A post of encouragement dedicated to the Conn. Tragedy

Good Morning Sweet Friends,

Hope you are doing better today!!!

I know these last few days have so engulfed us all

in this horrible tragedy that has happened,  and to

put in mildly brought discouragement ,  a sense
 of despair, despondency or even depression.

After reading much of the news yesterday I went to

 bed feeling tired and like a terrible black cloud was

 hanging over my head. My header picture is a
good representation I think of how we are or 
have been feeling.  but........................
 I also went to bed praying

 and asking the Lord,  how are we to respond to such

 an event as this.... and I feel like this is what he gave

 me this morning.  As the thoughts were coming to

me I decided to start writing them down and felt like

 it should be my Thankful Thursday post, but some-

how I am feeling like it is needed now, so with that

 heartfelt thought,  I am going to share my thoughts

and realizations that I believe were generated from

 my Heavenly Father.  Only He can give such insight

to so much darkness.

This picture represents how I feel now,  and am hoping
it might help you to feel that way too. 

I am thankful

for all the people in our world that have so responded

to this horrific event that happened at the school in

Connecticut:  by helping in whatever ways they can,

by grieving along with the parents and families of the

 victims, by just being there and offering a shoulder to

 cry on or a listening ear, for the principal, the nurse

 and secretary, the neighbor and others that did all they

 could to save as many lives as possible, for the wisdom 

of the precious lil one who was the only survivor, and

for the precious and beautiful lil ones that didn't survive,

  but are now in heaven where no evil can ever touch

 them again!!

I am thankful for all the prayers that are going up on

behalf of the loved ones, families, friends and all that

are in some way involved, which is one of the best

 things we can offer anyone at a time like this, for the

 police, and first responders GOD BLESS THEM ALL

for what they do and what they have had to see,  I pray

 the Lord will wipe the images from their minds as well

 as from the mind of  the lil one who survived it all, and

 her parents.  I know there are probably more things 

like I have listed above that I either don't know about

 yet or that will continue to come out about this event,

but I have to say......

I am thankful that

as bad as this all is.................

 All of these things renew my faith in people......

and in God......because only He can bring good

out of such tragic circumstances.................and

He moves the hearts of people to do good.

and Yes, there are evil people..............

but there are many more

good and lovely people,  and that is what we

have to focus on or else EVIL wins..............

may that NOT be so.................

I am thankful

that it wakes us up to the fact, that we can

so easily take for granted those that we love

and think will always be here,  so that we can

open our eyes and hearts and love with abandon

those we hold dear,  now............not later!  So we

 can put aside those things that are not as important

 as people,  as we so many times can get caught

up in things and events that really don't make a

hill of beans,  and let our relationships go by

the wayside,  may it not be so........because

we have seen the truth here.  Life truly is but

a Vapor.......................and we must be ready to
 meet our maker at any time,  as we remember
the real reason we celebrate Christmas, and
why that sweet baby was born. (John 3:16)


My heart, prayers and love go out to these

dear ones who have suffered such loss,  and I know 
that over time God can heal all wounds, and I also
 know they have a long road ahead of them, so may 
we remember to continue to lift them up in the weeks
 and months to come.

We saw a really good Christmas movie,  called
the Heart of Christmas,  and I think it speaks 
loudly of what I am trying to say here, about the
good that can come out of horrendous situations.
  You can download it from netflix,  and think you
 would really be blessed by it,  we certainly were.

Love,  Hugs and 

Special Christmas prayers to you and yours

Nellie

Welcome to Thankful Thursday - December 13, 2012

Scripture taken from the christmas story..... what Mary the
Mother of Jesus said upon meeting with her cousin after 
finding out she was miraculously pregnant with Baby Jesus:

My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God
my savior.  for he has been mindful of the humble state
of his servant.  From now on all generations will call me
blessed and the Mighty One has done great things for me. 
holy is his name.
Luke 1:46-49

 Greetings Sweet Folks,

So.....are you enjoying the Christmas
 Season?? I sure hope so............if not,
 make sure you break out your Christmas
 music as that always helps to keep me in
 the Christmas spirit.

Gonna start right in with my thankfuls since they sort of tell the
 story of my week already.  No reason to be redundant. lol
I will say all these thankfuls were written yesterday accept
for #12,  it was written this morning,  as I could not stand
to sit any longer last night!!  lol

#1

I am thankful

for an absolutely precious and caring email

I rec'd from my son-in-love today!  What a
blessing.....................It was certainly the high-
light of my day.

Imagine seeing these adorable smilin' faces every morning at breakfast
that is what we see...........as I decided to put them on the kitchen
table for the first time ever, and have to say we are lovin' it too!!
They always make me smile, so Just thought I would include
 them in todays post cause they will probably make you smile too!!

#2

I am thankful

for Animal Drs or Vets. - ours is a friend that used

to go to our church, and a very special and sweet 
man.  He had to put my SIL's dog to sleep today,
 and he did  so for our  sweet lil dog, zippy years ago,
 as well as taking good care of both of them for years.

It was hard for him too!

#3

I am thankful

for a day of just resting and doing nothing else,

all day, and my back is feeling much better tonight.
Dr. thought I overdid it on Tuesday,  but I was feeling
so good never had any idea it was a problem,until
I got home and sat down to check my email.

. I read
up on tendinitis again, and realized I think I am not
taking it seriously enough.  Also realized I tend to
be a fast walker which is my normal gait, so think
I need to slow that down, which is very hard, and
requires a lot of thought to do.

#4

I am thankful
that all my decorating  and shopping is done at
 long last.  lol   and now I can move on to other
things like wrapping, planning menus and
the table.  But more slowly..................lol


#5
I am thankful
that we took the time to rest and watched 3 
Christmas movies on Wed. night,  they were all
good.  They were called "Holiday Engagement"
"Holiday in Handcuffs,  and "Crazy for Christmas"
They were all good!  Holiday in Handcuffs had
a lil bit of l bad language but not much. The
others were clean as a whistle.

#6
I am thankful
that there are so many wonderful Christmas
movies out there to watch.  They usually all
have such wonderfully relational themes,
Love that......cause I love good relationships
especially with those I love....................and 
their is some wisdom to be found in some 
of these movies.


#7
I am thankful
for hearing from a dear friend of 40 years
by email today.  Altho her news wasn't good,
she seems to be doing as well as can be
expected and I was glad to know so I can
 pray for her now.  So thankful that her oldest
daughter was such a strong support to her. 

#8
I am thankful
for a Hershey's  chocolate cheesecake hubby
bought  a few weeks ago.  We put them in the
 freezer and can have a piece whenever we want,
actually I had my first piece last night, drizzled
with caramel,  actually half a piece,  we split
it........too decadent and rich for a whole piece!
but absolutely  scrumptious and delicious!!

We found it at Sam's.....just in case I made
you hungry for some....................lol

With posterized affect
#9
I am thankful
for all those that spend their time practicing
and being in Christmas contata's and pageants
to make our christmas time special with the true
meaning of Christmas.  Last sunday we had
the Childrens pageant,  this Friday and Sat.
they are having a live nativity with the choir
singing,  and Sunday is the adult Christmas
contata...........that is a lot of work and a lot
of practices and giving of themselves.
May the Lord bless each one in a really
special way...........for this gift to others!

#10
I am thankful
that almost everything I have ordered
online has been delivered accept for 2 1
items item......mailman just came!!  lol
which  is great!!


#11
I am thankful
for the postman and UPS and Fed-X
drivers and what a service they provide
all year round,  but especially at Christmas
time.  One of our dearest friends used to
be a UPS driver, so we know what a
sacrifice and service they provide.....it
is grueling folks,  they work about 12 hrs.or
more a day.....Mon. - Saturday until Christmas
is over!!  Certainly not a schedule I would
want to keep.

a lil blurry but thought it had sorta of a dreamy affect by accident.  lol

#12
I am thankful
once again for my hubby,  as he has been doing 
so many things that I can't do or shouldn't do which 
 is causing a lot of extra work for him,  but he does
 it with such a sweet servant attitude.  Makes me
feel bad for him tho........cause I know he is tired
 after a long days work and 40 min. drive home 
and of course, he isn't as young as he used to
be either................................lol

colored pencil affect!
So that is it........ for today!!  
Hope you have plenty of thankfuls on your list
too.............if not, think of some.......... it will
make you feel better..........................I promise!


Only 11 days till Christmas,  Wow this month
has really flown...............just realized tomorrow
would have been my Dad's 80th birthday, and
he has been in heaven for 18 yrs. now.
Wonder if they celebrate earthly birthdays
 in heaven??.So thankful he is in heaven
 and I can look forward to seeing him again 
one day when I get there.
 What a gift!!  All because of Jesus!!


Have a lovely lovely Friday and weekend,
and when you drop by be sure and say
hello....................


Love,  Hugs and
Merry Christmas Blessings,

Nellie

First Christmas Season tablescape - for Megan's Birthday

Morning Sweet Friends,

Hope all is well with you and yours!

Most everything is well here accept I am gonna be
 back at the Chiropractor today,  having trouble sitting
again..............but my dentist appt. went well,  was there
for over 3 hours,  and then I met hubby a lil while after
and we did the rest of our Christmas shopping,  and
then went to Red Lobster for dinner,  so we had a fun
evening and got home late,  I woke up thinking it was
Sat. morning for some crazy reason,  guess cause we
stayed out late!!  lol

Thought I would join White Wednesday today with my 
friend Becky,   and show you my first Christmasy
table............which was a birthday table for Megan.
Guess you can really call this a vintage table,  as
these are all my Wedding silver, crystal and dishes.
Yep,  they are 42 years + now!!
Have to say... I still love it even after all these years.

Overview from head of table.
Our new lights made the white in the plates
 looked more of a warm white than the bright 
white they really are.  Not so sure I like that!

OOPS - didn't notice the bowl was not on their evenly!!  lol

and had to add some candy,  Andes Mints, perfect color

 for Christmas

The silver tray (a gift from a friend) is not really vintage 

it just looks vintage!!

Amazing what a few goblets with a snow look 

(using epsom salts) and candles, and some Christmas

 balls drizzled with a lil  salts snow can do!!

posterized affect!

Just in case some of you tableware lovers
 want to know, because inquiring minds
want to know ................lol

Dishes - Roberta by Deluxe
silverware - Scandanavia by Oneida
Crystal - Glamour by Fostoria

My napkin rings came from a floral arrangement that 
hubby sent me some years back.  The vase was a cyclinder
 with 4 sterling silver napkin rings stacked on it,  and he was 
really thinking ahead and had them send an extra
 vase/napkin rings with it!   Hubby is a sharp cookie!!

These Christmas balls are not vintage either,  but they 

were made to look vintage quite by accident.  I bought

them to use in an arrangement I did many years back,

where I floated some gold stars, candles and Christmas

balls.  It was really lovely, in fact, I don't know whatever

happened to those stars, now that I think about it!!  lol

Anyway, after floating the Christmas balls in the water,

for weeks, it changed their appearance, and made them

 look old and sort of tarnished looking. 

Cut out affect

I like having the separate lil salt and pepper 

shakers, and I usually put 4 small dishes

or egg cups with butter on each corner of 

the table.  Cuts down on passing things 

during dinner, which can interrupt good

 conversations.

Also, we usually serve buffet style as well

for the same reason.

colored pencil affect,

like this soft look.........................

Pic without flash and lights on

With lights off 



Well,  hope you enjoyed your visit, 
 and look forward to hearing from you.

Am linking up to Timewashed for 
Blissful White Wednesday,  so check out 
all those pretty whites,
by Just clicking here!


Am also linking up to Marty over at a
Stroll thru life,  if you want to see more 
neat table tops ideas,  just click here


Hug's and 
All the Blessings of this Wonderful Season,

Nellie

The start of the baby Nursery

Morning Sweet Friends,

How are ya???  Doing well I hope.
Getting all that shopping and 
decorating done??

I am about done with both,  thank heavens!!
Woke up this morning thinking today is the 11th,
followed by oh my gosh........Christmas is only
10 days away, and I have to do this and this
and I began to feel panic for the first time of
the season,  but I nipped it in the bud with 
this thought..............have you ever not been
ready for Christmas........and I have to say
a bit fat NO,  thanks to  the Lord!!
That sense of stress or panic only slows
us down really.  like the old saying goes
the hurrieder I go,  the behinder I get,
I really think that is true..................lol

Anyway,  will show you what we did on
Friday night,  some of you have probably
already guessed....................we went to
Scott and Megan's and put the baby crib
together then put all the cute linens on.
It is adorable as you will see below.

This is the room color,  and Scott did the nice
chair rail as well.  Love the color scheme.

This is the head of the bed,  and that is a lil butterfly comfort
blanky laying there on the sheets,  and you can see part 
of the bumper pads.

Here is the other end of the bumper pads. Each square is

different but coordinated.

Nice close up of the pretty quilted butterfly from the
 comforter

Comforter laying in the bed.

The whole crib set up.  It is one of those 4 in one cribs,
will make into a toddler, junior and adult bed.  Very cool!
Meant to take a pic before we dressed it,  but forgot
as usual.  Anyway,  think it turned out great,  and so
do Megan and Scott.


Gotta run, have a dental appointment,  another crown
and then I get a crown insertion as well.  Last appt.
this year.............Halleleujah!

Course, I have to say since we have our new dentist
and she is very much into pain free dentistry, I have
to say I am not dreading it,  not looking forward to
the work,  but great not to be dreading it either.
The staff are all wonderful,  caring, accomodating
 and sweet as can be.  So always nice to see them.

Have a Wonderful Day

Hugs n'
Merry Christmas Blessings

Nellie

Happy Monday, lovely Christmas Video and weekend recap

Happy Monday Sweet Friends,

Hope you had a fun and productive weekend!

Ours was both.  Friday we went to Scott
and Megans' for pizza, and tomorrow I
will show you what we did while we
were there.

 Then Sat. hubby
finished up the tree after we located
some more lights, Couldn't believe
Wally World was out of them,  but
We found them at Ace Hardware, of all 
places...which was close by, thankfully.
Got the mantle and fireplace all finished 
and the top of my hutches done, so 
just gotta do a lil decorating on the tree 
today and throw some snow on, then pack
 all the leftovers up till January,and hope-
fully the decorating is done!  and I will
be very happy about that.

Saturday night we went to Dee and
Jerry's and got take out barbecue, from
a new restaurant they recently discovered,
  played some skipbo and hubby and Jerry
 put in a dimmer switch for their dining 
room light, while Dee and I took a short 
stroll in her neighborhood.  Couldn't 
believe we actually saw 4 mangers 
scenes in such a short stroll, but so 
nice to see, and they had lots of 
pretty decorations. It was also fun
to see both of the kids homes all
decorated for Christmas..........

Sunday was our usual day of church and
 yomii yogurt, and a nap and Sunday night
 was our churches children's Christmas 
Pageant. It was really wonderful, I have
 to say. They sounded like lil angels! 
 and it was a really delightful experience.
what the season is all about.........


I rec'd this lovely link to a video of
a flash mob in a mall, singing!
It was a delight to my heart and 
think it will be to your's too!
Just

Click Here

to enjoy it!!  Truly what the season
is all about!


Well,  Have a Sweet Day!

Look forward to hearing 
from you!

Hugs and
Merry Christmas Blessings,
Nellie


Can you believe it is already Dec. 10th?
and how are you coming along??