The Wedding

Good Sunday Morning, course, it will be Monday Morning for you, since this is my Monday

Morning Post..

It is 2:56 a.m. - and I can't sleep, well........I was asleep until my cat was crying to get in cause there was something out in the back yard, so since I was startled awake, guess I must a lil adrenalin rush going on and am now wide awake!! So figured if all I was gonna do was

toss and turn I might as well make good use of the time, and do some blogging.

Well, we left Friday afternoon about 3 P.M. to go to St. Augustine, Florida for the Wedding.We checked into the Holiday inn a lil before 5P.M., and were starting to settle in when we kept seeing things in the room, like stuff on the floor, open food in the fridge, the coffee table in front of the sofa with smears, the bed spread up.... but the bedspread off on the floor and the pillows looked all funny like someone was leaning on them, oh yea, and problems with the commode as well. Great!! The commode and the bed was the end, I called and said we want another room, I am not sure this bed has been changed, and they said oh yea, it has and I said No, I think if you saw it you would probably agree with me, so they gave us another room, and it was much nicer and cleaner. Thank the Lord!! and the commode even worked to boot!! I meant to take some pics of the room, but left the camera in the car. Later I was able to take a few pics just as we were leaving.... I took pics of pics that were on the walls cause I found them intriguing, especially the one with the roses and birds, but I was not gonna make up the bed for yall...... After all this was a get away, no bed making, Sorry!! We did take another pic of the room, but it didn't come out well, so there you go!! I would have retaken it but hubby was ready to go. You Know!!

Did you know if you double click

on the pictures they will enlarge.

The Wedding was held in an old bldg. or possibly an old home, in the historic district called the "White Room". The bldg. has 3 floors, the Wedding was held on the 3rd floor, out on the rooftop overlooking the city and the bay under a glorious sky of blue @ 7 P.M. The Wedding, and the weather was perfect (we heard it rained for the rehearsal) it was breezy, shady and a touch warm, but very very pleasant.


The Bride of course, was stunning!! The groom happy as a clam, and so handsome in his attire, as all men are, don't know what it is about a Suit........... but guys sure look great, course, we ladies
look pretty good when we are all gussied up too. Their colors were tan and coral orange. She had orange Tiger lilies in her bouquet, and of course, her attendants all had on coral orange long flowing dresses, the guys had the coral orange cumberbunds and ties, with tan suits. Had never seen that before, but very striking.

The Brides Bouqet

Attendants Dresses

The Pastor did a phenomenal job on the ceremony. As people who really believe in the sancty and commitment to marriage vows and who love to teach marriage classes, my husband and I

were overjoyed with his charge to them, and the neat vows he had them take. Wish we could have recorded them. He had the young man vow to spiritually lead his wife, and He had her vow to be submissive to his leading. Course, that is not a popular or politically correct statement in our day. Oh Well! He made them vow to walk together thru good times and bad times as well, think that was a good one too, in this day of as soon as things aren't good I am outta here

thinking. Anyway, he said a lot more and we wanted to applaud. We have been married close to 39 years now, and we, as everyone else have had our ups and our downs, but you have to work it out, and I am so glad we have stuck it out cause life just gets better and better when you do. We have seen so many marriages go south and then they get remarried and (maybe) have some temporary happiness and then they wind up right back where they started in the first marriage usually, dealing with the same ole problems. Don't hear me criticizing cause I really am not, I well know there are biblical grounds for divorce, and my heart definitely goes out to those in that situation but sometimes it is not a matter of infidelity or abuse or anything. Anyway, let me get off my soapbox now!! ha

The reception was on the 2nd floor in a lovely large room with mirrors and pretty architecture.

We dined on Roast Chicken, a lovely vegetables mix and something called "Martini Mash Potatoes", it was very cute.......they put the yummy home made mashed potatoes in a martini glass and then you could put any or all of the toppings you wanted. They were delicious, I could have been happy with thepotatoes alone, they were so good, and of course, while we were waiting they had all sorts of yummy fruit and veggies with dip, and crackers and cheese, Baked Brie and other goodies.

It was a lovely evening, and we so enjoyed watching the bride and groom, and their parents bask in the joy of it all. We stayed for all the festivities of the garter throw, the bouquet toss, and the cutting of the Wedding Cake. It was delicious and delightful. Never saw a cake like it before,

very different but very beautiful!! You can see the pics below. Also note the lil salt and pepper shakers dressed up in wedding attire - think that was a take off from the move "Fireproof."

In Case you can't tell those are chocolate covered

strawberries on the top of the cake

Aren't they adorable mr. and and mrs. salt

and pepper shakers.

They also had the

champagne glasses

done the same way.

Wish I had thought

and taken a pic of

the whole table.

We left and returned to our room at the hotel, got cozy, talked about the wedding and the fun, watched a little HGTV and hit the sack, then we got up and spent the morning together and left the hotel about 1:30 in the afternoon and took in some of the shops in the historic district of St. Augustine. We kept seeing ice cream shops and my husband and I eat only lowfat type foods because he had bypass surgery about 3 or so years ago, and we want to keep him around for awhile. Anyway, we found a place that had peach yougurt and he had it put in a homemade waffle cone, talk about delicious, it had large pcs. of fresh peaches in it. The only thing wrong with it was we would have to go too far to get another one!! I had a pecan caramel turtle, course, we each sampled a bit of each. That was a yummy and fun treat for us both. Then on the way home we stopped and had dinner at a Longhorn steakhouse. It was an excellent, and very enjoyable meal and we had a very sweet young lady that served us. Doesn't it make such

a difference when you have such a nice server, course. It's also nice for them when they have nice guests to serve, so always remember that!! It was a fun day, and a nice change of scenery for us. I will post pics of St. Augustine on Tuesday.


Well, have a mighty fine Monday............... It is 3:40, I am going to beddie bye land!!


Blessings & hugs to you, Nellie

Glorious Good Morning to you

Good Morning Lovlies,

It was a glorious day on the porch today,

It has rained in the evening for the last 3 days,

quick but heavy showers, and everything looks so

pert, pretty, green and lush.

I say it is because the landscape is happy, happy, happy!

The heavenly sprinkler system has much better stuff in it

than our regular one, and I know it is that way at your

house too. The plants are so perky they look like

their outstretched branches are raising hands to heaven.

In case you didn't catch it on Becky's blog........

tomorrow is her birthday, so we sure to leave her some

birthday wishes on her comment section.

I know she will be thrilled to hear from you.

Just wanted to check in and say Hello and thanks

for dropping by today,

I have a busy day ahead.......... plus I am preparing

for a Wedding we are attending this week-end.

It is for a young man who is in his late 20's

that we have known his family from church for years,

and he was in our college/career group we had in our home

about 7 years or so ago. He is a wonderful young man

and has chosen a really lovely young woman to be his wife.

It should be a delightful wedding, we are looking forward to it

Hope you have a Great Weekend,

Talk to you on Monday,

Blessings to you & yours,

Nellie

Thankful Thursday

Good Afternoon to all you

Encouraging lil Sweethearts,

Welcome toThankful Thursday

I want to say that I am so thankful for all the friends

that God has given me, but I am especially thankful for Becky

today because of all her encouragement with my blogging.

It is something my husband had mentioned that I might like,

and something I had entertained for a while now,

and when Becky started telling me all the neat things that were

happening with her blogging, the next day I just really felt

to start one myself, and I am having a ball with it.

I also want to thank Becky for directing you all to my blog,

and for all her sweet, kind words about me.

You are a Special Girl Becky, and very appreciated.

I am also, Very Thankful for all of you who were so thoughtful.

sweet and kind to stop and visit my blog. You really made my week,

and I was so High from the excitement of it all, my hubby practically

had to scrape me off the ceiling last night.

It is so wonderful to know there are so many ladies out there

that have such hearts of love and encouragement,

and who love the Lord, and their families,

and have a heart for the home.

and

So wonderful to know that someone likes and enjoys reading

your blog about your simple lil life.

Well, ladies I pray the Lord smiles on you in a Big Way today

for what you did for me today and yesterday,

You have been a huge blessing I can not describe.

Just for your information: I had almost 60 visits, picked

up 3 followers, and had 21 comments just since yesterday,

it has been joyously, overwhelmingly, Serendipitous for sure!

Love and Blessings,

Nellie

My Back Porch

And A very Good Morning to you all,

Hope you are feeling well and happy today!!

I just came in from one of my favorite places, my back porch that overlooks my
wonderful backyard that I have worked on for years, to make it the haven
of peace and refuge that it is. Hurricane Charlie tore it up completely
5 years ago, we thought we would have to lay new sod and everything
cause of the heavy equipment they had to bring in, but God...........

The Spring brought a true miracle that only He could have done.

The restoration that took place was amazing, especially with our lawn.
Well, that is another story for another time. Maybe when we get
into hurricane season I will share it and the pictures and you can see for your self firsthand.

Back to my porch..........and why I love it SO much.
It is my favorite place to spend time with the Lord, I sense his presence
when I am on my porch overlooking the beauty of
this refuge he has given us, for a 2Nd time!!




 Like this beautiful pink fluffy
cloud sky in the evening, and this
scene beside our shed and of course,
there is Joey our grand daughter dog
looking for lizards. She is just hysterical.

If you check my May 7Th blog you will the other reasons. I I just recently renewed our porch a bit, as I love decorating and I love my home to be a beautiful haven. Don't feel the need to have the best of everything just to make the best of what I have, that is my motto. The main thing that needed help were the rugs, they were beautiful when I got them 5 years ago, but well faded from the Florida sun. Sooooooo........ I got busy on the Internet looking for some reasonably priced rugs, and there they were on Walmart.com!! They were very colorful and tropical looking. Loved the colors so I ordered them, and when they came and I first put them

down I thought maybe a bit too bright, and possiblyI had made a big mistake. So I rolled them back up and had plans to take them back, but another thought hit me, maybe it was just the pastel tablecloth and maybe if I changed that it would make a difference, so I went out in search of tablecloths, and found one in just the perfect colors and at a grand price of $5.00. Works for me, and it worked for the porch, made all the difference.

then I added some new accessories from inside the house, and added a few lime green pieces, and I was amazed at the transformation and all for a grand total of $52.00. Thought that was excellent considering I got 3 small rugs
to go by the doors as well. So now I call my decor out there country Tropical!!

In case you never tried it, when you feel like you want a new look or you want a change in your house, take and move your accessories from one room to another. Put them all in the middle of the room, and then put them all back, or you could do the same room and put them back in different places. It makes your rooms look like new and gives you fresh new look and change you were hoping for. I do it quite often.

I'm back, had to take a break and eat some breakfast, only had an iced coffee while on the porch, so my stomach was starting to stick to my ribs. Feel much better now, ate one of my favorites................. Smashed up blackberries with sugar on them, and bread and butter with a glass of milk. Now that is fine eating!! Wish I could say I picked them myself, but unfortunately we don't have any blackberries around where we live, so we get them at Sam's, theirs are the best they actually taste like the blackberries you would pick, some I have gotten at the grocery store really have no taste.

Well, back to the porch.............

Here is my new table decoration,
compliments of my living room

Look great on the table out there,
don't you think. I am planning
to get some new flowers for the
watering can soon as I can find
what I am looking for.

And as you can see, I am not the only one

who enjoys the porch. My husband loves it
too, especially on the days he works at home,
he works out there until it gets to hot!!


He says, Ahhhhhhhh this is living!!

I agree, it is definitely a part of the type of living I enjoy.

So see who else loves the porch below.

This would be Molly my kitty getting ready to enjoy a nap,

and Joey just sitting around being cool!!

I read a book once called the "messies manual" and they say the difference between
messies and cleanies (as far as housekeeping goes) is that cleanies are always
scanning the area to see what look unkempt or dirty or unseemly, and then
they fix it by cleaning it or changing it or whatever. Like for instance your
sliding glass doors had finger prints all over them, but the rest of the room
looked good, they would clean the sliding glass doors first and leave everything
else be. or maybe it's the floor, they would just sweep or vacuum.
I adopted that thinking years ago and it has truly been a blessing
and made my housekeeping job easier.
I think we can do the same with decorating, my porch is a good example,
I have had those same cushions for 5 years and a lot of the same accessories,
but by just replacing what looked bad (the faded rugs) and adding a few
inexpensive accessories it looks like a whole new porch and has a totally
difference look to it.
Hope if you want to make a change some of my ideas will get you inspired.

Have an inspirationally good day,

Blessings, Nellie

Hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day

Hi Girlie's and Guysie's or would it be Boyies??? Just Kidding!!


Gotta say it sounds better than Hello, ladies and Gentlemen,

My heart is overflowing today with love and gratitude, and I hope yours is too!!

I have to brag on my family a bit, cause yesterday was an awesome day for me. They really made it a special day! Not that they don't always do special things but this was their best.

My husband took the lead role in planning everything and got them all involved, even my sister-in- law. It was so great to have my son and daughter here on the actual day of Mother's day, cause it has been a while. They did such a good job on dinner, and they gave me such precious cards with handwritten notes in them. Gee, makes me think they might have read my blog!! Actually, my daughter always does that, sometimes my son does but not always.
It was truly a blessed day.

My daughter arrived about 2:30, and we sat and chatted, and watched my son who is 31 and
about to go hiking on the Appalachian trail soon (June 8Th). We had him put on his gear, his
huge backpack that has a gazillion pockets on it and has his mattress pad, and tent attached)
plus his carrier for his lil 12 pd. Jacket Russell terrier, Joey. It is a sight to behold!! Joey will hike with him, and when she gets tired he will carry her in this thing that she was suppose to sit in.......but we sort of reconstructed to be like a sling so she can lay down. Lord only knows what it will be like on the trail. Glad it is him, not me.

Course, Joey is quite the adventuresome dog and will absolutely love it, she loves to chase lizards and crawl around in my plants, and just explore, so she is much like her owner. Think we are gonna have to get her a shirt that say "Super Trail Dog" ,"Adventure Dog", or maybe " Suvivor Dog". Leave a comment and tell me which name you like best!!

The backpack alone weights 40 Pd's. He is a fit guy tho, and has been working out at the gym and reading every book he can get his hot lil hands on to prepare. He has also been dehydrating food for a month now. Strawberries, apples, bananas, refried beans, scallions, carrots, onions, mushrooms, yogurt, blueberries, pineapple, and I am sure there is something I have forgotten. He came home on Saturday with huge cans of nuts, and big bags of trail mix, and powdered milk, Raman noodles, instant mashed potatoes, tuna, spices, and honey. He has already made his meals for the first 8 days, and then we will ship him packages to the right post office every so often (probably weekly) I would think.

This would be Joey the "Survivor Dog"

Mom is gonna need a lot of prayer when the time gets here. I am doing fine right now, because I just keep reminding myself the Lord took care of him when he lived in Gainesville, then in Ky, and then in Tampa, so he can take care of him on the trail. Course, they didn't have bears there, and he didn't sleep in a tent in the back yard. Course, that's just me, I am a typical Mom, and if it was your son, you wouldn't be thrilled about this venture either. We Mom's have to stick together!!

Oh yea, I sort of spider webbed there a bit, then
We had dinner, opened gifts (well, I opened gifts and cards) they watched, and we played
Taboo, and ate cheesecake. A perfect day as far as I was concerned, I'd rate it a 10.
it was like heaven to me. Sorry don't mean to go on & on, but I am just SO
darn proud of them.

I spent the morning sending them all ecards and letting them know what a great job they did,
and how appreciated it was!! Hope it encourages them and spurs them on to good works, not
just for their Mother, but for others as well.

Well, it is time to make din din, cause Morris will be home soon!! Just a joke.......remember
Morris the cat, and they used to say "Din din, Morris! My husband is Jim, but he does like
din din too!!

Hey, have a great rest of the day.

Blessings, Nellie

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL YOU MOM'S

Hope All you Mom's out there have a very restful, relaxing, loving, and sweet Mother' Day! May the Lord Bless you in Amazing ways for the great love and care you give to your families.

You are Special..........and don't you forget it!

Hugs and Blessings, Nellie

Mother's Day Ideas

Good Morning..... my bloggy friends,

I woke up for some reason thinking about creative Mother's Day ideas, probably it was the realization that I no longer have a Mom to do anything for, don't really know why but thought I would share some of these ideas with you in hopes it might help you....... if you haven't figured out what to do yet.

My Mom and Mother-in-law have passed into Glory, so since I don't have Mom's to do something for anymore, I sometimes pick a Mom (like a single Mom) who might really need for someone to do a lil something special for her. Upon wakening I thought I haven't even thought about Mothers Day at all. So now I have a woman in mind, and now I will be thinking too, about something nice I can do for her.

My Son, Daughter, and Husband are all pretty creative I must say, so some of my ideas come from nice things they have done for me over the years, and some are just off the top of my head,

either way, I hope you will find them helpful.

Mother's Day Ideas

1. I don't know too many Mom's that don't want to see their children on Mother's Day and just be able to enjoy them. If a Mom has small children the operative word is ENJOY, not take care

of, so Dad you do the parenting for today, let Mom just bask in the glory of having fun with them for a change. You feed them, you change them, you give them a bath, you run after that toddler, you discipline if need be, and just let Mom sit or lay on the couch, sleep in, lay out by the pool whatever her heart desires, but mainly give her a day off from being a Mommy and let her just ENJOY being honored as the Mother of your Children!

2. If The Mother has older children, she will be elated just to spend some time with them, since

they are usually very busy with school, friends, working, or their own family etc. - So the gift of time is a very important component to your gift if at all possible.

3. My daughter has made a fun day for us by going to get a pedicure, a facial or out to lunch, something we experience just the two of us, and she pays for it all. We don't do them all in the same day, of course, but it has been a very special and fun time we both look forward to, and usually happens after the event, giving me something to look forward to.

4. Make dinner for your Mom, set a nice and pretty table, serve her for a change and make her feel special, she will love you for it. Also, plan ahead - find out where everything is in the

kitchen or ask her ahead of time, so you aren't having to do it on her special day. Also make

sure you clear the table and do the dishes, that is a biggie!!

5. Buy tickets for some event that you know your Mom might enjoy, like a concert, a theme park, movie, art gallery, or science center.

6. Buy her a gift card for a special clothing store, craft store, home decorating store that you know she loves, or better yet, take her out shopping and tell her the amount she can spend.

You can be an encouragement and help especially if she is trying on clothing. I always know if anybody will be honest with me about how something looks, it is my daughter. I so appreciate that about her.

7. Once for my birthday (my idea), my Daughter and I picked up subs and fruit salad (from good ole publix supermarket) and went to a nearby park and ate and visited and played on the swings and sat in the sun. It was a lovely and memorable day. Just she and I. But it would work for Mother's day too. Even if you can't do it on Mother's Day.... a card with a promise to do it soon, would probably make her a happy woman. A word of caution, just make sure you make good on your promise.

8. My son has a degree in Agriculture, and while he was getting his degree, he worked for the college in the Ag dept. growing and caring for the plants, and they allowed them to take some of the plants at times, and many times he would bring me things like poinsettias that were a new variety that weren't even out on the market yet. I cherished those plants because he had grown them and tended to them, so that made them all the more special. Maybe you have a talent or something you do well that you could make or do for your Mom, I bet she would treasure it as well.

9. One year, he knew I wanted to plant some stuff on the side of the house, so he came armed with plants that had the same growing environment, then he and my husband prepared the area for me where they were to be planted. that saved me a lot of hard work!! and it was very appreciated, and then I was able to put them where I wanted and it looked wonderful! I had never even heard of the one plant "Cuban Buttercups", they have pretty yellow flowers, and then he had also brought "Blue Daze" to border them with. I would have never picked them.......but I loved them, and still have them to this day and every time I see them I think of him. Doesn't get much better than that for a Mom!

Well, hope you have gotten the idea that mostly what Mom wants from you is your time, or something that she can see and be reminded of you, or a memory of a good time she had with you. If you can't be with your Mom on Mother's Day, make sure you send her a nice card, and call and have a nice long chat with her if possible.

Another tip, if you don't have any $$ to spend that is okay with her, but make sure you either buy or make her a card or write her a letter. Now you can go to some sites(http://www.dayspring.com/) is one of them, and send an ecard or email her a letter. A card or letter for any occasion is far more important than gifts to a Mom, don't get me wrong we enjoy the gifts, just make sure you don't forget the card. Your card or letter is a way of telling her what you think of her and how she is doing in her relationship with you, and it is precious like gold to her. Also, if you do buy her a card, make sure to write a lil note of your own in there. We Mom's love to know what you're thinking and how you feel about us, so indulge us on this one special day of the year!!

I know some of you out there might have a difficult relationship with your Mother, I know firsthand about that, and I am sorry about the pain of that relationship for you, but always try to find some way to honor her, even if it is just because she gave you life. One thing that helps me is to know my Mom knew the Lord and is with Him in heaven, and when I get there our relationship will be perfect, cause everything in heaven is perfect!! Amen!

And if you are a Mom, Happy Mother's Day to you!! Hope you have a Super Cozy Mother's day!

Make sure and check back tomorrow........... For my Mother's Day edition,

Blessings and hugs, Nellie