Living on the streets of Heaven...

Do you ever stop and really think about what it is going to be like when you get to heaven? Do you imagine the streets of gold? Just close your eyes and imagine what your days will be like when you get to heaven.....

The gates will swing open, not with a grinding slow motion, but in a grand gesture of welcome. The Father and Son will be waiting there with arms wide open, huge smiles on their face and those wonderful words "My child, welcome home". They will embrace you and there will be laughter and hugs and the sweetest joy ever known.

Once you have spent time in their embrace, one of the angels will show you around your new home. Your eyes will take in so much beauty that it will be unbelievable. Once you get adjusted to your new home, you will be able to visit. I can imagine walking the streets of Heaven, visiting with loved ones. You'll be walking along one day with those who have gone on before and someone will say "That's where Moses lives." Or "Look, there goes Abraham, Isaac and Jacob." You'll want to set down and talk with those saints of old.

Then you'll meet up with the angels and sing songs of such grandeur and beauty that it would take your breath away. I can imagine love, laughter, joy, peace, contentment. But I think most of all, no matter what you see or do in Heaven, about every 5 minutes you will be running back to Jesus just to get a quick hug or just to talk with Him. I think you will be like a little kid full of excitement.

It will be a wonderful time of rejoicing. We will never grow old; our ailments will be gone and we will spend eternity in the arms of our Saviour.

Love is in the air.....

With February just around the corner, it's time to tell the ones you love how special they are to you. It doesn't just have to be a significant other. Love abounds in February and we need to share it with the ones who mean a lot too us. Here are some Valentine ideas for the special people in your life.

Purchase a clay flower pot and paint it white. Trim it with some ribbon. Using card stock scrapbook paper, cut hearts to make the petals of your flowers. Insert a sucker through the flowers. Fill the pot with Conversation hearts and stick the flowers in the pots.

Is there someone in your life that holds a special place. You may not be the best of friends, but they care enough about you that you want to show them you care? Scour your local Dollar Tree, Family Dollar or Dollar General. Find a small trinket in a heart shape, such as a little pill box, a pin, a coffee cup. Just something that lets them know their friendship does not go unnoticed.

Do you have someone who means the world to you that loves roses? This is a wonderful thing to do for your mother as she probably doesn't get anyone sending her roses. We all know they are costly at anytime. Buy a heart shaped tin at your local craft store. Purchase some inexpensive picks of roses. Pull the blooms off and fill the box with them. For an extra little something, purchase some rose potpourri and sprinkle it in the box before you place the flowers in it. 

If you know someone who loves whimsical gifts, a cute little bear is a perfect gift. All ages love the Teddy Bear. You can find adorable ones at craft stores and Wal-mart at very affordable prices during Valentine's season. I like to find some that look a little scraggly and in need of love and adorn it with a ribbon torn from pink or red patterned material to give it that old-timey look. This is Ted E. Bear that a friend gave me over 10 years ago when I was feeling blue. He sports a new ribbon or a sweater for every holiday.

Have a small tea party and invite a few of your closest friends. Visit second hand shops and antique stores to pick up assorted tea cups and vintage Valentines. Each guest will get to take their tea cup and their Valentine home with them to remember the special day you put together.

Make some homemade goodies. Everybody has a weakness for cookies or fudge. Buy some cute candy wrapping paper and tie the goodies up with a pretty red ribbon.

One rule of thumb when showing someone you love them on Valentine's Day is that pretty much anything goes. It is true that it is the thought that counts. It doesn't have to be elaborate or expensive. Just something that says "I care.

Thoughts of spring.....

These little guys are just so cute. They make me think that spring is just around the corner. Just looking at them makes me smile.

The Unseen Hand

The Unseen Hand. Full of grace and glory. Scarred from suffering and pain. Abounding with love and full of compassion. One hand. One God. One great love. For years, this has been one of my favorite songs. Many a Sunday at Hash Ridge or Sunrise church I would sing this song. It has such a poignant message and is truly an inspirational song. No matter what trials or tribulations may fall, the Unseen Hand is gently protecting us, prodding us, prayerfully watching over us. I am so very thankful for My God and His Unseen Hand. There are many of moments that His Unseen Hand has brought me through. We see people performing all the time that say "I dedicate this song to my mom, or to my friend, etc." But today, I dedicate this song to MY GOD!

Aprons and stuff...

I have always loved aprons. Simply by tying on an apron you can be back in the kitchen with Mom baking a batch of cookies, with Mamaw frying a skillet of chicken or with Grandma making a pound cake. My mom makes the cutest aprons. I have this shelf in the kitchen that has peg hooks so I decided I will hang my aprons on there. Mom has agreed to make me some more for my collection so I went to Hobby Lobby yesterday and here is all the material I picked out for my new aprons. My kitchen is done in French Country Decor with a lot of grapes, roosters, teapots, fruits, pretty much anything goes. So my apron taste runs along the same lines of anything goes.

Here is the first one, I just love purple and this one will go good with grapes in the kitchen.

Another thing you will find in a French Country kitchen is daisies and sunflowers. Since daisies are my favorite flower and this looked so dainty, I just had to have it.

Some of my aprons are for display but some of them are for using. This is going to be my apron for when I'm in my baking mode.

This will be one for the rare occasion when I cook or when we have company and I help out in the kitchen. My favorite color in the entire world is red. Always has been and always will be, even though I go through spells where I like other colors, I will always be partial to red. And when it is put with black, I love it. So this one just said "take me home."

Since I am currently in my whimsical mode and I have always loved Easter, this one was a no brainer. Love the little chicks. Can't wait until Easter to get to wear this one.

And of course when my granddaughters are over, they will need their own apron. Since one of their special times with Mamaw was the Disney Princesses on Ice and they are both little dainty princesses, I had to have this for their aprons.

All in all, it was a wonderful day at the material department. And the best part...it was all on sale for 30% - 40% off! Saved a little over $15.00. WOO HOO!

I picked up a couple of other cutie's I was happy with. This little basket is the exact color of my flower clock in the bathroom and some of the birdhouses in the shower curtains. I was wanting something for my cotton balls and thought this would be a good fit...especially at 99 cents. Then they rang it up and it was 50% off. So a bargain at 49 cents.

I've been looking for a necklace out of that dull copper material. But when I find one I like they are so expensive that I don't want to pay what they were asking. But yesterday, at Walmart, I found exactly what I wanted. It was on sale for $3.00. It's one of those double chain necklaces. I love it.

It was a day for bargains. I picked up a sweater I've been admiring that finally went on sale. Payless started their BOGO 1/2 off sale. They have some new adorable flip flops in so I, of course, had to have two new pairs. Again, at a savings. It was an awesome day. With all the discounts and coupons I had yesterday, I saved $54.61. A wonderful day for shopping.

It's the little things....

There are days that I wake up and just can't believe all the "little things" in my life that get me excited. I love all the small joys that add up daily to make me love my life. I am probably one of the most contented people you will ever meet. But contented is not the best word because that makes me think of something happy, yet subdued. I stay so full of joy and anticipation that I sometimes feel like I could bounce off the walls. The funny thing is that the "thrills" that keep me so joyful are so simple and so plain that most people just consider them mundane, normal things in life. I woke up at 5:00 today...on a SATURDAY! Just too excited to sleep. Why, you may wonder?

Well, it is very simple, I am going to Hobby Lobby today. The new one at Turkey Creek. Now to some you are probably thinking, big deal. But it IS a big deal. I love that place and I only go there occasionally so that it is always "special". But today, they are having some great sales and I have some items on my list that are on sale. Mom is going to make me some new aprons for my apron rack. So I'll get to pick up some material today at some great prices. I could spend days in the material department alone. But I'm also going to get some new beads for my daughter to make me a couple of necklaces. Then I need to pick up some materials for crafts I'm working on.

In the Woman's World Magazine this month, they had this two page spread of neat little decorating ideas. There are some items I need to pick up so I can implement this decor in my house. So that's on my list as well. I'll post pics of them when I'm done.

The other thing that thrills me is a book store (See Bees Book Report). My daughter wants to go to Borders while we are at Turkey Creek. That makes me happy, but I was trying to think of what book(s) I would get and couldn't think of any new ones that were out that I had been wanting. Then I was the reading the new Woman's Day magazine (yes, I love magazines) and lo and behold they had a page that had a book advertisement.

Last year I read a series by Robyn Carr that all took place in a little town called Virgin River. The people were so down to earth and everybody you met in one book kept showing up in every book so you felt like you really knew them. I was so sad to finish the last one. It felt like I was losing friends. Then here I sat, flipping through the Woman's Day and there was an add for Promise Canyon. It caught my eye and lo and behold it said "Robyn Carr continues her beloved Virgin River series." Added that baby to my shopping list.

So anyway, I'm heading into the kitchen to bake some chocolate chip cookies (just because) and then I'm coloring my hair (again, just because). I've got to call Mom for our Saturday morning chat and see how much material I need for each apron.

Then it will be TIME. Time to hit the road and head out to shop.

Then tomorrow Ms. Beth will be bringing me the new spring catalog for 31 Gifts so I can plan my party in February. I have been looking at the "sneak peaks" on line and cannot wait. They have all these neat new patterns and products and some nautical/beach themes that I cannot wait to see. They also have some new florals in pinks and some new whimsical circle/dot patterns. Again...getting a LOT of excitement over something so little.

But that's my life and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Hey bud!

Our little country road was at the outskirts of the Village of Barboursville in West Virginia. Since we didn't own a car because my parents didn't drive, it was nothing for us to walk the mile to town to do business. Whether it was going to the bank and post office or heading to the grocers or hardware store, we loved walking up town.

I remember summer Saturdays so well. Daddy loved to walk up to Brady's hardware store and I loved going with him. Brady's has everything you can imagine and more. Their old hardwood floors were stained with years of paint samples and scuff marks.

My daddy was a very well respected and well loved man in this little Village. He worked at the local C & O rail yard and did odd carpenter jobs occasionally on the side. We had been walking up Main Street for so many years that just about everybody in town knew us. They would sit on their front porches and wave and some would walk out to the sidewalk to chat awhile.

One thing that I always remember was how every car that would pass would toot their horn at Daddy. He would flash his handsome smile, raise up a hand in hello, and shout "Hey, Bud!" toward their open window.

I remember one day, when I was about 7 or 8, we had passed about 6 or 7 vehicles of guys Daddy worked with. We received the traditional "toot toot" of the horn and Daddy had responded with his normal "Hey Bud!" I remember looking up and innocently remarking "Wow Daddy, you sure know a lot of men named Bud." I remember him laughing and saying "I never could remember names so I just call everybody Bud."

To this day, I will remember his laughter and his smile. Daddy has been gone 12 years come next week. I still miss walking up town with him. When I go home to visit, as I drive to Mom's and I pull onto Main Street, I still find myself watching the street to see if I see Daddy walking up town. I get a little catch in my throat and a little tear in my eye when I remember, he's no longer here. But I know he's in a much better place and knowing Daddy, he spends his days walking the streets of heaven, tossing a wave at his neighbors and shouting out a friendly "Hey Bud!" to everyone he meets.