A New Years Prayer for My Friends

I'm gearing up

for our grandchildren to get here 

in a few days,

along with their mommy (our daughter) 

and daddy so we can celebrate

our family Christmas!

As I told you in another post,

we have not seen them for over 6 months and

my heart is almost skipping beats

as it sings inside with the "cannot wait" feelings!!

I hope you don't get sick of me sharing our 

two "cutie pies" with you in my posts.

I just can't help myself!

Mommy sent this photo.
She is so proud of the necklace she just

made from a jewelry kit she received from Santa.

I think she did a great job for only being age 4 1/2 yrs. old.

Isn't he a cutie?  And you should see

how he can boogie!  He LOVES music and 

he has some great dance moves already!

I've only seen those moves, so far through 

online video. But soon he and grandma and Papaw

are going to be dancing some jigs together when they visit.

Okay, in case Papaw is reading this, I will 

rephrase what I just said.

"Soon he and grandma will be dancing some jigs 

and papaw will clap on the sidelines!"

I am looking forward to 

new things,

and getting to know YOU,

 my blogging friends even better.

I'm also looking forward

to enjoying some old things. I am a

very sentimental girl at heart,

and I 

have realized that much

of the old, including the good and bad,

are what make the new things even 

more meaningful and special.

I found a New Years Prayer 

by an anonymous author

and it said exactly what I wanted to say

to my friends.

So here it is to Y♥U from ME  

A New Year’s Prayer

May God make your year a happy one!
Not by shielding you from all sorrows and pain,
But by strengthening you to bear it, as it comes;
Not by making your path easy,
But by making you sturdy to travel any path;
Not by taking hardships from you,
But by taking fear from your heart;
Not by granting you unbroken sunshine,
But by keeping your face bright, even in the shadows;
Not by making your life always pleasant,
But by showing you when people and their causes 

need you most,
     and by making you anxious to be there to help.
God’s love, peace, hope and joy 

to YOU for the year ahead.

Blessings in Bushels

to you in 2011

 

From Me to YOU

Just peeking in for

a few minutes to say hi.

I sure miss you all. 

So sorry that life has been keeping 

me so busy lately and preventing me from

visiting as much as I like in blog land.

I'm sure you are all very busy too, 

getting ready

for Christmas this week.

"Lion Heart"

Just listed this cute little guy in my etsy shop.

He isn't the least bit of a scary lion.

Rather, I think he is looking for someone 

to cuddle with.

Speaking of cuddling! 

I hope that is exactly

what each of you get to do this Christmas.

Cuddle with someone you love or with

many someones that YOU love.

Enjoy one another!

Merry Christmas to all of YOU 

and to your wonderful families.  You indeed

have already given me a most wonderful gift and

that is the gift of YOUR friendship.

You each have blessed my life
this year
in more ways than I can count!

I thank God for YOU.

May this Christmas find you
blessed beyond measure

with the love of family and  friends
and with the

overflowing joy

that only He can give. 

♥

If I could, I would come and grab you to go
caroling with me. Then afterward we would go to my house
for some hot chocolate.
Wouldn't that be fun?

♫ ♪ ♥♫ ♪
fa la la la la...la la la...la

Hope Always

This is for anyone out there who 

may be feeling 

a bit too hurried or tired from shopping and getting

ready for the big holiday, or for 

someone out there who feels alone and

isn't looking forward to the holidays at all.

Today, someone has been on my mind

that may need this reminder.

  But I don't know who that someone is. 

I just hope they find their way here to read this.

God cares so much for you that he sent his

only son to be born  and also die for you.

 Now that is stronger than any human love I know!

WOW!

He knew YOU through and through,

before YOU were

ever created inside your mother's womb.

(see Psalm 139- my favorite Bible chapter)

He planned Y♥U  then created Y♥U

and then He said

this is good!

No matter how you are feeling today, know this:

You are special! 

God delights in YOU.  

He Loves YOU

more than you will ever know.

"I have written

your name

on the palms of my hands.”

Isaiah 49:15-16.

I have posted this painting before.

(altered it today for this post)

But I am re-posting it because sometimes

we need to stop and feel God's hand upon us. We need

to be reminded that He is there for us-ALWAYS!

Even in the lonely times, we are NOT alone.

He shows to me

HIS love for me every day, just like he

showed me the few minutes before I painted

His hands upon my face here.

(I do love his warm, loving  and comforting hands)

NOW, before you look at this painting, you

must do one thing first!  

Replace in your imagination, my face with

your own beautiful face.

Can you feel the love and comfort of HIS touch?

He is the one who brought so

much JOY and HOPE

into this world on Christmas night.
And He did it for YOU.

If you are tired, or if you are lonely this 

holiday season, I hope these truths will be of 

comfort to you.  Please know that I also have a

listening ear if you just need to talk or want

to know more about anything I've 

written here.  

You can leave me a comment or email me at 

this address: 

leeannisafriend at gmail dot com

(written out here for spam protection)

~ ♥~

The Child Like Spirit At Christmastime

♫ It's beginning ♫♪..♫.to look

a lot like ♫..♪♪ Christmas..♫

           everywhere I go ♫ ..♪..♪ 

I've been listening to lots and 

lots of Christmas music and

preparing for the holidays.

I bet you have been doing the same.

I am so excited that we will

soon get to spend time

with family.

We will be celebrating our Christmas

during the first week of January

when everyone can make

it home.

Love this photo of our granddaughter (age 4).

Her mommy said she went over to the

tree one morning and just said

"I love our tree"
and smiled in awe as she looked it over.

Precious huh?

I cannot believe it has been

6 months since we've 

been with our grandchildren

and oldest daughter and son-IL.

That is the longest stretch we've 

ever gone between getting together.

That long time gap has

been sooooo hard 

on the ole'

heart.

So for those of you who

have all of your family close by

including your precious

grandbabies- please 

know how very blessed YOU are. 

Never take it for granted.

Sporting a new "Colts" team hat. 

At first she didn't think it was

girly enough, but she did want to wear it to bed! ha

  She is such a sweetheart!

Our 1 1/2 yr old grandson! 

Doesn't he look like a cool dude? 

I cannot wait to look into his eyes and kiss his cheeks.

He loves animals....as you can see the love

written all over his face.

So how are your Christmas plans

coming along?

‎"Never worry about

the size of your Christmas tree.

In the eyes of children,

they are

all 30 feet tall."

 Larry Wilde

 

Thanks for letting my
grandmother's heart share
her treasures
with you today.

Candy cane Hugs,

A SPLASH OF HAPPY

I sure haven't been a very good blogger

lately.  I told you in another post recently that

I started a new part-time job, and yes,

I am still in the new training stage.

It has kept me a little more tired than

usual, along with some health issues

that I've dealt with recently.

But I'm okay now, just have to get used to

the new changes in my schedule.

So please know that I haven't 

forgotten YOU. 

That would be impossible!!!!

Just bear with me and I will soon get

back into the groove.

I've always been a girl who loves variety and

new adventures, but as I get older,

along with learning something new seems

to come with it some stress.

But I have no doubt

that I will make it through to

the place I need to be to do this job

well-eventually!

In the meantime, 

me and my new partner in crime at work

 Traci,

(we do have fun together!)

decided that our

  little office space  needed 

some happiness to greet us while we

were working away.

So my imagination, and paint brush went to

work and came up with this-

A SPLASH OF HAPPY

(sorry the photo I took is a bit blurry)

This is on a large canvas and sits right above and between both of our desks

"Happiness is a form of courage."

~Holbrook Jackson

"Cheerfulness is what greases the axles of the world.  

Don't go through life creaking. "

~H.W. Byles

I have found out that sometimes you need

to come up with things that bring 

you happiness!  Even if it is just singing a tune

or listening to some music or taking a walk or even

building a snowman. 

Or better yet,

finding a way to make

someone else happy

brings about a special joy that we 

don't expect to get back ourselves.

But it returns to us in bushels anyway!

Here is my new co-worker Traci

YOU bring me happiness too.

Truely you do!

I love my bloggy friends.

Yes I do!

 You have made known to me

the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in
your presence.'

(Acts 2:28)

So what splashes

your happy heart and

makes it smile?

I may want to join your party so
do tell your secret.


Splashing away,

 

Your Name Is On My List

Wishing you all a wonderful

and ♥ filled

Thanksgiving holiday!

This year I have added YOU

  to my blessings list 

that I am so thankful for. 

Truly, each of you

are special to me and have blessed

my life in such a wonderful way.

Too wonderful to put into words! 

I know it is not just by chance that we

have become friends, but 

instead I believe

God ordained our meeting.

I've added one of my favorite quotes below

to one of my watercolor paintings.

I hope you will like this quote that

reminds me of you.

Thank Y♥U 

from my heart!

author of quote is.... Corrie Ten Boom
and watercolor painting by me,
 Lee Ann Garrett

Happy Thanksgiving!

Favor of Your Words!

Hi everyone! 

Hey, would you do me a favor if 

you have some extra time?

 

Our oldest daughter

  and family moved

to a new city in Pennsylvania last summer. 

I have always lived 

in the same Indiana county

most all of my life

and have lived in this 

same home for over 30 years.

Our daughter, Jessica

doesn't live close by our family

  and she is a young wife and mommy. 

They love their new residence

but there are times 

 that I know she wishes

and I wish that I could go over

and tell her to go out and do something
just for her

and I watch the kiddos so she could enjoy some 

quiet time by herself.
I know she yearns for this too.

Do you remember those days

of being a young mommy?
Wishing you had some coffee quiet time to yourself?

Recently, Jessica wrote

this post on her blog.

 My mind went back to those mommy days of 

remembering

how hard it was to feel you were doing it all well 

(trying desperately to be Superwoman)

and  still find time for yourself.

I really didn't have

lots of words of wisdom,

but knew that

I could ask my blogging friends

to do something really special 
that I know

would encourage her.

Woman are so good at doing

that encouraging thing for one another. 

You certainly have for me so many times.

If you get a moment, 

would you click over to her blog

and give 

her some encouragement and 

even some laughs about

this time and how

it shall pass

so quickly in her life?

(no pressure, because I know how busy life is)

Thank Y♥U

my dear encouraging

blogging buddies!

♥♥♥

Impossibilities Give Room For Miracles

Whoa!  I am so glad to be back to blogging 

and am more than ready to 

check in on all of you again.

I have missed my time with YOU...

You have all become such a big

  part of me.

Whoever thinks when

they begin blogging for the first time,

such as I did in the fall of 2009,

that they will meet so many wonderful

and real friends through a computer screen?

I think the bond is because we all  have

some what of a writer's heart ♥

or we wouldn't be drawn to this type of format.

“Impossible situations can become possible miracles.”

Robert H. Schuller 

When changes come into our lives

they can be disguised 

as bad things when really they are good and 

sometimes wonderful things.

This past summer I unexpectedly lost my job.

It was a job in a school system, which

fit my life perfectly and allowed

me to be off work in the summertime

which then allowed me more time to be

creative and pursue my love of art.

It also gave us time and money to travel

to go and visit our sweet little grandchildren

and their mommy (our oldest daughter ♥)

and daddy,  who live nine hours away.

Even though I was off work

in the summertime,

we still counted on my paycheck 

through the school months and stretched it out.

I began to fear, but pressed on and 

created more and more

with my time instead.

God taught me

some very great lessons

about myself

and showed me how to dig deep within  and

pull out more parts of ME

that I didn't know existed before.

But...........
HE knew they were there all along!
♦

In times of crisis we often

become

more creative out of necessity and 

new and great things can come 

from that painful stretching and growing.

Things like the:

"We've been there" moments 

that we get to share with our children and

grandchildren when we find them 

going through something 

painful and stretching later on in their lives.
♦

I even grew in the area of selling my creations

and my imagination seemed to expand

during this time.

 It also gave me a deeper heart for

those who suddenly find themselves jobless.

Whenever we get

a deeper ♥ heart for others,

we really do become better people.

Don't you think so too? 
 ♦

  Everyday, 
no matter what  YOU are going through,

I believe God is doing

little miracles

  for YOU all along the way.

Just like he has 

and will continue to do for me.

We just have to remember to watch for them.

Then you know what God

 did for me next? Out of seemingly nowhere,

He provided for me the 

most wonderful opportunity.

He gave me a new part-time job at a place

I have for many years wanted to

be a part of.
Since it is part-time, I will also have 

time to continue on with
my dream 

of creating my art.

 My new job is at a very special place.
I believe it fits well 
with the gifts God has placed 
inside of me.

I am now working at a Hospice organization

called New Hope Hospice.

And what is even greater is I get to see this sweet face!

 This is our youngest daughter Jaymie.

She is a Social Worker at New Hope Hospice.

Woo Hoo! 

Even my sweet daughter wanted 

her momma to come and work where she works!

That is a very special blessing to me.

Don't you love her eyes? ☺

I think she got the goofy gene naturally

from you know who.

Balanced of course with wisdom! (grin)

So to YOU my friends,

  watch for your special miracles.

I just know that God 
has them planned for YOU too!

♥