About FiveFs

UPDATED 5/2014:

This is all about the “Five F’s” in my life – Faith, Family, Food, Fotos and Fun.

I took a bit of artistic license with “Fotos,” but I think it will be ok.  😀

About me…

There is another “F” word in my life now…

Fifty.

As in fifty years old.

Actually, the big 5-0 came calling six years ago now, as of May 2014.  I don’t care how you slice or dice it, turning 50 is just that, turning 50!  Half a century.  Senior citizen stuff and regular hair coloring in my future.  And now, 60 is coming right up on the horizon.  Sigh.

I have been married to the same man for 35 years.  My first memory of him was in junior high, beating him in a game of pool while on a church youth trip to Six Flags Over Texas. Our group stayed in the basement of a large Methodist church in the area that catered to youth groups that frequented Six Flags. Yes, they even had a pool table, and I beat the socks off of my future husband. He had no clue that I was a budding “pool shark” and practiced at my aunt and uncle’s house every time we visited. I started loving him in high school, and I have never quit.

Taken in 1978, a few months before we got married

We are uniquely different in many ways, which has been both a blessing and a challenge over the years.  Let’s just say that it keeps life interesting, shall we?  I cannot imagine life without him in it now, nor do I want to try.

Our nest is empty now.  I raised two beautiful kids, a daughter and a son, who are now two beautiful adults. If I never do anything else in my life, I have that to my credit.  It has been one of the true joys of my life to be their mother, and it remains so today.  If you are a mother, you know.  It hasn’t always been easy – far from it.  But I wouldn’t trade it for anything either.

Now that my nest is empty, except for our beautiful standard poodles that we adore, life is presenting me with a bit more free time for writing.  The older I get, the more I want to bring the elements of my life together in a meaningful way to not only preserve my own memories and experiences, but to share them with anyone that cares to read and find some tidbit of value in them. So, that is what I will strive for here at “Five F’s.”

I even put a little thought into the first header on this site in August 2010 when I started this blog.  Just so you’ll know, the “Five F’s” were each a specific color for a reason…

• Red F for “Faith” – Red represents the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ for all sinners, including me.  Words cannot express what my loving God and my faith has meant to me for the past 40+ years, especially during the toughest times, which have been many.  I have no hesitation in sharing that without God in my life, I’m not sure I would have made it through some of these times.  I am truly blessed.  I still have a long way to go, but I want to continue to walk that path with my Savior.  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” — John 3:16

• Yellow F for “Family/Friends” – Yellow represents sunshine, and my family has been and always will be the sunshine in my life, including our dogs and even some dear friends that I consider to be like family to me.  While family relationships, and even some friendships, are probably the most rewarding and positive relationships we will ever have in many ways, they can also be trying and difficult experiences in our lives at times because of the deep feelings involved.  We can all learn to handle these relationships in healthy ways, and I’ve definitely had to learn about setting some healthy boundaries with a few family members before I let those relationships become even more unhealthy.  I could write a book on some of the things our family has gone through over the years, both good and not so good.  But, I firmly believe that God works in all of us through our special relationships with family and friends, and I have learned that lesson so many times and continue to learn it today.  “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” — Romans 8:28 

• Green F for “Food” – Green represents all growing things on the earth, including the food that grows for our nourishment.  I live in an agricultural area, and I understand the connection we have to our precious earth that sustains us.  We also prefer to travel to mostly natural areas, such as state and national parks.  We have a small backyard garden each summer, and harvesting fresh vegetables is such a great experience.  There is nothing like a fresh, sweet vine-ripened tomato, Amen?  A few months ago, I made the decision, hopefully for the very last time, to get on a good, healthy eating plan to lose weight and keep it off for the rest of my life, and as of May 2014, I have lost 35 pounds!  I love to cook now more than any other time in my life, and it’s such great fun to try new recipes and tear up the kitchen in the process, and I love to bake pretty decorated cookies at Christmas most of all, even though most are just given away for gifts now. – “Give us this day our daily bread…” — Matthew 6:11
  

• Blue F is for “Fotos” – Blue represents the big, blue Texas plains sky that I see almost every day of my life and the big, blue oceans and lakes that I love to visit.  Let me photograph a big, blue sky or a big, blue ocean everyday, and I will be a happy camper. (Oh wait, I am a happy camper now anyway, with the purchase of our first RV back in 2011!)  Photography is one of the loves in my life, and I sometimes get fairly obsessed with both taking pictures and working with post processing techniques.  I love just about any kind of nature photography most of all.  If digital cameras had been around in the 70’s, I think I would have tried photography as a profession instead of a doomed career in banking.  But now, it’s just a great hobby and one that I can share with others in the process.  I’m grateful that I have the time and some nice equipment to pursue this passion now, too.  “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” — Genesis 1:1
  

• Purple F is for “Fun” – Purple is one of my favorite colors, and having fun and enjoying life is definitely one of my favorite past times!  Why not be joyful in spirit while we are here on this earth going about our everyday lives and doing what we can to make a difference?  We also love to travel anywhere and everywhere.  Over the past couple of years, we have started traveling primarily by motor home, and we just love it.  We try to go somewhere every month, if possible, and I love writing about some of our escapades, too.  One of my goals in this stage of my life is to find ways to make the mundane aspects of life a bit more light-hearted.  Some amazing people with extreme challenges in life have taught me that it is possible to be joyful through just about anything over the years, and I am thankful for this lesson that they have shared (either knowingly or unknowingly) because it has absolutely changed my life and my approach toward it.  “A joyful heart is good medicine…” — Proverbs 17:22
  

I know that some people are more drawn to certain topics than others, so my posts are categorized by topic in the left column of this site.

Life is good. Comments are sometimes moderated to keep this a friendly place. Kindness is always appreciated!  (And if you see any formal ads on my site at this time, please know that they are not authorized or approved by me in any way, but rather placed there by Word Press.  I have no control over this.)  This is just a personal blog, and I derive no income whatsoever from anything associated with it.

Welcome to my fun, crazy, beautiful, stressful, unexpected, “never know what life is going to throw at you today” world!  I should write a novel about it all someday, but this is probably as close as I will ever get.

For more information about my writing, see my post Come Hop On In! (July 7, 2014)

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