New Year ...New Hopes...New Dreams....

Its hard to believe 2008 is slowly coming to a end and we will welcome a new year of hopes & dreams. I love new years -to me its a time to start over. I am a person who makes new year resolutions, do I keep them all year? Yes and No! But I believe if we think of things we would like to change or accomplish. then we remember them all year long and strive to do them. Every New Years I look back at the year past - this year I want to say WHEWWWW! What a year! I survived!!!

I have my top 5 list just like David Letterman....
5. Weekend spent in Ft. Worth buying a wedding dress for Sarah and seeing Mama Mia - Fun
time spent with family.
4.Trips to the Canton flea market with family and friends.
3. The success of my little store - what a blessing it has been to me.
2.Sarah and Joes Wedding -I'll never forget it.
and
#1 The Birth of my darling grandson - Drew- it doesn't get any better than that!!!

I will never forget 2008. This year more than any year in my life I have been to the deepest valley and the highest mountain, I am always amazed that God leads us through EVERY journey. What a friend I have in Jesus.....

I want to thank each of you - family and friends - even the ones who I never know read my thoughts for sharing this year with me. I have sooooo enjoyed sharing my little mundane life with you. I just can't wait to see what God has planned for me in 2009!!

BLESSINGS FOR THE NEW YEAR FRIENDS !!!

Christmas at home.....

Christmas has come and gone for another year....I hope yours was blessed and time spent with family.... Heres from my Home to yours....

The 12 days of Christmas....

Christmas this year was celebrated in about 12 days or so it seemed.... I celebrated with ALL my family over a 5 day period- and it was a delight. Just wanted to share a few visions of sugar plums with each of you. My #1 visitor was my precious grandson -Drew-celebrating his first Christmas.

My snowman really tried to melt in the heat this year.. I am still dreaming of a

white Christmas....

I got my wing chair recovered just in time for Santa to rest in.....

We spent a fewwwwwww hours on these puzzle pieces.....

The Aggie Uncles were so proud of their great nephews aggie jersey given to

him by his aggie Grandfather....

We decorated lots of cookies and ate lots too -HEHEHE

Bella even got into the celebrating with her ribbon collar I made her. She is sorry she is not smiling.... she was nervous about the red suited strange man coming into the house....

As I pack up the boxes and put Christmas away for a year I pray each of you made some wonderful memories this year.... I know I will hold my memories close to my heart......

We'll be Home for Christmas.....

For the first time in about 3 years my family will all be Home for Christmas,(which is not a easy task with 16 of us) none of our soldiers are over seas but will be around our tree. I can't help but hold the families that are not so lucky close to my heart and surround them with prayers this time of year. This song has always meant so much to me, I remember hearing this song when I lived in Germany and was so homesick to see my family and be with them at Christmas. Last year I wouldn't let Brenda or Sarah listen to this song because it would make them sad - but they listened anyway.I pray that all your family will be HOME for Christmas....

3 recipes that mean Christmas....

Nothing conjures up Christmas memories like doing a little cooking in the kitchen. My 3 favorite eats for the Christmas season are - Puppy Chow, Cranberry salsa and Black eye pea dip. We use to make puppy chow every Christmas when our children were little and my Brother Danny would take us all caroling in a horse drawn wagon through the Tanglewood area of Big A. We would put lights on the wheels and horses and cover with lots of blankets and of course each child had a baggie full of puppy chow and hot chocolate. It is a precious memory for us all. We have sent puppy chow all the way to Wyatt in Afghanistan and Iraq and up the ski slopes of Santa Fe. It is truly a family favorite or maybe its the memories that make it so sweet!

Puppy Chow

1 box of Crispix Cereal
12oz pkg Choc Chips
1 cup peanut butter
2 cups powdered sugar or till covered good

Melt choc chips in microwave - stir in peanut butter. Pour on top of cereal and mix well.Pour powered sugar on top and cover well. Mix in larger bowl and have containers ready to fill- Enjoy

Black-eyed Pea Dip

2 cans Black eye Peas with jalapenos - drain
1 med purple onion thinly sliced
1/2 clove garlic or garlic powder
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup oil
salt and cracked black pepper
Mix all together and serve with tostitos.

Cranberry Salsa

1 pkg cranberries
1 small purple onion
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons lime juice
Chop cranberries in food processor and add all other ingredients after chopping. Serve over Cream cheese block. A great Christmas addition to every party!

Make some of your own Christmas memories with these wonderful snacks...Have a sweet Christmas......

I'm dreaming of a White Christmas....

Christmas is always complete each year by watching "White Christmas". definitely in my top 10 movie favorites of all time. I made a cup of Hot chocolate and drank in my darling new red mugs - a gift from my friend Jan and my evening was complete.
A girl can always dream of a White Christmas........

Please Santa......

Guess what comes out today? Please Santa - I've been good- define good......

Waving for a King....

Tonight I was driving down South 14th , one of the busiest streets in Abilene and something caught my eye- a group of shepherds, Wise Men and Angels waving at me. No it was not a late Halloween party but a Church performing a Live Nativity . It made me laugh seeing the Shepard, Wise Men and Angels waving at me - I had never seen a Nativity animated at all! Think about it - they are all very still and reverent. When I was in High School I was in a live nativity on Christmas Eve at my church, what I remember about it most- it was freezing( started snowing) and we COULD NOT MOVE! As I drove on down the street I started thinking how silly it is to think a Nativity has to be just one way - perfectly still. Last September when my Grandson was born we were definitely not still when we got the news of his birth, We jumped up and down, clapped and danced. All of a sudden I realized the Shepherds, Wise men and Angels I am sure did the same thing. They were welcoming a KING. What a joyous celebration that had to be.

From now on I will always welcome seeing a Live Nativity - animated - waving and dancing and rejoicing for the Saviour of the world was born for Me.

Seeing RED....

It doesn't take much to make my home merry. It is already RED so all I need to do is add a little green and white and it says MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Ready for Santa....

Got to hang the stockings on my mantle.... so Santa will fill them....

Happy Holidays.....

A visit with Santa....

Let me just show you how darling little Drew was when we visited Santa over Thanksgiving. We were ready for tears -no smiles- fussy- all the stuff you don't want to show in your first Christmas with Santa picture. Fear not our Drew was the most precious of all! Doesn't he just look like he is saying"I am getting to see Santa - I am sooo excited" My heart was very happy seeing this!

Christmas came early to this grandma....

Its Beginning to look like Christmas.....

25 days till Christmas..... Check back often I will be sharing everyday from my heart and Home....I love Christmas....

One of my favorite things every Christmas is my little cardboard house village. It reminds me of my childhood... wouldn't it be fun to live in a darling village like this?
Happy decorating....

Thankful Heart....

Its the time of year that we all gather to say Thank you! Boy do I have a lot to be thankful for this year - events that left wonderful memories and events that I am thankful- that I made it through. I guess the one thing I am most thankful for is my precious grandson -Drew,his birth has brought such joy to my life. I can not wait to wake up every morning and go to Ericas blog and see a new picture . What a special thing my precious daughter in law has done for us to get to watch him grow every day. Many mornings at 6:00, Bella and I go to the computer and welcome a new day with a glance at sweet Drew. Drew will be 3 months old next week and this will be his first Thanksgiving -it can't get any better than that!

With a Thankful Heart.....

My arms and heart will be full the next few days......

The lady who unleashed my creative spirit....

A couple of weekends ago Brenda(my sis)Kaye(my friend) and me went to Dallas to shop and have a good girls day out. We met up with my very good friend LaVon. I have know her since I was 15 years old(that's a really long time-HEHE)LaVon and Larry were my youth directors at First Baptist and my family just adopted them for the rest of our lives. The two of them are really like my brother and sister. I love them both dearly and would not be the person I am today with out their influence on my life. Lavon is one of the women in my life that I think of as my Creative, decorating Mentor - she taught me everything I know. I continue to learn from her and am still amazed at the darling things she comes up with.

She has a booth at a great place in Arlington called Brownstone. We got to visit and shop and OH did we have fun!!! If you are ever in the neighborhood you must stop by!

Thanks Lavon for helping become the creative women I am today - you gave me a wonderful gift!

Sisters....

Having a Sister is like having your best friend with you ...

your whole Life....



Today is my big sisters Birthday! I can say with out a doubt in my mind and heart she is my best friend. She has been the one beside me my whole life through good days(and there has been lots of those) and the very worst of days. We have raised our children together and have seen 2 marry and one become a father. I watched her and prayed with her when she sent her youngest son to war 2 times and through the days of injuries and worries. She was my hero those days. Our whole life we have been known as one sentence-Brenda and Molly.

The greatest gift my parents gave me was my best friend - Brenda

Happy Birthday -whatever number it is! HEHE

100th post....

Today I will reach a milestone-I have written 100 posts on the things that God has placed on my heart, inspirations that he has given me and events in my life that have just been darn fun. I have loved every thing about this world of blogging and started this just because I wanted to see how it worked. I have never found anything as creative as blogging-I have loved sharing from my heart with you. You have been faithful friends and readers - even the stalker ones that do it in secret! HEHE I thank you for sharing with me and letting me express to you how I feel about things, it has been such a therapeutic thing for me to write about some of my feelings and hurts.

You may not listen to my music on my blog but I LOVE MUSIC. I have decided why I love to find songs or why songs just come to me is because I feel Life should be lived with music in the background. I grew up watching every Musical made and thought singing and dancing would be a great,happy way to live. I wish life was really like that.No matter what is happening in my life Music will find a way to speak to me. Happy songs,Sad songs, encouraging songs, songs fun to dance to and great ones to sing at the top of my lungs.In my heart I do sing and dance though life. Life has not always been kind to me but I can always find a song worth singing.

Thank you for taking this journey with me....now on to 200 posts!

With a song in my heart...

I am Proud of you....

This past Friday, Saturday and Sunday these amazing young women walked and walked and walked! Some 60 miles - you heard right 60 miles. One was 6 Months pregnant, One with a broken foot, one newly wed and one young mother. They walked for you and me and because of the brave women not with them anymore because of Breast Cancer. They were the Marlene Girls team- named after Sunni and Tiffanis Mom who died of Breast Cancer when they were just little girls. They walked 20 miles a day and camped out in tents at night. It was cold in Dallas this weekend at night. But THEY DID IT!!!
Annalee, Sarah, Tiffani and Sunni

Brenda rubbing some backs

This was the shirt they wore on Saturday -GanGan Brown was my mother a 40+ year breast cancer survivor and Roseann Brown my sister-in-law a 2 year survivor and all the other women they walked for.

Walking towards us they look pretty good for walking all those miles....

Over 3000 women and men walked the 3 day this weekend.

Thats our Sarah -the newly wed.....
I can not tell you how amazed I am of these young ladies and all the thousands who walked to raise money for breast cancer research. It touches us all and THEY did something to help.

I AM SO PROUD OF YOU - YOU DID IT!!