Friday, June 19, 2009

Blog Award


WOW!!!! This is my first award! I feel extremely humbled that someone looks to me for inspiration. Thank you, Erin! Please visit Erin at http://craftytexanstidbits.blogspot.com/.
She is an EXTREMELY talented artist!
I need to pass this on & I'm not sure if I know how....so bear with me.
Here are the rules for the awards:

1.Accept the award by posting the picture along with a link to the names of the people who gave you the award.
2.Pass along the award to 15 bloggers who inspire you and leave them a comment letting them know so.
I'm not sure if I know 15 bloggers yet, but the ones I love are:
Everyone have a great day!

Monday, May 25, 2009

Memorial Day

Memorial Day.....it means so much to so many. My grandfather, my husband, & my brother have all been in the military. None have seen action. For that I am thankful. For those that have.....I AM THANKFUL!!! So many have given their lives for what we believe in. To those families, I am so sorry for your loss, but celebrate the bravery & honor that your loved ones possessed. Below is something my husband wrote several years ago in honor of Memorial Day. I hope you enjoy.


IN REMEMBRANCE


I began to meditate on the meaning of Memorial Day which will be remembered soon. The date may appear to some as just another day on the calendar; however, the significance of this day is contained in the sacrifices made by the men and women of this nation. The tombstones of American military service personnel scattered throughout the world stand as silent witnesses to this fact. This letter is dedicated to those both dead and alive. Your display of character, courage, and heroism on behalf of your country is unparalleled and second to none.

Although the years have gone by and time may cloud the focus of your deeds, I am compelled to read about and remember the places you have served. There were many theaters of war, but a few particularly stand out in my mind. “Bloody Ridge” on an island named Guadalcanal where 1600 men were lost. Iwo Jima, that after 26 days of heavy fighting, the enemy was overcome at a loss of 6800 dead. Anzio, with a German victory at hand, the weather cleared and the tide of battle was reversed. These scenes would be repeated again and again at Omaha Beach, Cassino, and a conflict called “The Battle of the Bulge”.

Korea, a small frozen country, may be forgotten by some, but not by me. I have read with amazement, the accounts of places like Inchon. After 40 days of hand to hand combat, your spirit could not be broken. At Chosin Reservoir, outnumbered 8 to 1 in subzero temperatures, you fought your way out of the trap set by the enemy. Finally, at Heartbreak Ridge and Pork Chop Hill, you refused to be overrun by an experienced army. The war may be forgotten, but you are not. You were very young and green; however, you became a force to be reckoned with as the conflict continued.

The places you have gone are numerous. I watched with tears in my eyes at the horror that Vietnam had become. Young men doing their jobs at places like the Ia Drang Valley, Hue, during the TET Offensive, and Khe Sanh during the enemy’s 70 day siege.

I have read and heard the complaints and charges made against you. They are untrue. You are American and you are mine. If it were possible to change the way in which you were treated when you came home, I would do it. You have a special place in my heart.

There have been and will be other places that you will be sent to serve. It would be wise for all Americans to reflect on this day and give thanks for those that have gone on behalf of this nation. Personally, I cannot begin to thank you and your families for the sacrifices you have made. The freedom that I enjoy today is a direct result of what you did yesterday. You are not forgotten and with a great love for you, I say “THANK YOU”!

Herb Gossett – MM1(SS)

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Pages - Again

Good morning, all! Sorry, it's been awhile since I last posted, but this sister's been busy! This is my busiest time at work & have been doing a lot of overtime. But I have a job that I love & I thank God every day that I do & He allows me to continue in it!

Here is another Page. It is called Star Island. It has all the islands that make up the Isles of Shoals that are located off the coast of New Hampshire. This is where Celia Thaxter lived & created some of the most beautiful works of art. One of her artist friends, Childe Hassam, would visit her there. It is one of the most beautiful, serene, religious places I've ever been. The sea glass & china pieces that are attached on the page are actually pieces I found on the shore of Star Island when I was walking around there.


This is one of the most magical places I've ever been. I will post more on the place later. I've got so many wonderful photos to share. If you ever have the chance to go, I heartily encourage you to do so! It will change you!

Enjoy your day that the Lord has given you!

Saturday, April 11, 2009

DEVASTATION


Good Friday was not so good for my family. We had to go check out the damage that a fire caused at my dad's farm the night before......he is devastated!

Although he didn't live on the farm, my grandparents house was there & the barn that my grandpa had built was there. They are both now gone. Totally gutted!! Nothing salvageable.

The good news is that all of the cattle are safe!! A neighbor was able to get them to a different pasture. The water pump was burned so my dad will have to find another water source for them ASAP. The gates, corrals, cattle chute were all saved!! Another good piece of news! There is one line of fencing that will need to be replaced, but my dad had planned on doing that anyway. So all in all, God was good! No one was hurt!! But the pain of seeing my grandparents hard work in ashes will stay with us for a long time!
Here is my Dad, my son, Jeremy, my brother-in-law, Gid, & my cousin, Tyler making sure the cattle had something to eat.

It was so weird! The cab of the tractor was totally destroyed, but the John Deere green paint wasn't touched!

They are looking for hot spots. There were a few that they had to put out.

My son, Jeremy, sitting on the steps of the house. I have a picture of him & his brother & cousin sitting on this porch when they were little.


This is a miracle!! My grandpa's faithful companion, Sam (a beautiful German Shepard) is buried under this stand of trees. If you'll look closely, it was not touched!! There is a ring around the trees where the fire stopped!

We are all sad for the loss of those possessions, but we are also thankful that God spared so much!

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

I am.....

I am a consultant with a scrapbooking company called Close To My Heart. I have never really been into scrapbooking, but I LOVE to create things with paper! I have so much paper & I feel RICH when I look at it all! I make cards, collages,.....whatever I can think of.

Anyway, Close To My Heart (CTMH) has a "Constant Campaign" each month & for April, they have a new kit that I got to try out. I kinda like it! Here is my version of their kit. I was trying for "artsy" feel......hmmmmm.



Here are the individual pages. I found the most amazing photo place online. It's called Picnik.com. You can do some fabulous things with your photos!!




I hope you have a wonderful, blessed day, my friends!!

Monday, March 30, 2009

Pages - Things I Love

This page means a lot to me. It expresses the most important things in life to me. I took pieces of material & sort of "quilted" them together with a rustic style stitch. The color is not very good, but all of the material pieces are green or have have green in them. I've also added some beads & other embellishments to the material pieces.





The back of the "quilt" says "to strive for perfection is idiotic. Who wants to be perfect?" Some people might say they want to be perfect. But in my eyes, only God is perfect. And that's the way it should be.





Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Pages & a little WW

This is my Poppy Page. It is in honor of my artist friend, Linda. She adores poppies & Celia Thaxter had poppies all in her garden! The green cloth that I used was Linda's mother's. I've cross-stitched for many years & I thought this would be perfect for one of my pages.

This is the back of the Poppy Page. It says "sunshine", "flowers", "fresh", & "green". This really means a lot to me since I worked for Linda as a floral designer for 6 years. Working with fresh flowers every day was such a pleasure, but hard on the feet! I learned so much from her! She is such an amazing person!


This is a close-up of the front of the page. The cut-outs of the poppies were actually a photo I took at Celia's garden when I visited Star Island in 2005.

As a side note, as of Monday night, I've lost 26 lbs.!!!! I am so excited!!! I've already talked to my WW leader & told her that when I meet goal, I want to become a leader! I will meet goal!