Happy 4th of July Ya'll

I hope everyone had an amazing weekend.  I was able to spend the weekend with my parents and Sister in Georgia.  My parents will be moving to Tennessee in a month or so and this will probably be the last holiday they spend there.  So, it was nice to be together.  My son work in the emergency room, so getting off was not an option for him.  Plus, I secretly thing he was hoping someone would blow their finger off so he could assist in re-connecting it.  If you don't work in a hospital, you might not understand that it's the gross stuff that makes us happy.  Not that we want sick people, but it's a coping mechanism for us.

Anyway, Saturday sister and I ran around town shopping and gathering supplies so that I could teach her and Mama how to make wreaths.

Mama decided on an American themed one for her sister.  Mama and Daddy are going to North Carolina this week to visit family.  Retirement life is hard.

Sister loves burlap, so she tried this out.  She was not thrilled with it, so so gave it to a family friend of our back here in Tennessee.  Judy was more than happy to take it off her hands.

Sunday we went to church.  Mama, Daddy and Sister go to the sweetest little Baptist church.  There are probably 50 people that go there and the average age is 70.  They are the kindest people and my family is so blessed to have them as friends.  Mama and Daddy will really miss them when they make their final move.

We tried a great little restaurant in Roswell, GA call The Mill Kitchen & Bar.  It's very rustic, well industrial rustic.  Is that such a thing?  Well, it's super sweet inside and I could move right in.

The Mill Kitchen & Bar

I got french toast because it's my thing.  I love french toast and The Mill didn't disappoint.  You get 6 halves of sweet, but not too sweet, french toast.  I ordered a side of bacon it's it was equally as good.  The Mill is a farm to table type of place and use locally grown ingredients.  

(source)

When we went home and decided to do some more shopping.  The tax is lower in GA, so if I want to really shop, I'll go there.  Plus, I never buy clothes without Mama or Sisters approval.  Because I buy granny clothes, or so I've been told.  HA!

So, we went by the Container store.  If you haven't been there and have no will power, STAY AWAY!!!  I was pretty good because Sister was with me, but let me just tell you.  I could go in there and spend a paycheck.  I ended up getting exactly what I went in for, a pen/pencil storage container for all of my art pens/pencils.  Let's just say I have a few. HA!!  Oh, I also got a drink can storage thing for the refrigerator.  My son drink can Diet Dr. P and I had the boxes in the refrigerator.  It's an infection control thing.  FUN FUN FUN!!!

Sunday evening, Sister and I decided to head over to Kennesaw, GA for fireworks.  We arrived just in time for the fireworks and THANK YOU google maps for getting us out with no traffic.

I was so excited because I thought Fleetwood Mac was there, NO, it was a band that place Fleetwood Mac. HAHAH, They were pretty good.

However, the fireworks were right on and we enjoyed seeing them live and in person.

Monday we just cooked out and relaxed.  Sister's friend and aunt came over.  Aunt Peggy is from Charlotte, NC and is so funny.  She reminds me of a very young Marilyn Monroe.  She is a classic beauty and was just as sweet as she could be.

Monday evening I headed back to Tennessee.  My dear son didn't water my garden Sunday or Monday and it was very poor looking by the time I arrived Monday night.  My yellow squash might not make it.  NOT HAPPY!!

So, one thing I left out.  A family I've become close to that has no family around, had their second baby on Thursday night.  I spend a good part of the day in the room with them on Friday.  Little Ian is a preemie and having a little trouble gaining weight.  Please keep him in your prayers.  I'm taking them supper tonight and get to see my first little buddy Silas.  I just love that child like he were my own.

And tonight is my 2nd night of Ruth.  We are studying Ruth Chapter 2 and I adore this story.  More to come on that later.

Thanks again for dropping by while I share my life.  It's not exciting I'm sure, but I'm just trying to figure it out.

Coloring Cards

I love to color.  When I was little, people say that I would walk about with my baby dolls, coloring book and colors (crayons).  As long as I had those three things, life was good.

We have an amazing Christian Publishers Outlet store in my town.  They offer various classes, and this is how I got started in Bible Journals.  Since I took a class at this store, they offered us a 40% off discount and I was able to get some goodies.

These cards are sweet.  After my surgery several months ago, I colored these and sent them out as thank you cards.  It was nice to be able to create, but not have to think really hard about drawing and then coloring.

I love letter writing and think it's so sad that kids now days don't write letters.  Is it really a lost art?  How sad!!  Emails or texts have their place, but a nice card in the mailbox says so much more.

These cards were colored with my Prismacolor pencils.  The are great!!!  But I will come clean and say that my crayola pencils would be great too.  The Prismacolor are nice because they are softer and blend better.

A couple weeks ago, Sister and I were in the same Christian bookstore and I found a 48 pack of pens.  Fine tip, glitter, metallic and neon.  They are AMAZING!!!  The black smudge is the black pen!  Yes, I went around the edge and then used my finger to smudge it and wala.

I encourage you to step out and create a card for someone today or grab a piece of paper and pen and write someone a note.  Nothing fancy, just something that says, I'm thinking about you.  You might never know just how much it will touch someone.

USA Wreath

One of the things that relaxes me and I love, is crafting.  I see something at craft show and think, "I can make that".  Of course, most of the time I never do, but after Mama kept on and on about this wreath she wanted, I knew I needed to make it.

The great thing with crafting is you can normally always "make" it your own.  In this case, Mama wanted a Bandanna Wreath.  Everything I saw online was for the traditional bandannas, but I just couldn't find any.  Or should I say, I couldn't find enough of each color to make it.  So, I improvised and decided to do solid red, white and blue bandannas and then used fancy stars and a bow.

I think it turned out pretty good and I'm very happy with it.  I used a 18" wreath, but the tails of the bandanna loops were about 3", so the final wreath was about 24" on the outside.

Because the material is protected from the sun or weather, I suggest that you put it on the side door and not out in the elements.  Now that I see how easy they are to make, I guess I'll be heading to get the supplies to make me one.