Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful to God for giving me the strength to take care of our new little puppy that I introduced in the post below. Bella is a little cutie, but very time consuming. I am totally exhausted as it is pretty much non-stop, but she is a good little pooch. I've been taking her to work because she is too young to be alone until Rachel gets home at 3:15pm. I feed her at 7am before I leave for work, she sleeps until lunchtime, eats and then sleeps again until we get home around 5:30pm. I wake her up at 11pm before I go to bed to feed her again so she will sleep through the night. Yes, it sounds very organized, but I'm tired. I'm hoping next week I can leave her home because it would just be easier at work if she wasn't there. Bella has really progressed a lot this week. Her eyes are fully open and she is a little wobbly, but walking so much better. She is so cute to watch as she explores this new world she is in. This may be a crazy thing to be my Thankful Thursday post, but I always write what I feel at the moment, and this is what I'm feeling now.

Thank you to Rhondi (http://www.rhondisrosecoloredglasses.com) for encouraging us to express our thankfulness each Thursday. Be sure to visit Rhondi's blog and click her Thankful Thursday link on her sidebar to get a nice little dose of thankfulness from many others.

A New Addition To Our Family

Meet Bella. She is Rachel's new puppy. We got Bella from a friend around 2pm today and here is Rachel with Bella on her first car ride. We think she's the cutest little thing! She is part Shihtzu and part Lhasa Apso. Bella is only about four weeks old and really should not be away from her mother, but her mother was hurt and is unable to care for her puppies. I am a little nervous about having such a young pup away from her mom, but under the circumstances, I think we will be able to provide for her better than her mom right now. We have puppy formula, a puppy bottle and a dropper. She has been eating well. She sleeps a lot, of course, and just loves to be held. Lacie is very curious as to what this new little creature is doing in her home, but she has been very gentle when allowed to come near for a little sniff.

Life will be interesting around our house for the next few days, weeks and months. It's such fun training a new puppy. Fortunately that will be Rachel's job. I plan to bring Bella to work with me for the next few days, though, because I really don't want to leave her home alone for so many hours. I am blessed with a job where I can do that.

We will certainly be sharing pix of Bella as she grows up and gets to know her sister, Lacie, better. We'll keep them separated for as long as necessary. I want to be certain Lacie knows that Bella is not a new toy to play with, but rather a new little companion to nurture and snuggle with. Welcome Bella! We're so happy to welcome you to our family!!

Georgia Is Still On My Mind

I had such a great time in Georgia last weekend, that it's not out of my system yet. I also haven't done it justice by doing a detailed post, so I just wanted to share a couple of pictures that will give you another little glimpse of the beauty we enjoyed on our visit.

Legend has it, we were told, that there is a guy that goes around when no one is looking and carves trees. Apparently there are five carved trees on St. Simons Island in rather remote locations. The easiest one for us to find was right across from the Dairy Queen not far from the center of town. Isn't this amazing??

We thought these were just amazing. We heard that this was the most unique carving in that it was raised. It would be interesting on another trip there to find the other carvings. Look how intricate this is. I thought it was great!

Another view that I just loved was all of the spanish moss hanging off the trees. This may be a common site to many, but not to me. When I first moved to Florida, you would see this all the time. I haven't seen moss hanging like this in years. I just loved the way it looked. I don't think the pictures do it as much justice as being there, but I suppose we could make plans to meet there one day so we could see it together, but this will have to do for now.

I used to craft a lot of things with spanish moss. It gets messy, but I enjoyed it so much and I guess seeing it hanging from the trees like that just gave me lots of happy memories.

When we got to St. Simons Island on Friday, this was the view we had of the water.

It was amazing to see the beach the next day.

We toured the lighthouse museum. I loved the way the rooms looked. We weren't supposed to take pictures, but we didn't notice that sign until we only had one room left and couldn't leave that room out. What a simple life back then. All the things we have now in comparison!!

It is so wonderful to be able to take a relatively short drive and have such a wonderful time seeing so many different things. Hope you enjoyed this little tour. We sure did and were pleased to be able to share it with you!! Oh, and here is a picture of Rachel in action - taking pictures - one of her favorite things to do - it's a toss up between taking pictures and shopping for clothes!!
Happy rest of the weekend one and all!!

Skywatch Friday

Took a quick jaunt before school started last weekend to St. Simons Island, Georgia. Truly a beautiful place - fun, peaceful, serene.





Walked to the top of this lighthouse, but was too terrified at the top to enjoy the view so my picture is from the bottom looking up, which was beautiful to me.




Travel the world and view many beautiful skywatch posts at www.skyley.blogspot.com. And St. Simons Island, Georgia is worth checking out too!! Happy Skywatch Friday!! Until we meet again . . .

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful for all of the childhood traditions and memories that my mother and father made happen so that I may pass them on to my own children. I am so enjoying each and every moment of raising my children and we all know that all too soon it is over. Kids are usually eager to get on with their own lives and do their own things, but these times now are so very special to me and I will cherish them forever. It just makes me think of how this time was so very special for my mother and father and that raising their children was one of the highlights of their lives. I have a multitude of happy memories from my childhood and traditions of holidays, birthdays and everyday life that I hold so very dear. Many of these I have brought into my own childrens lives and I hope that even though they are running here and there as they find their way in this world, I hope that these are the times of their lives that they will always remember and take with them wherever they go.

Georgia On My Mind

This is our last weekend before school starts on Monday so Rachel and I took a "little" five hour ride to Georgia for a couple of days. We went to St. Simons Island which is a beautiful place to be.

The lighthouse was very picturesque.

We captured some great sunset shots.

There were so many pretty sites to see at St. Simons Island. We plan to return tomorrow to see more. We will also be going to Jekyll Island which is suppose to be gorgeous as well. Here are some other pretty shots to leave you with.




Happy weekend one and all!!

Skywatch Friday

These photo's were taken by the lighthouse in Jupiter, Florida last Saturday. A beautiful day. A beautiful sky.

Be sure to visit other Skywatch Friday participants and their beautiful photo's at www.skyley.blogspot.com. Until we meet again . . .

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for Girl Scouts. I have been a Girl Scout leader since my daughter, Rachel, was in kindergarten. Rachel will be entering high school next week. When I reflect back on the activities we did and lessons we tried to teach to 5 year olds, it gives me such an incredible sense of pride to see how far we all have come. Our troop consists of four of the original girls from our Daisy Troop. Currently we only have five girls in our troop so I think our retention rate is pretty darn good. We had as many as 20 troop members at one point - those were the days when I had lots of motivation and energy for seven, eight and nine year olds.

While we have done many projects, badges, community service projects and fantastic field trips, we will be participating in an event this year that I have always wanted to do, but never pursued. Each year Girl Scouts all over the world participate in International Thinking Day which is each February. One of the activities available is an International Postcard Exchange. Interested troops register for this exchange and from September to Thinking Day in February, you exchange postcards with troops all over the world, as well as troops throughout every state in the United States. I am so excited to see the different places we will visit through our postcard exchange. Each member of our troop will participate by supplying postage, postcards and their time in writing out the cards. In speaking with a friend who had done this previously, her troop had received so many cards from so many interesting places.

I think this will be a wonderful experience for the girls and I am very excited about it as well. We will attend our local International Thinking Day event in February 2009 to display and share our postcards. I will keep you posted. It will be such fun to share info about our area here in South Florida with troops from all over the world and to find out things about those troops and areas as well.

Today I am thankful for Girl Scouts for providing incredible opportunities for the girls, as it is all about them, but I have gained so much from this experience as well. It has been so rewarding to guide them along the way and watch them learn and mature.

Blogging Without Obligation

I came across a blog awhile ago that had a post about "Blogging Without Obligation". I was intrigued and read further. I actually have this logo on my sidebar, where you can click and see the actual post on this blog I came across.

I agree with some of the points in that blogging is a hobby. Hobbies are meant to be enjoyed and done at your leisure as a form of recreation and for relaxation. It is soooo easy to become so addicted to blogging. I feel as if I'm missing something if I do not read my fave's every day. I try to post often, but then I find I can't think of what to post about. Though I love my life and find it very interesting, um, going to work, doing laundry, errands, etc., etc., is not as much fun as what others do in visitng neat shops, sightseeing tours and the like.

So, today I just want to say that I am going to sit and read my book club book, "Water For Elephants". It is a great book and I am very intrigued and want to find out what happens. I have the new Romantic Homes magazine that I want to look at, as well as the new Country Living and also the new Country Almanac. My blog will never be as popular as some of my favorites, but we are all unique and I give what I am able to give. Today I am going to give to me by sitting and reading and I want to get swept away by a tremendous read. Tomorrow is Thankful Thursday and then Skywatch Friday - two of my favorite things to post. I'm off to my comfy chair, but I shall let my creative juices flow tomorrow. Until then . . .

Whitney's Day

I had a great day today! The day started by going to the cutest quilt shop! My MIL wanted to buy a panel to make a lap-sized quilt for me for Christmas. I love the charm and whimsy of Mary Englebreit. Mary has a new quilt for Christmas that was previewed in her Home Companion magazine. My MIL is great at quilting and I am so touched that she is eager to spend the time making this quilt for me. I am so excited!!

Around 3pm this afternoon, I took my Goddaughter, Whitney, on a little excursion - just the two of us. Whitney is leaving very soon for college, The University of Central Florida, and I wanted us to spend some time together before she leaves. First we went shopping in downtown Stuart. They have the cutest shops there and I was so wrapped up in shopping that I forgot to take any pictures there. The best little shop there with the most unique things is called April Daze. It was lots of fun and we both got some really cute things, which I may share tomorrow. Next we went to the Roosevelt Bridge and walked around under the bridge for awhile. It was so beautiful.

It was so peaceful and relaxing there and quite breezy too.

There were several people fishing and many just sitting around relaxing and enjoying the view.Then we went to the Crab House in Jupiter. We had a delicious dinner of crab dip, coconut shrimp and a yummy salad. We snapped some pictures of the Jupiter Lighthouse.

Here is a picture of my beautiful Goddaughter who will soon be leaving us for UCF. Boo Hoo!!

Here is the waterfront side of The Crab House.

We caught a beautiful sunset.

It was a wonderful day that I will always remember. Thanks Whitney for such a great time!!

SkyWatch Friday

These pictures were taken from my office window in South Florida. Its amazing I'm able to get any work done! What a view!!

Be sure to visit the SkyWatch Friday participants at http://skyley.blogspot.com/. You will see awesome photos from all over the world and you can meet some really special people. Everything has a purpose and the beauty of the sky is a most pleasurable sight to behold. Take a moment and enjoy the splendor of the sky that many have captured for you. Untill we meet again...

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for my daughter, Rachel. My son, Logan, used to tease me saying that I liked Rachel better because she is the girl I always wanted. As any mother knows, we love our children deeply and completely, but loving one more than the other? Nah. Our children are different and we love them for who they are. I did always want a daughter. I have always had such a wonderful relationship with my mother and I wanted the same thing for myself. I couldn't have been more blessed.

Rachel is my girl. I love her so very much, but I also like the person she has become. She is very bright and puts so very much of herself into everything she does. She is kind and compassionate and truly cares about the feelings of others. She would never say anything hurtful or unkind to anyone - well maybe her brother, but that doesn't count. Her teachers have always told me that they would love to have 100 students like Rachel - that she is such a pleasure to have in class. They say she is always happy and upbeat and never complains about anything. She will happily assist with things and they know she is trustworthy. Truly warmed the cockles of my heart to hear those wonderful comments.

Rachel feeds practically every duck in our neighborhood, refuses to kill an ant - would rather pick them up and put them outside. She volunteers with the Animal Rescue League, our church, is a great soccer player and excels at track. She has many interests and is such fun to be with. She is not like many teens her age in that she loves to be with me and wants to be sure we do things that I enjoy also, rather than everything that she wants to do or see. She appreciates the things she gets and takes good care of her things and even empties the dishwasher without me asking.

My life is easier because of Rachel. My life is more pleasant because of Rachel. My time off is more fun because of Rachel. My pride is insurmountable because of Rachel. She is truly the best daughter a mom could ever ask for and I thank God for sharing her with me.

Thank you Rhondi for hosting this event!! www.rhondisrosecoloredglasses.blogspot.com.

Today's Treasures

You would think that by now I would have learned that when you see something you like - you need to buy it because if you go back for it - it won't be there! Last week, Rachel and I found the cutest butter dish at Home Goods. Have you ever seen the creamer in the shape of a cow where the milk comes out its mouth when poured? I have had one of those for years and I always get compliments on it when I use it. Well, the butter dish was the same concept in that it was a cow with the butter sitting on its back. I was in a rare moment of practicality - fool that I am - and we walked away without it. Yep, I should've bought it then because when we went back for it tonight, of course it wasn't there. We did find other treasures, though. First, this cute little creamer that really matches nothing I have, but I liked it and it was only $3.00.

Next, I found these pretty dishes that will be great for lunch on the black placements I bought last week. I bought five of them (yes, a weird quantity, but the 6th one had an ugly chip). These were $2.00 each!!

Lastly, I bought this thing, I don't really know what it is but I thought it would look nice on the wall in my room - is that weird? This was another great buy at $3.00.

I didn't get the adorable cow butter dish, but I am quite pleased with the things I found and very happy with the prices! Guess it doesn't matter when you go to Home Goods, there's always something there just waiting for you to take it home.