Tea Cup & Mug Exchange Reveal

Hello Sweet Friends

It's time for a very special Reveal

One I look forward to twice a year

For the past three events

I have participate in Stephanie's

Tea Cup & Mug Exchange

And OH What Fun It Has Been

Stephanie Joyfully and Prayerfully

Matches participants for the exchange

You send to one person

And receive from a different person

It is Always a JOY to participate

This time my recipient was

Marilyn at Mountain Top Spice

I will let her share about her package

But it has been delightful getting to know Marilyn

And I found great joy in putting her package together 

I was SO surprised when I received a lovely

Thank you package from her

How sweet are all of these delightful goodies

Thank you Marilyn for blessing me so

You never know where you will send a package

Or where your package will come from

This time both sent and received packages

Went/Came from ladies in Idaho

How Fun Is That

My package came from

 Tilda at Huckleberry Stitches

Oh My how she blessed this momma heart

I opened the package to find a gift for Madi

I was shocked and blessed

A beautiful hand made tea matt and a 'to color' book mark

What a sweet surprise and blessing

The rest of the package was stuffed FULL of beauty

With an Ocean theme, everything was had picked and made

By Tilda and her two daughters

Hot Cocoa, note pad, tea towels,

fragrance sachets for home and auto

Napkins, flower seeds and a hand sewn tea matt and book mark

The Tea Cup is a lovely shade of Aqua with white

Beautifully scalloped edges that remind me of sea shells

Absolutely Perfect

I feel so spoiled!

Thank you Tilda and girls

For your kindness and tender hearts

I am enjoying getting to know you and your family

Some day I plan to go visit my brother and niece/nephews in ID

I will make sure to visit BOTH of the beautiful and kind ladies

I never know how to thank Stephanie for hosting this wonderful

Tea Cup & Mug Exchange twice yearly

She certainly could be doing many other things

But has chosen to bless each participant

Thank you Stephanie

You are A TREASURE

Blessings to ALL

Happy 81st MOM

Hello Friends

I haven't blogged in such a long time

I almost forgot how to download, edit and upload photos

Hopefully, in the weeks ahead

I will blog more and fill you in

On where I've been and life in general

Today

I want to SAY

Happy 81st Birthday to my Mom

In the past 10+ years

This sweet lady

Has endured a

Whipple surgery

Broken Hip

Mini Stroke

Valley Fever

And something that has eaten a good bit

Of her skull away

Yet, we celebrate 81 years

With Great JOY

She has

4 Children

11 Grandchildren

12 Great Grandchildren

We had a delightful Celebration at my home on Sunday

I'm sharing just a few of my favorite photos

Cousins and Braces

Cousins and 2nd Cousins

Laughter and Silliness

Which pretty much describes our lives

Why would this be a favorite photo?

It is a reminder of:

Family, food, fellowship

Joy, blessings and Happiness

And Celebration of a life well lived

Remember that messes

Are a Symbols of LIFE

Happy Birthday Mom

My One Word

Happy Weekend Sweet Friends

I started this post on January 3, 2017
I believe I have already failed my Word

Accomplish is the word that has been
bombarding my thoughts for the past several weeks
So far, I have one project accomplished with
Many, Many more to go

It seems I Love to start projects but I am a
Procrastinator by nature
(Ouch)

This is the year, for numerous reasons,
I need to accomplish projects and set aside the
procrastination trait

For the first time since Mark's passing
(6 years)
I truly DO have goals and plans
Lists and desires
This is the Year to rejoice in today

The necklace I wear says: Embrace The Moment
The ring I wear says: Nothing is Impossible

With those reminders
It is My Year to Accomplish and move forward

I even went to church last weekend
For the first time in more than a year

Yes, it's a new day
A new year
A new attitude
And a new WORD

God is Able
Even in Me

Blessings~~~

Fall Tea Cup Exchange

Hello Sweet Friends

Welcome to
The Fall Tea Cup / Mug Exchange Reveal
Hosted by the Dear Stephanie at The Enchanting Rose

This is the second time I have participated
And, Oh I had so much fun putting my package together

It was fun to decide on a theme / color
And find little goodies to send off to my exchange recipient

This cute tea cup caught my eye
It was quickly purchased and the yellow theme started

A tea cup, journal, handkerchief, doily, two cards,
Spoon, candy and tea
Were packaged and sent off to Debbie in Texas
I haven't heard from her, but I sure hope she enjoyed her package

A week after I sent my package
I received this lovely package from Shirley in Virginia
Little scented soaps and a kitchen towel

A book, plaque, card and hot cocoa
(I don't drink coffee or tea - I know - I'm odd *wink*)

And this absolutely delightful tea cup
Can you see that the handle is butterfly wings
And the darling bee...

I'm so thankful to Shirley for blessing me with such
A Wonderful variety of items

And to Stephanie
Thank you again for hosting a fun and blessed exchange

Until next time
Blessings

Fall Fun

Hello Sweet Friends

I'm so happy that you decided to stop by
Fall has arrived in Arizona
It's been in the 90's for a couple of weeks
It is so much more tolerable than the months
We have endured with temps over 100-115+

Sometimes I wonder if you ever get tired of me saying
How much I live for My 3 K's
They make my heart sing
And I'm so very grateful for the time I get to spend with them

Lots of crafting took place during fall break
Little K~Baby working so intently on her fall project

K~Bel as well

I love having so many items for them to choose from
Looks like I may need to refill a few glitters

Each of the girls made a fall ornament

They love spending time creating
At the dining room table

They each made a necklace as well
Lots of colorful beads to choose from
And, of course, a K for each

Miss K~Bug
The one who started it all, over 12 years ago
Adore These K's

Praying you are having happy days
Making memories
And loving those around you

Blessings to All

Favorite Etsy Shops

Hi Sweet Friends

Happy First Day of Fall

We had two wonderful rounds of rain today

The temps stayed in the 80's

Of course they are forecast to go back up

However, it was a perfect way to start Fall

Oh Happy Fall

I did a bit of Christmas shopping over the weekend

And, wanted to share what I purchased

But mostly

I wanted to share

Two Wonderful Etsy Shop Owners

There is Never a loss of Gorgeous

When I visit

Celestina Marie Designs on Etsy

I have purchased several of her items

This time I purchased two Christmas Ornaments

Everything she designs is to perfection

And beautifully finished

Although these are purchases

I Always feel like I'm receiving a gift when I open the box

She adds such sweet touches to her packages

With Fall, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas

Popping up soon

Stopping by Celestina's Place is sure to inspire

And help check off your Gift List

The other place that I Love to Shop is at:

Rose Petal Blessings

Stephanie is a wonderful person and artist

I fell in love with this stocking

And so many of her lovely Christmas ornaments

She also has the cutest sewn items

I own several of her pieces

And love every one of them

Again, whenever I order from her shop

I feel as though I have received a gift

Everything is packaged with love and care

Little thank you items are sweetly tucked in

I can't encourage you enough

To stop by Stephanie's place to do a bit of shopping

Both Celestina and Stephanie

Are Encouragements in my Life

And also have fabulous blogs

Links by clicking their names above

Now on to one more thing

Two years ago I decided to allow my back lawn to die

There are days I am just overwhelmed with Life

And all that needs to be done without my Mark

The lawn is totally gone now :)

And I am beginning to plant a desert type backyard

Less watering, less yard work

But (hopefully) more lovely flowers

And a comfortable place to 'be' during the cooler months of the year

This afternoon it POURED on my dirt

My blank slate for my more desert friendly backyard

I'm so Happy

Because

See the shovel out there?

Yes, the rain will make it Much easier for me to dig

The holes for the plants I intend to plant this weekend

Maybe in two years

I will be able to show you a lovely desert garden

Until then

HAPPY FIRST DAY OF FALL!!!

A Bit of Fall Out Front

Happy Monday Sweet Friends

The weather is FINALLY starting to cool off

It was 106 on Sunday and 102 today

However, it is cloudy now and suppose to top off

In the 90's the rest of the week

I was able to get a little fall décor going out front

I don't have that gorgeous big house

I see so many decorating

But my humble home that I've lived in for over 21 years

And own mortgage free is beautiful to me

At the front walk

I add my little fall peeps

They greet guests with fun smiles

As they walk up to the door

My Vinca are continuing to blossom

So I just added some pumpkins

And a little Give Thanks sign

I'm happy that my fall wreath will make it through 2 years

Usually the weather destroyed them

But this one weathered the season

And is happily adorning my door

A few fall 'wooden' leaves hang next to the door

I still have a few Vinca's at the walk way as well

And I just couldn't put my lamb away

He stays out all year

Just a walk way view

And because I love her quirky smile

I added one more photo of the peep at the end

May you enjoy a beautiful week

I'm praying for rain (they say it's coming)

But I won't hold my breath - LOL

3 days to Autumn!!

Weekend Warrior

Hi Sweet Friends

I didn't exactly mean to take a blog break

But I've been sick and

Just didn't have the energy to blog at night

I'm hopefully on the mend

But now my little man cub is sick - Yuck!!

It seemed that on Thursday

When I had the pleasure

Of hanging out with all three of my K's

They didn't really enjoy their swimming adventure

Ummm...Yeah

The pool has been empty for a month or two

It wasn't really my plan

But getting sick wasn't really my plan either

So...

What bit of energy I have had

Has gone to cleaning and maintenance work

On all of the pool equipment

Which included replacing a few of the

In ground cleaning jets

Sweeping and Vacuuming the bottom of the pool

Dodging water jets

While making sure every bit of dirt

Sand, rocks and leaves were OUT

Then, before I could fill the pool

I needed to replace the hose nozzle

It was so very old and worn

That I ended up soaked when I just

Wanted to water a few plants

It was fairly simple

And I'm glad it is done

No more spraying myself in the face

One more thing I needed to get done

I'll spare you all of the ugly details

It took longer than I had hoped

I guess I was more than tired

But it is done as well

And for that

I am Grateful

Because

I Truly wanted to enjoy THIS today

It was great to have the kids and grands

Over for a few hours to

PLAY

Hard Word definitely

Deserves PLAY

I do pray you have enjoyed your Memorial Day Weekend

Even in the midst of work and play

It has been my honor to take time

To stop and pray

To thank and remember

Those who have selflessly

Risked and Given their lives

For our freedom

May we Never Forget the Sacrifices so many have given

Blessings