Shadow Shot Sunday

Shadows of the still-blooming geraniums

outdoors on our deck,

decorated with the fallen oak leaves...

and the Christmas cactus blooms,

a sweet surprise

for the holiday season!

See more Shadow Shots at

heyharriet!

Our Family Thanksgiving--2009

Here are a few photos of our family Thanksgiving Day--dinner and play time together!

Our daughters, son-in-law, and granddaughters were with us for the day. It was very relaxing (most of it anyway!) and fun! We failed to get a video of Ella saying her favorite word, "cornucopia," repeatedly. She's quite the linguist.

To think that next Thanksgiving Beatrice will be chasing her sister around and around and over and under...more wine, please. :-)

We had invited a seminarian and his family to join us, since they are from the NW and weren't planning to travel. But unfortunately they got sick and couldn't come. We'll treat them to dinner when everyone is well again.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Happy Thanksgiving EVERY day!
Happy Thanks Living and Loving!

I'm Giving Thanks

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.

Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before Him with joyful songs.

Know that the LORD is God.

It is He who  made us, and we are His...

Give thanks to Him and praise His name.

For the LORD is good and His love endures forever,

His faithfulness through all generations. (Psalm 100)

For great is Your love, higher than the heavens;

Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.  (Psalm 108:4)

The sunset was gorgeous this evening.

I captured this photo from our deck.

The air is crisp and the sky looks wintery--

just in time for Thanksgiving Day.

I'm thankful that you've stopped to read my blog,

and wish you a very blessed Thanksgiving!

I'm giving thanks every day, aren't you?

Shadow Shot Sunday

Our "burning bush" peaked with its bright red color and its orange berries.

Red is my favorite color.

I didn't realize I had captured shadows

until seeing the enlarged photo on the pc.

Gotta plant more of these showy bushes!

The colors of Fall will be so missed with our winter coming soon.

Is anyone else wanting to hibernate

with a stack of good books and a cozy comforter

until the warm spring sunshine greets us again?

See more Shadow Shots by visiting

heyharriet

where Tracy does a fantastic job

of posting collages of photographers' shadow shots each week.

Thanks, Tracy! You've helped me see ordinary life things

in beautiful, unique ways!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you

in the USA!

Another BEST Birthday Ever!

What a fun weekend it was!

EE was so excited about my birthday! I get excited about celebrating, but certainly not about the numbers adding up way past my speed limit. But on to the bestest parts:

She told me "Happy birthday, Gramma!" 8 times in the first five minutes we were there... She got to choose the floral calendar to give to me too. And can this little girl SING!

The neatest part is that she got to help her daddy bake my chocolate cake and she helped me blow out ALL my candles!

I was so thankful to be with our growing family, hold Baby B, play with EE, and enjoy a wonderful lunch and dessert together.

Thanks to DD and CB for hosting the party so soon after bringing baby home and after having an ongoing celebration at their home for nearly two weeks!

Sorry I can't get these photos to appear any easier to see...you'll have to simply imagine how cute we all are!

Friends of Faith Blog Hop

Welcome to Scrapbook News and Review Magazine's A Faith Perspective: “Thankful for Friends of Faith Blog Hop”!

Today we're on the Internet showing our faith expressions and giving all the glory to God. United we stand as Christian paper crafters and blog owners to make a presence on the Internet for all to see. We're celebrating the theme of friends and we're happy to share our projects with you focused on this Old Testament verse:

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10a).

If you're just joining the fun, you can find the start of the blog hop here: http://www.scrapbooknewsandreview.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&view=wrapper&Itemid=100783

Thanks to our generous co-sponsors: Layers of Color Stamps, Gina K Designs Stamps and Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps. Together with Scrapbook News and Review Magazine, these companies have donated three grand prizes for today's blog hop.

To enter, simply hop to the blogs of all of the participating staff members of Scrapbook News and Review Magazine, take note of the staff member's name, and leave a comment on her post. Then send us an email at
games@scrapbooknewsandreview.com listing each of the staff members who participated in today's hop. It's that easy. All entries must be received by Monday, November 16, 2009 at 12 noon EST, and three winners will be randomly chosen to win.

What are the prizes?

One $100 gift certificate from Layers of Color Stamps and a 6 month subscription to Scrapbook News and Review Magazine.

One basket of goodies -- four stamp sets from Gina K Designs and a 6 month subscription to Scrapbook News and Review Magazine.

One set of digital stamps from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps and a 3 month subscription to Scrapbook News and Review Magazine.

In addition, every participating staff member of Scrapbook News and Review Magazine will offer a free one-month subscription to the magazine to one of their lucky visitors by simply leaving a comment on their blog. That's a lot of chances to win, so let's get to the hop!

+++     +++     +++                    

My project is a 12 x 12 inch dimensional layout that I intend to frame for wall art.

I chose to feature the "friends in Christian faith" that my parents are for one another and have been through their 63 years of marriage. An additional pertinent Scripture verse is from Proverbs 17:17... A friend loves at all times. This is so true! Sometimes it's the hardest to show love during the most difficult life situations. Mom and Dad have helped one another up through grave illnesses, literal falls, life decisions, and serious surgeries, always remembering Jesus' promise to be with us and giving thanks in all circumstances. That's what Christian helpmates are and do.

With strong Christian faith and helping hands, my parents have
* worked side by side
* raised a family in a Christ-centered home
* worshiped faithfully
* prayed and trusted in the Lord through low valleys and mountaintop highs
* rejoiced to welcome 9 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren into the family circle ...
* and into their retirement, they continue to praise the Lord and rely on His mercy and love. I thank the Lord for them!

On the right side of the dimensional circle, I added a braided cord in three colors. The significance is that "a cord of three strands is not quickly broken" (Ecclesiastes 4:12), a favorite Scripture from marriage services, signifying that Jesus Christ is one of the strands in a couple's marriage.

The dimensional scalloped circle, paper flowers,
and window charms are all pop-dotted to add interest.

I used all Close To My Heart products for this project:

Let's Get Together paper packet

Dimensional Element scalloped circle

Summer Celebrations Sassy Strands

Tulip marker

Twinkle Jolly brads

Vellum paper

Thanks for looking!

The next stop on this blog hop is: Karry Weaver
http://www.karryweaver.blogspot.com

God bless your blog hopping with Friends of Faith today!

Shadow Shot Sunday

Sleepy Gator in the shadows

and

Shadows of Sage on the gas grill on our deck

We've had a glorious, sunny week here in the Midwest!

I'm thanking the Lord and doing happy dances!

DH and I also became grandparents for the second time--

brand new Beatrice Louise has captured our hearts

since her birth on Monday night.

Maybe I'll capture shadows that include her someday ...

Tracy provides collages of fantastic shadow shots

so please take a peek and enjoy!

Happy new week, everyone!

Joy to the World

Here's my attempt at a "stair step card" using Close To My Heart papers, the stamp sets "Shining Star" and the new "Christmas Story," Liquid Glass on the star, Waxy Flax on the manger bed,
and Fun Flock on the little lambs for woolly dimension.

I need a LOT of practice with the water coloring and shading.
It's a bit primitive looking. But that's okay.

I enjoyed my studio time that I haven't had for quite a while.
And I'm not likely to get too much more the rest of this year.

Did I mention that we're grandparents again?
Ella's sister,
Beatrice Louise, was born November 2!
She's a keeper!
Scroll down for a previous post to see her sweet face.
God is so good!

Joy to the World!

It was a glorious Fall day here--much too pretty to stay inside.

These are the oak leaves that cling tightly to their branches.

Sometimes these are still on the tree

when Easter rolls around.

Most of our other leaves are blown off and

skirting among all the yards when the wind blows.

This morning I went to our new

Super WallyWorld that recently opened.

So did thousands of others ...

 Parking was atrocious and the aisles were crammed with carts.

I won't do that again on a beautiful Saturday morning!

But I did get some great deals.

Funny...I went only for toilet paper and toothpaste.

48 days 'til Christmas!

I found masses of people rushing, rushing, rushing.

For now, I'm so happy to enjoy Fall. And not rush.

Aren't you?

Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars -- A Fall Favorite

Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars


1 (16 oz) pkg pound cake mix
3 eggs
2 T margarine or butter, melted
4 t pumpkin pie spice
1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
1 (14 oz) can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)
1 (16 oz) can pumpkin (about 2 cups) – (I noticed the small cans on the shelves are now 15 oz!)
½ t salt
1 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In large mixer bowl, on low speed, combine cake mix, 1 egg, margarine, and 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice until crumbly. Press onto bottom of 9 x 13 inch pan. (You could use a 10 x 15 inch jellyroll pan for thinner bars.)
In large mixer bowl, beat cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in Eagle Brand, then the remaining 2 eggs, pumpkin, remaining 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Mix well.
Pour over the crust. Sprinkle with chopped nuts.
Bake 30-35 minutes or until set (wire or wooden skewer comes out clean).
Cool. Chill in refrigerator.
Cut into bars.
Store in refrigerator.


Enjoy! Happy Autumn!

Happy All Saints Day November 1!

Today in the Christian church, we observe "All Saints Day" -- a commemoration of those who have died in the Christian faith, and a celebration of the "sainthood" that God gives us as sinner-saints here on earth, all because of Jesus' loving action for us on the cross. By faith in our Savior Jesus, God sees us as saints in His family of believers!

I've been honored to be one of the contributing writers for the web site Women to Women: Sharing Jesus. That's where you'll find my recent devotion, "Sinner-Saints in God's Family." Please check it out and take time to leave a comment. We're all about sharing Jesus' love and the Good News of forgiveness with others!

God bless your new week ... and may the saints go marchin' in ... and on ... and through ... to His glory!