Decorating Hints & Saying I love YOU daily...

I love to find ways to tell my husband that I love him. Some have been sweet, I love you on the bathroom mirror and some have been quirky.... He gets onto me for not replacing the toilet paper, I write I love him on the finished roll so that when he throws it away, he knows how much I appreciate him. But, for a chance to say I love You and have it permanent, use scrabble tiles. I made this little shelf from a Hobby Lobby shelf, paint and scrapbook paper. It is in our bathroom between our two mirrors. I surprised my husband one morning by placing the scrabble tile piece in front of the cross. In turn he surprised me with a little love note that sits there until this day. We may have been married for 25+ years, but we still realize the importance of letting each other know that we love them!

Advice for the day.... Don't worry about what others think about having your love notes out for each other. Daily working on YOUR marriage is much more important!

P.S. These little love notes can be made for your children also!

Happy Valentines Day!

A simple way to Welcome.....

A simple rock with the word WELCOME on it.

This is such a simple idea to welcome people into your garden or home.

There is a wonderful story that comes with this rock (As many of you know I love ROCKS).

I gave my sister a surprise birthday party years ago and invited all of her friends into my home. We all had the best time and I had a great time getting to know people that I didn't know. One of the ladies attending the party I truly fell in love with. You could see kindness and love written all over her heart. As she left, she placed a note on my counter. It thanked me for hosting the party and then gave me directions to go to my garden and look around. She had placed this rock within my flowers as a gift. What I love the most about this rock is that we can show our appreciation and love to others without spending a lot of money. It is all about the thought and time that we put into the gift. This has been one of the sweetest gifts that I have ever received. I think of her and generosity each time I look at it.

Hill of Calvary Tutorial and Mustard Seeds

This grass garden features the hill where Jesus was hung on the cross and a small tomb where he was buried and rose again. It makes a very symbolic centerpiece for your Easter table and it an incredible teaching tool for your little sprout.

http://mustardseeds.typepad.com/my_weblog/2010/03/tutorial-hill-of-calvary.html

I have recently found the blog Mustard Seeds and to say the least.... I would HIGHLY recommend any mother or grandmother to add this to their list of daily blogs. I am amazed constantly of her teachings of the Lord to her children. Creativity and love is written all over her heart as she uses simple ways of showing her children the ways of the Bible.

Just playing around with ART....

Tired of Halloween crafts

and

JUST PLAYING AROUND

This piece is made layering different types of paper onto a canvas board painted red.

You really have to look hard to see the different layers.

Whit's Love Story ..... Part II

PART II

As you could probably tell, I'm engaged now! :) And by engaged, I mean I am officially ecstatic in the fact that the most wonderful man in my life (outside of my dad) has made a commitment with me to continue the next 8 months in full-throttle preparation for sharing our lives together forever. I'm not going to lie, we have everything prepared for the wedding... our venue, DJ, photographer - we've chosen what he and his groomsmen are going to wear and my bridesmaids' attire also... oh yea, and I bought my dress last Friday. We like being untraditional and well, him proposing to me AFTER we have made most of the plans only adds to that characteristic of us both.
---> You're probably thinking - this crazy girl! But when ya know, ya know. He asked my dad about 6 weeks ago if he could marry me (my dad thinks he's awesome!) and well, we've pretty much been planning since then. Most people have 1 to 2 years to plan their weddings... but we wanted to get married in May so that we could make it to my brother's wedding in June and then leave to go overseas on missions work in July. So we had to get the ball rolling... Anyways, with knowing that he was going to propose, you would think I would be expecting it - that it wouldn't be a surprise...
So far from it. He blew me away! ...and my 200 sorority sisters that were there to be a part of the experience.
*Disclaimer: Before I begin into this beautiful fairytale-type love story, I need to explain a few parts of the process of a sorority "candlelight" before I begin the story so.... A candlelight is a special ceremony for a sister that has been engaged. Normally only the president and the girl who is engaged know about the specifics of it - who it is, when the candlelight will be held, etc. We all stand in a circle and sing a ritual song. During the song, we pass around a bouquet with a lit candle in the middle of it that the engaged girl picked out from a florist before the ceremony. The bouquet is passed around the circle 3 times. On the third time, the girl who is engaged blows out the candle and then we all gather around and listen to the story of how her new fiancee proposed.
BUT my candlelight story was quite different. I thought it would be really cool to pull in both of our stories instead of just mine. I will write mine in the next post and then he'll have a post of his own - exclusively from JD - on the next post! It'll be fun! I hope you enjoy our story and our adventures as much as we do!

The Promise of Love...Whit's Love Story Part I

Dear Friends,

With Whit's permission, I wanted to share my daughter's love story with everyone. It is a story of remaining faithful to God and HIS faithfulness to us! When she was in the eighth grade, she had a teacher do a Bible Study on seeking God's desire for her husband. She was given a heart with the word God in the center. Next she was given a little bigger heart. She placed the God heart in the middle and then around that heart she wrote what she desired to be as a wife. (I had taught Whit about the Proverbs 31 Woman for years, so for her this was easy) She was then given a larger heart. She place the two hearts that she had finished in the middle of this heart. On the outside of this heart she wrote what she desired in a husband! She has prayed over this heart for years... At times sobbing asking where the good guys were. Well, as you can tell God was true to HIS promise! He provided her HEART in JD! Here is the first part of her story after meeting JD!

Hello beautiful world of bloggers!
I am dreadfully sorry that I haven't written in the past few months... but I kind of wanted to wait until a special event happened. As you may remember in May, I had a special cooking night with my manager Sarah in preparation for a "date night" with a special guy in my life. The guy that I called five of my closest friends after seeing him for the first time and said, "OMG. I just saw the most attractive guy I've ever seen in my life...." So I hooked him, reeled him in, and four months later, we're engaged.
---> WAIT. STOP THERE! How did this happen so quickly, you ask?
Well, we decided that if we were to date, that would be it. So we prayed intensely about it (I mean, I've been praying nine years for this man) and decided - ok, we'll meet each other's closest friends and family members and if we love them, we're definitely getting married.
---> So what's the hurry? Is it just because you're graduating in May and want to have security?
Oh, my friends... far from it! JD actually wasn't even sure if he wanted to date me in the first place. You see, he had made this commitment to God that he would go to Mobile, Ala., for the summer (2 months) to do inner-city missions work and then dedicate two years after he graduated (also in May) to missions work. He was undecided if it would be overseas or in America. ...And then he met me. :) He told me he wasn't sure if he wanted to date me because he knew he wouldn't be able to dedicate a lot of his time to me (because he would be in Mobile the entire summer), that he desired to pursue my heart with a steadfast fervency, but knew he couldn't over the summer. So we decided, ok - we'll just see how it goes over the summer, we probably won't talk every night but we'll evaluate how things are going in August and take it from there. I wrote him letters of encouragement every week and his pursuit of my heart was still relentless, even if he was in Mobile. Needless to say, he called every night, drove to our 4th of July party to meet my family (about a 10 hr drive altogether so I met him half-way), and we fell in love real quick. It was that weekend that he told me, "Whitney, I'm going overseas for two years when I graduate but I want you to be by my side and go with me." The weekend before his last week in Mobile, he drove down to St. George Island just to spend ONE day with me (also a 5 hr drive on the way there, 5 hrs back... but this one he drove solo). That was the day of our first kiss. It was beautiful and romantic. We pretty much decided that weekend, ok... we're getting married. I wouldn't rather spend the rest of my life with any other person than this man who rocked my world from the moment I saw him, to each 5-hr conversation we had in the coffee house, to every time he makes me laugh and smile - just by thinking about him. I have never had a man in my life that has pursued my heart in such a pure and fervent way. It's more than I could've asked for...

The Proposal on YOU TUBE....

Please read this and call someone....

Grandma Moon at her 85th Birthday Party (She is now 92) at our old house!
This is my family, my sister's family and my mother and father.Grandma Moon

This has been one of the hardest weeks for me in a very long time....
Monday or Tuesday is my treatment (It really doesn't matter, I am too tired to go anywhere and my nurse comes here) and I lost my calendar.
This post is really not to complain about being so tired,
but to tell you about my week and why I am so exhausted....
We just had to put my grandmother, who is a great, great grandmother, into a nursing home. She is 92 years young and in great shape and mental mind~ The problem... She broke her foot and she needs therapy! It is amazing how a nursing home can not only age the person going into it, but the person's family members.
No, Grandma Moon did not want to go in.
No, she is not happy there.
And No, SHE says SHE IS NOT GOING TO STAY!
This week for the first time in my life (I will be 49 years young this year) I raised my voice to my grandmother and told her to behave! It killed me and just remembering that afternoon emotionally drains me!
What I NEED TO TELL each and every one of you right now~
allow NOTHING to come in between you and your loved ones!
At the age of 30, when I was taken to my knees with death at my front door, I learned how to value each and every day. You surround yourself with the ones you love, with positive words and feelings and you allow your days to go GREAT no matter what!

That is what FREE CHOICE is ~

And that is what GOD gives us,

The gift of FREE CHOICE!
Basically this is the way that I explained it to Grandmother...

.
#1 ~ Each morning when I get out of bed, not matter how I feel, I choose to feel GREAT! I wake up Praising God for another day in this world with a smile on my face with the ones that I love.
#2 ~ I choose to ignore the people who want to bring me into their conflict or bring me down.

If I have to I don't go around them. And that includes family members.
#3 ~ I choose to always go out of my way to say thank you to everyone for everything. If others considers that "sucking up" well, that is their problem not mine.
#4 ~ I choose to love all people because that is what God tells me to do. Now, I can ignore them if they want to cause conflict and such but I still can love them. If they choose to change and be happy, I am there waiting.
#5 ~ I choose to use my time wisely, helping others.
#6 ~ I choose to do the right things, never hurting others or doing it on the back of others. Sometimes doing the right thing even means hurting me, but that is the example I have to set for my child.
#7 ~ I choose to always, ALWAYS tell the people that I love that I REALLY DO LOVE them and show them in the process! You never know what the next moment might bring and I might not be here to tell them and I sure do want them to know!
#8 ~ I choose not to drink because my grandfather (who everyone said was an incredibly, awesome, talented man) chose to drink, make bad decisions for his family, left my grandmother and family because of it and worse of all~ he died from it........ I never was able to get to know him and I sometimes wonder if that is where I get some of my ability to work with my hands so well.
I threw #8 in for some reason..... I guess because he is so much still a part of us and that was 47 years ago.

Here is a picture of a Bulletin Board I made for her

room hoping that it would make her feel better:

Here is also a short story that I wrote about her.
*When I was younger, I loved going to Grandma's house to stay. I would pick daffodils by the armfuls, run into the house and eagerly give these to her as though she had never received any before. Sunday lunch was on the table, ready for anyone that would enter the door. If we were lucky, my uncle would have raided the closest blackberry field for fresh blackberries and we would be treated to one of her yummy blackberry pies. Sunday afternoons would find us on the porch in rocking chairs until I would be bored stiff. More than likely, I would then choose to climb the highest of pecan trees only to get stuck and have to find my own way down (even if that meant breaking a bone). Sometimes we were lucky to play ball with our uncles, although they would usually loose our precious softballs in the nearby woods! Summers~ Oh the hot summers complete with watermelons and grandma's fresh homemade churned ice-cream! Grandma gave me so much~ the love of gardening, the excitement of summers, and the shoulder to cry on that many times I didn't deserve. At times she was the one that I ran to when I was upset or just needed to be hugged and comforted. She never really sided with me, but she never sided against me. She was just there to listen, to comfort~ I loved her for that! *Now that I am a grown woman, I admire my Grandma in so many different ways. I see a woman that stood where so many other women fell. I learn more about her everyday. I see a woman who raised four children by herself. I see a woman who made a path for other women in her day. I see a woman who took care of others and now others are taking care of her. I see a woman that is so loved even though she constantly speaks her mind. I see a woman of strength, of heart, of determination!

I see a woman that I dearly love with all my heart~

My Grandma!

Call someone now and tell them

You Love and Appreciate Them!

It will make Them feel good and Yourself!

If you have a few minutes and an extra card to send to her~

Just tell her that you are a friend from blogland!

Thank you so very much

Marion Moon

Park Place Nursing Facility

1865 Bold Springs Road

Monroe, Georgia 30655

4X4 Gallery Profile Canvas from Dick Blick...

I love working on 4 X 4 Blick Premier Gallery Profile Canvas.

You can easily work on three projects at a time applying

your colors and glues on each one while the other dries.

They are easy to use. Using one simple idea or quote and you can be finished with

it in a day for a gift.

Actually, with these little canvases,

the ideas are endless.

http://www.dickblick.com/ Judy Garland

Dreams

Lakewood Antique Market, Part I Yahoo.....

After having an exhausting week, I wanted to cancel my plans to take the one hour trip across town to the Lakewood Antique Market. This is something I had always dreamed of doing..... Yes, dreamed! When one is stricken with the roller coaster ride of health problems and depends on meds to make their monthly calendars, dreams become easily broken. But for some reason, Reid was going to make sure that this dream came true for me.

I was emotionally tired therefore crying most of the way there because of my grandmother having to go into a nursing home, complained of joints hurting and basically wanted Reid to turn Old Nellie around and head back to Monroe. But no, he just listened, smiled and kept going. He knows me too well. We get there, pull in, I sit up straight in my seat with head trying hard to see what in the world was going on everywhere and then it happens, JUNKING starts running in my veins, I can't get to each booth fast enough. I leave Reid at one booth paying for it, while I run to the next to see what treasure I can find!

My best medicine, my husband!

He always knows what I need......

I hope you enjoy Part I and Can't wait for Part II....I spent way too much money at the Grosgrain Annie's Ribbon Emporium........ She had the most beautiful hand dyed vintage ribbon that I fell in love with. What a treat!!!! I thought it was so sweet that she had named her shop after her Mother that was there working. JoAnn also was so sweet to walk me around and introduce me to many of the women that I blog with weekly!!! That was worth the trip to Lakewood just to meet blogging friends!

Thanks JoAnn!!

Sassy Trash~ I could not wait to see this exhibit!

Her store is located about 20 minutes from my home and

I plan on making it one of my favorites!

It was so beautifully set-up!

So Creative......

The Painted Fern - WOW - It was so easy to take pictures......

Maybe because this was My KIND OF STUFF!

I also purchased lavender and roses potpourri, the smell is so wonderful!

I loved the tutu on the dress form.... If only I had a dress form!

Do you ever feel like an "AIRHEAD"???

Have you ever said something or done something really stupid and wish you hadn't? You wanted to apologize and just get it over with? Here it is the perfect way to do it. No matter who the "VICTIM" (your own child, husband, relative, or friend) is, this is the sure cure! Give them a pack of "AirHeads" with a note attached saying Sometimes I just feel like an Airhead! I am Sorry! You know they just have to laugh at that point! Who could be mad? They say that

LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE!

A little Altered ArT to start the morning...

"There are two ways to live:

you can live as if nothing is a miracle;

you can live as if everything is a miracle.”
Albert Einstein

It's His Birthday....

Today I can shout across the land....

I love this man and today is a day that WE celebrate Him coming into the world.

God gave us the most gentle of giants, with a heart of gold

and the wisdom that we should all listen to.

He is loved by many, children adore him and age seems to avoid him.

How did I become so lucky to get him?

Well, it was not by luck...

See, God knew that I was going to NEED him, to care for me,

to encourage me, and most of all to love me unconditionally!

God had Reid planned for me all the time.

From the time that we both were born,

God had a plan..........

Reid and Yvette.....

Together as one!

Praise God for HIS great plan!

Happy Birthday Sweetheart!

ATC Valentine & Directions...

This is the Valentine that I gave my Sweetheart last year! It is an Altered Art Trading Card. To make it, I scanned one of my vintage bingo cards and made it into a smaller scale to fit onto my ATC (altered art trading card). I then copied it onto a khaki colored paper, cut and sanded the sides and then I inked the sides to make it look even older. I then took two old pictures of us growing up dressed as sailors which was a perfect fit together (how amazing that we were always a perfect fit together). I ran them through photoshop to scale them to size and clean them up. I then copied them to a matte photo paper and then cut them out just like you would a paper doll. I decided to use Pop dots to make the photos pop up. I then made a ticket that said, "You won my Heart" on my computer using printshop. I attached the ticket and the jewels. Used a little more inking for aging and put an eyelet in the side to add some more bling. Before I added the bling, I decided to coat the card with a coat of beeswax for more aging. I allowed some of the beeswax to bead for effects. For more color I wanted to use red beads, heart and dice to finish off my project! To say the least ~ Reid loved it! But being Reid~ He loves everything I do! I am so blessed to have such a wonderful Valentine!

Valentine Hangers and Etsy...

Finally... I have started my Etsy store back up!

I am starting it with these four Valentines and

I hope that somewhere they can find a home and

bring someone much happiness and love!

Valentine Images for Artist & Crafters...

For me and others the bug has already hit!

We have pulled out the Valentine images and started creating.

I thought I would share these with you as a little gift from me to you!

Enjoy and have fun!

Love - a wildly misunderstood although highly desirable malfunction of the heart which weakens the brain, causes eyes to sparkle, cheeks to glow, blood pressure to rise and the lips to pucker. ~Author Unknown