Mother's Day Blessings

With Mother's Day this Sunday

it was about time to put away Easter

and pay tribute to all the Mothers in our lives.

My hall sideboard is my favorite to decorate

 because each month it is wiped clean

and I start from "scratch".

This area is hard to photo

since there is no direct lighting,

and the stairway is immediately in front.

(think...hanging from a chandelier)

But it is one of my favorites to view

because I see it from my kitchen.

So, like the sunroom, it's changed up frequently.

 I have a collection of Mother's Day framed verses,

(yes, I know, another collection)

but most special are my prints

 from the artist Mary Gold,

which signed her work "marygold".

Roses, flower bouquets, ironstone, and old linens,

 bring the nostalgia of Mother's Day past to life.

This little lady reminds me of the print.

Broken but not discarded...

like so many of us,

we find a place of joy and redemption

with our children.

I'll be sharing more of this wonderful

vintage flower album later.

And if you look closely

your will see the word "Mother"

embroidered on this lovely linen towel.

I'll leave you with this passage from Proverbs.

Proverbs 31:25-30

25. Strength and dignity are her clothing, And she smiles at the future. 26. She opens her mouth in wisdom, And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. 27. She looks well to the ways of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness. 28. Her children rise up and bless her; Her husband [also], and he praises her, [saying]: 29. "Many daughters have done nobly, But you excel them all." 30. Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, [But] a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.

I'm linking to Kathleen from Faded Charm
today for White Wednesday!

And a small note about my mysterious news.
I can't wait any longer...

Sunday evening I will be introducing
The Seed Box "Shop Blog"
that I will be doing for Brian and Meloney Russell.

(remember the wonderful Garden House)

Please come back Sunday Evening
 as I link up and publish our first post.

Love and blessings for all the Mothers.
Have a beautiful week!

 

Debra

Helping Hands

Look at this adorable little hand,

I love the dimples.

and the loving heart...

that goes with these

tiny hands.

Many of you know Libbie from her blog,

 The Middlest Sister

And if you know Libbie,
you know her cutie pie daughter,

Annie.

She has the most precious heart.

She loves people and Jesus,

and when she heard about the earthquake in Haiti,

she wanted to go and help,

or at the very least
send all their money.

Libbie, being a wonderful and wise mommy,

wanted to use this opportunity to help,

and at the same time allow her daughter

an expression of brotherly love and giving.

So Annie made beaded bracelets,

to sell to raise funds for the people of Haiti.

bracelets...

bracelets,

and more...

bracelets.

                                           

She has sold them door to door...

At church, and through many other people and businesses.

All so she could help the people of Haiti.

Here are my two bracelets that I purchased,

made just for me,

with love,

from Annie.

In a time when there are so many

bad things going on in the world,

I wanted to share what is "good",

a child whose heart

and hands

work together.

blessings,

Debra

What we did the day after Christmas...or "my feet are killing me"!

We still have the St. Louis crew here, so this is just a short post before we run out to have dinner, but I wanted to share this "oh so cute" photo of both of my sweetie pies in their aprons they received for Christmas. My sister enlisted the help from her son's girlfriend who is a great little seamstress to make aprons for my girls for Christmas. Erin and Keith entertain regularly so she will use it alot. Aly's pretty busy, so she will just admire hers, but I thought they were just the cutest, and even better they're reversible!

Erin and Alyson

gratuitous cat photo

We had a wonderful Christmas, and today like a bunch of dummies we went to the mall.(we did sleep in though...we not totally crazy!) It was "freeze your patootie off" cold, but we shopped until we literally couldn't get anything else in the trunk. Oh how I love my girlies, and we always have so much darn fun.

New RL boots that we all three just had to have.

The guys spent the day at Bass Pro and Best Buy. Springfield is the "Home" of Bass Pro, so it has a monster store which takes up two blocks. It's tons of fun, though, but you really have to have on your walking shoes.

OK, we're off to have Greek food,

 hope you all are having a wonderful weekend!

Debra

November 1974, Happy Birthday Erin

Long before the days of ultrasounds, trying to discover the gender of a baby was left up to the speed of the baby's heartbeat. The doctor had both of our girls figured as boys. Surprise in both cases. These were the days when Daddy had to wait outside in the "waiting room", with everyone else. So Richard James, named after both of our fathers, had really been Erin Elizabeth all along!

I had been 3 weeks overdue, and had tried all sorts of things to get her here. In a nutshell, I was miserable and so big I could hardly walk. Christmas was coming, and I hadn't done any shopping. I had dreams of an eternal pregnancy!

Erin and I in December 1974, visiting Grandma and Grandpa.

(My one and only time to have frosted hair)

Erin and Keith in October 1997,

one of their engagement photos.

She is one of the few people I have met

that looks good either as a blond or a brunette.

2009 on our recent trip to St. Louis.

Erin, myself, and Alyson, last Christmas.

Just a little trip down memory lane

 to wish my beautiful and loving daughter a

Happy, Happy Birthday, "Beanie"!

Love Mom

Junkin' Monday after a Great Weekend

This last week I was able to find a few things

 out and about, and since I haven't been buying

 much lately, I wanted to share the good "junk"

that found it's way home with me.

This old tray with a fruit motif is pretty "shabby",

but I really have a fondness for these.

 I'm adding it to my collection.

Clay finial, not old, but I love the look of it.

A paper mache rabbit, sporting a festive fall ribbon,

and a wonderful old book from 1872 called

"Cheering Words",

which is a collection of poetry.

And this is a really precious gift that my sister-in-law Letty, from San Antonio made for me. She is a wonderful needlework artist, and she stitched this for me "special", because she knows how much I adore pumpkins! She even "coffee dyed" the linen herself.

This was a great weekend! The kids were here and we had a wonderful visit. We enjoyed ourselves at a couple of our favorite restaurants and then Saturday the girls and I did some major shopping at our mall. Shoes were the main interest. I only bought one pair of boots. The girls on the other hand had multiple finds. The three of us hadn't been shopping together in ages and we really had so much fun! It felt like "the good old days" when they were both living at home.

Erin and Keith, Chris and Alyson

Alyson in action!

Erin has to be available for business even on the weekend. She is a sales manager for the largest home builder in the U.S., and is based in St. Louis.

Here she is"Checkin' In".

I'm excited to have some fun things to share on

Junkin' Monday.

So be sure and click on the McLinky over at

 "Cottage Charm and Family Inspiration",

to see the other "Junker's" weekend finds!

Some fun "Junk" and the Kids,

what a great combination!

Debra

Vintage Black Friday, Indulge me... AND a Blogaversary!

Vintage Black Friday is here again hosted by Jill at Gypsy Brocante, and before fall slips away into a sea of Wonderful White Christmas, I thought I'd share a little impromptu vignette, that I pulled together on my coffee table in the sitting area of my lower level family area.

My favorite part of having booth space at a flea market is the ability to satisfy the urge to create vignettes. My house looks like a "store" at times, so I have to try to tone it down...hard, very hard! These are a few pictures of things I grabbed from around the house and "staged" here for some fun.

Here's a little black wagon with some fall produce, and a black gothic stand holding my big chippy chalk squirrel bank.

A great little vintage black floral tray holding nesting boxes, a black teapot "for one", and a fruit print that is usually in my kitchen.

Don't you just love the cut-outs

on this little gothic hexagonal stand?!!

Kind of has a Moroccan feel to it.

This is one of a set of very small "pocket books" that I found at a flea market this summer. It is collected poems of Edgar Allen Poe.

And an UPDATE: My inspiration, Theresa of Garden Antiques Vintage is having her 3 Year Blogaversary Party. Run on over and check out her great post. She's planning a great PAR-TAY and give-away to celebrate! Happy Anniversary "Sweet T"!!!

Now, I've got to get busy with some last minute
things since I have the kids coming from St. Louis and

 my husband's brother and his wife coming from Texas.

I'll see you in a few days.

Gots to love on my kids!!

 Hope you are having a "Wonder-Fall" time of the year.

 I know I am! I'm savoring every moment!

Debra