A House Fit For A Princess..

I have promised my daughter a pillow for her bed for some time.
So, decided to make one for her birthday.
I stayed up all night before her big day to make this house...
fit for a princess.

The house was made from a vintage chenille blanket which
I was given many years ago from my Aunt...which belonged to her Great Aunt.
Sadly over the years it became very fragile and ripped in several places.
I thought it fitting for a make-over project.

Which makes this piece all the more special.

I worked...worked...worked as my little girl slumbered into the night.
She awoke on her birthday with a sweet surprise sitting next to her.

My Princess was surprised!!!
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Happy Day...

We had a wonderful day with our daughter for her birthday.
We went to see UP in the theater.
What a sweet, tenderhearted movie it was !!
We went Book Store shopping and had a special lunch at Red Robin...
Which seems to be the place we go for birthdays.

It was a Happy Day !

Just look at her smile!
@/*-*\@

Tanti Auguri !

Tanti auguri a te,

Tanti auguri a te,
Tanti auguri a Abriana,
Tanti auguri a te !!

Our dear little girl is celebrating her 9th birthday today !
I can't even begin to tell, what a blessing this child is to our family.
She is surely the sunshine on a rainy day.
She is like the cherry on top of a banana split.
We are off to a special day with our sweet daughter !
P.S. Tanti Auguri a te is the birthday song in Italian !
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A Special Birthday Doll.....

Our daughter received a very special package
in the mail for her birthday. Can you guess?
She got the newest American Girl Doll,
Rebecca from 1914.

She has been dreaming of this doll for quite some time.
She even looks like the doll !

After receiving her special gift,
she played with her for HOURS !

I do believe they are the best of friends!

Smell The Roses.....

The sky unfolded before her eyes
As she stared up in uncanny wonder
The sky was so gorgeous today!
She could have easily fallen asleep under sea of cerlean blue
She closed her eyes, feeling the sun's warmth upon her skin
The wind blew kisses around her bare toes
And she giggled with delight
Like a child who got away with stealing a cookie from the jar

She remained in an unconscious state
Her senses turned on to full volume
Taking in the wondrous world around her
Smelling, hearing, seeing, almost tasting the day

The air was sweet with plum blossoms
Thick and sticky like honey on the early afternoon air
It wafted though her nose and left but a small trace on her lips
It made her sleepy with its rich, invigoratingly aroma
It wasn't very often she had stopped to relax
To take in the world around her

To take but a few moments of her precious life and enjoy

the simple pleasures
In this very moment, she was at home
She opened her eyes
The sun greeted them with bright light

And for a few moments she felt she was somewhere else
Somewhere with sunshine and endless blue sky.
It was times like this that she realized she was glad to be alive
To be able to stop and enjoy these things

These simple things that we all see every day
And to feel enough relief to say, "life isn't so bad"

Pucker Up !!!!

Last week Freckles and I were visiting our friends whom had a few lemon trees in their backyard.
We picked a whole bushel of them for lemonade making.

We cut up a bunch of them today.
They were so pretty !

Freckles got to squeezing them....
Lot's of them !!!

She even wore her pretty vintage Summery apron, just for the occasion.

Then she decided to take a little taste....
It started out pretty good, until she got hit with the tartness.

" Oh my !!!"

"Pucker Up !!"

The faces she made were priceless.....
It was hilarious!
I couldn't stop laughing.
Even she laughed about it afterward.

We enjoyed a delightful, cold glass of sweet lemonade,
which still left a wee pucker on Freckles lips !!!

Elephant Bottoms.....

What do you do when your kids pants get dirty knees and holes in them?
I decided since freckles, favorite jeans got a hole in the knee + stains I couldn't get out, that I would save them & turn them into a whole new fun pair of pants.

I cut off the lags from the knee down and added a floral print fabric ruffle to that.
We affectionately call them Elephant Bottoms.

Hence, this is a frugal time in our life. So, I decided to save the pants !! And,
Freckles still gets to keep her favorite jeans...
must I add, they are stinkin' cute on her.

I think they are even cuter than before. Freckles, is definitely stylin'.

A Very PINK Room.....

This is my daughters VERY PINK bedroom.
She has a love for pink and a fondness in her heart for elephants.
A very old quilt hangs on her wall as a piece of art work.

This is her antique bed... it's a full size iron bed over 100 years old.
Over her bed is Big Shabby Chic Letters which spell out DREAM.
Below the DREAM letters we have collected a few darling prints from
my friend Jenny at
Every Day Is A Holiday

She also collects elephants...

All kinds from stuffed to vintage and figures.

She has hundreds of elephants.

You will find her collection of antique and vintage dolls as well.

We also collect old baby dresses, old children books and miscellaneous vintage items.

I think she is just like me.

We both have a love for old things.

You're Funny !!!

This is just one of those regular day's in our home.
They alway's keep me smiling !

Teaching Our Young Children How To Pray....

Here is a great way to help teach your young child how to pray.
A prayer glove.
Each colored finger represents something meaningful and beneficial for a healthy prayer life and will surely provide a wonderful foundation for their personal prayer life in later years.

A. The thumb represents ( red ) "Praise" because the thumb is the part of the hand that is closest to your heart. The thumb is the most important and strongest finger on your hand.
What do you pray for?
Praise is how we tell God how awesome, mighty & wonderful He is. Praise should be the strongest and most important part of your prayers.

B. The index finger represents ( orange ) "Thankfulness to God" because that is the finger you point with.
What do you pray for?
We should thank God for all that He provides.

C. The middle finger represents ( yellow ) " Forgiveness" because the middle finger is the most prominent.
What do you pray for?
Forgiveness is needed everyday. Even as Christians we commit sin. We should ask God for forgiveness and tell Him we are sorry for disobeying Him.

D. The ring finger represents ( green ) "Others" because this finger is generally considered to be the weakest finger.
Who do you pray for?
Praying for others and bringing their needs before God is a very important part of prayer. The ring finger can usually do nothing alone. It needs help from all other parts of the hand in order to work. we know people who need help , one way is to pray for them.

E. The pinkie finger represents ( Blue) " ME " or "Self ", because it is the last and smallest finger.
We should put others before ourselves and humble ourselves before God.
Pray for yourself last.
Our prayer life is weak when we focus on ourselves.
Hold your Bible with just your pinkie finger & palm and you will see how weak it is.
Add one finger at a time starting with the ring finger all the way up to the thumb.
Our prayer life is strong when we include all of them.

F. Your Fist represents protection from the evil one and power to advance against him.
" Because God holds us tightly in His hands".
With His protection & His strength we can successfully "fight" back and advance against the evil one.
Remember to close your fist...
Always close in prayer in the name of Jesus.

Memorize :

Philippians 4:6

Don't worry about anything.
Instead tell God about everything.
Ask and pray.
Give thanks to Him.

Paint Your "ART" Out !!!!

My little budding Artist, Freckles had a lovely couple of days drawing and painting outside in the warm Spring sunshine.

We found some fun art projects to do from

The Crafty Crow blog.

The first piece was a pen and Ink with markers and water color. Simple shapes of flowers and vines...

Voila !! A master piece !!

Then she did an oil painting on thick paper of Vincent Van Gough's Sunflowers. She is so proud of this piece. Again it was just simple circles and petals, adding the oil paint colors and outlining with markers.

And there you have it, another Masterpiece !!! She did a wonderful job...maybe she will be an Artist like her Mama huh???

So, get out those art supplies and paint your Art out !!!!

Happy Spring !!