TUESDAY'S THOUGHTS...

6 months!  Wow...can't believe how big she looks.

Goodness, where did that last week go?  I decided I'd better try and write a quick update or I might get soo far behind I will just have to quit or start over, haha.  I spent all last week I guess trying to finish up all of my loose ends on my various projects so that I could get them all wrapped up before Mike & Melody arrive tomorrow.  As of yesterday afternoon, mission FINALLY accomplished.  Actually, I guess that is not completely true.  The bedroom is totally cleaned out, (sewing can make SUCH a mess) and ready for George and his crew to REALLY clean this morning, but I still have two presents to wrap.  Melody knows about this so I can write about it here, but I won't show any pictures yet as she does not know which one I settled on.  Her 25th birthday is on the 24 of this month and I decided (after LOTS of discussions) to get her a REALLY nice diaper bag.  She wanted one that looks more like a purse, and less like a baby bag.  Big enough to carry everything she might need, (wallet, keys, cell phone) and yet plenty of room for all those necessary baby items.  The two of us spent a few hours looking at all the possibilites on line.  Goodness, there are sooo many choices.  And some of the them would require a small loan to buy, haha, but I think she will be really pleased to see which one I settled on.  I LOVE it...Super cute.  Anyway, I have that to wrap, and the quilt that arrived on Sat. from my dear friend Noreen at Life's Blessings.  I can't even describe to you how much I love it.  It is just beautiful.  I think she is going to put up pictures of it today if you would like to check it out.  If you haven't met Noreen, trust me you will love her.  The name of her blog so suits her as that is just what she is to me.  The women I have met here in this blogworld have blessed me more than I could ever even begin to tell you.  She is just the sweetest woman and has the biggest heart.  And sooo talented too.  She has HAND quilted the quilt, and it is just sooo perfect.  (have I mentioned that I love it?)   I can't wait for Mel to see it.  And how it matches all the bedding I made for Mel....it was if they all came off the same bolt of fabric.  Oh, and I have been wanting to mention that sweet Becky from Junk to Joy, sent Mel a little gift.  Soo excited for her to get that too.  I won a little contest Becky did a while back, and she sent me my prize the other day.  It was a perfect WONDERFULLY smelling lavender sachet that she had made....Oh I can't describe how good it smelled.  I put it in my bathroom on the sink and it is just perfect there and scents the bathroom with the sweet aroma.  Well, she sent a little something for Mel too, but she doesn't know about this one so I am keeping it secret for now.  Becky spreads her joy all throughout blogland, and if you haven't met her you have been missing out so pop on over and take a look.  As I look around at the various different gifts that are in my home from my blogging buddies, my heart swells with love for you all.  What a wonderful experience this all has really been.  Just another way our Lord shows His great love for us as He connects our hearts and worlds no matter how far apart we live.

Soo pretty...

See it there behind the perfume bottle?  Soo perfect!  love it Becky!

I hope you all had a nice 4th of July.  It has always been another one of my favorite holiday's.  Right up there by Thanksgiving.  As I read around blogland these last couple of days, it seems as if many of us sang God Bless America at church on Sunday.  How it blessed me.  I will confess it moved me to tears a little.  How forunate we all are to live in such a place where we enjoy the freedoms and the privileges that we do.  I pray we never forget it, and that God continues to pour out His blessings on America.  James and his family were planning on spending the 4th with us, but both of his daughters woke up with fevers yesterday and they decided to stay home and rest.  I think ordinarily we would have insisted they come anyway (you can always be sick at Grandma's house just as well too right?) but I have soo much coming up in the next few days with Mel here I decided not to risk catching anything.  Summer time sickness is NO fun, and I pray everyone feels good soon.  I have a few things on my list still to get done before Mel gets her tomorrow so I will have to keep busy.  I am sooo anxious to see her and see how much bigger that tummy has grown in the last 8 weeks.  There is MUCH more that I could tell you, like how much we enjoyed my parents who came yesterday for the 4th of July and how good the t-bones were that we bbq'd, the garden that little Jeff has planted with his daddy this week-end and HOW excited he is about it, how warm the weather has been which means the air conditioning has been running A LOT, how the Lord has already begun blessing the church that James is pastoring as it was REALLY packed on Sunday, how excited I am for the baby shower for Mel on sat. and soo looking forward to seeing all the preparations that sweet Jess has put in to it, and I could just go on and on.  But I need to begin this day so I will stop for now.  I know I will be VERY busy this week, but I will visit in the early mornings as I don't want to miss a thing with all of you.  May the Lord bless you all with a wonderful week!

Just had to show this pic of this crane who has been hanging out at the lake by our house...Isn't it beautiful?