It's a GRAND feeling...

I know other grandmother's will join me in agreeing that there is nothing in the world that compares to becoming a grandmother. I saw this on Facebook this morning and just had to share it. 

I love my five grandchildren so much. They each have their own personality traits and interests and it is so much fun to watch them grow. It just amazes me what changes come from year to year....

Meet Garret. Our first grandchild. In just a couple of months he will be turning 16. I am not sure where the years have gone, but I am so proud of the fine young man he is becoming. This picture marks that moment in time when my first grandchild stole my heart. This was taken when he was just barely an hour old if not less.

He loved helping in the kitchen when he was little. My mom was teaching him to make homemade biscuits.

Those eyes always have a twinkle in them.

I am just amazed at how grown up he is now. But still as handsome as ever.

Our second grandson, Caleb, will be 12 this year. He is starting to get so mature. I can't believe some of the conversations we have. He is very interested in semi trucks and heavy equipment and talks to me a lot about owning his own trucking company when he gets older. He had the cutest head of hair and tons of curls. It broke my heart when he got his first hair cut.

He is an awesome big brother. He has watched over and cared for his sister, Shelby, ever since she was born. She worships him and they are very close.

This made his day. We went to a semi truck show in Knoxville and David Berry Trucking had his big black semi dump trailer in the show. Caleb was in 7th heaven when he got to sit in it and check it out. His Daddy drives a semi so that is why Caleb loves them so much.

He is so grown up. I hope he never loses that passion for what he loves and does own his own company some day.

Then 10 years ago last September, God blessed us with Alexis, our first granddaughter. She is such a delight to be around. Always happy. Always smiling. She is just one of those little angels that everybody loves when they meet her. As her mom says "she just couldn't wait to see the world and roared in at a whole 1 lb 14oz and hasn't slowed down since." She was two months early but a was for the most part very healthy for a preemie. 

She came home from the hospital just shy of what was her due date. Here she is with Papaw on her first visit to our house when she was just a little over 2 months old. She hadn't been out of the hospital long, but you can tell how healthy she was.

Here is that million dollar smile that melts the heart of everyone who meets her. This is my absolute favorite picture of her. It is just so natural and so her. She just sparkles all the time.

We have a special Mamaw-Granddaughter day for her birthday every year. We go shopping and out to eat at Applebee's. 

Our next gift was Shelby who will be 7 in July. Our second granddaughter. When you talk about quirky personalities you are describing Shelby Rayne to a T. Some times there are just no words to describe this child. She is 6 going on 26. You never know when she opens her mouth what will come out. Her mom keep saying she needs to write a book with all the silly things Shelby says and does.

She has a lot of different "looks". The sweet and precious smile, the comical comedian, the silly crazy when she comes up with something new and fun. But nothing makes you want to run for the hills more than her "I'm plotting something" look. She definitely has kept us on our toes. 

Then she has that soft princess side that is just so girly-girl and dainty and petite. She is just a chameleon ever changing. And I wouldn't want her any other way.

She's a big first grader now. She loved for me to pick her up and carry her and when she started school she told me she was too old and I couldn't do it any more. But then she would let me once in awhile. So she turned 6 and told me I couldn't carry her no more, but still reaches those arms up to jump up in my arms for a hug every time I see her. The NEW rule is I can pick her up until she is 7. 

And our sweet precious Colby James just turned 4 this past fall. He has been a delight from day one. He is such a character. He is hilarious. I just want to follow him around all day because you never know what he will say or do. He recently did something funny and I said to him "Colby, you are hilarious." He replied "I know. I crack myself up." How can you not love that. Check out that head of hair. 

He is a sports nut. He is the only child I know who started at age two wanting to watch the races or a ball game instead of cartoons. He loves all sports and loves to wear his big brother Garret's uniform to play football in the house. He may be tiny but trust me you don't want to get tackled by him. He packs a mighty punch for such a little tyke.

You will never see him in a really bad mood. He is always fun and running full throttle at everything he does.

I got him an electric football game for Christmas and he was so happy. He opened it and shouted out "Oh my goodness!" I knew it was the perfect gift for my little sportsman.

Papaw and I love them very much. It is so hard to get a pic of all 5 of The Grands together and I didn't have any with me and Papaw and them. Papaw doesn't like to have his picture take and you can tell it. But last year we at least got him in the picture...even if half the group isn't looking at the camera. This is my most cherished picture.

I am very proud of each and every one of them and love them to the moon and back. If I do say so myself I have some beautiful grandchildren.

A successful Pinterest Project

I must admit I have had my fair share of Pinterest Fails and Fiasco's. Some so hideous I wouldn't even admit I tried them. But every once in awhile, something I try that I saw on Pinterest actually turns out. Such was the case with the Pineapple Angel Food Cake. 

(Pinterest photo I decided to try)

Once I decided to brave this experiment, I went to the store and bought one Duncan Hines Angel Food cake mix. I don't guess brand matters but I always use Duncan Hines.

Then I bought a 20 ounce size can of crushed pineapples, again the brand is of no importance. Any will work. I just bought what I knew hubby liked. 

I heated my oven to 350 degrees as per the instructions on Pinterest. 

I sprayed a 9 x 13 cake pan with Pam.

I totally ignored the instructions on the cake mix as I was told to do. I dumped the mix and the can of pineapples into a bowl. That was it. No other ingredients are needed. 

I gathered a trusty wooden spoon.

I began to stir.And something magical began to happen. It bubbled and fizzed and got really light and fluffy. Once it was mixed up, I poured it in the cake pan and popped it in the oven.

I baked it for 30 minutes just like they said and Wah Lah! A nice golden fluffy pineapple angel food cake was perfectly created right before my eyes.

It turned out perfect. Another Pinterest project to go on my completed project board.

From what I understand, you can do this with any fruit pie filling as well. 

Tuesday's thoughts....

There is a line of milk glass dinnerware that goes back to the 1800's. The company is owned by Arc International who currently licenses the Pyrex brand of cookware for sale in the European Union. Their line that fascinates me is Arcopal France. I love the designs and the "cuteness" of some of their items. One thing I have longed for is one of the pitchers they make. This one is so lovely.

But I really think this one is my favorite.

This one is cute as well.

I see this one a lot so it would probably be the easiest to find. You can buy it from Etsy and E-Bay but I really wanted to try to find one in the wild. 

Since I can't seem to find one to use for a water pitcher, I may just go to Bed, Bath and Beyond to get me this one. I want to start keeping cold water on my desk at work and this would be perfect for it. 

On another note, I traded some Pyrex around and got this 441 piece to go with my Town & Country Cinderella set. I love it. 

I saw this on Pinterest and may give it a try. I always wanted a knit afghan but it just takes so long and is too complicated for me. So this lady just knits squares and when she get enough she sew them together for an afghan.

I finished my book I got for Christmas. This was absolutely one of the best reads I have had in a long time. I highly recommend it. 

Well, that's it for today. I hope you have enjoyed these items as much as I have.

Weekend wrap up

I slowed things down a bit this and got some things done around the house. I did manage a quick run to the Dollar Tree, Charming Charlie's and Walmart. I due crafts for Children's Church one Sunday a month so I decided to stock up on some Valentine craft supplies. Got a couple of ideas in mind for the kids.

Charming Charlie's was having some good deals and I was looking for an anchor necklace. This one was perfect.

I also picked up this cute music note necklace because I love singing in the choir and listening to music. Got the camera a little too close and it looks goldish, but it is actually silver with fake diamonds, not gold. It's a lot prettier than this picture shows it but you get the idea.

But my favorite thing this weekend was that I got a new 8 x 10 in the mail of my great niece. I loved this picture because of the baking theme. While I was looking for a frame for it, I found this framed subway art as well and I knew they would look so great together hanging over my Pyrex mixing bowls. I just love it.

Sunday was a nice easy day. We had a meeting after church to restructure the Children's Church program. Long story short, I somehow got myself elected to be in charge of crafts for every Sunday for Children's Church. Turns out I was the only one doing crafts on my Sunday so now I get to prepare the project for every Sunday. I don't have to be in there to help, I just need to plan the ideas for the teachers each week to use. It will be fun. I did it for three years for our Pre-K class so I already have a lot of ideas in reserve.

Speaking of crafts, I got an awesome gift yesterday from my helper who is 11 years old and helps me every time I have Children's church. She made this for me this past week. I am so pleased with it. She is a very talented crafter. Thank you Miss Hannah.

Went back to church last night and had the pleasure of practicing for a song special with Ms. Michelle and Ms. Janis. We may form a trio to sing The Holy Hills of Heaven. We had fun running through it a few times before long the whole choir arrived and we practiced it for perhaps a Sunday morning song. All in all I had a great weekend.

My wish for you...

May all my readers have a very blessed 2015. Rascal Flatts says it best in My Wish. I dedicate this song to everyone who has been so faithful in reading my blog. I realized yesterday that I had written 1,720 posts since I started my blog and may of you have followed me since day 1. Thank you for your constant support.

Planning a craft party...

A few of my friends and I got together in November to make some crafts. It was so much fun, we want to do it again this month.The place we use for our craft parties is huge so we can accommodate a lot of people. We each had our own tables. It was really fun.

Since the last one was for Christmas, I thought this next one could be for Valentine's, Easter and a few things to just leave out year round. One of the easiest things we did that everybody just loved was making candy jars from Mason jars. It is so simple. Glue material or scrapbook paper to the lid and tie a bow or jute & string around the jar. I made this yesterday just from scraps I had and added a few little buttons. These make thoughtful Valentine's gifts for your friends or family.

If you don't like the tied bow around it, you can always just glue ribbon around the jar ring.

This was a cute idea. And very inexpensive.

I love this idea. I need to make some of these bookmarks and give to all my family and friends who love to read. My granddaughter, Alexis, is a avid reader and she would enjoy one for sure.

I would like to do some of these from card stock but on a smaller size so they could set on a desk in a little pot. 

And I am crazy over these. I am going to do these for Children's church. The kids will love them. 

And my oh my aren't these cute! And super simple to make.

These pinwheel flowers are fun to make. I did a batch for Halloween one year. I need to make me some for spring to put in one of my milk glass vases. 

Here is a take on the Mason jars again, only this time for Easter. 

For the past couple of years, we made these every Easter in our Pre-K Sunday School class. I am not sure if I can find plastic eggs before our craft party, but I am going to try. 

This is a super easy bunting to make for any Patriotic holiday.

I have to try these out before I suggest we learn how to make them. But I watched a couple of tutorials and I think it would be easy to do. How cute for homemade cards to go in for mailings.

This is not much in the way of a craft, but I saw this and thought "What an awesome kitchen decor for a baker. I always see pretty colorful cupcake liners, but don't make that many cupcakes. But I just love this idea for sitting on the kitchen shelf. 

I am heading out to A.C. Moore today. You can imagine the shopping list I have. I need to start stocking up on supplies so when the girls want to have our craft party. And of course I am taking my weekly A.C. Moore coupon.