My Thanksgiving Holiday!

My Thanksgiving turned out to be much more enjoyable as I figured it to be. Not that I was dreading any of the plans we made, but it was the first year in a while not being at my Papa's and cooking. Thanksgiving was his holiday and I have dreaded having it without him since he passed away. Ironically enough, I felt very close to him that day. We traveled to Louisiana to visit Nathan's parents and grandmother. Although I have been there once before, I noticed some things for the first time which blew me away. Wednesday night after we arrived and ate, I was standing there in kitchen and putting away some food and all of the sudden it hit me what we'd be doing then if he were still alive and that would be cooking his famous meat sauce. We did this for the past three years the night before Thanksgiving. He cooked it for the girls because we loved it so much.

(this is pic of the last time we made it together 3/09)

Of course, I got a little upset and decided to go outside and visit his star that my kids picked out for him the night he passed away and what a beautiful clear sky it was. After coming in, I got ready for bed and pulled the covers down and there was a blue blanket, identical to the one my Papa had that him and fought over for the past two years and he gave me several days before he died and usually I carry that blanket with me and happen to have left it this go round. The next morning, I decided to go outside and spend some time viewing God's beauty and read his word. As I walked out on the back porch, I look around and could see my Papa everywhere. His grandmother had Christmas cactus everywhere and what I call airplane plants.

These are the same things that my Papa loved to grow and had his green house filled with them. Never had I seen a Christmas cactus anywhere else. It blew me away. I continued to look around and sit out there and just saw so many things that were him and felt such a wonderful peace about it. To top it all off, my Papa's favorite desert was a coconut cake and we had one every Christmas and every Thanksgiving, which is not the most common holiday desert and guess what Nathan's mother made.... a coconut cake. Crazy! I called it ironic, but tome there really is nothing ironic about things like that; it is all God's doings. I have to say that the first part of this year was one of the toughest in my life, but the second half, God has really done some amazing things in my life and blessed me with so much. If ever I have doubted (not that I have) that God is constantly working in my life, he has erased any doubt possible. He has been so so good to me! I spent a good bit of that time outside Thanksgiving morning, thanking him for all of those blessings. He put me where I needed to be and I gave him all the glory for it. Not only did he surround me with my Papa, he put these people in my life to share it with and I enjoyed sharing my first Thanksgiving without my Papa with them. Nathan and his family are a blessing just as well. Always remember, God is good and turn loose and let him work in your life. It seems to work out much better. I can testify to that!

We traveled back to MS that evening and got ready for our Thanksgiving dinner with my family. My mother came home from Alabama and my dad came in from Alabama too and we enjoyed our Thanksgiving Friday evening. We spent the night over my brothers, the entire family Thursday night and built a fire and sat around it telling stories on one another and the kids made smores. It was very nice and relaxing. Friday morning, my sister-in-law, my daughter and I hit the "BLACK FRIDAY" sales (which I said that I was not going to do).

We left the house about 2:30 am and headed out, with no sleep basically but coffee in hand. We got to our first store that opened at 3am and by 9:30am we had hit 7 stores and one of those twice. It was not bad at all and we had a great time. I was so excited because I got my 119.00 quilt I had been eyeing for 29.00.

Yep, 29.00!

The lack of sleep was worth every bit of that so now I have the bedspread that I truly wanted and saved 100.00 on it. It was funny because this was my daughter's first time to experience it and probably by 8:30 or so, she was literally dragging bags throughout the mall. I enjoyed her being with me though and she enjoyed it too! By 11:00 that morning, heading home we all starting showing clear signs of deliriousness and were VERY tired. I think we all took about an hour nap at some point throughout the day in between preparing our dinner and it would be safe to say that the three of us all called it an early night that night!

It was a great Thanksgiving and actually got me a bit more excited about the holiday season. I look forward to those memories being made and spending more time with the people I love.

IN SEARCH OF THE BEST BEDROOM EVER CREATED....

Well I am still on the search for the perfect bedroom...........I will be moving in December to a little farm house and get the chance to re-do my room. I want it to clean lined, simply, feminine (but not girly), and very warm. I have looked at bedspreads, covers, blankets, comforters until I almost NEVER want to even see another one. I am NOT a picky person by any means whatsoever, but I am having the hardest time finding what it is I want or have pictured in my mind. Well let me back up a minute, I am having a hard time finding what I want in a price range that is not going to kill me especially here at Christmas.

Here is the inspiration for my room though. This is a pic Nathan and I took in New Orleans. I LOVE it! NO has some of the prettiest scenery to me.

The walls are already painted an ivory, beige color and I like it unusually. I want a fern or sage color as main color and accent it with rust colors and a light beige. I have found a million different things in this color, but either crazy high in price or can't get it all to come together.

The second, third and somewhere between the forth and fifth blankets pictured are the colors I was trying to work in...

I want the lightest color to top the bed to keep it open and airy and feminine.

I just know that it is driving me nuts. I need a recommended site that sells bedding at AFFORDABLE prices. These are not expensive it is just that by the time you buy the ones you need, you still have sheets to get, bedskirt and blah blah and it really does not work out. Anyway, any recommendations are welcomed before I drive myself SO crazy and actually I would love one night not to dream about a bedspread! It's not even a big important thing either but it is stuck in my head!

New Necklace

1 Corinthians 13:13

(New International Version)

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

This was the inspiration of this necklace. I came across this verse (AGAIN) while reading and it really stuck in my head this time. I was working on some jewelry the other night about 1:30am and was thinking about the verse again so I put down what I was working on and this transpired. I love it. Since I have made it on a round disc that I slightly domed and made the word "love" a bit bigger and actually love it even more. I just absolutely love that verse. I gives you something to really believe in this day in time in the "prepatory world" anyway (in my own opinion).

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY!

Romans 12:6-9

Let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren't. If you preach, just preach God's Message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don't take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don't get bossy; if you're put in charge, don't manipulate; if you're called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don't let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face. Love from the center of who you are; don't fake it.


I get a bible verse everyday from my church and this is the one from today! Thought it was a great one to share, as they all are, but this one particularly. Very simple and to the point.

Have a blessed day!

Happy Wednesday!

YAY! It's Wednesday and only have two days til Friday! Wednesday has become one of my favorite days because I know I am on the downward slope to reach the weekend from this point forward!

It's going to be a busy Wednesday put definitely looking forward to it. Tonight is paint night! I love painting and doing anything that pertains to home decor. We are painting Nathan's room tonight. He recently bought a house and we have been painting all the rooms. After this one, we have one left.. the big one... the living room. It is amazing how far he has come with it all in the little time that has past. It's been fun though! He may not view it that way, but it has been for me. It has made me want to tackle my own room now. My room has only really ever been a place to sleep and nothing more other than ANOTHER place for my kids to lays something down somewhere. (URG!) I believe that everyone's bedroom should be their own little palace and a great place to relax and get away from the distractions of the world (if it is a palace, you are allowed to pretend that you actually can escape that). BUT... the room has to be created with that coziness feeling and something that feels like you. I found mine..

HOW RELAXING DOES THAT LOOK? HGTV... of course! I may never want to leave it if it did indeed look like that. But being realistic, I have a 80lb. dog that sleeps with me, or really on top of my feet and two kids that are not OCD AT ALL, so it would not work, but you get the idea anyway. Did I mention I love to daydream.... I really would like to re-do it and create a cozy environment suited for me.

Anyway, enough of that.... well actually now this bedroom is all I can see in my head so instead of going on and on about it, I will close this post. Hope everyone enjoys their WEDNESDAY!!!

Until then....

IT HAS BEEN LOOONG OVERDUE!

Well it has been a very long time since I last wrote in my blog and SO SO much has happened since then both personally and in my jewelry adventure!

I left in May to go help my mother take care of my grandfather who was diagnosed with terminal cancer the end of March. My mother and my aunt were both there taking care of him and they also were having their own health issues at the time, which is why I decided to take leave and go.

It was a very very hard 6 weeks there watching my grandfather's condition rapidly deteriorate until he died the mid of June. Although it was very hard, I would not change it for anything and would not trade those last 6 weeks or the sharing the last moments of his life for anything. I still have a hard time dealing with his loss from time to time, but I will forever be grateful of the time I spent with him and the decision I made, at some great cost, to go to Alabama. I actually did his entire funeral service and delivered it all myself. Never in a million years would I imagine I'd ever be doing anything like that, but it was kind of like my own tribute to him because I did not want someone else who did not know who he was up there recapping his like. It was a very intimate and personal service and I think it would have been what he would have wanted.

I know some know that also during that time my ex-husband was diagnosed with cancer and was going through his treatments. Just 2 weeks ago, he received good news from the doctor and all of his scans come back showing NO hot spots or live cancer. This being more on a positive note.

Something else incredible happened to me the late part of the summer. I met a wonderful man who has become a very important part of my life now. I actually met him this time last year but with so much going on in my life ,the ups and downs, our relationship was platonic. After coming home from Alabama, we connected again and started dating in August. He is a very great person and I am so very happy and feel blessed to have him in my life.

Now, things in the past several weeks have really started taking off with my jewelry. I finally got my showcase in at the Craftmen's Guild of MS and now they have some more on display at an exhibit they are doing now. I have my jewelry in 3 stores and was approached at my last show to put it in another store locally that just opened in October. Also in October, I exhibited at the Guild for the New Members Exhibit. I enjoyed that greatly and got great feedback and made some of my own great contacts. I have another show on November 14th at the Brick Street Festival in Clinton and then an Open House on November 20th by the request of some friends and repeat customers from one of the stores that I carry it in. I missed all the deadlines for Chimneyville due to being in Alabama, but am going to do Sugar Plum Market in Vicksburg on the 5th. I am about to get started on my website and continue to keep going. I have made lots of new things and am venturing out more and more. If I could get the photo thing down I feel like I could be set to go. It is all been a blessing and am enjoying it a lot.

I must say the later part of this year thus far has been far better than the first part of this year. Regardless, I will continue to thank God for each day he does bless me with and continue to tread water.

I look forward to getting back to my blogging. It was really hard to come back to because there were so many emotions left there, but I finally bit the bullet and opened it up for the very first time since April. Feels good! I look forward to catching up with everyone and I hope all is well with everybody!

And last, thank you for those of you who showed me great encouragement and support while I was going thru such a rough time. I will forever be grateful to you!!