Happy Fathers Day

I thank God every day for the man He put in our lives as the head of our home. Mr. Darling is an exceptional father to our children and a wonderful husband. He has shown exemplary character and is God fearing with faith in Christ. He is a loving leader in our home and would do anything in his power for his family. He is a one of a kind soul a gift my children and I will forever cherish. He means the world to us.
  
Mr. Darling, Sweetheart, Daddy....
We love you.
I pray our children will be a blessing to you this Fathares Day and always.
 
~Dad~
God took the strength of a mountain,
The majesty of a tree,
The warmth of a summer sun,
The calm of a quiet sea,
The generous soul of nature,
The comforting arm of night,
The wisdom of the ages,
The power of the eagle's flight,
The joy of a morning in spring,
The faith of a mustard seed,
The patience of eternity,
The depth of a family need,
Then God combined these qualities,
When there was nothing more to add,
He knew His masterpiece was complete,
And so, He called it...
Dad
- Author Unknown

There's A Mouse My Cupboard...

Do you see him above?

I think mice are rather nice.

Their tails are long,

Their faces are small,

They haven't any chins at all.

Their ears are pink,

Their teeth are white,

They run about 

The house at night.

They nibble things

They shouldn't touch

And no one seems

To like them much.

 But I think mice are nice.

Don't you ????

A Mother's Day Blessing....

So for the mother's sake the child was dear,

And dearer was the mother for the child.

~Samuel Taylor Coleridge

 

Who takes the child by the hand

takes the mother by the heart.

~Danish Proverb

I thank God every day for making me a mother

and blessing me with two of the sweetest children.

****

Happy Mothers Day to you!!!!

Lady Bird, Lady Bird

This week we had a blast making
these darling Lady Birds. 

So much they just had to have
their very own photo shoot!

My friend Susan made a sweet flower especially for our ladybirds...

It is  so adorable I might add ! We used an air dry clay by Crayola ...

which is very vibrant in color.

 Ladybird, ladybird fly away home, 
Your house is on fire and your children are gone, 
 All except one, And her name is Ann, 
And she hid under the frying pan

Ladybugs all dressed in red
Strolling through the flowerbed.
If I were tiny just like you
I'd creep among the flowers too!

Uh oh !, a little snake came along.....

Thankfully this little fella is a friendly one. 

He just wants to hang out with the Ladybirds a bit...

That was fun!!!!

Hope your having fun too! 

Happy Friday to you!

Thoughts For The Season

With pomp, power and glory the world beckons vainly,
in chase of such vanities why should I roam?
While peace & content bless my little thatched cottage,
and warm my own hearth with treasures of home.
~Beatrix Potter~

Christmas won't be Christmas
without any presents.
~Louisa May Alcott~

The love in your
heart wasn't put there to stay,
love isn't love
till it's given away.

~What Christmas Is All About~

Christmas will always be for us
A time to reflect on Christ
The gift God gave to all the world
Was the gift of His life

We know Christmas is not about tinsel
Nor fancy Christmas wreaths
Nor is it about all the decorations
That adorns our Christmas trees

And it’s not about Holly or Mistletoe
Hanging from our doors
Nor is it about the gifts that are left
By the jolly Santa Claus

Christmas is more than all of this
And the only reason why
We celebrate Christ’s birth together
And the wonder of His life

So remember as you celebrate
Just what it’s all about
And invite the Lord to join with you
Instead of leaving Him out

For He will always be the reason
We celebrate this day
No substitute the world may offer
Can take that meaning away

~M.S.Lowndes ~

Jump In !!!

GOD'S GOLD

Oh, the glory of this autumn day,
When the trees unfold their gold!

Oh, how lifted is my spirit, Lord,

When such beauty I behold!

Like precious coins, each leaf holds on
Through sunshine, fog, or haze;

The memory of this rich display
Will warm my winter days.

~~By Helen Kitchell Evans.~~

Swoop,
Scoop,
Pile them up

In a stompy pile and
Jump

Jump
JUMP!

AUTUMN LEAVES

One of the nicest beds I know
isn't a bed of soft white snow,

isn't a bed of cool green grass
after the noisy mowers pass,
isn't a bed of yellow hay
making me itch for half a day--
but autumn leaves in a pile that high,
deep, and smelling like fall, and dry.
That's the bed where I like to lie
and watch the flutters go by.

~~By Aileen Fisher~~

The kids and the dog ( and a sweet Lady Bug)
had a fun day in the leaves.
We had planned to rake them up and
put them in the trash bins.
Of course temptation set in and they started jumping in it.
Isn't it supposed to be work before play?
Heck, would you blame them?

These are the times to just STOP,
slow down and savor these moments.
They will all too soon be grown.
It was a pleasure for this Mama to see them so happy.


P.S The illustrated pictures are from
Illustrator Carin Bergers book,
The Little Yellow Leaf.

Have a Happy day, don't be afraid to just jump in!

Now,This Is What We Call Vitamin D......

Ahhh, what a beautiful day spent... just the four of us!

We went to Oceanside today. Enjoying the company of one another . We watched our children play in the water & soaking up the sun as the waves tickled their toes.

The water was quit cold, yet, brought back memories of my own childhood. Mr. Darling and I enjoyed the warm sun immensely, what we call Vitamin D. May I remind you we were recently living in the Northwest. Which depleted much of my vitamin D. This is just what the doctor ordered !

The Lord replied, "My precious child.

I love you and I would never leave you.

During your times of trial and suffering

when you saw only one set of footprints...

That was when I carried you."

Carolyn Joyce Carty

Our children had smiles from ear to ear all day.

They were playful, giggling and jumping for joy !!

Even us old folks had a bit of fun.

I found myself running from the cold waves.

Call me a scardy cat, I dare you !

Mr. Darling borrowed Freckles hat to keep the bright sun out of his face.

Cute ain't he?

Freckles fished out a whole load of seaweed.

She's not scared one bit to touch that slimy stuff.

Notice, Young Maestro doesn't touch it though.

~A Day at the Beach~

A day at the beach

What could be More fun

Than playing in

The sand

The surf

The sun

Building castles

And rivers

And splashing

In the waves

There's no better

Way to spend

Those hot days

~ Sharon Froese~

Let us not forget the trusty Lifeguard who was sleeping !

Thank God no one was drowning!

~Mine~

I made a sand castle.
In rolled the sea.
"All sand castles
belong to me— to me,"
said the sea.

I dug sand tunnels.
In flowed the sea.
"All sand tunnels
belong to me— to me,"
said the sea.

I saw my sand pail floating free.
I ran and snatched it from the sea.
"My sand pail
belongs to me—
to ME!"

~Lilian Moore

~ Sandcastle ~

From the beach its sandy walls rise,

It's turrents reach up to touch the skies.

A tiny moat dissolves the keep.

It's pavers are strong, though only two inches deep.

Tiny footprints embedded in the sand,

Where once a child there did stand.

It's grace and beauty a short time will last,

Before the sea washes it into the past.

~Author Unknown~

See the red dot there in the sand?

After the kids made their sandcastle a little ladybug decided to move in.

A day at the beach isn't finished until someone gets buried.

Maestro allowed us to bury him alive.

We were so relaxed by the end of the afternoon.

We treated ourselves to ice cream sundaes afterwards...to top off the day !!