“The blogs that receive this award are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers.”
Thank you, Sharon, for this award. I pray that I am worthy of it. My prayer is that I always shine His light in all I do.

If you are not a reader of “God’s Child”, Sharon’s blog, please know that there you will find God’s word and wonderful inspiration for daily living. She blesses me so often with her writings.

This award is for blogs that show kindness and sweetness in their entries.

A big thanks to Jennifer for passing on this award to me. I so enjoy reading about the adventures of her family in Michigan. She is a dedicated Christian, and shares Christ through her blog.

Since Don hung this Chinese window screen for me, I have been looking for the perfect piece to go underneath it. I have searched the stores here and online, but could not find anything that struck my fancy. Because we were entertaining last weekend, I renewed my search. I had just about given up, when I made a stop at one last place. Walking through the extremely crowded furniture store, it is easy to miss something. So, I went through twice and, on my second pass, I spotted this chest…or rather, I spotted the corner of it. There were 2 chairs and another table in front of it, so it was hard to get a good look at it. It was originally $680…and marked down to $339. Good deal, but, I still wasn’t sure. I had not planned to get anything with a design on it…I wanted just a plain chest. So, I left, and got in my car…then I got right back out and went in and bought it! To my surprise, the clerk told me, that there was a sale going on and it was reduced another $100! I had them wrap it up and put it in my car.

It is very heavy, even though it is small. I was so anxious to see it in the house, to see if I had made a good choice or not. I knew that I was going to have to call Adam or Ian to come and get it out for me. But, when I got home, the son of a dear friend of mine happened to be at my house picking up some box springs to deliver to my niece. Now, he is a strong young man…and one of the nicest guys you’ll ever want to meet. He and Ian grew up together in church. Justin is married and has the cutest little girl. Anyway…I asked him to help, and he carried it in for me. I unwrapped it and I LOVED IT! It looks as if it was just made for this wall.
Things with designs on them puzzle me sometimes, because I do not want there to be too much going on. But, this looks perfect to me! Here is a close-up of the painting on the front.A small portion of the design is repeated on the sides also. I added a portion of my bird collection to the top to coordinate with the design.

Don’t you just love it when you make a purchase and it turns out to be just exactly what you wanted…even if you weren’t sure exactly what it was you wanted?
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I had a painting that I bought to go on this wall that I really loved…and still do. My DH, however, did not share my appreciation of this fine piece of art. I began looking for something else to hang there, and this is a painting that I found. It is by Matthew Mertzer and is a layering process of colors upon colors. I really love it. And it has all the colors we are using in our home.It is hanging above an antique Chinese desk that came from the Mongolian area of China…appr.300 years old.


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I FINALLY got the picture I brought back from Savannah last year hung in the foyer. Remember…it is the one I carried on my head all the way home! Yes, I know you can see my lovely reflection in the full shot, but, I wanted you to see it over the Chinese butcher’s table. You can get a better idea of the colors in the next pic.


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This is a photograph on canvas Don and I purchased on our trip to Maui last October. We had it stretched onto canvas, and Don has it hanging in his office. Aren’t the colors magnificent?

Nothing like a party to get little details finished up!

A few weeks ago the daughter of one of my best friends, Amy, called and asked if I would help her with her Mom’s 60th birthday party. I said that I would love to and the next question was if I could have it at the Creek House. A wonderful excuse to have our first party in our new home. So, we have been working on plans, and meeting secretly to get everything ready And, yesterday was the day! And what a day it was!
This screen was beside my front door. We cut out her initials and hung them there.

This is a view coming up my front walkway.

Myself and Tina. She was very surprised!

And this is her beautiful daughter Amy. How sweet of her to want to make her Mom’s day special.

This is the ‘Oh so elegant’ cake. Bottom layer-buttercream…middle layer-strawberry…top layer-key lime. All-yummy!!!

Mantle decorations…I covered the letters of her name with moss. I used some of my mercury glass, red roses in black vases, and white candles.

One of the table floral arrangements…I think they turned out very well…I’m not the best at flower arrangements.

These are 2 more of our friends. Jan on left, and Shirley, our bestest Moultrie buddy, on the right. Shirley drove over from Moultrie, GA. yesterday morning, and spent the night with me. Jan lives here and came over, too, to help us get ready. Jan coordinated all the food. Thank goodness that was not my job! Amy wanted balloons…lots of balloons…150 to be exact. Several of us took turns blowing them up with a helium tank. They were everywhere…but surely added to the festivities! Don and Buddy had to pop them all when the party was over! Jan and Shirley did some potting and decorating outside. They pulled together a great outside mantle display. And, Shirley helped me put some finishing touches on the house. She can do the most in the least amount of time! Thanks, Shirl and Jan!

Yes! Don’t pass out! It’s ME—COOKING! See, I can do it if I need to! 🙂 Actually, I am preparing the chocolate for the fruit fondue! Kiwi, strawberries, and marshmallows…and wonderful, rich, dark chocolate to dip them in! To die for!

Don got in on the preparations, too. There are LOTS of leaves falling around this yard! And, into the pool!!!

And, this is our lovely table! Isn’t it festive looking? Chicken salad, congealed salad, grape salad, Texas Caviar, 3 kinds of sandwiches, 7 layer salad, chips and dip, cheese and crackers, fruit, and cake…all delicious!

Fun around the outside table in the covered porch. Very cozy, even though it was raining!

And this is the Davis family…Amy, Tina, and Buddy. Wonderful people…terrific friends…a joy to know and call ‘friends’.

Buddy took Tina home after church today, and then blindfolded her, and put her in the car…telling her to ask no questions. The rest of the guests came over immediately after church.We were all gathered at the front door when Buddy brought her up the steps…still blindfolded. We all burst into a rousing version of “Happy Birthday”…and she yanked off the blindfold. Many of her dearest friends were here, and her brother, Tim, and his wife, Becky drove over from Fitzgerald, Ga. That was an extra special treat for her. Total we had 28 friends here. There were
4 other couples who were invited that could not attend due to sickness. We missed having them with us, but we partied on anyway.

Tina, Happy Birthday to you, my sweet friend! I am a better person because you are in my life. You are an inspiration to the many people who know you and call you friend. We can count on you to give sage advice, to uplift us with your kindness, and to always be there with a helping hand when needed.

Amy, your gift to your Mom is much more than this party. You have shown her the respect and devotion she deserves. You have given her the gift that counts most of all…your understanding of the role she has played in your life. You have filled her heart with joy. I’m proud of you…and I know she is as well. Way to go, girl!
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Adam was there to make photos of the event. He just added a link to all the pics at the top of my side bar. Just click on the pic and it will take you to the reswt of the pictures. Thanks Adam!

I am going to be very busy over the next 2 days doing something very important…and fun. It is going to involve some people. It is going to be somewhere. There is going to be something to eat. The people are going to be doing something. There could be laughing and/or crying. It is going to be at someone’s house. It is a surprise. So, please, don’t tell anyone anything about it.

I’ll return on Monday with details. Have a nice weekend.

Today. I am glad it is almost over. I really do thank God for every day that He gives me…but, today, was not my most favorite.

I woke up this morning about 4:00 with a killer migraine. I hate when that happens. Usually the ones that wake me up in the early morning are the worst. I took some meds, but not too much, because I needed to be at school today. I got dressed and tried to go, but, I could tell it was just not going to happen. So, I called in sick. Then I took some stronger meds, went back to bed and got up again around 10. I felt a little better. But, those meds make you feel yucky.

This afternoon we went to see the vet to discuss the plans for our sweet dog, Scooter. Boy, was that a hard thing. He told us that his cancer was well advanced and in all the lymph nodes. With chemo, he may have 6 months to a year…but probably most of that time he would be quite ill from the effects of the treatment. Without it, he may have 4-6 months. Alex, made the decision not do the chemo. And, we agreed, and the vet, that this was the best decision. He is going to treat him with steroids, which will probably shrink the lymph nodes and that will be good. He has one that is pressing on his trachea and causing him to cough a lot. This should help that. Surprisingly, other than the cough, he still acts as happy and healthy as always. He is not eating a lot, but he has gone through spells of that before, too.

Alex told the vet, through tears, that he had had Scooter almost the whole time he has been sick. This dog has been through it all with him. So, we are all sad tonight. I am sure we will learn tough lessons through this, which, hopefully, we can use to be a help to others who may go through the same thing.