Feelin' Quite Blessed

Good morning, friends!
 

Well, the anticipation has now been replaced with squeals of delight!
When the doorbell rang yesterday while I was at home on my lunch hour, 
it was the mailman bringing a package to the door that was a little too big for the mailbox.
When my hubby handed it to me, I knew right away who the sender was.

Who else do you know who would make sure that the outside was just as pretty as the inside?

Even the tape on the wrapping paper was the cutest ever!

 

Some of you may remember that I was the winner of Stephanie's last giveaway,

and I was beyond thrilled when I found out!

I can't imagine anyone reading this not knowing who she is...

...but just in case, she writes a lovely, inspirational blog at The Enchanting Rose...

...precious blog, precious young woman of God.
~
 I could hardly wait to dig into all of this loveliness!
 

The box contained so many beautiful things...
...a lovely apron (which is all covered up here...I'll model it later),


.
..a matching potholder and refrigerator magnet...



...these adorable teacup/mug mats...

...eight absolutely gorgeous gift tags, each one quite unique...

...and this precious card.
~
I was in awe of the lovely personal touches and embellishments on everything.

She had posted photos of her giveaway items...we all saw them,
and even though Stephanie is a wonderful photographer,
seeing them up close and personal was another thing all together!
~
 So pretend that I am tall and thin and tell me how you like my new apron...
...does June Cleaver come to mind?
No???



Oh...that's right, I forgot my pearls!



It will make a colorful addition here...

...and the darling teacup/mug mat is ready for my morning coffee.
(I used it this morning!)
~
You know, I feel like we really do connect with each other through our blogs...
and most of us will probably never have the opportunity to meet face to face.
(although I think we need to find a central location and have a BIG blogger party)
 I am very thankful to have won this lovely giveaway...not just to say that I won it,
but because the lovely hands that made these things belong to a precious Sister in Christ...
...and they are blessed by the Father.

So therefore, I'm feelin' quite blessed myself!

Good friends are like stars...
you don't always see them but you know they're always there.
~Author Unknown






A Sweet Surprise

Blessings can come in all shapes and sizes.

The best ones come when you least expect them...

...sometimes from the people you least expect.

~

Mike is the physical therapist that I have worked with for the past five years.

He's really a great guy and a fantastic therapist.

I manage the office and it's just the two of us there most of the time.

He's the kind of guy who never seems to have a bad day...

...always upbeat, talking non-stop, laughing, joking...

...and he makes every patient feel like they are the most important person in the world.

~

I could tell that he was feeling my pain...

...the day I came to work after Hunter died a couple of weeks ago.

He's a dog lover like me and about a year ago, had to have his Min Pin, Joey put down.

Okay...I lied...he did have a bad day that day and I'll never forget it.

He had told me that his wife was taking Joey to the vet that morning.

Around lunchtime, he was nowhere to be found...I looked all around for him.

Then I heard it.

Sobbing.

His wife had texted him with the news...his beloved pet of 15 years was gone.

Here was this big, fun loving, always-on-top-of-the-world guy reduced to a blubbering mess.

So much so that he needed me to cancel the afternoon patients so he could go home.

~

So I say all of that to tell you the rest of the story.

Last Friday morning, I came into the office and found a bag on my desk.

Thinking that it was Easter candy, I sat it aside for a few moments while I got settled.

He soon popped his head in to see if I had opened it yet.

So as he watched, I opened the bag and to my utter amazement found this...

I was speechless.

He had this portrait painted from a photo of Hunter from my Facebook page.

His wife was acquainted with a local artist who specialized in pet portraits...

...and she had her paint one of Joey after Mike had lost him the year before. 

I think it is a wonderful likeness...especially the eyes.

The eyes are perfect.

Like I said, I was speechless...
...and it takes a lot to make that happen ;)
~
 It blesses my heart every time I think of his sweet gesture of kindness.

Sharing at:
Roses of Inspiration

He Is Risen!

Matthew 28: 1-7

1 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. 2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. 5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee.There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Wishing you and yours a joyful Resurrection Sunday!

Some Easter Imagery

Hello friends!

Well, just a few more days 'til Easter...it just doesn't seem possible.

Over the weekend I went shopping for goodies for the Easter bags I was putting together.

No matter how old my kids/grand kids get, I will probably always get them Easter goodies.

I get the cheap $1 store gift bags and fill them full of the things I know they like.

~

Of course, I had to get something for myself too...

...and peanut M&M's are my favorite.

Now of course you and I both know that no matter what seasonal color they come in,

they all taste the same, right?

Then why is it that I could swear that the pastel ones taste better?

Aren't they just such beautiful colors?

And so springy?

There's just something about the lovely pastel colors that so pleases my eye.

So how crazy does one have to be to have a photo shoot with a jar of M&M's?

 I've either got to be a little nuts (pun intended) or desperate for blogging material.

Sometimes all it takes is a bag of candy to inspire me :)

Sharing at:

 

Roses of Inspiration

A Little Florida Sunshine and a Few Good Fences

Good afternoon, friends!
I want to start out by thanking each of you for your kind words
and uplifting thoughts regarding the loss of Hunter...
...they mean more to me than you will ever know.
~
So our trip south didn't start out the way we had planned...
...life is just like that sometimes.

To add to that, Delta lost our luggage (along with about a dozen other's on our flight)...

...you know, that one suitcase with everything important in it.
They were finally able to track it down.
It went all the way back to Raleigh then to Atlanta...again...
...and then finally made it back to Panama City...again!



It arrived by courier late the next day...
...and I must say, getting a shower and some fresh clothes never felt so good!
Really, Delta??
~
But one look at these beauties and all was right with the world.
 



 

They bordered everyone's home in the neighborhood where Jim's sister lives in Sandestin.
Each bloom was about the size of a tennis ball!

Throughout their lovely neighborhood, the redbuds were also in full glory.



Some of you may remember that redbuds are my most favorite sign of spring...

 

...and around every corner, I had to get a few more shots.

 

 

Please bear with me...

 

 

OK...I'm finished now :)

~

We went to visit Jim's younger sister, Theresa and her husband, Steve,

and to surprise his older sister, Dianne for her 75th birthday, also visiting from Ohio.

She frequently visits Theresa, and we had kept it a secret from her that we were coming.

She was beyond surprised to see us and tears of joy flowed freely.

 

Happy 75th Birthday, Dianne!

Here are some other photos from our visit.
There are a few Good Fences in some of them :)



Here's the sun setting over the bay at Sandestin...

 

...and a fisheye view of the same...

...and sunrise the next morning over the gulf on Miramar Beach...

 

 

...the morning fog lifting off the water.



It was still kind of dark for great photos but I liked the reflection of the little guy below.



Someone from the day before left some very unique sand sculptures.
Can you name this familiar object from the 70's??

 

And of course, most everyone recognizes Sponge Bob...
...as unfortunate as that is :(

 

Still, a very talented individual...

 ...leaving their mark that they were here for Spring Break 2015!

~
The next day we made a short trip down the coast to the Seaside Community.
It had been nearly 25 years since I had first been here and couldn't believe it was the same place!
Back then, a few pastel colored homes and a cute little post office were the only buildings here,
along with a breathtaking, wide open, unspoiled coastline.
I couldn't believe how much this community had grown and it kind of made me a little sad...
...way too many houses, restaurants, shops and wall-to-wall people for my liking.
But it must be Mike Huckabee's cup of tea.
This is his permanent residence, just a few miles down the road.

 

We literally were within a few hundred feet of his front door.
Not much security for someone who may be running for President of the United States! :o
~
But I was able to get a little peek of the beach by standing on the deck of a restaurant.

 

The sand looks like granulated sugar...

 

...and even though we had overcast skies, the water was still that lovely aquamarine hue.

 

Ah...now there's a good fence!
~
And here we all are, in all of our glory..haha!

 

So our time in Florida came to an end and it was time to return to reality.

 

It was a great day for flying and Dianne and I were seat buddies as far as Atlanta...
...and here's a lovely shot of the back of Jim's head, a few rows up :)

We said our goodbyes to Dianne in Atlanta as she headed back to Dayton.
~
We were very glad to see our little buddy, Oscar when we returned,
and he was certainly glad to see us!
Not only had he never been to the kennel alone without Hunter,
he had never known life...period...without him for almost six years.
Anyone who has ever had a dachshund must know that they are all about themselves.
I can't really tell yet how much Oscar misses him...or not.
I have caught myself calling out to Hunter a few times since we returned home.
~
And by the way, it's the little stinker's birthday today...he's six :)

Happy Birthday, Oscar!
~
I hope I didn't bore you you enjoyed your little trip to Florida :)