The whole way home…

The week before she fell and broke her hip

I had taken Mama in for her regular check up

Then to my house for family dinner

On the way I had reached out to take her hand

And she wouldn’t let my hand go

The whole way home

Her hands used to bake the best bread I ever tasted

Her hands sewed the fancy little baby dresses

I wore as a wee one

The lace covered nightie with matching robe

She made for me the Christmas after Daddy left us

The wedding dress and veil I wore

As a nineteen year old bride

Her hands are now twisted with arthritis

And lay against white hospital sheets

With I.V. drips going into her veins

My house is decorated for Christmas

But instead of shopping, baking, and the usual holiday preparations

I sit with my siblings and ride the roller coaster

Of the daily ups and downs of Mama’s fragile health

And we take turns holding our Mama’s hand

In the hospital room

And we won’t let Mama’s hand go

The whole way home

 

Still following,

Elizabeth

 

update~   As I sit next to Mama’s bed as she naps I am amazed at her improvement over the past two days.  I believe this is a direct result of all of your prayers.  Thank you kind friends!   When she came to the hospital my siblings and I thought she just may be going home to heaven, but she is definitely much improved since then.

Three Christmas Crafts for under $10!

I am not fond of detailed crafts that take lots of time and patience.  But give me a quick, cute, inexpensive craft/décor project and I’m all over it.  Here are three that I have done this season.  All three cost under $10, (all three together!), and all three, (together!) took under an hour to make!

For this craft project I bought three glass cylinder candles at the Dollar Tree and then printed some free Christmas sheet music off the internet.

Next I painted some thinned down Elmer’s glue onto the glass, wrapped the sheet music around it, and coated it with another layer of glue.  If you have Modge Podge use that instead of the glue.  I used the foam brush to try to smooth all bubbles out of the sheet music.  As it dries the bubbles and wrinkles get better.  After it was dry I added another coat of the glue. Let it dry and that is all there is to it!

This next quick and easy project is my favorite.  It hangs on the mirror over our bed to add a little Christmas cheer to our bedroom.

First I took a piece of 1/4 inch jute cord from the fabric store and hot glued on three starfish that I already had.

Next I hand lettered on cardstock N.O.E.L.  I used a hole punch on the top and used twine to hang them with.  I put a dab of hot glue where the twine hangs on the jute cord, so they don’t slide out of place.

After Christmas I can simply make the letter V, rearrange the L.O.E. and I will have the word LOVE  as we head towards Valentine’s Day!

I don’t know if you can technically call this last one a craft project, as it is more a way to display these store bought little birds from Target.  (They are only $1 each!)  Read more about this project here.

Inexpensive, easy crafts that anyone can do…gotta love it!

 

Still following,

Elizabeth

linking today to Polly want a Crafter

Guard your heart with gratitude…

The tenth commandment is “thou shalt not covet...”  One theologian believes covetousness is the root of all other sin.  I heard a  famous counselor state that God gave this commandment, because He wanted our focus to be one of gratitude for what we do have, not discontent or covetousness for what we don’t have.  It seems to me that especially at this time of year  it is all too easy to forget gratitude and fall into the coveting trap.  All around us we see and hear the message that our Christmas just won’t be complete, won’t be the perfect Christmas, without some new gadget or gift that is this year’s “must have”.  The message of all of those television Christmas movies is that no Christmas is complete without that “special someone”.  And while I really enjoy decorating my home for the holidays and I like to see how others in the blogosphere decorate theirs,  that too can feed a spirit of ingratitude for what I have, and covetousness for what I perceive as “bigger and/or better”.  From possessions to relationships, Christmas seems to be a prime time for coveting if we aren’t careful.   This Christmas season and always, I am asking God to help me guard my heart with gratitude.

 

my continuing gratitude list #778-791

-my wonderful, (but not Christmas movie perfect), family

 

-my cozy, little, (but not décor magazine perfect), house

 

-my simple, mostly homemade, (not blog perfect), Christmas décor

 

-experiencing an gorgeous sunset and a beautiful “bluehour” sky from the plane

 

-making our connecting flight with just minutes to spare

 

-coming home

 

-my sister and brother in law

 

-and the rest of my family

 

-Father God’s overwhelming love

 

-the Hubs and I getting our tree together

 

-annual ladies’ Christmas dinner

 

-that Jesus came and is coming again!

 

-God’s provision

 

-my oldest daughter and youngest granddaughter coming with me to see Mama

 

Gratefully yours~

Elizabeth

join the gratitude gatherers here

Every knee shall bow…

 

Still following,

Elizabeth

I simply remember my favorite things…Friday’s Favs…A visit to Nell Hill’s

 

When we were in Missouri for Thanksgiving, my friend brought me to a beautiful shop called Nell Hill’s.  It was full of lovely things, some expensive, but much of it was really affordable.  Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately for our budget, I didn’t have room in my suitcase to do a lot of shopping, but the looking was sure fun.  Want to join me?

 

Beee-uuuu-ttttt-fullll!

Love it!

I loved all of the mottled metal colored apothecary jars and vases.  They were so inexpensive! 

But, the airline’s per suitcase charge kept me from buying some.

Love the greenery and snowflakes over this room.  Love all the gray color too.

Love, love, love the bookshelves and ladder…and more of my favorite beachy gray color!

 

I loved the black ticking bedskirt and headboard on this bed.  Loved the pillows with the french lettering too.  The pillows were quite expensive though.

Beautiful quilt!

Nell Hill’s is located in Missouri and Kansas, but looking up their website for this post, I discovered you can also shop online!

 

HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE!

Elizabeth

Christmas suitcase…

When Mama moved into her little apartment in assisted living she had to radically downsize so much of the stuff in her home was sold or given away.  One of the things that she was going to get rid of  was her little suitcase, so I asked for it.  Back when my girls were small, no matter how long Mama was coming to visit us for  she always fit everything  in that one small suitcase.  My girls and I still wonder how she did that!  Since coming to my house the suitcase has been sitting in the stairwell on top of the antique trunk.  For Christmas I simply opened it up and filled it with some greens, pinecones, and gilded pears and apples.

It makes me smile every time I see it.

 

Still following,

Elizabeth

 

This week’s simple pleasure~

Mama’s suitcase

also linking to Southern Hospitality

 

Strong shoulders…

Reality slaps me in the face hard

When I go to Mama’s hospital room

Mama’s 85 and she’s little and frail, shaky and weak

The reality is, even if she gets better, her life here isn’t forever

Then I go to retrieve photos from the external drive

Photos of grandbabies now far away

and the one still nearby, who grows and changes every day

When the computer crashed, it didn’t save them all

The reality is, the things in this life aren’t forever

And I have the urge to cry

Or maybe to yell, “Stop!” and try to make time freeze

As if by my shout I can make mamas not get old and frail

Or make children and grandchildren stay small enough to rock on my lap

In the quiet of the evening

I make myself go to the Strong Place in my spirit

The temple where His Spirit dwells

I climb up on His lap and let Him wrap His arms around me

and I let the tears fall

and I tell Him

Papa, this life down here hurts so at times

He bends low and listens

And He lets me cry

On His strong shoulder

 

Still following,

Elizabeth