FALL is upon us already!

HELLO EVERYONE! I am sure I have lost my audience by now, but man has life been hard, joyful,
tough, busy and amazing! Where have the years gone?? My son informed my not too long ago that I am
really slipping when it comes to posting on my blog and he is so right! I've been averaging about once
a year for the past couple years or so. I am going to try and do better , but no promises because you know...
LIFE HAPPENS and you better live it while you can! I know I am trying my best to do that.

The hubby and I were in the RTE 127 sale in August with his sister and husband and that is where I scored
this wheelbarrow. The people in the tent right beside ours GAVE it to me because on part of the frame is
rusted through, but it still works for yard art!!
I LOVE IT! Best bargain of the whole sale along with a chippy , white bench for $1. (from the same
people) There are such kind souls in this world today amidst all the yuck if we just open our eyes
and look.

My amazing Sweet Autumn Clematis! I have two of these. One here on my fence and one on the front porch
on a trellis! I love them and I need to get more!

Our granddaughter Annika. I can't believe she is in 7th grade this year. They moved to California
(insert sobbing here) in February and they flew home last weekend so we had a few hours to spend
with them before they flew right back. We had fun in the park and I snapped a few photos with my
actual camera instead of my phone. She sure is a beauty and growing up fast!

Annika and little Liam! Remember our rainbow grand after we lost Eden to stillbirth? This is him!
Isn't he the cutest??!! Adorable! He will be two years old in November. DOES.NOT.SEEM.POSSIBLE!

I love this photo. My son, his daughter Annika and my hubby. Something must have been very funny. lol

Sweet Ainsley and Liam sliding in the park. The visit was way too short, but I am so
very thankful that we got to see them! Six months is a long time to be apart from those
you love for sure!

This post is so random! Ha! My geraniums from my gardens this year were so pretty.

More flowers.  I can do pretty good growing flowers outside, but not inside AT.ALL. 

We found a field of sunflowers one day close by and I had to snap some photos. They are so pretty and
are the epitome of fall!

Well, here we are at the end already! I just picked random pics to post and you got quite a mixture, but it is our
life in real time. God is good and we are so loved by Him!! Always remember that!!

Until next time which is hopefully sooner than later,

God's Wisdom..

{a single pink rose for our precious angel granddaughter Eden}


This saying came across in my memories today on face book.

It really made me stop and ponder the ways of God.

I know He could have prevented the loss of Eden,

but He chose not to.

The first thing I want to ask Him when I get to heaven is

WHY???

We just have to trust that His ways our higher than our ways
and that He knows what is best for every single one of us.

That is not always easy at all.
We are human and we want answers.



Our grief has been profound since losing her...

our 10th grandchild...

EDEN RAIN

back in May.

I have been taught since a wee girl that

 God doesn't give us more than we can handle..

that just is NOT true.

 I have come to understand in the past several months that HE DOES
 give us more than we can handle because that makes us turn to Him
to carry us through. Otherwise we would think we can do it all on our own.

Also, since Eden passed I have heard well meaning people say:

 Just be grateful for the kids/grand kids you DO have...

SERIOUSLY?

WHO says that??!!
We are very grateful, but that doesn't lessen the pain or the grief

 and

let me ask you this:


"which one of your children/grandchildren would you want to give up?"
Also, the well meaning, but awful phrase:

"you can just have more children."
PLEASE do not say this to anyone who has lost a child no matter the circumstances!

While it may be true...

They wanted

THIS child,

they loved

THIS child,

she carried

THIS child

they had dreams,

so many dreams...

 for
THIS child

and they are heartbroken!


I could go on and on, but I will leave you with this saying:


My child{grandchild} died.
I don't need advice.
All I need is for you
 to gently close your mouth,
open wide your heart and
walk with me until
I can see in color again.

-Angela Miller

Please check out Still Standing website. It is a great resource
for grieving parents.

{I didn't mean for this to sound snarky or that I am berating any of you.
Just kindly asking people to stop and think....}


It's been 2 months, 3 weeks and 5 days...

A new year brings new blessings...

...and a renewed hope along with the ability to try new adventures that God has laid out before
 us. We are definitely on that path this year.

I can joyfully report that hubby found a new job and he started today.
Praising God for that wonderful blessing!

Not as much money as he was making before, but the benefits are good and there is a potential for
raises so he could be right back up to what he was making in time.

He will be on first shirt for 60-90 days and then will be going on 2nd shift. This is a little bump in the
 road because he loves to race his RC cars and he will miss that, but he is happy for a job. I told him
 to race every chance he gets before he goes on 2nd. :)  He also drives 45 minutes one way to work, but
 that is only about 15 minutes farther than he was so we are just trusting that God will keep his little
 Ford Ranger running until he can get established in this new job and we can get another vehicle.
This is certainly not what we had planned for the new year, but God often throws a kink in our
 plans doesn't He?  He does know best so we are putting our faith and trust in Him.

In a span of about six weeks my husband lost his father very suddenly , had to tell his 44 year old
 brother that he is adopted and his factory closed with no warning. If that doesn't bring a person closer
 to God, then I don't know what will, but we are humbled and thankful for Gods goodness to us.

Also, my dear father was diagnosed with pneumonia this past week , but he is doing better
so we are thanking God for His healing and watch over him.  Praying that God showers you
 with blessings that overflow in this new year!!

{Note: if you are interested in any of the above candles I sell them for $10 each plus
shipping. Just shoot me an email. }

God is good ....all the time!!

Blessings~

A Melancholy Mood?

 As I gaze upon this pretty candle my heart is at peace... even with all that is going on in the
 world. I could very easily be in a melancholy mood , but that doesn't do me any good so I
sit here and pray for God to change the hearts and lives of people who seek to destroy us.

{mel-an-chol-y...Sad, gloomy, or depressed}

Praying that you have a beautiful and peaceful weekend ~

Life is hard...

...messy, amazing, heartbreaking, wonderful, fun, discouraging,
exhilarating, heart-stopping, challenging, beautiful...

God is ...
good, amazing, almighty,  awesome, all powerful, my refuge,
my strength, never failing.

7 minutes can change your life!

Just a quick post today. I made it safely home last night from visiting my sister in Pennsylvania.
We had such a wonderful time and hated to see it come to an end, but we are both exhausted! lol
That is what happens when you hit the ground running and never slow down until it is time to
come back home. :)


I did want to share with you the amazing goodness of our Heavenly Father. He certainly gave
our family a huge blessing without asking.  The week before I arrived my sister was at her bank doing
 some business and when she left the bank and got back in her vehicle she remembers looking at her
 clock and it said 12:31 pm.
The bank was robbed at 12:38 pm. SEVEN minutes after she left.
This past week she talked to the
clerk who had waited on her last week and she said that Chris (my sister) was her last customer and
then she took her lunch break , but was still in the bank. That is when everything broke loose.
Two masked men came in , showed a gun and robbed the place.


I have gone over all kinds of scenarios in my head such as what if my sister had been in there
when the robbers came in...would they have taken her hostage or worse yet  would they have shot her?
I thank God every day for watching over her and keeping her safe!! I could have been going to
Pennsylvania for a totally different reason that I don't even want to think about.


Friday while we were shopping she got another phone call that there was another bank robbery
in a little town called Sandy Lake about 5 minutes from where she lives and there was also
a third one all within a few miles of where she lives.  If you think about it please say a prayer
that these people will be caught and not hurt anyone in the meantime.

Thanking God today for the prayers he answers without us even praying them!!

Be still and know...

New hydrangea from my garden.

So much more delicate and fragile than my other hydrangeas.


I think that we all have days when we feel very fragile too. I know I do.
On those days we need to put our trust in God and remember that He alone is God...
that He is in control...not me, but Him. Sometimes in our humanness that is hard to do,
but if we could just realize that the best place we can be is in God's hands how much
better off our days would go.

Wishing you all a beautiful weekend ~

Precious in His Sight

Precious in His Sight

Drifting, falling, gently landing, on the coat of one girl standing, on a winter moonlit night, snowflakes dancing in the light.

Watching closely as they lay, she stood in awe of what God made...

Each a masterpiece so small, yet the Lord sees each one fall.

Delicate and formed with love, a gift to us from God above. He takes the time to make each one, for His pleasure for our fun.

If He should care enough to make each and every little flake, then how precious in His sight is one girl standing in the light.

{photos are of my little granddaughter...

poem taken from a bookmark }

　

Blessings to you this Sunday~

A Challenge

I want to put a challenge out there for all my blogging friends.

I am challenging you to *pay it forward* with some type

of meaningful gesture during the upcoming holiday season.

You may not see someone holding

a sign like above, but that does not mean there aren't many

people in need all around us.

I don't know if you all remember our story from a couple years

ago where we were in a drive through and the person in the

car ahead of us paid for our meal. I am telling you it

blessed our socks off and it made me vow to keep this in

mind and return the favor. If I remember right our bill was only

$4 or so, but it isn't the amount that matters.

I was able to keep that vow several months later also at

a drive through.

When I heard that *still small voice* urging me on,

I was trying to rationalize in my head, "but what if I

don't have enough cash" and on and on and I finally

realized I was to do this and I had better get on with it.

Can you believe after paying for mine and the car behind me

I had a little over $1.00 left??

God knew all along that I had enough cash with me

and I am so thankful that I listened to His voice.

No better time than the present with our bad economy

and so many out of work to do a small part to bless

someone else. You will make their day...month...year,

and you will receive a blessing too.

If any of you choose to do this I would love to hear the

stories! May God bless each and every one of you!!

{photo above found online}

P.S.This is what reminded me again today...my daughter-in-laws blog post yesterday. It really is worth the read I promise!!

This past Tuesday the kids and I were at the library for story time. Kanaan usually sleeps right thru it, but Keira really enjoys singing the songs and listening to the stories. Well, story time was over and we were heading back up to the front to check out our new books. I knew that our last books/CD's were overdue (by like a week, ugh) and we would have a fine. I just didn't know how much. I get up there, and the lady says, "ma'am you owe $2.25." And it needs to be under $1.00 in order for me to check anything out. I didn't have that much, but I did have $1.25 in change!! So I dished out what I could. But technically speaking it still wasn't under a dollar. So I was beginning to prepare myself to calmly and rationally explain to Keira that we weren't going to be able to get library books this week - no big deal. That's when the lady beside me in line threw out a dollar onto the counter and said "here, use this." I looked at her and said that it was no big deal, thank you anyway. I appreciated the gesture, but no thanks. She persisted and simply said "Pay it forward." And at first I kind of just gave here a questioning look, but she said it again and I asked 'are you sure?' She simply nodded. I just looked at her straight in the eye and said thank you. I must have proceeded to say thank you like 20 times after that, but I just felt an overwhelming urge to hug her. I think I just patted her arm instead, but tears even welled up in my eyes and everything. You just don't see generosity like that anymore. For a complete stranger. God is everywhere and I saw him this week. :)

He Cares

...and oh how He does care for you and me.

{Another vintage card from my personal collection}

Sunday blessings~

One year more blessed ~

I think I need two houses to decorate.

{I didn't say to clean, I said to decorate.lol.}

I love the creams and neutrals nowdays,

but my heart still skips a beat when I find

vintage pieces like this~

I found this at an antique mall when I was at my daughter's

home last weekend...$2.00.

{along with another one that I will share later}

I had picked up a few vintage prayer cards and also

a vintage silver dish and although I really liked them,

I didn't have that

*oh my goodness* feeling

that I get when I find something really special

until... I found these~

They were in the very last booth at the antique mall

and I had to root through old paper items to find

these gems, but it was so worth it!

It's the little things that send me

*over the moon*.

My birthday was yesterday...all day long.

that means I am one year older,

one year wiser, {not sure about this one...lol},

one year crazier,

and one year more blessed!!

Have a beautiful sunshiny Thursday~

Glimmering Silver ~

glistening...sparkly...glittery...shimmering ~

i have fallen in love with vintage silver.

i made some of these ornaments to sell at my booth

this year and they were a hit~

loving my stash of vintage silver ornies~

sharing a little something to think about:

*faith is taking the first step

even when you don't see

the whole staircase*

-martin luther king jr.

blessings this wintry night ~

Seven things I have learned ~

1. that if I pray for patience, God puts me in situations that demand it

2. that when I am in the *10 items or less* line at the grocery store

and the person ahead of me has 74 items {yes I counted the beeps},

there just might be a logical explanation for it

{and there was...also see #1}

3. that I adore my grandchildren and should have had them first {because I think I am a better grandmother than I was a mother}

4.that when I turn my kids over to God, I need to leave them there

and let Him alone work in their lives.

5. that marriage is hard work , but definitely worth every minute {remind me of this when hubby and I are having a bad day}

6. that God alone is in charge and not me

7.. that life is short even at the longest, so live it with no regrets

Have a wonderful and blessing filled day on this

Cyber Monday~