Memorial Day

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife.
Who more than self their country loved
And mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness
And every gain divine!


from America the Beautiful
by Katharine Lee Bates

~~~~~~~~~~

Mark and I returned Saturday evening from a quick Anniversary trip. We enjoyed taking in a little Texas history. :) This pew is in the church that Sam Houston got saved in. That is his pew. There is so much to see in just that little area. I wish we would have had more time.

I hope in all your enjoying of today, that you take a moment to pause and remember those who have given their lives for our freedoms.

Five Years Ago...

I married the man of my dreams!


In our newly carpeted church...


Supported by wonderful friends and family...




with yummy food...


and laughter...


We are enjoying our happily ever after!


I love you, Mark!


(All photos are copyright)

Finished Object Friday

So what's a gal to do when she wants to add a little pizazz to her outfit? Why add a flower to her hair of course! :)

This was a very last minute project! Which was good, because I didn't want to be late for work! :) I started out with two of these flowers.

Ummm. Yes. That really needs help. The plasticy look has got to go!

Hmmm... much better!! :)

I just put the two bottom petal layers together with a truly vintage button from my grandmother's button stash I inherited! I think it turned out to be a fun way to add a little sparkle to the day!

So what have you been up to recently? I can't wait to see all of your projects! If you are new to FOF, click here to read the welcome post. Happy linking, everyone!! :)

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1. Wrong-Side-Out FOF 2. Come sit a spell on my cute chairs.

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Here's the Wind-up!

But no pitch... unless I start throwing yarn! :) Along with the spinning wheels, fiber and books I got several weeks ago, there were also a couple of these skein winders. I finally got them out to try today.

It was so fun and relaxing to wind a few balls of yarn. (I was trying to clear off some spools for one of the spinning wheels.)

It's a pretty knifty little tool! :) (Ok. I know you don't spell "nifty" with a "k"... but as a knitter, it just LOOKS right!) :)

The skeins even pull from the center!

Isn't this some cool looking yarn? It looks like it would make something really fun! :)

See you Friday for a fun (and quick) FOF! :)

Chari Tree Chat

Well... I didn't exactly plan another blogging break, but really the week flies by before I know it! :) I hope you all are doing well!

First off, I want to wish my Mom a Happy Birthday! (Belated for the blog, but I didn't forget in person!) :)

(picture from Mother's Day)
I made her a special dinner on Sunday, complete with Angel food cake for dessert - her favorite! I had 11 people total for dinner that day, and our air conditioner chose that time to go out! ugh. It kept getting warmer and warmer. Thankfully, it was just a small part, and Monday Mark got it fixed - he and my dad got their heads together and figured the thing out! :)

But before all that, on Saturday I went with my family to hear Mark's youngest two siblings, Lauren and Dustin, play in their piano recital! They did a great job! :)

Lauren and Angie have been the best of friends for years and Angie was so glad to get to go to Lauren's recital!

Angie's recital was a couple of weeks ago. She did a great job!

How do you like her cake? Look familiar? :)

In other news... my garden has really taken off!

I still am not sure what those mystery plants are. Cantaloupe maybe? I don't have any fruit on them yet. Oh, and I am just now figuring out how to harvest lettuce - guess it shouldn't be so tall, huh? But I do have a tomato that's just about ripe for the picking! That makes me very excited! :)

Y'all come back on Friday for Finished Object Friday! :)

Sunday Blessing

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
Mount of Thy redeeming love.

Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Here by Thy great help I’ve come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood;

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my yeilded heart to Thee.
Let me know Thee in Thy fullness;
Guide me by Thy mighty hand
Till, transformed in Thine own image
In Thy presence I shall stand.

Come, Thou Fount
by Robert Robinson
3rd stanza alt. 1931

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Aren't those blackberries pretty? They are growing wild around our yard! :) They were so juicy! I wanted to "share" them with you all! Have a great Sunday!

Finished Object Friday

I love chairs. (Whew. It feels good to get that confession over with!) :) No, really. I have several unique chairs. And I have a hard time passing up a unique chair - even if it is falling apart. (*ahem*) However, most of the chairs I do pick up are very stable and usable. Like this one: (An after picture - cause I want the pretty picture first...)

...which I picked up for a very reasonable price at our local Goodwill. (I'm not sure what is up with their furniture prices, but usually they are about what you would pay new. "Oh, look a cheapy bookcase - for $20! umm... isn't that what they are new in the store??) So anyway, I was happy to get this one for whatever price it was (I don't remember...) :)

Here it is how I bought it - plus just a little sanding.

I love it that the seat is a circle - unusual!

I started in painting - with minimal sanding as you can tell - and this is what happened:

very mottled. I was about to give up for the time being and go grab some primer. But I persevered!

I love it in my laundry room with my new apron hanging behind it!

So what have you been crafting recently? Maybe you have also been wielding a mean can of spray paint! I can't wait to see! :) Happy Friday, everyone!! (If you're new to FOF - check out this post for more info and instructions.)

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1. Ruffled Tote Bags 2. Scrappy doll blanket 3. FOF From The Pink Parsonage

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Thrifty Finds

This post is coming about a week later than I wanted. Last week was just too crazy! Between my friend's baby in the emergency room and me just not feeling good, I didn't get a lot of blogging done! :) Sometimes life's like that, huh? This week everyone is feeling better (baby is back to her normal, happy, inquisitive self) and I am going to enjoy some blogging time! :)

Week before last (you know, before all the craziness happened) was our favorite thrift sale! It seems like we always find the best treasures there and for such awesome prices!! Here is a sneak peek at some of our finds on this trip.

So many fun treasures! I can't wait to put them into use. Some of them have already had some tweaking! :) (But of course I'm making you wait...) :) What I really enjoyed finding this time was some very pretty linens... I LOVE this tablecloth. It is just a small square, but such pretty detail!

I got LOTS of napkins as well. These were with the napkins. They were labeled as tea napkins, but I think they might be hankies. Does anyone know the difference?

I love these glasses. I actually didn't find these - Angie and our friend Lorie went the next day and brought them home. I got to keep them! :) I think they are soo pretty - and I also love that stainless steel tray in the background.

This is probably my favorite find though. A vintage apron!

I may have paid 50 cents for it. I really don't remember. It did have a stain, but Hooray for Oxyclean! It's so pretty now. Isn't that chicken scratch embroidery?

I just love good deals, don't you? :) I am already excited to go to the fall sale!

Well, it's good to be back. I will try to get more recent events posted in the next couple of days. And don't forget, Finished Object Friday is coming up this week!

Sunday Blessing

Tell me the story of Jesus,
Write on my heart every word;
Tell me the story most precious,
Sweetest that ever was heard.
Tell how the angels in chorus,
Sang as they welcomed His birth,
“Glory to God in the highest!
Peace and good tidings to earth.”

Refrain:
Tell me the story of Jesus,
Write on my heart every word;
Tell me the story most precious,
Sweetest that ever was heard.

Fasting alone in the desert,
Tell of the days that are past,
How for our sins He was tempted,
Yet was triumphant at last.
Tell of the years of His labor,
Tell of the sorrow He bore;
He was despised and afflicted,
Homeless, rejected and poor.

Tell of the cross where they nailed Him,
Writhing in anguish and pain;
Tell of the grave where they laid Him,
Tell how He liveth again.
Love in that story so tender,
Clearer than ever I see;
Stay, let me weep while you whisper,
“Love paid the ransom for me.”

Tell Me the Story of Jesus
by Fanny J. Crosby

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I took this picture in my garden yesterday. When I was thinking about my Mother's Day post, I thought of how Mother's are like gardeners - growing healthy children - physically, emotionally and spiritually. I know that each mother reading this takes more pride in her children than I do in my garden! :) But how important it is to nurture children and train them to grow in the right direction.

I am so gratefully for my Mother who took time to train me and to lead me to Jesus at a young age. She still takes time to take care of me, even though I'm all grown. I'm so thankful for her and also for Mark's mom that raised him to be such a wonderful man! :)

I'm grateful for each of you readers. Those of you who are mothers, especially those of you who have had a long wait, like me, but are now enjoying the many joys of motherhood.

I'm also grateful for each of you who may be waiting for motherhood. Or maybe you are waiting for God to send you the right husband. Remember (and I have to remind myself of this as well.) God's timing is perfect and His ways are not our ways.

Blessings to each one of you! (Oh and also to the one or two guys that read my blog - Mark and Nate at least!) :)

Sunday Blessing

Love divine, all loves excelling,
joy of heaven, to earth come down;
fix in us thy humble dwelling;
all thy faithful mercies crown!
Jesus thou art all compassion,
pure, unbounded love thou art;
visit us with thy salvation;
enter every trembling heart.

Breathe, O breathe thy loving Spirit
into every troubled breast!
Let us all in thee inherit;
let us find that second rest.
Take away our bent to sinning;
Alpha and Omega be;
end of faith, as its beginning,
set our hearts at liberty.

Finish, then, thy new creation;
pure and spotless let us be.
Let us see thy great salvation
perfectly restored in thee;
changed from glory into glory,
till in heaven we take our place,
till we cast our crowns before thee,
lost in wonder, love, and praise.

from Love Divine, All Loves Excelling
by Charles Wesley