A thankful heart and a few handmade treasures ~

There's something beautiful about waking up to thankfulness.

Yes, some mornings I wake up I'm grouchy...worried...sleepy, etc.

But this morning the absolute wonderful feeling of thankfulness washed over me.

What a true blessing it is!

I'm realizing that THESE are the good ol' days.

That I've been blessed with the most precious family ever.

A dear husband that I'll celebrate our 35th anniversary with

in just a few weeks.

Five sweet sons that make me realize that they are my true gift in this life.

And how blessed are we that they have met

such beautiful people that love them so.

Plus our two precious grandbabies, Clara and Murray ~

growing like little weeds and filling our hearts with love.

Healthy parents and in-laws that I treasure so very much....

How very thankful I am this morning!

Well, really...I am thankful every morning but I just love it when

it's first and foremost in my mind and makes my heart swell.

Speaking of these two angels, they came for a little visit this week ~

Look at Clara's smile!!! She's already lost two bottom teeth but

it seems like such a bigger deal now that she's lost a top tooth!!

Also...can you believe our youngest son Noah

is now a senior in high school?!!

A friend recently took this wonderful photo of him

and I simply can't believe our baby is 18 years old!

He's still my baby in my eyes though ~

And from the studio....

I finally decided that it was time to make a few needle books!!

It's been quite a while since I've made any of these sweeties.

I guess I'd forgotten how much I really enjoy making them!

They are quite simple but embellished with snippets of old lace

and of course, a bit of seam binding.

I've added these to my shop if you'd like to take a peek!

~ Visit my Etsy store HERE ~

Plus I've added a few more other goodies too!!!

~ Visit my Etsy Shop HERE ~

I hope you are doing so, so good...

and that you too have a thankful heart today!!

Thank you always for stopping by to visit me ~

hugs and love,

Dawn

Happy Thanksgiving dear friends!!!

This Thanksgiving my heart overflows with thankfulness.
My eyes fill with tears as I think of all that I'm thankful for...

The love of our Lord who created us and died for us so we could return to Him in Heaven ~

Wonderful parents who raised my brothers and I and loved us unconditionally ~

A precious husband who allows me to be who I am and has loved me now for almost 34 years ~

Five amazing sons that we've been blessed with, who I love dearly with all my heart ~

Emily ~ the daughter that I never had and mother of our two precious grandchildren, I love you ~

Clara and Murray...sweet grandbabies who truly are gifts from Heaven above ~

The precious angels who are loving our sons the way we do ~

Our extended family who loves and supports us always ~

And of course, my dear best friend Lisa who is my true, kindred spirit ~

My beautiful friends, near and far, here in Georgia, across the United States
all the way to Denmark, France, Australia and all around the world!

Thank you for your encouragement and friendship ~ where would I be without you?
I'm not sure but I do know that it is your friendship that sustains,
inspires and encourages me to be an artist,
a better friend and to be the person that I want to be,
thank you so very much.

Wishing you a Thanksgiving day filled with blessings & love ~

xxoo, Dawn

So very blessed ~

I know I am.

Amazingly and abundantly....

and beyond measure!

Sometimes this fact eludes me and I have a big ol' pity party.

Just me thinking, "why don't we have this...

and why don't we have that"...

pfffft!!!

That's just STUFF!

So, what are your blessings???

Think of them now.

Mine are my precious family.

My mama and daddy who are still healthy and loving life...

And my hubby's parents who are the same!!!

They truly are our inspiration.

My mom and dad:

A sweet husband who loves me through all my faults

for over 30 years now ~

Five precious sons that I was gifted with.

I truly feel as each one was such a gift!

They are all amazing men now and I am so, so very proud

of each and every one of them.

And now our cup runneth over ~

We have TWO precious grand babies!!!

How beautiful is THAT?

Our little Clara and Murray and their mama Emily,

Brent's wife. Who, by the way is such an amazing mama

to these babies....she loves them like breath itself.

Also...I have so many dear friends that I've made over the years ~

Some in school...some in college...and through work...

and now through blogging.

Over the years you all have become so dear to me!

Even if we lose contact for awhile I know

that you are always, always my friend.

So today is a day of thanks...

thank you Lord for my precious family and friends.

You all are my gift in this life.

A thankful heart is a happy heart ~

let's all always,

always

count our blessings.

hugs and love,

Dawn

A thankful heart ~

As I thank the Lord each night in my prayers,

I am reminded of all the precious blessings He has given our family.

No, things are not always perfect around here,

and I don't share all that here....

but when you get down to the nitty gritty,

no matter how tough things get,

no matter how many trials and tribulations we have been through,

our family is truly blessed!!!

I created the image below just for you...

a quote straight from a Veggie Tales video

out little Noah (now almost 16 yrs old) used to watch!

I have to show you these beautiful elf shoes that

Beth of Gathering Dust created

using my little Elf/Fairy Shoe Ornament Tutorial....

she has a beautiful way of putting them together, don't you think?

I think they are just GORGEOUS!

And what have I been up to?

We had a precious house guest this past weekend...

Clara came to spend the night Saturday and helped me decorate our Christmas tree

and put out the Christmas village....we had the BEST time together!!!

I normally don't put the tree up before Thanksgiving but my parents

are coming into town this week and

next weekend will be so busy visiting with them ~ 

Here's the fruit of our labor!!!

Doesn't everyone have a Christmas village surrounding their TV???

It was the only available space I had and guess what?

Our precious granddaughter Clara didn't mind at all!!!!

She just loved helping me set it up and playing with it ~

These truly are the things that memories are made of.

I'm working on an order for ten rose petal sachets that has made the studio

smell like a beautiful garden!!!

And we're also working on TONS of soap orders as well ~

BUSY, BUSY, BUSY!

I hope you are doing so good and
thank you so much for stopping by to see what I'm up to ~

Happy Monday precious friends,

hugs and love,

Dawn

Feeling blessed this day ~

Some days are just the pits.

I mean it.

You can't find one single positive thing about it.

But then there are the other days ~

The days where nothing specific has happened but

YOU JUST KNOW IT.

You simply remember that
you.
are.

BLESSED.

It has hit you like a ton of bricks.

Here you've been concentrating on all the bad things going on,

all the negativity and stuff that clutters your mind and then

FINALLY

it is all washed away

and what remains?

The true realization that you are truly, unmistakably

BLESSED.

You have so much goodness in your life

to be thankful for.

We ALL do.

Thank you Lord for all you've give us...

may we always keep a thankful spirit.

Wishing you a thankful Sunday...

hugs and love,

Dawn

Thankful for blessings ~

We've had quite a crazy weekend around the old farmhouse!!!

Some things good...and well, some things NOT so good!

It all started Friday with my sweet niece having her beautiful baby girl

and my hubs and DIL Emily and little Clara were going to go to the hospital

to visit and see the new little angel.

I said I would watch baby Murray and knew I would see the new baby soon

so they headed on their way and Murray was so happy he didn't even realize it.

Well a big storm started brewing Friday afternoon and the skies grew darker and darker ~

I knew that I'd better start getting ready for it so I laid little Murray in his playpen
and began unplugging all the electronic devices, TV, computer, etc.

I kept peeking out the window all the time and seeing the pecan trees swaying wildly.

The rain was hammering against the windows so bad I could hardly see outside.

The thunder and lightning began picking up and then I grabbed Murray and little

Ellie the pup and headed to our hallway knowing this was going to be a bad storm!!!

We heard crashing on the front porch, terrible thunder and heavy rain.

Well, after it was all over, in just a manner of minutes, maybe 15 or so?

I laid Murray back down in his little Pack 'n Play and started peeking around

to see if there was any damage...omygoodness ~ the storm totally ripped our

screened door in half!!! Our heavy rocking chairs were all turned over on

the front porch, as were the metal chairs around the sweet old iron table.

Thank goodness we didn't have any giant pecan limbs down as they

can be so weak but I just hated it about our screened door!

I'm just so very thankful there wasn't more damage

than there was.

Here's a photo of the poor thing:

Then Saturday evening we had our sweet Clara over to spend the night!!!

She was so excited!

What's so funny is that she kept asking me for a haircut....

I've cut her hair since she was a wee one and she is terribly

tender-headed and just needs her hair to be shorter so she can

endure brushing and such.

So, we did it!!!

I didn't take a ton off and she was amazingly still for a little 4 1/2 year old!

Here are a few pics, before AND after:

Before:

After:

And Sunday?

Well, it was a day of making yummy pancakes for this

precious granddaughter and relaxing.

I did manage to get a TON of sold goodies

from the 1925 Farmhouse Goods shop

packed up ready for the post office tomorrow though!

It's been a great weekend and guess what???

We've gotten our first few sales in our new

General Store Soap store!!!

I truly am a thankful girl....

Wishing you a beautiful Monday dear friends!!!

hugs and love,

Dawn

A thankful spirit ~

I truly am a thankful person.

But it seems that there are some days

that thankfulness washes over me enough to make me weep.

Not so much for any one gigantic thing but

simply for all things.

For any little goodness that comes our way,

for the sweetness of friends and family...

for my family being happy and healthy and

for all the precious blessings our Lord gives us.

Every day is a thankful day but today

I just need to proclaim it!!!

A thankful heart truly is a happy heart.

Wishing you a beautiful May weekend precious friends,

hugs and love,

Dawn

Feeling thankful and oh-so-blessed this December day...

What a wonderful feeling!!!

I'm feeling so very thankful today and have to share it with you.

With the few recent health problems I've had lately and

with all of us enduring this choking economy,

I love it when I can rise above it all to cherish and appreciate the blessings in my life!

Sometimes, it's terribly hard to do this.

We can so easily dwell on all the terrible things

that are going on in our lives...all that we don't have...

the troubles that plague us day in and day out.

But then there are the days where something sweet happens and

you realize how good you have it...how blessed you are and really

how wonderful life truly is!

Today, I am thankful for my precious family.

For our five sons who amaze me each and every day

with their love for one another.

If one is in need, the other will always fill the gap ~
how beautiful is this?

I've seen them all doing this for one another too!

If we've done one thing right, it is teaching our sons

the value of love and family.

I am blessed.

Counting your blessings is a beautiful thing....

Wishing you a wonderful Monday dear friends!

hugs and love,

Dawn