Beauty And The Beast

The musical is over for this weekend.  My daughter had a wonderful time doing her characters.  It was a fabulous show.  The weekend was perfect.  My sister was here.....dinner with friends......musical.......just perfect.  Hope yours was as well.

Big Big Weekend

We have a wonderful weekend ahead for us.  My sissy and nephew are up here for the weekend.  My oldest daughter is in the school musical that opens this weekend...Beauty And The Beast.  She has been working so hard for several months.  Tonight is opening night.  Lots of late nights and learning dances and music.  Her costumes are wonderful!  I am so proud of her.  This mama's buttons might just pop!
We have tickets for tomorrow nights show.  Until then, my sis and I are going to enjoy our time together.  She has a bag full of crafting stuff she brought up.  Who knows what we will come up with.  But whatever it is.....I am looking forward to it.

Bad News

Saw this little sign in a shop window while walking to work.  I had to laugh.  :)

Busy Place

My little bird feeder has been seeing a lot of activity these days.  The bitter cold temperatures have keep it full most of the day.  It amazes me how these little creatures can survive in the cold.  Amazing how God designed them.  Amazing.

You Might Be A Baker.....

..........If you have many choices of flour in your possession.  :)

Getting Ready For Love Day

I am a sucker for Valentines Day.  I like it almost as much as Christmas.  I love that it is a day set aside for love.  I made these little cupcakes today at the cafe where I work.  I am so excited for this holiday about love to begin.  Sprinkles and lots of pink and tons of hearts......oh my.  :)

Little Love Mailboxes

Have you seen these little mailboxes in the Target dollar section?  They are so cute.  I bought one for each of my family members.  I also bought some Valentines Day stickers from Target and put them on the mailboxes to make them cuter.  My thought was to put some little surprises inside their boxes between now and Valentines Day to show them how much I love and appreciate them.  A little index card will fit perfectly inside for my love note along with a little chocolate or pair of socks or whatever I can find to place inside.  When the little red flag goes up....they have mail.

Burrrrr!

 

Winter has certainly come to my house.  I think I will cozy up next to my little fireplace and read.  Maybe hot cocoa will be on the menu.  Hope you are staying warm and safe tonight wherever you are.

xoxoxo

Christmas 2012

If you are reading this...hello.  :)  It seems I have been away for awhile.  Like two months awhile.  We had the most wonderful Christmas this year.  How was yours?  My family traveled to Michigan to spend time with us this season.  We had so much fun!  I thought I would share some pictures of my holiday.
These are a few of my aprons.  See my little Christmas one?  It was fun wearing it to the cafe each day.

 My daughter and I baked some sugar cookies before my family came up.  When they all got here, we decorated them.  My daddy even decorated some.  What wonderful memories.

 Hubby and I picking our tree for the season.  She was a beautiful tree.

 I also made two quilts for my mom and sister this year for Christmas.  I can not believe I made two.  Crazy for me!
This is my mama enjoying hers.  I believe we were watching one of the many Christmas movies we enjoyed together as a family.

 Here is my sister enjoying hers.  It was so fun watching her carry it up the stairs for bed each night.  I love that they loved them.  Quilts are a labor of love for sure!

 Our little tree all lit up on Christmas Eve.

 My fuzzy kitty checking out the lights.

 Our beautiful church on Christmas Eve.

This is my most favorite Christmas decoration.  My old Santa.  My parents have their Christmas card from 1969 of me holding him.  I was two years old.  He has been with me every year since.

I hope your Christmas was relaxing and fun and many new memories were made.

Winter Chips

I love the grocery store this time of year.  Our stores begin to put center isles of ingredients out for the holiday baking season.  Spices and mixes and dried fruits.  I love looking at all the new things and old favorites they display.  I know I have spent a lot of money in those center isles every year.  Their marketing strategies have paid off with this gal.  :)

I found these little chips this year for the first time.  Have you seen them?  I have daughters that are in love with chocolate mint treats.  A sister as well.  Can't wait to make something yummy for the girls in my life.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Happily Ever After

 My family was blessed to attend a very special wedding this weekend.  This beautiful bride has been a part of my life for many years.  I have watched her grow from a little girl into a beautiful Godly woman.  She, and her two sisters,  babysat for my daughters when they were small.  Isn't her groom handsome?  They have dated since 8th grade!

 Her parents are farmers and live in the country.  The wedding was held at their home in the back yard.  The cows were also part of the ceremony.  Watching contently from the fence line occasionally giving a moo to let us know they were there.  It was truly a magical day!

 She and her sisters made a lot of things homemade for the wedding.  Like their bouquets.  Are they not spectacular???  They are made from paper.

 Here I am with one of the brides sisters and my darling nephew.

 Such adoration......

This is the younger sister.  All three of these girls have such a place in my heart.  

They had this old two seater bike they rode at the wedding.  The groom bought this bike and packed a picnic lunch for her and they rode it together to a special spot he had picked out.  It was at this picnic where he proposed to her!  So, the bike had to make it to the wedding and into the pictures as well.

And here is the quilt that I made for them for their wedding day.

It was a magical day.  God gave them the most perfect day.   I was blessed to see some of my most favorite people again back home for something so very very special.

For Some Reason.....

We are sprucing up our living room with some new furniture.  It has been hard picking out new things. I am a cottage girl all the way.  Hubby likes leather.  What's a girl to do?
After we got the chairs in their proper places, for some reason, this picture came into my mind........

And then I smiled the rest of the day.

Today She Is 17

 Today my darling daughter turned 17.  Not really sure how that happened.  But it did.  She was a lucky girl today.  Her Papa and Nana traveled up from Illinois to spend the weekend with her.  We had a lot of fun!  This morning brought chocolate doughnuts covered in sprinkles.  It also brought a candle and the birthday song.  Nice way to wake up...don't you think?

Happy Birthday Sweetie.  I pray this year brings good things to you.  I love you darling daughter.
xoxox  Mama

Goodness In A Jar

While on my vacation from work this past week, I decided to can some of my daddy's favorite garden relish.  Isn't it pretty?  The peppers make it so colorful.  Like a quilt in a jar. :)
 Speaking of quilting....I have one almost finished for a wedding gift that is coming up the end of this month.  I spent my vacation playing in the sand, canning some goodies for the winter months, visiting with old friends and quilting.  It was a really good week.

A Ten Pack

We have a new place in town.  Tim Hortons.  It is a wonderful little place.  We picked up a ten pack of TimBits for our snoozing teenager at home yesterday.  Her mama may have had one or two.  They were pretty tasty....or so I am told.  :)

End Of The Summer Get-Away

My family and I took a little holiday before school starts next week.  We all have been working very hard this summer.  Time for a break for all of us.  We rented a camper an hour away from us on the beach of Lake Michigan.  And I mean ON the beach. 

 Our little camper is on the left side.  

We took several strolls on the beach and stopped to run our hands and toes thru the cool sand.

Saw this sign while my daughters were in the water swimming.

Had a little camper envy when I saw this cutie pie.  Isn't it darling?

Ate several goodies on our little get away....but hey.....it's a holiday.  Right?

Decided I wanted to learn how to do this someday.   So, I added it to my bucket list.

Saw the pretty red light house and wondered how many boats she helped arrive safely to shore.

 I also took some time to fly a kite!  The wind was perfect and it was so relaxing to just watch her fly up and down and up and down.

Went into town one day and had the best cup of coffee I think I have ever had.  Oh my, do these people know how to do coffee. 

And that was it.  A little get away from our busy lives to reconnect as a family.  It was much needed for all of us.  In a few days, I will have two daughters in high school.  I know you understand when I ask...."How can this be?"  

Have a wonderful Friday friends.  

Tiny Little Pies

Have you seen those super cute mini pies made in canning jars?  Me too!  Aren't they just the sweetest little things?  Adorable with a capital "A."
We were invited to a potluck last night and this is my version.  They are not baked yet in the photo.  My daughter and I were so excited about how they turned out, we forgot to take an after photo.  But, they were just as cute golden brown as they are here, pre baked.  Now the wheels in my head are turning trying to figure out how I can make these at the little cafe.  Pumpkin, peach, cherry, cheesecake, pecan........so many ways.  Speaking of pumpkin and pecan....are you dreaming of fall like I am already?
Hope your Sunday is lovely!

Ruffles

Things have been quiet on this blog for awhile.  Busy at work, busy with kids, busy with laundry.  There is always laundry.  :)
I made this little bag for a dear friends birthday this past week.  There is just something about ruffles that makes me happy.
Summertime is rolling by.  I hope yours is going wonderfully!

Naughty Kitty

While walking by my daughters room today I found this.......
Naughty kitty on top of the hamster cage!

For Daddy

Dear Daddy,
Happy Fathers Day!  I wish I could be with you to celebrate this special day set aside for Fathers.  But, life has us living four hours apart and there is this thing called "work" that gets in the way.  You know all about work, don't you?  You have been the best example of a hard worker any girl could learn from.  Your work ethics are superb!  You have taught me to work hard, do my best, go above and beyond the expectations of others, pitch in when needed and have fun while doing it.  You provided for mom, sissy and I the best way you knew how.  Thank you for that!  I don't think I could ever say thank you enough for all you sacrificed for us.  Thank you for doing without so we could have what we needed and also at times, what we wanted.  Now that I am a parent, I know what that means.

Thank you for your wisdom.  Thank you for teaching me, years ago, how to put gas in my car and keep my car clean and how to drive safely.  Now I am teaching my own daughter those same principals.

Thank you for sharing little gifts with me from your parents that you have saved all these years.  I especially love the roses yard long you gave me that hangs over my bed now.  That is my most special possession!

Thank you for being the best father a girl could ever ever have.  I could go on and on with examples of how wonderful a man you are.  From the bottom of my heart daddy, thank you for your love and example.  You are simply the best daddy a girl could ever ever have.
I love you!
Shanngirl