It's a beautiful Christmas Day!

Merry Christmas!  It is truly a beautiful sunny day here in Virginia!  The presents have all been opened and much food and family time has been enjoyed!  I feel truly blessed!

Wishing all of my followers a most Blessed Christmastide!

Blessings!

God does answer...

Well, here it has been weeks again since a post...thought it was time to update about what is going on in my little piece of the world.

My beautiful, oldest daughter graduated in May from Blue Ridge Community College with her Vet Tech Certification degree.  We are all so proud of her for her 3 years of hard work all the while working full time along with taking classes part time to accomplish this.  The last several months of school were especially hard since she was pregnant and had morning sickness for the whole pregnancy.

Then with her LVT in hand she knew that it was time to find a job closer to home. You see she lives across the state from us and we don't get to visit as much as we would like and when we do it is only for a day or two.  She delivered her son in August and those visits are even more important now and needed.  Babies grow and change so fast and it is hard to try to raise a child with no other family around to help out as needed.

Now on to the point of this post.  I have been praying for months that God would bless my daughter and her little family, bring them many blessings according to his will.  I asked that he help her make her dream of moving closer to us possible by providing a job opening in her field of LVT, one in large animal not small.  There are only a dozen of so equine vet clinics in our state so there are never very many openings for the job she wanted.  Well God does hear our prayers and he answers in his time.

Two weeks after having her son, a job opening was listed for a LVT position at an equine vet hospital, not just any equine vet hospital but the one I use for my horses.  This clinic is less than 10 minutes from my house!  Well she applied for the job, came in for two in house interviews and was offered the job!  Not only that, last week her husband was offered a transfer of his job with the company he works for even though there were no openings listed!  Praise God!  He is so generous and loving!

So as of November 25th, all my living children and their families will all be located within a 45 minute drive of us!  And guess what!  This grandma will be babysitting her cute little grandson while his parents work!

Can you tell I'm excited!  There's more to the story but I will save it for my next post.

Blessings!

Finally A Stitching Update!!

It has been quite a few weeks, even months, since I have done any cross stitching. My mojo must have been on vacation, lol!  Well, I am happy to report that my mojo has made a return and I have managed to get some real stitching time in this past week.

This is one of my 2011 Crazy January Challenge starts. I don't think that I have worked on it since January of 2011. I stopped with only the birds head outlined, part of the wings outlined and a couple of rows of the bird's breast completed.  Wish I had thought to take a before picture of this but I didn't.

Here it is after this week's stitching progress!

Feather Your Nest
With Thy Needle and Thread
32 ct linen; DMC threads; stitched over 2

I am pleased with my progress. There wasn't much time for stitching but any progress made is good.  With some dedication, I should be able to get this one finished this year!

Blessings and Happy Stitching!

Great Family Weekend!

It was such a great weekend!  We all got together to attend the State Fair on Saturday...what a beautiful and fun day it was!

What should we see first?

There was a great petting barn for the children to have a chance to touch and feed the sheep, goats and pigs and other farm animals...The grand-daughters really loved this area...grandma really did too!

Owen and Elyssa...can we take it home grandma!?!

Elyssa and Owen...beautiful girls!

Owen and grandma!

There were some chickens and bunnies to see in the animal pavilion...

Elyssa loved the chickens

Elyssa loved the rabbits

And of course there were tractors to see...

Owen wants to drive a tractor!

All in all it was a fun day filled with memories to cherish!

Riley, 6 weeks old!

My Family!

Hope your weekend was fun too! Bye for now!

Blessings!

Grandma Again!

A big hello to anyone out there still following my little blog!  I see I have lost a few followers in my absence So glad the rest of you stayed around!

Life has been busy these last few months and I have been in a cross-stitch slump...On the other hand, I have crocheted several baby blankets...there seems to be a population explosion in my neck of the woods with several new baby boys born to friends of my children and myself and one precious little girl born just yesterday.

One very special little boy born on August 20 belongs to my beautiful daughter!

He looks just like his daddy! What a sweet baby he is!  I spent 3 weeks staying with my daughter and her husband to help out and of course to spoil this little one rotten!!  Grandma sure enjoyed the time spent with this little fellow!

I hope to get back to stitching soon...I have one more baby blanket to finish crocheting and then I plan to pick up my needle and thread once again.


Blessings to you....

TUSAL April

Can't believe how much time has passed since my last post!  I have been busy these last few weeks and not much stitching has been accomplished as you can tell from my TUSAL picture...

TUSAL April

On March 30th we made a trip to see my oldest daughter.  She lives about 4 hours away from us. It was time for her 20 week ultrasound and we got to go with her and her husband to the appointment....and....it's a boy!!  The baby is healthy and boy was he kicking and moving around when they did the ultrasound!  This will be my first grandson and I have had so much fun shopping for him!  Cannot wait for August when he is due!

My daughter, being pregnant, has not been able to ride her horse and it seemed silly to continue to pay for boarding at the barn so we offered for her horse to be moved to our house until she can ride again.  So on March 31st we trailered her horse to our house.  She drove the truck and trailer and I rode shot-gun and my husband and son-in-law followed in my daughter's vehicle.  I need to get some pictures of her horse to show but haven't done so yet.

When we got home we unloaded the horse into her own field until my horses get use to having a new friend. Then I went to work preparing dinner for my family.  We celebrated Easter a week early this year since everyone was home for the weekend!

The girls enjoyed their Easter Baskets from Grandma and Grandpa!

The next day was Sunday April 1st and my oldest granddaughter's First Birthday!! She was so adorable opening her presents, of course after opening the first two gifts she only wanted the tissue paper and her mom had to finish opening gifts for her!

Next there was the cake!

What's that Mom?

Yummm! Marshmellows!

3 Happy Babies!

Since then I have been busy weeding flower beds, taking care of horses and planting a few vegetables...by the end of the day I don't have enough energy left to stitch. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks the outside   chores will be caught up and I will get back to stitching.

Until then.....

Blessings and Happy Stitching!

Liebster Blog Award!!!

I am so honored to be nominated by March Ann of STITCHING AGAIN for the Liebster Blog Award! Thank you March Ann!  I really appreciate you thinking of my blog and I accept the award!

Liebster is a German word meaning favorite, dearest or beloved and is awarded by bloggers to newer bloggers with fewer than 200 followers.  By accepting this award I:

     1.  Choose 5 blogs to award the Liebster to.

     2.  Thank my friend and link back to her.

     3.  Post the award on my blog and list the bloggers I pass the Liebster on to with their links.

     4.  Let them know by leaving them a comment.

     5.  Share 5 random facts about myself that people do not know about me.

My 5 blogs to pass on the Liebster to are:

     1.  Mimi at The View From the Stitching Chair

     2.  Natasha at A Stitchers Ramblings

     3.  Lynn at Kernel's Korner

     4.  Peg at Lightening Fingers.........not!

     5.  Katherine at Regaling From Windy Ridge

And 5 random facts about me are:

     1.  I love, love, love chocolate eclairs

     2.  I dream of starting a horse farm to raise Holsteiner horses

     3.  I would love to visit the Holy Land one day

     4.  I love to cook for a crowd

     5.  I love to grow organic vegetables for family and friends

Thanks again to March Ann and I look forward to reading all your blogs!

TUSAL March, Gardening and A Little Stitching Progress!

I want to thank everyone who took the time to comment on my last post...your comments meant so much to me.  The last several months have been difficult but my faith in God has given me the hope and strength to live each day to the best that I can.  Seeing the way that Anna's life impacted so many people on this earth I can only thank God that he chose me to be her mother and to have with her the 21 years that she spent here on earth.  I miss her every single day but I have so many sweet memories of her stored in my heart, she brought me such joy.  I know that one day we will meet again in heaven and we will be able to spend eternity together.  Oh what joy there will be!

Now on to some stitching updates...

There has not been a lot of time for stitching at my house.  Spring is here and outside chores are calling me.  The weather in my neck of the woods has been so beautiful, so sunny, bright and warm.  Some days have been on the hot side and I have been tempted to crank up the air conditioning but I haven't given in to that temptation yet.

All of the flower beds around the house need weeding and mulching.  They were neglected last fall so there is more work than usual.  And my muscles have been complaining about all the hard work  Thank goodness for Tylenol!!  The strawberries are blooming and are setting berries, unfortunately they are very weedy so that's been the chore for this week.  I have started my tomato plants for the vegetable garden.  Here's a picture of them!

They are leaning towards the sunshine.  I rotate the trays everyday to try to keep them straight.  The varieties are Mortgage Lifter, Black Krim, Brandywine, German Johnson and Amish Paste.  All are heirloom varieties.  A lot of canning will be done this summer when they are ready for harvest!

Here is my TUSAL picture for March.

Not a lot of ORTS this month.

Here is the progress on the projects I have worked on since my last stitching update.

"Revelation"
La D Da

"There is a Garden"
Homespun Elegance

"Hallelujah"
Little House Needleworks

Also, I did order, receive and start a new design by Rosewood Manor.

"Dogwood Lace"
Rosewood Manor

This one kept calling to me so I just had to get it!  It is stitched with WDW Baked Apple. This one is going to be beautiful!

Thought I would leave you with a picture of my youngest granddaughter.  This is her 10 month old picture and she is such a doll!  She always has a smile on her beautiful face!

Blessings and Happy Stitching!

Bittersweet...

Today has been such a special day, beautiful and bittersweet.  A friend sent me a link to a video that has just touched my heart so deeply.  I thought I would share it with you.

Anna is my daughter and I miss her so much everyday...I am continually amazed at the number of lives she has touched in life and in death.

May this video be a blessing to you...

• http://www.launchmyday.com/2012/change-your-life-in-one-incredible-moment-video

A Finish and Two New Starts...

Happy March!  It's been tough getting much stitching time these last couple of weeks.  This weekend I was blessed with nothing much to do so I parked myself in my little corner and stitched away!  My needle was moving in and out of the fabric as fast as I could make it go!

First up is my 12th Crazy January Challenge finish for the year!  Isn't that little black bear cute!?!

Little House Needleworks
"Snowy Pines"
32 ct. linen
DMC Threads

I was getting a little bored with ornament stitching, so I started a new project that was calling my name!  Here is my start on a lovely little sampler by Homespun Elegance...

Homespun Elegance
"There Is a Garden"
32 ct. Lakeside Linen - Woodsmoke
DMC & Weeks Dye Works Threads

This sampler is small and should work up quickly.  I must say that the linen feels so rich and is a joy for stitching.  The verse on this sampler says "There is a garden where memories grow of people we loved so."  This is a special sampler for sure.

There were so many beautiful new designs coming out of the Nashville Show that I just had to enjoy a little Stash Enhancement Therapy!  Here is one that came in the mail on Friday!

Rosewood Manor
"Peaceful Dove"

Isn't she beautiful!?!  I just couldn't resist this sampler nor could I wait to get started on her!  Here is the progress I made on her Saturday Night...

Rosewood Manor
"Peaceful Dove"
32 ct Cream linen
DMC Threads

I love the shades of pinks in this sampler!  The dove reminds me of the morning doves that frequent my yard. They are such lovely and gentle birds and their cooing is such a nice sound.

Well, that's all I got done this weekend.  All in all I am pleased with my progress.  Hopefully there will be more progress to post about in the next few days!

Blessings and Happy Stitching!

No Stitching This Week...

This has been a very busy week with church activities every single night and today I am busy making Whiskey Cakes for the church bake sale tomorrow!  Therefore there has been no time for even picking up my needle for any stitching these last few days and the weekend looks to be just as busy with other activities too!

The weather today is so beautiful! It is almost 80 degrees outside! Of course a cold front is due to move through later today which will bring us back to more seasonable weather here in Virginia.  Unfortunately with this cold front and the extreme drop in temperatures expected we are under tornado watches across the state.

I did go out and take a couple of pictures of flowers in bloom in my yard.  Spring is trying so hard to come early this year.








My horses are wishing for cooler temperatures.  They are much too warm in their long winter coats today!  These two pictures are of my Morgan gelding, Hawkeye.










He is covered with dead grass from rolling on the ground trying to dry his sweating coat.  He needs a good rub down to clean him up a bit and some cooling winds to make him feel more comfortable.






On Wednesday night, Ash Wednesday, we had the most wonderful service at our church, a service that makes one think on all the sins we commit on a daily basis.  You know the little sins we don't even recognize as sin.  The way we think about others, the choices we make in reaching out or not reaching out to those in need.  The pride we have instead of humility, the control we think we have in our lives when really we can only depend on God to make all things right.  This service has really made me take a step back and examine myself from afar and see what God sees, the sinful self that I am and the child which He loves and to whom He extends His unlimited grace and mercy.  I thank God everyday for the incredible gift of love and sacrifice he gave to us in the death and resurrection of his one and only son, Jesus Christ! I think that this year's Lenten journey will be one of growth and maturity in my faith!

I wish everyone a safe and fun weekend!

Blessings and Happy Stitching!

TUSAL February and Two CJC Finishes!!

Finally blogger is letting me post today...sometimes I do hate technology!  It has taken me two hours of trying to get this post to actually be posted!

Well it's time for the February TUSAL and here are my ORTS for the month....

February TUSAL

Looks about the same amount as last month.  You can see there are lots of reds, greens and whites from all those Christmas ornies I have been working on.

The exciting news for this post is the completion of two more of my Crazy January Challenge projects!

Little House Needlework
"Pine Tree Inn"
greenish-gray scrap of 32 ct linen
DMC threads

Little House Needlework
"Fa-la-La"
28 ct DMC linen Tea
DMC Threads

Sorry the linen colors are washed out in both pictures, I had to use the flash on the camera when I snapped these shots.

I have enjoyed reading everyone's comments on my posts. It is so much fun to read your encouraging thoughts. I have been thrilled that a couple of you have decided to stitch a project because you saw it on my blog!  We stitchers do like to enable each other!  A BIG Thank You to everyone who has taken the time to send me a comment!

Blessings and Happy Stitching!!!

Another CJC Finish!!!

I just finished "He Is Risen" and could not wait to share!  

I stitched this as designed except that the little flowers at the bottom I switched from the dark purple to the pink used in the other flowers, thought they stood out more in pink.



Little House Needlework
"He Is Risen"
Just CrossStitch Magazine March/April 2010
Antique White Monaco Fabric
DMC Threads


Blessings and Happy Stitching!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Wishing all my readers a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Elyssa Feb. 14, 2012

Saturday Update and Crazy Weather!

Happy cold, wet Saturday!  Our weather has been so crazy this winter, not much like winter at all until today.  It turned cold last night and we had a little rain this morning.  About an hour ago out came the sun and  the day was looking up...then things went from sunshiney to wind and snow in a matter of minutes! Can you see those snowflakes?  It is like a blizzard, we even have thunder!

Out the back door

view from the side deck

As I type these words the ground is white and the snow is slowing down, looks to be stopping.  Hopefully that's all the snow we get today!

Now for the stitchy update!  I have two finishes to share!  First is 'Red House in Winter'.

LHN
"Red House in Winter"

My next finish is "All is Calm" and in the picture you will see the fabric I found for the pillow finish!

LHN
"All Is Calm"

I went to my local Joanne Fabrics store yesterday to get some finishing fabric.  Lucky me when I arrived they were having a moving sale and all the fabric left in the store was 50% off and the remaining trims were 75% off!  Believe me I had fun picking out some beautiful cotton fabrics and got lots of cording trim for making my Christmas ornaments!  That plaid homespun fabric was one of my 50% off buys...when I saw it I knew it would be perfect with "All Is Calm"! 

When I got home and told my dear husband about the great sale, he just shook his head and said "Oh, no" in a dismayed voice.  I will never understand why husbands don't appreciate a good sale on fabric and craft supplies! I really did save a lot of money even if I did buy more than I had intended to when I went shopping...a girl can't just pass up 50% off now can she...LOL!

I wanted to show the progress I made this week on a couple more of my CJC projects!

My Big Toe Designs
"Revelation"

LHN
"He Is Risen"

These two projects are moving along quickly and I am enjoying my time spent on them!

That's it for today...as I look out the window the snow has stopped and melted away.  Wonder what the weather is going to do next?

Blessings and Happy Stitching!



Happy Monday!!

It was a cold dreary weekend at my house...no sunshine in the sky just grey clouds, cold air, dampness and some rain.  A good weekend to stay inside and keep warm.

My youngest son and his family came to stay for the weekend and my oldest son and his family came for a visit on Saturday!  We celebrated my husband's birthday a week late but that was ok with him. We had a nice family meal of take-out pizza and salad. There is a nice little Italian Restaurant in our town called The Brick Oven...they have the best white pizza and their regular pizza is very good too!  They make wonderful salads with the best tasting Ranch Dressing I have ever had, wish they sold their dressing by the bottle!

We had so much fun watching my granddaughters play!  They are both crawling now and into everything!  I really need to do some baby-proofing around my house before they come again for a visit. It won't be long before they are both walking! 

I did managed to get a little stitching in before the house filled with people. Here's my progress on "Revelation" and "Red House in Winter".

My Big Toe Designs
"Revelation"
32 ct. natural linen
Weeks Dye Works Threads

Little House Needlework
"Red House in Winter"
32 ct linen
DMC and Crescent Colours Threads

I should get "Red House" finished this week since there is not much left to stitch on it!  And I hope to get at least one other ornie finished too!

That's all I have for today!  I wish everyone in blogland a wonderful week! 

Blessings and Happy Stitching!