Flowers and Baseball...

Yes Friends, my life is consumed right now with...

 

Flowers...

 

 

Flowers... 

 

 

 ...and more Flowers!

 

 

And when I'm not watering, deadheading, potting, fertilizing or....

 

 

...talking to people about flowers....

 (this is what I do for a living, for those of you that didn't know ;-)
 

 

....I'm watching my favorite young man swing that bat...

 

 

...and pitch that ball! 

 

 

I'm itching to get into projects but I just can't squeeze them in right now - but SOON - very SOON - I'll be back!

 

Happy Planting Friends!

 

Saying Goodbye to Papaw...

Hello friends, sorry I've been gone for a while. 

 

Just a few days shy of my 42nd birthday I lost my beloved Papaw Jodi. 

He was 88 years old.

Yes, I know - that is a wonderfully long life.

But... I will miss him terribly.

 

 

I have been so blessed to have had all FOUR of my grandparents for this long.

Each of them so very instrumental in my life as well as my son's life.

He has been loved tremendously by his great-grandparents - what a gift to have known and loved them like he has.

 

 

 

Alzheimer's overcame my Papaw's mind and after nearly a month of no sleep - his body just gave out.

 

He was a fighter and he never lost his spirit.

 

I'm certain that many of you have been affected by this terrible disease and I understand the heartache, the emotional, financial and physical toll it takes.  I totally admire my grandmother and my parents for the unending love and support they showered my grandfather with. 

 

I just ask that we all continue to remember and pray for those who are suffering from this heart-wrenching, debilitating disease as well as their amazing caregivers. 

Oh, what incredible strength they must have to endure this journey.

 

I love you Papaw - and I'm so thankful for the 42 years I got to love you back. 

May your precious mind and body rest peacefully in the presence of God.

 

 

Icicle Mushrooms...

Anybody that knows me - knows that I LOVE snow! 

 

I always have - it is peaceful to me. 

 

So a couple of Saturdays ago - we got our first "sleigh-riding" snow -  much better than just a skiff of snow which is what we usually get around here - plus it was warm enough to go outside and enjoy it - because lately we have been in a brrrrrrr....DEEP FREEZE.

 

As I was out - I ventured down to our cave and this is what I found...

 

Icicle Mushrooms - that's the name I'm giving them. 

 

 

See, the cave is right in behind our home.  The picnic table stays down there because it is beautiful in the summer, the water always trickling, plus it stays a cool 58 degrees.  So when it is super hot during garden time, we break beans and shuck corn right there at the table. 

 

Heck, right now - 58 degrees sounds like a heat wave!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's just a hop, skip and a jump down the hill from the cabin.

 

 

As the ice had dripped from the top of the cave - these beautiful little glass-like mushrooms were rising up from the rocks.

 

 

 

A few were on the rock ledges just inside the cave.

 

 

 

 

 I just thought they were simply beautiful.

 

 

If it weren't for one of our barn quilts, the old barn would have been nearly invisible that day...   

 

 

The cabin sat quietly...

 

 

But even in the peaceful "quite" of the snow, we had to have a lil' fun too.

 

 

Happy memories made that day!

 

 

 

Stay Warm, Have Fun and enjoy Happy Winter Days!

 

 

Family First..then..A Lil' Fall

Happy Fall Friends - sorry to be so long checking in BUT...

you know - family has to come first.  About 3 weeks ago my sweet Mamaw, Cleo, had a heart attack.  She is still struggling to recover.  Sadly, my precious Papaw is lost without her and their normal routine.  I just don't know which is worse - physical or mental illness - it has been heartbreaking.  See, I'm 40 - and absolutely blessed beyond measure to still have all 4 of my incredible grandparents - I realize that is almost unheard of.  I knew the day would come when their health would start to fail them - but even though I've tried to prepare myself - it still isn't easy.   I'm gonna keep on hanging on to them and loving them as long as I can and pray for their peace of mind and healing each and every day.

 

This picture was taken mid-August.  Pretty fine looking couple for 87 and 82 - don't ya think.  They have been together 67 years.

 

In the very few days that I have been home lately - I did manage to do a lil' decorating for fall.  Y'all have seen me talk about my mantle in the kitchen - well it's a good place for some seasonal sprucing up.

 

 A lil' wheat tied with orange burlap ribbon...

 Some white stoneware, grapevine balls, leaves and some "baby boo" mini pumpkins...

 A fall "yo-yo" tea towel that was a gift from my sweet Mamaw - there is no tellin' how many of these she has made over the years...

 A "Fall" banner made out of some scrap drop cloth I had laying around...

 Still loving my burlap wreath from my dear friend, Linda...

 Some pillows on the bench, a long island cheese pumpkin and a simple "Give Thanks" sign to finish it off. 

I will be sharing an old cabinet redo with you next. 

 

During this change of season - I'm realizing just how much the lives of the people I love are changing.  Makes me just want to hold on to every second.

 

The Fireplace...

Hello friends - hope your new year is off to a fantastic start.  First, I want to say thank you to all of you who have had such nice things to say as I've shown you around some of our new home.  I'm finding out that getting this house all put together - is gonna take a long time - so I appreciate your forgiveness and oversight of the many things that are yet to be done.  There are curtains to be sewn, lots of furniture to be found, things to be painted - but that is all a part of the process - and I'm enjoying it more all of the time. 

But today, I thought I'd let you look in on the fireplace.  I must admit - I did not necessarily want a fireplace - I was afraid it would make things really dark in the den but after the mantle was given to us as a gift from Shaun's late father, I couldn't say no nor did I not want to incorporate such a neat piece of family history into our new farmhouse.

 You may recall me posting this picture nearly a year ago - showing you the condition of the mantle.  It had been stored overhead in the barn for nearly 50 years.  Shaun's dad had rescued it from his grandparents home before it had been tore down.  After some research - we figured out that it was 150+ years old and made of chestnut.  Chestnut trees were wiped out in our part of the country I believe back in the 40's due to a disease.  So with that being said - we knew we could not paint it.  I wanted to paint it white - but I was threatened - hehe - by many people, like my cabinet man, my dad and my hubby - that I just couldn't paint such a great piece.  I suppose I lost that battle - but that is o.k. - there are many reasons why it was so special just the way it was.

 Our "stone" guy, David, used the same stone that we used on the outside of the house around the fireplace.  It kind of ties the two together.

 Here is one of the few imperfections in the wood - we figure it is a water stain from being stored next to the roof in the barn.  After a lot of sanding  - it still wanted to stick around - so we just left it - it really doesn't bother us a bit - just adds more character.

 Here you can see the wide width of the boards on the base - the boards measure a foot wide.

 So there it is - a great gift from our beloved Poppa - whom we miss so much.  He would have so loved to have seen this in our new home.  

But each time we see it - we think of Glen and the many gifts he gave us.  What a great piece of family history to incorporate into our home.  Thanks Poppa.

Merry Christmas...

...from our home to yours...

Happy Thanksgiving...

Wishing you a beautiful, happy and blessed day

with your friends and family.

Heaven seems a lil' sweeter...

...now that our precious Poppa is there. 

My dear father-n-law passed away yesterday.  He was at home surrounded by all of us that loved him.  We've been looking  through many pictures today - all of them holding special memories - but none more special than the one above.  My son accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior on December 21, 2009 and my father-n-law, who was a Deacon, asked if he could baptize Casen.  Of course, we wanted him too.  At that time, Glen said,  "I have now seen both my children and all my grandchildren saved - if I left this world tomorrow - that would be o.k."  How lil' did we know that just a few days after Casen's baptism, Glen would be diagnosed with cancer.  He put up an incredible fight.  God did not choose to heal him on earth - but He sure has made him perfect in Heaven. 

We will so miss you Poppa - thank you for the example you set and for the love you shared.

I'm still here...

...I know it has been forever but I promise there is just reason for not being around much lately.  The house is still progressing - I had told y'all that I would let you all in on everything but boy oh boy - when things start happening - decisions have to be made in a jiffy, don't they?  So we are making decisions - left and right - and praying they are the right ones.  We recently got our garage doors installed - you know how little things happen when you are not at home to oversee everything - like when I ordered these doors without hardware but came home to nice "holes" in the doors.  So I suppose I better like the hardware.  Actually, I do like them, but plain would have been a lil' more in keeping with the house.  Oh well, a minor bump in the road.

 Porch railing is up - still have to place those decorative bands on the columns in the right place and they have yet to be painted but the porch is near finished none the less.

 My interior doors I dearly love - they remind me of the doors we have in our older home now - which is exactly what we wanted.  The trim is going up and I'll share pictures with you when the paint is on and you can see it.

 And of course, the dry wall is all finished and waiting for paint - yippeee - the fun part.

 But the main reason I've not been blogging is that every single spare minute we have - it is spent with my father-n-law.  Oh what a precious man he is - a good hearted, honest, gentle, life-loving, man of God.  I had mentioned to you all when we started building our home that he was battling cancer and what a fight he has put up.  He is now at home with hospice care and we are cherishing each moment we have with him.  We recently got to go to Florida with him which is where this picture was taken - sitting on the boat dock watching the boats come in with their daily catch. Fishing - absolutely one of the favorite things in his life. 

Remember our family as we all battle with our emotions.  And as difficult as this is  - we know God is good and He is in control and we trust in Him and his timing. 

May God bless you all and I wish you much happiness on this day.