Marriage

Piper, Carson, and Keller on Sustaining the Covenant of Marital Love from The Gospel Coalition on Vimeo.

Pertinent song and new must read blog

For "enriching the relationships that matter most",
http://leslievernick.blogspot.com/
Blessings,

Travel

Old friends and travel, annual trips for 15 years, through thick and thin, marriages, births, loss, love, heartbreak, endless laughter.  I love each of your dear hearts, thank you for an amazing time and memories galore.

 My dear sister rocking the top knot

On my stopover in New Orleans on the way to my Grandma's funeral in MS I was able to see my dear cousin Daisye who radiated joy as she prepares to welcome her first child in May.  New Orleans is such an amazing, unique town, full of surprises and slap yo' self good cookin'.  The grilled oysters at the Acme House and steamy jambalya were the bees knees.  And I found a new favorite band,
The Royal Street Gum Scrapers, complete with a banjo and washboard player.

Imagine my delight when I popped in their cd upon my return home and discovered a song about Polly Ann.

It's a shame it's such a far ways to this little French, artsy, gem of a town.  Meanwhile, I'll be embracing the "Laissez les bon temps roulez" mantra that the town so keenly embraces.

Grandma

This past week my dear Grandma, Annie Marie O'Brien Owens, passed away.  She lived a full life of 92 years, had 4 incredible children and 11 grandchildren.  Growing up she taught me how to make pies, shared her love of gardening and good Southern cooking, and an overall zest for life.
She will be greatly missed.

The legacy she leaves behind is one of grace, strength, and a supreme love of family.  We'll miss her laughter and wit at our annual crawfish boils.  Below is a photo of me with some of my adored cousins.

Oh the fun and mischief we got/ get into.  It was a bittersweet day full of shared memories, good southern cooking, and a celebration of her life.  Never thought I'd see the day when I'd wear cowgirl boots to a funeral, but flying in straight from Mexico didn't lend itself to many shoe options.
Soaking up her presence in her lovely home, looking at old photo albums,

Blessings,
Polly

An Open Letter

Thank you to the enchanted home blogger and dear B and M, thank you in addition to others for your encouragement and support as I have tried to make sense of some of the ugliness of this world over the past month.
Please pardon my directness and momentary lapse of Southern manners but some things need to be said...

Dear S,

Yes, you know who you are.  Thanks to technology I have been able to see how you have stalked by blog as well as my family.  You have poured over the details of my blog, my home, my husband.  You tried, unsuccessfully, to insert yourself into my life.  Others may have temporarily succumbed to your false charms but I suspected what you were from the moment I first saw you.
There are really no polite words to describe the kind of behavior you have exhibited.  

Shame on you.  

Shame.on.you.  

People who possess kindness and peace and any shred of self-worth do not behave in the manner you have chosen.
Truly you have too much time on your hands. 

At first, your stalking intimidated me and made me feel vulnerable, your email full of new age nonsense and b.s. was not well received nor do I believe it came from anything but severe depravation on your part.
Now I have chosen not to let someone of your caliber stand in the way of sharing the love for my family that I chronicle on this blog.
Nor will you ever stop me from sharing my passion for the care of orphans.
You may have temporarily caused me pain, but honey, the battle of good versus evil is being won in this case.
A wise friend told me to pray for your broken soul.  I am not there yet, don't know that I'll ever be there.  Meanwhile, darling, unless you want me to share your name and the details of your seedy behavior I recommend that you cease your stalking and find a hobby.

Sincerely,

Polly

Hiatus

Happy New Year sweet friends.
I am going to check out of blog world for a while.
Unfortunately, there has been a blog stalker who I have not figured out how to block.
Once I figure that out and am sure she is no longer a threat to the sanctity of my family,
I will be back to reading your sweet blogs and chronicling our adventures.  
Blessings,

TImes