Daughter's Wedding

We had our daughter's wedding in front of our home that she and her brother lived in. The house we live in is next door. We have a large pond in the front. This picture was taken at the pier that we decorated with lights and blue and white roses with ivy. We have a lighted fountain in the middle of the pond that you can see in the background.

This picture was taken before the wedding started. They were married under the canopy. If you click on this photo you can get a better view of the columns and walkway.

The wedding cake had the fountain and was surrounded by 5 small individual cakes. The temperature was in the 90's that day and if you look closely you can see that the cake is tilting some. We were worried that it was going to slide off before they cut it. Luckily, it being September and late in the evening, the temperature dropped enough that we avoided a disaster.


This is the grooms cake that we had made. A friend of mine made both cakes. The photographer was playng around with this picture and changed the background which you can see where she cloned it in. We had 3 photographers and the one who made this one was a friend of ours who was taking photography classes. Actually, she made all of the photos shown in this post. My daughter has most of the photos from the 2 professional photographers. I need to get some copies.

We rented a large tent and hired caterers to do the buffet. They did an exceptional job.

Chocolate fountain. We rented it and the catherers set it up for us but we had to clean it.

The happy couple. You can see the gazebo all lit up in the background.

My husband built the columns lining the walkway. He built 20 of them, 10 for each side. I painted them and added the navy blue and white roses, ivy and ribbons to them. You can also see part of the large tent.

The happy couple in front of the gazebo.
Our son and daughter in front of the canopy. My husband framed the canopy and I painted it white and made the curtains and swags.

The bride and groom and 7 bridesmaids.

The groom and his 7 groomsmen, best man, ushers, and ring bearer.

In yesterday' post I wrote about my son getting engaged over the weekend. I mentioned that I was happy this time it was our son getting married because I was exhausted after my daughter's wedding. I tried to do too much by myself and robbed myself of a lot of the enjoyment. Forty-five minutes before the wedding, guest were arriving and I was running around setting up the flowers on the dining tables that the wind kept blowing over. The videographer caught it on video. When I paid him that night I gave him a tip and told him he'd better be nice with what he included on it (wouldn't you know he included it in their wedding video). I had only a few minutes to get a bath and get dressed. Just as I stepped into the bath I heard a knock on my door. I jumped out, put on my robe and answered the door and there stood my daughter's future mother-in-law. She told me the caterers were needing the forks and spoons to finish setting up. It was at that moment I realized I had forgotten to pick them up. Panic!!! She must have saw the panic on my face because she said don't worry about it I will have someone run to the store and get some. I was very grateful and happy to let her handle it. The mother of the bride was dressed and ready to go in 10 minutes. That's where my blog gets its name. I don't wear much makeup and most of the time I'm not fussy with my hair. I'm plain and simple. While I will be happy to help with Morgan and our son's wedding they will not have to worry about me interfering with any of their plans. I just want to enjoy it all. Planning a wedding is fun and I enjoyed the time that I spent with our daughter planning everything but I must be honest I am thankful that I only have one daughter.

Engagement

My son is officially engaged to Morgan, his girlfriend. He proposed to her last night in New York and she accepted. He had intended to propose on top of the Rockefeller Center but he said it was too foggy. We are very happy for them. As I wrote in my previous post, he gave her the trip to New York as a Christmas gift but she did not know he was going to propose to her while they were there. He called afterwards and said that he had been very nervous during the proposal. Looks like we will be having a wedding soon. Thank you for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful evening.

Twas the night after Christmas and out to dinner we went with our daughter, Jacqueline, and her husband, Josh. I did not go to any after Christmas sales but I did go in Books a Million, which is next door to Surins where we ate dinner. Our son gave me a $50 gift card from there as one of my Christmas gifts from him. I bought 10 books and my total was $50.22. I shopped the sales tables and found some good books. He also gave me a gift card to TJ Maxx which is another place I like to shop but I will wait a few days or weeks to spend it. I received a digital photo frame from Jacqueline and Josh; my sister and her family gave me lotion from Bath & Body Works, my mom gave me a candy dish; and my husband gave me an electric juicer. This year we had brunch at my husband's shop for our family get together. I served black peppered bacon, turkey bacon, sausage, ham, country gravy, chocolate gravy, fried eggs, scrambled eggs, pancakes, homemade biscuits, strawberry and grape jelly, coffee, soda, and orange juice. We ate at 10:00 a.m. and sit around afterwards and enjoyed being together. Then we played Dirty Santa and watched a movie. Afterwards, my mom, aunt and uncle left and I prepared supper for everyone that stayed. Then we exchanged gifts and visited a little while longer, everyone left and I did the dishes and cleaned up. We have our get togethers in my husbands shop so everyone can be in one room together. He has a wood heater there that Skylar likes to sit next to. Because Skylar is paralyzed from the neck down, his body temperature does not regulate normal and he gets cold very easily. He also has more room to get around in his wheel chair. Because he cannot use his arms or hands he operates a sip-n-puff wheelchair by sipping or blowing into a straw that is connected to his chair. He is very good at operating it. (We are all praying for a miracle that will allow him to get the use of his arms and hands back.) My husband and I spent Christmas day alone, relaxing and watching Christmas movies all day. I enjoyed it. My son gave his girlfriend, Morgan, a trip to New York as one of her gifts. What she doesn't know is that he is going to propose to her at the Top of the Rock (Rockefeller Center). She is a very nice girl and I am happy to be getting her for a daughter-in-law. Their flight left at 10:00 this morning and they arrived in New York around 2:30 after a stop in Cincinnati. I pray everything goes well and they have a safe trip. Below are a few photos from our Christmas Eve get together. Thank you for stopping by and I hope that you had a very merry and joyous Christmas.

My sister, Pam, posing for me to take her picture.

Our son-in-law, Josh; our son, Lee (with mustache & beard); our daughter, Jacqueline; and my mom with her back to the camera.

My Aunt Genie: nephew, Skylar; and my mom.


I like this picture of Skylar. You can see the straw he uses to operate his chair. We also got him a cell phone (shown beside his straw) that he operates with a toothpick. He can call, receive calls and text.


Skylar, my husband and our daughter (Jacqueline).

Our daughter and my mom.

Christmas Day

The Coming Birth of Jesus -Luke 1:26-38

How the Birth of Jesus Came About -Matthew 1:18-24

Jesus Is Born -Luke 2:1-7

Angels Appeared to Shepherds- Luke 2:8-20

The Wise Men Visit Jesus -Matthew 2:1-12

I Said A Christmas Prayer For You

I said a Christmas Prayer for you

Because the season's near.

I didn't ask for riches

But for gifts so much more dear.

I asked for joyful gatherings

With your family all round,

And for carols to inspire you

With their old familiar sound.

I asked for quiet moments

In you heart on Christmas morn,

For a special time to celebrate

The Savior who was born.

I asked for friends to send their best

That you might know they care;

I asked for peace and love and hope,

And I know God heard my prayer.

~ Author Unknown ~

Merry Christmas Everyone

Santa's Christmas Prayer
By Warren D. Jennings

The sleigh was packed, the reindeer were fed,
But Santa still knelt by the side of the bed.
"Dear Father," he prayed "Be with me tonight.
There's much work to do and my schedule is tight.
I must jump in my sleigh and streak through the sky,
Knowing full well that a reindeer can't fly.
I will visit each household before the first light,
I'll cover the world and all in one night.
With sleighbells a-ringing, I'll land on each roof,
Amid the soft clatter of each little hoof.
To get in the house is the difficult part,
So I'll slide down the chimney of each little heart.
My sack will hold toys to grant all their wishes.
The supply will be endless like the loaves and the fishes.
I will fill all the stockings and not leave a track.
I'll eat every cookie that's left for my snack.
I can do all these things Lord, only through You,
I just need your blessing, then it's easy to do.
All this is to honor the birth of the One,
That was sent to redeem us, Your most Holy Son.
So to all of my friends, lest Your glory I rob,
Please Lord, remind them, who gave me this job."

More Pics of Master Bath

These are more photos of our master bath that I showed in yesterday's post ("Show & Tell Friday").

This is standing in front of the tub in my section of the bathroom.

This is on the right side of the tub.


A cabinet that I use for my bath items.

We each have our own vanity and this one is mine. My husband doesn't like a lot of stuff (as he calls it) setting around on his.

A silver brush set I bought at an antique store several years ago. I bought the toothbrush and cup caddie at TJ Maxx a few years ago.


This is a view from my section of the bath looking into my husband's section.

This is his vanity.

A closer view of his section of the bath.

I made the shower curtain to match the window treatments in my section.
He has a tub/shower unit in his section.

The bath is in two different sections because my husband's section use to be our daughter's bathroom when she lived here. After both kids moved out we built a large master bedroom onto our house and added another section to the existing bath to make it large enough for a whirlpool tub and another vanity. All of our friends kid us about waiting until the kids moved out to remodel and add onto our home; a time when other empty nester's are chosing to downsize. We joke back and say that we are making room for the grandchildren. Thank you for stopping by and I hope you have a very Merry Christmas.

Show & Tell Friday

Kelli at http://kellishouse.blogspot.com/ is hosting "Show and Tell Friday" and I would like to join by showing a mural that I painted in our master bath. First and foremost, I do not claim to be an artist. About five years ago, I decided I wanted a mural around our tub. I started looking on the internet at Mediterranean murals that you can purchase. It was the ones that you put up like wall paper and I found one that I liked very much. In fact, I almost purchased it but decided that I did not want wallpaper, I wanted it painted. Not wanting to hire someone and being the cheapo that I am, I decided that I could paint this. Me...... someone who has never drawn or painted anything like this before. I had drawn pictures with our children when they were small but they were not hard to impress and no one else ever saw them. I printed the picture out that I liked and went to town and bought several bottles of craft paints at Hobby Lobby. The next morning looking at the picture, I started sketching it on my wall. It took me all day to sketch one side, alot of erasing. I did not tell my husband what I was doing, and I hoped he would not notice when he took his shower that night. The next day, I finished the other wall. Still, my husband did not notice. The third day I started painting. Painting was hard and I admit I did not know what I was doing, I have alot of respect for people who are artist and there was several times that I almost stopped and painted over it. My husband did not notice until I showed him what I was doing. Long story short, it took me a total of 11 days to paint it and it is not perfect, I can see many mistakes in it myself, but I like it. My husband was very proud of it and showed everyone who came in. It definately brightened our bath.

This is the right side of the mural. I made the curtains also.

This is the left side.

This is standing in front of the tub.

Our master bath is divided into two sections. The whirlpool is in my section. This is the view when you enter the bathroom, which is my husband's section. He has a shower/tub combo in his part.



This is my niece, Lauren, wanting to get in the picture.

Thank you for stopping by. Saturday, I will show more pictures of this bathroom. Please visit Kelli to see what other's are showing.

Snow......

I keep hearing on the news about all the states that are getting snow and I am a little jealous. I am just kidding about being jealous but I really would like to see some snow (That's why I have it on my blog : ). Here in Alabama, all we get is rain and we have been getting alot of it. Last week when others were getting snow, we were getting rain. So much in fact, they had to let schools out early on Thursday, and on Friday they delayed opening until 10:00 in the morning due to flooding. This week it has been raining since Monday night. We will be having flooding again if it doesn't stop raining soon. Snow is soooo much prettier. I went to town today and did my grocery shopping for Christmas. Hopefully, I will not have to go shopping again until after the holidays. The stores are crowded this time of year and most of the people that you see do not appear to be very cheerful. In fact, the clerk at the register commented to me how this time of year brings out the worst in people. She went as far to say that people are not nice anymore. This was after the lady behind me was complainig very rudely to her about there not being enough registers open. I felt sorry for both of them.... I have my few gifts wrapped and except for all the cooking I am ready for the holidays. Thank you for stopping by and I hope you have a nice evening.

Christmas Beverages

Eggnog
1/2 gal. milk, divided
1 (3.4-oz.) pkg. French vanilla instant pudding mix
1/4 c. sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg

In large bowl, whisk 3/4 cup milk and pudding mix until smooth. Whisk in sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir in remaining milk. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Makes 2 quarts.

______________________________________

Frosty Mocha Drink
1 c. milk or half-and-half cream
2 T. honey
3 T. instant chocolate drink mix
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 T. instant coffee granules
14 - 16 ice cubes

In a blender, combine all ingredients; cover and process until smooth. Pour into chilled glasses; serve immediately. Makes 4 servings.

_______________________________________

Mocha Coffee Mix
2 c. powdered non-dairy creamer

1 tsp. cinnamon
1-1/2 c. hot chocolate mix

1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1-1/2 c. instant coffee granules

Sift together all ingredients. Stir one tablespoon of mixture into one cup of hot water; adjust to taste. May also add sugar or honey to sweeten to taste. Makes about 5 cups.

Gift Wrapping Ideas

I thought I would share some of the gift wrapping ideas that I have found on the internet and in magazines. Thank you for stopping by and I hope you have a nice day.

1. Wrap gift in paper covered with angels. Tie gift with a gold ribbon. Add an angel ornament to complete this.

2. Use a Christmas stocking as your holiday gift bag. Simply make or purchase a Christmas stocking, decorate it and place your gift or gifts inside.

3. Using newspaper is an old favorite. The best pages to use are the stock market listings because of its even looking print. Combined with a beautiful ribbon it makes for a great look. You may have to wrap the gift with some tissue paper first to protect it from the ink.

4. Wrap package in brown craft paper. Use binder twine as ribbon. Tuck in a few pine, spruce or holly sprigs.

5. Wrap package in brown craft paper or foil wrapping paper. Use a string of beads, popcorn or cranberries as ribbon. Secure with tape in a few places so that the string doesn't fall off.

6. Wrap a rectangular package in white paper and address it as if it were an envelope. Don't forget the return address and the stamps. Write "Do not open until December 25" on it.

7. A great Christmas wrapping paper for parents or grandparents gifts is simply made by having smaller children put red and green handprints all over white paper, and write their names and the years by them.

8. Giving a cookbook to someone for Christmas? Wrap it in a tea towel. Tie your package up with colorful ribbon and add some measuring spoons to the bow. Practically any kitchen gift can be wrapped in tea towels, dish cloths, table clothes or decorative tins.

9. Pack Christmas baking presents in decorative tins you can purchase at the dollar store. Line the tins with waxed paper, add your baking, put on the lid and tie it up with pretty ribbon. How about adding a recipe card and measuring spoons to the bow

10. Wrap a gift for a traveler in an old map.

11. Tie up a child's gift with a jump rope.

12. Wrap gift in paper with stars. Tie a gold or silver ribbon (depending on color of stars on paper). Add a star ornament to the gift.

13. Wrap gift in silver paper and tie with a pink ribbon. Add a ballerina ornament, or toe shoes ornament to complete.

14. Wrap gift in wrapping paper that has presents on it and tie with red ribbon. Add a small Christmas stocking to the top of this gift that has been personalized with the person's name using a fabric pen or a glitter pen.

15. Wrap gift in a soft pink and tie a soft white satin ribbon around the box. Glue sea shells onto the box.

16. Wrap gift in red and white striped wrapping paper. Top with red and green ribbon. Add greenery and small pinecones coated with artificial snow. Spray ribbons as well.

"Show and Tell Friday"

Kelli at http://kellishouse.blogspot.com/ is hosting "Show and Tell Friday." I thought I would participate by showing some of my doll ornaments.



This is a section of my tree to show some of my doll ornaments. Please click on the photo to enlarge it to get a better view. My husband bought the first 5 small dolls about 10 years ago at Hobby Lobby. He paid 97 cents each for them. I collected porcelain dolls at the time and he knew I would like them. I now have 20 doll ornaments in my collection.



I bought this doll at the Dollar Tree a few years ago.



This one I bought at Cracker Barrel 3 years ago.



This is one of the first ones that my husband bought at Hobby Lobby.



This one also came from Cracker Barrel 2 years ago.



Another one from Cracker Barrel that I bought last year.

Thank you for taking the time to look at my show and tell and please visit Kelli and see what others are showing.

Dining Room Decor

This is the centerpiece I made for the dining table. I bought the beaded fruit back in the summer on clearance at the Dollar Store.



I hung garland along the opening to the dining room. I have beaded fruit swags hanging in each side corner and in the middle.



A view of the diningroom.I am sorry these pictures are dark, I tried several settings on my camera but could never get the correct one.



A right hand view.



In this photo I had the camera on the museum setting, it really made the beaded fruit stand out.



Swag hanging on china cabinet.



A close up of the wreath hanging on the mirror above the side table.



Mirror and side table decorations.




I bought this hand carved wooden bowl at an antique store about 10 years ago. It is signed and dated.




I finally got enough light for this photo.




It has been a damp and cold day. A day for sitting in front of a fire in the fireplace and reading a good book. I have not had time to do such but I can wish....Instead I spent the day finishing up with my Christmas decorations and doing chores. I am finally caught up on my laundry, at least for the moment. I don't know how we mess up so many clothes. It is only the two of us. I am almost finished with the ironing. I will finish tonight while my husband and I watch t.v. At the moment, I need to add some potatoes, carrots, and onions to my roast so that everything will be done in time for supper. Thank you for stopping by and I hope you have a great evening.