It caught me by surprise.
I did a double take.
I saw it on a tree stump that had fallen in the woods.
The tree stump was relatively close to the driveway that winds back to a lovely home.

It was a leprechaun.
A statue of a leprechaun that was waiting to greet anyone who walked up the driveway.
You could easily miss it.
The leprechaun’s color seemed to blend in with the surroundings.

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Her creativity amazes me.
She can look at something and instead of replicating it; she can make it her own.
It all began with a poster.

Mom, do you think this would be interesting for my dorm room?
My youngest daughter, who will be going off to college this week, wanted my opinion.
The upstairs hallway closet has all of her dorm room things ready to go.

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The 2012 Hurricane season will long be remembered.
Superstorm Sandy, a Category 2 storm, raged off the northeast coast of the United States.
There was an estimated 65 billion dollars worth of damage.
The whole eastern seaboard was affected.

Twenty-four states were impacted by the storm.
Damage was most severe in New Jersey and New York.
A storm surge hit New York which flooded streets, tunnels and subway lines.
Power was cut to the city.

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We are all back on American soil.
After an eight-day trip to Ireland, my older four children added another week to their stay.
Another week to see a bit of Italy.
Two places in Italy: Rome and Venice.

I had been seeing their pictures since they set up a family photo stream.
They were six hours ahead of our time zone.
I knew when their day was over and they had finally gotten back to their hotel.
That is when their pictures from the day would be posted.

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As we drove through the Irish countryside, I was struck by a comment.
A woman noted that, they do things so different here.
She wasn’t talking to anyone in particular.
She was commenting, as much to herself as to anyone who might be listening.

And listening, I was.

She walked over to one of the many stone walls that scatter the countryside.
The stone walls that are functionally built.
The ground is extremely rocky.
When the ground is cleared to farm, the rocks that are collected must go somewhere.

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If you come into my house, you will usually notice the aroma of freshly baked something.
At least that is what people tell me when they visit.
Cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and the smell of fresh baked bread wafting through the air.
Even though I am used to the baking aroma, I am glad that it warms the heart of others.

When I buy candles, I usually get kitchen-y fragrances.
Banana nut bread, pumpkin spice, and maple syrup pancakes to name a few.
Those are the smells that greet everyone when they wake up in the morning.
Those are the smells that they remember.

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A friend, who is an author, is speaking at an event next week.
She messaged me and asked me to come and hear her speak.
I was delighted to be invited by her.
I looked at my schedule to make sure the date was open.

This friend and I mutually encourage each other.
We both love the Lord and we both love words.
We have written many Facebook messages, liked each others pictures, but never met.
Yet!

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I was talking to a friend at the end of VBS.
Four days of hearing the Gospel.
Four days of listening to God’s Word.
One more day to complete the week.

The children move from Bible lesson, to craft, to our mission ministry, and to their snack.
They have worship at the beginning and end of each day.
Time to sing and praise the Lord Jesus.
I love to watch the joy on their faces.

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There was an advertising campaign that I have never forgotten.
The commercial, which aired in the 1970’s, advertised a brand of shampoo.
A girl with luxurious hair told you to spread the word about this fabulous product.

If you tell two friends about Faberge Organics shampoo with wheat germ oil and honey, then they’ll tell two friends, and so on and so on and so on.

As she told us to spread the word, her picture multiplied on the TV screen.
Multiple squares of her face, spreading the word about the shampoo.
Each square gave the same message making it seem as if many were spreading the word.

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I was remembering field day.
Field day with its games.
Field day when there really was a winner and there really was a loser.

I was thinking back to a game we probably all played.
A game with two tubs on either side of a field.
One tub was filled with water and one tub was empty.

Each person was given a bucket.
You had to take water from the tub that was filled and run to the other side.
You quickly poured the water from your bucket into the empty tub.

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