Happy Valentine's Day

I am so happy that these two met and fell in Love.

Meet my Grandparents. I adore this picture of them.
They were such a wonderful influence on my life.
After their passing I found an old love letter that my Grandpa had written to my Granny.
He was quite the romantic. They had the lasting kind of love. It was beautiful right up to the end. They gave me the hope that this kind of love exists.

I wish for you this Happy kind of Love.
Happy Valentine's Day.

New Tampa Residents

Baby it's Cold outside!

Happy New Year

May all your Rosey Dreams come true in 2010!

God Bless.

My Christmas Angel's Song

Many of you know that on Feb. 14th of this year I lost my sweet Sister-in-law, Cindi. As I pleaded for prayers for her recovery you all sent up the sweetest harmony of prayers that any blogger could hope for. God had other plans and welcomed her into Heaven where I am sure that she is singing in the most amazing choir this year for Christmas.

I learned so many things from her in the short time that I was blessed to know her. I learned what joy looked like. I called her my Joy Bubble because she was infectious with it and it would rub off on those around her. I learned from her the difference of just being a Christian and being a Christian that is crazy in love with their Savior. She loved her Jesus. Perhaps it flowed from a heart that was so grateful for His forgiving grace for it was something that she clung to with all she had and to her it was a truly, "Amazing Grace," so sweet the sound that when she sang it you knew that she totally understood what that Grace was all about and the price that was paid to receive it.

You couldn't call her a saint. Like most of us there were things in her past that she cried over and wished weren't so. Perhaps that is why when she sang the song Alabaster Box,taking her long dark hair she would act as though she was truly wiping the feet of Jesus with her tears that would be rolling down her cheeks. The congregation would feel her spirit worship the Lord and join in to do the same. You always knew that Cindi wasn't singing to perform but she was truly singing to her Jesus.

I am writing this today because of the most important thing that Cindi's life taught me and that is the need for people to reconcile quickly with each other. Cindi was making plans to see her girls for her birthday which was only a month away from her death. Their relationship had the scars of divorce on it and she would cry to me as she told how much she loved them and was saddened by the past. I pray that they know how much she loved them. She was very proud of them I can assure you that. But what child having lost a parent doesn't just long for one more sweet word ?

Cindi had made a CD a few years ago. I remember the day I got it and the hours I spent listening to her beautiful voice. What you don't know about Cindi is that I would often call her and ask to hear whatever song she was working on for church. She always sang to me and we would have our own little worship service on the phone. She would sing and we would talk for hours about the Lord.

My brother and I listened to that CD as we prepared for her service and he made copies for those who were there. Somehow her daughter Sarah didn't get a copy. As I checked on Sarah over the next few weeks after her mother's passing and she told me that she didn't get a copy I told her I would send her my extra one, but when tearing up the house produced no extra copy, I knew that I would have to part with my original even if I didn't ever find the other one. Her girl needed her momma's voice. Well, that was March and just the other day I found the missing copy. At this point you must think I live in a pig pen but I had stuck it on my cookbook rack and I shouted out a hallelujah to the Lord for the found gift. My sweet Cindi's voice filled my Christmas clad kitchen and goosebumps covered my body as I listened to her sing. It was as though she was there singing to me my favorite Christmas song as she had over the phone lines only this time I felt an urgency to share this story and this song. I hope that you will enjoy our Christmas Angel's Song. The song is called The Angel Song by Chris Eaton and Cindi is singing it. Just click on The Angel Song. And I hope that this year you will give the gift of reconciliation to someone. Don't wait, please don't wait. We just don't know how quickly a life can be gone. Whether it is someone we know or our very own life. But just one more thing before I go. Reconciliation can also be something that you do between yourself and your God. Don't wait on that account either. Today may you experience the peace that comes from those decisions. May you understand the meaning of the Christ Child born to you today. By all means share this message and song if you would like. And a Very Merry Christmas to you, with all my heart!

Oh Christmas Tree...part 2

As promised here is my favorite of all the trees, this amazing Upsidedown Tree.

I don't know how and I don't know what year it will be but the Shabby Old House will definately one day have one of these.

And you all will be the first to know.

Oh Christmas Tree Oh Christmas Tree...this one's for you mom

There are white trees.....
Teenager trees......

Coastal trees......

Midas touched trees....

and Flocked trees.....

Sorry to be away so long from blogging. My mother-in-law send out an e-mail and told me to get back to my blog as she missed reading it. So this one is for you, mom.

I hope you enjoy some of the pretty trees I have discovered this year.

Oh...I forgot to upload my favorite one. You're going to love it.

I'll Be back tomorrow.

White Wednesday at Ivy's Porch

This is Ivy's Porch in Scott's Valley CA. It was a nice little surprise that my hubby darling love of my life treated me to. When I flew out to join him in CA for a business trip that he was on, I knew that our little mini vacation would have us visiting San Francisco and then on to Yosemite but I never dreamed that he would take the magazine that I brought to read on the plane ride, Romantic Homes, and map out a day of visiting as many Romantic shops that our days would allow.
Now they say, whoever they are, that the perfect vacation a couple can have is when you allow each person to do what they really want. I knew that he wanted to go to Yosemite and I wanted to see the Painted Ladies in San Francisco so this side trip was a beautiful gift to me.


So do you want to see Romantic Shop # 1?

And as you can see even the table says we are in for some "White." Perfect for a White Wednesday posting, don't you think?

White eye candy here and

White eye candy there.

How about a little slice of White?

And if you can't get enough White inside then lets go outside,

around White fountains and through white arbors until a little White cherub blesses you.

with an exlposion of beautiful pink roses climbing up White trellises.

Leaving you with one perfectly, White, beautiful quote.

I do thank God for this wonderful trip and most importantly for a wonderful hubby that shows me he loves me in so many colorful ways.

Longing for more? Then go on over to Kathleen's blog, www.fadedcharmcottage.blogspot.com and visit all the other lover's of White.

I am in Awe...

I am in awe
that the God

who made all this....

made me.

Why me?

Have you ever considered this?

He wanted you here!

And every day you get,

Is a gift just waiting to be unwrapped.So enjoy it. Live it to it's fullest.

And share a little of it's precious moments with those you meet along the way.

(These pictures were taken from our trip to CA.)

My Brother's Table for Tablescape Thursday

Stepping inside of Ivy's Porch in Scotts Valley CA I found some darling ideas for a Halloween Table. I like cute things for Halloween myself. I don't need Scary! Having a big brother who terrorized me as a child, I grew up with arms coming from under my bed almost on a weekly basis. He thrilled in telling us to get something from the basement and then would lock the door and turn out the lights and growl. I remember one Halloween as we walked next door to our neighbors house to Trick or Treat he screamed and yelled and told us to run quickly home. My poor little sister who was dressed as a ghost started to run and scream and cry and her eye holes slipped and she ran right in to a telephone pole and knocked herself out. . So I like safe and cute! I grew up on SCARY! He had a name and a face! But my guess is, that if my Brother had a tablescape he would have it decorated just like this one.

And as I settled down to sleep in his guest room, that arm would come up from under the bed!!

Oh great....I hope I don't have nightmares now!

And if you are reading this Brother dear, don't get any ideas. I learned to sleep with one eye open!

For more ideas on fall tablescapes join in today with Susan our host, from http://www.betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

The White Mission

We are on a mission. With fall offerings of cooler weather it is the perfect time to paint our Shabby Old House. We are in a rush to submit our paint chips to the Historical Society for their stamp of approval and get moving on this big task at hand. You can only imagine how excited I was to learn that I could go along with hubby on a business trip to California and that we were going to San Francisco, known for her beautiful Painted Ladies.

Now don't get me wrong, especially since it is White Wednesday here in blogland. I love white houses. Crisp, clean, freshly painted they glow from the street with pride but our old lady is anything but fresh and clean. She looks like she is in need of a good bleaching and keeping her white on a busy street with the road dust that is tossed on her daily makes it impossible.

So off we went on our little vacation with a mission to find just the right color and what we would find for color choices caused my poor camera to smoke. I was snapping pictures right and left in every town that we drove through. I have never seen so many beautiful old houses.

I went through 2 packs of batteries and will never make the mistake again by leaving my battery charger at home.

Hubby was blessed with wonderful Grandparents that took him on a great vacation as a boy and he wanted to take me to one of the places that he had been. We went to Petaluma California and what a treat that was. So many beautiful homes and so many color choices.

This was one of my favorites and quite possibly the color we will use for our Shabby old house.

I was charmed by the white picket fence and the white roses that welcomed you at first glance.

But the color, wow, I fell in love with all of the color that made every detail of this home pop.

I do believe we have a color!

I can't wait to see just what this color will do for the stain glass that is above our door.

It is a good thing that I love to paint. I hope that I will be saying this when it is all finished.

And as far as this being a White Wednesday post, I think that you will find enough white in these pictures with the roses and the fence and the posts to satisfy, but in case you don't I will be posting more whites on my Lace and Lures blog later in the day and if that still isn't enough then take your day and cruise around all the other White Wednesday participants with our wonderful host Kathleen of www.Fadedcharm.blogspot.com

Enjoy your day!