2018 Ornament Exchange

My dear sweet friend Stephanie

The Enchanting Rose

Hosted her first Ornament Exchange

When I heard she was doing this

I knew I wanted to participate

Everything Stephanie does

Is done with Excellence

And this was no different

I was excited to meet my new friend

Anne Marie of

Musings of a Vintage Junkie

I scoped out her blog and tried 

To choose items that were vintage in nature

And fit with my holiday color scheme

I think I succeeded but I forgot to take photos

Before I wrapped everything

So, here are a few I took

Once my package was wrapped and ready to sent

It was such a pleasure to receive my little package

I seldom receive 'happy mail' so this was fun

My new friend Abby is a talented crafter

I could tell when I opened the envelope

She blogs at: Little Birdie Blessings

She cut this beautiful bird out of chimney flashing

So cute

And designed this treasured advent calendar

Each day has a wonderful scripture

Printed with sweet details 

The little bird hangs on ribbon

Love the hand crafted booklet

A very sweet and now treasured gift

I will always remember my first ornament exchange

Thank you Stephanie for Hosting

Thank you Anne Marie and Abby

For Participating and Being a Blessing

A Few Favorites

Hello Sweet Friends

It's been a long while since I last posted

No sense in trying to catch you up

Let's just say

Summer in HOT in Arizona

And my body is revolting

I had the Huge Blessing 

Of traveling to San Diego

With my Dear friend

It was much needed for both of us

Here are just a few of my favorite moments

It was a joy to watch a couple of ships

Come in to port the first night we arrived

Enjoyed spending time at this cute Light House

'Old Point Loma Lighthouse'

Tried on some Conquistador Juan Cabrillo body armor

I'm wise enough to NOT share the full body photos - LOL

Visited the Beautiful and Peaceful

'Fort Rosecrans National Cemetary'

Blessed

Connecting the Paintings and a Winner

Hi Sweet Friends

You get a short post to start the weekend
Connecting the Paintings to their artist
And the winner of this guessing game

First, I need to fill you in on who each artist is

From Left to Right
Cindy (Administrator), Dianne (Nurse Practitioner)
Mary Jo (Doctor), and Toni (RN and Health Coach)
Dianne is also the Lodge owner and Host
She is also the Twin of Toni

Painting #1 belongs to
Dianne
This is a view she sees almost every weekend

Painting #2 belongs to
Toni
Inspired by Water Color Book

Painting #3 belongs to
Cindy
Where she'd love to live

Painting #4 belongs to Mary Jo

Also inspired by a Water Color Book

So, that means the winner is:

Celeste from Southern Day Dreams

With two correct guesses

Celeste: your surprise will be in the mail next week

Thank you each for playing along

We had a wonderful retreat

I'm praying you enjoy a beautifully Blessed Weekend

Thank you for Stopping By



Take A Guess...

Hi Sweet Friends

I'm so glad you stopped by today

I have struggled to get my blogging MoJo back

But I thought I'd share a few photos

From a fun weekend I enjoyed at end of August

For the past few years

One of our nurse practitioners has invited the staff

Up to her family cabin north of Phoenix

Where the air is clear and cooler

Often there are about 10 of us that go up

However, this year there were 4 of us

We decided to do something different

We took supplies and painted!!

The Cabin (or Lodge) is huge and the kitchen counter

Was the perfect place to set up shop

Canvas, Easels, brushes, and Paint

We set out to just have some fun

A couple of us used photos/books to inspire

A couple of us used imagination

ALL of us created and had a Blast

Thanks to the Lodge Host

We ate incredibly delicious 

Homemade, glutton free pizza - Yummers!!!

Here are out finished paintings

Can you guess who did each one?

We are

A Doctor, A Nurse Practitioner, An RN and health coach,

and An administrator

Who belongs to each painting?

If anybody gets it correct or close

There will be a gift in the mail!!!

Start Guessing...

Blessings

Full Hearts

Hi Sweet Friends

It's been a busy season around here

Having Madi home has been good

But challenging as well

Trying to balance medications and moods

Lots of restless and sleep deprived nights

But, my heart is full

And I'm thankful for all that my Lord

Is teaching me during this time

Last week I ordered a sweet heart

From Stephanie's Etsy shop

It arrived and is making it's debut in my LR

It's hanging on one side of my entertainment center

I love looking at it

On the other side of the entertainment center

I hung some smaller hearts

That I handmade last year

I just added them to ribbon so I could hang them this year

I love little plant sticks

And have had these two for years

I love hearts so these get two votes for loving

I just added them to a vintage glass bottle

And used red/white candy to hold them

Candy is a fun way to decorate, I say

You get to have a snack now and again

AND, you don't have to find a place to store it

Win...Win

A small heart wreath on the front door

Just a sweet little welcome

I love the two little birds

But just realized that they are facing away from each other

Hmmm...need to change that tomorrow :)

My Heart was FILLED the other day

When I had unexpected guests

They were only in Phoenix for 30 minutes

But my friends from Texas stopped by

On their way to CA

Madi wasn't sure about the 'camera' being used

But at least I got a great photo of my friends

Although we only had a few minutes to share

My Heart was Filled with Love and Joy

For these moments

Thank you Bill and Susan for the HUGS!!!

Susan told me that everybody needs

At least one 20 second hug a day to stay healthy

Well, I don't often get any hugs

LOVED that I got several on Saturday!!!

Another unexpected 'hug' came in the mail today

My blog friend 'DEB' surprised me with

A sweet package filled with Valentine JOY

Thank You Deb

I felt that hug as well

So, I have a full heart

A heart full of Love

And JOY

And, although I didn't take a photo

I made myself a cake last night

(Haven't made a cake in ages)

Now, I'm going to have myself a piece

May you have a blessed weekend ahead

Staff Appreciation Project

Hi Friends,

I just thought I'd share a fun

Project I worked on this week

For Staff Appreciation Day at work

I've been a scrapbooker for years

So I have lots of great papers, tools and such

Which I used to make some cute Tags

 

We usually give the staff flowers for this day

But I had an idea last week

To make a bouquet of Garden Stakes

All of our staff members have homes

With nice garden/lawn areas 

So this was a fun little gift

And...since today was Earth Day

It was kind of fitting

I attached a tag to each stake

Then I put each stake in a flower vase

Which made a really fun and cute bouquet

 

I also brought some 'healthy' fresh fruit

And placed it in the staff lunch area

We have such a fabulous staff

They each deserve lots of kudos

Each of the girls got to choose a garden stake

By seniority to take home

And, if you want be able to choose with the first 

half of the staff

You have to have worked in the office

For more than 8 years

Lots of Longevity!!!

 

My boss brought me these absolutely Gorgeous Roses

I did bring them home to enjoy

Love, love, love them

And Love my Job

Which you already know!

It was a Super Great

Staff Appreciation Day

I'm so Grateful!!

And

Just because 

 

Here's a photo I took the other day

I decided to add a touch of blue to my LR 

Love this little vignette

Thank you for stopping by

Blessings to you All

For a Great Rest of your Week

Prayers for a Friend and The Giveaway

Hi Friends

In the early years of blogging

I met some wonderful friends

While participating in on-line Bible Studies

One of those friends is Carol

Carol is a sweet woman who lives in California

(My home state)

She's married and has a beautiful daughter

She has been waiting for a liver transplant for many years

Well, friends

The time has finally arrived

Carol is in the hospital being prepared

To receive part of her nephew's liver

Transplant is near and dear to my heart

As kidney transplant gave my hubby

An extra 7 years and 7 days of life

Will you please pray with me

As Carol and her nephew have surgery

And go through the recovery process

Updates can be found on Carol's Caringbridge site

HERE

Thank you my dear friends!!

Now, don't forget to go over to my 

700th post to enter the giveaway

Click here -----> 700 GiveAway

 

I will be drawing a name on Sunday afternoon

So, go by and enter to win!

It's a tiny way to say thank you for 

Loving me through 700 blog posts

 

Blessings for the Day

 

The Glorious of Vacation

Hi Friends,

And now I get to share about the Glorious

Part of my road trip to Waco, TX

I went to visit my friend Susan

We met in 1990 when she and her husband 

Came to Coleville, CA 

He was a Naval Chaplin and lead the little

Church that our family attended at that time

We became fast friends and the rest is history

 

Here, we were sitting on a street corner

Enjoying a few Feta Fries at a vendor truck

Oh My Goodness, they were delicious!

And I Still lost 2 pounds on vacay!!!!

Now, my friend has been personal friends with

Chip and Joanna Gaines from Fixer Upper for about 13 years

We had hoped to get together with them while I was in town

But filming schedules and life did not allow

However,

We did visit Magnolia The Store

And YES, I did make a small purchase

 

Such a cute little store and friendly staff

 

Bill, Susan, Nora and Matthew

 

We were in a really cool vintage shop

And ... Don't even ask :)

I've always wanted to take a few shots

Walking down a railroad track

 

Hanging out on the Waco suspension bridge

 

Just having fun

 

A fun selfie in the Very Windy New Mexico Desert

Oh My Goodness, the wind was crazy strong

 

Couldn't pass up trying on hats

At another great vintage shop

What are friends for anyway, but to have fun

 

Hanging from a Longhorn Horn

He had too much fun

 

Another selfie

Sitting and relaxing on the patio

 

Sunset in far eastern Arizona

On the drive home

Truly had an amazingly wonderful time visiting my bestie

25 years of friendship is definitely a blessing

Praying you all are enjoying a wonderful week

I'm back to work and feeling so much better

Will do repeat labs in the next few days

Praying they give me some better news this time

Find JOY in something Today