorgeous daughters

Two of my favorite things at Lake Lily:
the funky ducks (this one with loose feathers)
and the tessellation pavement pattern

A self-portrait of our soon to be birthday girl

These last two pictures aren't from Lake Lily, but I wanted to show off the tree my husband bought and planted yesterday to replace one we lost in a wind storm.  It's a Little Gem magnolia which will never be as large as the one in the backyard, which you can see behind the house.  Our last tree, a young elm, we named Elmer.  This one is Gem.

And while we're doing the nature appreciation, let's hear it for the flower that finally bloomed after being planted as a bulb by one of my daughters. Beautiful!  Now I if I can just figure out what it is.  Maybe a kind of dahlia?

Finally, I was listening to this song called "Everlasting God" by Brenton Brown (often sung by Chris Tomlin) while reading blogs this afternoon.  I found out that one of the regular commenters on Wartburg Watch, who goes by the screen name Eagle, is in ICU with a very serious infection.  So the lines “You’re the defender of the weak, you comfort those in need, you lift us up on wings like eagles" really touch me today as I say a prayer for him.  Would you please lift him up, too, as you enjoy the music?  


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Weekend Gratitude: Sundae Sunday, Little Gem, and a Prayer for Eagle

Virginia Knowles
www.VirginiaKnowles.blogspot.com