Start Each Day....

Start each day with a grateful heart

and end it with a prayer of thanks.

In the middle though, it's always nice to......

throw in a few M & M's ;)

(and you thought candle holders were just for candles, didn't you?)

Happy Valentines Day everyone!

Blessings,

Marcia 

♥ Hands ♥

The were married for years and couldn't have children, It was at a time when couples 

didn't choose "not to", and their hearts and arms ached for a baby of their own.

After quite a few years of marriage, they adopted a son 

and were thrilled to finally become parents. 

Looking to adopt again a few years later, they were surprised to find

that she was pregnant, after so many years of waiting. 

She gave birth to a daughter. 

They always said that there were two ways to get children, 

and they were doubly blessed to get one each way.

Having nearly given up on having a family at one time, 

they are now parents to 2 children, grandparents to 10,

and great-grandparents to 5. When you count in-laws, etc.,

their number swells to 35, and growing :)  

God's ways are not our ways, but His plans are always
so much better.

I am blessed beyond measure to call them......

Dad and Mom :)

(The prompt for the Photo A Day Challenge was "Hands"

and these are some of the loveliest hands I know)

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31

Have a wonderful Sunday!

Blessings,

Marcia

The Rest of the Month :)

Day 24--Color

January is supposed to be a "slow down" month, isn't it? It hasn't worked out like 

that for us. Instead it's been a go, go, go month. I feel like I've been running kids

here and there all month long. So glad we've had wonderful weather!

Day 8---Your Sky

I know I've slacked off over here on my blog, but I've kept up with the 

Photo-a-day Challenge I told you about at the beginning of January. 

This challenge has made me think about taking photos

in a different way. Since I'm taking photos with my ipod,

I'm definitely not getting the quality of a camera, but it's been fun playing,

so I thought I'd share a little bit of what I've been doing this month...

while running kids to and fro :)

The prompt for Day 22 was "Your Shoes"

I caught Milo laughing out loud :) Okay, he was really yawning, 

but it looked like a laugh was about to emerge...either that,

or he thought I was telling him to "Say Ah" :)

One day the prompt was "Light"

I took a photo of the lamp next to my bed with the "lights of my life"
in a photo next to it :)

On Day 27 the prompt was "Lunch"

My lunches aren't usually too exciting, but that happened to be the day

my 16 yo daughter decided to cook a full turkey meal, complete 

with homemade rosemary bread. It was delicious. Thank you Micaela!!

Each photo can be edited in a variety of ways on Instagram,

so you can get all sorts of looks in a matter of seconds.

There are other apps you can add to your ipod or iphone for free 

that make it a bit more fun too.

This was today's photo for the prompt "You Again"

Guess what I was doing? 

Waiting in the car for my daughter during her piano lesson. 

I'm sure her piano teacher's neighbors were wondering about

this crazy woman, taking photo after photo of herself in the side mirror, 

trying to get the desert sky reflection in the background just right, lol.

Do you want to join in the fun? Chantelle at Fat Mum Slim 

has created a February Photo Challenge. You don't have to do it everyday,

and it doesn't have to be on Instagram. You can share them on your blog, 

Facebook, tumblr, etc. 

Here's the  February Challenge:

If you decide to join in, even if it's just for a few of the days of the month,

I'd love to know so I can see what you've posted.  Go over an let Chantelle know too.

Have fun with it. 

If you're on Instagram, find me at mamasmurph.

Happy February Everyone!!

Blessings,

Marcia 

♥ Hearts ♥

Have you picked up your Conversation Hearts yet? 

They are definitely a weakness of mine. 

Hearts seem to be on our mind around here this week.

Pinterest provides so much inspiration. I really want to make these.

via Pinterest

to learn how, visit Glorious Treats....Yummy goodness :)

Thank you all for your sweet messages of congratulations to Randy and Sarah.

They are so excited....especially Randy :)

Sarah's cousin Ty is a photographer, and took some wonderful photos. 

If you'd like to see a few photos and read a little more about his proposal

visit her blog, "Ty LaMothe". 

I know I'd planned to do a giveaway this week, but the busyness of life

has kept me from getting it together. It's coming soon my friends :) 

I hope you're all having a wonderful week.

Blessings,

Marcia

She said Yes :)

My son and his girlfriend love Disneyland. We all do. 

So today, at Disneyland, he got down on one knee 

and asked his sweet Sarah for her hand in marriage...

She said "Yes"!!

We're going to be gaining a daughter (in-love) :)

Congratulations Randy and Sarah 

 ♥ We love you both ♥

(The photo below is from a ride at Disneyland.
You can see Sarah holding up her hand with the ring on it,
and everyone else pointing to it). 

Romance is definitely in the air around here :)

I hope you're week is starting off wonderfully too.

Blessings,

Marcia

A Beach Girl :)

Yes, she does, and he's oh so good to me!!

A gift from my dear friend Terri, who knows me so well :)

I'd like to just sit out here with my Big Kahuna,

But we're running errands this morning and watching football this afternoon.

Here's the most recent photo from my Photo A Day Challenge.

The prompt was "Something You're Reading" and since
I've been spending alot of the week running kids and then waiting
for them, I've been enjoying these :)
I snapped this photo with my ipod in the front seat of my vehicle :)
Instagram effect--Toaster
Join in if you get a chance, it's fun!

Have a wonderful weekend my friends,
and remember I'm having a giveaway next week!
Blessings,
Marcia