A Winter Visit

We've been in North Carolina last week and this week, visiting Nathan and Himilce and our 3 precious North Carolina grandchildren.  It was a first time that we have driven to see them since they lived in Arizona.  How nice it is to think we can hop in the car and be at their home in 7 hours.  We are loving the feeling of saturating our hearts with "our portion".  Children and Grandchildren truly are a reward. 

We got a bit of a Winter blast that we didn't expect.  In fact, we didn't even bring Winter gear of any kind…. I guess we thought we had left Colorado weather behind.  "We are in the "South" now after all"; "there's no such thing as Winter Weather here right?"  Well I guess we found out differently; never the less, we made "do" in the cozy warmth of Nathan and Himilce's home.  

There was enough snow to play in and build a snow man, so the boys went out first to give it a try.

Little Elyse watches the boys playing in the snow from the kitchen window.

"Can I go out and play too? Grammy?"

Don't you love this snow man that the boys made?

It was icy as well as snowy; which made for more sledding power (more than was needed).  Asher took a little ride down the street unexpectedly, just barely missing the fire hydrant, and ending up in the neighbors bushes.. haha.  But they had lots of fun.

"Now what is this strange object?", you might ask.  Can you guess?  This is "baby art".    Elyse couldn't resist putting little fingers into this pear.  

Our visit came too quickly to an end; we said good by and headed home.

On our drive home, we stopped in Savannah, Georgia, and had a fun mini tour of the old part of town, along with dinner.  It was beautiful.  We decided we need to go back and spend a couple of days there when it warms up in the Spring.

It has been very cold here in Florida since we got home.  I think we have had record lows.  But Sunday, it will be in the 70's….  I don't mind that at all.  I always love going away, and coming home.  Have a great week everyone, and I hope you all are staying warm.

Blessings,

Pam

Valentines Day Past and Present

I do believe Valentines Day is my favorite Holiday next to Christmas.  Like most of you, we have enjoyed having Valentines parties for the kids, baking cookies, making Valentines mail boxes or buckets, and making Valentines cards.  Steve and I have sometimes gone on dates in the evening, or stayed home and had little picnic in front of the fireplace or fancy dinner just the two of us at home.  It is a happy week to look forward to in the middle of muddy, snowy, winter months.

I had some pictures I wanted to share from Valentines past, but haven't been able to find them in the midst of this move, because we still have  many things stored in boxes.  So, I decided to share our little Valentines Party from this year.  We combined it with our Valentines card making day.  This Valentines Day, Steve and I are in North Carolina, enjoying a nice catch up with our son Nathan and his family. We have had the fun of distributing all the cards the Florida kids made for them.  Here are a few of our highlights from our Valentines party last week.

Luke made his nephews a Rubber-band Rifle.

Which they all loved.

"Oh… I love these ones Grammy."

"… and I love the Pigs in a Blanket Grammy". 

Pigs in a blanket….

Marie's delicious Blackberry Scones….

Sugar Cookies….

Orange slices….

cheese slices and sprouts….

…...and tea…. always seem to make their way into our Valentines Party every year.

Each addition is a memory of someone in Valentines Days Past.

"Sorry Toby, its all gone".

Making Valentines

Roses are red, 

Hydrangeas are blue

You are my dear one

  and I love you.  

Who can resist a Valentine poem this time of year?   Those little Rhymes get in my head. Making Valentines is something I love to do, but don't get to do it as often as I would like. It isn't always easy to plan an extra day before Valentines to make them, so they will be ready to give away on  Valentines day.  This year was a year that we were able to plan ahead and have a Pre-Valentines party.  My daughters and 3 of my grandons and I got together and made Valentines cards to our hearts content… or at least until dinner time.  What fun we had.  We were able to make Valentines for all of our loved ones, and get them wrapped and sent, or ready to deliver.

"Lets make some Valentines Grammy".

The day before our "Valentine Making Party", I cut out hearts,

Stamped some little tags

Gathered some stickers.

Pulled outs some paper roses, and little "do dads".

Spread it out on the dining table.

When everyone arrived, we went to work ("went to play" may be a more accurate thing to say).  We all had more fun than I can tell you.

The boys loved having the freedom to stick all the stickers on, and thinking up their designs, deciding who they would make each card for….. and so did we.

"Look Grammy"

Glue, Clip, Stick, Glue some more.

Every last card they made was a treasure and a story in itself.

Making Cards, or even just writing a sweet note on a pre made card to someone you love is a treasured memory and a blessing to the one who receives.

Have a wonderful week Everyone, and enjoy your Valentines preparations.