OUR FIRST CHRISTMAS SERMON!

You know it is Christmas when your Pastor gives his first Christmas sermon and you get your first Christmas card. It is time to hit the ground running, turkey left overs still in the frig! I love left overs for about 4 days, after that I have had enough. I think I am there already! Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

I really did not do all that I wanted to do this weekend. I did however, spend lots of time with my children. Of course, being with my family was the best part. The first picture is of my daughter, Monique and I. Princess Maya is always very happy to pose for Grandma. Noah, as usual, is a hit and miss. Keeping him still for a picture is a miracle. Vanessa, my younger daughter you have all seen before.

Today, I was feeling very lazy (left over turkey probably contributed to this). I stayed in bed after church and watched Julie/Julia. The winds here were 50 mph, and my yard is a mess. My awning came down, plants fell over and some branches broke off the Sycamore tree in the back. All the ash on the mountains, has been cleaned up, it is all in my yard, so the mountains look good.

I have Noah three days this week, so I will not be able to clean up until later. I need to decorate the Church this week and I have a doctor's test, I do not want to take, but must this week. So, my life is full. I normally am done with Christmas shopping, however, not this year. So, yes I have hit the ground running. Isn't that what Christmas is all about? Jesus,family, church, decorating, presents, traditions it is what makes this month so wonderful.

So take a deep breath, give your cares to God, because He cares for you and go shopping! Blessings, Martha

TOO MUCH TO DO TO BLOG SO, WHY AM I HERE?

I am posting because, I like to and it makes me rest. I have to sit and think only of what I am writing. I am a horrible writer, unlike my husband who can make anything sound wonderful. I get to remember my friends and it makes me happy.

Are you ready for tomorrow, I am not? It's going to happen ready or not! So I am going to practice being Mary and just go with it! I encourage you to do the same. I have some new Christmas pictures to show you. I am trying real hard to make it Noah ready! Noah is a Disneyland today with his parents. I can't wait to see the picture.

A surprise came today in the mail for me, from my dear friend, Bunny. It was her birthday and I got a present. Those are the kind of friends to have! Bunny said she was shopping and this ornament just said Martha all over it. It is the very last picture on this post. A beautiful, pink, Victorian ornament arrived and just put a big smile on my face. It is so nice to know that someone can be so kind, for no apparent reason. I have been needing a lot of extra love lately, so perfect timing!

I want to wish all my dear friends, a most precious Thanksgiving Day. May God richly bless you this holiday season!

CHRISTMAS WHIMSY!

Spent the day with Noah today, which is always so much fun. However, as usual, I am exhausted! I did add a few more vignettes in my home for Christmas. Whimsy, toddler style, is hard. Noah is allowed to touch everything and does. He is so cute, he even smells the fake flowers. I have rose wallpaper in my hallway and he smell those roses every time. When he is though he says "pretty"! I just have to kiss him every time!


Purchased the Thanksgiving goodies, so I am already for that (I think). I just had to show you this picture of Noah. He was in trouble, because he wanted to play with an outlet. I don't see him crying too many times. He is even cute crying. His Grandma loves him that is for sure! Blessings to you, Martha

THE EEYORE TREE IS DONE!

Did I ever tell you I collect Eeyores? Well, I use to anyway. My daughter, Vanessa, loved them. Anyway, here is the tree. It is not taking a good picture unfortunately. The bay window does not get as much light as I would like. The tree looks like it is going to fall over with Eeyores. Believe it or not, I only used half of the Eeyores that I have.

My Noah loves the tree, which is all that matters. He talks to the different Eeyores. However, next year, I going for an adult tree, maybe a pink one. This one was way out of my comfort zone. Then to try to match the living room decor with Eeyores, is a little on the tuff side.

I want to thank those of you who have been praying for me. It has been a hard week for me personally. I need all the prayer you can give me. I know that God is faithful, even when I am feeling faithless. Blessing to all and much love, Martha

THIS IS THE DAY THE LORD HAS MADE!

The rest of the scripture says "I will rejoice and be glad in it." That was my goal today, to rejoice in the Lord. Hope everyone had a great Pink Saturday. I spent the day with Noah and joined his Mom for yogurt after lunch. I am so tired. This picture of Noah is of him looking though the window. He looks like an angel.

Still working on Christmas. I am not through with Noah's, Eeyore Tree, but I am getting closer. He just loves it. He says good bye to the Eeyores each time he leaves the room. How can one child give you so much pleasure? I will take pictures of it as soon as I am though. The Christmas tree always takes a long time for me. This one even more so, because I have not done a child's tree in years. Everything is more whimsy this year, so it is taking longer. I am almost done. (I keep saying that don't I.)

I am sure you are all busy with getting things ready for Thanksgiving. It is going to be a long, short week. LOL! Have a great Sunday! Blessings, Martha

HAPPY PINK SATURDAY EVERYONE!

Hope all is well for you as you begin to prepare for Thanksgiving! It is Pink Saturday and we have to celebrate "Pink". It is almost as good as having it's own national holiday. I am going to post a little on our master bedroom. My dresser to be exact. I usually do not picture our bedroom. I don't know why it is very pretty. I have turn of the century antiques, you know the ones with all the wood lace, and faces on the ends. I love tiger oak furniture. It can take a beating, and with young children, it has served our family well.

I have also included some more Christmas pictures. I am well on my way to having the decorating done by the end of the month. The very last thing I do is add the bling. It is still child friendly and every changing. All the wreaths are made by me and the Santa is the only one I have out, my husband is not a big fan. I am putting up things that I have not had out for years! Blessings to all and have a great Pink Saturday!

A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME!

Welcome, my friend, Sares, is have a party about your name. My name is Martha, you remember Martha in the Bible? She was the one that was always worried about everything. Is the house clean, are my guest being taken care of? Do we have enough food? Does it look good? Well, that is me in a nut shell. However, a strange thing happened during the name giving. I got a middle name of Mary. You know Mary, she is the one that Jesus said, "has chosen the right thing to do". Which was just sitting at the Lord feet. I always want to be Mary, but I get stuck in Martha. It feels like a bad joke sometimes. It is so interesting to me how your name can become prophetic. In the photo with Noah and I, I am feeling like a Mary. Noah, has shown me how to find the Mary in my life. Something I have to work hard on being Mary. Sitting at the feet of Jesus, waiting on Him to take care of me. Martha is just too easy to fall back on. Who are you? A Martha or a Mary? Blessings to you, Martha aka: Mary

CAN YOU FEEL THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS IN THE AIR?

I love this time of year. For the most part, people are friendlier and you see Christmas decorations every where. I start this blog on January 1, 2009. It was my New Year's Resolution. I wanted a place to share my heart. I became an "empty nest Mom" in February of this year. The "empty" part was going to very real for me. So, I wanted to share my heart in a blog. Who knows, many be one day, some one will read it, was my thought.

Now almost a year later, I have made dear friends. Friends who love me just the way I am. Even if that is weird. You never are criticized my ever going collections, you just ask "what don't you collect?"

I am feeling sentimental today, I had three people that I love very much, sick this week and I guess it was harder than I thought to just give it to God. Although, I did give it my best shot.

My daughter, Monique is doing well. All tumors removed and she can still have a baby if God grants her one. My dear friend Sharon, has successfully gone through her eye surgery. She has a few things to worry about yet, but this has pasted. Tonight, I heard from Bunny, she is a little sore but all is well with her. Thank God.

We are so much a like out here in Blog land. There is so much love here and acceptance. We are very lucky. I am still working on the job of Christmas decorating. I feel like I have a good handle on things. It is all so different, because I am doing it all with Noah in mind. This pictures are just a little more peeks at the whole transformation. Blessings to you my dear friends and thank you for every prayer you said on my behalf and on behalf of my family and friends.

There is one more thing I just have to show you, I got a present, for no apparent reason (the best kind) from Rebecca at www.gatheryroses.com. It is beautiful, it made me cry. I guess, you have figuired out that is easy to do. I also want to show off the necklace I won from Heidi at http://myarizonaangels.blogspot.com/. These two ladies, I just love. They are the best. Thanks for letting be a part of your life!

IT IS BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS!

You can't tell by the pictures I have posted but, I have a handle on the decorating. I have spent the last 2 days put things away that are not Christmas. I am only going to leave a small amount of Thanksgiving items out, because I am having the big dinner at my house. I love the formality of Thanksgiving. It is the one day, I don't get teased for having the table all dressed up. I live with men. They have a little trouble appreciating the "bling" in life.

I did put up a few garland here and there for you to see. Remember the 3 plates? They got garland today, much better. Mostly, I put things aways. I just love the pink, vintage paper weights. Tomorrow is the big day for my daughter, Monique. Please keep her in prayer! Have a great Pink Saturday. I am not sure if I will be able to post before then. Blessings, Martha