Into the New Year ...

Since I was little I was an actress. Acting in all my elementary school plays and musicals. A one-girl act in talent shows with the loving support and encouragement from my mom and grandma. My grandma was my seamstress. Always making my costumes. Always coming up with the creative ideas behind my talent. She was self-taught.The love of learning and creating flowing like blood through her veins. It seeped from her pores. Contagious. Then she came to know Jesus. What a Savior! Her conversations about Him as vibrant and glowing as if she had met Him in person. She did. One lonely night in the living room of her trailer. In front of the tv. Having witnessed the death and divorce of loved ones. Shattered hopes and dreams. A habit she needed to break. Friends she needed to make. There, my grandma met Jesus.

elizabethannedesigns.com

 

 I majored in Communications in college. With an emphasis in broadcast journalism. Then two years later switching to print media. I dj'd a bit. Wrote for a town newspaper. And had hopes of editing Vogue or Mademoiselle magazines. (High hopes for a small town girl.) The Big Apple was gearing up for my arrival.

watchmedaddy.blogspot.com

 

Then I met Jesus. Not in the living room or by the tv. But in a quiet Wednesday night prayer meeting in my local church. Having witnessed the death and divorce of loved ones. Shattered hopes and dreams. A habit I needed to break. (or two or three) Friends I needed to make. Jesus met me there. I can remember singing, "I surrender All. All to Jesus, my precious Savior. I surrender all...." It's a beautiful hymn I've sung many times since. The Lord took me from majoring in magazines to majoring in missions. I traveled the world. Touching hearts and souls that were seeking. Seeking for what my grandma found. A love for Jesus. I left Him there to fill the bleeding holes in their hearts. Hoping  that my life was contagious enough. They wanted to know my story. HA! It's so simple. Hardly worth telling. Except when someone wants it. Wants Him. Then it's like blood flowing through their veins. His blood.. That covers all our sins. A must have. Essential. Contagious.

thebellacottage.blogspot.com

 

Now I'm back on the mission field in my own home. Hoping to inspire two little girls that cling to my every word. They want to "be like me." I want their every breath to be Jesus. I want them to see the fire that still burns in my grandma's heart at 85 years old. Her walk with Jesus is still contagious. That's how I want to be. Yesterday. Today. In this New Year. Let's do it together!

TREE TRASH

I have to say I have been giggling about this picture every time I look at it. I've told you the story! We got this hideous-looking Christmas tree this year. Last years was PERFECT. But this year ... Well, let's just say somebody had to have sympathy on the poor thing. And it had to be me! H A!

I tried to decorate it. Honestly. Nothing would help the thorny bush! And it was thorny too!! OUCH!!! I swear it drew blood!
Well, now the tree is history! It went out with the trash Monday. As in the day after Christmas! YEP! Normally our tree would grace our living room until New Years Day. But this year, hours after the presents were opened, and the glow was still on the children's faces, I was happily ridding our house of all the prickly needles and debris.
You know that wonderful evergreen, fresh scent that comes into the house with the tree? Well, this one didn't have one! Another reason I should have thought twice.

Are you gearing up for New Years? What plans do you have?
Tammy

Just Playing

Hope everyone had wonderful celebrations no matter how near or far you may be! We enjoyed some fun with my family and new niece this year; everyone vying to hold her. Now that the partying is over, it's back to RAIN here in PA. No snow to speak of. Oh Well!

 I am enjoying this new photo editing program I found online. It's called PhotoScape. It allows me to make  collages like the one above. I am so excited! I am a little slow at these kind of things, so this is a real breakthrough for me! You'll be sure to see more of this kinda thing here from now on!
Cheers,
Tammy

My White Winter Wonderland

Well, I'm dreaming of a white Christmas. Are you? Maybe you are surrounded by a wintery wonderland in your part of the world. How wonderful! Our forecast is calling for temps in the mid 40's with the slightest chance of flurries if we look hard enough! HA! A girl can make her own snow, right? I decided to surround my self with some indoor white since I don't have it outside! Let me give you a little "tour" of my indoor winter wonderland.

I was wonderfully surprised this Christmas! My mom and grandma came into my house and snuck this beautiful creamy, white, chippy lamp into my living room. RIGHT UNDER MY NOSE! But I didn't suspect a thing. Very Tricky!

L.O.V.E.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've recently re-organized my shelves in my home school area. I like the way they turned out. Now unto my desk!!

Have a very merry Christmas dear friends!!
Tammy

Go Build a Snowman

Merry Christmas Greetings to Everyone --
If you are traveling this week for the holidays, I wanted to give you this playful image of a snowman to take with you. Maybe it will give you something good to giggle about on your journey. Even if you are not traveling, this is something fun to relieve the hustle and bustle of the holidays!! Have a very Merry Christmas!

BlissfullyContentLife.blogspot.com

MERRY CHRISTMAS and Stuff

Dear Friends --

 I saw this wonderful picture on Pinterest and now I am so bent on finding me some crates! It would be the perfect solution to my family room storage issue. So far I have one crate ...only 15 more to go!

Another wonderful image on Pinterest today. Have you seen it too? I love the white and the simple starkness of it all. The white painted floor is fabulous. Now if I can just convince my Honey!! 

Isn't this idea so clever? I just love what this Pinterest artist did to create these paper roses for their Christmas package. It makes me want to go make some! Well, almost!
Merry Christmas to everyone! 
I hope your season is filled with Faith, Peace and Joy and most of all, the Love of Christ! 

Tammy

Food For Thought

"...And we only have what we give away, and all our hungry places are only fed by how we make our lives bread." -- Ann Voskamp
I've just been soaking in those wonderful words lately by the author of One Thousand Gifts. It's really an incredible story and life-inspiring read if you haven't picked it up yet.

I mentioned I was so excited about an upcoming event...I am thrilled to be teaching a class on decorating to a group of high schoolers next semester.It will be eight classes, an hour long.. I am thrilled and scared and praying for the Lord's help all at once. But so looking forward to it!!
Enjoying the season,
Tammy

Glitter and Glam

Everything that sparkles was on my Christmas table Sunday. It was our progressive dinner party for our small church group. Have you ever been to a progressive party? They are so much fun.

I'll never forget the first one I went to in Dallas, Texas with my sister. The house was beautiful. The people we met there were Christians and so delightful and inviting to us strangers. Have you ever had a near-perfect occasion? This was one of those. Everyone was delightful. The surroundings were beautiful. The food was scrumptious. It was the Christmas season! 

In a progressive dinner you start out at somebody's house for appetizers for about 45 minutes. Then you travel to the next house for the main course. The third house offers the desserts. We have always played the white elephant game at all our progressive parties. I love the "stealing" part. It really gets the party started! Does anyone understand what I mean? Have you been to one of those? It's not so much fun unless someone is willing to playfully "steal" the other guest's opened gift. If that idea bothers you, be assured that nobody goes home without a gift. The one stolen from always gets to choose another gift. The banter and laughter fill the room like the presents and people at the party.
Enjoy your festivities as you make your way through the Christmas season!
Stay tuned: I can't wait to share with you one of my newest "ventures"! 

Tammy

Ahhh.... Christmas

I love Christmas, don't you? 

We have our outside lights up. Lights on two trees and a sweet little tree with lights in our sun room that can be seen from the road. It's all so glorious! The girls are getting so excited!  How is your family decorating?
Last year we bought a $40 Christmas tree and so this year we decided to save that money and cut down our own in my mother's woods. I wish you could have been there. It was a hoot. As it turned out it was just me cutting down the tree!

Thankfully it was a not-so-cold day and it was the first "little" pine I saw and I didn't have to go far. I say little with a laugh because in my living room it does not look so little. Now I am asking myself how I ever thought it would fit. It does. BARELY.

I have to say it is bar far the UGLIEST tree we have ever put up. I felt sad for it. It was free. Destined to be in my living room. If I have the courage I will take a picture of it. Even with decorations on it, it doesn't help!
But somebody had to love it, right? 
I guess it was meant to be!
Merry Holidays!!
Tammy

BABY, It's COLD OUTSIDE

Merry, Merry!
I hope you all enjoyed your turkey day! I was so pleased with how everything turned out! Our first thanksgiving at our house and everything was homemade. No burnt crusts. (well, only a little pumpkin spilling out of the tin pie plate...oops!) But it was all good!! Thanks to my mom who helped me pull off the gravy at the last minute!! WHEW! Close call, I'll tell ya!

I thought I would leave you with a couple jingles I've been hearing on my radio lately. I'm going to write some of them on my chalkboards around here!
" BABY, It's COLD OUTSIDE" or how about, "The weather outside is frightful..."
Happy Shopping!
Tammy

Playing with Money

Hey Everyone --
We had a fun home school day recently with money. I gave the girls a bunch of coins and as we sifted through them identifying the coin and value they came up with these cute "pictures."

Gracie made a tree. And Rachel made a caterpillar.

I don't remember my school days learning about money or having this much fun with it.
Happy Weekend!
Tammy

Living Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving Sweet Friends --
Last night I spend a quiet evening decorating our farm table for Thanksgiving. I am so excited. It is really starting to look cute. It looks so much better in person (I wish you could come see it!). Honey took the girls to the Bass Pro Shop (one of their favorite date night places!) and I got the house to myself. After a busy homeschool day and watching my 9 month old neice, it was a mess. But somehow I ignored all that, and concentrated on setting the table.

 The girls had fun on their date. They got to sit on "Santa's" lap and had their picture taken, all for free. There was even a merry-go-round and race track for remote control cars. An elderly lady commented to Honey how cute the girls were, and that made him feel great. So all around, everyone had a great, fun evening!

My "tablecloth" this year is a burlap runner down the middle. It's hard to tell with all the stuff on the table. The girls and I decided to go crafty this year and make our Thanksgiving as much like the First Thanksgiving in Plymouth, Massachusetts as we could. My youngest will be a Native American girl while my oldest will sport a long dress complete with apron and bonnet. My husband will be William Bradford with the laced down shirt compliments of my dear friend Julie. And me...well I have to be flexible. I haven't found a pilgrim's dress, so I think I will have my own headdress and come as a squaw. We'll see! In any event, it is all fun. We made these adorable Mayflower boats and wrote each person's name on the sail. I also made a pilgrim hat (it's a little rough closeup, but you get the idea) to put our cut, raw vegetables in.

More pics and thoughts on all this later. For now I will leave you with a little picture from my girls on "Santa's" lap. (The REAL santa is coming to my daughter's December birthday party!!)
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!!

Christmas Party

I am starting to think about my husband's work Christmas party this year and what I will wear! I found some fabulous dresses over at Shabby Apple and can't make up my mind. I was wondering what you thought!  

I love the gloves with it too!

Are you dressing up for a party this year? Do tell!!
Tammy

Chippy White & Bistro Chairs

Happy Autumn Weekend Everyone --
I am excited to share with you some wonderful, LONG - IN - COMING - PURCHASES I made recently! See these babies? They are now sitting at my farm table along with two more just like them! I AM THRILLED!!

 They are so creamy and white and chippy. LOVE!

There's More!

At the same sweet little antique spot I found this chippy file cabinet in all it's white glory! Just had to have it!

I'm just loving the way all these chippy whites look in my sun room with my pallet - made daybed and husband - made farm table. It's fun to look out my kitchen window everyday and see it all. Isn't it wonderful to gaze upon pretty things? Just think what Heaven must be like!!!!! I can't imagine!

I am looking forward to sharing with you the wonderful Thanksgiving crafts I made Thursday while my sister watched my girls for the afternoon. We are having the Thanksgiving feast at our house this year, so I am getting ready. Photos coming!
Tootles --
Tammy

Chippy White

Hello Friends --
Just a few days ago we were enjoying a beautiful Autumn season with green and red leaves brightly coloring our back yards. See these .... I just brought some branches in to decorate my table.

The Flood

Greetings and Salutations!
My man and I have been having a week! Let me tell you about it. Our township mandated a change in the way our wash water disposes to the outside. So my husband did research and carefully made the necessary changes. As a result of $$$ and time spent making these changes, our washing machine dumped three loads of dirty water into our carpeted basement.

Source:Augusta Rosa photostream

It still STINKS really bad.The professional carpet cleaners we called advised us not to use their services until the smell is gone. The smell means the carpet is still wet underneath and the shampooing will not solve that issue. So...we wait.
The blessing in all this was that I got a new sink downstairs. I have always wanted a bathroom downstairs, and so now I am halfway there! It's exciting for us to be in our craft/laundry room and get all messy and then just take a few steps and wash up at the sink.

Source: GlobalAtelierblogspot.com

The funny thing was, we BOTH forgot our 8th wedding anniversary Tuesday when this all happened. We remembered the next day and had a good laugh.
Hope your week has been a little less "adventurous!"

Stay dry ......
Tammy

White & Lovely Things

I love White! Can never get enough of white. It hasn't been until the last year or so that I realized how much I love the wonderful shades of white. With just the right textures and wood finishes and lovely vintage materials, white comes alive.

Just look at this white vintage bowl against the fresh woodsy farm table. Nice.

October Beauty

Instead of preparing for my homeschooling day tomorrow, I am swooning over these beautiful pictures I found on Pinterest. See what I mean .....

Hmmmm... maybe I will teach house decorating tomorrow!!

Courageous

October Greetings Everyone! 

I am just so thankful for the glorious 70 degree weather we have been having these last few days. I could live the rest of my days like this!
I told you the last time we chatted the my husband and I were going on a little date to see the new movie Courageous. My husband warned that I would need a few tissues. He even brought some for us. I do not consider myself to be very emotional, but this movie really proved me wrong. If you are anything like me, you will need more than a couple tissues! BRING THE WHOLE BOX! This is the fourth movie that this church has produced and it really shows the experience they have gained. It is an excellent movie for both men and women, but is definitely highly recommended for men. You will laugh. You will cry. You will be angry. You will cry. You will be happy. You will cry.
I plan to buy it when it comes out. It's that good.

Hope you are enjoying Autumn where you are!

Tammy

October Weekend -- THANKS MOM

Gonna stay indoors this weekend! It's to be cool and rainy. My husband and I have a sweet date lined up thanks to my precious mom. Hooray for MiMi! We are headed to see the new Courageous film. Have you heard about it? It's from the same film makers as Fireproof. Loved that movie for it's Gospel content! Even though this is sure to be a "man's movie" I am looking forward to the alone time with him.
Afterwards I'm picking out a cozy, out-of-the-way place for us to have a light lunch. The cozier the better! Know what I mean?
I also made some YUMMY chicken noodle soup today!! Another thanks to my precious mom who came just at the right time. I was balancing my niece and trying to answer endless questions from my two inquisitive daughters, while trying to pick a hot chicken and cut celery. (sorry I don't have a picture of that chaos HAHA)
My mom comes in and sweeps up my niece for her meal time, and I got my youngest busy chopping celery.
  I know I have a wonderful mom!!

As I think about how wonderful my date will be with my man tomorrow, I am remembering the yummy grey sweater my mom bought for me over the summer. I really didn't know this was going to be a tribute to my mom -- post, but again, a gift from her. I will wear it tomorrow and be all cozy in my jeans. Isn't that what Autumn is all about, anyway? Being cozy?

Have a cozy weekend yourself!
Tammy

The Calendar says FALL

I haven't been very willing to relinquish Summer. 
It's my favorite time of year. But because my husband told me that the calendar says today is the official start of Fall, I will embrace it. 
Have you had anything recently that you haven't wanted to let go of? Embracing is not always easy. Not always welcome. It's about the "letting go and letting God" work in our lives through the thing we struggle with. It's a sacrifice.Sometimes easier said than done.
I will look at Fall with new eyes. Eyes to see the leaves twirling through the air. Ears to hear the laughter of my girls as they throw themselves whole-heartedly into the pile of leaves daddy has made for them. Lips to taste the yummy flavors of baked apples and cinnamon and pumpkin. A nose to smell those wonderful baking aromas that call us in from the outdoors to celebrate Autumn indoors. The crisp, cool air. The crunch of dried leaves. A pretty orange or gold wreath hung as a welcome on the door.
Fall is a poetry of colors, cool and bright.

source: weddings by jessica dicaro

What Fall thing have you been enjoying so far this season?

Until next time --

Tammy

Back from vacation

Ohhh.... the mixed feelings of being home again after a relaxing time away! It's really lovely to be home. To see the familiar things; to fall in love again with things you loved when you left. All sweet surprises, even if it was only a short while.

Then reality enters in and the mood shifts. You wonder if you are really ready for getting "back to normal." The laundry waits patiently to be done and the suitcases lay open ready to be unpacked. SIGH.  Then even as you begin to pour the detergent and put away clean clothes, you find the thankfulness in your heart.

God is so good to give all this. It was a great time to be away, but it's also so good to get home.