And a Very Happy Thanksgiving...

Today is Thanksgiving.  While this isn't my favorite holiday of the year, there are many things that I enjoy about celebrating it.  

Spending time with family and friends--wonderful.  

Eating a delicious meal--great.  

Watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade in my jammies--lovely. 

But the best part of this day is how my family is allowed to simply be.  No school, no work, no commitments--just BE.  

I don't mind the hustle and bustle that life offers each day.  I consider it a gift that I am given the many blessings to be able to have a full and busy life.  But I am especially thankful for this one day of the year when I can leave all of that behind and just sit in awe of the slowness of it all!

On a side note--our daughter completed the state requirements (reading the state driver's manual, taking a 30 hour driver education class, passing a written and vision exam and paying the $14 fee) and after spending 2 1/2 hours at the Department of Revenue yesterday, she walked out with her driver's permit.  

C-R-A-Z-Y...

We aren't old enough to be the parents of a driver.  Well, okay.  Obviously, we are old enough, but my mind must surely be playing tricks on me.  

It seems like we were just loading her in her car seat to take her to Grandma's for her first Thanksgiving. 

Maybe just starting Kindergarten with her cute little braids and fashioning her brand new glasses.  

But surely not a 15 year old who stood in line to take a written exam to be able to learn how to drive.

Or a delighted teenager holding her temporary paper permit that will be replaced by an official one in 30 days.

Surely this can't be the same little girl that I envision in my head when I think about my daughter.

 

 I really am so very thankful on this sixteeth Thanksgiving being a mom to this simply amazing young lady.  

We are so proud of you Emaleigh Rebekah. 

Anticipation

The Annual Cutting of the Christmas Tree Adventure is coming quickly.  Permits go on sale next weekend.  In anticipation of this annual tradition, I decided to decorate my house with a couple of reminders.

So I have this obsession with red trucks right now.  It might be that we've moved to the country and I really think our farm should have a truck.  When I close my eyes and imagine what it would look like, I picture something like this:

Complete with the Christmas tree in the bed.  Well not all the time.  Just towards the end of November to the beginning of December!

For now, I just have to have to settle for the toy version of this truck. And as I wait for the annual cutting of our Christmas tree in the next couple of weeks, I decided to add a little inspiration to get me in the mood.

Last year I saw this fabulous pillow cover at Pottery Barn, but I couldn't justify spending the money it cost to get it.  Well, when I decided at the end of the season to splurge, they were all sold out.  Even online.  

I searched high and low.  But no luck.

I ended up printing a picture of it and framed it because I loved it that much.  But it just wasn't the same, so I threw it away.

I was still thinking about this pillow this past summer, so I decided to check out Ebay.  To my delight it was there.  But then I looked at the price and it was twice as much than what Pottery Barn was selling it for.

Well fast forward to this past October.  My cousins were here for a visit and we stopped in the store to check out their fall merchandise.  Well, you should have seen my face when the clerk was showing this pillow cover to another customer.  I immediately asked if they were selling them again this season.  She said yes.  I purchased it right then and there.  I didn't even finish looking through the store.  And I must say that I am so glad I did.  It reminds me of all the years Craig and I have taken the kids to the mountains to trek through the snow to find the perfect tree.  Carting it home on top of our car (we've had 3 different ones since we started the tradition) looks just like this.  Minus the fact that our car has never been a red woody version like the one in the pillow.  Oh, but that would surely be delightful!

ooohhh....I'm really excited about this one!

 So last year, I was perusing my arch nemesis--Pinterest--when I came across this bad boy.  It's not that I don't thoroughly enjoy seeing all the wonderful ideas that others out in the world are posting. It's just that once I see an idea I like, I can't help but make it happen. And I do believe that Pinterest will lead to my demise one day. Sometimes being a crafter isn't always that great!  

Any way, I saw it pop up again a few weeks ago, and then not long after that I saw a version of it outside one of my favorite home decor stores-The Gatherings.

Well after inspecting the price, I knew I would be able to recreate it for far less. 

So last weekend it was brisk, but sunny.  The boys were taking advantage of the nice weather and decided to hang our outdoor lights.  (While we won't turn them up until after Thanksgiving, it's nice knowing they won't have to slip on an icy roof to hang them.)

 While they were busy doing their thing, I took it upon myself to head to the barn and see if I could find some old lumber that might do the trick.  While I didn't find exactly what I wanted, I managed to find enough scraps.  I thought I might need to recruit the guys to help me make the cuts I needed, but with a little persistence, I managed to make all the cuts and assemble my sign all by myself.  First time ever.  No offense, Mr. Mann, but you were busy, and I was determined! 

 After watching you use this tool for the past decade, I decided it really couldn't be that difficult.  And to my surprise, it wasn't!  Go me.

  After getting all the small parts pieced together, I brought it inside to paint.  It was a bit windy and I didn't want to get any dirt on my fresh coat of white.  Well, I guess the puppies didn't get the memo.

So then, I used my fancy schmancy ruler and some plain paper to make the letters.  From scratch mind you.

 

Next up, was painting the letters red.  It is for Christmas after all.

I was really fascinated when I got to this particular part of the painting.  You see, I decided to get a little bit done while waiting to drive the kids to school.  My stopping point left me with these letters.  JC.  I  couldn't help but smile and think of my Lord and Savior.  He is the reason for the season.  Plus it really made making this sign that much more meaingful.  Had I waited to paint until returning from carpooling the kids around, I might not have even noticed this.  Love it!

And here is my finished project!

 Even Lilly wanted to get in on the photo ops!

As I am passing through with a load of laundry, or making the long trek back from Pam's Place, I am delighted to see this from the window.  What a lovely view for the season.

And the best part of this whole project is that it was free.  Yep, FREE.  Woo hoo!  I was able to use supplies I had around the house. 

 I love the anticipation of the Christmas Season and I am so excited to have this as the first decoration to bring me such "joy" throughout the next month.

In Honor of Betty B.

Last weekend, my grandmother Betty Barclay Huber Warfield made her way home to be with Jesus.  She was 95 years old. What a wonderful life this lady had.  I am so honored to be the last of her 9 grandchildren.  Just like with her other 8 grandchildren, our relationship was very special.  While she didn't live close to me when I was growing up, my Bapa (grandpa) always made it possible for her to come to visit for a week or two each summer.  It was during these visits that I really got to know my grandma and make her my friend.

When my Bapa died on November 2, 2001, my mom and I moved my Grandma from IL to CO.  This was a huge transition, but I tried to make it a little easier by spending every Thursday afternoon with her.  Oh how I adored these Thursday afternoons.  We would run errands, go to doctor's appointments, and shop to our hearts content.  Boy, was Betty a shopper!  She was so good at it.  My favorite memory was probably the time that we were in Dillard's in the unmentionables section.  She held up a red garter belt, and asked me what I thought.  I thought I'd die of laughter right then and there.  My 80+ grandmother was shopping for a garter belt!!  What fun memories.

GG's (That's was my kids called her) contagious smile!

The worst was when we were at the mall.  We agreed to seperate in Macy's and meet up after about 45 minutes.  When I went to our meeting place, she was not there.  My heart sank.  I searched the entire store 3 times before realizing I had lost her.  The empty feeling in my stomach was too much to bear.  I called my mom and Craig and before long the three of us had contacted the mall security and were hunting down an 87 year old white haired lady all over the mall.  We finally found her at the entrance of JC Penney's waiting for us.  What a relief.    Not long after, we realized that Dementia was the culprit. After a move to assisted living, we found a full care nursing facility that would become her final home on earth.  It really was a wonderful place that took such good care of Betty B. In fact, she continued to live another 6 years and brighten the lives of  the people who cared for her, as well as the other residents. On Saturday, November 9, 2013 at 9:30 p.m. she took her last breath on earth and joined our Heavenly Father in Heaven.

There are so many wonderful memories I have with my grandma.  The best is that she was so filled with joy and happiness all of the time.  She was so grateful for all that life had to offer, and had a smile that would brighten anybody's day!  No matter what life had to offer, she seemed to have a line or two from a song that would be appropriate for the moment.  So often we would sing "I want to go where you go, do what you do, smile when you smile and I'll be happy."  This Eddie Fisher song was what we sang when we didn't have a plan.  Our other favorite was this Al Jolsen's song.  I can't tell you how many times we would sing the line, "When I'm old and grey dear, promise you won't stray dear, I love you so, sonny boy." We never sang the whole song, as she couldn't remember it, but this verse was imbedded deep in her memory and we sang it every time we saw each other. She would sometimes get the part, "you're sent from heaven and I know your worth," but that was the extent of it.  Oh how I cry smile just thinking about it now.

Emaleigh actually captured us singing these tunes a few weeks ago.

When I went to say goodbye that final day, she was still an inspiration. With the exception of wiping her eyes a few times, and going to pull the oxygen tube out of her nose (as she so often did!) she was so peaceful.  All I could do was sing to her our favorite verse from Sonny Boy ..."when I'm old and gray dear, promise you won't stray dear, I love you so Sonny boy..."

Betty with her daughter Pamela. Her eldest daughter, Gwendolyn, was waiting in Heaven for Betty's arrival.

My cousins, Robin and Nancy, came for a visit at the beginning of October

So here are few images from the years we had with my Grandma before the Dementia made it too difficult for us to care for her without the help of the nursing home. (pardon the graininess...I had to take them from old photos as my digital copies were destroyed when my hard drive broke two years ago.)

Holding one of her favorite poem's that I embroidered for her.

Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there. I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning's hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry;
I am not there. I did not die.

Mary Elizabeth Frye

She asked me to read this after she passed.

The tea party we had for GG's birthday on June 3, 2003. Caleb was just two years old.

Four Generations of Girls--Betty, Jennifer, Emaleigh and Pamela.

 Oh what fun the three of us had!

And one final story to share...

When my mom and I went to gather Betty's belongings earlier this week, there was really very little left.  Her clothes, a couple of scrapbooks I had made for her to help her remember the loved ones in her life, her glasses, and in the bottom of her dresser we found this.











I vaguely remember this holding some of her special necklaces that she enjoyed wearing.  But when we went to open it up found this... 

So like Betty  to leave us a little "inheritance." You see, my grandma had to spend her entire life savings while in the nursing home.  But this lady was always a saver.  My grandpa would give her a weekly allowance and over the years she managed to save about $35,000.  Wow!  While we were stunned at the moment of opening it, we really were not surprised.  In fact, we could see her smiling and telling us to go spend the day shopping...which we did!


Grandma,  I know you must be laughing with loved ones, enjoying some tennis, playing old music, dancing to your hearts content, playing bridge and soaking up the sun on the white sands of a beach.

I love you so and look forward to our reunion one day.

Betty Barclay Huber Warfield

June 3, 1918 - November 9, 2013