Christmas is made of this ~ Love

And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
Luke 2:10,11

For His sacrifice, let us be thankful. Let us celebrate the true meaning of Christmas as we endeavor to love as He loved and give as He gave.

A few of my Favorate things help me feel "not so bad"

Raindrops on roses








and whiskers on kittens,










bright copper kettles

and warm woolen mittens,




brown paper packages tied up with strings,











these are a few of my favorite things.

Cream colored ponies



























and crisp apple strudels,





















door bells































and sleigh bells



and schnitzel with noodles.












Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings.






these are a few of my favorite things.





Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes,









































snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes,
















silver white winters that melt into springs,
















these are a few of my favorite things.


When the dog bites,




















when the bee stings,


















when I'm feeling sad,

I simply remember my favorite things,

and then I don't feel so bad.

click on the photos to go, look and purchase each favorate thing!

Monster Lemon

13 ounces

5 inches long

Monster Lemon

If you only grow one at a time... it better be good.

☺

This is my Monster Lemon and how it came to be....
My little lemon tree is pot bound and stays indoors for half the year, here in the northwest it would freeze if I left it out on the deck. About a year and half ago, I noticed it had some flowers blooming, it did before and no fruit was the result. Since there are no bees to pollinate it inside, I used a little q-tip and patted each of the flowers. Out it went over the summer..... Here is a close up of the Monster lemon on the tree during last summer, as it grew.

There is another lemon growing right now, and some new flowers... maybe I will get another monster! ♥

My Feet ~ a story that I didn't plan to tell.

Well I didn't start out to tell a story about my feet, or even decide to take pictures of my feet and put them on my blog... however, one day I was sorting through my many photos and noticed how many, many, many photos I had of just that very thing! My feet... so here are a few photos... I seem to have taken some by accident and others by design... explanations follow each photo.






This one I was trying to photograph the tote for my online Etsy shop and well.... I didn't have a model that day so I just snapped it with my right hand....





Again my model wasn't around and my toe nail polish just happened to match the Ultrasuede! This one will be listed soon.

This was my daughters graduation day and I was beginning to get bored, I had put a top layer of sparkle~ly paint on my dark purple toes. It was so pretty and so I distractedly snapped a photo while someones name I didn't know was being called... really 3 hours to get through all the names and speeches... yawn~! pretty toes however!

Here I am trying again to take a photo of product without a model.... not a bad shot... of my feet! ☺

And at last... my favorite shot of my feet.... so far ~~~~~ ! ♥ ♥ ♥

This one I took while I waited for my daughters to get ready... we were in Disneyland, the ankle bracelet says "PRINCESS" and yes I am! Silver toes, shoes and bracelet! WOW What cute feet....
Not a single stinker! Now wasn't that fun?!

Stockings for the troops ~ Sewathon 4! ~ we sewed 96!

Yesterday was a fun day! About a dozen ladies from my church, brought our sewing machines, irons, sissors and brains. We sewed almost 100 (96 to be exact) stockings for the Operation Shoebox organization. These photos are from the web site of last years delivery! Here are some we created that will be on their way soon.One of the cutest ones................♥

A pile of them all ready to go! ...

A shy friend helps out....... ☺

WOW We did it again~!!!!!
My good friend ran it this time and decided that she would make sure 100 was sent. What a gal!

http://www.operationshoebox.com/

Mano Con Mano ~ We did a lot of Sewing! 90 + Baby Hats

We had another Sew~A~Thon ! This time we sewed fleece newborn hats for the Mano Con Mano mission to Guatimala. About 6 of us from the Womens Ministry of the Christian Life Center in Freeland Washington got together on a sunny fall day. At the end of the day we counted over 90! Keep warm and healthy little babies! AMEN!

How do you spell Perseverance?

This is how it is spelt, not with letters and words or even works, but with every breath we take and every cake we bake (to quote a famous song). He is watching us... breathe in the day and ask for help...It arrives just in time. I recall those Eagles that swooped down, at just the last moment, and rescued Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee (Lord of the Rings), they walked through it all and were kept safe and allowed to see the beauty of the new and the rising of the new sun in glory because they slept, ate and lived the word perseverance.

...but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.Isaiah 40:31 ~ ~ ~

In my opinion, one of the hardest things to do is wait. Be encouraged, though - God's timing is perfect so remember to trust Him and as you wait - take time to envision having renewed strength - running and not being weary - walking without feeling faint. The wait will be worth your while.

Scars of Life

A friend sent this one to me and I just had to post it here... touching and true.

SCARS OF LIFE Some years ago,
on a hot summer day
in South Florida ,
a little boy decided to go
for a swim in the old swimming hole behind his house.

In a hurry to dive into
the cool water,
he ran out the back door, leaving behind shoes, socks, and shirt as he went.

He flew into the water,
not realizing that as he swam toward the middle of the lake, an alligator was swimming toward the shore. His father, working in the yard, saw the two as they got closer and closer together.

In utter fear,
he ran toward the water,
yelling to his son as loudly
as he could. Hearing his voice,
the little boy became alarmed and made a U-turn
to swim to his father.
It was too late.
Just as he reached his father, the alligator reached him. >From the dock,
the father grabbed his little boy by the arms
just as the alligator
snatched his legs.
That began an incredible
tug-of-war between the two. The alligator was much stronger than the father,
but the father was much
too passionate to let go. A farmer happened to drive by, heard his screams,
raced from his truck,
took aim and shot the alligator.Remarkably, after weeks and weeks in the hospital,
the little boy survived.
His legs were extremely scarred by the vicious attack
of the animal.

And, on his arms,
were deep scratches
where his father's fingernails dug into his flesh in his effort
to hang on to the son he loved. The newspaper reporter
who interviewed the boy
after the trauma,
asked if he would
show him his scars.
The boy lifted his pant legs. And then, with obvious pride, he said to the reporter,
'But look at my arms.
I have great scars
on my arms, too.
I have them because
my Dad wouldn't let go.' You and I can identify
with that little boy.
We have scars, too.
No, not from an alligator,
but the scars of a painful past. Some of those scars
are unsightly and have
caused us deep regret.
But, some wounds,
my friend,
are because God has refused
to let go.
In the midst of your struggle, He's been there
holding on to you. The Scripture teaches that
God loves you.
You are a child of God.
He wants to protect you
and
provide for you in every way. But sometimes we foolishly wade into dangerous situations, not knowing what lies ahead. The swimming hole of life
is filled with peril -
and we forget
that the enemy is waiting
to attack.
That's when the tug-of-war begins - and if you have
the scars of His love
on your arms,
be very, very grateful.
He did not and will not ever let you go. Please pass this on
to those you love.
God has blessed you,
so that you
can be
a blessing to others.
You just never know
where
a person is in his/her life
and
what they are going through. Never judge another
person's scars,
because you don't know
how they got them.
Also,
it is so important that
we are not selfish,
to receive the blessings
of these messages,
without forwarding them
to someone else. Right now,
someone needs to know that God loves them,
and you love them, too -
enough to not let them go .

Always
Tell Your Family
And Friends
How Much
You Love Them!!!

Mr Dizzy Squid ~ Boo Boo Baby Squid ~ Everyday Squid ~ Design your own theme Squid ~ The Pattern

This Plushie was inspired by my daughters drawings... here is what we created...

You can see the full instructions on Cut out and Keep...just click on the images to link to the page.

Ta Da! hug and enjoy with no fear of ink!

Cut out and Keep ~ my newest post

Plushie Chibi Bunny ~ Cut out and Keep ~ Crazy Chibi Bunny Kawaii ~ Baby Big Ears Bunny




Bunny the pattern... inspired by my daughters drawings. My daughter does these fun drawings of "chibi" style animals... this one inspired her to make one. I drafted the pattern, and posted it on Cut out and Keep... If you are inspired to make one too, just click on the photos and go right there!

The End.

Just Sharing my Faves...

Looking toward the Future after Graduation!

My lovely daughter Graduated this last weekend. She got her AA from the local Community College at the same time as her HS diploma. She worked so hard and was so dedicated to finishing all that was put before her, even though we had a really rough year. Peace!

For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.1 Corinthians 14:33a

If you're looking for God to show you something clearly, don't over-pollute what He's showing you with the thoughts and reasoning of your own mind. God has given you a mind to use, and at the same time, He has given you the Holy Spirit to help, guide and discern what is of Him and what is of the flesh. Use both, but rely most on the unchanging nature of God to ultimately guide you in the way that you should go.

One Lovely Blog!

Wow, I have received my first BLOG award!

I got the “One Lovely Blog Award” from Crochetthoughts You can see her blog about it here. How lovely is that? Absolutely lovely I think. So I have of course passed the award on to 10 more lovely blogs.

etsy mentors

homefront team

Creations Anew

Fraybabybibsand more

Military Brats of Etsy

Gratitude Journal

From Japan with Love

XUE Originals

Anhokis Place

OR&R Field Team Blog

Caramel Sauce Fast, Easy and Extra Yummy!

Fast, Easy and Very Extra Yummy! I don't cook too often and when I do it is usually something extra sugar and sweet. This sauce came about after I was successful in creating the fudge sauce that is so perfect and yummy. Why not try caramel, they actually go together very well, even in the same dish of ice cream.... Anyway here is how to make it.

Assemble and measure out all the ingredients,, so they will be close at hand.

Wire Whisk
Sauce pan
3 large Marshmallows
3 Tablespoons Butter (real)
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
3 Tablespoons Milk (whole)

Melt the butter with marshmallows over a medium heat, whisk in the sugar, when added it will become a big glob and gritty. Add the milk, whisk till fully combined, you have to whisk pretty vigorously to get the glob totally incorporated. Allow it to simmer just a minute whisking every few seconds. When it bubbles thickly... add a pinch of salt, whisk and whisk... allow it to cook for a few minutes to fully develop the rich caramel flavor.
serves about 3... calories vary with amount consumed! ☺

Operation Shoebox

http://www.operationshoebox.com/

Yep we did it we collected enough stuff to fill a large flat rate priority box! And off it goes... I hope it helps with comfort and Love from home...

The women of Christian Life Center have been collecting special items of soap, shampoo, toothpaste and other "comfort items", those mini versions that you get from hotels and when you travel. The shoebox people make up comfort kits and forward them on to the field! What a great way to make our guys feel more loved. All the best of good thoughts and prayers and sincere Thanks go with each item.

Take a peek at my newest Chefs Hat!

I am not a Cook! But I can wip up a cool Chefs Hat....

see it at my Etsy Shop as well as the matching apron.

There is a large selection of Aprons ... new ones added daily!

Etsy Day

• Happy Etsy Day !

Etsy Day ~ Etsy Day ~ Etsy Day ~ Etsy Day ~ TODAY!

• Hurrah!
• This one has been listed since almost the begining of Etsy, I have sold several like this but this one is going to be mine if it isn't purchased soon!