Tis The Season...

For making Christmas cards.

For snowy winter roads. 

For baking cookies.

 

 

For Sister's birthday.

For cold mornings and warm fires.

For bright lights.

And for celebrating the best gift that was ever given, Jesus!

 

For God so loved the world, 

that He GAVE His only begotten Son, 

that whosoever believes in Him should not parish, 

but have everlasting life! - John 3:16

Merry Christmas!

November-A Whirlwind Part 2

   In mid-November I flew down to Georgia and attended Wit Ministries Women's Retreat "4 Days 2 Hope". The retreat was held at a beautiful cabin in the mountains near Blue Ridge, Georgia.

The scenery was beautiful, but even more beautiful was the fellowship, the teaching and the work that God did in the hearts and lives of the young women there! For me the weekend was eye-opening, life-changing, life-giving and yes 4 days to hope!! I am so grateful to the LORD that I was able to go!

  

   Grandpa M's funeral was 3 days after I returned home from GA. Almost all the extended family was able to gather together for the services. The emotions surrounding  the funeral were bittersweet... Bitter was the loss, sweet was the bonding closer to the family that remains.

   Thanksgiving was the following week and it was truly a time of thankfulness in my heart. Thankful for God's work in my life, thankful for the years that I had had with my Grandpa M. and all the precious memories of him that I have to remember forever! Thankful for a heart full of hope! Thankful for home, family and friends...

and homemade pies too! 😊

 We hosted the Thanksgiving feast and festivities!

    So there you have it, the highlights of my eventful November 2017! Oh wait-a-second... I forgot to tell you about going to my nephew's musical and spending two more delightful days with all my nieces and nephews, and starting my new job as a Church Secretary and...  

October Memoir

   So here we are, half way thru November and no post yet... in fact no new post in over a month... Where have I been? What events, activities, joys and sorrows have filled my days and kept me from writing? Many, many... oh where do I even begin?

   October was a calm before a rush with beautiful autumn weather,  golden skies, golden fields, and golden moments turned memories.

 

   An impromptu photo shoot with my lovely sister!💗  

   We planted two new apple trees. Meet Harold (short for Haralred)  and Honey (Honey-crisp) our apple trees! 😉

     I had great fun decorating and preparing for Mom's birthday! The bouquet is made of mint and roses from our garden.

   I spent one morning clearing a path along our maple trees in the woods, it will be oh-so-nice this coming sugar season to be able to drive the ATV back in the woods for sap collection instead of manually hauling out full 5-gallon buckets!!! The skid steer made clearing a path a really fun and quick job!! :)

   October...  visiting Grandpa M. at the nursing home... holding his hand, fall yard-work, Mom's birthday, a hike through the woods and along the river at a near by State Park... talking with the Lord, October a beautiful, calm and golden month...

State Park path

Two Favorite Kinds Of Tea

   I am a hot tea lover! And it is a rare day in my life that doesn't include at least one cup of tea! And in the wintertime make that 2-3 cups! :) Over the years I have become quite opinionated on what a good tasting cup of tea is & isn't and I have found my favorite kinds of tea among the many brands and flavors that I have tried. I know that I haven't sampled a fraction of the teas on the market... but from what I have tried... these are two of my favorites: 

Organic Jasmine Green Tea 

from Prince of Peace 

 This is my go to, everyday cup of tea. In general I don't like green teas, but my one exception is jasmine green tea! For me the jasmine covers up the "grass" flavor that is characteristic in most green tea blends. I think I have liked most brands of Jasmine green tea that I have tried... but the one I normally purchase is Prince of Peace from Vitacost.com. I love that you get 100 bags in a box for under 6 dollars (and if you watch for sale codes you can get it even cheaper!) They also offer a non-organic Jasmine Green Tea, which is also good and slightly less expensive.

 

Sweet & Spicy 

caffeine free - herbal tea

From Good Earth

    This tea has bold flavor! With the most prominent tastes being cinnamon, ginger & orange. The name sweet & spicy fits this tea perfectly. Both my Mom and I have loved this tea from the first cup! You can buy it at Walmart and many other stores. (Good Earth Sweet & Spicy Tea comes in both regular and caffeine-free.) 

Winter Days

Gone is the brown and drab of yesterday... Thousands of snowflakes now dancing down from the sky, lacing the evergreens and everything in white beauty & splendor!

Outside this winter we've had snow and rain and mud and ice, sunshine and clouds and fog, drabness and beauty, warm (40 degree days!) and cold and colder and coldest (Windchill -50!). But inside our home we've had...

Puzzles that take days to complete...  

Homemade soup, cornbread and candle light!

Long Monopoly games!

Fresh fruit for breakfast! (Sunshine in a bowl!)

Tea in my favorite mug! (It's a hug-a-mug, handmade pottery!)