Road Trippin for a few Days!

Tomorrow morning hubby and I
will be leaving bright and early to travel
7 hours away to our

oldest daughter's home.  We couldn't miss going

to our granddaughter's 4 year old birthday party!

I cannot wait to wear the pointed birthday hats and

blow the birthday blow whistle thingies and sing to our 

sweet Ella.   I will be back to posting once again next 

Monday. Yes, it's a quick trip, but so worth it for all of

the hugs and kisses waiting on us.

I'll leave you with the cutest video 
of my granddaughter's recent preschool program. 
We decided that she is no

longer shy, nor does she have stage fright! 
You will see what I mean once you view it. 
She is the one in black and white
and is doing a lot of her own dance steps
to the music.  Oh and if

you watch at least three fourths the way through

 you will see where she decides to add
her own dynamic ending
to one of the songs with the splits!!

This kinda mortified mommy
since she was in a dress. 

I just love her innocent and spirited enthusiasm
for life!

I had some trouble getting this to download

where you could view it well. The best way to watch it is to

double click anywhere on the video and it will take you to the

video on You Tube. You can see it in full there. 

See you in a few days.  Have a great weekend!

I'm Doing the Hula Thanks to Farmgirl Paints!

WOO HOO !!!

I am so excited!

I just won a give away 

from Becky  at Farmgirl Paints! 

She and her family just came back from
a vacation in Hawaii

and she packed this in her suitcase
to bring back as the prize......

A special Hawaiian Banana Bread and...

Chocolate Covered (I'm in heaven!) Macacamia Nuts
 and Maui's Famous Cookies.....and...
..Yes there is more....

a wonderful Maui scenery filled Calendar!!!!
It's my dream for hubby and I to go there someday!

WOW!
What a wonderful prize package I've won!
Thank you so much Becky!
You are one great girlfriend
and a good picker outer of prizes!!!!

Now to all of you,
please go over and  meet
 Becky at Farmgirl Paints!

Not only is she a great gal but she is also
a wonderful artist
and a great mommy and wife.  You will love
getting to know her.

I hope a little slice of Happy 

comes your way too!

Hugs,

This Is Addicting!

Last evening I decided to try painting some more

watercolor flowers.  I tell you what, 

these are so much fun

and I believe I am addicted to 

this little process that I learned from

Martha   last week.

The combinations are endless that

I am coming up with.

I am working on coming up with a set 
of these to put on note cards. 

Once I have my note card sets ready,

I will host a give away.
  Please keep checking back....
It will happen soon!

"Every day, celebrate a personal victory-

no matter how small.

You must have done something 

to make yourself proud.

Go ahead-

shout out loud!"

Cheryl Hawkinson

I am listening....
  Be sure to shout so I can hear YOU!

"I have called you by name -
you are mine."

Isaiah 43:1

 

A Wake Up Tune

I love waking up to music like this
playing on my radio.
It starts my day off on the right note.

There is no better hiding place than this to get refreshed.

Have a wonderful Friday.

28 Years Ago Today

I was in the hospital 28 years ago today delivering

a precious baby girl who we named 

Jaymie Lee....

Her father and I were so excited

to be given the blessing of being her parents.

Our little princess grew ....

and grew......

and grew......

 ....into this beautiful, on the inside and out,

special woman that she is today.

Happy Birthday Jaymie!

We love you to the moon and back,

MOM and DAD

This Was Fun!

Tonight I decided to try these watercolor 

flower paintings that I learned from

Martha    and the tutorial she so kindly shared 

on her Art Du Jour blog at
http://marthalever.blogspot.com/
She is one very talented woman that you must

go over and meet.
To paint these I used watercolor paper postcards
that I had on hand.
These would be wonderful to paint
onto note cards.  I am so excited!

My blending needs some work
on the pots but for doing

this in front of the t.v. and without my glasses,

I am pleased with the outcome.

Truly, her instructions are great and even if you

don't think you can paint,
you must try this.
You will be surprised what a good teacher

can help you do.

Thank you Martha

You Rock !!

Name My Flower Bandit

My tulips are just about ready to bloom and 

I get so excited seeing something I've planted

the year before actually produce 

a flower.  I say this because ....

...in the past two years, just when my tulip flower 

buds were about to open, this little critter

decided to make them his dinner!

I've tried sprinkling red pepper flakes around

the plants, as someone suggested, but

this little guy must wear shoes because it didn't 

make one bit of difference in keeping him away. 

I think I should name this little guy, because

I am certain he is the same squirrel 

every year that comes around

to frustrate 

the daylights out of me!

I sure hope in the next few days, that I get

to see my tulips bloom. 
 If I don't, you may hear me screaming.....

Can you feel my frustration?

Any suggestions?

 How do you keep critters away from your flower beds?

Oh and if you think of
 a good name for my bandit,
 please let me know in the comment section.

 I will come up with a prize for whoever
comes up with the best name.

I think I'm gonna camp out in my flower bed tonight!

Sailing

First, some grandmother vacation pictures
to show you
from my trip a few weeks ago.

She loved her face painted!
She is a butterfly!

My oldest daughter and her momma.

Two of grandma's favorite little sweethearts.

Here are some words to ponder for your day.

I find that sometimes I play it too safe in life and would 

rather run to comfortable instead of stepping out
in faith and taking risks.
  We were not meant to stay comfy all of the time

and we can never experience our dreams in full if we 

are not willing to take the sometimes scary steps.

"A ship in harbor is safe- but that is not

what ships are made for."

John A. Shedd

Sail your ship out into the unknown today!

-Enjoy all God has planned for you-

SHOW SOME CREATIVITY SATURDAY #12

I haven't done a 

SHOW SOME CREATIVITY SATURDAY

for awhile.  I decided to pull

out an old still life drawing that

I did a few years ago.

 I think eggplants are so interesting.
I also really love eating

Eggplant Parmesan at Italian restaurants.

Now if you have a creation, please

share with us.  Be sure and mention it

in the comment section 

so we can come over and see!

"We are not cisterns made

for hoarding;

we are channels made for giving." 

 Billy Graham

Have a wonderful weekend!

Thank You!

Recently, two sweet blogging friends passed some
lovely blog awards my way.  I feel so badly that I am
just now getting them posted,  but my life over the
past few weeks has been filled with many things that
had to be done before I could blog again.

 Thank you so much 
to my creative friend Tina from
The Artful Life

who bestowed this joyful award on to me.
  She is a wonderful artist and lovely lady and
I love how she passes on her very creative ideas. 

This is what one is to do when you receive this sweet award-

* Put the logo on your blog or within your post.

* Pass the award onto 12 bloggers.

* Link the nominees within your post.

* Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blog.

* Share the love and link to the person from whom you received this award.

I will gladly pass this award on to some special gals

who inspire me with their CREATIVITY and

who bring SUNSHINE into my  life with who
they are.  Thank you girls!

• 1.    Becky at Farmgirl Paints
• 2.    Mary at A Splendid Adventure 
• 3.    Martha at Art du Jour
• 4.   Jeanne at Jeanne Oliver
•      and at A Bushel and Peck  
• 5.   Trish at Old Post Road 
• 6.    Bren at eSynergy 
• 7.   Deborah at Art and Soul by Deborah L. Ruby
• 8.   Miss Mustard Seed's  Creative blog
• 9.   Rhonda at City Hen
• 10. Rachel at A Cupcake for Moose  
• 11. Edie at Rich Gifts
•  You will find many more of my favorites on my sidebar!
  
  
  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tonya from Beholding Him passed on

this Beautiful Blogger award.  Thank you
so much Tonya for thinking of me.

I especially enjoy reading Tonya's postings about

eating nutritiously and her dedication to her family.

I must also thank Andrea from Arise to Write

who also passed this same award my way.

I am amazed at the caring prayer warrior

Andrea is. Thank you Andrea!

With this award I am to tell you some interesting things

about myself.  hmmm...I think you already know alot

about me.  What can I tell you that might surprise you? 

*  I am the firstborn child with one brother and two

sisters and was blamed many times for leading them all

into mischief.

     

*  I am the one at the end of many jokes that has
to say, "I didn't get it", but I love laughing.

* To this day, I still tear up watching old episodes
of Little House on the Prairie!  Crazy huh?

*  When given the opportunity, I can spend hours
in a bookstore or coffee shop with a chai, journal 
and books in hand. I will always love learning new 
things.


*  If I had a do over, I would go to college to become
a  counselor/ therapist.


*  Music is like a second language to me.  To me it
helps make the world a so much better place. 
I hope to always keep a song in my heart.
In my family, we all sang growing up. I've
always wished I could play a violin or a guitar.


*  I met my hubby at a blood bank where we both
went to donate blood 35 yrs. ago.  My car broke
down that day and he gave me a lift back to my 
work.  I don't think we missed a weekend of seeing
each other from that day on.

I am to pass this award on to 7 other bloggers.

Here are the names of the people

who inspired me to start a blog

of my own back in August 2009. Thank you so

much girls for giving me the courage to be like you.

Jessica (my daughter) at jessicasheets.com 

Sharon at Joy In the Truth

Becky at Farmgirl Paints

(I know I've mentioned her twice, but

truly, her blog inspired me in the very beginning)

Tracie at Tracie Miles

Lissa at Humble Pie

Kat at Heart to Heart

Pass on the joy!

I Know For Sure

I love the words to this song ...and

I know MY REDEEMER LIVES.....

He has changed my life..
He is the one that fills the voids
that nothing else can.
He is the one who gives me HOPE and the
most AMAZING love that I could ever imagine.
He gave His life for ME and for YOU!
I am so grateful.

"For God loved the world so much
that he gave his one and 

only Son, so that everyone who believes in him

will not perish but have eternal life."

John 3:16 (MSG)

May you and your family have a blessed Easter.

You Didn't Know?

I am so sorry that I haven't been able to get a post up since coming back from vacationing last week. It seems there have been so many things I've needed to attend to first before posting and my time has been so limited. Here is a quickie something for you, that a friend sent to me.  I loved it and  I hope you will too.  FOOTPRINTS......A new version   (author unknown) Imagine you and the Lord Jesus are walking down the road together. For much of the way, the Lord's footprint go along steadily, consistently, rarely varying the pace. But your footprints are a disorganized stream of zigzags, starts, stops, turnarounds, circles, departures, and returns. For much of the way, it seems to go like this, but gradually your footprints come more in line with  the Lord's, soon paralleling, His consistently. You and Jesus are walking as true friends! This seems perfect, but then an interesting thing happens: Your footprints that once etched the sand next to Jesus now walking precisely in His steps. Inside His larger footprints are your smaller ones, you and Jesus are becoming one. This goes on for many miles, but gradually you notice another change.. The footprints inside the large footprints seem to grow larger. Eventually they disappear altogether.  There is only one set of footprints.  They have become one. This goes on for a long time, but suddenly the second set of footprints is back. This time it seems even worse!  Zigzags all over the place. Stops. Starts.  Gashes in the sand.  A variable mess of prints. You are amazed and shocked. Your dream ends.  Now you pray: "Lord, I understand the first scene, with zigzags and fits. I was a new Christian. I was just learning.   But You walked on through the storm and helped me learn to walk with You." "That is correct..." "And when the smaller footprints were inside of Yours, I was actually learning to walk in Your steps, following You very closely." "Very good.... You have understood everything so far." "When the smaller footprints grew and filled in Yours,I suppose that I was becoming like You in every way." "Precisely." "So, Lord, was there a regression or something?   The footprints separated, and this time it was worse than at first." There is a pause as the Lord answers, with a smile in His voice... "You didn't know? It was then that we danced!" "He turns our mourning into dancing!" Psalms 30:11    Begin to dance with the best dancer of all time. He will take the lead.