* Hark *

Glory to the newborn King :)

Don't you just love Christmas Angels? 

I found a few of these about 10 years ago. I wish I'd picked up a few more.

They're only about 1. 5 inches tall, but oh so sweet. 

I hope she makes you smile too :)

Blessings,

Marcia  

Missing the obvious :)

Do you ever feel like you're oblivious to the things around you, or is it just me?

I'd hardly even noticed the flowers in our walkway a week or so ago,

but my youngest daughter was paying attention.

She took the camera out there and snapped a photo. 

Unretouched, btw :) Isn't it beautiful?  

Last month my oldest son and some friends went to see a new singer perform.

They'd discovered her on YouTube. Her name is Jayme Dee,

and she has an absolutely beautiful voice. If you haven't heard of her yet, you will :) 

So last week, when an old friend that I'd reconnected with on FB mentioned her too, 

I was a bit surprised....until I suddenly realized that Jayme Dee

was her daughter!!

We'd messaged back and forth and she'd mentioned that her daughter sang.
I'd looked at my friend's FB photos of her family,
and I'd viewed Jayme Dee's video with my son.
Somehow I hadn't put two and two together though.

I may be oblivious at times, but I've definitely got my kids convinced 

that I have connections to everyone :)

(Btw, her daddy was my college youth pastor, 

and her sweet mama has an equally beautiful voice).

Enjoy!!

Blessings,

Marcia 

Snowflakes and Starfish

My little homemade hutch (really a dresser with bookshelf on top)

got a Christmas makeover :)

I'm continuing with the blue and white theme but I was determined to 

*Not* spend any money for any decorations this year. 

Along with a few blue bits and pieces;

snowflakes, starfish and twinkly lights add a touch of white. 

This little tree fit in with the color scheme, and a snowflake 

seemed to be all it needed. It sits on top of a candle holder.

This shelf didn't change much, just added a few painted pine cones 

and some older blue bulbs.

I've used this little tray for decorations before,

only changing the scrapbook paper to go with the theme.

This time I used some I had leftover from my school cabinet.

It's in the same room, and is where my kids keep their books and supplies.

The inside is always a mess, so hiding it with pretty paper 

helps keep things looking neat and tidy,

(if they remember to close the doors!)

I also added some of my snowflakes to the insides of this lantern. 

It's been fun going with a different color combo this year.

My kitchen is still red and green though. 

My family said they needed to see those colors somewhere in our house :)

It was 25 degrees at our house this morning.
It's sure feeling like Winter here in Southern California.
I hope you're all keeping *warm* :)

Blessings,

Marcia

Linking up with:
Faded Charm's White Wednesday
A Beach Cottage's Good Life Wednesday

All Hearts....

Come home for Christmas....

so it's time to prepare,

I need to remember to make room.... 

for the most important part :)

 ♥ The true Heart of Christmas ♥

Have a Joyous day my friends :)

Blessings,

Marcia 

Singing the "SO MUCH" blues :)

Sometimes you have "those kind of " days. You know the ones. Where

you take the kids to the dentist and while you're waiting you casually mention

that there might be "something wrong" with one of your own teeth,

so they decide to take an x-ray...and it's NOT good news. It's the "You'll be

coming back for at least two more visits" kind of news. 

And of course you have an abnormal fear of sitting in the dental chair yourself

because you've spent "SO MUCH TIME" in that chair already in your life,

so now it's a "wondering if the time will come when they'll want to rip 

all the teeth out of your head, because you feel like you've been 

chewing on borrowed time already".... kind of day.

So you go home and decide to take some photos of the decorating

you've been doing to take your mind off of your fears, 

but for some reason your camera doesn't want to cooperate with you,

(maybe because it's been dropped a zillion times by the twins 

while making silly videos) 

so you borrow your daughter's camera, and you realize

that her's is "SO MUCH CLEARER" than yours, but you still can't seem 

to get the photos right, because you can't find your glasses and you

need them to see the photos. So now it's an "Oh no, does this mean cataract surgery

is in your future too?" kind of day. 

But then something unexpected happens! 

You realize that the jeans you put on belong to your teenage daughter, 

and now you feel "SO MUCH BETTER".

Suddenly it's an "all is right in your world" kind of day!!

(and your motivation to keep those extra pounds off just became crystal clear)

Yep, I have those kind of days too....

Aren't they wonderful? :)

Blessings,

Marcia

Linking up with :
A Beach Cottage
Funky Junk Interiors
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Treat time :)

Breads and cakes, cookies and sweets,

time to start baking those Christmas treats :)

I've lost 15 pounds over the past 4 months,

(exercise and eating right really does work)

now the trick will be to keep it off during the coming month.

Wish me luck ;)

 ♥ I'm so glad I have lots of others around here to help gobble up the goodies ♥

Have a wonderful weekend dear friends.

Blessings,

Marcia 

♥ give thanks ♥

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! 

I hope you make wonderful memories with those you love, 

and fill your tummies with lots of delicious food :)

♥ Enjoy your day ♥

Blessings,

Marcia  

A Blue and White Christmas

This is the inspiration for Christmas this year...

 *via Pinterest

the colors I love :)

It reminds me of this...

Last year I decorated in mostly red and white,

But this year, I'm thinking a little blue and white (and silver) might be nice,

* 

They even have gift wrap with a nautical theme,

with a little silver ornament it looks so Christmas-like :)

* 

Isn't this lovely?

*

Of course, I want to make some of these :)

*

And this simple homemade wreath is just beautiful,

*

I'm loving this color scheme for Christmas :)

*

What colors are you going to decorate with this year?

*

I wish you all a Wonderful Thanksgiving,

enjoying it with those you love ♥

Our family has so much to be thankful for :)

Blessings,

Marcia 

* asterisk photos via Pinterest *

The Thankful Season

Crisp Air + Fading Blooms = Autumn Joy :)

It truly is the "Thankful" Season.

Blessings,

Marcia

♥ Tea, Marshmallow Cookies, and Memories ♥

Cold weather has come to the desert, so my morning glass of iced tea 

is now a cup of hot tea. 

You might notice the little tea bag that says "Good Earth" tea. 

I'm sure there are plenty of you that enjoy this sweet treat,

but it means a little more to me than just a delicious cup of tea.

You see, it was nearly 28 years ago that I first met my hubby 

at "The Good Earth", a health food restaurant, popular in the 80's.
Yes, he was a cook and I was a waitress.

We were meant to be together, don't you think?

This was the tea that we served there.

Most of these restaurants were later changed over to "The Olive Garden"
(a completely different type of restaurant, but also a tasty favorite of ours), 

however, the delicious "Good Earth" tea is still sold.
It's a sentimental favorite around here :)

The aroma is *heavenly*. It always reminds me of when we were dating.

It tastes delicious with Marshmallow Coconut Cookies too :)

Have a blessed weekend!

Marcia 

An Update on Jordan:
Thank you all for your thoughtful comments for Jordan in my last post. 

They discovered that he had some type of infection (perhaps a fungus) 

so he had another surgery on Nov. 5th to take tissue and bone samples 

and put in antibiotic beads.

He's going into surgery again tomorrow. They will put a rod
coated with antibiotics into his femur bone. Then, in about 
8 weeks they will be taking the rod out. Hopefully that
will be his last surgery. He's been in quite a bit of pain, 

so please continue to keep him in your prayers.

Veterans Day has a more personal meaning to our family this year.
Thank you to all of those who have made freedom possible,
and thank you especially, Jordan.
We love you ♥

Harvest and Update on Jordan :)

 I'll bet you have a pumpkin patch around you somewhere. 

This one is just a few miles from our home.

See, we really can grow things here in the desert :) 

There is also a corn maze. I've never been successful

at growing corn myself, but it does grow around here, as you can see.

This is what the pumpkin sees :)

We're still harvesting. We have a late growing season here. 

I found a great "Any Kind of Squash" recipe this summer, 

and since I still have zucchini growing,

I've made it quite a few times. 

 You slice up your squash, and put a layer on the bottom of a baking dish.

Cover it with melted butter, 

salt and pepper to taste,

a little bit of cut up basil from the garden,

and then layer it with Parmesan cheese.

Repeat the steps with another layer (or two).

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. 

As you can see, different squashes work equally well.

I almost forgot to take a photo of the finished product. I got a corner of it, 

as the rest had already been gobbled up. It's delicious,

even my twins love it!

(I mean, with butter and Parmesan, how can you go wrong?)

I've also been harvesting my own seeds. 

These coriander seeds are about to be replanted. 

Last year I had cilantro growing late into the Fall,

and early in the Spring.

Our weather has finally cooled off a bit this week. 

It actually feels like Fall around here :)

We saw Jordan a few weeks ago too. 

He looks great, doesn't he? 

He had another surgery on Oct. 19th.

Here is and update from his Facebook Page :)

*So I wish to update all of you and let everybody know I am still very positive and motivated. I came in for surgery on wednesday the 19th to get a revision on my left leg. As the doctors cut me open they found that my femur was deteriorating. So they took a few tissue samples and closed it up. The doctors thought it was due to infection but after testing the tissue samples it was not infection. Yesterday the 22nd they cut me open again to take a small piece of bone for testing because their next theory is that the bone breakdown may be a type of osteoperosis. I will find out in the next few days what the source of the deterioration is and I will keep you all updated. Once again keep me in your thoughts and prayers.*

♥ Thank you everyone for your prayers for Jordan ♥

I know this post was a bit scattered. It's been a while since I've written anything,

so I just included a bit of this and that :) 

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Blessings,

Marcia 

10 Things I Love About Fall :)

1. Apple and Cinnamon.....anything!

2. Comfy boots and knitted scarves.

3. Hot tea with honey.

4. Flannel Shirts and warm sweaters.

5. Autumn scented candles burning.

6. Pumpkin anything...especially whoopie pies.

7. Snuggling up under extra blankets and quilts.

8. Thanksgiving dinner!

9. Watching my kids jump in piles of leaves.

10. Lighting a fire in the fireplace :)

image: Pinterest

It's starting to feel like Fall here, or do you say Autumn? I like both words.
Extra blankets are coming out,
along with long-sleeved sweaters and jackets.
We were just wearing shorts and flip-flops a few days ago!
We've had some rain, and turning the oven on is a welcome feeling
of warmth, not overbearing heat :)
I'll miss summer a bit, but I love Fall and the changing of the seasons.

What do you Love about Fall?

Blessings,
Marcia ♥

Good Moms...

Simply Designing "Good Moms" tutorial

This little sign made my day,

and I just had to share it with you.

If sticky floors, messy kitchens, laundry piles and dirty kitchens

make for happy kids,

my children must be truly ecstatic  :)

I hope Fall has found it's way to your home, 

and you're enjoying a beautiful weekend!!

Blessings,

Marcia  

Fall....Flowers in Her Hair...Flowers Everywhere :)

When I was a little girl, there was a song about "flowers in her hair".

I couldn't remember who sang it, but thanks to Google and You Tube,

I've been humming that song again :) 

It was sung by a group called The Cowsills, (their most famous song was "Hair")

and called "The Rain the Park and Other Things." Here it is if you want to watch it :)

You'll feel like you stepped back into the early 70's!

Blessings,

Marcia 

The Writing on the Wall (Shelf) :)

Sometimes it just takes a little frame and a few words to share they way you feel :)

The words in the frame above were just some I typed up and printed. 

The Beach Boys kind of hold a special place in our hearts around here. 

They were the first band I ever saw in concert. 

They were on a come-back tour, and were considered local boys,

having grown up in the same area I did. 

In fact my friend's mom had gone to school with them 

and used to tell us stories about them before they were "known". 

I found the Subway Art on a featured post over at Coastal Blue Ocean.

It was designed by Linda over at Seaside Style.

Thank you both for sharing this project. It was simple and fun,

and fits well in my home. I always have a little touch of the beach around here.

Our weather is still saying "Summer" although we had a little rain today, 

and it cooled down a bit. I haven't been motivated to get out the Fall things though,

since I'm still running the A/C :)

We're back at school now, and that does make our schedule a little more "normal", 

if there is such a thing. We aren't too normal around here most of the time :)

Wishing you all a lovely week!

Blessings,
Marcia  

Visiting with Jordan

Several blogging friends have asked about Jordan and I wanted to give you all an 

update. A little less than 2 weeks ago, he hit a rough patch of grass in his wheelchair, 

and fell, breaking his already injured arm. 

He was scheduled for another surgery on his leg the following Monday,

so they did the surgery on his arm at that time too. 

That was on Monday, August 22. 

Jordan, Jenn and Jay

On Friday, my brother called to say that Jordan would be visiting our area on Saturday.

Yes, less than a week after his surgery he was out traveling with his wonderful family!

I wish you all could know what an humble and gracious young man he is, 

and his wife Jenn is equally incredible. Their mutual love and respect 

for each other is inspiring, as is their devotion to their son. They're a young family 

that has faced far more than most of us can imagine, and yet they both express 

their thankfulness for the blessings in their lives, and for each other. 

4 generations of Maynard men :)

There are so many things we take for granted, and feel a sense of injustice

when those things are taken from us. As I watched Jordan very adeptly 

eating soup with his left hand (I'm left handed, so I tend to notice others that are)

I realized he'd had to learn this since the accident. 

I marveled at how well he was doing this 

(as I can not imagine having to relearn everything with my right hand)

and he just smiled, shrugged, and said 

"Yeah, I had to learn to shave too, so I've kind of gotten used to it." 

No sense of injustice. Just his kind and gentle nature. 

That's Jordan :)

Also, about a month ago, Semper Fi donated this brand new van equipped with

automatic doors, ramp, and hydraulics to Jordan and his family.  It has made it so

much easier for them to get around :)

I want to thank you all for your thoughts and prayers for Jordan.

Jordan and his family are very thankful too. 

Please continue to remember him, as he still has a long way to go in his recovery.

He's amazing!!

Blessings,

Marcia