September Blissfull ATC Swap, Theme Leaves

This is the beautiful ATC I received from Debbie for the Blissfull ATC Swap for the month of September.  I received it some time ago and have had no way of getting it on my computer to show you guys!   I love this card and it has such special meaning for me.  The heart at the top symbolizes 2 mothers who have each lost a child.  Debbie's sweet daughter has gone to Heaven as my Mitch has, so I know they are playing jokes on each other and  having so fun and would not want their mamas to be sad. 
Deb sent me more than just a card, she sent handmade items she had put her time and her love into.  I can't tell you what that means to me.  She is a special friend to me now, because she is a very, very special person.  She found out my favorite color is purple and made a purple card just for me.  She has the most beautiful blog,  Simply Debbie.  I hope you will stop by and visit and you will be pleased I promise.  You will find yourself going back again and again.
I feel so badly because I haven't mailed Debbie's ATC to her yet.  I will get it mailed tomorrow.  I will put a copy of it here so you can all see the one I sent to her.  I have my fingers crossed that she will like it.  She is such a sweet little thing!!!
Love you all - always be sweet!

Belief And Handmade Gifts



My great grand daughter, Carlee

Little Carlee really does have the sweet face of an angel!  She is so loving and sweet.  I am making personalized collaged trays for all of the greats.  I gave Anna hers already and I was so afraid she wouldn't like it, because she is only 4 and I thought "What 4 year old would even want a tray?".  I had thought she might not care for it now, but when she was 30 or so, it would be a treasure, cherished, for it was a handmade gift, made especially for her by her great grandma when she was little.
Would you believe it, she absolutely loved it!!!  Her eyes grew wide, she kept rubbing the images on the tray (which were pictures of her and words that I had made into a collage), she took it to show her mommy, her Aunt Brooke and anyone else that would look.  I was SO happy for even though I thought she might not like it, I secretly hoped she would and my wildest dreams came true!!!
Anna has her little tray on her bedside table with all her hair bows in it.  Kristi, her mom, says she wants to keep it in her room by her bed. 
Oh, I can't begin to tell you how happy that makes me!!! Now I have 2 more started and will not stop until I have them all made and can only hope the others like theirs as well.
If I do not respond to your comments as I should or would like to do, please know that I read them word for word and they mean so much to me to read the sweet things you write.  I don't like to admit it and I seldom do, but I am in pain almost constantly and it is becoming increasingly harder for me to walk.  Sitting at the computer, which I love, makes it even harder because of the pressure on my hip joints.  I plan on bouncing around like a 16 year old by the end of the year or before!!
Jesus said unto him, if thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. - Mark 9:23 -

Be sweet, all!!!

Homemade Gift Idea - Gift In A Jar

Peach Crumb Cake Mix

3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup quick oats
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Layer the ingredients in the order given into a wide mouth 1-quart canning jar.
Pack each layer into place before adding the next ingredient.

Attach a gift tag with the following instructions:

Peach Crumb Cake:
Contents of Peach Crumb Cake Mix jar
3/4 cup butter or margarine
1 (29 ounce) can peach pie filling

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
Empty contents of jar into a mixing bowl, stirring to combine.
Melt butter and stir into dry ingredients to form a crumbly mixture.
Press half of the crumbs into a greased 9 x 13-inch pan and top with
Peach pie filling. Sprinkle remaining crumb mixture over filling.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes.

An even more thoughtful gift would be to add a can of peach pie filling and a 9 x 13 inch
baking pan.  This would be gorgeous packed in a pretty basket tied with a colorful
ribbon.  It is never too early to begin collecting ideas for homemade Christmas gifts. Last year I
had planned to share lots of goodies I had saved over the years, but the "best laid plans of mice and men
go awry" so this year I will try to make up for it and have many great homemade gift ideas in mind.
Handmade and homemade are always so much nicer than any store bought gift for a little piece of you goes into each present.  I feel special when someone cares enough to take the time to make something just for me.  It gives a warm fuzzy glow and immediately the thoughtfulness of a homemade gift becomes one which you know has come straight from the heart!!
Be sweet!

Homemade Happiness 2

It's getting closer every day to the biggie - to Christmas!!! I know it is not quite October, but good grief, now that I have retired and have all this time on my hands I just don't see any sense of driving myself any crazier by waiting till the last minute, to say nothing of all the cashiers and employees in and near every store close to the mall!!

If they have been there a few years, they know me by name and I can hear them sometimes (though they think just because I am old I can't hear good and usually speak to me in unusually loud voices). They will warn newer employees when they see me. I understand clearly every word that is said. "Oh, my God!! There she is again, the one I told you about. I had hoped she would not make it through another Christmas, but she is one tough old bird and it is beginning to look like she will be here long after I'm gone. Don't let her get you so rattled you just throw up your hands and walk out the door. I promise, they are not all like this one! Fact of the matter, I don't believe there are any like this one. Get through this without going to jail and you have it made! If you make her happy, you can do whatever it takes to survive in this business and you will have a great career, possibly in management."

Well, I do have to do my rushing around at the last minute, digging through stacks of stuff, opening boxes, laying dresses removed from hangers across a rack, that sort . It is so much easier and quicker and I am in such a hurry for I have waited till the last few days. It's so Christmasy (is that a word?).

I have been known to leave a perfectly neat store in shambles in way less than an hour!! It is the only way to look is all I can say. I do feel a bit guilty that store personnel must stay late after closing to have the business presentable for the next day's customers. Not too guilty though, 'cause it sure doesn't keep me from a good night's sleep after I have separated my purchases into piles to keep as presents and piles to return because it didn't seem somehow to be what I had wanted after all. Oh well, a trip back the next day will keep me young and give the employees job security.
This will be repeated till the last store closes on Christmas Eve and you would think they'd be glad to see me as I buy and return till the very last minute, begging them to stay open just a little longer while I try to decide on the necklace I tried on and cannot get unclasped now or the cute sweater I have hung somewhere and am unable to talk one , not even one of them to help me find it!! They will only unclasp the necklace, scoot me out the door, lock it quickly behind me, yelling Merry Christmas the whole time.

How in the heck can I have a merry Christmas now? I haven't even decided who to give what for I am not really completely sure what presents I have even bought!!!

Just now the last part of September and I have time to begin to think about and plan Christmas.

Everyone knows when you retire, you are broke, so I will get to give presents of the very best kind ... gifts from the heart, handmade and homemade with love in every speck! Not a cute sweater lost on some rack in a store or a necklace I have to practically strangle myself to remove, but a gift made with my own hands, mind and heart, a treasure for them to keep and that is the best kind of gift after all. 

Ain't retirement grand!!??!
Most importantly, never forget to be sweet and always be good!