DOUBLELY BLESSED THIS WEEK!!

Earlier this week - the doorbell rang and when I opened the door I was very surprised to see a FedEx truck driving away.  I was not expecting anything – but there sat a big box, with my name on it, on the front porch.  I couldn’t wait to open it and see what was inside.  Oh my, I was blown away.  My sweet friend Lori, theblackcrow, had sent me a “just because” gift.  

There was a book – Country Decorating – to add to my American Country collection.  And then, Lori had sent something for my Blue/Brown Guest Room – a huge old blue wooden bowl and a few brown rag balls.

Here they are just out of the box.


Here is the bowl on my quilt.  I hope you can see the wonderful patina and how great the colors are for this room.


I placed the bowl on my great-grandmother’s sewing machine, that I use as a bedside table.  I love it!  Lori, thank you for being so thoughtful - it is perfect!
 

Lori has been going through a busy season of life lately and hasn’t been able to post on her blog for awhile, but I encourage you to visit her blog anyway and check out her past posts here - you won’t be disappointed.

Yesterday - when my husband checked the mail our mailbox was empty, so we thought we had just not received any mail for that day.  Later in the afternoon my sister came by and when I opened the door there sat a box, with the mail tucked underneath it.  This box had my name on it too!  

Now that is two packages (for me) in one week – this is definitely out of the ordinary.  Again, I couldn’t wait to open the box and see what was inside.   It was a gift from my dear friend Linda, Parker’s Paradise.  

Linda had posted a picture of a sampler that she stitched (here), with the name of each grandchild, in a heart, around the words “Grandma’s Blessings” - and my grandmother’s heart was touched.  My “grands” are one of the great delights of my life and I just love that Linda feels the same way about hers.  I had posted a comment on Linda’s blog and she emailed me about my grandchildren – and then this wonderful gift arrived in the mail!



This picture does not do it justice.  It is beautiful!  Thank you, Linda,  for being so thoughtful – I love it!  (I  will be rearranging a wall display to make a special place to hang this – need DH’s help for this, so will post a picture later.)

Linda is a dear and her blog is delightful –be sure to visit her here.

GRATITUDE - I have made many dear friends through blogging. I had no idea when I began this journey what to expect, but I have been blessed beyond measure.

Thank you to each of my followers - and a special thank you to those of you who take the time to comment.  You touch my life with your friendship, as you encourage and inspire me.

Blessings,
Sue

Tuesday’s Display Chain ~ LOVE

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” I Corinthians 13:4-8   
 
I couldn’t begin to talk about love without first acknowledging the love of my Heavenly Father – because He is love!  He gave us the example of how we should love.  As I seek to follow Him, my desire is to show His love to the people in my life.  

  
Pictured above is my husband’s grandmother’s Bible.  When she died a note was found inside that said she wanted him to have her bible – I’m sure that she saw in him even as a little boy the godly man he was to become.

The second greatest love in my life is my husband, Adolph, who truly is my best friend.  In 1969 my family moved to Eastman, Georgia, and I went to work in one of the local factories.  I was planning to attend a Design Institute in the fall to study Interior Design and needed to work to help with expenses.  But my plans soon changed.  One day at work a good looking guy kept driving by on a forklift and I began to flirt with him.  I said to the girl I was working with, “This is the man I am going to marry.”  And she said, “He is my brother-in-law, would you like for me to introduce you?”  Well of course!!!  We went out that weekend and were inseparable from then on.  Three months later we were married – at the young ages of 18 and 19.  Did we know what loves was at that age?  Certainly not – but we grew up together and grew into love.  This year we will celebrate our 42nd anniversary. 


Here I am with the love of my life just before we ran/walked a 5K last month.  Not only does he support me in what I do – he often joins me.

The next greatest love in my life is my family.  We were blessed with three children – two daughters and a son – and then, as they married my heart expanded to embrace three more loves.  We are so proud of all of our children and the wonderful adults they have become.  In 1991 our daughter blessed us with our first granddaughter.  My heart overflowed with love  and this little girl stole my heart.  As each additional grandchild came along I fell in love all over again.   They truly are a delight!


Here are all nine of our grandchildren with me on my birthday in September.

Lest anyone thinks we have the perfect marriage or the perfect family, let me assure you we do not.  There have been ups and downs and trials and triumphs, but love covers it all!

Well, that is it for me.  When I think of love my heart always goes to God, my precious husband, and my family.  I do have many other joys and delights in my life but none can compare with these.  

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” I Corinthians 13:13  

(This week's Display theme was "LOVE".  Be sure to visit 1890 Gable House Musings and check out all of this week's participants.)

May you be blessed with love,
Sue

TUESDAY DISPLAY CHAIN - "DISPLAYED SENTIMENTS" and A FEW OTHER THINGS

The theme for this week’s Display Chain hosted by Misi at 1890 Gable House Musings is “Displayed Sentiments”.  One thing that tugs at my sentimental heart is family.  We have a large family and I could write a book about memories and “heart tugs” related to each member – but I have chosen just a few to share today.

The first sentiment I would like to share is something special our SIL did for our family.  While he was serving our country in the Air Force he had this flag flown on a combat mission over Afghanistan in honor of our family.  The authenticating certificate reads, “In honor of the Beck Family from the Men and Women of the 71st Expeditionary Rescue Squadron”.  I am so grateful to the men and women who serve our country and my heart is touched each time I pass by this display.  Our SIL is pictured in the photo on the left and our son, who served in the Marines, is pictured on the right.

 

Another sentiment that touches my heart is a poem that our granddaughter wrote for a school assignment and then printed (in red, which is my favorite color) and had framed for my 60th birthday.  Hannah and I share the same birthday and this was written days before she turned 13.  The poem is entitled “Where I Am From”.  She begins the poem with “I am from” and then lists many family memories/sentiments – like family celebrations, favorite foods at these gatherings, the tradition of the red plate, and then she closes the poem with these words:

I am from a family of encouragement and where everything remotely good is an achievement.

I am from the family that made me who I am.


 

The last sentiment I would like to share is the gift my precious husband bought me for our anniversary this past June.  It is a dry sink from the 1800’s and was in a price range that is beyond our budget.  We visited the shop a few times over several weeks and DH talked down the price (still too much I thought) but he bought it anyway.  I stood there in the store and cried – I was overwhelmed that he did this for me.  I think he was proud of himself that he had pleased me so.  We use it as a storage island in our kitchen and I fall in love with my husband all over again every time I look at it.

 

Be sure and visit Misi’s blog and check out the other Display Chains.

A FEW OTHER THINGS…

I wanted something special to display on my wire tree and I found just what I was looking for at Kattywhompus Primitives.  Be sure to visit Rhonda’s blog too for some delightful eye candy.  Here is my tree with the beeswax hearts I ordered from Rhonda – I topped it with a vintage Valentine postcard.  Thanks again Rhonda – I love the hearts!

 

A few years ago I wanted to express to my husband how much I love him and I came up with the idea to show him love for 14 days (February 1-14).  Each day I did something to express my love to him – a card, a small gift (very inexpensive), a note in his lunch box – many of these items were homemade.  Then on Valentine’s Day I made a special dinner for him and made the whole evening all about him.  One of the gifts I gave him, which we still use, is this heart shaped pocket pillow.  The pillow stays on our bed year round and we use the pocket for leaving love notes and special treats for each other.


 

Thank you all for stopping by and don’t forget to express your love to those who are special to you.

Blessings,
Sue

Celebrated All Weekend!

My birthday was on the 17th, but I celebrated all weekend!

FRIDAY - My sweet husband had planned to take me out to eat at my favorite restaurant on my birthday, but my Mama called that morning and said that my Daddy wanted to cook a steak for me.  I couldn’t say no to that!  Last year my Daddy had a hemorrhagic stroke and we almost lost him.  He had a long road to recovery but is doing quite well for his 84 years.  He is a great cook and steak is his specialty.  Mama made a salad and vegetables to go with the steak and strawberry cheesecake for dessert - yummy!  I am the oldest of five and a bit spoiled – and it seems no matter how old I get I still love being spoiled by my Daddy and Mama.

SATURDAY -  My husband took me to a couple of Prim Shops.  I had received a gift certificate from a friend to one of the shops for my birthday and the other one was having their Fall Gathering.  I didn’t buy much because I already have a lot of Fall decor and I really want to focus on primitive accessories that I can use everyday.

This is what I did find: some Pumpkin Apple Butter Soap, a few scented and grubbied candles, a bag of dried orange slices, a candle wreath, and a hanging battery candle.



After the prim shopping we ate lunch at our favorite barbeque restaurant.  It’s one of those places that is very “primitive” to say the least – both inside and outside.  But the food is to die for – ribs, sliced pork, potato salad and cole slaw.  I made sure I ate the small plate because I had dinner plans.

After lunch my sweet husband took me to pick out my birthday present.  He bought me a new camera – a Nikon COOLPIX.  It has 12.0 megapixels, 4x zoom and a 2.7 inch LCD screen.  (This is a super improvement over the Kodak Easy Share camera I have been using for the past 7 or so years.)  I am enjoying learning to use it.



(Oh, and we also bought some mums – I plan to get those planted on Monday.)

One of my birthday blessings – 14 years ago - was having one of our granddaughters, Hannah, born on my birthday.  Hannah calls me her “Birthday Buddy” and we always try to do something together for our birthdays.  For her birthday celebration her Mom took her and a few friends out to dinner and a movie on Saturday, and Hannah asked me to join them.  It was a lot of fun hanging out with 6 teenagers.  Times sure have changed since I was a teen!

This is a picture of me with my “Birthday Buddy” Hannah.



SUNDAY – Our entire family – all 17 of us – met at Carrabba’s for lunch.  I had Steak Marsala, Mediterranean Salad, Garlic Mashed Potatoes and of course lots of fresh bread with the seasoned olive oil dipping sauce.  I won’t need any dinner tonight.

After lunch my husband took a picture of me with all of our grandchildren.  They are: Alexis – 19, Briana – 17, Hannah – 14, Kaley – 14 in 2 weeks, Abbey – 9, Kevin – 7, Caelyn – 5, Caleb – 2, and Carlie – 8 months.  I am a proud Grammie!



What a busy and fantastically fun weekend!  Now I need some rest – I’m not as young as I once was!

I hope you all had a great weekend.

Autumn Blessings,
Sue