WWJD

A few years ago there was a very popular saying that led to bags, t-shirts, wrist bands and other items being printed in large quantities and sold by retailers everywhere. The saying was, "What would Jesus do?" or WWJD. As catchy as this phrase was, I decided to use it to ask yet another question. "What would Jackson do?" I know, who/what is Jackson, right? Well, let me give you the scoop...

Jackson is a precious five year old little boy with a smile that will knock you socks off. He's one of Roxy's kindergarten buds. Not only is Jackson full of charm, giggle bugs and a love for Mario Brothers, but his life is filled with lots of other not so fun stuff as well

Take a minute to watch this video and see just how Jackson's day to day life is. Ask yourself, "What would Jackson do...with a cure, without insulin or with failing kidneys? The questions are endless. If possible, please donate to his team. I have done so and I hope that you will do the same.

you

With a full heart and soon to be a full belly, I want to wish each one of you a very happy Thanksgiving. As we give thanks for so many things, don't overlook yourself. Day in and day out, we go about our busy lives and never stop to say thank you to ourselves. I am thankful for my health, my ability to love, the characteristics that make me who I am and the purpose that I have been given to make a difference in life. Without each one of you having similar qualities, you would not be the great wives, mothers and friends that you are.

table talk

Want to get some conversation started around the table? This will do the trick!

You think I can sew up a 1/2 dozen tonight? Nahhh, me either...LOL!

Thanksgiving favorites!

Why is it that there are certain foods that we make at Thanksgiving that we never seem to make any other time of year? I guess that may be part of what makes the Thanksgiving feast so special. I can remember as a child, different dishes that family members would add to the spread on Thanksgiving day. It would make me so excited that my Mom, or one of my aunts or my grandma made that certain dish that I loved so much. It just wouldn't have been the same without it.



I still have a couple of my favorites that I love for others to make and a few of my own that I make for my family. So, when I saw these recipe cards, I knew they would be perfect for a little Thanksgiving gift. If you know of friends and family members that rave about one of your special dishes, fill out one of the recipe cards, make a special dish of it up for them and attach the recipe card to it...an instant Thanksgiving gift!

filling & feelings

Each year as the cheer of the Christmas season arrives, as a family we always make it a point to share in giving to others. It's become somewhat of a tradition in our home to participate in Operation Christmas Child.

(I also included some of the children and their families from our church to help out this year. We were able to send a total of 7 boxes to this wonderful charity.)

My Dad and I took my girls shopping and let them pick out appropriate items to fill their shoebox gift. Their faces were full of excitement and their voices chirped as they busily picked items from the shelves. With tiny baby dolls, toothbrushes, pen sets, small puzzles,Play Doh and many other items, we were ready to start filling up our shoebox gift package.

Once we were finished we wrote a letter about ourselves and tucked it into the package before shipping it off. Roxanne was full of questions about who might get the box, what their name would be, where they lived and so on. I could tell that her feelings and emotions were tender. It was such a sweet moment to watch her faith and hope build in her as she put forth such effort into something, only trusting my words that it would be delivered, but to whom...we knew not. Wow, that's a lesson all by itself!

I hope that you will take the time to give a smile, a hug, a small donation of your time and energy or simply just a prayer for those in need. Though the holidays come and go, those who have needs carry those needs year round. Just something to think about.

beautiful blues

Meet Drew! He's the cutest little dude in south Georgia and he's gotta thing for fishin'. Those beautiful blue eyes are enough to make any heart melt. Love ya, Drew!

kindness = a smile

I purchased a new vacuum a couple of months ago. I am weird, but I like certian features on a vacuum. If I'm going to take the time to clean, I want it done right the first time. I can't stand to use products that just can't "cut the funk!" Watery liquids, soap that doesn't suds, streaky cleaning solutions...you get the point. So, when I purchased my vacuum, I wanted all those fancy attachments, the HEPA filter, bagless and so on.

Anyway, the other day while vacuuming with my turbo brush attachment, it fell from it's holder onto the floor and busted. I felt like I just lost my best friend. I use that crazy brush tool on everything. Seriously, with it's high powered spin you could ride on the thing if it were a little larger. It's got some powerful suction along with a fast spinning brush...LOVE it!

I immediately emailed Bissell to see how I needed to go about ordering a replacement turbo brush. To my surprise, I recieved a very customer friendly reply to my email to notify me that Bissell was going to replace the turbo brush at no cost! Talk about a smile, I was beaming! Thanks Bissell, your customer service is awesome!

the countdown is on...

Check out my friend Lisa's blog for a handmade holiday!

it's a comin'

Oh yeah, this is soon to be hanging in my closet. Well, my version anyway. I'll keep ya updated on how it turns out. This is gonna be fun! Wanna join me?




(photo by Ruffles & Stuff)

special delivery

It's an amazingly peaceful rainy day here in the south. The girls are both at school. I am working on ads for magazine publications for the garden center. The washer is swishing and the dryer is buzzing. Lots of house work to be done. Not so much the cleaning of it but the need to organize and ready my house for the holiday craziness of decking the halls!

There is a very special delivery that is expected to arrive today. My dear friends, Heather and Sam are patiently awaiting to see their little baby boy. Owen will by their first baby and he is already loved so much. I was thrilled when Heather asked me to take her maternity photos. Fun times are always best when shared with friends!

vintage therapy

These two ladies are fun, full of creativity and absolutely the best vintage shoppers on a $300.00 budget. Nate Berkus invited my friends Kris and Kim on his show for a design challenge. It was a true challenge to say the least. When I talked to Kris before she headed to NY to be on the show, I could hear the excitement in her voice and I could not wait to see the big reveal. Take a look at what they did when they turned trash to treasure with some unique finds.




I am so glad to see these girls living their dream of being ordinary people with extraordinary talent that they want to share with others. They are both such loving people with a heart to bring a smile to each and every person that they meet. You ladies did a fantastic job. I think I was just as excited when I saw your bright and cheerful faces on the show. Way to go girls!

sugar high

I am sure that most all of you felt the rush of a sugar high at some point over the weekend. We started our Halloween sugar rush by making spooky chocolate suckers. Then we headed to the craft room to make these fun mummy treat bags...

(mummy picture from swakembroidery.com)

and tagging behind two little monkeys as they went trick-or-treating.


(big sis. was trying to get little sis. to look at the camera...way cute)

We had a great time seeing lots of Halloween costumes as we made our way through the crowd of goblins. I hope that you all enjoyed your weekend of Halloween fun!