About two months ago, my nephew emailed me asking if I knew anyone who could make a baby quilt for him to give as a baby present to some close friends expecting their first. I volunteered, hesitantly, for two reasons~one is that I have a very important quilt project for a family member that needs to be done by September and the second reason is that I wasn't sure about the fabric or how quickly I would get it from California. It took several weeks to get and then I had to put my thinking cap on. You see, I am a traditional quilter in my choices of fabric and patterns but with this project the fabric was "Alien" themed(yes for a baby quilt) and I needed to find some fabrics to go with it. I chose a very simple pattern, due to lack of time and loved the fabric I choose to go with it. Let me also say, this quilt as all my quilts are, was prayed over throughout the making. Actually, the baby was prayed over. My nephew chose this fabric in case they have a boy but in the end I think it could work as a play quilt for either boy or girl.

I love the back fabric and although you can't really see them, there are gold stars throughout the

blue swirls. The binding had blue polka-dots on it which matched the back perfectly.

My hand quilting was minimal and the entire project was done very quickly due to time constraints but yesterday I got it shipped off and can now concentrate on my next quilt-actually it will be a wall hanging.

On a side note, I have shared how I react badly to mosquito bites and my struggle to find something natural that works; well yesterday at WalMart I was checking out the Cutter sprays and found a wonderful new product: Bite MD-an External Analgesic and First Aid Antiseptic.

This is the first product, other than some creams that don't work for me, that gives insect bite relief. I am allergic to mosquitoes and the bites swell up and itch non-stop but this actually works, which means no more waking up in the middle of the night scratching my arms and legs.

If you have someone in your family who has a bad reaction to bites, please try to locate this-it will make life much more bearable. It can also be used for chigger, wasps and tick bites.

Have a wonderful Tuesday.

Noreen

Garage Sale Finds

Sunny Monday Greetings to you. I hope you all had a glorious weekend filled with laughter and love. On Friday, hubby and I happened across a garage sale whose sign said Antiques so of course this gal had to stop. The furniture wasn't of interest but when my eye caught these two crocks I had to inspect them. They were marked fairly but we needed to run to the bank first.

We went back the the first crock had quite a crack in it-sounds like me sometimes-a cracked crock- so we made them an offer fifteen dollars less than she was asking and she excepted it. Yippee!!! What is interesting is that my original crock has the number 4, printed in blue ink, and these two also have their numbers printed in blue ink. I'm not sure if all crocks had lettering or words in blue or if this was just a special thing for me.

Our weekend was good but I have to say the Stampede was very disappointing but the blessing in it was that the tickets were free, thanks to our sil, so it wasn't a waste of money. It reminded me of a county fair in that the majority of things were carnival rides and vendors. In fact, our county fair has more than the Stampede does and we've been to rodeos in Tennessee and they had much more. Our family doesn't do carnival rides because many years ago we had a very traumatic situation occur at a county fair when my youngest girl, about 8 yrs old, was in a ride in the row behind me. For some reason the bar holding the children in was not latched and they were not secure when the ride was going higher and higher. There is nothing more terrifying for a mom or dad than knowing, at any time, your child could easily fall out of a ride. I was screaming and yelling for the ride operator to stop the ride and he wouldn't. Thankfully the Lord had His angels watching over the children that day and they weren't hurt; however about that time there was a national investigation on carnival rides due to the people who are hired to work on them, set them up and operate them. From that time on we never went on one again; we do go on rides at Disn*yland and Si* Fl*gs just not on small fairs.

I'm off to mail a baby quilt to my nephew for a friend of his. I will post photos tomorrow but I'm so glad it is done. Now I have to purchase fabric for another very special quilt project I've got planned.

Have a great day!!!!

Hugs, Noreen

Happy Weekend

Happy Friday all, Don't you just love this day of the week; especially those working. Thank you to all my buddies who offered tips on how to prevent mosquito bites-I am going to try several and see if they work out-especially before we head to the mountains next month for camping. We had a great time at our local town concert last night; a different blend of music, African, but we loved it. It was a wonderful warm evening and totally enjoyable with friends and our youngest daughter & family.
Today has started out really warm, yippee!, and after swim lessons I'm not sure what hubby and I have planned. Initially, we had hoped to go to the high places, RMNP, but there is a wild fire so I think we will by pass that idea.
Tomorrow we help a golf buddy celebrate his 70th birthday and that should be a lot of fun. Sunday we are going to the Stampede in a local city-sil got free tickets so I know we'll have a great time. We all love barrel racing and the sights and sounds of a rodeo and since we haven't been to one yet here, in our new state, we are very excited.
Summer has finally arrived in all its glory and I'm lovin it! We even went to our local pool, complete with water slide, for a twilight swim one evening too.
Go out and enjoy the weekend, enjoy life!
Blessings, Noreen

My thankful list today will be a bit different; when I thought about what I wanted to post today something on my leg started to bug me. I knew what I needed to post about-Mosquito's. Really Lord, Mosquito's? Let me explain. I have always had the type of skin or blood that is Mosquito bait; as a child I remember having horrid allergic reactions to bites and scratching them until they bled, just to stop the itching. My bites would swell and become very large-but when you are so skinny and have no fat on your body, any bite looks big. One of the nicest memories I have of my mom is when she took me to the pharmacy and talked to the man behind the counter about what she could do to help me. He explained that there was a B vitamin that, once taken, would emit an odor from your skin and the mosquito's would leave you alone. As I recall, it was either B11 or B12 and sure enough it worked. I still would get a few bites but not feed an entire swarm. In the years since I have searched for any information regarding these vitamins and the benefits but haven't found any. For some reason this year I have become bait again; it may be the change in my diet, I'm really not sure but every time I'm outside I'm being bitten. In the last few years I have gotten leery of using insect repellents so searched for a natural solution. Last year one of our daughters got a natural repellent but I couldn't stand the smell. I looked at Skin-*o-soft products because I remember hearing these worked well. Then I happened upon Burt Bees repellent and although it has a slight smell I can live with it. The problem is that I need it on anytime I'm outside, even just for a minute. When I was grumbling this morning after hitting two thirsty mosquito's on my arm I realized that our Lord created these tiny insects and I'm to be thankful in All things. So today I'm thankful that I can feel the bugs biting me and that even if I have a bad reaction to them I can still feel the itch. I remembered Leprosy and the fact that those afflicted can't feel pain. So Lord, today I am thankful for a pretty health body and the ability to get products that can ward off these pests, unlike parts of the world where people can't. I'm thankful that we don't live in land saturated with pest control being dropped on us from planes-although sometimes I think that might be necessary.

If you have any incredible products/vitamins that work wonders please let me know!

Remember to give thanks in all things.

Hugs, Noreen

For more thankful posts please visit Iris http://www.eph2810.com/thankful-thursday/thankful-thursday-internet-radio/

My Girls

Our littlest granddaughter, Buttercup, is now 3 mos old.

Our youngest daughter with our Buttercup.

Our oldest daughter with little Miss Sunshine....now 7 mos old.

Our girls have always been and will always be my very best friends other than my hubby. They are such godly women, wives and moms and His Love radiates from them. They are better moms than I ever was and I/we are so very proud of them. I don't tell them enough how incredible they are and how much we love them but I hope they know. Our oldest has five kiddos and our youngest has four and let me tell you that even though I was a preschool teacher these little ones have endless energy and our daughters never raise their voices or treat them with anything less than the Lord's love. Some days require a bit more of gentleness and some days require a bit of a firm hand but these children are being raised in love. What a privilege to witness our daughters and their hubby's as they raise their families.

Psalm 144:12 "And our daughters (will be)as corner pillars fashioned as for a palace."

We are so proud of you girls and of your families.

Hugs and love today.

A Few of My Favorites

Happy Tuesday dear ones, I thought I'd share a few more pic's from the garden tours I went on; I absolutely love Poppies-they are so vibrant and seem to scream "Life". Hubby and I are trying to find a garden plan for our back yard thus cutting down the lawn area and like the idea of a dry river bed area. Also, we found this bird house and since hubby makes them with his grandsons for presents, he wanted a photo of this one-isn't it so cute!

Today I began the morning walking about 3 miles with my close friend and was surprised that I wasn't sore at all after yesterday's 8 mile bike ride. I love getting out in the morning and it is so much fun being with someone else to enjoy nature with.

It is so hard to believe that we are halfway through June already and that summer is officially here. I am thankful for another day to walk in His ways, love others and cherish each moment and breath.

Find joy today!

Noreen

Fun, Flowers and Fellowship

Good morning all, I hope your day is starting out on a positive note. Friday I met my two blogging buddies, Marlene and Pam, for a wonderful morning touring some lovely gardens.

Don't you just love the wrought iron bike by the front door filled with flowers~greeting everyone who comes near. I love the little table and chairs and the bowl of Impatients are delightful.

I love Peonies and hope to plant some next year. This table setting was so pretty-we all wanted to sit down and have lunch.

Waterfalls are my absolute favorites and hubby has promised me one here but unless we find a source for large boulders it may be awhile before we have one in our yard.

Pam looks adorable and ready for a picnic lunch.

Here we are, just finishing up the tour and ready for lunch. We had such a delightful time together, as we always do. There is nothing better than spending time with girlfriends. I wish I could just pop on over to your place because I know we'd have a wonderful visit.

Have a blessed week.

Noreen

Fabulous Friday Fun

This morning I will be taking a drive down to a nearby town and spending time with two of my favorite friends, Marlene and Pam. They are both bloggers and we try to get together every couple of months, especially now that the weather is nice. Today we will be going on a garden tour in their town and then having lunch together. I promise that I will get photos to post. Both these gals are a delight and I count it a blessing to be able to have girl time with them. An interesting side note is that tomorrow hubby and I are going on a garden tour in a neighboring town-I'm thankful for the opportunity to be able to get some inspiration from two different areas. It will be fun to compare and I'm hoping to come home with ideas that can be incorporated into our landscape in the future.
Have a joyous day and wonderful weekend.
Hugs, Noreen

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY BABE

Thirty two years ago I had the honor and privilege of becoming the wife of this incredible man. It truly was a dream come true for me and every day since I have thanked the Lord for blessing me with my babe. The time has flown by, years filled with joy and some sadness but most of all happiness in being married to my best friend and the most incredible man in the whole world.

We were so young and excited about life and I still can't imagine what my life would be if he wasn't at my side. I look forward to the future with my babe next to me because the best is yet to be.

So today I am especially thankful for my best friend, my marriage and our future together.

Have a wonderful day!

Always and Forever.....

Oh what a glorious day it is! The sun has returned and it is absolutely beautiful out today. This morning found me doing a bit of weeding, planting some Cosmos seeds and going on a walk with my youngest and her girls. After lunch hubby and I went on a bike ride, the first of the season; I know I am behind because I had hoped to be riding at least three miles several times a week but the weather just hasn't cooperated. We were able to see our local golf course that is flooded and ride on one of our main roads because it is flooded in parts too so it is closed to traffic. This has been such an unusual spring with so much rain and snow run-off; it is the first time we have ever seen flooding like this.
In a bit I'm heading over to our youngest girls home to watch three of her girls while she takes the baby in for shots. Tonight they will join us for dinner.
Oh and in the midst of all the daily happenings we/I have been watching the World Cup; I've never been one to watch sports on t.v. but I love soccer so have enjoyed watching these matches.
I hope that you are enjoying your day and not being impacted by flooding like the folks in Oklahoma are.
Blessings, Noreen

Monday Morning Musings

Have you ever felt like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz? Let me explain~has your weather ever been so weird that you felt like maybe, just maybe, you were temporarily in a different state?
Here it is June and this weekend made me feel like we were living in Portland or Seattle; I love both of these cities but I don't care for the weather there-too damp. Well, here in beautiful sunny Colorado that normally boasts of more sunny days than California(which was a draw when moving here) we spent the entire weekend inside due to storms. Now we are used to humidity and thunder showers in the afternoons but I'm talking winter storms here, complete with tornadoes and flooding and even a bit of snow in the high places. My dear hubby spent numerous hours emptying out our basement window wells, every few hours. Today we are still having clouds and possible showers but tomorrow is supposed to be wonderful and warm.
However, the song that has popped into my head this morning is:
"Give thanks to the Lord, our God and King,
His love endures forever."
So regardless of our weird wacky weather, I will give thanks because no matter what else is happening, His love endures forever.

Be blessed today,
Noreen

Happy Friday Friends, I wanted to show you all the new pads we got for our new-to-us set. We are in between storms and since it wasn't raining this morning I decided to run out and just set them out to see the overall impression. I didn't even take the tags off, just in case we decided we didn't like the look but after seeing them I really like them. It makes me think of the islands, so I imagine my dear hubby must really be thinking of his favorite place.

Last nights town picnic was very nice; we had sunshine, black clouds, sprinkles, lightning and thunder. The music was just alright, nothing very special but fun still the same. I was really ready for some Beach Boys or some other oldies and in looking at the schedule there isn't any of this venue listed.

Whatever you do this weekend, take time to stop and enjoy life~
Hugs, Noreen

Thursday Blessings to each and all! It's been a busy morning so far~hubby and I have thoroughly cleaned the house from top to bottom, well maybe not the basement but all of the rest. We've got some good friends who are having lots of family in for a reunion so they generously gave up their master bedroom and asked if they could sleep here for two nights, to which we said absolutely! Although they will be getting in after we are long asleep and leaving quite early, we still wanted everything in top notch condition.
I am so blessed by my hubby and I'm so thankful that the Lord united us together, this man and I after almost 32 years. I can still say he is the best thing that ever happened to me!
Tonight our area begins their annual Evening in the Park where different music groups come and people gather for dinner. It is quite fun and the first night of this summer season, the town always hosts a bbq; so Peanut and I will be eating slightly different food than is served and that is fine with me.
We are supposed to have temps in the 90's today with thunder showers tonight and then tomorrow the weather will cool off dramatically; but for now I am content to enjoy the warmth of the day.
I am more content to enjoy the warmth of His love spreading through my day, through my spirit and bringing me joy.
How about you? Are you resting in His love and grace this day?
Rejoicing in His abundant love, Noreen

Good day dear friends, You all know how I desire to cultivate an attitude of gratitude but today I'm struggling a bit~you see I went downstairs today to check our "carpenter ant" problem and found, much to my dismay, that we had more outside and inside this morning. We've dealt with this problem, on a smaller scale, since last spring and I thought I had eradicated them until a few weeks ago. Now, almost daily, I'm spraying pest spray everywhere I've seen them and into one wall as well. If they were just living in the grass, I wouldn't worry but because they can infest the walls of your home I get very concerned, especially when I see the females with wings around too.
On pondering this ongoing problem and not being able to totally get rid of them(without bringing in an expensive pest control company)it made me think of a parallel in the spiritual realm. While we read so much in the Word about how hard working ants are, my thoughts went a total different direction. Sin has a way of creeping into our lives, our hearts, our minds and our spirits often times unnoticed, just like the original carpenter ant problem began. It is easy for us to become aware of large sins but often we just cover up the small ones or use a temporary fix without really getting rid of the root cause. If we are truly honest with our Lord on a daily basis He should be pulling those pests out of us, sometimes daily or minute by minute. I have found that with our ant problem I now need to bring in the "heavy duty pesticide" to rid the area, sometimes on a daily basis and sometimes that just doesn't work either. In today's world, in today's church and christian community, there are easy fixes out there for us to use-self help books, tapes, support groups etc. when what we really need to do is to go to our Maker and ask Him to rid us of anything not pleasing in His sight. This morning I had to go before the Throne and admit my own frustrations over getting rid of these pests and ask my Jesus to cleanse me of any chronic issues in my life that He determines are pests, before they multiply.
Won't you join me in forsaking all that grieves His heart?

Humbly yours, Noreen

Garage Sale Finds/Treasures

Welcome to our home! Friday morning dawned bright and early and the very first garage sale we hit had this lovely wicker chair for sale. I have always loved wicker furniture, especially on the front porch, so I quickly grabbed this up....doesn't it look quite nice with the plant next to it?
Hubby thinks it is a tad too small but I think it looks very welcoming!

This was advertised on a local Craig's List and it fits our patio area perfectly. We had looked at new sets but instead opted for this plus we did need to get new cushions for it...we are now set for dinner on the patio.

So you all know how much I love birds and bird houses~well one of my neighbors was changing out some of her decorations so I grabbed this plus one other to add to the top of our kitchen cabinets....I love how cute it is.

Let me tell you that by Saturday noon this chick was done with going to more garage sales and it will be several weeks before we check out another one. Having a whole town participate for two days is quite exhausting and I wasn't even one of the homes selling things.

Have a lovely week dear friends and thanks for checking out all my finds!

Hugs, Noreen

Friday Fun

This is the weekend that our town has a huge garage sale, scattered throughout the neighborhoods; a weekend when folks can empty out their closets and garages and share their old things with others. So today, bright and early, hubby and I will be going to many such garage sales in search of a patio table with chairs or possibly some sort of garden decoration. Mainly hubby goes for me but just maybe he'll find some golf clubs, golf balls or an antique camera. Our little town paper advertises each home that will participate so that folks can get an idea of whether they should go to this or that home.

Since I didn't post a Thankful list yesterday, I wanted to take the time today to mention just a few of the things I'm so grateful for.

I am thankful that twice this week I was able to go on two walks in the morning and on the other days just one...but the more I walk the better I'm feeling and the looser my clothes are getting.

I am thankful for those families that toil the earth and yesterday was reminded of their sacrifice when I read Ann's post at Holy Experience. These farmers work incredibly long hours and often don't hear a lot of gratitude from others. There are many here in my state who raise the fruit I so often take for granted, so to all of you I say Thank You for providing us with nourishing food for our tables.

O.k. here's a new one in the bird saga-this week I decided not to purchase the "no-mess" food because of the cost and I can tell you right now that I am glad for the blackbirds scavenging the ground below the feeders because the cheaper seeds make a huge mess...which is not as pleasing to the eye. Now I have to figure out, until our current seed is gone, how to put a screen under the feeder to gather all the seeds that are being dropped on the ground. I am thankful that I didn't purchase more than two large bags of seed, like our neighbor does. I am thankful that I am still able to go bend down and collect the dropped seed before it sprouts.

I am so thankful for the blessings of the Father, and for the love of family and friends-this means you!!!

Happy a wonderful weekend!
Noreen

My Garden

Monday I found this beautiful visitor in my garden-it brought such a smile to my face!

Although we still need to get shredded bark to put around, the garden is looking quite nice. I would still like to add some more plants but I'll wait a bit and try to stagger the flowering season out.

Yesterday, hubby and I went to the movies and saw a wonderful "chick flick"-yes he went willingly! We saw Letters To Juliet and it was wonderful; the scenery was incredible. There were only about 8 people in the theater and he was the only guy. Kudos to him, my husband Rocks!!!!

Have a great day.

Hugs, Noreen

A Grand Day

Good morning all, I hope you had a wonderful weekend! Hubby and I certainly did, even as busy as it was, we had a great time. On Saturday we started our day garage sailing with our youngest and her family. While I only purchased one small item, she came away with several large items. In fact, she got two old(antique) dining room table chairs and one antique writing desk. All three were "shabby" and one chair says it was patented in 1819-wow, if it is true she got quite the find. We spent an hour or so at our local town festival and then in the evening had three friends for dinner and games. It was quite fun!
Yesterday we had both our daughters and their families over for dinner and oh my did we have a good time. The weather was perfect and we didn't have as many May-flies out as in previous years, maybe because we have more mosquitoes(who seem to like me). It was an easy dinner of bbq chicken, green salad, beans, watermelon, Popsicles. I love having the large backyard for all the grands, because when you have 7 running around playing, it can get a bit crazy. They were able to go through the sprinklers and play hide-n-seek. I just have to brag on them a bit; I know you'll understand cause most of you grandparents probably feel the same way as I do about ours. These children are incredible-they all get along so well and the friendship/family bond is tight. There wasn't one exchange of words between them, they just played and played. Plus we've got 7 individuals with very healthy values and yet they are all so very thoughtful of each others feelings. When I was their age, I was constantly getting into arguments and fights and much of it came from being a compliant child who was extremely insecure. I love the fact that each of our grands had a true sense of who they are and although this might be challenging for their parents at times, in the long run, it will make them much more successful in life. I'm also thankful that they have never had to fall into the trap of peer pressure. How blessed we are!!! Sometimes I do feel that I am too strict with them-you know-sodas and Popsicles outside only please etc etc but I think it is because I taught preschool and daycare for so many years.
All in all we had a wonderful afternoon together; this is what family is about!
This week is just normal activities-walking with a friend twice, walking with daughter and grands, spending time with the other daughter and grands and getting some sewing done.
Have a joyous day!
Hugs, Noreen