Baby Wyatt...Man among Men

My youngest nephew has always had a nickname of baby Wyatt -given to him by my brother Danny. It is a name of affection and love. The last 3 years have made Wyatt more of a man than many I know. He joined the Army when he was 19 years old and has been to Iraq for 9 months and Afghanistan for the last 12 months. He has been hit by IEDS several times and was hit yesterday by one. He called his Family early this morning to tell them he was in a hospital with a concussion and broken leg. No one else was hurt in the attack-thank goodness. The word later in the day was that he would be air lifted to Germany and then to the states in the next few days. Our hearts are full of worry, praise for his life and constant prayer for his healing.
Wyatt has always been the jokester among the cousins and the one to make us all laugh. We are anxious to get him home so we can make him laugh again and nurture him back to health. Pray for his recovery friends - and for his Mom and Dad for the peace of God that comes to his children.

Life began in a Garden...

Have I said lately -I LOVE SPRING!I think my friend Bella does too! I looked up one night and there she was carrying this little watering can in her mouth. How cute is that? So whats a girl to do but go to Lowes and buy some flowers and get to digging in the dirt.It must take me back to the days of making mud pies with Brenda in our back yard growing up. Enjoy the tulips and early signs of spring I will keep you posted on the growings around the garden.

Check out my Slide Show!

The Love of a Family.....

When my parents past away they left me a very wealthy woman. No I am not a millionaire -but I am wealthy beyond belief from the love of my family. You see my parents instilled in us all -14 of us-the importance of sticking together, loving each other, being together, having fun together and always putting it a priority to get together. Easter weekend was no exception ,all of us (except Wyatt who is in Afghanistan) were together all weekend. Saturday we had every minute planned with fun!! We started the day meeting a friends new grandbaby - thanks Kaye,Leslie,Beth & Hattie for including us in greeting your precious new family member! Then on to lunch at Jasons Deli - yum yum! The afternoon was our creative activity.There is a new place in town that you go and paint the pottery and they fire it for you and you go back and pick it up. We had a blast painting -plates, salt& pepper shakers, piggy banks, platters, utensil holder, coasters. WE visited, painted, visited and painted some more. We highly recommend it for you or your family.We will be going back! Once we got started we didn't want to stop. The evening was filled with eating at Joe and Sarahs. We celebrated Joshs 30th Birthday with a bang! The cousins got him the funniest DADDY shirt. They thought he could wear it to the hospital when the baby comes -the cousins are so excited to have a new baby cousin coming in September. We then all went bowling. You must understand for some of us we haven't bowled in about 10 years -so it was a sight to behold and a good laugh. Brenda and I are proud we were consistently at the bottom of the scores - we were a team , maybe someone knew we were not very good! We had several in the group that took bowling in college for a PE class. They were too good I guess they thought we were going to give them a grade or something. We had a fun time laughing with each other. Sunday Morning found us on two rolls of pews in our church. The same church our parents joined 55 years ago and the only one my brother, sister and me have ever been a member of. It is a special place for us. Our church and the faith in God is what our parents made sure was a foundation for our family and still is today even after 55 years.

Yes I am a wealthy woman.



The Love of a Family is lifes greatest Blessing...

At the Cross where I first saw the light...

The cross is something we see all the time now. We decorate our homes with them and we wear them around our necks- but how often do we stop to think what happened on that cross to make such a simple thing a symbol of love? How often do we sing the songs of our faith but not really listen to the words? Some of my favorite hymns are about the Cross - about the healing power of the cross-about how he died and bleed for me and all he asks of me is-my life -my all.

Take time this weekend to listen-really listen to the words of these songs on my playlist, some of my favorite. Ready your heart to greet a Blessed Easter Sunday -

He is Risen - He is Risen Indeed!

When I survey the wondrous Cross

On which the Prince of glory died,

My richest gain I count but loss,

And pour contempt on on all my pride.

See, from His head, His hands, His feet,

sorrow and love flow mingled down;

Did e'er such love and sorrow meet,

Or thorns compose so rich a crown.

Were the whole realm of nature mine,

That were a present far too small;

Love so amazing so divine,

Demands my soul,my life, my all.

Beatrix as in Potter....

Let me introduce you to my Easter Bunny -yes I realize most bunnies are white for Easter but mine is a little different. Two years ago I was in the break room at work and a guy ask everyone if they wanted a Bunny for their children for Easter. Never mind the children -mine were grown and gone -I jumped at the chance of owning my very own rabbit-something I had wanted since a child. So Beatrix came to live with me in my little cottage, at first in the house and then she went out side by my back door. She loves it outside through the spring and snow. I do make her blankets for the winter- she loves them and cuddles up in them to keep warm. Beatrix is ready for Easter and welcoming Spring -finally!

WELCOME SPRING! GLAD YOUR BACK OLE FRIEND

Blue Bird of Happiness...

Blue bird plates and a few nest welcome spring to my little cottage.

A Change for the Season...

Spring always gets me in the mood to spiff up the cottage a bit and add lighter colors to my decor. I made new curtains and pillows for my bed. I found this darling Black and White fabric at Canton-which only confirms my belief that you can get anything at Canton!!!! I love making curtains using these wonderful clip on rings, that way it makes it so easy to change your decor with the season.

Prayer Heart Award...

My oldest niece Sarah Beth is very special to me and I have been so proud of her the last year. She has walked through the same shoes I walked 17 years ago during Desert Storm - the first time Americans heard of a country named Iraq. She has sent her youngest brother-Wyatt and the love of her life -Joe to a far off place to fight for the freedoms we enjoy as Americans. She has done so with Grace, Bravery and many prayers. She bought a Heart locket the week Wyatt left and placed his and Joe's pictures in and has worn it every day-through thick and thin close to her heart- a constant reminder to pray continually for them. This week her locket broke and she wrote about it in her blog(check it out on right), I felt sad for her because I remember wearing a silver heart with a flag on it for 6 months and it becoming like a old friend. Her Joe is home and safe now and Wyatt will be home the first of June. Wyatt will still be on her heart and in her every prayer but for Sarah I think she deserves a award like the soldiers get - a Prayer Heart Award!!!

A new creation...

I've been busy working on the new tag art for spring and I finished it today and hung it up(check out the blogger header). I have now done one of these for Halloween, Christmas and now spring. I love playing with the pretty paper that is

out now - a lot like fabric,and you

know I do love fabric!

Enjoy a few of my creations.

Spring is here?????

I am afraid to say the word - Spring. Just about the time we think it is here then it snows here twice in one week! But this weekend it was 70 degrees! Whats up?Anyway I decided that in my heart it is spring - a time of flowers and old friends popping up through the dirt. I walked around the yard yesterday and welcomed my tulips back again this year. I love to watch my bulbs and perennials come back to life each spring. I planted my first flowers of the season-snapdragons and dianthus they are ready to welcome the warm weather! Take a stroll through the yard with me and see whats coming up!

My friend Bella Blue...

As you know I brought a puppy into my life on Christmas Eve this year and have enjoyed her wholeheartedly! I have listed the top 4 good things about Bella

1. She greets me at the door each day and welcomes me home with licks and barks.

2. We are quite a team trying to walk every day -I can finally beat someone down the

street,and she can make it now without doing a belly flop in the middle of the street.

3. She is helping me get ready for the grand baby because she gets into things and I

remember I will need to put that up before the little one comes to visit.

4. She is my little alarm clock ready to get up and greet the day at 7:00

One BAD thing about her

1. I must say I have become a doggy chew toy and my feet and hands look like I have been fighting a cat and losing, but she does it because shes loving me!!

As you can see she has really grown since Christmas and will grow a little bit taller . She is the perfect little dog friend for me.

Canton...a little bit of heaven

There is one place on Earth that truly makes my heart sing with Joy and that my friend

is Canton. For you that do not know it is the largest Flea Market in the USA- of course everything in Texas is the biggest-right? Last Thursday I took my sister -Brenda, friend Kaye and off we went for a day of pure discovery. That's how I always feel when I go because I always discover wonderful new things for my Home and new things to make myself and of course more old -rusty-chippy things to make into something wonderful. Its a day of catching up with friends on the trip down(3 1/2 hours) and a day of laughs and just having fun with the girls! Of course we visited my favorite booth - Laurieannas- in the Arbors - a gorgeous,creative booth that I could just live in! This time I bought a wonderful green moss bunny and green eggs and moss carrots - perfect for my Easter Spring table. I also added to my flower vases, I think I have bought about 4 from her now, I love picking my flowers in the spring and putting them in my pretty little vases. I also bought jewelry this time, something I have never done there but it was all handmade and sooo creative.

We plan our route around eating at the Texas Cafe ( a big red barn in front of the Civic Center) We ONLY eat at this place - we have never tried any where else. And we ALWAYS eat chicken salad croissants curly fries and of course a homemade apricot fried pie. I did not even like apricots till I ate one of these. This time Kaye and me ate a cheeseburger with grilled onions and it was great too! They can not cook anything bad!!!It is a family that runs the place- of course I like that concept!

On the way home we always plan when we can escape again to our little bit of heaven on earth-want to go?