Archives for July 2015

Blast from My Baby-Past Plus a Blogging Break

July 20, 2015 by 8 Comments

IMG006Summer Photo Fun always calls for a blast from the past, and since I’ve had babies on the brain so much this year, I figure it’s the perfect time to share one of my baby photos. A few years ago my parents gave me several old photos in the form of slides and the photo above is one of those. Don’t you love how technology has made it possible for us to save photos like this to our computers?

Looks like back in my baby days, parents had to tie their infants into their high chairs with dish towels, huh? And yes, this was the same period in history when seat belts were Mom or Dad’s outstretched arm flung against your chest when they had to slam on the brakes. How did we ever live to adulthood? :)

Along with this smile of a photo today, I wanted to let you know I’m taking a blogging break. I’m going to be enjoying some of our quickly-speeding-by summer days with some family time. I’ll be back on August 3rd to resume my Summer Photo Fun emphasis before getting back to my inspirational/devotional posts the last half of August.

Hope you enjoyed the blast from my baby-past. See you again in August!

“From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise . . .” Psalm 8:2a

*Anyone else taking some vacation time this summer? What will you be doing?

*The next issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter, comes out in early August. Sign up is free and to the right!

*Family photo

Filed Under: family, fun, memories, old, photo fun Tagged With: , ,

Vacation Time for Me, Some Archive Help for You!

July 20, 2015 by Leave a Comment

258014588_03d07c547a_zMother of the Bride, I’m taking a blogging break until August 3rd, but never fear—there’s plenty of help for you in my archives. I have nearly 200 posts ready and waiting for your use.

Just scroll down to the Archives, the last item on the right sidebar. Click on each year and then click on each month. When you click on the month, then you will see a list of the post titles. I bet you will spot some posts that will be especially helpful to you at this stage in your Mother of the Bride journey.

If you’d like, you can also find lots of great help over on my Pinterest page. Among other things, it features eighteen wedding-related boards. That should keep you busy for a while, huh?

So while I enjoy some vacation time, I hope you find just the help and encouragement you need, MOB. See you again on August 3rd!

*The next issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter, comes out in early August. Sign up is free and to the right!

*Flickr photo by mandolin davis, Creative Commons License

Filed Under: blogs, help, Mother of the Bride, preparation, rest Tagged With: , , , ,

Ten Thousand Villages Gifts for the Bridesmaids

July 16, 2015 by 2 Comments

6220169247_b5597043c0_zMother of the Bride, is your daughter looking for a dynamite gift idea for her bridesmaids? Why not suggest gifts from Ten Thousand Villages? In case you’re not familiar with them, Ten Thousand Villages is a fair trade retailer who has been empowering and supporting fairly paid artisans in developing countries for almost seventy years.

A few weeks ago, I suggested that your daughter might like to create a Ten Thousand Villages Gift Registry and allow the wedding guests to be a double blessing—blessing the happy couple with a terrific gift plus supporting hard-working, fairly paid artisans around the world. Purchasing her bridesmaids gifts from Ten Thousand Villages will allow your sweet girl to be a double blessing as well. Can’t beat that, huh?

Among the items that Ten Thousand Villages carry are jewelry, scarves, hats, purses, and other bags—all excellent ideas for bridesmaids gifts. If there is not a store in your daughter’s area, assure her that she can shop for these gifts online. On their website , the pictures of the individual items are large, and she will have no trouble selecting some beautiful gifts directly from the site.

And MOB, as you browse the site, I bet you will find something you’d like to have, too. Go ahead—be a double blessing!

*You might also like to read A Fair Trade Wedding Registry: Ten Thousand Villages and Polka Dot Nails for the Bridesmaids!

*The next issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter, comes out in early August. Sign up is free and to the right!

*Flickr photo by Thien V, Creative Commons License

Filed Under: blessing, bride, bridesmaids, Gift, help, international, Mother of the Bride, variety Tagged With: , , , , ,

Summer Photo Fun: Gray Catbird Beauty

July 16, 2015 by 8 Comments

IMG_5498Those of you who know me know that I love to try to capture great photos of birds. You also know that I usually try to work some of my bird photos into Summer Photo Fun at some point. Today is that point this summer.

The past couple of months I’ve really been enjoying a pair of Gray Catbirds that are frequenting my backyard feeder and birdbath. Even though they are not super colorful, their sleek gray forms accented by their black caps make them really quite beautiful. I’ve had them visit my yard in past summers, but this year they must be living close by. They are daily visitors.

So, friends, allow me to share some of the daily Gray Catbird beauty I’ve been treated to the past couple of months. Hope you enjoy the following shots. And be on the lookout—you may have some of these little guys in your own backyard!

IMG_5581Good morning, Beautiful!

IMG_4990That’s right, show us your beautiful back, too!

IMG_5449Now you may have gone a little too far! :)

IMG_5408“Somebody said there would be water here!”

IMG_5385Ahh, here’s the water. “Maybe if I don’t move, she won’t see me. . .”

Hope you enjoyed my beautiful Gray Catbirds!

“‘Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?’” Matthew 6:26

*Do you have a favorite backyard visitor this summer?

*The next issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter, comes out in early August. Sign up is free and to the right!

*My photos

Filed Under: beauty, nature, photo fun Tagged With: , ,

Summer Photo Fun: Caption This Cuteness!

July 13, 2015 by 7 Comments

21000_10153351731273232_7876143815075153774_n[1]Is it too soon to bring the grandbabies back to Summer Photo Fun? I sure hope not because they are indeed back today :) I can’t help it. Just look at them. How can I resist sharing their cuteness with you all?!

Speaking of cuteness, here’s the challenge today—how would you caption the cuteness above? Isaiah is once again all up in James’ personal space. It’s a recurring practice with him. Remember, as I told you in the Summer Photo Fun Kick-Off post, Isaiah is the more excitable one with all kinds of fun facial expressions James is our little laid back guy. One day he may decide to take brother down, though! :)

So what do you say? I look forward to hearing your captions!

“Keep on loving each other as brothers.” Hebrews 13:1

*The next issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter, comes out in early August. Sign up is free and to the right!

*Photo by my daughter Kristin

Filed Under: challenge, family, fun, photo fun Tagged With: , , ,
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