THE ROYAL BOUQUET

Welcome to Pink Saturday. I know romance is in the air. The royal wedding today took our minds off our troubles for a few hours and I personally felt that the royal couple created a beautiful, elegant magical wedding. From the dress to her hair style and William mouthing "You're beautiful" as she turned to be at his side in the beginning of the wedding ceremony, these young royals showed us they were wonderfully elegant and classy. The bouquet was simple. I thought she was quite thoughtful  adding the Sweet William blooms to her bouquet.  Kate also carried the simple and fragrant lily- of- the- valley along with a sprig of myrtle tucked in (for good luck) and hyacinth. The myrtle was planted by Queen Victoria in 1845 and Kate kept with royal tradition by adding it to her simple but beautiful bouquet.
I am heading over to Aunt Snow who Beverly featured today. I try to catch a new pinkie or two each week and I try my hardest to visit as many of the pinkies as I can. Enjoy your royal weekend. We are anticipating snow.
Please check my sidebar for my latest button addition. Head over to Primitive and Folk Artists- PAFA for a grand giveaway! You will not be disappointed. Just mention that I sent you over. I love to share goodies with everyone/
 

A HEAVY HEART

I have a heavy heart today. I look at the news and see destruction everywhere. We just need to take a break and pray. My heart aches for all of you caught up in these terrible storms. I am so sad for the loss of lives. I am praying today for my country that has been slammed by every conceivable natural storm these past few days. I worry for phamily and friends caught up in it. So I am praying and I hope you will join me.

"I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the Lord, who does all these things."

Isaiah 45:7 ESV


I was reading an article about Vince Gill and Amy Grant in the AARP magazine we get at home as well as at the office where I work. I wrote this prayer down that Amy said her older kids grandmother prayed everyday. The Lord touched my heart by this prayer and I share it with you. My niece Karla called me. Her husband's step dad is in hospice. He is Frank and he is a Jehovah's Witness. He is dying from a blood cancer which is incurable. Please pray. Then the Lord told me to pray for the US under these severe weather conditions. If you ask Him He will answer and sometime it is very quickly. I just had to share this simple prayer with you today. "Lord, lead me today to those who need me." I think it is a perfect simple request God will honor us for. Thanks for letting me share with you today.

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LOVE

Before heading off to bed I wanted to share some thoughts about love with you. This first one is a favorite.

To keep your marriage brimming,
With love in the wedding cup,
Whenever your wrong, admit it,
Whenever you're right, shut up!
Ogden Nash

"Do not marry a man to reform him.
That is what reform schools are for."
Mae West

"There is no remedy for love but to love more."
Thoreau

"I think men who have a pierced ear are better prepared for marriage. They've experienced pain and bought jewelry." Rita Rudner

"Let the wife make the husband glad to come home, and let him make her sorry to see him leave."

Martin Luther

"Love is a canvas furnished by nature and embroidered by imagination." Voltaire

"We can only learn to love by loving. " Iris Murdoch

"Kindness in words creates confidence; kindness in thinking creates profoundness; kindness in giving creates love." Lao-Tan

First Time Blue Monday

I am participating in Blue Monday  for the first time today. I have this sweet blue bird I found at the Dollar Store. He decorated my counter for Easter and here he is.

I like to watch birds and we have seen many fat robins hanging around our yard. So many in fact that they have run off a sweet squirrel living in our crab apple tree in the front yard. Those robins are such bullies! I never knew! Come join Sally and everyone to participate in this Blue Monday meme.

HE IS RISEN/ LOVE IS.... FAMILY

"Rejoice that you  participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed." 1 Peter 4:13

Sharing a favorite Love is.. with you today. Please join Marydon and Sherry and myself today. Also Rita and Tete

Happy Easter and congratulations to our son Nick who took 2nd in the Track and Field Invite yesterday in the snow and the cold and the rain and the wind! He ran the 3200 k in 10:48! Nick has not run track and field since 2009 so we are very proud of him. He is a cross country man and the longer the distance the quicker he can run!

HAPPY PINK EASTER!

Happy Pink Easter to everyone! I am showing you a few photos I took around my house.  The first one is my cuddly sweet lil lamb and crocheted bunny holding a tiny basket. As you can see, those Hershey's kisses don't lat very long in there! Then there are my sweet chicks. These girls are such fun Easter traditions. Mine are paper made.  Then I have a lead crystal Princess House bowl filled with pastel eggs that have sweet little flowers painted on them. I also have my Princess House Vintage Garden tea time holder with  a few Easter friends. Next I made the candy jars that I am seeing everywhere. The dollar store candlesticks work so well with a plain pickle jar.  Mine are painted pink and lavender. The E6000 glue works wonderfully to hold glass together very nicely.  Visit http://hitherecupcake.blogspot.com/ to see her candy jars.Then I have a sweet Easter sign  and my Princess House Christmas votive holder which I added two dollar store garlands to to give it a new look!. I also have the battery operated votive tea lights and they work well with pets! I hope you will visit Beverly and tell her how loved she is for hosting these weekly memes. I love participating in pink Saturday and have done this since January 2010. Come join the fun if you haven't already and visit the pinkies. There are lots of us out here in blog land!
Enjoy your Easter weekend and come back for a visit often. I love entertaining you here.

THE LOVE OF CHRIST

We all love the 1 Corinthian verse about love that is often used at wedding ceremonies and anniversary celebrations. But have you study that chapter further? These verses remind me today of the love of Christ and how He gave Himself for the worlds sins.
"Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth . It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perserveres." 1 Cor: 13:6-7
Let us keep a happy heart today knowing Christ shed His innocent blood so we may we live.
I hope your Good Friday will be one of prayer and reflection. May the Love of Christ shine on you today and always.
Please join Spiritual Sunday today for some encouragement and reflection on this Holy Day.

Spring Time Comes Softly!

Some thoughts about Springtime to share with you today the twenty-fourth anniversary of the loss of our unborn daughter Rachel.

"There are moments on most days when I feel a deep and sincere gratitude, when I sit at the open window, and there is a blue sky or moving clouds."
Kolliwitz, Kathe

The day the Lord created hope was probably the same day he created Spring.
Bern Williams
 
No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow.
Proverb

Spring is sooner recognized by plants than by men.
Chinese Proverb

If you do not sow in the spring you will not reap in the autumn.
Irish Proverb

 Top photo is a tree outside my kitchen window at my office. We have  tinting on the windows so it is very dark. The second photo is a lovely flowering plant in the lobby of the building where my Sweets works downtown. The third photo is our choke cherry tree in the front yard. A friend claims she will help us make the jelly come autumn. Sweets says she can clean off the front steps where they fall and make her jelly courtesy of us!

Love is...

I think today true love is rare. I see so many people running about thinking all sorts of crazy thoughts. They refuse to make a commitment and then end up hurt and alone. It is always better to love and lose that love than to never know love at all 
I am old school all the way. I like being with one person who makes me laugh and can ruffle my feathers too! I like the common thread we share. The phamily bond. I like knowing what I get each day. A daily dose of fun and laughter along with the headaches and some time heartaches of life. I like sharing all of that with one special person.
I bought some Princess House items from someone I did not know but my friend knew. It was fun opening that box and sorting everything out. My Sweets was there helping me load everything into our dishwasher and than helping me arrangement it on my display shelf and tuck the rest away in our cupboards. He is good like that.
He is the one person that knows that look of sheer terror in my eyes when I am going to be slapped down by a pounding migraine. He is the guy who held my hand when my father was ill. He is the one who walked into the school to get our oldest daughter out of her third grade class so we could  travel to my dad's funeral. He is the rare fellow that washed my half shaved head and shaved my legs when I lay in a hospital for three weeks recovering from a first, second and third neurosurgery. Did I mention we were newlyweds the first time around that neurosurgery business?
He delivered our youngest daughter Hannah, not by choice but because I was a crazed banshee screaming like a wild woman while he gently helped me bring that girl into this world.
He is the man I walked out the front door to meet so I could tell him his father passed away. We have lost so many material things in this world and yet we never lost sight of each other or the fact that we would remain together and see this life through thick and thin!
He gave me my very first bible, a New American Standard bible that I still own although it is delicately held together by a few threads of the binding!
He is calm and collected, I am a raving madwoman . When it comes to our kids and any problems at school, he is diplomatic, I am protective and brazen!
He is the man who borrowed a co workers car to come rescue me on the side of the highway when our old mini van broke down years ago.
He runs like the wind. I walk like mad to catch him. He is technical, I like to have fun!
He knows the bible inside out. I am still learning. He understand the bible in the original form, Greek! I tell him "Honey, that is still Greek to me!!"
Many years ago when Donald Trump and his first wife Ivana divorced a friend wrote about them in a womens magazine. She said they had the perfect marriage, all the money in the world and yet so much unhappiness. She could not understand why. I can. They put their trust in things. They never knew rare love. They never shared pain. They never lost an unborn child or had a bank take their home away.
I know rare love and I am honored to share that love with a man who has made me laugh and cry for twenty seven years come May 3rd 2011.
I have to share this photo with you. It is my favorite t shirt currently and I have the coffee mug and all the little things that go with it. I love my Sweets and he loves me and this is why our marriage works:

 This the the house rule. I can make anyone's life miserable if they don't keep mama happy! They know. It works!
Now join Marydon and Sherry and Tete

REFLECTIONS: PROVERBS 27:19

"As in water face reflects face,
So the heart of man reflects man"

I found this lovely reflection on goggle images. It fit perfectly with my verse. I just came across this verse and it struck a chord with me.  I try to steer clear of the news except for the sports and weather updates. But I was listening to the some old stuff with politicians in Washington and I thought perhaps the Lord was thinking of the heart of a politician when this verse was put into place. 
I hope you will join  Charlotte and Ginger and everyone at this weekly encouraging post.
Blogger has been stealing my followers. I am trying to create a blog buddy book so I can have all of you at my fingertips. I hate misisng a birthday or wishing you well . I like to know all the crafty smart and sassy folks over here. I hope you will read my other posts too. I tend to visit and catch up going through several posts for each individual followers. Any ideas how you visit or how I can be better organized? I thought my book would be fun. I accumulate addresses and phone numbers and such if you are willing to share and you can always e mail me privately for that.  It is always great to have everyone close at hand and I don't have a fancy phone like an I phone or anything so I rely on simple binders and lots of great quotes and scrapbooking items to decorate my friends with!

PINK ELEPHANTS AND BABY SHOWERS

We can always tell when Spring is in the air! New babies everywhere! I think all these great minds think alike!  I know my friend Barb just posted similar photos a few weeks ago from her soon-to-be grand girl Grace! Last Sunday we traveled home to Pueblo for my niece Kate's baby shower. I guess you figured it out, she too, is having a girl! My sis was under the weather and still needs your prayers but she hosted this shower with her two daughters. Karla (white blouse) and Holly (black top). Kate is the cutie mom-to-be with the pretty printed top and my sis is standing proud with her girls!
My Sweets helped me put the diaper cake together. We opted to tie each tier together with thin ribbon then add the wide ribbon to the finished cake! We used two different sizes for the diapers and the picture does not show the cute blue and pink elephant teething ring I found to top off the cake! He was a bit top heavy with his teething rings on either side so they took him off! (Sigh)
Photo six is Kate with her cousins Rebekah and Hannah!
The cute table centerpieces were hand made by my niece Karla her sweet hubby Aaron. He designed the first one and she said "Perfect, now make me 8 more!. The little wheels under the elephant cart are actually paper towel rolls that were spray painted brown and cut into wheels to hold up the cart!  I wish I could show you the cute picks they put in the cupcakes. The day was terrific catching up with friends and relatives. The food was great and Kate and Jason received so many beautiful things for their new baby due in May. Say a prayer that Kate is finished with her finals (Nursing School) before the little one arrives.
Now stop by Beverly's and thank her for hosting this weekly fun! Enjoy all the pinkies and come visit more often!

GUIDE DOGS

I have written a post about the guide dogs previously but we have a patient at the office where I work who has the sweetest yellow lab guide dog. I always have the urge to reach out and pet this precious pooch but I know I can not. This sweetie pie sits at her mistresses feet while the doctor examines her and is the perfect little lady! I am always amazed that one can be so courageous and trust a dog to lead them on the right path. I think these dogs provide much more than being a helpmate. I think they are lifelong friends who always know exactly how to comfort you. I also think the person who handles their guide dog are so blessed because  they get to have such a wonderful and intimate relationship with an amazing and loving creature who wants nothing material from the handler. Pets are so different from people and these wonderful help mates are no exception. Their generous hearts and kind and caring mannerisms are something a lot of folks won't experience in their lives.
My maternal grandmother and my best friend forever was blind. She lost her sight to cataracts when I was 8. My grandmother was a strong and wonderful woman. She had only herself and her Creator to reply on for support with the sudden loss of her vision. She made the most wonderful homemade noddles. Actually my mom made the dough and rolled it and my grandmother cut those noddles paper thin and then the two of them made the most delicious homemade soup. My grandmother learned how to move about her home as well as our home when I was a kid and she never was bitter or tragic about the loss of her sight. After all, many years early she had lost two infant daughters. Then her husband and 17 year old son died in a tragic mining accident . So she was use to adversity and lived her life in such a wonderful,good and godly manner. I often ponder how different her life might have been had she had the opportunity to have such a partner to help her the way these guide pets help their charges these days.
I hope you will stop by Angela's and join the fun  with this weekly fun meme. Thanks for stopping by and thanks for letting me ponder my grandmother for a while.

LOVE IS...

I think this is a precious Love is... I think love can be puzzling and confusing and sometime hard to understand. The longer I am married the more I understand love but early on in a marriage you can feel like you are in a maze. There are so many things to learn and sharing with someone can sometime make you feel like you are losing your space or identity.  I just wanted to share this today with Marydon and Sherry and Tete. Come join the fun.

PROVERBS 16:24

 ²⁴ Gracious words are a honeycomb,
   sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.

This verse says a lot to me. I know the Scriptures are filled with the Lord wanting us to have gracious words and steer away from hurtful and inappropriate language. Our world today is filled with so much hateful behavior and harsh words. The movies and T.V. programs are full of unholy things. I am not a stick in the mud but the behavior of our country is taking us down the wrong path. The easy path as the bible says. Quick, convenient, that is our world. Step on their toes if they get in your way. I struggle with this constantly. The work place can be a vile can of worms. The "me" attitude is everywhere.
As a kid we knew our place. If your folks weren't there a neighbor had no problem stepping in to give you a smack if you misbehaved. Now we see children and parents suing each other.  Life is not easier today, I think it is more stressful and I find it so difficult to stay on the Lord's path. But during the Easter season I focus my heart and mind on Him who suffered the worlds sins and came back to give us another chance. Let's not blow it. Let's honor the Lord and try harder to live lives filled with kindness and caring rather than the politically correct way of this wicked world.

Please stop by Charlotte and Ginger and thank them for hosting Spiritual Sunday each week. It is a blessing and encouragement for me I know.

A LITTLE CHARLIE BROWN EASTER TREE!

Here is my Charlie Brown Easter tree that I made last weekend. Spray painting my tree branch in a blasted Spring snow storm that provided more wind than snow! It took an extra day to dry because I had to keep it indoors due to the cold. Then I added a  simple Dollar Store package of glittery mini Easter eggs. I had a package of  Michael's mini wooden Easter ornaments and a Target $1 package of mini pink clothespins cut with a pink felt fabric. My pot is a Dollar Store special also and my winking little brown bunny was also a Dollar Store purchase.
I hope you will stop by Beverly's Pink Saturday post and join all the wonderful Pinkies who participate in this weekly meme. Please visit LeAnn at her wonderful blog. She always has something wonderful to share with us and she truly loves spending time with her family, many who live just steps away from her home. I have followed LeAnn for nearly two years and she is a delight. Tell her I sent you over!
I hope you have a wonderful weekend and a dreamy pink day!
Please also visit cedarcreekprimssellingblog.blogspot.com/ for a fun Easter giveaway!

Z IS FOR ZZ'S

"Z" is for ZZ's...I love getting them. It is always wonderful when I get a full nights rest. I hate those long drawn out nights when I toss and turn. I love my "Z"'s.

This is probably a short post for me but I thought if I added a great google image and a few pet "sleepyhead" pictures  you would like it more!

So here goes.

Getting enough rest each night helps keep our complexion clear and we tend to eat better foods and balance our lifestyle according to our rest patterns. I love snuggling into crisp clean sheets and during the cold wintry nights love to snuggle with our toasty electric blanket. My Sweets is always warm and I tend to get cool so I rely on him to help keep me warm in those winter blue nights. The comedian Jeff Foxworthy once commented that snuggling up to his wife was like snuggling with a Butter Ball turkey! He said women have cold butts! I am not sue why we are designed the way we are but that is one of the truest statements!

Now I hope you join Jenny at Alphabe Thursday and hop over to Angela at http://wvtreasures.blogspot.com/ so you can share with Alphabe Thursday and also Tuesday Show and Tail. Have a terrific day.

He Is Risen!

EASTER STORY COOKIES (Meringue Cookies with Pecans)  I received this recipe from Pam Law who is a brain injury therapist and I have used this recipe with my kids for many years. I hope you enjoy it today. I wanted to publish it before Easter so you can share it with those you love.You need: 1 cup whole pecans 1 teaspoon vinegar 3 egg whites Pinch of salt 1 cup sugar Zipper baggie Wooden spoon Tape Bible Preheat oven to 300° F. Place pecans in zipper baggie and let children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested he was beaten by the Roman soldiers. Read John 19:1-3. Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1 teaspoon vinegar into mixing bowl. Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross he was given vinegar to drink. Read John 19:28-30. Add egg whites to vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life. Read John 10:10-11. Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl. Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our own sin. Read Luke 23:27. So far the ingredients are not very appetizing. Add 1 cup sugar. Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to know and belong to Him. Read Ps. 34:8 and John 3:16. Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Explain that the color white represents the purity in God's eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus. Read Isa.1:18 and John 3:1-3.

Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper covered cookie sheet. Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid. Read Matt. 27:57-60.
Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF. Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door. Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed. Read Matt. 27:65-66.
GO TO BED! Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight. Jesus' followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed. Read John 16:20 and 22.
On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. The cookies are hollow! On the first Easter Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty. Read Matt. 28:1-9.
HE HAS RISEN!

Have a blessed day!

YOU'VE GOT MAIL!

I love heading to work and seeing an e mail pop up from my Sweets! I am pretty strict about using my personal e mail for personal business but I have to use it for work too and often check e mails from our billing gal Teresa. If I see my Sweets sent me an e mail I often take a quick peek. He sends me some silly stuff. He also says silly things. As we were rising this morning I said, "Gee I hope that darn dishwasher is nearly done!". I started it at 5:00 A.M.! He said "Perhaps a monkey is inside cleaning the dishes one at a time!"  This is the sense of humor I deal with daily. I have been thinking about that monkey all day long!

IF I'M OK AND YOU'RE OK.....

Welcome to Spiritual Sunday. I am so encouraged that Ginger and Charlotte host this weekly post. It brings so much to everyone.
Do you remember the book "I'm Ok, You're Ok"? I remember many years ago someone gave it to me to read and I thought it was so spiritually dead! When our kids were small and loving Easter my husband, who loves to use graphs and charts and visual aids put together a whole Easter presentation. As they got older he added the Journal of American Medicine article about the crucifixion of Christ. He even gave a copy of his poster boards to their parochial school 5th grade teacher. But one message we never steered away from was this, "If I'm ok and your're ok, then Christ died for nothing." As Easter approaches we still practice what we have preached for all these years.
"I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing." Galatians 2:21

PINK SATURDAY: I LOVE BUNNIES

I need some pink bunnies! Oh the one you see here is a delight! I bought this sweetheart with her tiny friend at the thrift store for two dollars! She is in prime condition but I am searching for more. You see, these very bad pets, who live here, try to dismantle everything! They have taken to eating the mail which drops through a slot on the door and deposits onto the living room floor. I warned them it was a federal offense to open other peoples mail so since I set a small table under the mail slot the problem seems to have been resolved! But they have been known to take a doll from her stand and shake her until her hair is a mess and her shoes are chewed! I have warned them that if an ill fated accident happens to Mrs. Bunnyworth and her friend there will be dire consequences!

I hope you will follow  Beverly's Pink Saturday and come join us for the fun. Check out the new Pinkies too. There are so many I get dizzy trying to catch everyone. But I hope you have a perfectly pink Saturday and please say a few prayers for Nick. He runs the one and two mile race today and we will be spending the majority of our day at the track field a few minutes from our house. Blessings to everyone.