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Living life with Multiple Sclerosis
I hope you are doing well. God be with you! ❤️, Amy
Sitting cocooned in a luscious, lemon minky blanket as a brace against the damp chill of an early May breeze, I conceal myself and wait in the southwest corner of the back patio. You must make yourself small and discreet when bird watching. Our fully blossomed, lush purple lilac tree sends its bouquet of deliciousness, so sweet I can almost taste it, around the corner of the brick wall serving as part of my cover. A couple of mature, verdant green, newly leafed-out river birches dwarf the trio of bird feeders directly between them. The birches’ treetops are full of Goldfinches, Carolina Chickadees, Cardinals, House Finches, and Tufted Titmice singing in brilliant chorus as they rise and fall on the quivering branches with the waves of the wind. Bluejays, Mourning Doves, and Chipping Sparrows hop along in the fast growing blades of grass as they hunt for and peck at seeds on the ground below the feeders. Near the trunk of one of the birches a pair of shy, but gorgeously vivid, Blue Buntings huddle close together . A Baltimore Oriole, clothed in his jet-black hood with a juicy orange throat and chest, hesitates to leave his perch in the tree canopy before carefully alighting on the feeder tray to snack on sunflower seeds. Four male Red-breasted Grosbeaks swoop in and spread out on various limbs, followed moments later by a female. Their striking v-shaped patches of rosy red on a clean, linen white chest reminds me of cool summertime treats like strawberry ice cream.
I can’t describe the incredible joy it brings me to be near these tiny creatures, to share moments of their lives with them. I’ve been trying to learn and recognize the songs and calls of a few of the species that regularly visit our feeders. Some of the common songs have been easy, but each kind has several sounds and I’m often stumped. It has also been fascinating to learn that Chickadees, Titmice, House Finches, Goldfinches, and Chipping Sparrows are plucky and not very afraid when I’m close to the feeders. While, on the other hand, the much larger Cardinals, Downy Woodpeckers, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Mourning Doves,and White-brested Nuthatches are much more reserved and hesitant when they see me.
Every single time I watch the birds, without exception, I find myself praying with thanksgiving to God. I think it is the natural result of spending quality time with other creatures or features of His creation. I find myself praying when I am holding my cats, or watching dragonflies and frogs at our neighborhood lake, or am near the ocean or in a forest, or surrounded by mountains. I often think of how God has revealed Himself and has shown us the awesomeness and majesty of His mind through His creation. Muggy, hot, swamps full of crocodiles and toads; blindingly white, frozen, snow and ice covered tundra with polar bears and walruses; mesmerizing shades of brown, dry, barren, sandy, dune-laden deserts; eye-popping colors of coral reefs swaying in the vastness of the oceans; mossy, earth-smelling, leafy forests with arms lifted up toward heaven. These are just a few of His many carefully balanced ecosystems and all are interconnected through meticulously designed life-cycles of plants and animals. His ability to create such diversity and His attention to detail astounds and humbles me.
Of all He has made, His detail and attention to color is the most overwhelming aspect to me. This may be one of the reasons I am so fascinated by birds. Consider the common Mourning Dove. At first glance it seems like a dull, gray bird with some black dots and stripes on its tail. But if you look closer, it has stunning pastel blue eye rims and lids! And, if you look closer still, you will notice a small, round patch of iridescent pink on both sides of its neck. It’s as if God wrote His name there in a flourishing signature. The color of Cardinals is so distinctive and singular we have called it by it’s moniker, “cardinal red”, and made millions of crayons duplicating it so it can be scribbled across children’s artwork. Goldfinches fly around sporting dazzling, buttery-yellow feathers topped with ebony heads and wings, like rays of sun flashing across the sky. In the style of modern art, the black and white markings of Downy Woodpeckers are set in extraordinarily striking patterns. And then there is the Painted Bunting. Many years ago, long before I knew anything about birds, I used to drive all over Southwest Missouri seeing patients at their homes as a speech language pathologist. I remember driving down the highway at 60 mph and seeing a crazy flash of color in front of the car and then watching it stop and land in a tree at the edge of a park. It was so arresting and marvelous that I actually took the nearest exit and drove to the park hoping it was there, not caring if I was late for my next appointment. Thankfully, the little critter was still perched on the branch of the tree on which I had seen it alight. I had never seen anything like it before. It was so tiny, yet it was an unbelievable array of vibrant colors. I watched it for several minutes before it flew away and was so impressed by the encounter that I still harbor hopes of seeing one again someday.
If this is how God has made His earthly creation, then I sing the old hymn How Beautiful Heaven Must Be with renewed vigor! I can only imagine!!
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9
May God be with you! ❤️, Amy
I hope you are enjoying your week. See you next time! ❤️, Amy
It’s been a very good couple of weeks 😊. My MS has loosened the reins a bit some days and not ruled my life as such a tyrant every moment. I’ve seen a lot of family, especially this past week, and they have boosted my spirits immensely.
These little friends came to visit too 🐦🪶!
My Hubby makes the best thin mint concretes – such a treat!
I hope you are enjoying your little slice of time in whichever corner of the world you call home. God be with you! ❤️, Amy
It’s here! Sure signs of Spring are breaking out all over the Ozarks.
I hope you have a wonderful week and take the time to look at the world around you.
God be with you! ❤️, Amy
Hello again, Friend. Below you will find some random pictures of things I’ve been doing to fill my winter days.
I really enjoy following several YouTube vloggers in the sewing world and wondered how hard it would be to take pictures of each step of garment construction like they do. I gave it a go and learned they have a lot more patience than me! Most of the pictures I took are in my camera’s trash and there they will stay. I’m sharing a few just to make myself feel like I didn’t waste all the effort it took to complete the experiment.
My favorite Laudy pics of the past few weeks…
We had some really beautiful warmish days since my last post so, of course, I sat out in the backyard and watched the birds.
But, my favorite winter activity? Snuggling with Hubby!
Lord willing, I’ll write again soon. God be with you! ❤️, Amy
Hello, again.
The last time I posted I told you I had a relapse of my MS and was getting ready for a few days of steroid infusions to try and hasten recovery. Sure enough, it happened and my symptoms have improved. My left eye stopped twitching and feeling numb, I can move my legs again and walk with less of a shuffle-stumble sort of thing. My energy level has improved to allow me to be up for more than 3-5 minutes at a time. Things are still not back to where they were before, but I’m hoping the trajectory continues to move up.
Huge doses of steroids given in a short time creates numerous icky side effects – one of the worst for me is flushing of the skin. That being said, the side effects during the infusion are nothing compared to the slam your body takes when your last dose is done. Agonizing, insipid, catatonic-like fatigue reigns for about three days while your skin hurts to the touch and your muscles ache down to the bone. Slowly, the goo seeps out through every pore of your being and, around day four, you sense you are morphing back into feeling like a human.
I’m so thankful it’s all behind me now. It’s been four years since I had a relapse necessitating steroids. Yesterday marked four years since I completely retired due to MS and April will mark 32 years since my diagnosis. I’ve never felt bitter about this disease nor thrown my fist in the air screaming, “Why me?”. I think a better question is “Why not me?”. Everyone has some struggle to deal with in life. There’s no such thing as luck, good or bad. There is such a thing as attitude, though. As Philippians 1:27 says, “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.” Though “whatever happens” here is in reference to whether Paul can come to visit the Philippians or not, he goes on, in the same verse, to tell them, “Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel.” No matter what diseases, frustrations, difficulties, or unexpected troubles come our way, we are to respond with a Christlike attitude that brings honor and praise to the glory of God.
Nothing makes me think of God more than His creation.
I hope you are doing well. May God be with you. ❤️, Amy
Hello again, it’s been a while. I’ve been remiss in writing, distracted by other things in life. Well, actually, just one thing (drumroll)…my MS. Shocker, I know. The last couple of weeks have been simply outrageous. I’ll spare you the details, but I have IV steroids coming my way to try and get things under some sort of control. Yesterday, the day the home infusion nurse (yes, Bill 😀) was ready to come to the house and hook me up, winter storm Landon arrived covering the roads with ice. Today, Landon dumped 7 inches of snow before going on his merry way. Bill texted to say he will come over this weekend to get me going once the roads become traversable.
The snow has been beautiful to watch as it swirls and blows in frigid gusts. We’ve had 30+ birds at a time come to the feeders these past couple of days for an easy meal during the storm.
As ever, the cats are keeping me company.
Gratefully, neither they nor my sweet Hubby see someone with MS when they look my way, they just see me – full stop. I feel so loved, and I know it doesn’t get any better than that.
God be with you. ❤️, Amy
Hubby and I celebrated 16 years of marriage yesterday 💕. He’s always been and always will be the best part of my life. God gave each of us to the other and not a day goes by without recognizing and giving thanks for such a love as this.
Thank you to all who follow or occasionally peruse my blog. I wish you a safe, happy, and healthy New Year! ❤️, Amy
I think the beginning of November and the start of December swapped their weather garbs here in Southwest Missouri. 70+°F today!?!
My sweet tooth took over my phone last month and before I knew what it was doing it had ordered TWO advent calendars!
My MS has been very “assertive” over my legs and energy levels (among other symptoms) these last couple of months. That means lots of sitting and boredom. I’ve filled the time with some hand sewing and needlework. These little puffs turned out pretty cute.
We kept my Dad’s dog again for a few days. She’s growing on this die-hard Cat Lady.
As you can see, life has been very exciting around here 😂. Of course, no post of mine is complete without a few photos of birds.
Carolina chickadee
I’ve been rereading through the Bible each day, great gulps at a time, two or three books per day. I’m overwhelmed at the scope, harmony, depth, awesomeness, faithfulness, mercy, loving kindness, and holiness of God. Everything He does is Right. Everything He says is True. In this season of Christmas, it is especially important to remember how all history, all time, all hope, all fulfillment of prophecy, all meaning and purpose is found in God’s one and only Son, Jesus Christ. He is more than a season, more than an Eve or a Day. He is Creator, King, Redeemer, God with Us, Promise-fulfilled, Hope, High Priest Forever, and so much more. Come let us bow before Him and worship Him in His majesty! ❤️, Amy