~♥end of january nesting♥~

last sunday it was 7 below zero, {but the sun was out...have not seen it much this january!} when we headed to anamosa to an antique show & visited another one of iowas' best shops  ~gatherings~. wanda has great taste in her displays & love. all the prims & antiques she has. it is a wonderful olde store with 3 floors to find alot of treasures in.
the antique show was great, it was good to see people out & about. beautiful antiques & displays!  love. antiques & seeing them!

getting more into the spring mode.  i stuffed this lavendar ladies glove {forming it to look like it is holding the nest} & filled it with the dried spanish moss & put a birdnest on it. gonna put some eggs & mebbe some more nesting things, feathers, etc, in the nest. love finding fun things & trying to do something else with it other than what it was originally used for.

even tho i am in the spring mode the weather is sounding like snow is yet again going to be coming so will mebbe have to find some more projects to nest with!

O Lord, I will honor & praise Your name,for You are my God. You do such wonderful things! You planned them long ago, and now You have accomplished them.
                       {Isaiah 25:1}
God planned before He accomplished, a good model for us to follow.

keep warm & happy nesting! hugs & blessings, humble♥

*great strength comes from faith in GOD*

i have this framed saying & the star wall arrangement hanging in our house.

sometimes when i am hurting, this is what i need to see.

there are many times that i need to be reminded of this.

when things do not go the way they are planned  {in our way}, i have to be reminded it may not have been the way it was in GOD's plan.. 

i am truly blessed with so much...for which i am so thank*ful. 

           ~*great strength comes from faith in GOD*~
                                                   hugs & blessings, humble♥

~the sun is inside our house tonite!~

Even tho the sun has not been shining much lately, it is shining here at this household, becuz we have a sunny personality visiting us...lil' man Owen is here!
 This is the crow I made with the santa riding it... I love. it. I have it hanging above the door in my art room, when he is not upstairs for the Christmas season.{i believe i have a pic of it on an earlier post} Fun seeing the sun & shadows!   I love. keeping out seasonal, or items that I can see all the time. I find that it makes it seem more 'homey' with things you love that you can see out all the time year around. {just in my art room, where i am alot, or try to be} the sign says 'in everything give thanks' ~ a fave of mine, stays on the shelf year around. i soo give thanks for everything, we are soo blessed!
hope you have a wonderful week*end filled with sunshine & lotsa love ♥ I know we will... can hear mario bros in the background with Owen & g'pa... so better go & check it out!  who do you think will win if i play with Owen?  *hint*...it will not be me! hehehe....{think that is why he likes playing with me!}  off to have fun.. hope you do, too!

I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.
                                        {Phil.4:13}
Do not use your limitations as an excuse for avoiding what God calls us to do.

have a good one!  hugs & blessings, humble♥

~♥1*11*11♥~

this is one of those snowy days where you have soo much ta do, but just can not seem to do anything!   did some odd jobs & want to create but think i have too many 'jobs i should do' first! so then i do not do much of anything... do you do that?  i feel that i 'have' to get the 'no fun' jobs out of the way before i can play...
went out & shoveled the drive.  took some out cookies & some apple slices out to the birds... one just seemed to stop by the window to say thank*u!
gonna do some stretches & throw in some laundry mebbe that will get me going...
went to the coal valley antique booth yesterday & took more stuff, so know i have been doing some stuff, since i cleaned up & out the booths last week... mebbe that is what is catching up with me... hope everyone is having a great day & it is okay to take it easy once in awhile... hope you do, too!

*May you experience the love of Christ, thou it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life & power that comes from God.*
                                                             {Eph 3:19-20}

i think the numbers of the calendar date is neat... today is  1*11*11 ... all of the #1's!   humble♥

~♥sweet,sweet day filled with lotsa hugs♥~

Yep, this is my fave lil' guy! We had soo much fun today.  I called Owen this morning, to tell him I was on my way & he told me it was a longgggggggg wait!
We went to Kalona, the Rug Cottage & Barntiques shops/antique mall today to take down Christmas.  Owen was totally ♥smitten♥ with Nancy & Johns' daughter Jessica!  It is such a wonderful atmosphere there...they are like family...I am very blessed to have them in my life. You can visit Nancy's shop at  rugcottage.blogspot.com  {omgoodness i finally figured out how to highlite a site!! yippee!} On her sidebar she has many other blogs that are fun to visit, too, including iowabarntiques.blogspot.com  {yeah! i did it again...scarey that i may be getting a little more 'puter savvy!}    This is a pic of Owen last year~whadda sweet♥ heart, huh?  He made that in Sunday school... My heart belongs to Jesus! We did some more things which I will fill you in on later.            ... friday again tomorrow! where does the week go? 

train yourself to be godly. "Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come"           {1Tim.4:7-8}              have a great friday! humble♥

~♥CHRISTMAS DECOS ARE BEING TAKEN DOWN♥~

Today I was at the JUNK ASYLUM booth taking down leftover Christmas...not alot left, but was a S*L*O*W month for sales!  I marked alot of things down & brought home some santas & greenery. Of course I had to do a little shopping before I left... that is part of it, isn't it??    =)

These are pics from my booth in Kalona, Iowa.  All decked out for Christmas.  Tomorrow I am picking up fave grandson Owen... to go & take down any Christmas that is left... hopefully not much.  It was slow in December for alot of the booths, from what was said.  I did not get out much in December, mebbe they did not either.  Now I believe people are out & shopping for themselves, re*decorating, etc...which this is a good time for that! Saw alot of great buys today!  I am just happy, so blessed,  when a few things sell...& happy for  others who do well for they may need the sales more than I do!

I can hardly wait to see Owen tomorrow... need a g'ma day.  Lunch with a handsome guy & a good helper what more could ya want? 

"Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let's celebrate together!

                                                                {Matt.25:21}

Have a wonderful Thursday m'friends.  hugs & blessings, humble♥

~♥some necklaces I have created♥~

 These are some necklaces I have made just before Christmas... I LOVE making jewelry!

I LOVE. using vintage items...the hardware...old key hole covers from dressers & antique furniture pieces!

I like taking pics but they do not always turn out very good... I had an order for a bird charm & could not find anymore of the one the customer liked that I had on that day.  So... I made my own!  The small bird in the above pic in the small square charms are the ones I made.

I usually put my necklaces on tags I distress or add background stamps or music/book text.  These I used some egg prints I cut out with the music background & words or a feather. 

 On the back of the tags I sewed a lace pocket to let the necklace chain fall into.  I think the pocket on the back helps to keep the necklaces from getting all tangled.

It is fun to try different things & be creative...using the talents God gave you.



Now these are the gifts Christ gave to equip God's people to do His work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 
                           {Eph.4:11-12}
                                                        * God has empowered each of us with special abilities. How we use these abilities is up to us.*  
                                                            hugs & blessings, humble♥

~♥Our Gifts♥~

We had a beautiful snow fall on Christmas eve. They had winter weather advisories out & had 7 or so inches of snow. It was beautiful!  We just felt bad because we celebrate Christmas on Christmas eve, so the kids had to travel, even tho we & they knew they did not "have" to if it was really bad. Thank God they got here safely & back home again! I have to say I LOVE snow, it is soo beautiful!

We have recently had 50 degree weather & rains, so are left with out much snow. Except where it was plowed & piled up. Now we are back to the brown & blah looking yards til it snows again. Even tho it is not as pretty right now{because of not seeing the white snow} ~ each day is a gift from God & holds beauty wherever you look. The starkness of the bare trees against the blue sky, the gorgeous sunrises & sunsets... many things. All of His Creations.We are soo blessed with His Gifts! I thank Him for them! 

hugs & blessings, humble♥ 

~♥Gods' beauty...♥~

I am amazed at how God paints His trees for us to enjoy!
Isn't it beautiful?  I LOVE ♥ how God speaks to us thru nature & His word.

I have a daily planner I have bought the last 3 or 4 years from the Christian book store.  I use it to write down birthdays, appointments, etc... but also use it to journal in. Not alot of exciting things, my thoughts, something that may have happened, etc.  The reason I love this planner is that it has a Bible passage at the bottom of the page. I read it daily & love how it goes with my day, since I usually write in the evening.
Last nite I thought about things I would like to achieve this year {no biggies...mainly usually stuff} & added I would love to create more {find & make time for what you love to do} & even put that on my blog last evening {before I read my planner}
 The greatest thing was that the January page was about God*given abilities! That was the title & read as follows
 ~ ♥ Deep within the human spirit is a desire and a capability to do wonderful things. Because we were made in the image of God, we inherited from Him the desire to *create*, to accomplish, to make things happen. But God wouldn't give us these desires without also giving us the means to carry them out.  These "means" are called abilities or talents. They are the gifts God has given us to help us accomplish great things for Him, and to help us enjoy life. How we use or misuse these abilities ultimately determines our quality of life-quality being defined not as comfort or the accumulation of things, but in terms of character, joy, and lasting satisfaction. Our goal is to first discover our abilities, then excercise them, and finally channel them toward good and not evil.♥

I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
                                                         ~Philippians 1:6~
and again isn't it beautiful?  don't 'cha just love it when that happens?!  =)
                                                         ~ hugs & blessings, humble♥~

~♥ WISHING YOU A BLESSED TWENTY ELEVEN ♥~

♥Hope everyone had a great *CHRIST*mas♥

I know we sure did! Wishing you many blessings for a wonderful new year with lotsa love & joy! May you find & make the time to do what you love!

~♥hugs & blessings, humble♥~