headin' north

My daughter, Little E, and I are headed to Tenn this morning

for a couple of days, We are going to attend two events

 with my son and his family there.

We will be stopping here on our way up...

Woohoo!! There should be lots to share when we return! :-)

she's one!

Saturday afternoon, we celebrated Little E!

She reached her first milestone in this life...

turning one!

Her mom chose the theme "Cute as a Button"

 and did a great job creating it. 

First, she decorated E's shirt by sewing

51 buttons on it in the shape of a heart!

That was a labor of love!

Then she hung these"buttons from the ceiling

 over the table. They are paper party plates!

Buttons separated the monthly pictures

 "clothespinned" to the twine. 

It was sweet to look at how she has grown,

but interesting to see that her sweet little face

 has not change much.

Her "smash" cake was a button, too!

 

 She found this idea on Pinterest...peanut butter cookies

 with the bottoms dipped in chocolate made into 

buttons. You use a straw to make the holes!

There were buttons scattered on the table, too!

 

 She made this banner with scrapbook paper and twine.

The table was very pretty and the food was colorful,

as well as, delicious. 

She even decorated the vintage high chair she

borrowed for the occasion.

Little E didn't dive in, but she ate enough to get messy

and to entertain the crowd that was watching!

However, she did get pretty involved in opening 

her gifts. She had everyone laughing

 at her enthusiasm!

 

 About his time, she had decided it was time

to do something else. 

But Mom convinced her to open the rest!

Here is the sweet little birthday girl

 with her mom and dad...

 and her cousins (funny picture!)...

and her grandparents from her dad's side

 of the family...

.and her sweet aunt (dad's sister)... 

 

and with our family!

(except Little L who was napping!)

It was a wonderful afternoon!

Our hearts were filled with joy and gratitude

for the precious gift God gave our family

 one year ago when our Little E was born.

He has blessed her with adoring parents, grandparents,

 aunts, uncles, and cousins.

 And many others who just love her

because of who she is and whose she is!

He has also blessed her with health and wholeness, 

and a winsome personality. She is a joy and a delight!

Happy Birthday, Little E! Gran loves you very much!

a bit of fall

It's a little early here in the deep south for there to be 

much fall color. But I managed to find one small tree

in our front yard that was "showing off" a bit!

 The pyracantha bush in the backyard is loaded

 with berries...

 a sure sign that winter is on it's way!

And we will be ready for it...with stacks of firewood

for our stove. We actually had a small fire Tuesday

 morning to "knock the chill" off!

It promises to be a busy weekend...Little E is turning one!!

So, there is a big celebration planned with family and friends.

I think she knows she is about to be the birthday girl...

she took her first steps today! 

Guess she decided she needed to start acting her age!! :-)

Hope you all have a blessed weekend...

celebrating all of God's good gifts to you!

love in a shoe box

It's that time of year again! Time to fill shoe boxes  for the Operation Christmas Child project sponsored by Samaritan's Purse. Our family has been filling boxes every year since the project started in 1993. It has always been one of my favorite things to do. 

My children and I would take our list and go shopping. After deciding whether our box/boxes would be for a boy or a girl and the age, we would carefully pick out as many treasures as we could so the box would be as full as we could get it! Then, when we got home, we would pack and repack that box until we made room for each item. Before turning it in at church, we would pray and ask God to bless the child that received it and that they would come to know Him.

Now that my children are all married, I do my shopping alone...but it is still a special time for me. I love the gathering of gifts and packing the box. I smile when I think of the joy on the face of the child who will receive this little box that, not only contains things they will love, but is filled with the love of their Heavenly Father. I pray that when they open it, they will feel His love and be drawn to Him.

When the boxes are delivered to children all over the world who would otherwise receive no Christmas gift, they are also told the story of God's greatest gift, Jesus. Millions of boxes have been distributed in the past 28 years. They are hoping to deliver the 100 millionth box this year!

In case you don't know, Franklin Graham, son of Billy Graham, started the Samaritan's Purse ministry 40 years ago. They do relief and development projects and medical missions all over the world and here in the U.S. When a tornado hit my hometown here in Georgia about 5 years ago, Samaritan's Purse was there to offer aid.

I am grateful for ministries that operate with integrity. I can give knowing that my gifts will be used to help those in need and to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. And that is a good thing!!

messes

  

Construction is messy!  

We are excited about our addition/remodel project,

but in order to get to the finished product,

we have to put up with the mess.

In the end, it will be worth it.

I enjoy watching the squirrels play in our yard,

 but I don't like the fact that they are tearing up

 the cushions on my patio swing. 

I guess they are using the stuffing to soften their nests.

If we want to have the wildlife, we have to put up

 with the mess they make.

We have lots of trees in our yard...mostly hardwoods. 

We prefer hardwoods...they are sturdier than pines, 

they provide better shade, and their

 leaves are pretty in the fall.

But, in the fall, they drop those leaves...

and hickory nuts and acorns.

In other words, they make a mess!

But, if we want the trees, we have to

put up with the mess they make. 

We want to have friends. They make our lives fuller

and more interesting. As time goes by, there may be misunderstandings and there are bound to be hurt feelings.

 There may even be disagreements.

In other words, it can get messy!

But, if we want to have relationships,

 we have to be willing to put up with the mess. 

God never said loving people would be easy,

but He commanded us to do it (John 15:2)

 and He said if we say we love Him,

 we have to love people. (1John 4:20)

Thankfully, He gives us the grace to clean up

the mess with selflessness, understanding and forgiveness.

And our friends are worth it! 

our little characters

Saturday, our church held a Harvest Block Party.

About twelve hundred people from our community attended.

There were games for the kids, free food, music and

 a worship service. Our daughter and younger son and their

 families came to enjoy the festivities.

Our grandson was...can you guess?...

SpiderMan!

Little L was a ballerina...

and a lovely one, I must say!

And whooo is that cute owl?

Why, that's our Little E!

 Our favorite superhero enjoyed the games...

 and won candy at every stop.

 And the baby girls love being outside...

and all the attention they received!

It was a fun afternoon! 

And our church family was thrilled with the response

from our community...the large attendance and

the decisions made at the worship service. 

Many people worked very hard to plan and execute 

this outreach effort.

I have heard it said that God will provide for

 His work done His way.

He certainly proved that Saturday!

in case there's any doubt

 He Knows My Name

by Tommy Walker

I have a Maker

He Formed my Heart

Before even time began

My life was in His hands

He knows my name

He knows my every thought

He sees each tear that falls

And hears me when I call

       

I have a Father

He calls me His own

He'll never leave me 

No matter where I go

He knows my name

He know my every thought

He sees each tear that falls

And hears me When I call

He hears me when I call!!

go fish

One thing our grands always look forward to at our house is...

befriending and feeding the koi and goldfish in our pond.

Our younger son and his two children,

 our grandson and Little L,

spent some time tickling the fish one day last week.

Today, Little E had her turn. 

No fear here, she just reaches right in!

(The net is to keep the falling leaves, from this time of year,

out of the pond. Makes keeping it clean easier...thanks for the prompt, Sandra!)

Chief really enjoys the pond and the fish. So, it makes

 him happy that the grands like it, too!

Hope your weekend is filled with things and people

 that "tickle" you! :-)

some things to think about

Quotes from One Simple Act by Debbie Macomber:

"Studies show that empathetic people are more creative,

 more grateful, more satisfied, and less dogmatic."

"The trait most evident in heroes is empathy, not courage,

 but empathy."

"The outward expression of empathy is compassion."

"Believing the best of others strengthens them

to live up to their best."

"When we offer people the gift of believing the best

 of them, we light the pathway to their becoming

 the very best of who they are. "

"If you want to be positive

--to see the best in people--

it takes practice."

And one last thought included in the book but attributed

to Elizabeth Peale Allen (daughter of Norman Vincent Peale):

 "A prerequisite to living abundantly is giving abundantly.

 These are two concepts that are woven tightly together.

 If you don't know how to give, you don't know how to live."

So, what do you think?

her new kitchen

My daughter has been working really hard to re-do the kitchen

 in the house she and her husband bought back in May.

She sanded and painted her cabinets, painted the walls,

replaced the light fixture over her sink,

 bought fabric for new curtains, and decorated.

She still wants to replace the counter tops and the floor,

but those are expensive projects that will come later.

And there are a few finishing touches left to do, too.

But she is going those as she finds what she wants.

She posted these pictures on her blog and

 told me I could share them here.

Before

After

Before

After

 Before

 After

 She bought this pot rack at Ikea. The frames hold

 old hand-written recipes she found at an antique store.

I love the look of hanging the curtains with the little clips.

The fabric is perfect with the color of the walls.

My contribution was making the curtains...

two simple panels and a valance.

I am so proud of her and the initiative she has shown in

just jumping in and getting it done.

 She worked hard and made lovely choices.

She is quite the cook and baker so she spends

 a lot of time in the kitchen.

I'm glad she has a pretty one now!