The Most Wonderful Time of The Year

(See if you can spy something "hidden" in the picture. Do you see it? You can click on the pic. to make it larger if you'd like....)

Oh, and someone has asked me if it's any of the candy or gingerbread ornaments. No, that's not it.... here's a hint: it's in the picture multiple times....

My favorite time of the year is here at last! So I thought I would share a photo (that I thought I took, but later realized my Mom had taken it,) after I decorated my Grandmother's tree a couple of years ago.

Her tree is all gingerbread, candy ornaments, and colored lights, and I like the way they are all sort of mixed together like a collage in this picture.

I am so happy tonight! I have been decorating our house, (will try to have pics of that posted later) and I have the Christmas music on. (Do you see what I see) is being sung on the radio, and in my "mind's eye" I can just see a little lamb on the hillside so long ago, gazing and listening with wonder at the night sky that is brightly lit with The Star, and as the music of angels fills the atmosphere.....

Oh my goodness, now I feel some tears...... Just thinking of how The God of Glory came down and took on a robe of flesh, was born in the most lowly of places, among the animals and the hay, and was placed in a manger, and from that manger headed straight for the cross, to die for MY sins and the sins of the entire world.........

How I love Him! Please remember to thank Him for His Amazing Sacrifice, as this Season unfolds....

More Roses....

I just couldn't resist adding just one more picture of those gorgeous roses.......

Hmmm.... pink or red? I still don't know which ones are my favorites! Isn't God an Artist? I praise Him for all of the beauty He has put in the world for us to enjoy.....

All Those Beautiful Roses...

Today, for my final post about our wonderful Thanksgiving at our dear friends' home, I thought I would share a picture of some of the gorgeous Roses on their property.

Our friend Jack has the most amazing rose garden! He took me on a "tour" and told me all about them... and I really enjoyed it. He waited patiently as I took pictures, and answered all of my questions about my favorite flower. He has them in raised beds, in groupings by color, and even has hand made wooden plaques in front of each bush, listing the name of the rose, as well as the year it was planted. There are antique roses, bush roses, climbing roses, tea roses, and even some "knockout" roses! I was surprised to see so many blooms this close to December..... and oh my! They were so pretty!

Above is pictured blooms from the bush that he told me was his personal favorite. It's called a "Mr. Lincoln" rose, and I am kind of partial to it, myself.... I did like the pink roses, too, though, hmmm.... it's really hard for me to pick just one favorite!

The Koi Pond

(Click on photo for a closer look; you can glimpse the orange Koi fish)

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, we spent Thanksgiving with some very dear friends. We love going to visit them because they have a lovely home set on beautiful wooded acreage full of all sorts of wildlife. Another reason that we enjoy going is because it is relaxing and fun, and the grounds surrounding their home has plenty to see! Of course, the main reason we like to go, is to spend time and visit with them!

Our friend Jack is very talented with his hands, and it seems he can build or put together or grow whatever he sets his mind too. I teasingly told him yesterday that I thought he could build the Eiffle Tower on their property, if he set his mind to it!

One of his projects is the lovely Koi fish Pond that is pictured above. I am certainly no photographer... **sigh** I wish I were better with a Camera, so I did not do the pretty pond justice. I missed the Waterfall in this picture... but caught the gorgeous flowering plant and the bench. If you look closely, you can see those amazing Japanese Koi swimming around, and if you look to the background, you catch a peek at the Gazebo that he built as well.

One apect of our visit that was especially fun, was meeting a new dog that they had "collected". We tease them that they have a "Ranch for Dogs" because it seems if there are any lost dogs anywhere near them, they end up with our friends. It is like the dogs have Radar or something... like they know they will be and cared for if they show up..... some stay for a long time, some for only a short span of time, but, while they are there, they are loved.....

I live in the Suburbs, surrounded by the hustle and bustle of the city. Can you imagine how fun it is for me to go for a visit, and to get to appreciate the wonderful, natural setting that surrounds them? It is something that I look forward to, and enjoy every time......

Giving Thanks for Friends.....

What a wonderful Thanksgiving! Some dear and much - loved friends of ours invited us to share their Thanksgiving meal today. (For several years now it has become a tradition for our families to be together on Thanksgiving, and how we enjoy it!)

Pictured above is the table, all ready and awaiting all of that delicious food! The Roses are from some of the many Rose bushes that our friend Jack has put in around their beautiful home and acreage. (I will post more later about some of the delightful surprises scattered about their acreage.)
Oh my goodness! I ate wayyyyy too much! In my defense I will simply say this: "There was Cornbread dressing and broccoli-cheese-rice casserole. Who could resist?" Not to mention Turkey, ham, creamed corn, pecan pie, pumpkin pie, and cheesecake......
Oh, and Sweet Tea.... Ahhh.......What Southern girl would want to resist such yummies?
More wonderful than the food, though, was time spent with our precious friends..... I am so thankful to the Lord for them. What a blessing they have been to our family......

A Blessed Thanksgiving

My heart is so full of gratitude as this Thanksgiving Season surrounds us with it's richness and wealth of meaning and memories. God has been so very good to me and my family this year and every year....

He has brought us through sickness with His healing and strength.

He has strengthened us in our Church, drawing us Closer to Him, and feeding us from His Word.

He has given us the most Caring and Loving Minister and Minister's wife, to bless us in too many ways to even count.....

He has given us friends and family to love and to be loved in return.

He has provided for our every need.

He blessed my Dad with a good job after he was without work for over a year.

He let us live in freedom in our beautiful America.

He has given us so much..... there is no way to ever list it all......

And, Most of all, He saw us in our sins and loved us, and died on the Cross to save us... and He led us to Himself, and baptised us in His Name, and filled us with His Holy Spirit......

So now, as Thanksgiving of 2010 approaches, I say: "Thank You Lord.... Words are not enough, but..... I thank You......"

It is my wish that you and yours will have the most wonderful and meaningful of Thanksgivings....... full of love and laughter and memories.... and most of all, of thanks; to the One who does all things well, and Who is the Giver of all good things......

A Fall Basket

(Click on photo to take a closer look)

I thought I would share one of my Fall projects with y'all. I had a very nice basket, and was really wanting to do something pretty with it, and so decided to decorate it with a Fall motif. Since I'd been wanting to make something "Fallish" for a dear friend at my Church, I decided a Fall basket would be the perfect thing.

I found some tan - and - orangy brown tiger - print ribbon and some sparkely orange ribbon at Michaels, and a bush of Fall flowers and leaves just covered in glitter. (I do love those sparkles, don't you?)

I made two large ribbon bows and placed a flower, some gold berries and sparkling leaves on them, and affixed them to the handles. I then hot glued more flowers and leaves to the rims of the basket, and cut lengths of the zebra print ribbon and tied them to the basket "spokes".....

My friend said she loved it, and I was happy. Crafting is always so much fun!

Prayers for South Korea

I am so disturbed over the news today. I almost can't bear to think about what North Korea has done to South Korea........

I am going to turn my worry into prayer.

God rules over this tiny, spinning globe which we humans call home.

His is the ultimate authority; and no power - mad dictator can take one step if Almighty God says: "No. Cease."

My heart aches for the people of South Korea! The men and the women and the children...

I will pray constantly for each of them... That God will be with them and help them during this terrible time.....

What a Night! What A Service!

I just came home from Sunday evening Church. My heart is full of joy and thanksgiving..... We had a visiting minister this evening, and the message he preached was absolutely beautiful!

He preached about the Faithfulness of God. And about how that though people can be prejudiced, and look down on someone because he or she doesn't come from a good background, or maybe he or she is not wealthy..... or maybe he or she has a terrible, sinful past, God is NOT like that! His Word declares in

Acts 10:34:
"Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:"

God loves all of us the same! No matter what our past may be, no matter how dark our sins are, and no matter what our backgrounds are! He loves us and wants to save our souls and fill us with His love..... Isn't that wonderful?

The minister also preached from
Hebrews 11:11:
"Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised."

He brought out how that we can judge God Faithful to do whatever we need Him to do; He will be faithful to forgive us of all of our sins, He will be faithful to wash our sins away in the waters of baptism when we are baptised in Jesus' Name, and He will be faithful to fill us with His precious Holy Spirit! He will also be faithful to heal our bodies or even our minds and our emotions if those parts of us have been bruised or damaged in any way......

He explained that Sarah received strength to conceive and bear Isaac after she judged "him faithful who had promised" .

The preacher said that when we tell the Lord that we judge Him faithful, we are letting Him know that we truly believe that He can do anything that we need Him to do!

He asked several times if anyone would stand to their feet in affirmation to bear witness that God had been faithful in their lives. Of course I had to stand every time! And so did so many others! There are truly miraculous examples of Salvation and healing that have happened in our church. We have seen drug addicts delivered from drugs, alchoholics set free from alchohol, prostitutes saved and delivered, cancer healed, and so many other wonderful miracles that I could not possibly record them all here! Isn't God Awesome?

I judge Him to be faithful in my life! How about you?

Funny, but oh - so - true...

Last Friday, my Mom, sister, and I went on our annual visit to the Houston Nutcracker Market. It was so much fun! We had some quality "girl time" as we oohed and ahhed over all of the gorgeous "boutique" ladies clothing, shoes, home decor, Christmas decor, and food selections.

There are around 250 vendors, with gorgeously decorated booths set against a backdrop of cheery holiday music. It always helps us "get in the holiday mood".........

This year I got a darling pair of shoes (with bling on the toe, of course), a flower pin, and three Christmas decorations. Well, we shopped from 1:00 in the afternoon until closing, which was 8:00, and so we were getting really hungry as closing time approached. One of the last vendors we visited smelled wonderful! It was a food booth, and they were offering samples of soup and dip mixes, as well as a jar of this scrumptious garlic spread to put on toasted French Bread.

The smell lured us long before we ever saw the booth, and our tummies growled hungrily.... so of course we just had to sample the garlic toast....... and then we decided we COULD NOT leave without a jar of the yummy stuff!
As we left the Market, we happily clutched our treasures in our tight little fists, and dragged our tired feet to the car. We Came! We Saw! We Shopped! Woohoo!
We were so tired from all of that walking when we finally arrived home, but we gamely got all of the bags from my car and carried them into our homes..... or so we thought.......
Guess what got left in my trunk????
If you said the shoes, you are wayyyyy off! What could it be but the garlic spread??? I mean, really?? As my Mom opened my trunk the next day, her head whipped up and she said: "ohhhh noooo!" Yup, the Garlic spread was very pungent, and not quite as yummy smelling as before........ and it had leaked..... BUT it was contained in the bag that it came in, and we had nothing to worry about......or so we thought.........
So that is why we were pulled over at a gas station later that evening, (after going to Dillard's) frantically lifting clothes out of my trunk and sniffing them like mad to see if any scent of garlic could be detected ............A faint whiff of garlicky perfume emanating from the trunk had just announced to us that it had definitely NOT been contained in the bag it came in!!!! "Smell this one," Mom would yell..... and I would reply: "Hmmm.... just a touch of garlic...... not bad..." "Well then, how about this one?" She would exclaim; shoving the questionable garment into my arms........And that's why we looked up in the midst of "operation bloodhound" to see other gas station customers giving us some VERRRRY strange looks...... and we couldn't help but start giggling, then belly -laughing at their expressions, as we imagined how we must have looked, wildly sniffing all of those clothes!! (I had forgotten about some clothes in the trunk from an out - of - town trip, and we had a couple of new things from Dillard's in there too........)

Well, all I can say after this "Extreme Scented Adventure" is this:
Thank the Lord for good tough clothes bags!

Just Call Me the "Bow Lady"

(Click on picture for a closer look)

I recently received a frantic long distance phone call asking for advice with wedding decor. A good friend of mine who was helping with a wedding was simply overwhelmed and stressed, and so I was glad to be able to help....Since I have worked on the weddings of several of my dearest friends, I thought I would post some of the pictures for her to see, (and thought y'all might like to take a peek as well)

Now, as I was working on one particular wedding, I overheard someone describing me as "the lady that makes those beautiful bows!" (that made me smile) I do love making bows, (and anything with flowers and sparkle) and the picture above is of the bow I placed in the center of the Bride's Cake table.

It was such an honor to help my friends! I am so thankful for the wonderful people that God has placed in my life, and, as Thanksgiving approaches, I am full of gratitude for that beautiful bond of friendship that we share.

There are so many that are far more gifted than I am, so I am really surprised whenever my advice or hands are requested. But honestly, doesn't creating something make you happy? When I am working on a project, or crafting, I am relaxed, focused, and in my "happy, crafty place".......LOL!

Take the time to create something beautiful today; trust me, you will be so glad you did! (And trust me on this, also, if I can do it, YOU can too!)

Oh, and in case you were wondering, the bride from the wedding pictured above, ( and who is like a little sister to me) was absolutely gorgeous....

Sentimental Silver

(click on photo for a closer look)

I have often dreamed of owning an Antique Silver Coffee/Tea Service. To me, these gorgeous sets are the very embodiment of the graciousness of the Old South; as though Scarlett might drift through the parlour at any moment exclaiming: "fiddle - dee - dee!" and Aunt Pittypat and Peachtree street is just "up the road a piece"...

As though you just might catch a glimpse of a Spanish Moss draped Oak, or a Magnolia Tree in full bloom reflected in the rounded splendor of the Coffee Urn, if you were to look hard enough...

In my opinion, one of these shining services postitioned "just so" on a lovely Antique Sideboard or Buffet seems to exemplify the warm graciousness and genteel hospitality that is such a hallmark of the South.........

I could not afford the set of my dreams, so imagine my delight one Christmas Eve, when my sister gifted me with the most darling substitute! It's only sliver - plated, but to me it is far more dear than the most expensive and "pedigreed" set that money could buy. The beautiful shimmer that one sees on it is from the spirit of love in which it was given.........

It will always be among my most treasured things, and I know without a doubt that it is worth much more than anything Scarlett or Aunt Pittypat ever owned....

Remembering our Veterans

There are so many, that have given so much, for the safety and security of our beloved America. They have given selflessly to ensure the quality of life that we enjoy... to see that the homeland is kept safe from the threat of violence, and to see that democracy and liberty are secure.

I am so thankful for their sacrifice.

I am so thankful for their valour, and bravery, and courage.

I owe them such a debt... as do all Americans... and indeed, anywhere in the world that values freedom owes them a debt as well... because when that freedom has been threatened in any way, so many times, the Americans troops have risen to the challenge...

So on this Veteran's Day I say "Thank You" to our troops, and also to those Veterans of past conflicts. Though it is inadequate, it is from my heart... from the place in which I hold you close in gratitude... "Thank You!"

May God Bless our Beautiful America!