A Brand New Year Ahead ~ 2009

"be-lieve...to have a firm religious faith , to accept as true , genuine or real..."

I definitely have a firm religious faith and belief that God will uphold us in the New Year, come what may. With so many uncertainties in the world right now that is really all we can do. I rest assured knowing that God is in control all the time and I look forward to what the New Year has to offer.

I was also thinking of New Year's resolutions. I am really not a big fan of those, but there are a couple I would like to aspire to this year:

To be more kind and to have more patience ( I find myself getting very impatient when waiting in a long grocery line or in a line of traffic ) Have you heard the saying, "Lord give me patience and give it to me now"? LOL I really want and need to take the time to slow down and smell the roses and I pray that I can accomplish that in this new year...or at least give it a good try! Happy New Year to all of you and many blessings in 2009!

Little time to create ~

Annika ~ 21 months old... Keira ~ 14 months old...

Allysha ~ 9 and 1/2 years old...

Jonathan ~ 2 and 1/2 years old.

I have had very little time to create lately, but I did make these Christmas ornaments of my grandchildren for my tree several days ago. I guess I need to get a better camera because these pictures do not show how sparkly they are. I used glass glitter on them and they just shine on my tree! I also made little banners to add to them with their names and the year and also embellished the banner with transparent glass glitter . I love how they turned out! I can't believe that my oldest granddaughter Allysha will be 10 years old next June! Where oh where do the years go??

I may be MIA this weekend as we are going to be celebrating Christmas with my children and grandchildren over the new year. Enjoy and have a blessed day!

Precious Christmas Gifts from the Heart~

I was absolutely thrilled to receive this handmade calendar from my mother for Christmas! I just adore anything that someone has taken time to make for me with their own hands. My mother put in hour after hour and literally months making calendars for each of her children (three of us) and with all the excruciating back pain she has been in just brings tears to my eyes. (please say a prayer for her if you think about it that the doctors will be able to help her soon) These are a few pictures that are in the calendar~ My parents when they were dating:

This of course is me and it is for the month of March since my birthday is in that month.

My sister and I...weren't we so cute! LOL

I have always LOVED this picture! It is of my sister, brother and I kneeling at the bedside and my brother is peeking!!!! My mom made our nightgowns and little caps that year ...so precious to me!

Memories of days gone by that shall forever live in my heart. We grew up in the most wonderful and loving home ever and my parents are the worlds greatest parents! I love them sooo much!! Enjoy!

Shabby Creations Blog Giveaway

Michelle over at Shabby Creations is having a blog design giveaway so be sure and check it out here if you would like to enter. She makes gorgeous templates and there are many designs to choose from. Blessings!

Christmas Longing ~

I wanted to take the time to wish you all a very Merry Christmas since I will be a busy little beaver and I may not be able to post for a few days. I want to leave you with a saying that I love : "We long for a way of life that embraces more than possessions and ambitions. Our hearts search for meaning, yearn for peace, live for hope...And so, amidst the happy celebration, we welcome again, with awe, God's newborn Love. Christmas morning, may the Son rise in your heart...may He warm you with His love and light your pathways in the new year." Blessings!

Christmas Treasures

I just had to show you a few treasures I received yesterday. I ordered this gorgeous glitter slipper ornament from Heather over at The Present Past and it came yesterday in the mail. I just love it! It is a nice large size to decorate with or it can hang on the tree as well. She packages her items so wonderful! I wish the pictures captured all the glitter that just makes it sparkle! Absolutely lovely! Then my best friend and I went out for lunch yesterday and she gave me this wonderful bottle brush wreath... Love her...Love this and love the colors!

She also gave me this adorable tinsel ornament ! I love all my treasures and am very thankful for friends and acquaintences.

Feeling Very Blessed ~

Have you ever seen such an adorable little face???? My precious granddaughter was showing a little independence this week when she was here. She put on her little boots...on the wrong feet of course, but too cute...got one arm in her jacket and put on her little hat. Then she proceeded to try and open the door. I said "Annika, daddy isn't here yet...he is at work...to which she gave me quite the look and replied, "Mommy wuk...daddy wuk...." I just love to hear her talk! I enjoy her so so much and am blessed that they live only a few miles away ( unlike my other two children who live two and three hours away) so I get to see her often.

I also think of those who have lost loved ones at this time of year and feel so blessed that I still have all my family . My husbands cousin lost her 27 year old son in a tragic accident this past week . He left behind a wife and three young children so please say a prayer for them as you celebrate with your loved ones this holiday season. Blessings!

Oh the weather outside is frightful...

...but the fire is so delightful ...that is the way I am feeling today after a few days of snow and ice. Actually we don't have a fireplace, but just to be inside where it is nice and warm is the greatest blessing !

I created a few star ornaments for my tree and thought I would share them. My whole tree has mostly white and silver ornaments on it and I am loving that look. I used some pages out of a very old church hymnal for these star ornies. I had fun making them and am in the process of making more ornaments as well. I do wish all of you a wonderful weekend filled with love and blessings!

Puttering...

I guess today is a day for puttering around the house. We had a snow and ice storm that visited us last night and today and I have not left my house. It was not a welcome visitor to say the least. I love snow in very light dustings , but not heavy accompanied with sleet. Our electricity just blinked on and off and I am hoping that it doesn't go out for hours as my little 2 year old granddaughter is coming today. She is such a sweetheart...I know I have told you that before, but she really is. She is such a happy and good natured baby that we wonder what their next one will be like.

I purchased this huge vintage basket a while ago and I love it. I also bought another smaller one , but it didn't make it into the picture. I think someone was selling off their collection of these types of baskets because there were a lot of them....and several were only $5.95! What a bargain...Blessings!

Ever had One of those Days....

Ever had one of those days when you felt like you were running every which way? Yesterday I decided to go shopping in Defiance (approx. 40 miles away ) so I headed out and my cell rang. It was my youngest son "mom...what you doin"...I told him my plans and I said "why"......to which he told me that he was now sick with the stomach flu which his wife was down with as well and his little girl had also been sick. ( They have had this bug at least TWICE now in the past few weeks and it is not a kind bug. I won’t get into the details, but lets just say it was not pleasant). So I stopped at the store and purchased some meds he wanted and dropped them off at his house which is probably 10 miles or so away but could be considered "on my way" to Defiance. Then it was on to shopping.

I had a good day shopping and I wanted to get home by the time hubby got home from work because we had to drop off our truck at the shop to be worked on . I got home and was puttering around and thankfully happened to check my email and found one asking me to pick up hubby at five pm as he was working overtime. Which...by the way, his place of work was right on my way home from Defiance.......okay....I can do that, but had I known that I would have stayed in town longer and picked him up on the way home....LOL...oh well anyway...

Just as I am getting around the phone rings again......."Mom this is Nate....what are you doing tonight"...why Nathan what’s up...(my son that I dropped of meds to earlier in the day) Well, mother-in-law is now very sick and she can’t watch Annika.......can you watch her?.....all the time I am thinking Oh dear Lord pleaseeeee help me not to get this bug because I have company coming in next week......"Sure I can watch her"...."okay can you pick her up at mother in law’s place" So I made a bigggggg sweeping circle to pick up adorable granddaughter and then on to pick up "paw paw" at work. I will say I was soooo tired of driving at that point. Hubby got in the car VERY hungry so we stopped at McDonalds and got him a bite and listened to our sweet granddaughter say , "Fry....fry....fry"...she was liking his fries! So I drive back home yet again and paw paw gets out of the car and into his truck and we take both vehicles to drop off the truck at the shop which was the same direction we just came from! It seems like all I did all day was run around the county over and over. But when we finally got home to stay for the evening we had a very delightful time with our precious granddaugher. She is just a joy and is a very happy little girl.....she made our day!

Wishing you a delightful day filled with unexpected blessings!

52 Years of Love ~ Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad

My parents 52nd Anniversary is today and I took a trip down memory lane back to their 50th anniversary party that we held for them two years ago. I did all the planning, decorations and I also made the invitations and favors. Please take a moment and reminisce with me... Aren't they just the cutest couple ever?? This is their cake that I ordered...the best cake ever!!!! There is a local gal who makes the most delicious and moist cakes ever and we call it "Kristy cake" because her name is Kristy. We go to events around here and say ," Is that Kristy cake"...seriously....I have never had any better. She can make any design also. I just took her a picture and she made this gorgeous cake!

More pictures of the cake and decor...I am looking at this picture now and thinking we should have used real silverware and not plastic, but at the time we thought it was a good idea.

The invitations that I made...I don't have photo shop or anything so just made these in word processor and believe me it took me many hours and days to get them just right, but it was worth every minute I spent. I love the saying on it, "Your love is a treasured gift...we request no other"....

A photo board I put together of old pictures....sorry for the glare. The card in the middle is very pretty and has 50th anniversary printed on it...I believe I got it at Hallmark.

More decorations....we had moms wedding dress and her shoes displayed as well.

I had a lot of old pictures copied in sepia tones and did them like scrapbook pages and had these sitting on the round tables for the centerpieces.

My daughter and son-in-law also made a dvd of hundreds of pictures through the years and they were all done in sepia tones as well. They made a gorgeous cover and also the dvd was amazing. Maybe I can find pictures of that and add it later. My parents mean so much to me and I thank God every day for their lives and for bringing me up in a Christian home. Have a blessed day!

Sweet Holiday Images

I have no profound words today...(LOL) as I have been busy doing "this and that" after arriving home from church today so I just thought I would share a couple images with you . Aren't these just the sweetest ever?? I just love the girl picture! This is a very old card with a few spots on and above her hat, but I love it anyways. I also don't think I have ever seen a pink rose Christmas postcard quite like this one either. I love it as well and I hope you do too. Enjoy and blessings!

Antique Mercury Glass Ornaments

I absolutely love anything that is antique mercury glass or silver. I have accumulated quite a few very old silver Christmas ornaments and once again, I happened to start collecting these right before the prices went sky high . I have displayed several of them in my large apothcary jar and I love the look. I have taken pictures from different sides so you can see all the amazing shapes of these old ornaments. I also have some displayed on my tree and other places around my home, but I love this look ! Blessings!

Gifts of Love in the Mail ~

Isn't this the cutest ornament you have ever seen ? I received this paper doll flapper girl ornament from Marietta over at Sweet Old Vintage . I was very surprised to receive a lovely Christmas card from her in the mail and I could tell right away that there was something else in the envelope besides the card. Imagine my surprise when I opened up the beautiful card and found this adorable ornament! I have seen her ornaments in pictures online, but to see them in person...they are just amazing! I love how she included a pair of earrings to add to the ornament. One earring adornes the necklace around her neck and of course one is on her ear. I don't know where she got the idea to make these, but what a unique and awesome idea! I put her on my Christmas tree where she is right at home with all my other white and neutral ornaments. I need to come up with a name for her...I am thinking "Marietta" after her maker...:) Thank you so much Marietta!!! Blessings!

Shades of White

Do you love white as much as I do? These are a few pictures of white around my home that I love. I purchased this adorable vintage child's apron at an antique store for $3.00. It is full length and also has two pockets trimmed with lace on it as well. Adorable!

Another picture of the vintage white shutter above my kitchen window taken from a different angle. I painted the paper mache stars white and then added transparent German glass glitter to them so they just sparkle and shine!

One of my favorite wreaths... I actually purchased this wreath with the window a few years ago and have moved it around the house periodically , but I still love it displayed on the window the best.

Vintage white glittered pinecones........a welcome winter sight.

Blessings to all of you!