Sunday with Family | Carter's Garden Blog

Sunday Reflections…

January 19, 2020, 8:54 am
Filed under: Family time, Food, Fountains, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Love, music, Outdoor Lifestyles, Sunday Reflections, Sunrises, Sunsets, Waterfalls | Tags: 18th. Birthday, Birthdays Are Special, Family Fun, Family time, Football Time In Tennessee, Good Times, Great Son, Happy Birthday, I ❤️ my Family, IF, My Son, Quality Time, Rudyard Kipling, Sunday with Family, Time, Time flies, Time in a bottle, Voting Age

My son Jacob turns 18 today. 18 years in the blink of an eye 👁 Many of you know him personally & appreciate the man he has become. I’m about to fix his favorite breakfast and spend the day with my boy… I can still call him that, even though he is 6’ 3” and weighs about 220… 😎 I’m a Very proud papa!!!

A collage of pictures of our Birthday boy through the years. From the poster boy for the outdoor classroom movement to putting on butterfly programs, hanging out with his favorite performers & to the man he is today. What a great young man he has become ❤️

Happy Birthday Jacob! I Love you son!

“If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,

Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,

And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;

If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,

And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!”

~ Rudyard Kipling

Mark C.

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Sunday Reflections…

It cooled off a bit over night & it’s noticeable this morning. But the grey sky is supposed to give way later today and we will have some sun ☀️ Signs of Spring are everywhere! I’m gonna finish my coffee and make breakfast! Then, a nap 😴 & some Football 🏈! Did I mention that I love January 😊

Emerging flowers whisperer Spring is Coming 🌼

“January is the quietest month in the garden… But just because it looks quiet doesn’t mean that nothing is happening. The soil, open to the sky, absorbs the pure rainfall while microorganisms convert tilled-under fodder into usable nutrients for the next crop of plants. The feasting earthworms tunnel along, aerating the soil and preparing it to welcome the seeds and bare roots to come.”

~ Rosalie Muller Wright

Have a wonderful Sunday! Spring is Coming!

PS; Go Packers!

~ Mark Carter

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Sunday Reflections…

December 29, 2019, 9:34 am
Filed under: Family time, Food, Fountains, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Love, music, Outdoor Lifestyles, Sunday Reflections, Sunrises, Sunsets, Waterfalls | Tags: 2020 Is Coming, Day Off, Family time, Friends and Family, Goals, Good Times, Happy New Year!, I ❤️ my Family, I ❤️ My Friends!, Last Sunday Of The Decade, New Years is Coming!, New Years Resolutions, Old Friends, Quality Time, Rainy Days, Rainy Morning, Sunday Inspiration, Sunday Naps, Sunday Reflections, Sunday with Family, Time flies, Time in a bottle

Rainy night followed by a rainy morning. I’ve been sipping coffee since early, thinking about the holidays and all the family we got to see and all the stuff we did. We are having one more late holiday get together with some out of town family and then it’s all about New Years!

Only a few days left in this decade! What will I do with them…

Today is the last Sunday of the year! Last Sunday of the decade to be exact! It’s been a good year! Fast but good. I have started a list of goals for 2020. #1 in the list, spend more quality time with family and friends. The more I think about it, that’s a goal worth striving for.

Have a great Sunday with family and friends!

New Years is Coming!

Mark C.

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Sunday Reflections…

December 22, 2019, 11:16 am
Filed under: Family time, Food, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Love, music, Outdoor Lifestyles, Sunday Reflections, Sunrises, Sunsets, Waterfalls | Tags: Christmas Countdown, Christmas is Coming, Christmas Love, Christmas Magic, Christmas Poem, Christmas Season, Sunday, Sunday Inspiration, Sunday Morning Coming Down, Sunday Mornings, Sunday Naps, Sunday Poem, Sunday Reflections, Sunday with Family

Good morning and Merry Christmas to all! We are in the final countdown to the big day…

The time is flying by! 3,2,1 Boom 💥

This world is wild as an old wives’ tale,
And strange the plain things are,
The earth is enough and the air is enough
For our wonder and our war;
But our rest is as far as the fire-drake swings
And our peace is put in impossible things
Where clashed and thundered unthinkable wings
Round an incredible star.

To an open house in the evening
Home shall men come,
To an older place than Eden
And a taller town than Rome.
To the end of the way of the wandering star,
To the things that cannot be and that are,
To the place where God was homeless
And all men are at home.

~ G.K. Chesterton “The House of Christmas”.

Merry Christmas 🎄 🎅🏻

Mark C.

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Sunday Reflections…

I’ve been drinking coffee since early, thinking about all the family and friends that will be getting together over the next couple weeks. And how Christmas Day is only 10 days away! Wow! It’s just flying by… We are all into the 12 Days of Christmas countdown!

“On the first day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
A Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the second day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the third day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the fourth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the fifth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Five Golden Rings
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the sixth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Six Geese a Laying
Five Golden Rings
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the seventh day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Seven Swans a Swimming
Six Geese a Laying
Five Golden Rings
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the eighth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Eight Maids a Milking
Seven Swans a Swimming
Six Geese a Laying
Five Golden Rings
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the ninth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Nine Ladies Dancing
Eight Maids a Milking
Seven Swans a Swimming
Six Geese a Laying
Five Golden Rings
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the tenth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Ten Lords a Leaping
Nine Ladies Dancing
Eight Maids a Milking
Seven Swans a Swimming
Six Geese a Laying
Five Golden Rings
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the eleventh day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Eleven Pipers Piping
Ten Lords a Leaping
Nine Ladies Dancing
Eight Maids a Milking
Seven Swans a Swimming
Six Geese a Laying
Five Golden Rings
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the twelfth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
12 Drummers Drumming
Eleven Pipers Piping
Ten Lords a Leaping
Nine Ladies Dancing
Eight Maids a Milking
Seven Swans a Swimming
Six Geese a Laying
Five Golden Rings
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree”

I know you just sang that 😊

Have a Great Sunday & Merry Christmas!

~ Mark Carter

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Sunday Reflections…

December 8, 2019, 11:03 am
Filed under: Family time, Food, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Love, music, Outdoor Lifestyles, Sunday Reflections, Sunrises, Sunsets, Waterfalls | Tags: Birthdays, Breakfast, Family, Family Dinner, Good Friends, I ❤️ my Family, I ❤️ My Friends!, Old Friends, Party, Poems, Sunday, Sunday in the Garden, Sunday Inspiration, Sunday Mornings, Sunday Naps, Sunday Poem, Sunday Reflections, Sunday with Family

I have had a great birthday weekend! I got up early this morning, had coffee & started breakfast so everyone would wake to a great smell. Payback of sorts 😊 Jo & Jacob both went above & beyond what I expected for my birthday the last couple of days. Lots of friends & family went out of their way to let me know they cared! From Facebook, emails, texts, cards, pies, cakes & calls, I was blown away by the Love and Well Wishes from friends and family. I’m Blessed!

Sunday breakfast with family & friends is one of the high points of the week to me 😊

“We all have a cherished garden we tend –
It is planted with love of family and friends.
The memories and dreams we treasure and share
Are like beautiful roses found blooming there.
The comfort and care on which we depend
Is given with love between family and friends.
The sunshine of laughter and rain of a tear
Only make our love grow with each passing year.
We may all be ourselves with no need to pretend
Because of the love of family and friends;
They notice the rainbows and weather the showers.
They overlook weeds and praise all our flowers.
The most valuable thing is the time that we spend
Tending this garden with family and friends.
When counting our blessings, we know from the start
That family and friends come first in our heart.”

~ Lizzy Pureheart

Thank God for Family & Friends ❤️

– Mark C.

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Sunday Reflections…

We are officially in the “Christmas Season”! We kicked it off with a HUGE Thanksgiving feast! Followed by a road trip, a shopping trip & another party 😊 I think I’m in the spirit of the season already! 🎅🏻🎄💥

Here are a few pics from the last couple days …

Family and Old Friends are what makes the Holidays special!

We even took part in an Awesome Podcast with some Old Friends!

Awesome podcast with Matt, Motel, Jason & crew!

I hope we all have a wonderful Christmas Season! Today is the 1st. day of December, Christmas will be here in the blink of an eye 👁 Slow down & enjoy 😊

My Christmas wish for you, my friend
Is not a simple one
For I wish you hope and joy and peace
Days filled with warmth and sun

I wish you love and friendship too
Throughout the coming year
Lots of laughter and happiness
To fill your world with cheer

May you count your blessings, one by one
And when totaled by the lot
May you find all you’ve been given
To be more than what you sought

May your journeys be short, your burdens light
May your spirit never grow old
May all your clouds have silver linings
And your rainbows pots of gold

I wish this all and so much more
May all your dreams come true
May you have a Merry Christmas friend
And happy New Year, too

~ Anonymous

Merry Christmas 🎄

~ Mark Carter

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