Merry Christmas!!!!

Merry Christmas!!! Have a wonderful day with friends and family!

Remember the reason why we celebrate this blessed day!!! <3

No more Scrabble

My friend John comes home from college today. As I thought about this, I realized that I wont be able to go over with him to Great Grandma's house. We wont be able to go over to play a game of scrabble with her. He wont have to sweep the floor while I take her blood pressure. This really hurts deep down....

....I am thankful for these memories though. Im thankful that he got to meet Great Grandma! And Im thankful that she is no longer sick <3 We thought about visiting her right before John left for his last leg of the semester, but we never did. The day after he left, she passed away. 

I miss you, Grandma! <3

My last memory of her?

Leaning over her bed, a week before she passed away, kissing her forehead, and saying I love you.... <3

Hats for the Holidays! Pardon the delay!

Pardon the delay, but the elves have been busy, so Hats for the Holidays will be caught up and resumed with in a couple days!

Hats for the Holidays! Day 33

(it stayed on today!! lol)

A union made, turban, vintage, awesome, hat! Id say the color on this makes it one of my favorite hats color-wise! Vainly, I will confess, I like the way it makes my blue eyes pop ;~)

Beautiful Blessings - Great Grandma's Life

1922-2015

My Great Grandma passed away late Tuesday night. We have been taking care of her for the past 3 years, and although we knew she was dying, it was startling when I first heard. It took me a day to realize she truly was gone. It honestly didnt seem possible. 

I loved my Great Grandma. <3 Even though I inheirited her stubborness. ;~) On the bright side, I also inherited her love of cheddar cheese! Heehee!! ;~) 

Im so thankful she is no longer sick. She is in Heaven with Jesus! And I expect, Great Grandpa met her there when she arrived. <3 

She lived through the Great Depression, & WWII; from horses and buggies to people living in the International Space Station! 

With 4 children, 13 grandchildren, 16 great grandchildren, and 1 great great grandchild, she was truly blessed!

My beautiful blessing is? Great Grandma! If it werent for her, I wouldnt be here! Thank you God for the 17 1/2 years Ive had with her so I could get to know her. God is so good! <3

I love you, Grandma!

Hats for the Holidays! Day 32

(this one wasnt staying on either!)

I love the feathery curls on this one <3

Hmmm made in Pittsburgh! I wonder the story behind it! What do you think it could be? 

Hats for the Holidays! Day 31

The hat wouldnt stay on!

Though Im quite sure you can see why ;~)

That's the inside of it...tis a bit quirky but they have to be quirky! Tis an unspoken code among retro hats!

Beautiful Blessings - 11/30/15

~ Catching sight of an Eastern Screech Owl!

~ Catching up with a bunch of friends!

~ Catching a hug from T-bug!

~ Catching one from L-Jo too!

~ Catching a smile from L-Jo as she tells me how Dad used to read to her "The Little Red Hen" when she was little!

Hats for the Holidays! Day 30

A winter blue to bring in the beginning of December! Yes, I know it doesnt start until tomorrow, but can you not picture this with a lovely fur coat, and holiday attire against a blanket of white snow? <3

The hidden sparkles will match the sparkle in the eye of the girl when she catches the sight of sparkly snow!

Beautiful Blessings - 11/29/15

~ a happy fuzzy kitty <3

~ a new to us couch!

~ enjoying a Christmas movie <3

~ a piece of pumpkin pie!

~ saying one last goodbye to my Aunt and Uncle before they go home <3

Hats for the Holidays! Day 29

To throw y'all off, today I present a blue velvet hat!

Complete with a bow in the back! ;~)

Never saw this label before now! I think its neat when you find a hat with a label like this. Someday I may have to look it up!

Hats for the Holidays! Day 28

A cute simple black hat for a simple day! Cloche hats are always cute in my mind!

Beautiful Blessings - 11/28/15

~ Finding the perfect tree!

~ Having snow softly begin to fall just as we begin to chop it down!

~ Enjoying our tree-finding adventure with my Aunt and Uncle!

~ Heidi coming over to hangout and laugh with me! Thanks for the stamps, girlie!!!!

~ Each of the stockings my Aunt has made over the years!

Hats for the Holidays! Day 27 & Today's Blessings

One of the few hats Ive actually boughten for myself in the past year! I bought it because I have an indentical one (minues the netting) that is cream!

I love the rich brown hues! Perfect for the holidays!!

Beautiful Blessings:

~ Being reminded of how important goodness is in the movie "Going My Way"! So sweet <3

~ Being reminded of how important art is! I went to see an art exhibit today: "From Monet to Matisse: The Age of French Impressionism"!

~ Being reminded of how important it is to send letters! T-Tot got a sweet one today from a lady who attended our Church for a while. It was very encouraging <3

~ Being reminded of how precious our lives are here on this earth! We should use them for good and to bring God glory!

~ Being reminded of how precious prayer is!

The Rock - A Word of Encouragement

Psalm 18:2 (ESV)

The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,

    my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,

    my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. 

When life is crazy, busy, swirling, and chaotic, remember this:

When you find yourself stuck between a rock and a hard place, remember God is your rock, and He will get you through the hard place!

Psalm 94:22 (ESV)

But the Lord has become my stronghold,

    and my God the rock of my refuge.

Hats for the Holidays! Day 25.... & More!

Over 30,000 views! And its my 900th post of my blog!

Thank you all!!!

Beautiful Blessings:

~ Having my Aunt and Uncle come for dinner!

~ Dad and T-Tot doing the Turkey Trot together!! 197 and 198 across the finish line!

~ Lil' G explaing her Plymoth made out of pillows as she takes the Mayflower across the perilous journey to the New World!

~ Watching "Its a Wonderful Life" as is tradition!

~ Washing dishes!

Hats for the Holidays! Day 25 & Beautiful Blessings - 11/25/15

A jaunty hat that I think might have turkey feathers! Im not sure, so dont quote me! lol! Tis ostentatious to say the least!

Blessings for the day:

~ Prepping desserts ahead of time for tomorrow!

~ Yummy leftovers for dinner!

~ Watching "Holiday Inn" with the girls! They enjoyed it!

~ That my friend was protected when his car broke down!

~ God is good. No matter what. 

1 Chronicles 16:34 (ESV)

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

    for his steadfast love endures forever!

Hats for the Holidays! Day 24

Yes another black velvet one ;~) This was one that was my Mom's! I always think of going to Church in this one. Again, I love the bow!! Tis perfect for our chapeaued countdown to Christmas!!!

Did you know its only 30 days till CHRISTMAS?!?!? :~D

Hats for the Holidays! Day 23

Ive had this one for near forever as well! I didnt like it much when I was younger but it has since grown on me!

The bows are so cute and adorable!!

Beautiful Blessings - 11/23/15 & 11/24/15

~ Our first real snow!!!!

~ Waking up to screeches of pure joy from the kids!

~ The pure joy of the neighbor kids who never saw snow before!

~ Declaring a morning of snow/Christmas movies! "Its a Wonderful Life", "Muppets Christmas Carol", and "White Christmas"!

~ Our new spice and jelly cabinet!

~ Setting aside Christmas presents with Mom!

~ Plotting ideas about presents I would like to give!

~ 30 days till Christmas!!!!

~ Singing Christmas carols with my sisters!

~ Counting down the days till we get our Christmas tree!

Hats for the Holidays! Day 22

Ive had this hat for about 9 years! The crease on the top is from being loved so much. Tis among my top 10 favorite hats Id say. Lots of memories in this hat. <3

Hats for the Holidays! Day 21

I love this hat. Its been with me through thick and thin. You can dress up with it! You can dress down with it! Its black so it goes with everything!  Tis my favorite hat!!!!

Beautiful Blessings - 11/22/15

(Yay!!! Im back at this! lol!)

~ Christmas cards to send out after Thanksgiving break!

~ Having a friend help me immensely with planning a Christmas show! Thank you thank you thank you Elijah!

~ Incredible friendships God has blessed me with!

~ Less than a week till we get our Christmas tree!

~ 32 days till Christmas!!!!!

Hats for the Holidays! Day 20

One of my oldest (in terms of owning it) hats! A simple versitaile white pillbox hat!

Perfect with a string of pearls! Or two...or three!!!

Hats for the Holidays! Day 19

A fur-trimmed hat with a sparkly broach! Tis a beautiful hat, and perfect for the holidays!

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and ironically, I havent been posting my Beautiful Blessings, although I will pick it up again soon. God has been using this month in a special way for me, so I will be sharing it with you withing a few days! And after I do that, I will probably resume my Beautiful Blessings! Though I must say, Im quite thankful for encouraging friends today. Well, encouraging friends, and encouraging friends. It goes both ways! :~)

Hats for the Holidays! Day 18

Completely random: the hat has nothing to do with what Im gonna say, but I needed a hat for today so voila! (Its pretty though! I havent worn it to work yet as they gave me it!) Anywho, "A Charlie Brown Christmas'' is such a sweet relaxing movie to watch! Ive got a migraine tonight, hence the "stock photo" so I curled up and watched that with Mom. Mmmm....

Patty: Try to catch snowflakes on your tongue. It's fun.

Linus: Mmm. Needs sugar.

Lucy: It's too early. I never eat December snowflakes. I always wait until January.

Linus: They sure look ripe to me.

Hats for the Holidays! Day 17

Yes, another brown hat! This was one my Mom had....and I think she may have worn it after her wedding when she changed out of her wedding dress to regular clothes. Tis a very nice hat! Ive always loved it <3 But then again, I love all my babies....er......hats ;~) Heehee!!

Even has a bow on the back! Makes me think of "Olivia and the Missing Toy" by Ian Falconer.

"Still it was Olivia's best toy. So she fixed it, adding a bow for extra beauty."