Oh, Nora, what beautiful gifts from your sweet husband! It pays to serve Jesus, doesn't it... Money can't buy the precious relationship you have with your dear family. What a difference His love makes in our hearts. It may take some time, but God can bless your dad's tomato plants and cause them to produce abundantly even if they don't grow to their normal size. He did that for a scrawny one I almost pulled out one summer. It never grew very large but eventually became loaded with the sweetest tomatoes of the whole crop! :) My strength isn't what it used to be, either, Nora... I look back and shake my head in wonder when I think of lifting Mother in and out of everything for three years. We CAN do all things through Christ. He gives us what we need when we need it. I did my hedge and finished the yard. The pollen in the springtime causes my allergies to flare up big time. I think that's the hardest part of working outside right now for me! :) I know you're grateful to have your precious mother another Mother's Day... May God's peace, grace, and sweetness fill you to overflowing as you minister to your dear parents and family. Hi Gabby! I'm glad to hear that you and your DH are slowly adjusting to life without Lara. I pray things work out for your hubby so that you won't have to travel as much and will be able to enjoy your beautiful home. I had to have my only tree cut down last fall, so I'm not getting as many birds this spring. I do have one bird feeder and get to enjoy them there. ~breezy

It's such a stormy early evening here (and it's tomorrow night that is supposed to be our real wind and rain coastal storm), I'd love to have my tree, its lights, fire in the fireplace and my quilt. But I took my tree down a few days ago, packed all the ornaments wrapping some, wrapped each piece of the santa figurine collection, thought I had everything carefully stored for another year. Then, saw a little ring sized box on the dining room table that holds the replacement bulbs and the fuses for the tree lights that didn't get into the lights box. And later that night, a chubby little sitting cross legged santa in his horn rimmed glasses still looking at me from the kitchen window sill over the sink. Second try, now everything is put away. I think.

Latex mattresses sold by the big "S" companies are rarely, if ever, composed of 100% latex. They contain layers of cheaper foam which tend to sag over time, and mattresses with pillowtops sag the worst. I once saw a chart showing specifications of big-name "latex" mattresses and you wouldn't believe the small amount of real latex. There might be five layers of different types of foam with one or two thin layers of latex. About four years ago I was looking for a latex mattress and did a lot of online research, including spending many months reading posts on a mattress forum. I learned about several online companies that sell real latex mattresses and provide great customer service. Specialty stores in some geographic areas (not mine) also sell latex mattress, some organic. But I was on a limited budget and knew I could never afford any of these (and I question the concept of organic latex but that's for another thread.) Based on suggestions on the mattress forum, I took a risk and made an online purchase from a web site called foambymail (the company is Foam Factory.) I purchased a 6" firm base, a separate 3" soft topper, and upgraded to a terry cover, which has a zipper around all four sides (a $20 upgrade.) The mattress comes shrink wrapped, shipped by UPS. Shipping is free. Latex is very heavy and a friend helped me lug it upstairs to the bedroom. We placed it on the platform bed before unwrapping it. As we cut through the shrink wrap carefully, it made a whooshing sound as it expanded. The 6" latex base had already been placed by the company inside the mattress cover, so we only had to shift it into place on the bed. We placed the 3" topper inside the cover and zipped it all around. Since I like cushy beds, I bought a separate mattress cover with its own pillowtop made by Cuddledown (from Costco). After four years, the bed is like new and it's the most comfortable bed I've ever slept on. If I were doing this again, the only change I would make is to get a 2" soft topper rather than 3". I might also substitute the Cuddledown cover with a wool topper since the Cuddledown is filled with polyesther and sleeps a little warm. I paid less than $700 for a full size mattress and topper; it would be a little more today. Here is a link that might be useful: Foam Factory

I'm a big Nora fan, so I hope these stories translate well to TV. There's more info on her website if anyone is interested. Here is a link that might be useful: Nora Roberts