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My Soul Finds Rest

By Lorraine

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.  And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:26-28
We’ve faced much sadness these past weeks yet we take hold of the hope set before us and we are greatly encouraged.

 

Our longtime friend and the mother of our son-in-law lost her battle with cancer. A precious lady who loved the Lord with all of her heart and left a beautiful legacy not only with her family but with all that knew her.
Those who went to the cemetery were given a small envelope containing a butterfly. They were released after pastor spoke. Someone placed a butterfly on the flower headband worn by baby Joelle. Jamie posted this on fb:
This little sweetheart is the niece of our other son-in-law.  This 14-month beautiful girl was recently diagnosed with stage 3 lung cancer and has begun chemo to shrink the mass before surgery to remove it. Prayers for Emma and her Mommy and Daddy are greatly appreciated!
The only sibling of  Abbey’s best friend lost his life in a car accident. Just 20 years old, Dan was to be Abbey’s escort at his sister Vicki’s wedding next year. I can’t imaging the difficult journey this family now must walk.
Friday night we made a hard decision. As Raider’s Sick Sinus Syndrome had progressed, he began having labored, rapid breathing and became tuckered out even with little exertion. On Thursday, he laid on me and I rocked him, silently thinking in my heart that he would just stop breathing and his heart would cease beating and he would die peacefully. We talked with the veterinarian and learned that his breathing difficulties would not be peaceful and left it that we would contact her Sunday morning.  As we were getting ready for bed Friday night, it was apparent he was in distress and prolonging his life made no sense so we left for a final car ride just as we did 14 years ago with our dog, Scotty. 
We returned home with an empty collar and a sweet paw print that was made for us by the veterinarian staff and a heart full of memories of my sweet boy.
Even amid all of the heartache, the Lord never leaves us and pours out his mercy and grace.
Here are some happy moments from the past few weeks.
Jill, Brad and family visited for a week. They returned home and then Jill and two of the kids came back for the funeral.
Cambrie lost her two front teeth
Silas celebrated his 10th birthday
Keri received an Excellence in Character award
Braden loved hand feeding Raider
Keri went to Take your child to work day with her PopPop
My  daughter, Jill (one of the twins) took me to dinner for Mother’s Day Monday evening. It was super special to spend time just with her! 
 
 And Abbey and I enjoyed a great lunch after church on Mother’s Day.
May 15th is the 10th anniversary of my dad’s passing.  I am so thankful for his sincere response to the call of the Lord to be his savior.
Finally, in my near future, I will be having a total hip replacement. Not scheduled yet because I have had too much on my plate. It takes 6-8 weeks to prepare for surgery and you can be sure I will be requesting prayer for this!
Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him.
Psalm 62:5

Filed Under: Faith Tagged With: Abbey, Bible, Braden, Cambrie, Daddy, Faith, Jill, Joelle, Keri, Lorrie, Love, Raider, Silas

Welcome baby Joelle Elizabeth

By Lorraine

Big sister Chloe, welcomed the newest member of the family on her birthday.
Baby Joelle Elizabeth not only shares a birthday with her sister, but they are both little leaplings.
Both born February 29th, four years apart.

 Not due until March 17th, Joelle came a little early to join her seven brothers and sisters.
 It doesn’t look like she will be in want of love and hugs anytime soon.
 Joelle came into the world with very dark hair, at the same weight as her momma did (6 lbs. 7 oz.) and looking (in my opinion) much like her momma did at birth. She needed a little encouragement to let out a big cry after birth and still needs to see those bilirubin numbers drop but she is doing just fine. 
A local hospital and paper shared this special leap day birth noting that the delivery doctor is a leap day baby as well 🙂 
We celebrated Chloe’s birthday on the 28th and Caleb turned 8 on March 4th.  PopPop John got to watch Silas play in a soccer tournament and we even had a late winter snow that cleared up by afternoon. 
I wrapped up the week with a special outing to the Philadelphia Flower Show with dear friends.
The theme this year is National Parks and it was all so beautiful!
and… I even managed to get this post prepared!
Happy Sunday, sweet blogging friends!

Filed Under: Family, Grandchildren Tagged With: Birthday Family, Caleb, Cambrie, Chloe, Jamie, Jethro, Joelle, John, Josh, Keri, Lorrie, Noah, Silas

Marche de L’enfante Rouge, Notra Dame, Sainte Chapelle, Eiffel Tower & Nuit Blanche

By Lorraine

This Saturday was the busiest and longest day of our entire London/Paris trip. This was the day we walked more than 18,000 steps or close to 8.5 miles! A non-stop day filled with fabulous memories!
 
I decided not to break this post into two, so if you stay to the end of this marathon post, you just might be as tired as we were!
 

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Filed Under: Family, Family & Friends, Travel Tagged With: Anniversary, John, Lorrie

Autumn in Paris

By Lorraine

 
 

Paris is always a good idea and autumn in Paris is a lovely time of year. This is the beautiful view we had from our hotel balcony.

 

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Filed Under: Family, Family & Friends, Travel Tagged With: Anniversary, John, Lorrie

Last day of London

By Lorraine

 
Our last day of London included visiting St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, Kings Cross Station and the changing of the Guard at St James Palace.
Our last day of London and it was as perfect as all the others. High of 65 F and low of 49 F.

This photo was taken in the St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel. We stepped inside for a peek and I was drawn to these steps.  Regal with just a hint of suspense, don’t you think?

 

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Filed Under: Family, Family & Friends, Travel Tagged With: Anniversary, John, Lorrie

Tower of London, Courtauld Gallery and Westminster Abbey

By Lorraine

We had been doing a great job learning and getting around using the transit system in London, but this day it got confusing and we walked further than we needed. For the first time (the only time, really, during the entire trip) our feet and hips were sore and we felt tired.

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Filed Under: Family, Family & Friends, Travel Tagged With: Anniversary, John, Lorrie

Scotney Castle and Dear Friends

By Lorraine

Beauty can be found in places we visit and it can be found in friendship.
This is Scotney Castle located in Kent, Englan

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Filed Under: Family, Family & Friends, Travel Tagged With: Anniversary, John, Lorrie

Platform 9 3/4, English Tea, Greenwich and Royal Observatory

By Lorraine

 
 
 A spectacular view from the Royal Observatory overlook located in Greenwich, England.

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Filed Under: Family, Family & Friends, Travel Tagged With: Anniversary, John, London, Lorrie

Southwark Cathedral, London

By Lorraine

Of all the cathedrals we visited, Southwark, that lies on the south bank of the River Thames close to London Bridge, was my favorite.
Breathtaking comes close to describing it.
 
part of their welcome statement: We believe there has been a church on this site since AD 606. There may well have been a church here even earlier. Southwark Cathedral is the oldest cathedral church building in London, and archaeological evidence shows there was Roman pagan worship here well before that.
 

After our City walk, touring St. Paul’s Cathedral, Millennial Bridge, Bankside walk and Borough Market, it was on to Southwark Cathedral. We timed our arrival so we could enjoy the choral evensong service.
 We entered from the North West door and sat in the nave during evensong.
 
photo source
 
The baptismal font stands between the north and south entrances of the Cathedral.
 extraordinary architecture 
 
  
monuments and memorials in the transepts
 the organ
 William Shakespeare monument 
William Shakespeare (1564-1616) is commemorated by a window and monument in the South Aisle.
 
The monument, carved by Henry McCarthy in 1912, shows a recumbent alabaster figure of the actor and writer set against a background of 17th century Southwark.
William’s brother Edmund was buried in St Saviour’s in 1607. Although the position of his grave is unknown, he is commemorated by an inscribed stone in the paving of the Choir.
The window, designed by Christopher Webb, replaced a previous one destroyed during the 2nd World War. It shows characters from some of Shakespeare’s plays.
the choir area
 John sitting near a placard with John Bunyan’s name 
 I am sitting next to a placard with William Shakespeare’s name.
 This photo is taken as we looked toward the nave where we entered.  It is past the choir benches.
 
 

High Altar Screen – Southwark cathedral, 1520 AD


 The Great Screen


This magnificent screen was erected by Bishop Fox of Winchester in 1520. Although the general appearance of the screen, with three broad rich bands of carvings and statuary, is that of the original, most of the detail is from later periods.


Whether all the original statues were ever installed is uncertain, as the screen was completed within a decade of the Reformation when such statues were forbidden. The small carvings of the Lamb of God and the pelican (a badge of Bishop Fox) immediately above the rows of angels are probably original, as are some of the bases of the niches. The small carvings in the corners of the two doorways, showing hunting scenes, may also be original. source

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Model of the church and old Westminster Palace

The Humble Monument portrays Alderman Richard Humble and his two wives.

 the high alter and the great screen

walking toward the retro-choir

 

 
 the far back is called the retro-choir

The Retro-choir, built from 1215-1260 and is the oldest complete part of  Southwark Cathedral.

The Retro-choir is thought by many to be the loveliest part of the Cathedral, with superb spatial qualities. The design is 13th century Early English

 view from the retro-choir down the south choir

the floor of the Retro-choir.

 The Lady Chapel

south aisle nearing south west entrance

 

 

late afternoon sunbeams

exterior view

 outside Southwark Cathedral

archaeological chamber
 Roman Road 1st century AD

Near the entrance to the cafe and shop is part of the archaeological excavations left open for public display. Excavations around Southwark Cathedral in 1999 revealed part of a Roman road, foundations of the original Norman Priory wall, a 13th century medieval stone coffin and part of a late 17th century ‘Delft’ pottery kiln made of brick, one of the few surviving arched kilns found in Europe. source

Finally, after walking more than seven miles this day, we relaxed and ate dinner in a pub near our hotel.

Filed Under: Family, Family & Friends, Travel Tagged With: Anniversary, John, London, Lorrie

Bankside Walk and Borough Market

By Lorraine

 
 After finishing our time at St. Paul’s and crossing the Millennium Bridge, I took this shot looking back across the Themes at the dome of the cathedral. The Themes flows from west to east (left to right) and is affected by the North Sea’s tides, so the river level does rise and fall twice a day.
 

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Filed Under: Family, Family & Friends, Travel Tagged With: Anniversary, John, Lorrie

The City of London, Saint Paul’s Cathedral and Millennium Bridge

By Lorraine

 
 

 This day in London was filled with such splendor and beauty we could barely take it all in.
Among so many other things, I love London for the serendipitous moments. Slipping past a quiet courtyard, strolling past an interesting door or turning the corner and beholding an enchanting wall garden.

 

 so lovely
 This is where we passed as we walked to the spot to begin The City walking tour from one of our travel books. We downloaded the app before leaving home and listened to it on our iPhone.On the way we found this very pretty place on the corner of Kemble Street and Drury Lane. 
Yes, Drury Lane, where the muffin man of my nursery rhyme days must had lived 🙂
 How could these obvious tourists not stop by an iconic red phone box for fun pics!
 
We began our walk at St. Clement Danes, an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London.
 
It is situated outside the Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand. The current building was completed in 1682 by Sir Christopher Wren. Wren’s building was gutted during the Blitz and not restored until 1958, when it was adapted to its current function as the central church of the Royal Air Force. source
 
Christopher Wren played a large part in London’s history.  After the great fire of 1666, Christopher Wren was a hired to rebuild the city. 
 
The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through the central parts of the English city of London, from Sunday, 2 September to Wednesday, 5 September 1666. The fire gutted the medieval City of London inside the old Roman city wall. It threatened, but did not reach, the aristocratic district of Westminster, Charles II’s Palace of Whitehall, and most of the suburban slums. It consumed 13,200 houses, 87 parish churches, St Paul’s Cathedral and most of the buildings of the City authorities. It is estimated to have destroyed the homes of 70,000 of the City’s 80,000 inhabitants source 

Across from St. Clement Danes is the Australian House. It is both Australia’s first diplomatic mission and the longest continuously occupied diplomatic mission in the United Kingdom.

 We stopped in the Twinings’ shop on the Strand. It was established as a tea room in 1706
Inside the long, narrow tea shop.
 
 
A bit farther, we came to The Temple Bar Monument with a statue of a griffin. It marks the official entrance in to the City of London leaving Westminster. This is where the Strand changes names and becomes Fleet Street.

This Tudor-style Prince Henry’s Room (top of the house) dates from 1610 and is one of the few buildings to survive the Great Fire of 1666. The top floor of the house was once an office for King Charles I’s son.

 

 Continuing along, The Royal Courts of Justice stand impressively.

The Royal Courts of Justice houses both the High Court and Court of Appeal of England and Wales. Designed by George Edmund Street, who died before it was completed, it is a large grey stone edifice in the Victorian Gothic style built in the 1870s and opened by Queen Victoria in 1882. It is one of the largest courts in Europe. It is located on the Strand within the City of Westminster, near the border with the City of London (Temple Bar) source

Further along, St. Paul’s Cathedral comes into view.

From Rick Steves: If you were standing here in September 1666, you’d see nothing but smoke and ruins.  The Great Fire razed everything, including the original St. Paul’s Cathedral.  Christopher Wren was hired to rebuild St. Paul’s and The City.


If you were standing here on December 30, 1940, the morning after a German Luftwaffe firebomb raid, you’d see nothing but a flat, smoldering landscape of rubble, with St. Paul’s rising above it, almost miraculously intact.

A quick selfie in front of this busy road and gorgeous cathedral.

 the magnificent dome

Queen Anne statue stands in front of the Cathedral
The plinth is inscribed with these words: “The original statue was erected on this spot to commemorate the completion of Saint Paul’s Cathedral. Francis Bird – sculptor.” “This replica of the statue of Queen Anne was erected at the expense of The Corporation of London In the year 1886, The Rt. Hon. Sir Reginald Hanson MA, FSA, Lord Mayor – Wm. Braham Esq., Chairman of the City Lands Committee”

Photos were not allowed in St. Paul’s Cathedral. The photos above were taken from the internet.

 around the back

 

 leaving St. Paul’s Cathedral toward the old Temple Bar in Patenoster square

 outside the beautiful St. Paul’s

as we walked away

 Onward from St. Paul’s, we walked to the Millennium Bridge.

 

 The Millennium Bridge, officially known as the London Millennium Footbridge, is a steel suspension bridge for pedestrians crossing the River Thames in London, linking Bankside with the City of London. It is located between Southwark Bridge and Blackfriars Railway Bridge

Mid-span on the Millennium Bridge with the dome of St. Paul behind us.

Crossing the Themes on foot with the enticing aroma of caramel-coated roasted peanuts permeating the air on another day of gorgeous weather! Could’t resist this delicious snack adding to our list of wonderful London memories 🙂

Can you believe that all of this was just part of our Saturday.
Heading to Bankside and lots to see along the Themes up next.

Filed Under: Family, Family & Friends, Travel Tagged With: Anniversary, John, London, Lorrie

Buckingham Palace & The Royal Mews

By Lorraine

Don't miss Buckingham Palace & The Royal Mews if you are planning a trip to London. Check the dates for when the palace is open to visitors.

Don’t miss Buckingham Palace & The Royal Mews if you are planning a trip to London. Check the dates for when the palace is open to visitors. As one might imagine, Buckingham Palace is  most beautiful and quite interesting to tour.

 

The Royal Mews are open all year to visitors and an enjoyable The Gold State Coach at the Royal Mews

 
 
 

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Filed Under: Family, Family & Friends, Travel Tagged With: Anniversary, John, London, Lorrie

Anniversary Adventure LONDON

By Lorraine

Did you guess where we’ve been from the Platform 9 3/4 photo in my last post?  It was taken in London’s King’s Cross train station during our recent visit.  We’ve been across the pond celebrating our wedding anniversary on a most exciting adventure.  My blog break was to finish up projects around the house (that, no surprise, are still are not finished) and to complete plans and itinerary for our dream trip to Europe.  Kind of a honeymoon, 40 years in the making.

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Filed Under: Family, Family & Friends, Travel Tagged With: Anniversary, John, Lorrie

can you guess where we’ve been?

By Lorraine

🙂

Filed Under: Family, Family & Friends Tagged With: Anniversary, John, Lorrie

we still do

By Lorraine

celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary today
♥
I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine
Song of Solomon 6:3

(click play at bottom of post to listen to this song)
I remember well the day we wed
I can see that picture in my head
I still believe the words we said
Forever will ring true 
Love is certain, love is kind
Love is yours and love is mine
But it isn’t something that we find
It’s something that we do
It’s holding tight, lettin’ go
It’s flying high and laying low
Let your strongest feelings show
And your weakness, too
It’s a little and a lot to ask
An endless and a welcome task
 Love isn’t something that we have
It’s something that we do
We help to make each other all that we can be
Though we can find our strength and inspiration independently
The way we work together is what sets our love apart
So closely that we can’t tell where I end and where you start
 It gives me heart remembering how
We started with a simple vow
There’s so much to look back on now
Still it feels brand-new
We’re on a road that has no end
And each day we begin again
Love’s not just something that we’re in
It’s something that we do

We help to make each other all that we can be
We can find our strength and inspiration independently
The way we work together is what sets our love apart
So closely that we can’t tell where I end and where you start

 Love is wide, love is long
Love is deep and love is strong
Love is why I love this song
And I hope you love it too
 I remember well the day we wed
I can see that picture in my head
 Love isn’t just those words we said
It’s something that we do
 There’s no request too big or small
We give ourselves, we give our all
 Love isn’t someplace that we fall
It’s something that we do
Something that we do
Songwriters  Donald Ewing II / Clint Black
Photo Credits for all anniversary photos to very sweet, very talented Karis @ AriRaePhotography
who captured so much more than I hoped for of our 40th wedding anniversary.
Thank you dear, Karis


Above all, giving thanks to God, who brought us to faith in Christ, is forever faithful to us, forgives us when we sin, loves us when we aren’t so lovable, encourages us when it’s hard, remembers us when we forget him, leads when we’re lost and guides us through the sunshine and storms.

Filed Under: Faith Tagged With: Anniversary, Bible, Faith, John, Lorrie, Love

ladders and painting

By Lorraine

Painting the patio ceiling can be scary. We rigged some scaffolding and worked together completing the job for a fresh and clean area.
I like this quote. I think there is some wisdom in these words. What I do not like is heights.
But when I got an estimate for a painting job that was higher (ha, that could be a pun) than I was willing to pay, I looked for alternatives.

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Filed Under: Home and Garden, Home Decorating & DIY Tagged With: Home and Garden, Jared, Lorrie

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Hi! I'm Lorraine. Welcome to Grateful Prayer Thankful Heart. A place to find food for your tummy, projects for your hands, and encouragement for your heart.

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