Family Fun

Last Saturday we spent the morning at Annie's Playground.  The whole bunch of us ~ the group up above plus Bill, his Dad and me.

I'm so blessed to have my children and grandchildren so close by.

Thanking God we’re a family!

We love because He first loved us.

 I JOHN 4:19 NIV

Remembering With Gratitude

Have A Joy-filled

Memorial Day!

Freedom Is Not Free

Kelly Strong

I watched the flag pass by one day.

It fluttered in the breeze.

A young Marine saluted it,

and then he stood at ease.

I looked at him in uniform

So young, so tall, so proud,

He'd stand out in any crowd.

I thought how many men like him

Had fallen through the years.

How many died on foreign soil?

How many mothers' tears?

How many pilots' planes shot down?

How many died at sea?

How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?

No, freedom isn't free.

I heard the sound of TAPS one night,

When everything was still

I listened to the bugler play

And felt a sudden chill.

I wondered just how many times

That TAPS had meant "Amen,"

When a flag had draped a coffin

Of a brother or a friend.

I thought of all the children,

Of the mothers and the wives,

Of fathers, sons and husbands

With interrupted lives.

I thought about a graveyard

At the bottom of the sea

Of unmarked graves in Arlington.

No, freedom isn't free.

The Winner Is....

...Pam Traskos of Hummingbirds & Lace!!

Congratulations Pam! 

It's about Time!

Today I graduated from Physical Therapy!  I began therapy on March 14th ~ five days after my knee replacement surgery.  I've gone three times a week since then and today was the very last day!  Therapy should have ended about a month ago but I developed a problem with one of my hips while doing the knee therapy....go figure!  But now everything seems to be working pretty well.  Stairs are still a little difficult and kneeling on both knees probably isn't ever going to happen again.....but I can walk without pain and I can dig and plant and rake and mulch and water ~ and that is exactly what I did today.  It was great fun and I feel wonderful!  Here's a peek at where I had all that fun.

This is our backyard.  Our home sits on a corner lot and the garage is behind the house. I took the first photo with my back to the back of the house.  When we bought the house (over 20 years ago) it came with an in ground swimming pool and a fence down the middle of the backyard. I'm standing on the pool side of the yard ~ you can see a teeny bit of it way over on the left side of the photo.  That's all you'll be seeing right now because the ugly black cover doesn't come off until next Tuesday!  I was standing in front of the raised bed in the second photo when I took the first one.  If you could peek through that window you'd see my craft room. The newest addition to that bed is the "Apple Mint" ~ it's right in front of the star- shaped birdhouse. My friend Tisha gave it to me ~ thank you Tisha!

I do not have a green thumb and unfortunately we don't have a lot of time for yard work. This year we've decided to really make the yard a priority.  Our ultimate goal is to do away with the (numerous) areas of just plain old dirt. Growing grass has been a real challenge....not as much on the pool side of the yard (although we did manage to kill a big patch of it as evidenced by the photo), but to the right of the fence there are two very large oak trees and their roots and the shade have made it tough to get a lawn established.  But we have a plan and it's written down on a list!  It involves landscape timbers, mulch, stepping stones and hopefully some bricks. Bill and I are having a difference of opinion about the bricks.  But I'm pretty sure he'll see it my way!  : )

So today, with the help of my new bionic knee, I did a bunch of clean up & weeding, a bit of planting and a little dreaming......and you know, dreams DO come true!  Stay tune for more backyard posts.  Oh yes, while I was out in the yard working, every time there was a breeze I smelled this.......

.....sweet, sweet Honeysuckle!!  I love this bush.....but it's about due for it's yearly trim.

Better add that to the list!

It's Peter Pan and Cousins!

Last Saturday we celebrated Charlotte's 3rd birthday

with a Peter Pan theme party.

This little girl had a wonderful time!! 

Her cousins had fun too ~ actually we all had a blast!

Please visit Katie's blog to see the awesome birthday post ~ which includes photos of Pixie Hollow, Pirate Ships and Pirates Gold, a beautiful garden, a better look at Charlotte's Peter Pan costume, and a whole lot of happy people!

Inspiration

Sometimes I'll sit at my desk in my craft room to find some. There are various supplies and treasures stashed everywhere. I gaze around, pick things up and put things down....waiting. Then an idea will just pop into my head. I love when "a little bit of something" inspires the creative part of my brain.
I like being inspired by "a need" ~ I need something to put all these little things in....so I decorate a box. It's fun to go through magazines, marking pages of things that catch my eye. Things that inspire me to try something new or use something in a new way. In much the same way I love visiting blogs for inspiration. There are so many creative people in blog land....I find myself on inspiration overload a lot!

One of my recent goals is to use up things I already have ~ so I really enjoy some inspiration that involves "shopping" in my craft room for the necessary supplies. Recently I was going through the archives on Becky Shandler's blog and this caught my eye.

May Magazines

I'm really excited because I have these old coin purses in my craft room!! I also have plenty of treasures to embellish them with. So I have the inspiration, I have the supplies and hopefully I'll even have the time. I'll let you know how it comes out!

Thyme to Weed

This little spot in the garden caught my eye the other day.  I'd like the Thyme to take over an area that's about 9 square feet in size...and slowly but surely it is.  It actually covers a good amount of ground right now.  But in this little spot the Thyme has some competition.  See the broadleaf weed in the upper left corner?  It's gotta go.  Then there's that mighty Oak growing from a (one of millions) tiny acorn.  It needs to go too!  Last but not least is the clover-looking plant weed.  I'm not sure...is that Oxalis?  I kind of like it.  It has a nice shape and it's green!  I'm not sure if I'm going to pull that or not.....do you pull it out of your garden?

Collages

I picked up a three pack of art canvases at the Dollar Tree recently ~ here's a look at what I did with two of them.  "Drama Queen" has a page from a French play as the background.  I won it (along with lots of other great ephemera) in a giveaway from Liz at Lululiz in Lalaland .  The design in the upper left corner is a rub-on...I think it was a perfect fit for that space.  Some vintage lace, a stamp, some buttons and a paper fan add some dimension to this piece.  The image of the young girl  is so pretty ~ I'm sure I found it somewhere on the Internet.  Wish I could remember where.

"Fly" is my favorite piece of the two.  I've discovered that I love working with cheesecloth ~ it adds such great texture!  I collect "fat birds" and the bird in this image definitely qualifies ~ I think it's so cute!  The piece of fabric with the word fly on it is a bit of very old, very fragile blanket binding.  I use it sparingly and I only have about 12 inches left.  I added a "flower" made from lace, some old buttons and a vintage pin.

I'm finding these collages to be a bit addictive!! 

Linking to Vintage Inspiration Friday at Debra's Common Ground.

So much inspiration ~ So little time!

Pretty Penelope

"He fills my life with good things."

Psalm 103:5



Penelope at the Mother/Daughter Banquet ~ May 2011



Blog Goodness

Cap Creations has been a "Blog I Love to Visit" for a long time.  I've found so many great gift ideas including this wonderful "printable" called Grandma's Birdies.  This "printable" is actually available in Nana and Grandma with up to 6 cute birdies!!

There are a lot of great ideas and beautiful photos on this blog and a whole bunch of inspirational  stories too.  Visit Cap Creations when you get a chance!

Words To Live By

A sign in my garden.

Charlotte & Kevin

Today we have TWO birthdays to celebrate.

Happy 3rd Birthday to Charlotte.

She's having a Peter Pan themed birthday party next weekend ~ I'll be sure to share photos of that!

She sure is growing up quickly! Time is flying by!!

Love this sweet birthday girl!!

Happy Birthday to my oldest son Kevin too!

He's such a good sport about sharing his birthday!

On Sunday we'll be heading over to his house to help out with some landscaping....our birthday gift to Kevin and Jacqi.  We're providing some plants and some labor....it's going to be fun!





Kevin, Jacqi & Penelope

 

Giveaway

Giveaway has ended and the winner will be announced Sunday evening (5/29).

Because of the recent blogger issues my original giveaway post (along with about 20 comments) disappeared. 

So.....I'm going to give it another try. 

Please comment again.

See below for details.

"What is the Cottage Charm Giveaway?: This is a multi-blog, month long event that began on Saturday, May 1st.  Bloggers host giveaways on their blogs and they're giving away items they feel exhibit "Cottage Charm". Anyone can join at any point in May before the 29th. On May 29th, all participating bloggers will announce their winners and post it to their blogs. An ongoing list of ALL the giveaways and participating bloggers is maintained at Twice Remembered during the entire month of May.

To help celebrate all the the birthdays my family has in May (not to mention Mother's Day & Memorial Day) I thought I would join in this Giveaway.  I just love a good reason to give a gift!

So, without further ado, here's some pictures of my giveaway prizes.

You'll receive a handmade by me journal, some "pearls of wisdom" and a pretty crocheted bookmark plus a few other surprises too!  All you have to do is comment on this post for a chance to win.  If you're a follower (current or new) you'll get a second chance.

All the blogs participating will announce their winners on May 29th.

Remember to visit The Twice Remembered Cottage for the complete list of bloggers participating the the Cottage Charm Giveaway!

What Happened to my Giveaway!!!???

It Disappeared!!

Well, with all the blogger problems going on the past couple days my giveaway post has disappeared along with the comments of those who entered it!!!

Oh no!!  I can't believe it!

I'll be posting it again later today and I'll be contacting new followers who I know entered the giveaway.  Unfortunately I don't remember everyone who entered.

I did read on Blogger Buzz that they are still working on restoring posts, etc.....maybe my Giveaway post will return after all.  We shall see.....

At The Picket Fence: A Blogger Baby Shower for Tuscaloosa!

I was reading this post on Debra's blog ~ Common Ground ~ and I thought how perfect it would be to share it on my blog.  My first post today is about my son Ronny's birthday - he would have been 36 years old today.

What a blessing, for me, to be able to particpate in this special baby shower....in memory of him!

Here's a bit of explanation from At The Picket Fence:

"If you've been asking yourself, "What can I do? I live so far away. I can't travel down there to offer assistance. I don't know anyone to offer help to." Here's your chance! We want to invite you to participate in our Blogger Baby Shower. Here's what we need you to do!

Visit the Baby Registry that has been set up on Amazon.com – we have registered for diapers, formula, onesies, etc. Just click on the link above, the image below or the name is registered as “Tuscaloosa Tornado”."

How awesome is this!  There's so much more information about this Baby Shower At The Picket Fence.  Make sure you click on the link below the image for more info....you'll also find the active link to the Amazon Baby Registry mentioned in the info quoted above.  It's a wonderful, wonderful thing to help others and this is a really great....really easy way that we can all lend a hand!

At The Picket Fence: A Blogger Baby Shower for Tuscaloosa!

My First Born

Ronald Vincent Raymond

Born May 10, 1975

Died September 15, 1975

Happy Birthday to Ronny.....he would have been 36 years old today.

He died when he was 4 months and five days old.

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)

SIDS is the sudden, unexplained death of an infant younger than one year old.  Most SIDS deaths happen when babies are between 2 months and 4 months of age.  It is the leading cause of death in children between one month and one year of age. 

However, the number of deaths due to SIDS has decreased dramatically since 1975.

The Back to Sleep campaign was started in the early 1990's to emphasize the message that infants should be placed on their back to sleep. Since parents and caregivers began following this recommendation, the number of SIDS deaths has decreased by over 50 percent.

Four or five years after Ronny died Bill bought a gold charm for me.  It was part of a special fundraiser for (what was then) a local chapter of the National Foundation of Sudden Infant Death.  

The charm is called the "SIDS Tree".

The SIDS Tree is now used as the logo for a non-profit in Illinois.

"The tree depicted with a single leaf fallen to the ground has symbolized Sudden Infant Death Services of Illinois since its inception. The fallen leaf is a symbol of the infant who has died. That leaf, which would have eventually developed into an entire branch of our family tree has died and fallen away.

The promise of that life will never be realized, yet, this tree is also a hopeful symbol of life. Despite the loss of this leaf, the tree continues to grow and flourish. Over time, new leaves are added, some others may have fallen off. The cycle of life continues and there is hope...."

This charm is so precious to me. As it turned out, after Ronny died (the leaf that fell) I had four more children (the leaves still on the tree). How perfect. It's such a sweet remembrance.

Today is Jacqi's Birthday.



My daughter-in-law ~ Jacqi



I hope you have an extra-special day!!

Jacqi, my son, Kevin and sweet Penelope

Happy Mother's Day to You!

Flickr

Happy Mother's Day to my Mom.

I love you!!



Hoping for Blooms

"Where flowers bloom so does hope."

Lady Bird Johnson

Scrap For Joy

I received a box of treasures from Joyce at Scrap for Joy a few weeks ago.  It was her special way of saying "get well" to me.  The wrapped packages were enough to brighten my day!  Then when I looked inside....oh my goodness!!  Treasures galore!  All kinds of scrap booking goodies and a wonderful original sketch by Michelle Palmer.  Isn't it the sweetest little bunny you ever saw?!

Joyce also included this AMAZING Somerset Studio publication....GreenCraft.  It's full of really wonderful ideas for repurposed, upcycled, trash to treasures kind of projects.  I took photos of some of my favorites.

Brown Paper Bag Ruffles ~ I LOVE these!!

A "paper" chain made out of old quilt pieces.  How pretty is this!

A very clever gift box made out of a ribbon spool....oh, how many of these I've thrown away!

Measuring tape bracelets.....so pretty and so clever too!

Joyce also made the cutest little card for me.  Fully "RE-COVERED"!  Get it!!

Joyce makes some of the most awesome cards and she's an awesome friend too ~ thanks so much for all the wonderful things that blessed my heart in a very special way!

Joyce has been having some of her own medical issues lately...she hasn't posted on her blog for a few weeks.  I'm hoping and praying that's she'll be "re-covered" soon too!
Get well my friend!!