Archives for August 2016

Blogging Break Plus Our New Grandbabies!

August 18, 2016 by 4 Comments

SamSi1 (Si on left, Sam on right)Just in time for Summer Photo Fun—our new set of twin grandbabies are here! That’s right, this is our second set of twin grandbabies in just over 19 months! First Kristin and Shawn made us grandparents to twins, and now it is Kelli and Jake’s turn. Amazing, fun, and miraculous all rolled into one!

So now allow me to introduce our newest little loves—Samuel and Silas! Samuel is on the right above and Silas is on the left. They weighed in at 5 lb 7 oz and 4 lb 3 oz respectively. They arrived almost a month early, but everyone is doing well and we are oh so grateful to God for this new beyond-belief blessing in our lives. Thank you to each one of you who have prayed for them and for Kelli and Jake. Please continue to keep them in your prayers. Samuel and Silas are still in the NICU as of today, learning to eat better on their own and gaining the strength to do so. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you this, but we are so in love with our new little guys!

Also, since my summer has already been very busy and since the next several weeks (months and years! Ha!) promise to be extremely busy as well, I’m taking a little blogging break. When I come back after Labor Day, Summer Photo Fun will be over for another year, and I’ll start back with more of the inspirational posts you usually see here. Enjoy the waning days of summer, friends. As for me, I’ll be in Grandma heaven!

“The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.” Psalm 126:3

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*What joy has God blessed you with lately?

*The newest issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter, came out earlier this month. It’s not too late to receive it. Sign-up is free and to the right!

*Photos by family members

Filed Under: Above and Beyond, blessing, family, fun, joy, love, miracle, new thing, pair, photo fun, praise, summer, thanks Tagged With: , , ,

Blogging Break Plus Favor Help for Winter Weddings

August 18, 2016 by Leave a Comment

24070092502_3c7c6eec75_zMy summer has been jam-packed, Mothers of the Bride, so I’m taking a blogging break until after Labor Day. Summer is busy for everyone, but launching my book Mother of the Bride and becoming Grandma to another set of twins has taken busy to a whole new level in my life. And if anyone understands busy, I know you will, MOBs!

But never fear, when I take a break, I always try to leave you with some help. Since those of you helping your daughters plan winter weddings have probably reached the stage where you’re beginning to think about favor ideas, I thought I’d share some favor help this time.

I hope the links below, MOBs, lead you to the perfect favors for your upcoming winter weddings!

30 Favor Ideas for Winter Weddings from Bridal Guide 

Top 9 Winter Wedding Favors from The Knot

18 Unique Winter Wedding Favor Ideas from Martha Stewart Weddings  

Winter Wedding Favor Ideas on Pinterest 

*You might also like to read Wedding Favors That Grow: Tree Seedlings! and A Break for Me, Great Links for You.

*Flickr photo by cat mayer, Creative Commons License

Filed Under: favors, Gift, help, Mother of the Bride, winter Tagged With: , , ,

Summer Photo Fun: Sweet Grandsons Isaiah and James

August 15, 2016 by 6 Comments

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*Our new set of twin grandsons arrived last week! I will try to have a post featuring them later this week. They have been in NICU so it can be challenging to get good photos. They are doing well, though, and we are overjoyed!

You knew I couldn’t let Summer Photo Fun get by without featuring some photos of our sweet grandsons Isaiah and James, right? After all, they are one of the best parts of our lives, and I would be remiss if I didn’t share them with you!

So today’s the day—here’s a little photo fun featuring our first two dearly loved grandsons. They are growing up so fast. What one does, the other has to as well—whether cute or naughty :) And yes, that in itself makes them especially adorable :) Oh how we love them!

IMG_6635They loved seeing the chickens at Aunt Kelli and Uncle Jake’s country home in July.

IMG_6596They love playing with the kitchen set that used to be their mama’s. Their aprons were made for them by our long-time friend Pam. They love wearing them :)

IMG_6647Of course they’re learning a love for music and piano from their musical mama. Notice in the background, shelves have been cleared and other areas barricaded for their visit :)

IMG_6342Reading with Grandpa. These boys love books!

IMG_6833Our sweet boys. Brothers and friends for life!

“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.”  Proverbs 17:17 NIV

*Do you have brothers and sisters? Do you enjoy a special bond?

*The newest issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter, came out earlier this month. It’s not too late to receive it. Sign-up is free and to the right!

*All photos are mine except for the next to last one. That one is Kristin’s.

Filed Under: family, fun, love, memories, pair, photo fun, summer Tagged With: , , , ,

Traditional Wedding Cake Twist: The Naked Cake

August 15, 2016 by Leave a Comment

25750767413_90d4de6235_zMother of the Bride, does your little bride-to-be like to choose the road less taken? If so, she might like to extend that philosophy to some of the choices she makes for her wedding—cake included!

One alternative or twist to a more traditional wedding cake is going with a naked cake.  The naked cake trend hit the wedding scene a couple of years ago. Naked cakes aren’t completely naked, of course, but frosting is limited to a more-ample-than-usual filling between the layers with various other touches on the outside of the cake.

The naked cake offers lots of options. Some brides choose to decorate their naked cakes with fresh fruit while others opt for flowers, powdered sugar, nuts, a combination of these, or even something more unusual like macarons or caramel and caramel corn. Different flavors of cake also add to any given cake’s unique appearance, and sometimes different layers feature different flavors of cake which also adds a neat visual twist to the cake.

So MOB, when your daughter announces she wants to go naked for the wedding reception, don’t despair—she’s probably talking cake!

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*You might also like to read A Berry Beautiful Wedding Cake and Wedding Cake Idea: Coconut Cloud.

The new issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter, came out earlier this month. It’s not too late to receive it. Sign-up is free and to the right!

*Flickr photos by arripay, Creative Commons License

Filed Under: bride, cake, decorate, Mother of the Bride, new thing, trend, variety Tagged With: , , , ,

Summer Photo Fun: Name That Flower!

August 11, 2016 by 3 Comments

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Hey all, I’ve got another Summer Photo Fun challenge for you today! So far during this summer’s installment of Summer Photo Fun, I’ve invited you to caption a photo, name a location, and identify a bird. Today I’ll add one more challenge to the list!

Can any of you identify the flower pictured above? I saw this unusual wildflower while in Colorado a few weeks ago on the trip I made with my sisters. However, I saw it in a garden, not growing in the wild, so don’t let the Colorado location mislead you.

So what do you say, flower lovers? Can any of you name this particular handiwork of our Creator?

“‘Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.’” Luke 12:27 NIV

*The new issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter, came out earlier this month. It’s not too late to receive it. Sign-up is free and to the right!

*My photo

Filed Under: beauty, challenge, creation/creative/creator, flowers, nature, photo fun, travel Tagged With: , ,
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